Beak 'n' Eye 3.10

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11/30/2010

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Beak ‘n’ Eye

Volume 51 Issue 3

West High School

3505 W. Locust St. Davenport, Iowa 52804

Friday, November 12, 2010

No computer hinders some students

By Felicia Raymond

Technology has become an essential tool in today’s society. But the people who don’t have a computer or cell phone might be missing out on opportunities at school and work. As the economy continues to suffer, people are starting to prioritize. And a roof over their head comes before a nice computer and a cell phone that can do anything.

But more and more students are realizing that a computer is almost always needed for homework and school related things.

The students who don’t have a computer at home they might struggle academically.

Low income families are twice as likely to not have a computer and four times as likely to not have a reliable vehicle. So when the teacher says that that four page typed paper is due Monday, those students in those kind of situations start to squirm.

Now they must think of how to get the paper done, they could stay after school and use the computer in the school but that only stays open until 3:30 p.m. Maybe they could go to the public library, but how without a reliable car? Maybe they could walk but it cost money to print. That is three strikes for the students without computers.

Students without a home computer are at a

disadvantage. A Beak ‘n’ Eye survey of 126 students indicated that nine percent do not have a computer and 15 percent do not have a Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter. Two thirds of all American households report that they use the internet at home, according to the U.S. Census.

“The Internet helps a lot because the Internet comes in handy and without having it right there I would struggle,” said John Nguyen, junior.

The West LMC sees a lot of usage with 115 computers in the library. The whole school has 615 computers, with a student to computer ratio that is about 3 to 1. However many of those classroom computers are used by teachers.

“I believe that not having a computer does make doing assignments’ harder,” said Kerry Hatfield, librarian, “but West’s library is open from 7am to 3:30 p.m.”

West charges 10 cents for black and white printing, 25 cents for black and white pictures and $1 for colored pictures and printing.

“Also a big problem is Windows 7,” Hatfield said, “a lot of students have computers of Mac or Apple and teachers don’t have Windows 7 yet.

So there is a compatibility issue there.”

Also Hatfield said that the end of a term is busier than the beginning.

About 87 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds uses the Internet, according to a 2007 report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which

Teens cling to technology

Tyler Henry sophomore

Hannah Fandel freshman

When did you get your first cell phone?

I got my first phone in eighth grade and without out it I wouldn’t be able to keep in touch.

How would you feel if you didn’t have technology in your life for a day?

I would be so bored, it would be hard to communicate with my friends. My cell phone keeps me in touch with everyone.

Reed Tennings freshman

What’s your favorite technology piece?

For sure my PS3, I play it when I get bored. Because I’m definity not reading.

studies net use.

“Technology helps me with homework because a lot of my projects are on the computer and it looks neater than by hand,” said Robert Reed, junior, “and I couldn’t do math without a calculator.”

Some teachers such as Jack Achs, government teacher, have a web site in which class can be held. If a student were to miss a day of class they can go to the school website and see the exact notes and agenda of which the class did that day.

Computers are essential for doing papers in English and social studies classes. Most teachers require that papers be typed. Some teachers said they make accomidations for students who don’t have a computer at home.

David Kintigh, English teacher, takes a flexible stance stating that he will give more time to students who can not do their papers because they do not have the Internet at home.

“I believe that if technology helps move the class forward then why not use it, and for students who do not have a computer I believe that there should be a little leeway,” said Kintigh.

However, one teacher says deadlines are important.

“There is a computer lab in the school and there are public libraries,” Pat Sheehey, AP English teacher, said. “They can also hand write their papers. A deadline is a deadline.”

5

Things we need technology for...

● To find scholarships for college on the Internet. (There is a cheat sheet for scholarships in the guidance office.) ● To do that intense paper that if you hand wrote you would need a cast. ● To break up with boyfriend or girlfriend via e-mail or text message (do at your own risk) ● To late night text.That is always fun. ● To make those fall off your seat funny YouTube videos

New at West High

Jaylyn Speights sophomore

How would you feel if you had no technology in your life at all?

I would be mad, because I wouldn’t be able to talk to any of my friends or family. I would be bored at home. I spend at least two hours a day on the computer. And I am on my phone 24-7

Alyssa Lopez junior

How would you feel if you lost your cell phone?

I would feel lost; I wouldn’t know what to do. My whole life is in my cell phone. I wouldn’t know how to get home. Life would be tough.

Photos by Felicia Raymond

● The library labs have new comuters with Windows 7 and Word 2010 ● Smart boards are installed in the math department. ● LCD projectors are in all histroy, math and science classes ● More teachers have a web site so students can get notes for days they missed. ● The Classroom Performance System is a remote that allows each student to select an answer and review for testing.

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2 News

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

School construction program helps build houses and futures

By Chase David

TAKING SHAPE - This is the outer shell of a student-built home. It will be sold by the organization when finished.

Photos by Erin Pershall

BARE BONES - Students did the framework for the home while electrical and pumbing will be done by professionals.

Student-built home is sponsored by:

• Quad City Area REALTOR Association • Quad Cities Home Builders Association • Scott Community College • Davenport & North Scott Community School Districts

Food Drive Results

No. 1 United Township 140,000 Lbs.

In student built home program, students learn a lot about building a house, such as how to frame walls, shingle a roof, and many other things. This year, we are building a one story house with a walk-in basement.

“The students are getting better at there work as the school year passes by”, says instructor Kirk Hakanson.

“I like Student Built Home. We are learning a lot and there is a lot of hands on things we are doing, we are getting close to being ahead of schedule and it helps that there are kids that have had Experience with a lot of this stuff we are doing”, said Scott senior Trey Jacobs “This year has been a great year, and I am looking forward to the end of the year to see how we did”, says senior Josh Hillman, “and we should be done by the end of the year.”

Student build a home is a very fun program that is allowed to all students that start and complete all of the woods classes including Basic Woodworking, Advanced Woodworking, Basic Carpentry, and Cabinetmaking. You must be a senior to enroll into this class. As you try to get into the program, you must talk to your counselor and he/she will give you paperwork to fill out and return to your teacher. This class gives

Around 1,600 guests fill the auditorium for the school musical

“A-well-a bird, bird, bird, the bird” is the more annoying song at West High compared to “I love you, you love me.”

Many students sat during lunches from Oct. 25–29 listening to songs such as the Barney and Teletubbies theme songs.

In an effort to raise money for the food drive, when money was raised from each lunch then the song was turned off for that lunch.

The lunch period to raise the most money was able to listen to the radio on the last day.

Last year the annoying songs played at lunch raised a total of around $200. With this year’s song, they raised about $25.

“It’s annoying,” said senior Zack Brewer. “We don’t have any control whether the music stops, unless we cough up money. We should be paying for the music we want, not to end the tourcher” “It is for something good, it’s not like we are scratching nails against a chalkboard,” said Student Senate adviser Jane Kroening.

Kroening and others agreed that the songs played weren’t even that annoying.

“I don’t think it makes people donate because it is not that annoying,” said junior Megan Rice. “I sing with it. It’s fun.”

Since not as much money was raised this year, Student Senate believes that their songs need to kick it up a notch.

“No one can be annoying like Keenan,” said Kroening.

Photo by Kayla Mirfield

DONATE! -- West High Student Senate waits to go on during the kick-off assembly last month.

West’s food drive effort fills big need

By Kayla Mirfeild

Many families in the Quad City area will be helped by the student hunger drive after a total of 772,140 pounds of food were collected by 18 area schools.

“It’s taken a lot of pressure off my family. It nice to know that people can come together to help people in need,” said West High senior who wishes to remain anonyms.

Over all the schools that participated in the Student Food Drive raised 70,000 most pounds of food than last year.

Since 1998, West High has donated a total of 2,059,000 pounds of food to the Student Food Hunger Drive. This beats all schools that participate in the drive.

The food drive took place from Sept. 24 to Nov. 4. This Year West brought in a total of 87,053 pounds. For the contest the judges go by the average number of cans per students, for West this year it was 47.7 pounds per student.

West placed in second in the A division, followed by rivals United Township High for the fifth consecutive year. They brought in a total of over 140,000 pounds of food.

Pertussis outbreak causes concern

According to the Quad City Times, there have been over 400 reported cases in Iowa, and about 100 of them have been from Scott County. Scott County is declared a ‘Pertussis Outbreak Area’ by the state.

There have been two reported cases of pertussis (Whooping cough) at West high.

Other schools in the Davenport Community School district have more cases than West does at this time.

The last outbreak of pertussis was in the fall of 2005. “It was only a matter of time before it came to Falcon Land,” Said Linda Manders, School Nurse.

When someone in the school has pertussis, Manders job is to follow the strict protocols of the Scott County Health Department. She sends out two different letters. The first letter is for if you sat near or interacted with the person who has pertussis. It states that you need to seek medical attention and get on antibiotics. When you

receive the antibiotics, you must stay out of school for at least six days before returning.

The second letter is for if you shared the same classroom as the person with pertussis. It says that you have been exposed to pertussis and that you should look for warning signs and take precautions to the extreme.

“The staff and students should take more precautions than ever before,” Manders said. Students who live in a home with small children, or who have children of their own or are pregnant should talk to their own doctor on how to prevent it the spread of pertussis. Pertussis can be deadly for babies and elders.

Some symptoms of pertussis are cold like symptoms like a runny nose, a mild fever, and an irritating cough, over time the cough turns into a harsher coughing spell.

Vomiting after coughing is common too.

The spells often occur at night, but between spells the patient usually appears normal.

“Follow the three C’s, and don’t swap

“Everyone was very excited,” said Student senate adviser Jane Kroening.

The awards ceremony took place at the River Bend Food Bank on November forth. Student senate from West and other participating schools enjoyed pizza, pop, a disc jockey, dancing, and the satisfaction that they helped many people by each schools donation.

“My favorite thing about the food drive is how is brings everyone together,” said senior Bailey Kraft. “Not just our school but the whole community.”

The River Bend Food Bank helps many people in the Quad City area and even students from West High school. The Food Drive benefits those students in many ways.

The food that is stored at the food bank gets distributed to different food pantries that are located all over the Quad City area. The food that is donated from the different schools makes up a big portion of the food at the food bank. Other food comes from people and stores who want to donate to the food bank.

spit. Getting the Tdap vaccine is highly recommended as well.” Manders said.

The Tdap vaccine stands for Tetanus Diphtheria Acellular Pertussis. It prevents tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. The state of Iowa does not enforce you to get Tdap for high school, but it is highly recommended.

Tdap is not for free. According to cdc.gov, if you go to a physician’s office it only costs about $30 dollars. Walk in clinics offer Tdap as well, the cost of Tdap is practically doubled and is around $67 dollars.

Even though Tdap is a little pricey, it will prevent you from getting and spreading pertussis. Some clinics even offer Tdap for free.

Ashley Castle, Junior says “I’m afraid of getting whooping cough because I am already sick and I’m afraid of passing it to my friends.”

“I can’t emphasize this enough, kids need to take this seriously, this is not a joke,” Manders said.

FIRST LADY OF THE STAGE Raoul, sophomore Jacob Stewart, Carlotta, junior Clara Loter, and Piangi, junior Dann Kuttler, sing together in a lead ensemble song in which Carlotta learns that she is no longer the hot commodity in the theatre.

In a haunting scene, the phantom dressed in a black cape, guides a boat which holds the damsel Christine, slowly into a bluish mist of fog. The floating effect was created by putting the boat was on a table with wheels and having the crew members push the table along. To make this scene it took a lot of work for the director, staff, and the actors.

Besides the special effects, the musical The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber required subtle acting, operatic singing, and elaborate costumes.

“The overall performance was great. The actors did extremely well,” Wayne Hess, director and teacher said.

“I thought it was hot, it rose to the occasion, and the students put on more than what was expected of them. I feel as if we set the bar for other schools, because we have great talented kids.”

There were some hectic moments during the performances though. “One time before Brad Rees (the Phantom) went on stage, his microphone was on the fritz. I knew what was wrong right away. I went and grabbed Meg who had a working microphone, and took it off and I attached it to Brad right before he went on stage,” Hess exclaimed.

Around 1,600 guests attended the four showings of Phantom of the Opera during the weekend of Nov. 5–7.

The show kicked off fundraising for a new theatre.

There was a 50/50 drawing. For only four dollars, you could purchase a ticket to the chocolate extravaganza. At the chocolate extravaganza you got reserved seating, lots of chocolate, talk to the actors, and a chance to listen to Hess talk about the fundraising for a new theatre. “We got a positive response, people gave us ideas on how to raise money for the theatre. The orchestra was there, and I got to discuss in detail about the needs of the theatre,” Hess said.

This version of the musical was the first ever produced by a school in Iowa, Hess said.

“It was definitely the most challenging show that I have ever had to do, which made it that much more rewarding in the end,” actor Brad Rees said.

YOUR FAITHFUL SERVANT An opera manager, senior Justin Anderson, reads a note from the Opera Ghost.

SING FOR ME! - The Phantom and Christine share a song on their way to the Phantom’s lair. This scene was coupled with many special effects, including fog and a moving boat.

Project Lead The Way goes to DC

By Kayla Mirfield

West High School was chosen one of ten schools to be called a Model School for the Project Lead the Way program.

West was awarded the Model school award for doing well in enrollments of the program compared to the population of the school, and the enrollments of minorities and females.

West is one of two schools that have 6 engineering classes and that was a factor in the award for the Model School. Also, have a major advisory panel like people from John Deer, Alcoa, Army core and KJWW along with the students, parents and teachers.

On Oct. 20 four West students, senior Tim Gipple, juniors Melissa Hardy and Noah Jones, and sophomore Jamesia Johnson, and two West teachers, Jason Franzenburg and Duane Stahl, traveled to Washington D.C. for different types of activities that have to do with engineering, technology, science and math.

On Oct. 20 till Oct. 22 they participants went to a PLTW National Innovation Summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 went to the first ever USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo at the National Mall, which is the grassy area right outside the capitol building.

The second day of their trip, they were involved in a Robotics competition where

they placed in second place against 25 other schools. In March, the team is planning on a trip to Orlando, Florida for the world championship.

Along with accepting the Model school award, the program had other activities for them to partake in.

A night time monumental tour was organized for them as well as trips to a couple of the Smithsonian Museums.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” said technology department head and a teacher of Project Lead the Way, Jason Franzenburg. “We got to network with a lot of people from different parts of the United States.”

Waterloo dress code over-ruled

By Felicia Raymond

Photo by Erin Pershall

COVER THAT COUGH! - Junior Paige Dailey practices safe hygiene by covering her cough with her forearm. Other good hygiene techniques include washing your hands, not sharing drinks, and staying home when sick.

A state judge over-ruled the Waterloo school district dress code requiring students to wear more formal clothing, stating that the policy exceeds district authority. The Iowa code only allows school board to write what cannot be worn at schools, not what must be worn.

The judge ruled that the dress code of no jeans, no open shoes, professional modest clothing only, in a limited range of colors and no pattern.

The school board is now rewriting the

policy so it conforms to the state law.

Board of Education unanimously voted on Oct. 25 to rewrite the dress code so that it states what can not be worn. But the dress code isn’t changing as a whole as much as they are ‘editing’ it.

The school board has lobbied for a change in the state stature, so that the current dress code would fit and be considered valid.

The superintend Gary Norris believes that the court has not said that the new dress code is not to be done as much as it is to be edited to fit the dress code law.

News 3

news briefs Beak ‘n’ Eye, Shaheen attend conference

By Taylor Richlen Thirteen members of the Beak ‘n’ Eye and yearbook staff attended a state journalism conference Oct. 13 in Iowa City.

These students were a small fraction of over 300 students from various schools all over Iowa. The students participated in sessions focusing on different aspects of creating a newspaper, from photography to the writing of the articles to the actual layout of the paper. There were many professional speakers at the conference, including journalists and college professors. At the conference, the Beak n’ Eye staff received an honorable mention award in writing for last year.

The school newspaper staff currently consists of 13 students. At times, it can be difficult putting the paper together. Adviser Steve Lyle said that while it only takes “about five minutes to look at a page,” it might have taken about “five hours to put that page together.”

New improvisational club hits West High School

By Preston Eisenhauer Improvisational club “Destination Imagination” started last Wednesday, November third after school.

This was just a quick meeting to organize teams, and membership is still open.

“Destination Imagination”, or D.I. for short, is an improvisational game putting its participant’s creative thinking and problem solving to use. For example participants are given a species which they need to either save or destroy. They are then given character roles they must include such as; the reluctant super hero, sarcastic, depressing, etc.

By Erin Pershall

87,053 Lbs.

By Kayla Mirfield

Photos by Erin Pershall

HELP ME SAY GOODBYE - Christene Daae, senior Lauren Vickers, kneels on stage during a solo piece.

No. 2 West Art by Vinh Nguyen

to be a haunting triumph

Monster musical proves

POINT OF NO RETURN - The Phantom, senior Brad Rees, attempts to seduce Christine in the one of the final scenes.

Annoying song fades

By Erin Pershall

you 12 college credits throughout the year. It also gives you the eligibility to try and enroll into Scott Community college. Each term of this class is worth 3 credits.

Student built home is funded by many sponsors and these sponsors allow the group of students to construct a house. Most of the students this year are from west high school such as Josh Hillman, Cody Young, Alex Karwath, Kyle Bennet, and many more students from other schools. Some students from North Scott would be Trey Jacobs, Austin Coobs, and Richard Copely. The last of the students in the first class are from North High School, and they are Joe Kern, and Shane Beover. This is only half of the students, the other half of them are in the second class.

So far this year, student built home program has had a very late start due to the sponsors being late to the job site. Students are behind schedule by at least two weeks. At the beginning of the school year, we were behind schedule by maybe 2-3 weeks. We are catching up slowly as we are around 1-2 weeks behind now.

Last week the students were working on the roof and this week we should be finished with it. “The people that will be moving into this house will be amazed by the amount of work that the students have done.”

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

The Gazette quoted Norris. stating, “We are not going backwards to regular clothes. By the way, student, tomorrow, the dress code is still in effect,” he said for the Gazzette newspaper.

They do not plan to go move backwards and go back to the ‘normal’ clothing of jeans and t-shirts. They do not plan to make the parents waste their money they have already spent on the new dress code. They plan to keep the dress code but write the rules in the appropriate format.

The state board will vote to modify, affirm or deny the ruling Nov 17.

Science Club plans first meeting soon

By Katie Winkel Science Club this year does not have too much scheduled at the moment. There will be a meeting in two weeks though, according to adviser Rene Leitz.

This is will be the first meeting of the year.

The science club meets every month, once a month in room 119. At their first meeting the club selects officers, which are students that are leaders of the group.

During the science clubs meetings they discuss projects and ideas of what they’d like to do this year.

They also discuss projects. Some of the idea Mrs. Leitz has for this year is recycling old cell phones, going caving in the spring, visit the botanical garden, visit the weather center, and send students to the science bowl in January.

Dance team practices for winter sports kick off

By Titan Linville West High dance team will perform at the winter sports kick off at the gym November, 18th at 6p.m.

Dance team coach Lisa Schmitt said, “We have a much larger team this year and they are working very hard”.

The dance team has won many awards such as the character counts award, academic award, and last year they had division 1 ratings and they won state.

While being on the dance team can be challenging it can also be rewarding Schmitt said “Two dancers went to college to dance last year”. Schmitt also said “Most of the team could go further with dance”.

Speech and debate team takes first place

By Gregory Windeknecht The Speech and Debate team won the Bettendorf Invitational on Oct. 23 at Bettendorf High School by earning first place in the majority of events.

The tournament, held by Bettendorf annually, takes place in October. There were numerous speech and debate events offered at this tournament includingPublic Forum Debate, Original Oratory, and Legislative Debate.

Dan Dankert won second place in extemporaneous speaking. Storm Miller won first place in extemporaneous speaking. Greg Windeknecht won first place in Legislative Debate. Maggie Rietz, coach for the Speech and Debate team, said “We did a great job at Bettendorf!”

The Speech and Debate team is gearing up for the Harold C. Keller Invitational, held annually every December here at West. “We have a lot of work to do, for the HCK, before December”, said Storm Miller, President of the Speech and Debate team, “But I’m sure we can get it all done in time”.

Speech and Debate is formally known as the National Forensics League. It is one of the largest student organizations in the nation by membership. Rietz said, “The purpose of the NFL is to give knowledge to students”.

Eli Kirschbaum, Vice President, added “On our face we might seem like the nerdiest club in school but truly we are the most legit club at the school”.

Page 3

4 Faces

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

What do you like/hate about your job?

poll

SOURCE: Beak ’n’ Eye survey of 151 students

Fareway

Kendall Tawney- Senior Like: I like that I can work at my own pace.

Hate: I hate how I can’t depend on the people I work with.

Kaleigh Drumm- Senior Like: I really like my manager; I think he’s really nice and works withanyone’s scheduling very well.

Hate: I hate all the drama there, but you’ll get that anywhere you work no matter what.

Chuck E. Cheese

Silvercrest

Amanda Milne(below)- Senior Like: I love the residents and the free food at work.

Hate: I hate how I don’t get a lot of hours.

Hardee’s

Kaela Davisson(left)- Senior Like: I like most of the people I work with and how it’s usually an easy job.

Hate: I hate the winter because that’s when we get packed and there’s a line out the door. I also hate waiting for the kids to pick prizes at the counter.

Chris Wolfram(middle)- Senior Like: I love the kids’ reactions to getting even the smallest prizes.

Hate: I hate the over dramatic adults that try to yell at everybody.

Bo Reed(right)- Junior Like: The hours are good and everyone at work is pretty cool, too.

Hate: The only thing I don’t ;like is that it gets busy.

Jamie Sanders- Senior with manager Sophia Harrington Like: I like the customers that come make fun of me, and I like the money.

Hate: I don’t like how far away I live from here.

Hy-Vee

Robert Hines- Senior Like: I like the people I work with, and i like the paycheck.

Hate: I hate pushing carts in the cold weather and cleaning the bathrooms.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

There are two muffins in an oven. One mufiin looks to the other and says, “Holy crap, it’s hot in here.” The other muffin says, “Holy Crap, a talking muffin.”

Tyler Powers, senior

What did the ghost say to the vampire?

-You suck.

Dylan Mitchell, junior

TITLE

Photos by Heather Hayes

See Mr. Lyle in Room 161 for details.

Favorite Jokes

How can you tell if it’s raining cats and dogs?

-When you step in a poodle.

Vinny Cannavo, junior

Kelley Wallace- Senior Like: I like the people I work with because they’re easy to get along with.

Hate: I don’t like that it takes forever to get done.

Why not write a guest column for the Beak ‘n’ Eye on a topic of your choice?

Or draw an editorial cartoon that makes a point about a current issue?

“I feel like I’m somebody...I’ts a real, cool and exhilirating feeling.”, said Speech teacher and standup comedian, Chris Schlichting. He feels as if he’s accomplishing something and doing something a lot of people can’t do. “A lot of people may claim that they’re funny, but they don’t actually get up and tell jokes to strangers.”

He used to visit Comedy Club Penguin before it shut down. “Open Mic isn’t really fun or beneficial for my career. Now I have to travel a lot around the Midwest and Indianapoli,” he said.

His motivation was his English teacher doing open mic night at sports comedy clubs. “I thought that was like so cool and so interesting. I just thought that was so unbelievable so I really wanted to beat him”, said Schlichting. After hearing what his English teacher did, he wanted to do an open mic night so he could go on with his career. In high school, he just knew he could do it.

“Now my motivation is just to kind of make money, and to kind of show that I belong with the other good comedians, which is kind of tough in Iowa.”

One of Schlichtings favorite comedians is Steve Martin. “His comedy was kind of weird and goofy and it looked like he was having fun out there.” He compares himself to Martin who believes that “comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”

Most would believe humor should be a tool used for improving communication and putting people at ease.

Something that can relieve pain, boosts immunity, and rest the brain. “There’s other comedians that get really political, and religious, and mean sometimes.

That’s not my style because that’s not my personality,” he said. “If it’s obvious that you’re having a good time, the audience will have a good time too, so that’s what I try to do.”

According to Schlichting, his jokes are absolutely “flawless and beautiful.”

He doesn’t let bad shows or jokes bring him down “I’ve been doing comedy for about six years and for every good show I’ve had, I’ve had probably about ten bad ones-ones that just do not go well. But unfortunately it’s the only way to learn.

Like speech class; you don’t know what two minutes feels like up there until you actually go up there and do it. You don’t know what’s funny until you actually go up and try it.”

Being a stand-up comedian, you have to have had something that brought or brings an impact on your life. Being a comedian, Schlichting has to find time for his school job and for his family. “I have to put my family first which is kind of bitter sweet. Since I have kids and a wife I got whole new jokes and comedy”, said Schlichting It’s hard for most comedians to come up with different ideas. “It took me five years to come up with 30 minutes of comedy”, said Schlichting. “So as my life evolves- when things happen to me, I find the humor in it and I develop it and put it in my act so it’s worked out pretty good.”

His jokes are mainly family jokes and personal jokes of himself. “I just do it as a way to kind of deal with people making fun of me.” Instead of picking on others, he finds a way to pick on himself.

“Sometimes hecklers give the crowd the impression that I’m mean, but by me being mean to myself [is] you’re just basically doing what I’m already doing.”

As a kid in high school, Schlichting imagined standup comedy as his career choice. During speech class, he would be thrilled to go in front of his classmates and recite a speech. “When I took speech in high school I had a blast. I took it and I was just like, people get to listen to me?

Like I get 2 to 5 minutes so people can listen to me?”

During college, Schlichting tried to expand his involvement with being in front of people on stage. “I got involved in theatre in college and that was another way, and don’t tell Mr. Hess, but the one

Where does a general keep his armies?

-Up his sleevies!

Reid Herrig, senior

Sandals

Artististic expression needs an outlet

Speech teacher also standup comedian

By Keysha Long

Do you have a job?

Yes 39% No 61%

JCPenney

Standup Comic

Leisure 5

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

MUSIC

4:42 PM

Taylor Swift CD-Speak Now

The iPhone 4

TECH

11/30/2010

MOVIE

BeaknEye_ISSUU_3_10_

Paranormal Activity 2

difference about theatre and stand up is in theatre you’re being somebody else.

You’re not you. What I like about stand up is it’s me”, said Schlichting.

He not only wanted to be a comedian. Even though giving people a good laugh was manageable, he also had other aspirations “I love writing.

That’s the one thing you could always control.

You may not be able to perform all the time but you could always be writing. I always have notebooks with me and if something happens to me I’m like, dude that might be funny, and I’ll write it down.” He realized his writing could also be useful for other important aspects besides notes. He took advantage of that during college. “I love to write plays, short little skits like the stuff you see on TV like the Dave Chappelle Show and Nick Swardson.”

Schlichting is really satisfied with his career path but nothing can stop him from his passion for teaching. “If it came down to being a successful comedian and making millions or staying a teacher and teaching speech, I will definitely stay a teacher and teach speech,” he said. He looks at standup comedy as a way of expressing himself as a person and he also knows he’ll improve.

“Hopefully I continue to get better and get more exposure.”

Chris Schlichting rehearses his routine for a comedy club

Top 5 Comedians

Bill Cosby Steve Martin Eddie Murphy Jerry Seinfield Dane Cook

“My favorite is Dane Cook because of his very obscene jokes.”

Kayla Mirfield

SOURCE: Beak ’n’ Eye survey 20 of 126 students

Where to see comedy

PENGUINS COMEDY CLUB 421 W. River Dr., Davenport, IA. Located in the middle of downtown Davenport IA. One of the main attractions of the town, it hosts both ameteur and big name comedians.

CIRCA’ 21 SPEAKEASY 1818 3rd Ave., Davenport, IA. Circa is home to comedy in many forms. The new improv group called “The Blacklist” will be performing there COMEDY SPORTZ At the Establishment Theatre (formally The Rocket) in the district of Rock Island This family-fun comedy show has moved to this new location and opens in December.

quick takes

BACKGROUND

WHAT’S GOOD

WHAT’S BAD

Released on oct.25. The 10th album Pop and country singer, Taylor Swift has came out with and priced at $10.

Her new CD is said to break silence. The first song on the album is titled “Mine” and that song alone is proof of how well this CD has turned out.

“Sparks Fly” and “Speak Now” sound a little to similar to her old songs “Love Story”

iPhone 4 is an enhanced and multimedia smartphone. it is marketed for video calling, music, movies, games and plenty more.

The iPhone 4 offers enhanced performance, a lovely new display, it also adds a ton of sorely needed features.

home screen folder are limited to 12 apps. AT&T reception continues to be spotty, and you’ll need a case for the best calling reception

Directed by Tod Williams, Paranormal Activity is very intense thriller rated movie.

The quote, “I paid for the whole seat, but i only need the edge” occurs to this movie. Ghosty scenec keep you jumping and holding on to who ever is next to you

There are many plain parts that lead up to exciting ones, which can lead to a bored audience.

GRADE

B

The music sounds good and it’s cheap.

A

It’s a very neat phone with cool features.

B

A lot of scary scenes and it almost seems real.

10

things to do

NOV. 15: Toy Story in 3D at the Imax at 1:60 pm

NOV. 19: Harry Pooter and the Deathly Hallows pt.1 NOV. 21: Fesitval of Trees Parade. Starts at 11 am and happens at River Drive and 2nd street.

NOV. 24: Love&Other Drugs

NOV. 25: Jingle Jam. 811:30 pm at the River Center

NOV. 26: Mallards Game at the Iwireless Center at 7:05 pm DEC. 1-5: Disney on Ice at the iWireless center.

Times Vary.

DEC. 10: The Chrinicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader DEC. 28: Teen Night at the Rock Island Library ages 12-18. 6-7:30 p.m.

DEC. 30: Jeff Duhnham performs at the Iwireless Center at 8:pm.

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BABY

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I’M HAVING A Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, Noveber 12, 2010

10 Symptoms of Pregnancy

Teen mom’s life totally changes

By Krista Johnson

Contractions started for 15-year-old Tateum Cheatheam on a summery July day, but they didn’t end until much later. In between the long, intense pains, Tateum and her unborn child became very ill, and faced death because the baby wasn’t breached downwards and Tateum could not dilate all the way, Tateum’s water broke long before she actually began to deliver, which caused an infection that could spread through her and her daughters body. She had high blood pressure along with the baby. The doctor told her that unless she had a C-section, she and her baby might die.

Tateum found out she was pregnant in November of her freshman year. “I don’t believe in abortion, and I felt that I was old enough to have sex, so I need to be old enough to raise my kid.”

After making the decision to become a parent, Tateum and her grandmother, Connie Smithiger, who she lives with, prepared for what was ahead.

Tateum knew she’d be a single mom early on, and realized this would add to the hardship. “I should have waited to have sex, then had safe sex, and made sure I was in a stable relationship.”

F o r Grandma Connie, who was in the process of a knee

Getting her daughter a drink is one of many responsibilities junior Tateum Cheatheam has after her day at school.

surgery, the fact that her granddaughter was even having sex was a surprise. “I cried, she was 14 years old and my emotions wer just unreal, I couldn’t believe it. She had been on the pill because of her periods, but we never had the chance to have “the talk”, and I just didn’t think it would happen.”

“I never thought I would get pregnant, but I really just wasn’t thinking,” said Tateum.

After nine months of pregnancy, and 52 hours of labor, Alyssa Cheatheam, Tateum’s daughter was born on July 17, 2009, the summer before her sophomore year.

“Labor was the hardest thing I’ve gone through,” said Tateum.

For Tateum, now a junior at West High, getting pregnant as a freshman definitely changer her life.

“Everyone seems to think that raising a baby is going to be easy, but it’s not.” However, bringing home baby Alyssa was just the beginning of the difficulties involved with being a mom.

“When you get pregnant, you lose a lot of friends. You can’t go out and do whatever you want. A baby depends on you at all times,” said Tateum. “When you have a baby, you sleep when they sleep. I’ve ran on two hours of sleep before.”

One thing Tateum hasn’t had to worry too much about is the financial aspect of raising her baby. Tateum admits that her grandma helps her with a lot of things but Connie claims she only gives financial help, so Tateum can continue her education. “Her education is first, but I don’t change diapers, that’s her job.”

So while Tateum is in school, baby Alyssa goes to daycare. Because Tateum has all her credits, she was able to have her fourth block free, allowing her more time to be with Alyssa. After picking Alyssa up, Tateum and Alyssa usually spend their time at home.

“When I do have a babysitter, my friends act like they’re busy”, says Tateum, who feels people expect her to spend all her time in the house, because she did have a baby young. So as of now, Tateum is mainly and most importantly a student at West High School and a mother to her daughter.

After graduation, Tateum wants to become a pre-school teacher and has figured out that her daughter Alyssa will be the right age to possibly even be in her class. After this she hopes to go on to earn a psychology or sociology degree.

“It’s tough on her, but it’s the choice she made and she has to take care of her baby, so she has to get her education”, says Grandma Connie, who is willing to help Tateum for as long as she needs it, just as long as Tateum continues to help herself and baby. And as of now, Connie feels Tateum is doing “exceptionally well” as a mother.

“I guess you’re either a mom or your not,” says Grandma Connie.

“I wouldn’t trade her for the world,” says Tateum, who knows if she had waited things would be easier, but with all the help her family has offered, she also knows that her goals can still be met and life always goes on.

How the Quad Cities is dealing with high teen pregnancy rates

By Krista Johnson

Scott County has one of the highest birth rates in the state of Iowa. Because of this, many programs are offered around the Quad Cities in order to help young teens who are pregnant or have a child.

One program offered to mothers is Bright Beginnings. Bright Beginnings offers a family support worker who helps mothers with things such as mother/infant bonding, prenatal care education, baby proofing homes, and many other guidance classes that could help with the things that could come up during ones pregnancy or after having a child. Ironically, the supervisor of Bright Beginnings was a teenage mother herself.

Tera Weets, who now works with many new moms in order to help them meet the goals they set for themselves, understands the life of a teen that has a baby. “Things took longer and were

harder. I worked full time while I went to college part time.”

“People do get a false idea of pregnancy, it’s glamorized, they see lots of attentions, and love, and its usually not the case,” says Tera, who feel being a teen mom these days is harder because of how much more often teen pregnancy occurs. “I think it may be harder now because there are so many and only so much funding.”

Another popular option that many teens in Davenport choose after becoming pregnant is to go through TAPP, a teen academic parenting program that is hosted by the Kimberly Center School.

TAPP is a program for teenagers, both young men and women, who are having a baby or have already had one and are wanting to finish high school. These teenaged parents can go to Kimberly Center and enroll in the normal high school classes, along with parenting classes such as the psychology of pregnancy. Because Kimberly Center is such a small school compared to the other three high schools in Davenport, it is much easier for teachers, counselors, and staff to understand each student’s situation and allow them flexibility explained TAPP counselor, Jessica Hankins.

Jessica feels many parents choose to come to TAPP because of how flexible

Focus 7

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

and understanding they can be with your schedule, on top of it being a pretty accepting place. With girls having doctors appointments, and having to leave after they give birth, teachers help the girls with catching up and preparing before they go. The program also provides daycare to their students with children, which keeps the parents closer to their child, which is convenient to go to the same place in the morning.

Another simple advantage for pregnant teens at TAPP is their period scheduling, allowing girls to get and move more, take more bathroom breaks and be able to simply stand.

The main goal of TAPP is to have their students graduate. “Our teen parents are a high percentage of students who graduate from this school,” says Jessica, who feels this is because they of all people, have the most to work for, the biggest reason to succeed.

Because having a child is statistically, extremely hard in several ways including financially, emotionally, and physically, many know teenagers need to be aware of the risks. Ways that the community and government are trying to help is through sex education, promoting abstinence, which is the only way to prevent pregnancy and/or STD’s, and offering birth control.

● MISSED PERIOD—a missed period is probably the most obvious sign of pregnancy. ● BREAST TENDERNESS—because pregnancy causes the body to prepare for breast feeding, woman often notice sore, tender breasts. ● FATIGUE—an increase in hormones throughout your body, makes daily tasks seem more difficult for one who is pregnant. ● FREQUENT URINATION—the kidneys and bladder produce extra bodily fluids when one becomes pregnant. ● NAUSEA—usually only lasts during the beginning of a pregnancy but is recognized as morning sickness. ● DIZZINESS OR FAINTING—a low amount of blood sugar can occur after pregnancy, due to the fact that your feeding for two now. ● FOOD CRAVINGS—big cliche of pregnancy is women who crave odd food. ● SENSITIVITY TO ODORS—thought to be due to the extra hormones, many pregnant woman experience nausea from different smells. ● HEARTBURN—as the uterus grows it causes other stomach organs too be pushed. ● MOOD SWINGS AND IRRATIBILITY—due to an increase in hormones.

What are your options?

By Andi Holdt

Most girls do not know what to do once they discover they are pregnant. The best thing to do is first talk to an adult —whether it be a counselor or parent/guardian— and know the options you have.

Parenting Keeping a child when one is still a child themselves is extremely difficult.

A teen mother or father loses their social life, freedom, and ability to just get up and go. A parent’s job is to raise, love, and coare for that child for the 18+ years. There is a 60% chance that the teen parent and the child will live in poverty according to hud.gov.

Adoption (Closed)

A closed adoption means once the child is born, and ready to leave the mother, it is give to another family that the birth mother and father does not know. They do not get contact with that child, and are not allowed to know about the child or have contact with them until the child turns 18. Conditions depend on contract.

Adoption (Open) An open adoption means

that the birth mother and father can still receive pictures and letters from and about the child, but the child cannot live with the biological parents or spend time with them until the age of 18 unless the adoptive parents say it is okay.

Conditions depend on contract.

poll

If you were in a situation where you (or your girlfriend) were going to have a baby in nine months, what would you most likely do?

Keep it - 66% Abortion - 12% Adoption - 22%

SOURCE: Beak ‘n’ Eye survey Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by of 152 students a surgical procedure before the fetus is visible or capable of living outside the womb. This usually takes place within the first two months of pregnancy. A parent or grandparent is required to know about the procedure being processed 48 hours before it takes place. A judicial bypass can allow one to skip this process, but may take three to four days.

Shame made ‘bad girls’ hide from society

By Andi Holdt

It’s 1960. You and your friends have just heard the new rumors about one of your fellow classmates going “all the way” with her boyfriend. A month later, she’s gone.

Many girls who became pregnant in this decade felt great shame and were looked down upon by others.

Teenage pregnancy has become more acceptable over the years. In 1960 the young girl would have been harassed.

In the 1950’s there was a greater social stigma towards unwed mothers.

Many churches were against pre-marital sex and called it a sin.

Even in the late 50’s sex and pregnancy were unspeakable topics on television. I Love Lucy became the first television show to show pregnancy.

Lucille Ball had become pregnant in real life, so the show decided to write her character into the script as a pregnant wife, yet they still slept in separate beds.

In the 1950’s Iowa had an antiabortion law. This caused problems for expecting teens. In the 50’s and 60’s there was maternity housing to help support young unwed teens through their pregnancy. The houses were like

dorms and provided a place for the pregnant teen to stay and be supported through the pregnancy.

Once birth control and societies view on teen pregnancy settled down, the houses became less recognized and people became more used to the scene of teen pregnancy. Between the 40’s and 60’s it was the highest birth rates recorded.

In the 1960’s pregnant girls at West felt the pressure to leave according to Barb Rice, West student of the 60’s.

“Teen pregnancy was never heard of.

They usually were sent to relatives. On the rare occasions we did see pregnant teens, they were treated very bad.

People called them names and threw objects at them. Whatever they could to do make them feel terrible. I remember one girl was harassed so bad she moved out of town.”

Adoption was more common back then because girls like to keep their pregnancy a secret. It was shameful to be pregnant then.

Attitudes changed in the 1970’s because of more liberal thinking. “Free love” and birth control. Still there was a stigma with teen pregnancy. “Free love” was a big part in the 70’s and part of the 80’s, which resulted in high teenage birth rates as well. Many unwed

teenage mothers gave up their children for adoption. This caused social and economic problems for everyone.

Therefore changing opinions of teen pregnancy again. During this same time society focused on the social and financial outlook of young unmarried teens that are pregnant.

“Pregnancy wasn’t good,” Said Andrew Reimers, West graduate of 1978. “My friend was pregnant at 16 or 17, but no one gave her that hard of a time. I’m sure they said stuff to her.

They always made comments, but not to her.”

In the 1990’s one out of every ten teen mothers chose to keep their child according to faqs.org. This is also a time where teen births hit a low for the first time in decades.

Michelle Holdt a West Graduate in 1991 said her sister also felt the pressure of teen pregnancy, “My sister got pregnant when she was 17. They treated her like she was contagious. Her friends never wanted to hang with her and she lost her social life and had mediocre jobs after that.”

Society has slowly become more acceptable with the issue of teen pregnancy over the decades, but is still frowned upon.

When do you feel it is appropreiate to have a child?

“When you’re married because you both can support the child.”

-Sterlin Hale, freshman

“I feel it should be

when you are married because that’s when you have full commitment of the other person.”

-Alex Christenson,

sophomore

“When you have finished college, ahve a steady job, and a stable relationship.”

-Karli Murrens, junior “I would say when you can take care of a plant and a dog; you can take care of a child.”

-Jayda Lewis, senior “I think when individuals are able to provide a stable family environment, a safe home, an economic environment, and loving for the child.”

-John Kealey, social studies

$158.48 Cost for these baby items in one month:

Huggies Diapers Cost: $25 Amount:124 in box Average: 7 diapers per day Monthly cost: $42.34

Huggies Wipes Cost: $2.47 Amount: 64 in container Average: 15 wipes per day Monthly cost: $17.37

Similac Formula Cost: $13.17 Amount: 12.4 oz in can Average: lasts 4 days Monthly cost: $98.77

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8 Sports

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

fall sports wrapups

By Cody Lewis

Football

Coach: Jeremy Moiser Record: 1-8 MAC: 9-10

Overview: “Wish we could have had more wins, but we got better each week and we played hard each night!

We need to put in a solid off-season of work to get stronger and faster. We need to continue to get more people to come out and play football. If we can do that, the next season should be a successful one.”

Volleyball

Coach: Vern Keeney Record: 4-20 MAC: 2-7

Photo by Brianna Bellmna

HELMET TO HELMET- Two west students demonstrate what an illegal “helmet to helmet” tackle looks like.

Concussions hitting West

By Brianna Bellman

“There have been more concussions this year than I’ve seen any other year,” said Alyssa Stephenson, the school’s athletic trainer “and I don’t know why”.

There have been questions to how we are supposed to prevent such injuries. “Don’t play sports” Stephenson says jokingly, “you can’t prevent a concussion. For example a football coach can teach how to tackle but he can’t control the other 21 people on the field”.

“The equipment use to be a lot safer back then but helmets don’t prevent fractures”. Some signs and symptoms are blurred vision, head aches, memory loss, and delay reactions.

Senior, Hailey Kitzmann received a concussion from tumbling at her cheer practice. Doing a back flip and rotating too far to land and hit the back of the mat. In result, caused her to sit out of cheer and swim practice for two to three weeks. Kitzmann didn’t know she had the concussion until after a month of it slowly showing up. She

was dizzy, her balance was off, always tired, and had bad head aches.

Junior, Tanner Greenwalt received a concussion during football season, he cannot remember what happened. The last thing he remembers is going up to his coach with a broken helmet.

Greenwalt was out for five weeks and five days and he couldn’t do anything that raised his heart rate. His symptoms were memory loss, zoning out, and massive headaches. Greenwalt spent a day and a half in the hospital and says “my mom hates that I do sports now because of the concussion”.

“A lot of people don’t understand that if you are put in too soon into a sport you can receive second impact syndrome” says Stephenson. Second impact syndrome is when you get another concussion before the first one has already healed. “This can result in being paralyzed, being a vegetable, mental disabilities, or even death.” The importance of treating this injury is first priority.

Athletic trainer no longer wrapped

By Brianna Bellman

A lot of jobs are not appreciated for the time and effort put into them. Alyssa Stephenson, or Ali the athletic trainer at West, speaks about her job.

“I tape about 30 to 40 students every day and about two to six doing rehab every season”. An example of rehab for an ankle sprain would be ankle pumps, calf raises, and balance.

Ali goes through about 20 rolls of pre wrap and tape everyday. “I cover all the home varsity events and travel with the football team,” Ali says. “There are nine football games and I couldn’t begin to tell you how many I go to in a year”. It is a busy job.

A nurse and an athletic trainer can sometimes be confused to do the same things. That is not the case. Ali says “If someone were to come up and say they weren’t feeling good I would go send them to the nurse because that’s not what I Photos by Brianna Bellman see every day. If someone came up to the nurse with a strain or broken WRAP ME UP- Athletic trainer, Ali Stephensonwraps Kenzi Kraklio’s with ice in ankle, she would send them down the trainers office for basketball. to me.”

Not every school is required to have an athletic trainer. A lot of 1A and 2A schools “double quad tendon rupture. A don’t have one. “Every school in the MAC girl Olympic weight lifter in ANKLE has a trainer. I think it would be nice for Colorado Springs dropped 500 INJURY- Ali every school to have one but not every pounds on her legs. She demonschool can afford that,” says Ali. If the high screamed.” strates Ali’s facility is located in school does not have a trainer, the parents how to are called immediately and coaches act like between the Y pool and the Y wrap up a gym. The equipment is nice and the trainer. student’s To become a trainer it takes a four year she can treat most injuries. Ali is ankle in bachelors degree and Ali has been doing happy to help any student. If the trainthis for six years. Her job requirements are you are thinking about perusing ers office. to evaluate, treat, and prevent injuries. The this career Stephenson says She says salary of athletic trainer depends on the “You see a lot of different shegoes experience and responsibilities of the job. things. You can see all the sports through 20 The median salary for an athletic trainer on the sideline which is nice. rolls of with less than one year of experience is Don’t become an athletic trainer about 31,000, with 2-4 years it is about if you don’t like blood, guts or tape every nasty stuff.”

33,000. day.

The worst injury Ali has ever had was a

Overview: “As far as games won, it would have to be the Muscatine game.

Other than that it would be the experience and moments of the season that makes you closer to your players. I thought there were several games that we could have won if we had more of a competitive nature. It’s important to get the younger kids that aren’t in high school yet in volleyball, so they are ready to compete at a higher level when they get to high school. It benefits them a lot if they put time in during the off-season.”

Swimming

Coach: Brian Heller and Mike Wells Record: 4-6 MAC: 5th

Students go crazy for fantasy football

By Chase David

Fantasy Football is a game based on the NFL but you get to control your teams. You go around looking through the league for your favorite players and draft them to your fantasy team. Most teams have just gone on picking the players with the best stats; they haven’t worried about the players that can really make the big plays. The main idea of the game is to draft your favorite players and create your dream team and try to beat other users with your team.

In fantasy football, you’re the coach, and you make the plays. It involves a lot of time and practice to get good at the game. Most people that play the game have been playing for a good while and know what to do.

A few key players that most people pick to draft to their teams would be, Chris Johnson, who is a running back for Tennessee Titans, he is owned by 100% of the teams. Tom Brady is also a favorite quarterback for most teams, and he plays for the New England Patriots. Another player that is picked by most teams is Andre Johnson. He is a wide receiver for the Houston Texans and he has a lot of skill, he has been in the NFL for more then 5 years and he is a great weapon to have for every team. One more player that is generally picked a lot is Steven Jackson, who is currently a player with the St. Louis Rams, he is owned by 99.9% of the teams.

On fantasy football you have the option to play in regular leagues or money leagues. In the regular leagues you play against other opponents for fun or maybe you just want to do something. In the money leagues, you get to play other opponents for cash. You must make a bet before the start of the game and if you beat your opponent, they must pay up, and you can receive the money on a credit card, but you must sign up with NFL.com first before you try the money leagues.

Drama teacher Wayne Hess loves to play

Photo by Chase David

DRAFT - Cody Lewis is looking at Adrian Petersons stats to see if he wants to draft him to his fantasy football team.

Fantasy Football. His favorite team in the NFL is the New England Patriots. It wouldn’t be a surprise that most of his players on his fantasy teams are from the Patriots. Hess has a total of 22 teams on fantasy football and gets on them very often. He averag es around 30 minutes a day playing fantasy

football. His favorite aspect of the game is that he gets to smash his friends just for the fun of it.

Tylor Fowler was a student here at West, but had graduated last year. He is also a Fan of fantasy football. His favorite aspect of the game is that it adds another level to football and that it

isn’t like normal football games. You actually get to control your own team instead of just watching the game. He plays around a couple of hours every Sunday and Monday, and his favorite team is the Minnesota Vikings.

Cheerleaders win state for first time

Overview: “I think we are losing a big group of seniors. We will be looking to our other letter winners to step up and lead the team. We have a good group of freshmen that will help for the next three years.”

‘Oh ya state champs ya!’

Golf

Coach: Chad Wolf Record: 2-83 MAC: 9th

By Felicia Raymond

Overview: Beating Bettendorf was one of golf’s highlights. “They are good kids that are fun to be around. They want and are eager to get better. I thought we would beat more teams but I am hoping next year we will be better.”

Booster Club plans clean-up day

By Ashley VanWinkle

West Boosters Club will host a volunteer clean-up day Saturday, Nov. 13, to help around the city and give West a much better reputation.

All athletes willing to help and anyone they wish to invite will meet in front of the school at 10 a.m. wearing some West spirit wear. Students will walk around from neighborhood to neighborhood all around Davenport until noon. No one is required to stay that long but it would be appreciated if you could.

The goal for this is to possibly give the students an opportunity for potential job opportunities or scholarship recognition. “We want the community to have a good view on West students” says Brenda Jordahl-Buckles, president of the West High School Booster Club.

For this particular event Boosters is only looking to adult helpers and volunteers to help the kids with everything. But Boosters is always looking for volunteers and new members. You can sign up or join any time of the year.

The winter sports tip off sponsored by the Booster Club will be held at 6 p.m.Thursday, Nov.18 in the gymnasium.

During the tip off all winter involved athletes playing basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, or dancing and the coaches will be introduced and recognized with a background of the band and cheerleaders. “This is a pep rally for all students involved, and the goal is to maybe get more involved,” Jordahl-Buckles said.

The goal for this event is to encourage spirit as well as making awareness to all of the athletes that are involved.

Volunteers are wanted to help work concessions and to sell spirit wear. If you or anyone you know would be interested contact Jordahl-Buckles at jordahlbuckles@aol.com.

Sports 9

Beak ‘n’ Eye

-Friday, November 12, 2010

GO WEST- Cheerleaders support our football team at the Bettendorff game.

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By Brianna Bellman

Cheers to the cheerleading team for winning state in the 4A coed division Nov. 6 in DesMoines Iowa at the Hy-Vee center.

The team consists of 23 students of which five are male. The three captains are Brad Rollins, Kayla Warell and Savanna Bramstedt.

Megan Black, senior, recalls that the wait to begin was unbearable.

“We all were really nervous, I felt sick to my stomach, and “Black said “I was excited but nervous. I was just full of emotions.”

They faced three other schools.

“Our biggest competition I believe was fort Dodge,” said Savanna Bramstedt, junior, one of three of the captains, “They won

state last year and I thought for sure they would win again, I did have hope for us though.”

“Practice went really well. We hit all the stunts,” said Bramstedt.

“We knew we did well,” Black said, “but we didn’t know how well.

During the performance I felt super pumped. I had this energy rush. We hit all the stunts and the only mistake was that a boy stepped on a sign which is a safety hazard.”

“When they announced Fort Dodge for second place we just stood there, thinking did we win? Did we win?! Then they said our name and we started screaming.” Bramstedt said.

“We did cry. But they were tears of joy. On the way home we were screaming on the bus Oh ya! State champs ya!! Like 157 times! We are getting shirts with that saying on them now,” Black said.

“I cried,” said Bramstedt, “It was a huge accomplishment the team did a great job and worked so hard.”

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10 Voice

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Illness outbreaks more concerning than we thought

our view

Art by Vinh Nguyen

Spirit of giving lost in students

Rewards for giving to good causes are, it seems, a necessary evil: even public and independent television stations are known to have pledge drives with rewards of DVDs and T-shirts as “gifts” for donors. If incentives like these didn’t exist, the sad truth is that some valuable charities would not be able to go on.

The issue is simple: society’s priorities are not where they should be. A selfish society can’t last, but this situation with charity, even at West, is a very public symbol of our society’s transformation: social responsibility is most often shirked.

West has many ways to encourage students to donate to the food drive. Not only is it a winnable competition, but students bringing in some amount of cans or money gain privileges (for instance, ten cans can get a student out of one detention).

Fun activities used to aid a cause are fine, but when people must get something in return for everything good they do—in the form of rewards for the food drive or an allowance for a necessary obligation

like schoolwork—is when there is a problem. A group of people cannot survive if they are not looking out for each other, but some West students, and many adults, almost seem to embody selfish concern.

The fact that some teachers rewarded donation with grade-raising advantages like using notes on a final has other implications as well. While some students can afford to give some extra food or buy cheap cans of food for the purpose, many poorer students cannot afford those luxuries, and are thus at an educational disadvantage. Incentive-based “charity” can have unseen and detrimental effects on society.

With the high number of families seeking emergency food assistance, it is amazing that any student wouldn’t be inclined to aid the food drive without incentives.

The number of people in poverty in the U.S in 2009, according to the Census Bureau, was 43.6 million people—14.3 percent of the population, and that was a rising figure. Sacred Heart in Rock Island

is the oldest food pantry in the Quad Cities, and it already helped over 13,000 area families this year before the food drive began.

With such high numbers, every student at West or any other is connected to a person in need of assistance. Many students did step up and take action, and they should be recognized for all of their effort.

But many also asked, “What does this have to do with me?” and, if they donated, only did so because of an unrelated reward.

The food drive, utilized well, could be an opportunity for all students to learn about the value of others’ lives and problems as well as how to fix them, rather than to focus on their own minor problems.

Instead of piling on ways to pay one’s way out of punishment or a bad grade, perhaps students and staff should return to the spirit of what charity is supposed to be: it’s not about what you want; it is about giving your time, money, or food when someone needs it more than you, simply because it is the right thing to do.

Imagine yourself in a meeting in the Oval Office as the President of the United States of America. You are meeting with terrorist leaders in an attempt to make peace and stop the horror. You, as well as your people, want this war to be over, but the terrorists refuse any sort of deal. One leader, arguing that the U.S. is not the victim, pulls out pictures of troop cruelty to POWs in Abu Ghraib prison. Many remember how this terrible ordeal was brought to light, and dealt with. What if it had been kept a secret? As of now, you can boast to the terrorist leaders that this problem has been fixed, but if it hadn’t been revealed, you wouldn’t have that luxury.

Although it may not be quite that dramatic, this is the problem that WikiLeaks is trying to solve. This group has leaked a lot of classified information in the past, and on Friday, Oct. 22, they beat their own record by releasing the largest classified military leak in history despite government protests. The Iraq War Logs includes many reports (391,832 to be exact) of friendly troop cruelty and way more casualties – both civilian and military – than have ever been reported to American citizens.

The First Amendment concern is important, because we have a right to know the truth about what is going on overseas. So in one perspective, WikiLeaks, who is “fearless in [their] efforts to get the unvarnished truth out to the public,” is a heroic organization, fighting for our freedom to know what the government is not telling us. However, many others see an almost traitorous agenda. What if this information is used by terrorist organizations as propaganda against our cause, and that in turn further destroys our efforts to end this war?

This is the fear of the Pentagon, which in its statement about the leaks said that “this security breach could very well get our troops and those they are fighting killed.”

When this information is posted on the internet where both friend and foe can see it, there is a risk that it be used against those who are seeking to end the atrocities.

According to their website, WikiLeaks (which bears no relation to Wikipedia) was officially launched in 2007, with the mission to bring important news and information to the public. Many arguments center on the fact that individual people are under severe risk through these reports, but after

scrutiny of the actual logs, this dispute has been disproved. Names of individuals have been cut out of the reports, adhering to WikiLeaks’ promise that they “do not censor [their] news, but … may remove or significantly delay the publication of some identifying details … to protect life and limb of innocent people.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time the media has uncovered government secrets.

Many remember the surreptitious Abu Ghraib prison tortures, the scandalous Bill Clinton affair, and of course, the infamous Watergate scandal. All of these secrets were concealed by the government, but were uncovered by outside sources (AKA the media). Because of these revelations, these problems were fixed, and as far as we know, they have not happened again.

This is the true mission of the media.

As American citizens, we have the right to know the truth about what our democracy is doing, because we have the power to fix it. We need to forget about the way our country looks, and strive to repair its imperfections. WikiLeaks is only helping our government, and should be thanked for their courageous acts.

WikiLeaks reveals war secrets

What is your favorite fall activity?

“I love going to orchards to pick apples!”

-Anna Wells freshman

“I like to play football in the fall because you don’t get all sweaty like in the summer.”

- Brian Lines sophomore

“Fall baseball.”

-Alex Riessen junior

Some students wonder why the school has made such a huge fuss recently about whooping cough when only two confirmed cases are present at the school.

Administrators fear a repeat of the 2005 pertussis epidemic, but that concern should not belong with only the school officials. Since the spread of disease can have a negative effect on every student, teacher, and administrator, everyone should take the issue seriously and perhaps consider more preventive options.

Sick students are a nightmare for the school. Not only do those students miss school, but dealing with those absences makes it harder for teachers to teach and for other students to learn. Even if a student comes to school sick, any standard symptom of illness—sneezing, coughing, shivers, whatever it may be—make it very hard to focus for both the student and those around them. The situation is more complicated if a teacher catches the disease. Everyone knows how hard it is to learn in a class when the substitute doesn’t know the material like the actual teacher does.

Even illnesses that seem like no problem (such as the common cold or the flu) are dangerous to certain groups of people: very young children, the elderly, or anyone who has a weakened immune system for whatever reason, because they can’t fight back against the disease.

This is why the spread of illness is such a huge concern: even a cold can kill. Pertussis is known for being particularly deadly to babies, and they can often catch the infection from their parents. A student with a younger sibling or a grandparent really can’t afford to get sick, and we need to approach the idea of epidemics at school this way.

The reason why even two cases is a big deal is that diseases spread fast in schools. Each student has up to four classes per day, with about 20 or 25 students per class. Any one student can come into close contact with over a hundred students each day. With the possible dangers of even mild illnesses and the ease of transmission, each student should be concerned about the spread of disease and be as helpful as possible for public health officials, doctors, and nurses working to contain disease.

There are ways of preventing epidemics from becoming a problem in any situation. One effective option is to mandate physicals and up-to-date vaccinations throughout the entire school career. In Illinois, students are required to undergo three physicals: once for kindergarten, 5th grade, and 9th grade. Appropriate immunizations against a range of diseases are administered at those physicals.

Although it’s possible to catch an illness from a vaccination, it’s rare and with all other students immunized it’s much less of a public health issue if one person becomes sick. Furthermore, if Iowa adopts a stricter policy in regards to health at school, it should be a federal issue. If states all had the same laws, then a transferring student would not have to struggle with doctor visits before attending school.

The truth is, a concerned person need not wait for a change in the law in order to staunch the spread of disease. There is a vaccine for pertussis and there are vaccines for strains of influenza, so these should not be issues. West even offered free vaccines against tetanus, pertussis, and diphtheria a couple of years ago because of the 2005 epidemic, but not many students took advantage of the offer, even though the nurse believes they would be highly beneficial for the students if they had done so. This is why, in light of the public health benefits, vaccinations should be mandatory—and cheap.

Mandatory immunization is a good thing overall for our students; it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Editor-in-chief News editors Focus editors

Sports editors Leisure editor

Voice editors Pulse editor Adviser

“My favorite fall activities are marching band and drumline.”

-Alexin Stanton senior

Compiled by Bradley Rees

Heather Hayes Felicia Raymond Kayla Mirfield Erin Pershall Krista Johnson Andrea Holdt Chase David Brianna Bellman Cody Lewis Keysha Long Sarah Buffenbarger Caitlin Henkel Bradley Rees Kayla Mirfield Steven Lyle

The Beak ‘n’ Eye serves the West High student body by informing, investigating, and interpreting events which concern students. It also provides an open forum for its diverse readership.

The school board grants student editors the First Amendment right to determine the coverage and content of their pages. The adviser’s role is to teach and advise the staff so that it can follow responsible journalistic practices.

Readers are encouraged to submit letters to Room 161.

Letters should be 300 words or less and should be signed. We reserve the right to edit the letters for length.

Unsigned editorials represent the consensus of the student editorial board and not necessarily the views of the adviser, administration, or Davenport Community School District.

The Beak ‘n’ Eye is published eight times a year from 3505 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA 52804.

Member of Iowa High School Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, and Quill & Scroll International Honor Society.

dim view

Voice 11

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Dirty playing needs to be sacked from sports programs

Injustice in school miffs senior prank victim

Art by Brianna Bellman

There’s a fight in the hall, but one of the persons involved was just defending themselves. Since they fought back, they get in trouble. Is this fair?

You’re having a conversation with someone when somebody else makes a rude comment to you about what you said, and you say something back to them. Because you said something back, you get in trouble for “causing a disruption in class.” Is this fair?

You’re a cashier at a local grocery store, and a customer is rude to you for no apparent Heather reason. You stand up Hayes for yourself by asking the customer to please calm down and take it easy. He complains to the manager and you get written up without having your side of the story being listened to. Is this fair?

Some injustice along these lines happened to me a few weeks ago.

I walked back into the locker room after gym class and discovered that my clothes had been covered in water and the floor was wet only by my belongings. My class obviously did not have swimming, and I knew which class did. I also only know two people in that class, and one of them and I don’t exactly see eye to eye.

But, I cannot prove it was her since I did not see her actually do it. The whole scenario caused me to get upset, and I went around the locker room asking for whoever did it to own up. Of course, nobody did, and the teacher sent me down to the office

to fill out an incident report.

Later that day, I was called down to the office to get the situation figured out. The person I suspected ended up with no consequence since it cannot be proved that they did it, and nothing was done about my clothes. I also ended up with SSC for causing a disruption in class. Is this justice?

It is not fair for someone to get in trouble when they are solely standing up for themselves, and have the person in the wrong walk away without so much as a slap on the wrist. This is NOT justice. Isn’t there such a thing as probable cause?

Probable cause, as defined by lectlaw.com, is a reasonable belief that a person has committed a crime/offense. If there is plenty of reasoning as to why this person is in the wrong and everything points to them, then it’s most likely THEM. Right? Of course they aren’t going to admit they did something wrong; that would mean they would get themselves in trouble. Only a responsible ADULT would do such a thing.

People should not get into trouble for standing up for themselves instead of running off to the teacher to fix their problems. Isn’t that what we are taught to doto try and solve our problems by ourselves, instead of having an adult try to do it for us? I think that we as teenagers have to learn how to fix things ourselves. I’m not sure how we are supposed to do so when the first time we try to, there are consequences for it.

When I tried to stand up for myself in the locker room, I thought I had every right to get upset about my clothes being damaged. Yes, when I get upset, I can get loud and angry. But does that mean I should be punished for getting emotional?

While I was in the office supposedly getting the situation squared away, I was not treated fairly. I am 18-years-old, a legal adult, and I feel as though I should have been treated as one. But I wasn’t. I was treated like I was still in elementary school. Like I had done something oh-soinappropriate. I have never before gotten in trouble at school. I have had good grades and never been a disruption to any class for the 13 years I have been in school. The one time I get upset, I am treated as though I have been a trouble maker and a nuisance all my life.

I just do not understand why between me and whoever poured water on my clothes, I was the only one to have a consequence. I would not have gotten upset if the situation had not occurred. It was their fault that I got upset, so shouldn’t they have a consequence, too? Apparently not.

All I’m saying is, the administration should have looked at it from my view, instead of from only theirs. I should have been treated as an adult instead of a child stirring up trouble. I haven’t been a trouble maker in school, ever. And it only makes sense to me that they should have taken this into consideration. That hey, this student has never gotten a bad mark, maybe there really is a reason as to why she is making a big deal now. If this would have happened, I would have bitten my tongue and been fine with my consequence.

What I learned from this is that in future situations when I need to stand up for myself, there are going to be consequences, whether there should be any or not. So the next time you try to stand up for something, know you’re actions have reactions.

As winter slowly approaches, winter sports are beginning to creep into the back of our minds. Sports like ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, etc. are all finding public attention. But the sport I find the most interesting is mushing, or the art of running sled dogs. This sport is not widely looked at by the public eye; at least not in the lower 48 states, even though it is one of the most ancient practices on Lindsay the planet. However, O’Keefe some people do no see this sport in the same light. PETA is one of these nay-sayers.

PETA says that sled dog races are cruel and need to be banned. Although I am an animal lover and believe animals should

have rights, PETA takes this issue to the major extreme.

When President Obama swatted at a fly during an interview, PETA complained.

People, it’s just a fly. There are billions of them, and millions of them are swatted at.

PETA needs to know what battles they should be fighting, and President Obama swatting at flies is not one of them.

The ending of sled dog races should not be a battle they are trying to fight either. It is true, as in all things, that there are some people who will take it to the extreme.

There are people who beat their dogs when they disobey or act out of line, but these people are definitely not the majority.

When people think of mushing, they think of movies such as Iron Will or Snow Dogs. The bond between man and dog shown in these movies are very accurate.

Iron Will is also accurate in its depiction of the abusive villain. Again, as in anything,

there are people who will be cruel to their animals, but this is not the norm.

One fact that I doubt PETA has considered is the Siberian husky’s need to run.

These dogs live to run. That’s all they want to do, that and to receive affection from their owners. If these dogs did not run races like the Iditarod, they would not be happy. They would simply be deprived of their natural instincts.

I have met multiple mushers who run their dogs in races, and they are some of the most animal-loving people I have ever met. They deeply and passionately care for their dogs. These people would not wish harm on their dogs for any reason.

There are reasons races like the Iditarod require two 24-hour stops. This requires both the dogs and humans to stop and rest.

Sled dogs are not being abused. They are doing what they love, for the people they love.

guard step up to try and settle the kids down.

I was truly upset and disappointed when I learned an administrator allowed the students to be dismissed before the bell had even rung. It hurts me to see such a big high school act the way the student body did. We could have the best school events and the most amazing schools spirit, but no one seems to care about anyone but themselves.

I want every student that was talking during the aud and who is reading this to realize that any given person around you could be depending on the food from this drive and you talked and acted as if you did not care. Imagine how that person felt.

If everyone would have been quiet, people would have been able to hear what was being said.

West has a chance to make a difference in the community and the lives of others by being involved in this drive. As many know this is definitely NOT the first time we have participated in such an event. This year we want all the student body involved in helping the community and America.

On an ending note I would like to say after viewing how our school acts it makes me question whether or not the students deserve to sit at an aud. It also makes me wonder if we should let them have a homecoming or a variety show. They do not seem to appreciate anything we do for them. We put so much time and work into everything that anyone who complains should join senate or get down on the floor and do what we do. It’s sad to say but staff and administrators are the same way.

-Katilyn Kelly, senior

PETA’s dog sledding complaints a little ‘mush’

Rude behavior at kick off

On behalf of myself and many other students actively involved in Davenport West High School activities, I’d like to say the audience performance at the 2010 Food Drive kick off was HORRENDOUS, to say the least. Many members of student senate sat on the east side bleachers astounded as to how our student body was acting. The students were very rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate, and horribly mannered individuals. There were only a select few that seemed to be paying attention during the presentation.

Teachers are always telling us we need to be respectful and listen during class, but I did not see one teacher step up during that presentation to quiet the students. Nor did I see one administrator or security

letter to the editor

Do you want to win by playing dirty? That’s the case with the NFL, NCAA, and high school football teams right now. The NFL is accused for the whole helmet to helmet, which is when the tackler goes for the tackle with his head towards the other guys head and 88% of the time the offense or the defense player will get hurt from the play. The NCAA and high school football level are doing unnecessary chop blocking, which is when the defensive or offensive line at the snap of the ball goes straight for the others lower leg, giving a chance to easily break another’s ankle or leg.

James Harrison of the Pittsburg Steelers tackled a player from the Cleveland Browns with a helmet to helmet. He was charged $75,000 and he made a Cody scene to get the charge taken Lewis away but didn’t because he was had been charged with this previously.

Explained by trainer and doctors, if you tackle helmet the risk of brain damage is very high. There is more of a chance of you getting hurt on a helmet to helmet play than you getting hurt throughout the season from other injuries. Helmet to helmet is a dangerous way to go through with a play for the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side.

High school helmet to helmet injuries have been occurring a lot in the last couple of years, particularly within the Quad Cities. In 2006 Rock Island’s running back Travis Hearn got tackled by his own teammate on a kick off during the game against Aleman Sept. 22. He passed away Dec. 4, 2008, after being paralyzed from a football game.

Also more recently during the Davenport Central vs.

North Scott game there was an incident were Davenport Central’s quarterback Kyle Franklin got hurt. To try and get an upset, Central went in that game with anxiety and hope. North Scott on the other hand already thought they were going to win it. So after every completed pass for a gain, North Scott would get more and more upset.

After Quarterback Kyle Franklin from Davenport Central threw a 45-yard pass to Tony Bakeris, he got a late hit three seconds after he threw it.

I’ve been in MAC games when a lineman will block you by the throat, or punch you in the stomach. Even when you are on offense and you are going to block them, they will get low and chop block your ankles and possibly break either your shins or possibly break your ankles when they go down for that dangerous area during a play. That was supposed to be banned from football but the referees don’t call anything anymore.

I feel that everyone should play fair, because the people out there trying hard are getting hurt by people who don’t care about anyone else but themselves. They go ahead and play the game like they don’t care if they hurt anyone, but that’s not right.

Also, the coaches and referees need to start paying attention to the game a little more. If an athlete is getting tackled after the whistle, or if you see a player punching another player, you should consider calling that as well.

I respect Coach Moiser from Davenport West when he pulls us out of the game if we do something out of line. He would not let his athletes get back on the field unless they cooled their jets.

If coaches and refs allow the dirty plays to continue, players face an increased risk of concussions, broken bones and internal injuries. A game just isn’t worth a lifelong injury.

Letters Wanted

Want to write a letter to the editor but having trouble starting? Just fill in the blanks we have placed below and the rest will come! You’re welcome!

Dear Editor,

I am very ________ about ______________ (adjective) (story)

Because ____ is very ________. The _______ (noun) (adjective) (plural noun) should _____ their ________ work and ______ (verb) (adjective) (verb)

more _____. When I read the story, I felt (noun)

________ that _____ was _____________ and I (emotion) (noun) (past-tense adj.)

think the _____ needs to ____ and _____. (noun) (verb) (verb) Yours truly,

_____________, ______ (name) (grade)

Actually, you can write the letter the way you want to.

We just want to hear from you. Submit letters to Room 161. Thank you very much for your cooperation!

BeaknEye_ISSUU_3_10_

11/30/2010

4:46 PM

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Beak ‘n’ Eye

Friday, November 12, 2010

Teachers’ last text messages

L OL

Mrs. Lightner - “6:30?”

:P

What was news in the Beak ’n’ Eye? 1968

● The homecoming float winners ● Political forum about the Vietnam War ● Girls competed in field hockey and synchronized swimming ● No members were in Falcon Club ● Jimi Hendrix plays the Col Ballroom ● Seniors get study hall privileges

● Rumors about West switching to a computerized registration ● The Y is open friday nights for high school students to keep safe ● North goes from from junior high to a senior high school ● Theatre preformed ‘Sound of Music’ ● West has a new grading scale

best Facebook groups

10

1.

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4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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1984

Mr. Gann - “Thanks for the chicken and noodles... we loved it”

Ms. Reagan - “You’re on a Facebook ad for St. Ambrose” Mr. Strunk - “May god bless you this day. Do your best thats all any of us can do”

:)

Mr. Ganzer - “You’re the hottest thing since sliced bread.”

Mrs. Manders - “Haha he is pretty excited, It was a crazy game.”

Mr. Anderson - “We should go golfing sometime this week, it will be nice next wek and i have one more free range”

G OM

BRB TTYL

Mr. Heller - “Good night everyone”

How to...

get out of a ticket...maybe

Whenever I see a kid wearing Heelies I secretly hope they fall down and cry.

Terrorists have 2 eyes, pandas have 2 eyes.

Coincidence? I think not.

“Where’s my phone?” “I’ll call it!” “It’s on vibrate!”

“Everyone SHHHH!” “No friends in common” “So that’s a ‘no’ to Mujhammad.”

“Baby On Board” Oh well I WAS going to ram your car but now i guess not..

A pee emergency

You gotta go when you gotta go, and no cop can stop you.

Cry baby

What cop can give someone a ticket when they are scared and crying?

I was going to post something on Facebook but then i remembered i have family on here.

I realized that after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says W.T.F.

Yeah, ok, yes, yeah, yeah, ok, yes, ok, I know, ok, yes, BYE MOM. “Will there be boys there?” “No mom, it’s a nun party.”

If i fail my exams it’s Facebook’s fault.

Your ad could have been here Call 563 386-5500 to advertise in the Dec. 17 issue

Fill the white space

Play a little flirty

If the cop is the opposite gender, a little flirting wouldn’t hurt to slide your way through.

Bus around a pregnant girl

If someone in the car is going into labor, even pulling over is a bad idea. The cop has to let you go.