Century Star issue 7

CENTURY

STAR

13 The end of an era 28 A different perspective

45 His keys to success and happiness

Century High School 1000 E Century Ave

April 2011

LAST

CHANCE to get your yearbook!

Yearbook sales end April 30.

Get yours before they’re gone!

Only 30 extra copies will be ordered for next year.

No personalization offered after April 30.

Check out

www.centurypulse.com sports scores blogs news stories your rants and raves Go online to submit your rants and raves, letter to the editor, and more!

Career training.

Money for college.

And an entire team to help you succeed.

Serving part-time in the Air Guard, you’ll have an entire team of like-minded individuals who want to help you get ahead.

You’ll also receive a steady paycheck, benefits and 100% tuition assistance.

Talk to a recruiter today, and see how the Air Guard can help you succeed.

Century

STA R

Century High School 1000 E. Century Ave. Bismarck, ND 58503

adviser

sueskalicky

editor

sammimoss

assistant editor web editor assistant web editor web section editor web programmer

tonyabauer maddybarney carriesandstrom allithorson alexpiyamahunt

design editor

briannabrown

news editor

racheliverson

opinion editor

maddybarney

sports editor entertainment editor close-up editor

alyssameier

expression editor photo editor

rachelneumiller

copy editors

carriesandstrom colemanspilde

shorts manager

alyssameier jeremijaarnold tanisailer

accountant

kylepalmer

ad designer

colemanspilde

photographer designers

reporters

I am made up of seventeen years filled with friends and laughter, music and movies, family and love. I could live the rest of my life off of pasta, bacon cheeseburgers and lemon bars. I sleep with four stuffed animals every night. The only thing I hate more than shoes are socks. I used to cry when my mom used my middle name because I thought “Erin” was a boy’s name. I’m terribly messy and I hold grudges. I don’t want to go to college, I judge judgemental people and I hate the movie Mean Girls.

I fully intend to live in Italy and ride my bicycle everywhere.

abbykopp

rachelneumiller

business manager marketing manager

Dear Readers,

allithorson

And this is only part of who I really am.

tanisailer dinamoss zuzannaprostrednikova jilliansisk sydneyharvey

The STAR newsmagazine policy The Star policy is a document that covers everything from our purpose to our plan of action if something goes wrong. It’s the staff’s guideline as to how our decisions are made. The Star is a student-generated newsmagazine published through the efforts and decisions of its editorial board and staff without any prior review. It is produced, edited and maintained by students. It is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its audience. The Star and its staff are protected by and bound to the principles of the First Amendment, made possible by the Constitution and various laws and court decisions implementing those principles.

The Star staff will strive to report all issues in a legal, objective, accurate and ethical manner, according to the Canons of Professional Journalism developed by the Society of Professional Journalists. The Canons of Professional Journalism include a code of ethics the Star staff is encouraged to follow. The Star publishes itself and covers the budget costs entirely through advertising sales, subscriptions and fund-raising projects.

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Century High School 1000 E. Century Ave. Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 323-4900 ext. 6627 Fax (701) 323-4905 century_star@bismarckschools.org

Walking through the halls every day, we pass hundreds of faces we don’t know. Yet, even the nicest among us are guilty of making snap judgements- we assume the worst. But if we really knew the people we passed in the halls, we would see that they are more than their clothes, smiles and glares, their class ranking or athleticism.

That is what this issue is all about. We want to give you a small glimpse of who you pass by every day. We want you to realize that these sophomore boys don’t just dress up to get a rise from the crowd (p. 18). We want you to understand that this senior’s wheelchair doesn’t stop her from doing the things she loves (p. 27). We want you to know that fashion means more than just pulling on a pair of jeans for this sophomore (p. 46).

There is no way to capture who, exactly, a person is through words alone, but we have done our best. It is up to you to get to know these people and to let people get to know you.

Sammi Moss

3

April

2011 11

13

The Eiffel Tower is hidden somewhere in the issue. Will you be the first one to find it? The first one to find it and show up to room 117 will win a gift card.

9

{News

A new direction

A teacher’s tech-savvy approach to learning

11 Vegetarian Values

How this lifestyle choice is impacting a Century student

12 Trouble in Paradise

A Century student’s encounter with a tsunami

13 The three R’s

A retiring teacher looks back on what she learned at Century

{Sports

16 Mario becomes a fan 18

These basketball game regulars know how to pump up a crowd

19

Expressing her point

A student’s devotion to dance

19 My little ponies

The unbreakable bond between a girl and her horse

20 Champion of dedication

A look at what drives one Century state champion

21 Running her way

A track star is stepping out from behind her sister’s shadow

{Close Up

24 What lies beyond

Students travel beyond the USA borders

27 If you really knew her

A student proves she’s not so different

28 In focus

A passion for photography blossoms

30 Elemental beliefs A girl find her strength 31 Opening their eyes

Planning her future is only the first step

18 28 31

33

33 34 35 36

{Opinion

50

Maddy Abby Jillian Rants and Raves

{Entertainment

40 Season of harmoney

This student explores all aspects of music

43 Got game

It’s more than just a mindless game

45 The keys to his happiness

A student finds answers in his music

46 A wacky wardrobe

A student uses style to pave her path

47 Keepin’ it classy A teacher’s take on fashion 48 A musical medley

A girls explores her love of music

50 By a long shot Four students add a challenge to an ordinary game 53 The city with twelve gates A short story by senior Mike Bjork

my life 54 It’s A look into the randomness that is Elizabeth Schaff

46 47

short.racheliverson

Dakota Stage debuts new program Dakota Stage has added a new program to their already bursting summer schedule. The Children’s Technical Theater Program is taught by MFA designer and BSC theater department technical director Dean Bellin. Students 12 through 18 are welcome. The participants will build the sets for “The Wizard of Oz” at Dakota Stage and “Monster in the Closet” at the Frances Leach High Prairie Arts and Science center. Bellin will instruct students in intricate design and the tools/ materials needed to to build the sets. Construction is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. on weekdays between May 31 and June 22, alternating between the two sites. The cost is $80 per student until May 1 then the price rises to $95. In addition, once a student is enrolled a discounted price is offered for any siblings enrolling.

Registration begins online April 1 at www.shadetreeplayers.com. Only the first 25 registrants will be accepted. For additional information call 701-214-1061.

Halftime hoops benefit cancer short.tonyabauer

The Century High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams raised $500 for the American Cancer Society to be donated towards breast cancer awareness. The girls’ basketball team raised funds during a halftime hoop shoot and donated a percentage of the money brought in by the concession stand.

The boys’ basketball team contributed $100 to the total. Senior and avid hoop shoot participant Dillon Downing didn’t know where his money was going but is glad that it benefits a good cause.

“That’s a good feeling,” Downing said. “I’m glad it’s going to something good.”

N E W S

He believes it is a fun, entertaining way to spend halftime and supporting a good cause is an added bonus.

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{News

may cause depression short.rachelneumiller

?

Although Facebook can provide a sense of connectedness and friendship for content/happy students, Facebook has an opposite effect on students who are unhappy or prone to depression.

Approximately 60,000 pediatricians recently spoke out about the possible dangers of Facebook. Besides the risk bullying and predators online, depression may be caused or worsened by the use of Facebook.

On

Facebook users often boast of fun, happy times in their photos, posts and number of friends. Those who do not have an abundance of friends or activities sit back and watch the events of other people’s lives unfold, in the unrealistic, virtual world of Facebook. This can make said users feel left out or unpopular; doctors disagree as to whether Facebook creates new anxieties or simply builds on those already present.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com

the issues short.colemanspilde

March 28, the Senate approved House Bill 1229, which requires schools to promote abstinence in health education as opposed to just explaining why abstinence is the safest method. The STAR asked students how they feel about the Senate’s approval of the bill.

Source: http://www.bismarcktribune.com

“If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it. I wouldn’t listen to the advice of the school, probably rather my mom or my religion instead.”

- Junior

Samantha Baglivio

“I think it’s a good thing because teen pregnancy has prevented people from having the lives that they could have.”

- Sophomore Jenny Besmer “It’s a good idea and a bad idea because some teachers don’t want to teach [abstinence].”

- Senior Wyatt Sabot “No comment- awkward subject.”

- Junior Erika Quist “It’s a good idea because it doesn’t make you emotionally tied and then heartbroken.”

- Sophomore Cameron Hoovestol “I agree with this decision. It should be taught in schools because health classes don’t teach it right now so I think that has helped to promote teen pregnancy.”

- Senior Bailey Carlson

A new direction profile.colemanspilde

photos.allithorson

Q. What would you call your teaching style?

A. I would say that it’s very technology-driven.

Q. How would you describe it?

A. I like to do a lot of technology-driven things. I’m a baby teacher, so I’m still trying to find my teaching identity.

Q. What do you think you do differently in your class as opposed to other English classes?

A. I would say that 98 percent of my resources are online. We play games in class sometimes for vocabulary, which has really helped my test scores go up.

Q. How do you use technology to make students more involved in the class and their work?

A. I use our class Web site so students can go online to find their notes and find links to the games that we use to study for our vocab tests. I also have a calendar set up so students can go online and find out when assignments are due and what happened in class if they were gone.

Q. What are some of the drawbacks to having a class that is so technology-oriented?

A. It’s hard for our class to get into the computer labs because they are being used by other classes so often. If we had a portable lab we could get so much more time in. Also, sometimes I see students who come in and are excited to learn with computers but then you get some students that don’t have e-mail, so trying to supplement tech for English is hard.

Q. What do you look forward to?

A. Well, I really like making handouts. It sounds really geeky, but I started out with an art degree in college. So anytime I can design skeleton notes and make them pretty, I get really excited.

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching at Century?

A. I think just being able to hang out with [students].

When I get excited about teaching and when [students] get excited about learning something. For example, I like that I can show “The Dark Knight” in my class and relate that to Caesar and the tragic hero. It’s great because my students end up teaching me things.

9

After Grad Party for CHS, BHS, and South Central

Hypnotist Scott McFall New Generation DJ Caricature artist Photo booth Free food all night!

Prizes include: Apple iPad 2, laptop, microwave, dorm fridge, iPods, gas cards, and many more!

Come to the BSC Student Union on May 23rd.

10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Tickets cost $10. Students must be at least a sophomore, however, no one 21 or older. Seniors may bring up to 2 guests.

ID is required to get in. Remember: this is a drug, alcohol, and tobacco free gathering.

News}

Vegetarian values A look at the decision behind a senior’s lifestyle choice

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story.tonyabauer photos.abbykopp

t was a crisp January morning, January 4 to be exact. Snow covered the ground, winter break was over, and school was resuming.

The alarm rang sometime between 6 and 7 a.m. and it was time to wake up.

It is important that a vegetarian understands what they are taking out of their diet when they remove meat, and Jacqueline realizes that.

She eats a variety of fruits and vegetables, along with meat substitutes like Tofurkey.

Most people wouldn’t think much of this day, but for senior Jacqueline DeGraff, this day was the beginning of a new way of life. She decided to become a vegetarian.

“It’s healtheir because you pay attention to what your eating,” Jacqueline said. “So you’re always looking at the back of the box like, ‘What’s in it?’”

As of now, Jacqueline has been a vegetarian for over four years. While Jacqueline still eats fish so she can get her protein, she hopes to someday eliminate it from her diet.

While Jacqueline believes that vegetarianism is becoming more popular and accepted, Fisher thinks acceptance is a slower process in North Dakota. Because of where Bismarck is located, centered in a state filled with dairy farmers and cattle ranchers, meat fills the grocery stores and restaurant menus. It’s always the focus of a meal which makes eating out more difficult for vegetarians.

“I plan on taking that out sometime, probably soon,” Jacqueline said. “But I would never become vegan, that would be so hard.”

Jacqueline decided to become a vegetarian to reduce her carbon footprint and become a healthier person.

Licensed Registered Dietician at Medcenter One, Kelly Fisher says one must be careful when becoming a vegetarian because it isn’t guaranteed to be a healthier option.

“I have seen very unhealthy vegetarians,” Fisher said. “It takes a very disciplined person I think to go vegetarian. In order for it to be successful for them, it has to be very important to them.”

“I don’t think it’s as much accepted as it might be in other parts of the country,” Fisher said. “I think that there is a lot of misunderstandings about it.”

It may be tough at times for Jacqueline, but she is confident in the lifestyle choice she made and plans to continue her journey as a vegetarian.

“If I couldn’t kill it myself I wouldn’t eat it,” Jacqueline said.

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Trouble in paradise story&photo.abbykopp

Stuck in Hawaii on the scariest night of the year

I

t’s senior year. A snowy winter ends with a relaxing, 10-day trip to Hawaii. The first six days are a typical tropical paradisedolphins, snorkeling and laying on the beach. The seventh day rolls around, and suddenly, paradise isn’t so perfect anymore.

Senior Calli O’Shea and her family were in Hawaii the night an earthquake and tsunami shook Japan to pieces and threatened the population of the western United States.

“That night we were actually at a luau. We were coming back on a bus and I started getting all of these crazy text messages about the things that are going on. They’re like, ‘You need to watch out, a tsunami is coming and all this Japan stuff is going on,’” Calli said. “Me and my sister are pretty much crying because you never know- we never see anything like this.”

At about 10 p.m., after the initial craziness, Calli and her family retired to their hotel room. Sirens were going off and police were going up and downs the streets. Up on the 20th floor, the O’Shea family waited for more information.

“There were intercoms in every hotel room so they would give us updates,” Calli said. “Everyone had their TVs on the news and, it was just super freaky. Finally, around 1 a.m., I started to settle down, and I just went to sleep until like 3 a.m.. They were constantly saying things over the intercom, like, ‘If you need to get in touch with family members now is the time to do it,’ and at like 3:05 a.m. they finally did the last one. They are like, ‘This is the last, final communication before the tsunami hits, so get ready.’”

At 3:21 a.m. Calli and her family piled out onto the porch to watch the tsunami.

“All of a sudden, it got really quiet, and this huge

mist came over the top of everything and you could just see it and feel it. It was just this super eerie feeling,” Calli said. “You could see the white caps, and all of a sudden they were gone. Then the mist went away, and we could see out again, and there were these huge waves, not tsunami waves really, they were just these huge waves that were crazy.”

Luckily, most of Hawaii was safe. The North Shore took a beating with two harbors ruined. The side of the island Calli was on, though, received nothing more than some wrecked kayaks.

“The next day it was super freaky. We would go out onto the beach and the shore line would recede. Places where it would be four feet deep you could go stand and there would be two inches of water, and all of a sudden it would all just come washing back up,” Calli said.

The trip didn’t revolve around the tsunami, Calli had many other once in a lifetime memories.

“We went snorkeling one day and on this dolphin excursion. There were probably just ten people on this little boat. It had that yellow tubing around the side. We swam with real wild dolphins. They would come up next to you and slide next to your skin- it was just like I never see these things,” Calli said. “We were whale watching and there was these huge hump back whales all over the place. You don’t get to see those things every day. You don’t even believe it’s really happening.”

Back home, Calli returned to her job at Universal Athletic.

“It’s a lot more personal, so when people come in the door it’s a lot more like I really get to meet them and get to know what kind of sports they’re playing, what kind of things they need,” Calli said. “I’m really a people person like that, and I love clothes.”

Although she played soccer and volleyball in the past, she no longer plays sports. Right now she is focused on going to NDSU to pursue a degree in dermatology.

The three A lesson in reading, respect and reality

S

profile&photo.carriesandstrom

he stood at the front of the classroom, her classroom, and grinned to herself. The students arrayed before her had varied but familiar looks on their faces.

Some’s facades were alert and focused, others’ eyes drifted towards the window through which the first signs of spring were beginning to show and a few anxiously tried to finish up the day’s assignment under their desks. The scene was comfortable and natural like a well-loved pair of jeans.

Up there in the front of the classroom, she was at home.

Thirty-four years ago, shortly after the bricks of Century High School were laid, English teacher Kathy Peterson entered the buildingshe’s been here ever since.

Peterson has been a colleague, a mentor and a trailblazer.

She has impacted students and staff alike and now, 34 years later, Kathy Peterson is retiring. “[Leaving] is kind of bittersweet,” Peterson said.

For Peterson, going into teaching was an easy choice. She grew up in a family of teachers and watched her mom and siblings make differences in the lives of their students. “[Teaching] is in my blood,” Peterson said.

Getting her first teaching job after college in the town of Bottineau at the young age of 21, Peterson says she’s come a long way from coming to work in a mini-skirt and platform shoes.

“It seems so strange, how I’ve changed,” Peterson said. “I’m so much wiser. It seems like I have ears that hear everything and eyes in the back of my head.”

Since the time she started, Peterson has made her mark as an English teacher who teaches respect and reality

R’s

News}

along with reading, and by starting Century’s American pageant class with history teacher Jan Reisenauer.

“It was our brain child,” Peterson said.

English and history naturally coexist and led the duo to put together the unique course taught in a tag-team teaching style. During their time teaching together, these two friends have grown into a tremendous team of teachers. “[She] really tries to see the good in everything,” Reisenauer said. “And that has been about as good as it gets- to work with somebody who is positive and wants to do what’s right and wants to do what’s best. It’s just been a real privilege.”

For the past 34 years, Peterson has been teaching at Century, but for this professional educator, perhaps some of the most profound lessons have come from the experience.

“Teaching has taught me patience,” Peterson said. “Teaching has taught me flexibility. Teaching has taught me that it’s important to make a difference in students’ lives- to reach out to those who can’t speak for themselves, to add something special for those who already know so much.”

Peterson has seen teachers come and go. She’s been here through administration changes and remodeling.

In the time since she first arrived, Century has become more than a work place- it’s become a home.

“I really love Century High School,” Peterson said. “And when you walk in the doors of Century High School, for me, there’s so much history- there’s so much pride.”

Now, as she prepares to retire, English teacher Kathy Peterson only has one thing left to say“Thank you to the present and past students for making my career enjoyable. And a thank you to my colleagues too- working with some of the best.”

And we, the students and staff of Century, thank you.

"Teaching has taught me patience."

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Still need your senior pictures taken?

Find Details Photography on Facebook!

Hot tips on fantasy baseball with senior

Tom Keller short.allithorson

photo.tonyabauer

1. Have a good funny name relating to the players on your team, that’s a necessity.

2. Don’t take pitchers in the early rounds of the draft.

They’re overrated and not as consistant as batters.

3. Take advantage of the loopholes and league settings. Sometimes the leaders don’t set it up right so you can can get away with some things.

4. Before the draft make a list of sleepers.

5. The first baseman and corner outfielder are the most valuable because they are the best hitters and produce the most talent.

6. Trading is overrated. It’s all about the mid-season pickups.

Game on

short.tonyabauer

Students share the songs that get them in the zone “Heart of a Champion”- Nelly “It makes me think positive about me and my tennis team.”

- junior Danielle Hauck “Faith”- George Michael “It is kind of silly and really upbeat.”- Senior Alyx Presler “I like it”- Enrique Iglesias “It is just awesome.”- sophomore Peyton Lind “Anything by Ke$ha for sure.”junior Marcus Dietrich “Build Me Up Buttercup”The Foundations “It is by far my favorite song, and it gets everyone in a good mood, fired up and ready to go.”- senior Tessa Neameyer “The Second Coming”- Juelz Santana “It’s a good pre-game pumpup song.”- senior Chris Rivinius

S P O R T S 15

Expressing her pointe Senior Carly Crane dances through life profile&photos.zuzanaprostrednikova “Dance, to me, is a complete form of expression.”

For senior Carly Crane dancing has always been a priority.

“It’s just what I do,” Carly said. “To imagine my life without dance, it just feels like this big empty life.”

Carly started dancing with Let’s Dance Studio when she was just three, after her mom noticed Carly following the gymnastics girls on the TV. Since then, she’s come a long way. She’s had to overcome some challenges, although she never considered quitting dance. Every year, Let’s Dance Studio attends Spotlight Regional competition, and for the last couple years they have even gone to nationals.

The Studio has five total national titles and Carly has three national titles with her dance team. She also placed three times with her solos, and the duet with her sister made it to finals. Last year, she competed in eight dances.

When seven of them made it to finals, she was ecstatic.

Carly has been accepted to Barnard college in New

York City and she will double major in dance and English, but if that doesn’t work out, she will minor in dance.

“Being in a city is just like a really awesome place to be a dancer,” Carly said. “There are so many opportunities everywhere you go. There are many different places where you can dance, where you can rehearseplaces you can better yourself as a dancer. Just being there will help me if I decide to be a dancer.”

Right now, Carly doesn’t think she will become a professional dancer, but she plans to keep dancing throughout college. Being a dance teacher would be a cool job, but she is keeping her future open for now.

“I want to keep dancing forever,” Carly said.

The biggest reward for her dancing is the smiling and clapping crowd, although one

of her biggest compliments was when her dance teacher complimented Carly on the work she had done. Carly teaches regular classes as well as competition teams. She also teaches private lessons and choreographs solos, duets and trios- last year she choreographed 21 pieces.

“I like seeing the girls grow as dancers and I really like choreographing a lot- just getting to be artistic, and especially because it is much more of a challenge to choreograph on someone else than it is on yourself,” Carly said.

“I have to like the musicdance is just a physical interpretation of music, so you need to be the music.

I always try to understand the music and to get across the audience, that it’s not just me, but its also what the artist wanted to say by the music. The connection with the music is what I find really important,” Carly said.

Patriot players

Sports}

short.allithorson

Who’s your favorite athlete?

What is your most memorable sports play you’ve seen?

Troy Polamalu has been one of my favorites, I also like Pierre Garcon from the Colts and Steve Prefontaine.

I watched Dejen Gebremeskel not only finish, but win the 3000.

Darin Malafa, senior Boys’ track

Adrian Peterson

Superbowl XLV when the Steelers played the Cardinals. Roethlisberger last minute throw to win it.

Football for sure.

Carson Wentz

Austin Hilzendeger, junior Baseball

Aaron Rodgers

Any touch down pass by Aaron Rodgers.

Football

Other than me...

Carson Wentz.

Becca Splitt, sophomore Ice skating

Brett Favre

Brett Favre’s first touchdown in his last game.

Football is my favorite.

Alexis Jacobs because she represents the girls’ side very well.

Savannah Link, senior Girls’ track

Head start

Place feet in the blocks, with the leg you want to push off with, or your leading leg, in front.

The marshall will say setstand up, with fingertips on the ground.

Favorite sport to watch?

Who is the best athlete in the school?

I can’t pick one single best My favorite athlete because I know so sport to watch many people who come is football. so far and represent our school so well.

Senior Sam Holly shows how to use a track starting block short&photos.rachelneumiller

At the shot of the gun, jump off and start running.

Run, run, run and then win.

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{Sports

Super Mario men

story.racheliverson photo.submitted

T

Three students, three super Mario characters, three new mascots and three reasons why they do what they do

he presence of a few super characters at may help the men behind the masks too. the basketball games has been noticed, “I feel like I’m invincible- that nothing can and now expected. Sophomores stop me,” Michael said. “As long as I have Riley Riehl and Braxton Felch started the trend my mushroom on nothing can stop me.” and a more recent sophomore mushroom The idea took a while to come up with , Michael Grossman has joined them. but they finally decided they had gotten it “I dress up to emphasize pride, and our right after contemplating other characters. pride in our school,” Riley said. “I’m Luigi- we “There was multiple characters we thought since there isn’t really a school mascot, were going to choose, but a dynamic we would come up with something that is fun.” duo of two people,” Braxton said. “We The costumes give them a way to display pride were thinking Batman and Robin.” and support for their team, but the costumes

Their colorful costumes have given students something to talk about during half time, and they feel their costumes have becomes a part of their high school experience.

“The first time it was pretty cool, but after a while it just became natural,” Braxton said.

They plan to keep the tradition going until their senior year and are hoping others will keep their legacy going. So don’t be surprised to find some pretty animated characters sitting in the stands next year.

My little ponies

Queen pageants include Katie Heid and her horses, but there is much more to the story than that profile&photos.rachelneumiller

A

fter waking up, feeding her horses and taking care of her dogs, she goes to school like every other high school student. She loves math and science class and sits with friends at the lunch table. But with her cowgirl boots, dimples and a quiet sense of joy, she is anything but every other high school girl.

Senior Katie Heid has been competing in queen pageants for a bit longer than a year. In them, she contends in a speech competition, a modeling portion, an interview and horsemanship competition-in which she may show her horse, ride him through a course or shoot a paintball gun while riding. “[Queen pageants] are fun, you meet a lot a people,” Katie said. “I also got over my fear of speaking in front of people.”

“I got my first horse [when I was little] because of brain surgery.

My parents promised me one if I made it.”

Katie has three horses, works at Country House Deli and does her chores at her house in the country. She does things with friends and rides horse in her free time. Katie’s well-loved horses, named Bingo, Misty and Chubby, are part of every day of her life. Katie’s first horse was a gift after she had surgery due to complications of arnold chiari malformation type 2 “I got my first horse [when I was little] because of brain surgery.

My parents promised me one if I made it,” Katie said. “The first thing I said when I woke up was, ‘Can I have my horse now?’”

Although Katie’s life has many different aspects, her passion rests on the backs of horses. A relationship exists with each one of her horses.

“You just gotta click [with the horse],” Katie said. “With Bingo, it was just like that.”

19

c

hampion of

profile.allithorson photos.submitted

dedication

Senior Meyer Bohn’s focus and heart of gold win him a championship

O

n the mat he’s focused, agressive and ready to beat anyone down to come up with a win. He’s worked hard all year to become the champion he is today and he’s never taken anything for granted.

Senior Meyer Bohn is the 2011 Class A State Wrestling Champion in the 215 weight division.

filled with intense workouts and struggles.

Though, Meyer understood the sacrifices were extreme in order to be the best. He kept his goals intact throughout the season which brought him the ending he wanted.

the stands and on the floor cheering for me.”

“It takes a passion to want to win no matter what the cost to be a wrestler,” Meyer said.

He had a passion to win and the motivation to do so inside himself all season. His coaches were beside him as he practiced day after day and from Barron Blanchard at Horizon Middle School to Jerald Lemar at Century, Meyer dedicated his time, effort and will to them.

“I jumped into Lemar’s arms,” Meyer said.

“That was a very moving experience.”

February 19 Meyer had his final battle and his final victory.

He defeated second ranked Taylor Hellman from Mandan to make the championship round his. The moment of victory was surreal and Meyer’s fans flooded the mat. His family, God, friends and coaches cheered and supported him throughout the season and, in that moment of victory, Meyer realized his dream of becoming a champion was now reality.

“I actually beat Lemar every now and then, when I get lucky,” Meyer said.

Meyer has beaten down many but not without being down himself. Wrestling has taught him several life lessons. Without his dedication and perseverance he wouldn’t have had the mental toughness he has now.

“You have to be able to get back up after getting knocked down,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s wins haven’t exactly come easily.

Throughout the entire wrestling season Meyer had been under a strict practice schedule

“It was unbelievable. I was overwhelmed with emotions,” Meyer said. “The first thing I thought of was the people in

On that floor was his coach Jerald Lemar.

Meyer’s celebration started with him. Hearing him from the mat cheering him on, Meyer turned to his coach to share his victory.

Sports}

Running her way profile.allithorson photos.submitted

This senior makes her own name in Century sports

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he’s always been behind her sister, but now she’s ahead of everyone on the track. All year she’s been proving herself to coaches, fans and even herself that she is capable of being a star athlete. Senior Jessie Steinwand has broken away from her sister’s athletic shadow and made her name as a track star for Century.

At the end of her junior year, Jessie was set on being done with track.

She was disgruntled with her results and the frustration of always being behind her older sister Jill. Now that Jill has graduated, Jessie has become the only Steinwand currently associated with Century.

“I’m not Jill’s little sister anymore, I’m Jessie,” Jessie said.

Jessie’s family has a history in track and it seemed to be a no-brainer that track would be her thing as well. She began participating in track in the seventh grade. She runs in anything from the 200 to 800 meter along with relays.

“I’m not small enough to sprint and I don’t have enough endurance to run long distance so I’m right in the middle,” Jessie said.

Jessie’s father Todd also ran track in his school days so he was always

ready to take her to buy her spikes or anything else she needed. With Todd and Jill being her biggest supporters and knowing how difficult the sport can be, Jessie has always been in good hands. Though she’s been in the shadows for longer than she has preferred, learning from her sister Jill benefited her in such a way that Jessie has become another Steinwand family track star. And just like her father, Jessie will be joining the Jimmies track team at Jamestown College, a dream come true for Jessie and her family.

“I’m so excited,” Jessie said. “I never thought I would be able to do sports in college.”

She struggled to be her own person, teammate and athlete but Jessie received help from many. Her coach, Nick Walker, motivates her every minute of every day. The goals that she set have been accomplished with his help, along with the help of her team. She’s come a long ways from almost quitting to carrying on a family legacy. She never settled and she never gave up.

“Hard work really gets you to where you want to be,” Jessie said. “You can’t settle for anything less than 110 percent.”

In this photo-senior Jessie Steinwand hugs her older sister Jill Steinwand after a track meet

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[

What's Up C L O S E Gives me goosebumps We asked a few students around school, “What’s up?” Here are their responses. short.alexanderpiyamahunt

“The ceiling, cows, buttons, birds.”

- Sophomore Shelby Langei “I really like

“Hey.”- junior Sherilyn Fredricks ”The ceiling.”- Sophomore Amina Osmanbasic

trail mix.”Senior Cameron Lalall

“Not much.”- Sophomore Steve Heilman

The Star asked these Century students what makes their skin crawl short&photo.jilliansisk

U P

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“When I win a big game.”

- Junior Conrad Schwarzkopf

“Spiders.”

- Sophomore Harlee Leier

“When people ask me what gives me goosebumps.”

- Junior Danny Zeric

“Whispers in my ear.”

- Senior Melody Estabrook

“When I hear a scary story! Like, one of those really scary ones.”

- Junior Katie Townsend

“Watching c-sections.”

- Senior Taylor Roth

What lies

beyond A look at what two students found when they exited city limits story.maddybarney photos.submitted

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he word travel can mean anything from a last-minute road trip, to a trip to the gas station, to a 22-hour plane ride to Japan.

Traveling can mean learning how to fix a flat tire, the dollars and cents it requires to buy a Peace Tea or immersion into a new culture. For some, home is enough, and the city lines are the ones that define their boundaries, these individuals are content being at most ten miles away from home. For others, the world is too beautiful a thing to leave unseen.

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What surrounds them draws them in and tempts them with culture.

“I love meeting new people and experiencing the culture, the food, the atmosphere- everything. It is beautiful in those places and it is just vibrant,” sophomore Melissa Thurn said. “The culture and the stories of how different a person’s life is in Greece rather than North Dakota, and the things they like doing and what we do.”

Close-Up} An envelope with an invitation for a European Oddessy held the beginning of Thurn’s life as a traveler. The invitation said, “Come with us.” She agreed and traveled through France, Italy, and Greece during the summer of 2009.

“It was 21 straight days. I went with People to People,” Thurn said. “I have always loved history and art and I have always longed to travel to see other places, I have never really been content with the environment that we have in North Dakota.”

Thurn perceives the challenges that traveling brings as valuable life experience, and the differences in language and culture as necessary and enticing barriers to overcome. She plans to travel for the rest of her life, and experience her own life through the life of those around her, wherever that may be.

Traveling became a lifestyle for junior Alex Eggers when he left the safe, quaint Highland Acres neighborhood and unpacked a year’s worth of belongings into an extended family’s closet in Aurich, Germany. The Missouri River shores got traded for nude beaches, and local skate parks were replaced with the third largest skate park in Europe. Educational trips no longer included the Heritage Center, but instead Concentration Camps and Amsterdam.

“Everyone wanted to meet me because I was from America, so that was really cool,” Eggers said.

English was Eggers’ first, and only, language prior to landing in Germany, the plane ride was his first German lesson, and the airport his first instructor.

“I am pretty fluent [in German],” Eggers said. “[I started learning] the first day I flew there, it was pretty hard I guess, really hard.”

The food, the people and the thrill bring Eggers back to Germany once a year. He sees such value in traveling that he intends to spend the rest of his life maintaining a filled passport.

“Traveling is good because you learn a lot about the world,” Eggers said. “If you stay in America your whole life you are pretty shelteredif you didn’t travel to different countries you wouldn’t know.”

Books and screens can only do so much to introduce individuals to what lies beyond their bedroom, city and country. No teacher can teach the African culture from a classroom quite like an African can from their own village. Becoming fluent in Spanish happens much more efficiently when it is the difference between personal safety, a warm bed and a plate of pialla in Valencia, Spain. Kangaroos don’t look quite as breathtaking on “Planet Earth” as they do on Australian plains. The world beyond offers so much, it is imperative that one takes advantage of it.

What would you do with a roll of...

“I’d tape my sister to the ceiling.”

Sophomore Ryan Hanson

“Wax my legs with it.”

Junior Mick Benedict

“I’d make a dress out of it.”

Senior Annie Dockter

Morgan Fetch by the numbers short&photo.abbykopp

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Junior Morgan Fetch gives the STAR the ins and outs of her life

Morgan Fetch is 17 years old. She has 2 brothers, 1 hamster and 1 dog. She sleeps 9 hours a night and if given the chance, she could eat 11 Reese’s in 1 sitting. She owns 51 tyedied articles of clothing and 18 pairs of shoes.

Close-Up}

If you really knew her...

story&photos.briannabrown

A peek into the life of senior Lexy Bender

I

f you really knew her, you’d know that while most kindergartners were getting their tonsils removed, Lexy was undergoing knee surgery. Since then, she has had three more procedures to help with her Cerebral Palsy, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain at birth.

If you really knew her, you’d understand that she can do most everything any other person can. Though CP is known to cause mental illness, Lexy has full brain function.

“I am just like any other teen except my legs don’t work,” Lexy said. “People always assume that I am slower mentally, which can happen in some cases but not in my case.”

If you really knew her, you’d see her love for painting and poetry. This year, Lexy entered one of her poems in Century’s literary magazine, The ‘Riot. This is her way of expressing herself.

If you really knew her, you’d realize that she doesn’t use her condition as a crutch. She is using her disadvantage for other’s advantage.

“I can’t stand it when people look down on you when you’re in a wheelchair,” Lexy said. “[But] I can show younger people that if you work hard, you can do whatever anyone else can do, just in a different way.”

If you really knew her, you’d recognize that Lexy is just a teenage girl. She likes to dress up in pretty dresses, talk about boys and hang out with her best friend, junior Dani Rhodes.

“I’m brave. I’ve been through a lot and I keep going, even though it sucks,” Lexy said. “Just get to know me.”

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{Close-Up

In

focus

A Century senior finds peace through nature and a Nikon story.alyssameier photo.rachelneumiller

I

t all started with a little girl’s fascination with her father’s camera.

Her family was in Walt Disney World on vacation and she was in fourth grade. In between the roller coasters and Ferris wheels, a young girl discovered her love for photography. It was a hobby, that grew into a passion, that eventually became her life.

“My dad had this camera that the lens twisted around on,” senior Rachel Haas said. “I wanted to be cool and have a cool camera like that.”

Rachel took pictures on and off while growing up and in eighth grade invested in her own camera. Her Nikon is always at her side no matter where she goes, just in case she comes across something photo-worthy.

“I love taking pictures of nature,” Rachel said. “I like to photograph people too, but nature will always be like thatpeople change.”

Rachel hates the cliche about seeing things differently when looking through the camera lens, but there is no better way for her to describe the feeling.

“You have to get into weird positions to take some pictures, but you see things

in a different way from that perspective.”

Rachel loves taking pictures of her niece, Trinity, and her friends. She also spends time taking pictures at a place she discovered with her best friend.

“There’s a place where my best friend Kayla and I go down by the river and we call it Shalom,” Rachel said.“It’s so pretty.”

Rachel wants to continue with her passion for photography and people after she graduates.

“I plan to go the University of Sioux Falls and get an art major or photography,” Rachel said. “And I’m also going to major in elementary education.”

Rachel hopes to someday own her own photography business someday.

“It’d be sweet to be my own boss,”Rachel said, laughing.

Rachel stumbled across her passion for photography eight years ago, and it has done nothing but grow since.

“God gave me a deep love for it and I’m glad he did,” Rachel said. “I couldn’t see myself going to college for anything else.”

This page- Rachel Haas’ photography

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{Close-Up

Elemental

beliefs story.carriesandstrom photo.colemanspilde

Faith, friends, and fellowship

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he stands in the pew with the other devout individuals who made their way to the place of worship.

Surrounded by all the other church-goers she feels moved by the spirit. The feeling is overwhelming, and she embraces it.

a youth movement associated with the Assemblies of God that entices students of all religions, five years ago.

Junior Allison DeKrey has found faith and purpose as a member of the Assemblies of God church- part of the Protestant Christian religious denomination. Allison is a devout member of Evangel Assemblies of God and has grown up with faith and religion. Her parents took her to church on Sundays and on Wednesdays she attended Junior Bible Quiz, a friendly competition on biblical knowledge, where she studied and memorized scripture.

At the Element, Allison found a place for her to apply all of the scriptural knowledge she has gained over the years and give meaning to it.

By thinking about the Bible’s deeper message and discussing it with her peers, Allison was able to gain further understanding of the text.

“[When I was little] I just thought that everybody [went to church] and it was the right thing to do cause my parents did it and I just followed them,” Allison said.

Allison’s faith has only grown stronger since she began attending the Element,

“I knew what God was and I always grew up with it, but the Element made me know how to use it and practice [religion],” Allison said.

“[The scriptures] all just started making sense,” Allison said.

Last summer, Allison traveled on a youth mission to Madrid, Spain where she and other teens gave testimonies in the bustling streets of Puerta De Sol. Each night, before going out to testify in front of thousands of people, the group would pray and worship for two hours. In this foreign country, miles

away from the comforts of home and familiar sights, Allison learned the power of prayer.

“It was so cool because one time we had three languages- people from three different languages we couldn’t understand...Here we are all together, and we’re all praising the same God and he can understand each and everyone of us,” Allison said. “I was just amazed by that.”

Standing up to speak about religion in a non-Christian area wasn’t easy but Allison learned many important skills that have made her stronger as a believer. “[My trip] taught me how to be more open and talk about God to other people,” Allison said.

As Allison has grown and continues to grow in her faith one thing has remained constanther love and adoration for the God she serves.

“Jesus is a super hero,” Allison said. “He’s my super hero.”

Opening their eyes profile&photo.abbykopp

This junior has a view of her own

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he’s read “Pride and Prejudice” three times. She wears bright and patterned socks. She listens to classical music and watches old movies. She is sophomore Taylor Oster, and she’s taking the world by storm.

Politics, law and current events, these thoughts fill the mind of Taylor in a regular day. She is an ambitious individual who is passionate about making this world more aware of what’s going on around them.

“A bunch of my friends think I’m crazy because I watch the news all the time, and that I know a bunch of stuff about what’s going on. When, really, I pay attention,” Taylor said.

Taylor has her life figured out. After high school she would like to go to Duke and then Princeton Law. When asked ‘why law?’ she answers with an offhand comment about how many politicians started out as lawyers.

“By getting into politics I want to help others to be more aware of what’s going on,” Taylor said.

Someday she’d enjoy being a state senator and work upwards from there. Taylor is motivated by the lack of ambition in today’s society.

“I feel as if there’s something missing in our society. We have lost track of where we came from. We don’t care. We only care about the now, the present. We’re not focused on the future or the past,” Taylor said. “Those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it, and I feel as if we as a society don’t really know where we came from. We just keep making the same mistakes a lot of people don’t seem to know whats actually going on. I want us to be able to move forward and know what our mistakes are so we don’t make them again.”

Although she is driven by her future goals, Taylor enjoys living in the present as well. She is in soccer, knowledge masters, National Honor Society, band and on the Century speech team.

I didn’t know how to get my volunteer hours, and [National Honor Society] really helped,” Taylor said. “I’m really excited about being part of it, and I love it. It’s so much fun cause when you’re volunteering you get this sense of camaraderie with the people you’re volunteering with and it’s just really awesome.”

D Taylor’s top playlist

“Ashes and Wine”A Fine Frenzy

“Goodnight and Go”- Imogen Heap

Forget You- Cee Lo Green “Dream A Little Dream of Me”Michael Buble To listen to Taylor’s favorite songs check out centurypulse.com

“Clarinet Concerto in A Major; Adagio”- Mozart

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O P I N I O N

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Bear hug, clasp, clinch, cling, clutch, cradle, cuddle, encircle, enfold, entwine, fold, grab, grasp, grip, hug, lock, press, seize, snuggle, squeeze, take in arms,wrap, accept, accommodate, admit, adopt, love, avail oneself of, comprehend, comprise, contain, cover, deal with, embody, enclose, encompass, espouse, get into, go in for, grab, have, incorporate, involve, make use of, provide for, receive, seize, subsume, take advantage of, take in, take on, take up, and welcome

diversity editorial.starstaff

The Star staff is comprised of students from all groups within the school. Room 117 is the home of a Slovack, several athletes, actresses, Knowledge Masters and the student body president. We’re a melting pot. In this room we’ve learned to accept and expect different forms of expression and being. It’s a prized characteristic. And we hope that the rest of the student body will embrace it too. Expression is what makes everyone unique. As high school students we find our interests, our style and ourselves, and we should be able to do it in a safe environment- safe from judgmental looks and rude remarks. So we, the Star staff, want to encourage you to, in the most cliche terms possible, treat others as you would like to be treated. We believe that you should have just as much opportunity and confidence to find yourself during your high school years as the person sitting next to you. We believe that if everyone took a moment and checked in with themselves before they cracked an unkind joke or decided they absolutely hated someone, if everyone treated people they want to be treated, it would be easier for countless personalities to flourish and grow. This is a challenge we hope you embrace, not only through your high school career, but throughout your entire life.

-

Beauty... column.madisonbarney

I

... knows no boundaries and follows no rules- it has caused great men to do horrible things and horrible men to do great things.

magine the place the world would become if you perceived nothing as beautiful. The sight of flowers would bring you no joy, and a sleeping child would bring you no peace. A meal served on Styrofoam would be just as appealing as a meal served on china. The symphony would fail to present you with goosebumps and Channing Tatum would not be such an awe inspiring sight. It is human nature to be drawn to beauty. Beautiful people, beautiful weather, beautiful music, beautiful deserts, beautiful moments and beautiful smells. The battle of surviving is the battle of finding beauty amongst the garbage we are drug through. Finding beauty is maintaining sanity. Beauty is truly a thing of greatness. Although it is a topic of great debate and also presents itself swarming with negative connotations, it may just be that we have placed too much emphasis on the idea of beauty and have failed to recognize it in its true, most beautiful form.

We are blessed to have a word in our vocabulary capable of covering everything from Megan Fox to weathered cowboy boots.

Some see beauty in the unknown, some in photographs, some in high heels, others in antique stores. Beauty knows no boundaries and follows no rules- it has caused great men to do horrible things, and horrible men to do great things. Flamenco dancing is beautiful.

And what about love? Love, now that is one beautiful thing.

Beauty can be the hum of a car engine or the hum of a new mother. Religion can be beautiful, be it as big as living for Christ or as simple as watching a procession of monks practicing a foreign religion on a trip to a foreign place. The memories made make things more beautiful. Moments, the ones that acquire over time to become our lives, are as beautiful as we make them.

Some lose sight of the beauty buried far beneath the clutter of every day life, and escaping life becomes the only thing that presents itself as beautiful. Every human encounters forces that do what they can to dull the brilliant shade of beauty. Some are born without the natural tendency to seek and encounter beauty- it is the job of those who find beauty naturally to relentlessly introduce it to those who have lost sight of it. Beauty is as physical as it isn’t.

Beauty exists in both its tangible and intangible forms. I feel my most beautiful after yoga, and I look my most beautiful while crying.

Some like it modern, some like it vintage. Someone, somewhere, decided it was mandatory for seventh graders to take art class, in hopes they would discover the beauty they were capable of creating. Leaving something beautiful behind when one leaves the earth is a highly admirable and respectable thing to do. Beauty can be created by the hands of an artist, and destroyed by the hands of a plastic surgeon. They have tried and failed to bottle, sell, and categorize beauty. Beauty can arise from the rubble of despair, or become rubble because of despair.

Beauty can be the life of the bean pole my brother and I fostered as children, or the blissful picture taken of us with the fruit of our labor between our teeth. Beauty is not perfect, beauty is perfect. It is both simple and complex, real and artificial. It is a focal point when the world seems impossible. There is beauty in mistakes and in success.

The most beautiful thing about beauty is that for every human, something else, someone else, is beautiful. Perceptions of beauty are as individual as the fingerprints of the people perceiving it. You are beautiful, as are your imperfections. The world is as beautiful as you let it be. I urge you to do something beautiful today, and everyday, for you and for everyone.

i

Some not-so-imaginary numbers column.abbykopp

T

oday is March 23, 2011, and it is the 6,238th day of my life. I was 4 years old when I learned how to count, and I’ve had a strange fascination with numbers ever since. I should have gotten out of school 3 hours and 49 minutes ago, but receiving 10.4 inches of snow caused Bismarck Public Schools to hand out the 3rd snow day I can remember. So, I watched channel 59 all day and made 9 pieces of French toast for supper (I burnt 1/3 of them.)

I’ve read 39 Trixie Belden books and read 54 percent of the Junie B. Jones series in the first grade. My first library card was given to me at age 5, and it was because of that library card that I read 23 words that changed my life. I currently have 18 magazines on my book shelf from 3 different subscriptions. My favorite author has written 5 books that have made me look at the world a little bit differently. There’s a 22-word quote that describes me in my entirety.

I have 2 notebooks full of quotes. That totals to about 193 pages of quotes that enrage me, inspire me or just make me think.

There’s a 100-year old house 122 miles away that houses 1 of the most inspirational people I know. In that house, almost 50 people gather about 3 times a year. My 9-year-old Cavalier car has 53,623 miles on it. In my life I’ve owned about 30 fish, and I’ve killed 8 of them in the past year. I played basketball for 3 days and tried track once. I skied for 5 years, took a year off, and have been snowboarding for 3 years now. I went to Big Sky, Montana 2 weeks ago with my 3 best friends, and came back with 0 injuries.

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My backpack weighs 22.8 lbs. It houses 2 calculators, 7 notebooks and 12 pens. In my armoire I have 18 paint swatches, 6 purses, 5 bottles of bubbles, a 4 lb rubber band ball and 7 storage containers. I have 138 key chains in 1 of my 4 collections. Seven hours of sleep is all I need to get me through the day. It takes me 480 seconds to straighten my hair, but I only waste that time once a week. My closet contains 2 swimsuits, 11 green shirts, 4 skirts and 27 pairs of shoes. I can only pass 16 levels of brick breaker on my mom’s Blackberry, but I made 1 brick 4 months ago.

There is 1 song that describes my life, and it is 3 minutes and 19 seconds long. Music was introduced to me the first time my sister tuned the radio to 92.9. I’ve been in piano for almost 11 years, but I fell in love with the clarinet 5 years ago.

The 2nd verse in any song is always my favorite. I have 578 songs on my iPod, this totals up to about 1.5 days of music.

Math has been my favorite subject since 3rd grade when I learned long division. I was told about imaginary numbers in 9th grade, and it turned my entire world upside down. I began to question everything I knew about numbers. They were the one thing in my life that remained constant, while the variables were constantly changing. I was worried that if even numbers could find a way to cease to exist, then one day I would surely lose my grip on the world. Thankfully, 1 year later I learned that the definition of an imaginary number wasn’t an actual make-believe number. It was a name to give an impossibility.

seeing double Opinion}

column.jilliansisk

Sharing toys, milestones, and birthdays

A

ll my life I’ve found myself in similar predicaments. At age 6 I found myself explaining the difference between males and females to my fellow first graders. At age 11 I had to present to my class a powerpoint on what it means to be “fraternal.” My first day of seventh grade I had to write a report, because my life science teacher didn’t believe I knew what the chromosomal make-up of twins was.

My mom’s favorite story to tell of our childhood is the time she was in the kitchen making dinner and she heard my cries of desperation. She assumed I was done with my nap, and was going to dry her hands before lifting me out of my crib. Suddenly my shrieking stopped. As a young mother, she became worried. She picked up the pace and ran to the room where my brother and I were napping.

Upon arriving to the doorway, she witnessed something that took away her worry and warmed her heart. Too young to communicate through words, Mason understood my pain. He saw that my beloved pink baby blankets had fallen to the floor and proceeded to press them through the slats of my crib. Too young to walk, too young to talk, but not too young to understand.

Lucky for me, Dec 17, 1993, six minutes after I’d been introduced to the world, a beautiful bald baby was placed right beside me in my mother’s arms. He would remain that way, both beside me and bald, for many years to follow.

That’s how it’s been my whole life. Going through it all with someone by my side. We never matched our clothes, or played dolls together, but when I was small and weak and vulnerable, trying to learn how to walk, my brother was beside me working on his first steps as well. And as I learned to talk, my babbling was never heard alone, because Mason was always beside me, covered in chocolate pudding, conversing with my nonsense.

watch out for me in all aspects of my life. As I struggled through algebra, Mason was there, right beside me with his teacher voice and his calculator. And as I searched high and low for my identity, in what became the hardest year of my life, Mason had me on speed-dial, constantly calling to make sure I was still breathing, or staying awake with me through all hours of the night when I made the decision to drink the feelings that I couldn’t put into words. He understood me in the prime of our toddlerhood, when we couldn’t form a decent word, and he understood me in my personal crisis, when I couldn’t form a decent plea for help.

We grew to be teenagers, and I was absolutely ecstatic to pass my permit test before Mason.

Little did I know, I would fail my driver’s test 6 months later and he would drive us to school, smirking in silence as I rolled my eyes. Mason’s hair had finally come in by now, but yet again, he was beside me, through a major milestone in my life, that all my friends had to go through alone.

Sure we have our moments, where we argue and bicker and say things we don’t mean, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Through all the business of our blossoming lives, I forget to tell him how grateful I am that he’s beside me. It’s all I’ve ever known, and if all goes as planned, it will continue to be that way until I’m an old, wrinkly granny, with Mason sitting there beside me, bald once again.

Unfortunately for my brother, he has a soft, gigantic heart. He’s made it his duty to

So Mason, in the words of Huey Lewis, I am happy to be stuck with you.

I really can’t stand tools or those crazy, annoying guys who think they are so much better than everyone else and can’t find anything else to talk about except themselves.

Seriously, no one cares how many girls you danced with at Prom, no one cares how sore your muscles are from bench pressing so much weight. So tools, do us all a favor and talk about something other than yourselves for once.

-Senior Jordan Adolf I hate it how the school makes it blatantly obvious that they thinks sports are so much better than the arts. They keep getting more money and the theater department can’t even get the money it needs for a new sound board.

-Senior Eryn Anderson “Words with Friends” is a fun game, but it has some of the most absurd words. How is the word zax even worth 39 points?

-Junior Michael McCrory The “Friday” song by Rebecca Black flat out sucks.

- Sophomore Cindy Phillips I hate it when people abbreviate the most random words on Facebook. Poss, def, embare, etc.

-Junior Aleah Hruby I hate it when other people use my bathroom. They never put the seat down, so when they flush the toilet particles get on my toothbrush. Then, IF they wash their hands they use my decorative towels. Hello, use the hand towels sitting 3 inches away to your left. So if you come to my house and have to use the bathroom, use the upstairs one, my sister doesn’t mind.

-Senior Taylor Boeder

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Rants

{Opinion

aves

Opinon}

I absolutly adore duct tape. It really is awesome stuff.

Whether you need a minor (and relatively nonthreatening) tool for self-defense or you just need to tape something together, duct tape has a viable use for almost anything.

-Sophomore Sarah Liebig There is nothing better than when all the snow is gone, and the ground starts to dry up because that means longboarding weather! I could board for hours every night when it’s nice out. There’s just something about gliding around down by the river with the wind in your hair-it’s the best feeling ever. Not to mention it’s close to the only form of exercise that I actually enjoy.

-Senior Courtney Reiswig Ann Govig is the most amazing person ever. She is really good at basketball and great at chemistry. She’s the BOMB! -Sophomore Mason Kleinjan I love how Mr. Zeigler always stands in the commons area and says, “Hi,” to everyone that walks by. That totally makes my day!

-Senior Teresa Renfrow

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

What’s your pirate name?

short.alyssameier

Century students tell the STAR what the pirate version of their name would be

Long John Dilbert - Junior Dylan Becker Bearded Ben - Sophomore Ryan Haas Quentin - Sophomore David Lange

Salty

- Sophomore Kaleb Glatt

Bartholomew Roberts - Senior Drew Molesworth

Uniquely Yummy

short&photo.jilliansisk

The STAR asked a few students what their favorite wacky food combinations are Sophomore Asonah Hunte- Popcorn and sour jacks.

Sophomore Tyler Bulaway- Ketchup and scrambled eggs.

Sophomore Haily Datz- Bananas and peanut butter or cheese and apples.

Junior Lexi Ternes- Peanut butter and jellyit doesn’t get more weird than that.

Junior Jamie Thrasher- Peanut butter and honey.

Junior Emily Smallbech- Dry Ramen noodles.

Junior Emily Neuhardt- Spaghetti and syrup.

Junior Drew Volk- Fried shrimp and ketchup.

Junior Danny Zeric- Jellybeans with hot dogs.

Senior Kim Strum- Little weiners and jelly sauce- it makes the best BBQ sauce.

Senior Rachel Klinner- Popcorn and ranch.

Senior Kelsey Rogstad- Uncooked spaghetti noodles.

Vegetarian Myths and Recipees

more St3alth Shotz photos

visit www.centurypulse.com for more of everythig

more of Mrs. Jundt’s outfits more dancing photos

more with Mrs. Van more photos of Katie and her horses

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{Entertainment

Season of 40

y n o m r a h eichel’s music

r Schm A look into Somme

story.dinamoss photo.studentsubmitted

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he ball of the pen races across the surface of the paper, leaving thin streaks of ink as lyrics escape the depths of her imagination. Her callused fingers sweep up and down the neck of her most prized possession. Music flows out from in between the strings and brings the room to life. She hums as she plays to find the right words that will flow along with the melody. She plays the whole song once through to make sure it is the best it can be. A smile of satisfaction spreads across her face. One more song to add to her collection of originals.

Seven years ago sophomore Sommer Schmeichel started playing the piano. Since then her passion for music has grown tremendously. Eighteen months ago she started playing guitar and instantly fell in love with it. She currently has two guitar teachers who are extremely helpful. Along with the guitar

and piano, her third instrument is her voice. With no vocal coaching, her voice beautifully fits with any type of music.

“Writing songs and playing them on my guitar gives me something to do,” Sommer said. “I really enjoy it.”

Sommer’s style is derived from solo artists such as Jewel and bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is nearly impossible to pin this singer/songwriter in a specific genre considering she plays just about everything. From oldies to pop, this musician has a great talent. Just about every other Thursday Sommer performs at Mr. Delicious in front of a medium sized crowd. Sommer hopes to someday make a career out of her musical passion.

“I love to perform around people so if I could have a career that allows me to do that that would be awesome,” Sommer said.

ANATOMY OF A GUITAR Headstock

Turning Keys

Rosette Strings

Pick

Fret

Saddle

Neck Sound Hole Bridge

L LO

short.colemanspilde photoillustration.abbykopp

The STAR asked three people what made them laugh the hardest in the past few weeks.

“The inside jokes that I have with my friends.”

-Junior Jessica Anderson

“Mrs. Beaudoin’s seventh period English class because we have some crazy people in there.”

-Sophomore Andy Mantz

“A Swedish death-polka band.”

-Senior Ricky Volk

Songs you hate short.dinamoss

Every day you hear songs all around you. Some you may completely fall in love with while others just make you quickly reach to change the station whenever you hear them. Lately it seems as though there have been a lot of songs that are highly annoying.

Anything country Senior Maddy Fredrickson

“Friday”- Rebecca Black Sophomore Brittney Backman

“Girlfriend” -Avril Lavigne Sophomore Kristen Sullivan

“Baby”- Justin Beiber Senior Ryan Wolf

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“Whip Your Hair” - Willow Smith Junior Cameron Bartch

Got game

Entertainment}

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he Century High School gamers club is a place for people who love video games to gather and enjoy themselves with others like them. Meetings usually consist of discussing upcoming tournaments and coming together as a club to play video games. There are no specific positions or distinguishments to separate the members, everyone helps and gets experience with the equipment and rules of the club.

Sophomore Jordan Hoffman is a new member in this year’s gamers’ club, and believes that it’s more than just to play video games. People usually wouldn’t think that something like gaming would have an impact on someone and their life, but for Jordan, it does.

“Gamers club does have an influence on my life because it has given me the chance to meet new people and also allows me to host social gaming tournaments,” Jordan said.

Video gaming is often misconceived as mindless and thoughtless, but it should be taken past surface value.

It can be used as a tool to meet others with the same interests and hang out with others, and have fun while doing it. Gamers club, it allows people like Jordan to meet and connect with others from his class, and grade along with other students as well.

“Gamers club is a great way to meet people who share the same interest that you do,” Jordan said. “You also get to try new types of games and learn what games you like best and what games you are good at.”

As shown by people like Jordan, gaming is more than just a hobby, more than just something to do when bored and more than just mindless entertainment. Gamers club is a clique of its own and with the right kind of execution, a social tool.

“If anyone is thinking about joining gamers club the one thing I would say to them is to join,” Jordan said. “[It’s] a place where people share the same interests as you and if you can get friends to come with you, it makes the experience even better.”

story.alexanderpiyamahunt photos.zuzanaprostrednikova

Chiropractic Care With a Personal Touch

Winkler

Chiropractic, P.C. Dr. Carol Winkler

1431 Interstate Loop Bismarck, ND 58503

Phone: 223-5001 Fax: 220-4709

Nemecek Chiropractic, P.C.

Dr. Cameron Nemecek

Schuetz Photography http://schuetzphotography.com

Senior portrait photography

Call 663-1617

Entertainment}

Keys to his

happiness

profile.maddybarney photos.abbykopp

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he piano became his forever before his feet could reach the pedals. His mind began playing melodies before he could muster up the allowance to purchase the sheet music. Senior Tony Ouradnik’s life became centered around the piano when he was three and his fingers have since memorized the keys and what it takes for them to create beauty.

“I have been playing the piano probably since I was, like, three,” Tony said. “I actually was playing my first melodies when I was three and my first recital was when I was five years old.”

His peers work at fast food chain restaurants and behind the counters of various convenience stores. Tony, instead, works as a professional organist at St. George’s Episcopalian Church. Some children cling to their mother’s knees when they are being dropped off at piano lessons. They would rather build tree forts than maintain soldier-like posture and play through the aroma of a perfumed middle-aged woman telling them how and where to place their fingers.

Tony, instead, taught himself to play the piano. Some focus diligently on one instrument. Tony, instead, fluently plays three. The piano gave Tony his first taste of love.

“I’ve known for as long as I can remember that this is what I want to do,” Tony said.

Tony took up lessons last fall as a method of growing as a musician.

“I knew that it was what I loved doing and if it had not been for my piano teacher I probably would not have found a job as an organist,” Tony said.

Music makes him better, and he makes music better. Tony reserves a large portion of his day, every day, to playing the instrument he loves. Although pay is a motive, Tony is not monetarily compensated for more than 6 hours a week, the rest is paid for by infatuation and validation.

“It is kind of my way of showing my talents, my music- kind of my way of singing,” Tony said.

Shoes, clothes, and relationships are often grown out of, but Tony sees himself as a lifelong musician.

He plans to study at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peters, Minnesota and become a professional organist. He is entering a competitive field with a confident mindset.

“Music is my life, apparently. Basically it is one of the main things that makes the world exciting,” Tony said.

45

acky Aw {Entertainment

story.sydneyharvey photo.tonyabauer

ardrobe

A sophomore finds her dreams in fashion

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he stands in front of her closet and ponders the many possibilities of what she could wear for the day. She takes a shirt and starts to put her outfit together.

Sophomore Katie Zueger is a happy, bubbly person who isn’t afraid to be herself, and her personality and clothes definitely show it.

Fashion is a big part of her and is important in the way she expresses herself. “[In Bismarck], it’s not really that important, it’s just kind of t-shirt and jeans,” Katie said. “But if you go to bigger cities, it’s like everyone dresses nice all the time. So I like to dress like that too.”

Katie confirms that the way she dresses is quite different than the ‘norm.’

Katie shops at different places that Bismarck does not provide, such as Forever 21 and Love Culture.

“If I have a certain shirt I want to wear, then I’m like, ‘Oh I’ll build my outfit around this,’” Katie said.

45

Katie says that every outfit she picks reflects how she is feeling that day.

“The way I express myself reflects my mood,” Katie said. “Even the things I do with my hair.”

Katie’s inspiration comes from designer Betsey Johnson. Katie has the greatest desire to be what Betsey Johnson has become in the fashion world.

“She just has a crazy style that’s all her own, and she’s just herself,” Katie said. “She’s colorful, talented and amazing.”

Katie wants to be a fashion designer when she gets older.

Her goal is to get into The Art Insititute of Tucson, Arizona.

“I want to double major in fashion marketing and fashion design,” Katie said.

Katie is proud of her large collection of stuffed animals, would love to marry rapper Eminem, and she wants to live in London, France or Italy. She has dreams and she plans on reaching them. They may appear far away but she is determined to make them a reality.

K e e p i n ' Entertainment}

it classy English teacher Bev Jundt’s secret passion is not so secret story.racheliverson

Q: How big is your closet?

A: My closet is the size of a small bowling alley, it’s probably 20 by 8.

Q: How did all this start?

A: It started out kind of by accident and then it became, I suppose, what borders a little bit on obsession. Thinking, hey I can go the whole year without wearing the same thing- but you need to realize that I’m an old woman and so I’ve collected a lot of clothes throughout the years. I still wear things, in fact I have things, from when before I was pregnant with my son- that was 24 years ago.

Q: What do you have from 24 years ago?

A: [I have] basic wool pants, wool skirts and that one

I kind of hate to admit to myself I’m materialistic and I don’t necessarily view that as a good quality

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I think I dress fairly traditionally. Probably the word would be classical- but then I know I have things that maybe aren’t things you would expect a 53 year-old woman to wear.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: I read fashion magazines all the time, and I get a lot of catalogues. I look to see what students are wearing, and then I get really envious because I’m too old to wear short skirts- I’d love to wear short skirts and high heels, but you can’t at my age.

ugly sweater.

Q: Who is your style icon?

A: Audrey Hepburn and Jacklyn Kennedy, and I do like

Q: Since you’ve collected most of your clothing do

they way Michelle Obama dresses, but that sounds sort of political.

you buy a lot of accessories?

A: I accessorize a lot- I often shop at J. Crew and Talbots.

Q: So is the rumor that you donate your clothes every year and buy a new wardrobe true?

A: I will donate them if they just absolutely don’t fitor they’ve gone out of style. Then I donate them to Abused Adult Resource Center or the Humane Society.

They have a huge rummage sale in the fall and in the spring for a fundraiser.

Q: What do you think of all of this?

A: I feel materialistic at times because I talk about Thoreau and simplicity and not being materialistic, and

Q: What are staple items in your closet A: I think every woman should have a black pencil skirt, black pants, a crisp white blouse, and a black turtleneck.

Q: Is there anything else you want to say about your fashion A: My fashion fantasy is to dress Mr. Lee in an Armani suit.

A Musical Medley For Sophomore Katelyn Grosz music has been, is and will always be her life

profile.alexanderpiyamahunt photo.rachelneumiller

Q. What is Music to you?

A. Music to me is many things, from something as simple as an

purpose. Music is a big piece of who I am, imagining me without it is sort of like imagining myself without a heart, terrifying and impossible.

unconditional friend to a way of life. Music always is there to listen and try to compensate for what you need. It is a passion, something that, once you start, you are powerless to stop. Like a flame it creeps its way past all barriers and embeds itself into the deepest parts of your soul. I fuel my fire with all the music I can, of many different genres, moods, feels and eras. And somehow music worms its way into your heart and manages to wrench the most extreme of emotions, from gut-gripping terror, to a boundless euphoria- it’s exhilarating!

Q. Why are you so into music?

A. Music is as natural as my heartbeat. I guess I love all that it is. It

Q. Which of the bands you’re in is your favorite, and why?

A. I would have to say Jazz 1. I adore the songs we play, the fact it takes place in seventh period and the way the band all seems to be equal parts of hard work and fun.

is a way to express myself when I play it, a masterpiece to listen to, a way to stay motivated and so so much more. It is a conversation piece. I mean, what isn’t music? It has been with me for almost every hour that I can remember - a pulse. I love how it seems to bring so much joy to its listeners and how variable it is. there are so many genres of music, each so very very different from the rest, and each unique piece of music imparts a piece of itself unto it’s listener.

Q. When did you get started?

A. I’ve always listened to it. My earliest memories mostly involve music.

with a soundtrack blaring in my head, I go home and put Pandora (radio) on, and when I get tired of [radio] stations there is always YouTube. Music surrounds me, affecting everything I do. It’s amazing how a song can do simple things like change my mood and give me energy or force me to relax.

My first instrument was the drums, I wanted to be a percussionist as soon as I had the chance to hear my mom’s friend’s son- I felt the vibrations and fell in love. I had old toy drums when I was little. I was told to be a percussionist, I needed to take piano for at least 2 years, so I moved on to piano. a few years later I quit, I guess I didn’t enjoy how they had limited my repertoire to so very few notes. My passion for playing music was rekindled in fifth grade when I went to my sister’s concert and saw one of my current instruments, a miniature tuba-like creation, my beloved euphonium. My love for music has only grown since taking up jazz in ninth grade, extending to more and more of the brass section, to encompass the trombone, bass trombone, sousaphone and bits of trumpet.

Q. How would your life have been different if you hadn’t taken up music?

A. I would be an empty soulless excuse for a human right about now

Q. What would you say to anybody who wants to try to get into music?

A. Always be open to opportunity when it presents itself. I never dreamed

Q. What instruments do you play?

A. The euphonium, sousaphone, trombone, bass trombone, and I can kinda sorta play the trumpet.

Q. What impact do you think music has had in your life?

A. What hasn’t it made an impact on? I walk around the halls everyday

[laughs]. My smile would be considerably less prevalent, and I would walk around the halls with a listless energy in search of an unknown

I would be a jazz player until Mr. Salzer approached me and told me I should pick up the trombone and be in jazz. One of my best decisions.

Disney Mania

Entertainment}

short.tanisailer

Century students share their favorite Disney movie.

Peter Pan Lion King - Sophomore Jordan Beyer

because its B.A. and whats more fun than saying Mufasa?

- Senior David Tipton

Fox And The Hound because they are so cute and it tells the Little Mermaid Marry Poppins story of friendship or- Junior Jesse Wanner and heart-break.

- Senior Cameron Lalall Beauty and the Beast - Junior Asa Fox

What The STAR asked students what Pokemon they are. With over 400 to choose, we got some interesting responses. short.alexpiyamahunt photo.tanisailer

Sophomore Melissa Thurn - I’m a Flareon, because I have a fiery personality.

Sophomore Aryca Bennet - I am a Venusaur, because I’m big, bad, and awesome.

are you?

Junior Alicia Reineke - I’m a Butterfree, because I’m a social butterfly.

Junior Sam Gellner - I’m Raichu, because it’s my favorite Pokemon.

Senior Savannah Link - I’m Pikachu, because he shows power can come from an unlikely place.

Senior David Munson - I’d be Blastoise, because he really packs a punch.

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“Not Oprah, and not Ellen. We plan on being on probably Jimmy Fallon.�

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By a long

Entertainment}

sh t... story&photos.maddybarney

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Four students turn their pastime into a local phenomenon

hey have boredom to thank, and a vacant YMCA. They owe some gratitude to Cross Training camp which provided them with a bond, a name for their shots, and a sport that became a lifestyle for all of them. Those who bought a shirt deserve a thank you, as does an impulse they acted on that became a local phenomenon. Primarily, though, they have each other to thank. Juniors Taylor Daniel, Jaxon Fitterer, Nolan Schmidt and Dexter Werner began St3alth Shotz, a series of athletic demonstrations of outrageous basketball shots that they make, record, and upload.

“Me and Jax were at the Y one day and we decided to make crazy basketball shots because no one was around,” Taylor said.

“I got it on video tape and it all blossomed from there, like a red dragon lily.”

Nolan and Dexter wandered into this production once they realized the potential it held for enjoyment.

“I was out of town and I was coming back the day that they made their first [video],” Nolan said. “And when I got back Taylor ordered me to come over to his house and they showed me it and I was like yeah, I want to be a part of this.”

These four have detailed plans for expanding their video base and support system. They are willing to prove themselves by giving live demonstrations at any time, due to doubt that has been cast upon the honesty and authenticity of their videos. It is understandable, however, that some may not believe a shot

can be made from such great distances.

“Yeah, because some people think it is fake,” Jaxon said. “Actually a lot of people think it’s fake, and it’s not. If anyone wants to come watch us shoot a shot- anytime.”

Why do they do it?

“The point is to have fun and enjoy our high school lives,” Taylor said.

Not only is it enjoyable, it is keeping the crime rate low.

weeks, but are not willing to keep St3alth Shotz confined to local enjoyment.

“Not Oprah, and not Ellen, we plan on being on probably Jimmy Fallon,” Jaxon said.

The rest of the group prefered other hosts.

“Or Lopez Tonight, we want to be on the George Lopez show,” Taylor added.

“Or the Late Late Show with Craig Furgeson,” Jaxon said.

However, they did not all agree.

“It keeps us out of riff raff, and mischief,” Jaxon said.

“That is the last show I want to be on, I’d rather be on ‘Last Call’ with Carson Daily,” Nolan said.

“Yes mischief, it keeps us out of mischief and being hoodlums,” Taylor added.

With aspirations like these, one would think team expansion would be up and coming, but these four refuse to open themselves to that possibility.

The “Fab Four” as Nolan endearingly referred to them, are doing two videos this summer and one in the winter. Dexter, Jaxon, and Taylor will be taking a trip to the Dominican Republic centered around basketball and Christ- they intend to do a Dominican St3alth Shotz video during that time. The grand finale, however, depends greatly on their health in old age.

“We are going to do it ‘til we can do it no more,” Jaxon said.

“Unless [St3alth Shotz hopefuls] want to pay us 5,000 pesos,” Taylor said.

“Either 5,000 pesos or 10,000 rupees, that’s how much it takes to get in,” Jaxon added. “Or they could pay us in Jamaican currency called J’s because 1 dollar equals .0017 in American dollars.”

As far as they can look into the future, they see themselves doing what they do best.

“Or if you want to smuggle in koalas from South Africa you can bring me three of those,” Taylor said.

“We are going to do it ‘til we can eat apple sauce no longer,” Taylor added.

“And make me a hat out of one, then you can be in,” Jaxon said. “That is the only way.” .

They have landed themselves a slot on the evening news in the coming

“All of us get koalas,” Dexter said.

51

Celeberity look-a-likes

[

We found just a few Century’s celebrities

short.sydneyharvey photos.sydneyharvey&tonyabauer

[

Sophomore Lexus Kelsch

Sophomore Cale Pagan

Miranda Lambert

[

Justin Bieber

Junior Cara Mund

Miley Cyrus

hhhhhh submittedstory.mikebjork

“Hey… you’re crying?”

Abel quickly wiped away his tears. “Am not.”

Sewell smirked and ruffled his little brother’s hair.

“Stop it! And I’m not crying!”

Sewell laughed and lay back, spreading his legs beneath the long, low-risen table.

Around the two brothers, a feast-a celebrationwas in full swing. Their friends and family were all there, eating and drinking. Some of their cousins danced around the table to the music of flutes and drums; friends of their parents reminisced with the aunts and uncles, occasionally bursting into laughter.

“Seriously, though,” Sewell said, “why the tears? We’re celebrating. You should be happy.”

Abel sniffed wetly and looked towards the head of the table, where Father and Mother sat. They were close; Mother leaned into Father, enwrapping his arm between hers. She whispered excitedly in his ear, but he didn’t seem to notice. His eyes stared ahead-they were once a sparkling blue, now a dull gray.

His neck was tightly wrapped in a white scarf.

Abel quietly asked, “But how can I be happy?”

“How?” Sewell propped himself up on his elbows. “Be happy for Father, Abel. I mean sure, we’re going to miss him, but don’t be selfish.”

Abel tucked in his legs and held them. “But I don’t even know where he’s going…”

Sewell paused. “Gosh, Abel, you don’t even know that?”

“So what if I don’t! Just tell me. Come on, Sewell…”

Sewell grinned. “Well, if you ask nicely...”

Abel scowled. “No.” “Okay, then I’m not talking.”

“Fine. I’ll ask Mother.” He started to stand up.

“Hey!” Sewell snapped, yanking Abel back down by the arm. “Don’t go ruining Mother’s time with Father. You know he leaves tonight.”

“Then tell me!”

Sewell sighed. “Alright, alright, calm down, will yah? What do you want to know?”

“I want to know where Father is going.”

Sewell lay with his hands behind his

head, staring up at the fabric overhang of the gazebo. “He’s going back home.”

“Back to Sodomorra?”

“No, yah numbskull, his real home. Our real home. The City with Twelve Gates, the Capital of Jasper and Gold.” When he saw no recognition on his brother’s face, he snapped, “The Kingdom! The King lives there with the Crowned Prince, come on Abel!”

“I-I know that,” Abel sputtered. After a pause: “But what’s it like?”

Sewell laughed. “I can’t believe you don’t know! Well alright, alright, I’ll be a good brother and tell yah. Listen up, Abel, this city is the best, the most beautiful out there. Its walls are made of jasper so pure it’s practically clear. And the gates; Abel, the gates are made of solid pearls!” He grinned down at his brother’s awe-filled expression. “But that’s just the outside. Inside, all the buildings and steps and who knows what else are made of gold so pure it’s like glass, even purer than the jasper.

And decorating the foundation is a whole load of other gems-there’s sapphire, amethyst, emerald, beryl, topaz… and a bunch of others.”

Abel glanced at Father again.

“Is it really that great there?”

“You bet’cha. And there’s room for everyone. We all go there sometime.”

Abel tried to imagine such a beautiful place. Father would be happy, and he could even meet the King, or maybe even the Crowned Prince. Still, Abel couldn’t ignore the discomfort squirming in his stomach: how long until he would see Father again?

Near Father and Mother, Uncle hopped onto the table and, with a glass held high, bellowed, “Everyone listen up! The sun’s setting and I still haven’t given my brother a proper farewell!”

The music slowed to a stop, and the dancers stopped twirling. Everyone made their way back to the table, giggling and laughing. As the sun and sky adopted a scorchedyellow hue, everyone quieted down in their spots and gave Uncle their attention.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Uncle said,

smiling. “Nice and quiet.” He took a drink from his glass and let the congregation of friends and family listen to silence: a faint wind rippling the gazebo overhang; waves breaking far off at the beach; a seabird cry.

Uncle finished drinking and held his glass towards Father, who didn’t so much as blink.

“Today,” he said, “we are gathered to send off my brother Abraham. Today he is called home by the King. After today, he will finally, truly live!”

Everyone cheered, and some clinked glasses and drank. Father, however, remained unresponsive as Mother hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.

Uncle laughed. “Yes! Cheer, for it is worth celebrating! This is the day we all await, when the King rewards our devotion. And my brother’s devotion, if I am allowed a moment to boast, is rivaled by few.

“This last month, my brother led a band of men deep into Sodomorra in an attempt to free our people from the bondage of the Archduke of Zebub. They found only hostility, but my brother-bless his stubborn heart-continued to persist.” Uncle grimaced.

“This,” he said, “as well as the return home, are my brother’s reward.” He stepped over to Father and slipped off the white scarf.

Father shifted slightly as his neck was exposed, revealing a thick, glossy line that ran across the bulge of his throat.

Some of the women gasped. Many grimaced.

Sewell leaned toward Abel and whispered, “They cleaned it up a lot. It looked much worse when Father first came home.”

Uncle pointed at Father, at the mark.

“They did this to him,” he said, “as he tried to save them. Not many have this devotion.

Not many can make a sacrifice that pays such homage to the Crowned Prince and King.”

Uncle looked back, where above the houses, the sky was reddening into a baked clay hue.

“Surely he will receive quite the welcome.”

Read the rest of Mike’s story at centurypulse.com

{Entertainment

It’s my life profile.carriesandstrom photo.colemanspilde

A look at the entertaining life of junior Elizabeth Schaff Q:What kind of car would you be?

Q: If you could add one word to the English dictionary what would it be? Define it.

A: Ford Focus. Constantly connected to Facebook, and great MPG to get me where I need to go with as low gas spending as possible.

A: Derp (adv.): A word that describes a silly, uncoordinated or stupid action that is generally cause for ridicule. [Syn.: herp, herp-derp] Q: What would you name your first born child?

Q: What’s your mantra in life?

A: Whatever feels right at that time. Probably something somewhat common, but with a unique spelling or twist.

A: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Suess Q: Where’s your happy place?

Q: You’re in China trying to find a restroom- what do you say?

A: Shopping and hanging out with my friends and family, playing music, listening to my iPod or sleeping.

A: I would hold my stomach and look pitiful/in pain, and weakly mumble something about, “bad stir fry”, Q: If you could have brunch with any person until someone pointed me in the right direction. in the world who would it be?

A: Sabine Meyer, because she's an amazing clarinetist and I aspire to be able to play as well as she does someday.

She's pretty much my musical role model.

Q: You used to live in Williston, what shocked you the most when you came to Bismarck?

A: The leniency of the police! That, and the commonknowledge unspoken rule of, “If you're not going five miles over the speed limit, you're going five under.”

Q: If you could only eat one food for a year what would it be?

A: Watermelon, because it's juicy, pink and reminds me of summer.

Q: What’s your passion in life?

A: Music! I love how it can evoke emotions, and how it's a universal

language- people from all over, who speak entirely different languages and have completely different backgrounds, can come together and create music. It breaks down borders and can be healing and soothing.

Cong ratulations to the win ners of SADDﾃ不 Above the I nfluence Arrow desig n contest!

First Place- Maddie Hanson Second Place- Jodi Homan Third Place- Madison Barney Honorable MentionAlyssa Christensen

2nd

Honorable Mention

3rd

1st