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THE BIG PICTURE
FEATURE
Friday, September 24, 2010 Volume 88, Issue 1 1200 Broad Ave., Findlay, Ohio, 45840
Senior pursues dream of dancing with Rockettes
NEWS
Meet the
Fans show Trojan spirit
royalty
Check out our photo essay of the Friday night experience. Read senior Austin Bright’s firsthand account of how students paint themselves and gear up for the game.
page 6
page 6
Read why each Homecoming candidate thinks they should be your king or queen and why they deserve your vote on Tuesday.
senior Lance Sims
d n i f
page 4
WEATHER TODAY
Isolated T-storms High: 87 Low: 54
SPORTS Volleyball aims for eighth title page 8
TOMORROW
SUNDAY
Sunny High: 70 Low: 48
Partly Cloudy High: 66 Low: 53
n
junior Brennan Bookmeyer
“I’ve heard of this happening and I would simply suggest the schools tighten their policy but also get students the help they need.” Dr. Deborah Moore
Athletes outsmart drug policy n
By John Sisser
Searching the car, the police find several things: old pop cans, some fast food bags and buried deep in the glove compartment, a tiny Ziplock bag filled with a green leafy substance. Busted. The consequences? Jail, fines, out of school suspension and sitting out of the sport that could be your ticket to college.
The loophole At least, that might have been the case. But student athletes are finding a loophole in the sports drug policy, and more and more are cheating the system each season. To avoid being ineligible to compete, many student athletes will join another team, sit out that season and be cleared in time for their sport of preference later on. Senior Emily (name changed to protect identity), who found this loophole and participated in another sport last year, doesn’t believe the athletes
BLAST
from the
are getting off scotch-free. “Everyone already knew why you were there (at practice) and it was really embarrassing,” she said. “It just sucked going to practice everyday; it was a punishment in itself.” After serving her ineligibility in a different sport, Emily was able to participate in her sport later on. Other student athletes, however, have not been quite as lucky.
Student response Senior Andrea (name changed to protect identity) was caught for alcohol abuse just before her sport started and had to sit out half of her season last year. Even so, she’s not convinced there is anything wrong with others finding a way around the system. “The only thing that was unfair is that I didn’t have that chance to do another sport before my sport started,” Andrea said. “It’s not fair to those that don’t have that opportunity.” Others don’t think the policy is fair. “It (the policy) doesn’t treat people fairly,” junior Brennan Bookmyer, a cross country runner, said. “When I’m in a sport, I enjoy the team effort and the work we put into it. When people disrespect the sport I love, it really bugs me.” Although some athletes find the loophole offensive and disrespectful to their particular sport,
PAST
Four years ago today, Pluto got demoted from its status as a planet because astronomers estimated that at least 70,000 other objects of the same size and composition exist in its region.
5
things that make you look smart today
Feature................5 Photo essay........6 Feature................7 Sports..................8
Report card shows lack of progress
“When I’m in a sport, I enjoy the team effort and the work we put into it. When people disrepect the sport I love, it bugs me.”
Anonymous source
INDEX Editorial...............2 Entertainment....3 News/Feature.....4
sophomore Kayce Krucki
a g n i
“Everyone already knew why you were there (at practice) and it was really embarrassing. It just sucked going to practice every day, it was a punishment in itself.”
Students dodge team suspension after breaking rules
page 5
Emily disagrees. “It’s not affecting them (other athletes) in any way,” she said. “I don’t find it disrespectful because the sports that people go into aren’t team sports, they’re more individual sports.”
Administrative stance Dr. Deborah Moore, Associate Commissioner for Eligibility of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), has heard of students finding this loophole in the past, but believes her organization’s hands are tied. “Our focus is not to dictate these school policies,” Moore said. “We don’t have the authority to do that. “I’ve heard of this happening and I would simply suggest the schools tighten their policy but also get students the help they need, because that is really what it is all about. The focus should be on getting them treatment.” Athletic Director Nate Weihrauch is also aware of the problem. However, no specific changes to the drug policy are currently being considered to seal the loophole. “We will always continue to look at ways to update our policies to help prepare our students,” Weihrauch said. “We want to be there for our students and guide them in making positive decisions and hopefully our policies reflect that.”
By Michaela Marincic
Findlay City Schools received a bittersweet report card from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) as some schools showed improvement while others lagged behind. The high school went from the second highest rating “Excellent” in 2007-08 to “Continuous Improvement” the past two years, a drop ODE consultant Melissa Malloy Ramirez attributes to not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). “If Findlay had met ONLINE AYP, it would probably be on the line between Effective and See our website for Excellent,” Ramirez a link to the high said. “But because it school’s report card for more was not met, it is now details on how the in building improvement year four (fourth building and district stacked up. year AYP is not met).” AYP is a set of blueandgoldtoday.org goals for improving reading and mathematics scores and graduation and attendance rates. When the goals are not reached, AYP is not met, and the high school cannot rank higher than Continuous Improvement until AYP is achieved. Due to these shortcomings, Ramirez is stepping in to help form a Building Leadership Team to review data such as Ohio Graduation Test results, Gallup poll responses and demographics to see where they can make changes to improve student performance. “We talked heavily about the fact that all teachers need to use data to drive instruction,” Principal Victoria Swartz said. “Any survey we give, we read and then we make changes and improvements based on the results.” While specific decisions are yet to be made, the team has three main goals: improve reading, increase math scores and better the learning environment. However, the team does not have a clear plan of action or timeline. “Some action steps we take will make an impact right away, while the broader steps will take time,” Ramirez said. “But every action step will be to improve student learning.” Leadership team member Susan Davidson is optimistic that the committee can achieve its goals for high school education. “We work together to develop strategies to help students learn,” Davidson said. “I left the meeting feeling positive that the team can make a change.”
District earns federal grant n
By Lydia Bauler
Ohio was one of 12 states to win a portion of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top Grant. The grant will be used to make statewide improvements and reforms in education, including Findlay City Schools (FCS). “I hope we’ll be able to fund programs that will help students achieve academically,” Assistant Superintendent Craig Kupferberg said. Here are the main points you need to know about the grant: • FCS will receive approximately $500,000. • To get the grant money, Ohio passed education reforms. • Grant funds will be used to train teachers to meet these new state standards. • A new curriculum was developed to keep up with the state mandates. • Money will be available after Dec. 30, 2010 and spent over the next four years.
1. Seventy-nine percent of today’s college freshmen were accepted by their number one choice. 2. Ohio liquor sales increased $12.8 million from last year to a record high. 3. Today’s court hearing for Lindsay Lohan’s drug test failure will determine if she’ll be sent back to jail. 4. Ten thousand pounds of pumpkins decorate Cedar Point for their annual HalloWeekends celebration. 5. George Washington owes approximately $300,000 in library late fees.
Lohan