CMRStampedeFeb2012 by CMR Stampede

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to state victory An open forum for student expression NEWS....................Thespian Festival: Drama students take stage in Missoula pg. 05 OPINION...................Arabian Nights: Inside look on Prom 2012 pg. 08 FEATURES...................Women & Cars: All-female automotive class pg. 17 ENTERTAINMENT...................Summer Music: Local band plans nine-state tour pg. 19 SPORTS...................Ultimate Frisbee: Warm weather inspires summer sports pg. 26

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c.m. russell high school great falls, mont. feb. 23, 2012 vol. 47, issue 6

happeningnow Healing Hearts

katie hodges

print editor-in-chief

Chasing Sanity

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

I was in the towel aisle in Target recently, having a panic attack. No, contrary to popular belief, I am not so crazy that purchasing linens normally sends me into a tailspin. But these weren’t ordinary towels. These were special towels. College towels. These towels were added to the slowly growing collection on the top shelf of my closet that will be needed when I attempt to make a home away from home in six short months from now. Like most of my fellow seniors, I am looking forward to moving out next fall. After living for 18 years with my parents, I am ready to see what living on my own is like. But also like most of my peers, the idea of starting a new life all on my own sort of scares me. There is so much that goes in to starting life on my own that I had never thought up before this year. I mean, who would have ever thought I would need my own towels? Why can’t I just use my parents’? I am ready to grow up. I am ready to be responsible for myself and explore what opportunities life has to offer me. But the more I think about what being responsible to myself really entails, the more anxious I get. It’s like going swimming. Sure, I might want to jump feet first into the water, but the more I think about how cold the water is going to be, the more I hold back. The only thing about growing up is that I won’t have the option of running away. No matter where I go to school, in six monthes I will have to jump in, feet first. So I’m doing what it takes to prepare myself. Buying towels, getting my toes wet. Just waiting to jump in.

The Care Workshop took place at the Ursuline Center on Feb. 1-3 and included students and speakers from all schools and areas of the community. Photo by Kelsey Smith.

Annual C.A.R.E. Workshop provides chance for students to vent, receive advice, gain coping skills, express feelings by lindsey buck It’s a drug addiction. It’s losing a spouse to suicide. It’s a constant bullying problem, a desire for a “perfect” self, or a history of alcohol abuse. No matter what it is, there is always someone who “has a more difficult life,” counselor Earlene Ostberg said. And that’s where the Care Workshop comes in. Ostberg has helped coordinate CMR’s annual C.A.R.E. Workshop for 13 years. The workshop started about 30 years ago and covers a variety of topics, including drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, bullying, and the effects of media. “I think everyone has something they’re struggling with. No one goes away without learning to cope,” she said. During the workshop different speakers are given an hour to tell their story and convey their feelings on a personal topic. “We have people who have experienced tragic things. [Them] talking about it gives strategies to help [students] seek help,” Ostberg said. According to Ostberg, some speakers even return for years after. “Sometimes very deep issues come up. We have lots of good people who come to help,” she said. Ostberg said she hopes to see even more students attend conferences in the future. “One challenge is convincing all students to go. We all need somebody to lean on and to share our journey with,” she said. Even though the workshop is seen as helpful for students with serious trauma in their lives, it actually benefits all different types of students.

“I haven’t talked to one person who didn’t think it was the best thing they’ve ever done,” Ostberg said. Junior Julie Curtis agrees. “It’s a great learning experience. You learn about yourself, others, coping methods, and preventing methods,” Curtis said. During the workshop, Curtis experienced a series of different activities all aimed towards the same goal: to create better coping skills in students and allow them the chance to express their feelings and issues. “The first day it’s icebreakers and education on how group works, drugs, and alcohol. The second day is speakers. We go into group the third day. The most challenging part was telling my story without worrying about people judging me,” she said. According to Curtis, going into a group and talking to other students is one of the best parts of the entire workshop. “No matter what we see on the outside, we don’t know what people are going through or thinking. You go into group and you’re like ‘This person is just like I am,’” she said. Although telling her story was challenging, Curtis said that it was worth it in the end. “I enjoyed meeting new people and being able to learn about other people and their issues. I liked expressing my feelings as well,” she said. “I took a lot away from it. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

District-wide budget cuts make life difficult for staff, gradually raise enrollment fees for student body by peyton fulbright

When push comes to shove involving district budget cuts, art teacher Tess Jacobs knows that it always ends in confusion and contradiction. “I present students with high quality paper and tell them not to mess up, but still try to experiment. It’s just a giant contradiction, because you have to take risks with trying something new, but you can’t go through a lot of paper,” Jacobs said. Every year, district-wide budget cuts rip through the schools, forcing teachers to use their imaginations. Every department is affected, including the art department, where Jacobs has been teaching for the last 10 years. In each of those 10 years, Jacob’s budget has been cut. It’s getting to the point where class fees have to be raised. This year, photography class fees were raised by $5 and will most likely go up an additional $5 next year, according to Jacobs. When she started, a roll of film cost $0.99, and in one decade, a roll inflated to $1.49. Black and white photography might even come to an end in the future, because of how the cost keeps rising, she said. Within the last few years, students have become increasingly aware of how budget cuts affect them. “Kids ask for erasers, and I can’t give them any. I don’t have any. We have to ask kids to provide basic materials,” Jacobs said. Science department leader Jon Davis has a similar experience. Instead of using beakers for experiments, he has resorted to plastic cups. According to Davis, kids are pretty understanding, but they still jokingly complain by saying things like “Seriously Mr. Davis, plastic cups?” The science department was on the receiving end of a 5 percent cut this year, and Davis says that another 5-10 percent cut will happen next year. “Five percent might not seem like much, but it really adds up,” Davis said. When supplies are limited by a shrinking budget, Davis has had to start being more careful. He said that accurate counts are vital because he can’t afford to buy extras. As of now, the only science class with a fee is foren-

sics. If cuts continue, more classes will have fees attached. According to Davis, they would hate to have to do that, because money is tight for families too, but it may become a necessary evil. In addition, Davis says that within a few years, the school won’t be able to do the fetal pig dissection. According to Principal Dick Kloppel, there is major cause for concern. “I’m afraid next year’s cuts will be significant,” Kloppel said. “I’m fearful because there is no excess to cut. Excess went out a few years ago, now we have to cut essential services.” Speaking of excess, teachers now must be incredibly accurate with their counts because they can’t afford to buy extras, Davis said. According to Kloppel, from now on students are going to have to be extremely careful with scheduling. The school staffs based on enrollment in different classes, and things change drastically when kids change classes because they don’t like their schedulPreparing to serve the sixth period culinary arts class, Teri Forde cuts into a ing choices. One of the most popular classes is lasagna on Feb. 17. Photo by Peyton Fulbright. culinary arts, taught by Teri Forde. In noticed that school enrollment has gone down along the last ten years, there has been a 15-20 percent budget with the budget, but the shops department has gotten cut, even though the classes have the same amount of more students. Yeager says that he has had to start cutkids, Forde said. ting back and revamping curriculum in order to keep “The biggest effect would have to be that now it’s cost down. less hands on. Kids can’t cook as often, there are more Although money is tight, companies in the commudemonstrations,” Forde said. nity are more than willing to help. Thousands of latex Perhaps the biggest struggle across the board, and non-latex gloves were donated for dissections to ccording to Forde, Davis, Jaobs, and head of industrial Davis, and scrap metal has been donated to Yaeger. tech Mark Yaeger, is the shrinking budget and growIn addition, Jacobs receives donations from local busiing class size. nesses. Jacobs is extremely thankful for the outside According to Yaeger, a big help for the shop departhelp. ment is that they can sell things that they make. Kids “I’m always looking for donations. It’s so gratifymake boot scrapers, chairs, repair cars, and log furniing; it makes me realize the importance of art in the ture and sell them. community; people really value it.” In the 14 years he has worked at CMR, Yaeger has

Conducting a sixth period biology class on Feb. 17, science department leader Jon Davis attempts to make do with budget cuts. Photo by Peyton Fulbright.

Relaxing after hard work in the kitchen, sixth period culinary arts class members feast upon their hard work. Culinary arts is one of many classes at CMR impacted by budget cuts. Photo by Peyton Fulbright.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Students,staff work together to earn money

According to Bulger, advent calendars sales are easy to sell because they are a “tradition people look forward to.” Money made by the advent calendar is widely spread throughout the German program. “Students get a dollar for each one they sell,” she said. “It’s a nice treat for them to get this money before we go on the trip that they have forgotten about.” The biggest fundraiser CMR hosts is fruit sales. Fruit sales have been a running tradition at CMR for “years, and years and years,” Singing their hearts out, Russell Ayres singers Nicholas Schulz, Nathan Maycroft, Nicole according to Jennifer Cantley, Brennan, and Jordan Kemp deliver Valentines on Feb.14. Photo by Jake Settera. CMR’s choir director. “We were selling fruit by whisper harris A box of oranges, $38. A packet of flower bulbs, $6. An when I was here in 1991, and they had been going on for advent calendar, $4. Singing Valentines, $3. A box of Mar- several years before that,” she said. Fruit sales allow the music students to go on tours, tinsons candy, $10. Learning to fundraise as a high school work with professional musicians and pay for uniforms student? Priceless. “The students see the need and they go out and sell,” and music. One of the fundamental things the music program CMR drama teacher Chris Evans said. does with the money is give out approximately 15 vocal Every department requires money to function, Evans said. At CMR, fundraising keeps programs like stagecraft, scholarships. These scholarships allow students the chance music, journalism, and clubs running, and it allows drama to work individually with professional musicians for the year. productions to occur and students to travel the world. Recently, the Russell Ayres, one of CMR’s music Because of the wide range of fundraisers at CMR, each groups, fundraised for things such as tour by selling singone has to find a way to be unique and effective. “There are houses around CMR that have been hit sev- ing valentines. The valentines were available for students to buy at eral times by students selling quality product,” Evans said. Teachers have to work diligently and be ultra-orga- lunches for $3 or $5 for delivery with a rose. The students nized when supervising a fundraiser. Because of the mul- went around during fourth and seventh periods, singing tiple fundraisers the teachers work together and with their songs from students to others. “We sold almost all our valentines spots,” Cantley said. students. Fundraisers allow students to explore all of the aspects “We are completely honest with our students; they the school has to offer, and they allow students the opporknow we need the money,” Evans said. German teacher Anne Bulger’s students fundraise for tunity to use what they made money for. “They’re either walking on it, wearing it, or performing the German Club, which has an annual dinner at the end it,” Evans said. of the year. The students who are traveling to Germany earn a portion of what they have sold for spending money.

CMR fruit sales delivery can be crazy,stressful, and time consuming, this year was no different. Photo by Kelsey Smith.

The Russell Ayres continued their Feb.14 singing journey on the gym floor. Photo by Jake Settera.

Who sells what? Music: (choir, band, orchestra) Fruit Russell Ayres: Singing Valentines Drama: Martinsons candy Journalism: Flower bulbs German: Advent calendars

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

A class act

CMR drama department students take the stage at festival Feb. 3-4 by abby lynes

Leonardo DiCaprio of “Titanic” may have been the multi-millionaire heart-throb of the nineties, but he has nothing on senior Marquis Archuletta and crew when it comes to performing. “I feel like the king of the world,” Archuletta said. Fellow senior Matt Hagler describes the experience as, “Like winning the Super Bowl or something.” That feeling was what drove CMR to success at the 2012 Thespian Festival. The Thespian Society, a national organization for dedicated high school actors, held Montana’s state festival in Missoula Feb. 3-4. Bringing fierce competition, CMR came back with an Outstanding Ensemble award, for the second year in a row. Archuletta, who played a lead role as Eli Stancher in the suspenseful play, “One Laying Bridge,” also received two college scholarships to study acting at the University of Montana and an Outstanding Actor award. “I feel that I’ve grown a lot as an actor,” he said. Drama teacher Chis Evans has seen that growth across the drama department, especially in preparation for the festival.

“[It] makes me glad to be a teacher,” he said. Going to Thespian Festival is a rite of passage for many drama students, who need 10 thespian points, acquired through attending and being involved with plays and drama to become a thespian. Being a thespian means sitting on the top of one of the largest club in school. There is also much deeper value to be gained from attending. “I love that a bunch of old actors can pass on the torch to students just as passionate about it as we are,” Evans said. Attending the festival creates a sense of unity among thespians across the state, as they all share the common bond of acting. “It’s all about the people,” Hagler said. Despite cross-town rivalry in sports, competition isn’t an issue for Senior Kyle Spriggs applies stage makeup in preparation for performance. Photo by Hannah Swant. drama students at CMR and Great Falls High. “We’re a big powerhouse,” Hagler said of the two Great Falls drama departments In fact, the Great Falls High Thespian Society has been selected to attend the National Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb., June 25-30. The festival was a highlight of most drama students’ year, and many faced disappointment at the end of the short weekend. “It’s a big let-down now that it’s over,” Hagler said. Evans agrees. “It’s a great two days to be a high school drama student.” Above: Senior Heaven Hewitt, junior Hertense Klein, and senior Ashley Pomeroy enjoy dinner at the award ceremonybanquet. Far left : Klein, senior Daniel Kling, and senior Teryn Brody put on makeup in preparation for a performance. Left : Hewitt applauds as awards are given out. photos by Mandi Engen, Hannah Swant, and Jennifer Verzuh.

What was the best part of Thespian Festival? “Making new friends from tons of different schools.” - Connor Gusick “Winning the Best Ensemble Award.” - Kyle Wood “Getting to spend the weekend with 500 people with the same love of theatre.” - Mandi Engen “Being on the stage at U of M.” - Emily Townsend “Spending time with friends and making new ones.” - Matt Hagler “Playing crazy ping- pong!” - Heaven Hewett “Just the energy in the room at Thespian Festival is exciting and invigorating.” - Teacher Chris Evans

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Spreading foreign language across the globe

Spanish classes take international skyping edge Her Spanish classes pick by luke sisko Spanish students speaking random IP addresses and they the language may soon have see if they can find a spanish an international opportunity to class to skype with.. “We have not actually had speak the language. Sara Buley’s Spanish classes are taking our “Vision Net” meeting with a whole new turn with foreign the two classes, but the two language by skyping with stu- teachers and I have communicated,” Buley said. dents all around the world. Buley has planned out ac“I heard about the opportutivities for her nity to participate in ‘Read around I thought that it would be class such as the Planet’ from an fun and interesting for my stu- reading a story e-mail invitation dents to communicate with an- or acting out puppets that Mrs. Borger other class, possibly from Latin with with the Spanin the media cen- America. ish students. ter forwarded to Sara Buley The benefit all the teachers at of this opportuCMR,” Buley said. “I thought that it would be nity is that they can communifun and interesting for my stu- cate and share with other students to communicate with an- dents in Spanish. “It is so fun to actually be other class, possibly from Latin talking to another group in real America.” Two of Buley’s classes paired time and share ideas,” she said, up with two different Spanish “The only negative I can think classes, one from Texas and one of is that it takes time and you have to be ready for ‘technical from Michigan.

difficulties’.” Buley’s students will be skyping their foreign counterparts around the beginning of March. “I hope that we have more opportunities,” she said, “I am checking into it. I really would like students to communicate with students in Latin America.” ‘Read around the Planet’ is a celebration of the National Education Associations read across America. Classrooms use interactive video to connect with other classrooms around the planet and read to each other. The activity is sponsored by TWICE and Polycom, in cooperation with NEA. This activity is open to all K-12 students ages 6–18 in public and private schools who have access to two way interactive video equipment.

Art by Corey Allen.

Hola! Como estas? Para mas espanol en tu vivida, visita la clases de idiomas extranjeras. Es us buen tiempo con amigos y profesoras para aprender mas idiomas del mundo. En la biblioteca, esto es un television con un technologia para hablar en otros paises del mundo.

Great Falls Costumes, ETC. Milano Prom Gowns

Factory direct starting at $150 Order yours today for a custom fit In stock gown rentals also available starting at $50

WE NEED YOU! It is time for enrolling in the 2012-2013 school year courses at Great Falls Public Schools. Agriculture Leadership: This course would not formally meet during the day. Students will complete a SAE program, participate in a FFA committee and Career Development Events (CDE’s). Agriculture I-IV: These are grade specific courses. They focus on Physical and Biological Agriculture Systems then allow students to explore specific areas of interest to them. Check the School Course Catalogue for more details. Advisor: Jodi Koterba Phone: 406-268-6213 Fax: 406-268-6109 E-mail: jodi_koterba@gfps.k12.mt.us

Tuxedo Gallery Rentals

Many colors to choose from In stock tux rentals also available starting at $65 311 Central Ave. (406) 771-0900 Hours: 11-5 Mon.-Tues. Thurs.-Fri. By appt. on Wed. and Sat.

Help support CMR’s Business Professionals of America with RUSTLER GEAR! White and gray t-shirts Long-sleeve t-shirts

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opinionvoice it

I’ve gained a lot more respect and stability now that I act a little more like a third grader. In fact, we’d all appreciate very much if you’d start acting like one, too. Blue binding, recycled newspaper strips, white with perfectly straight lines, a thin blue strip inserted between pages. It all amounts to the same thing: my journal. I like to call it a journal because it sounds less lame, but you could practically call it a diary. Before you begin to envision me as four-foot-eight with an extremely immature attitude, consider this: I’m a better person now that I’m a little more “lame.” Writing down your daily thoughts, feelings, and opinions can be nothing but helpful. Not only has it been a way to vent, but a perfect place to keep ideas and goals that I desire to challenge myself with. The truth is evident: there are some things you just cannot tell others. Sometimes you’re angry and you want to use some not-so-nice words. Sometimes you’re upset and you want to express every inner feeling. Sometimes you’re overjoyed and you want to scream your excitement without annoying others. Limiting yourself to speech only limits how deep you can be. Your relationship with a piece of paper can be deeper than with any other person sometimes. You don’t have to be a top English student. You might hate writing essays and dialectical journals. But, when you’re writing for you, I guarantee you might start to love writing a little more. So, walk proudly down that aisle in Barnes and Nobles and pick yourself up a little book with a lock and key.

Writing Across the Curriculum:

Appropriate place to improve writing English class, allow teachers to focus on their chosen subjects

No surprise, but here at the Stampede, we like writing. Words are important. Words have the power to change the world, the power to change lives. Everyone should have that power. Everyone should have the power to write well. It’s like basic math or science. Everyone needs to have some understanding of algebra and the periodic table of the elements. Everyone needs to know how to write. So why do we have a problem with Writing Across the Curriculum, a new program where students are encouraged to write in classes that aren’t typically writing-intense, such as math or science, or even music or industrial tech classes? Writing should have a purpose. The first basic question any reporter answers before writing their story is “why am I writing this?” There needs to be a reason. And Writing Across the Curriculum ignores the necessity of that reason. Writing in a class setting should be an opportunity to display knowledge or understanding of the topic, not an opportunity for teachers to check off a mark in a district-mandated rubric of things they need to teach. The rubric specifically addresses things such as “appropriate transitions” and “[extending] the identification of problem/topic… and the implications/analysis.” These requirements, necessary for an “advanced” score are only applicable for papers written in an essay format, not to the dozens of other ways students express themselves through the written word. Writing Across the Curriculum ignores these different styles of writing. The rubric for Writing Across the Curriculum focuses on a traditional “English paper” style of writing. It assumes that there is a thesis statement, concrete details, and commentary. Those things are great. In an English paper. But students can write in a classroom setting and not be writing for English. They

voice

BOX

our

lindsey buck

Buck Talk news/opinion editor

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

might write a perfect lab report for chemistry or a flawless story in Spanish. They are still writing, still improving their abilities to express themselves, but not in a way that can be graded the way a five paragraph essay on “Romeo and Juliet” is graded. Students write every day, and they are exposed to different styles of writing. English papers can be written in English class, but biology students should not be expected to write them. They should learn how to write in a way that is appropriate to the class (such as a lab-write up), not a way that is appropriate for another class. Writing Across the Curriculum also places an unfair burden on teachers. Spanish teachers aren’t used to grading papers in English; they are not paid to critique their students’ work in English. Rather, they are paid to improve their Spanish. Teachers who have spent their time teaching their students how to write a lab report or change a spark plug don’t necessarily know how to correct grammar or transitions, and it’s not their job to do so. If the district believes that students are lacking writing skills, then the district needs to look closer at English classes. If district students are struggling on standardized tests or on district writing assessments, that’s a problem. But that problem won’t be fixed by forcing students to write in science or shop class when they would rather be learning the material they signed up to learn. That problem will only be fixed in English class, which is where writing rubrics belong. So let English teachers focus on English essays. Let science teachers focus on lab write-ups. Let music teachers focus on reading bass cleft, and let math teachers focus on word problems. Students should not be forced to write in classes not designed for writing to meet a district requirement, but rather to display knowledge pertinent to the class.

Charles M. Russell High School: The Stampede The Stampede, published approximately every four weeks, is a public forum for all voices on campus. These voices include the students, parents, faculty and the community at large. The opinions and views in this publication are not necessarily those of the Stampede staff, the student body, CMR employees or the school administration. The Stampede strives to cover the news accurately and fairly; however, when a mistake is made, a correction will be printed in the following issue. All writers are responsible for the content of their articles. Editors will edit all copy to be free of plagiarism and libel, and all writers will double-check their facts before publication. The Stampede accepts letters but limits the length to 200 words. The Stampede reserves the right to edit all letters; anonymous letters are not accepted. The Stampede maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association, the Journalism Education Association and Quill and Scroll. Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/KRT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

editor-in-chief kathleen hodges online editor elizabeth stanley visual content editor corey allen design editor meg smith news/opinion editor lindsey buck business manager tayler korb features editor kristi gange sports editor alecks leavey entertainment editor caitlyn aakre adviser beth britton

staff greighsen adams ida andersen peyton fulbright whisper harris kendra hix claire knox deja lacey abby lynes mandi monroe stephanie mouser ryan murphy caroline perkins kaidin phelan zach pottratz olivia rudio jake settera luke sisko keeli telleen jennifer verzuh

228 17th Ave. NW (406) 268-6178 Great Falls, MT 59404 www.rustlernews.com

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Prom 2012

The low-down on the annual formal get-down

A guy’s angle: Prom as friends? by ryan murphy Every person left lacking a date with prom in sight was been asked the question, “Well, why don’t you just go as friends?” Usually when I get asked, I immediately respond with a, “Why?” Why would anyone want to go to prom as friends, just to be surrounded by couples being ooey gooey all over each other just mere feet, if not inches, away? Prom is an event meant for high school couples to go and be just that, a couple. Prom is first and foremost a dance, and in former years, a “grind-fest.” Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but rubbing one’s body against another’s does not seem like “friendship” activity. Usually, my friends and I just watch movies or go bowling or something – not spastically gyrate our pelvises in rhythm to music. Furthermore, does having to explain to every person you come across that you’re “just friends” sound like a fun way to spend your evening? “Dude, how long have you two been going out?” asks random person. “We’re not,” you say. “Oh... right,” the disbelieving person replies. And after spending a night such as prom together with a friend who you consider simply to be just that, a friend, can get awkward after a traditionally romantic night such as prom. Those pesky little things called feelings tend to get in the way when the line between friendship and relationship gets blurred. I don’t know about you, but it just seems like a whole lot of unnecessary drama and potential turmoil to go through, when you could just go bowling and enjoy a fast food dinner instead.

by ryan murphy Ever since CMR cancelled the informal MORP dance in November, there’s been a burning question as to whether there will be an official, school-sponsored prom. Much to the relief of CMR students and local businesses, the answer is yes, there will be a prom. Prom is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 30 from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. in the CMR Fieldhouse. Seniors and CMR faculty have spent weeks planning for prom, with weekly meetings that began on Jan. 23, and will continue every Thursday up until the dance. For the 2012 prom, Arabian Nights has been selected for the theme, so Arabian-style tents, decorations, music and even some belly dancers could be expected at this years’ dance. Ticket designs are currently pending, and prices have not yet been set, but they can be expected to be more expensive than last year because MORP is usually a fundraiser for prom, so the dance is much more dependent upon the revenue raised from ticket sales to fund the dance. “We really want to start selling tickets by no later than Monday Feb. 27,” Associate Principal Julie Tramelli said. Even though this date is well before the dance, the school wants to start selling tickets early so that they can ensure enough people are interested to actually hold the dance and fund it. Both Tramelli and Senior Class President Amber Gettis have said that one thing about this year’s dance is making it less about dancing and more about having fun. Small desserts and other hors d’oeuvres -along with having game and card tables including “appropriate” card games -- are going to be featured in order to take the attention away from dancing, and more importantly, inappropriate dancing. The video game Just Dance will also be included as an alternate

Art by Mandi Monroe

activity. However, there will still be plenty of opportunities for dancing, but this year the set list is going to be more country and rock than in years past. At the very beginning of the dance, the tentative plan is to have a “senior introduction.” Seniors and their dates, if they happen to be underclassmen, will be introduced on a red carpet and have their names announced. Even though it may be unlikely, there also is talk of potentially having a camel at the entrance for picture opportunities, but it’s improbable that the camel will actually pan out. A DJ and professional photographer have been arranged for the festivities. The DJ will be Jake Clark, and the professional portraits are going to be handled by Jennifer from Big Sky Portraits. This year’s prom assures to be a great time. “It’s a time of bonding for CMR students,” Gettis said.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Reality

Students, staff weigh in on reality TV shows

Check

The explosion, proliferation of reality television shows creates false expectations of “real” life by greighsen adams

So what if a bunch of teens get pregnant? Shows like “Teen Mom”, “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” “Jersey Shore,” “The Bachelor,” “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best,” and many more are honestly just filler shows. Even when there isn’t anything worth watching, I still don’t stoop low enough to watch a bunch of half-dressed girls who spray tan more often than not. “Jersey Shore” makes no sense to me. I would like it if someone explained the point of reality shows to me because from where I stand they are a waste of time. The more I flip through the channels, the more I notice that our cable channels are flowing over with the dumbest shows possible. When I watch “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” I sense my brain cells slowly disappearing. Thank goodness for my ability to change the channel. I have seen the shows more than once, and each time I keep hoping the content will improve, and each time I am let down. On a Thursday night on CBS, 16 out of the 22 shows on are reality television. Reality shows didn’t just pop out of nowhere overnight. No! They started in the 1940’s. It was such a great decade. First there was Hitler, then three years later, reality television started in the form of “Candid Camera.” The first mainstream reality shows in America were “Survivor” and “Big Brother,” both of which began in 2000. I am always curious if the people on reality shows would act like this if they didn’t have a camera following

them around everywhere they go. There is no acting involved, but there is money. Lots and lots of money if the show takes off. One big problem with reality television is the greed that results. The people on reality shows probably haven’t ever been able to make the kind of money they do now, and my guess is they let it go to their head. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and I bet they would make spray tanning and plastic surgery a deadly sin if they knew about it back then. Yes, there are effects of reality shows. For one, it might give others the idea to create new shows, and that would be awful. It shows many children and teens that it’s OK to act the same way. I think that is wrong. I know many girls who say Snooki is their idol and that they look up to her. How twisted is that? I find it a little repulsive. Liking Snooki is bad enough, but when someone wants to start acting like her and being her, that is just a little weird. If you feel the urge to watch shows like “Joan and Melissa,” stop. Don’t do it. Grab your remote and do the best thing possible: change the channel. There are so many other things to watch that are still entertaining! Try the news, or if you’re feeling really spunky, I’d recommend the classic “Beauty and the Beast.”

Photo illustration by Corey Allen.

Sophomore McKenna Quinn “The Bachelor. It’s dramatic. I like the whole entire thing.”

Senior Paris Simonson

“I’m not a huge fan [of reality televsion]. I understand why people would get caught up in it, but to me it’s just ignorant.”

Teacher Tom Cubbage

“Reality TV is for people who don’t have a real life. It’s all fake anyway.”

Sophomore Sierra Krantwashl Like, if this isn’t reality, like, what is?

“Jersey Shore. It’s just so funny. They act stupid, and Snooki is just hilarious.”

EPIC

kristi gange

features editor

It’s supposed to be

Buried deep within the drawer of my nightstand lays a folder. A “Family Guy” folder with ripped edges and a picture of the talking dog, Brian. When you open the folder, folded pieces of paper displaying distressed writing fall everywhere. They’re all of the notes that I kept from my middle school years. Back when it was a tradition to meet a friend after class to give them the masterpiece you worked on all period instead of reading your book in English. While they mostly made me laugh, somehow they made me sad, too. All I could think of when I was reading them was how much easier relationships were when we were younger. Now they’re messy and complicated and dramatic. Before we entered high school, there really were no cliques. You were friends with everyone you had classes with and you didn’t discriminate when you played foursquare during lunch recess. And there was no need to lie or play games with the people you called your friends. That’s not the case anymore. People are secretive and stuck in their ways. There just seems to be a lot people whose main goal in a friendship is to produce jealousy or get into unnecessary fights. But what is the point of this? Our relationships should mature as we grow older, not reduce themselves into vessels of drama. All that I’m saying is we could all use a lunch recess and some cliquefree kickball.

featuring...

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Agriculture program

Second year of food production classes shows improvement

by meg smith

It’s a 4X4 box with possibilities, promise, and, hopefully, no dead plants. The fruitfulness of their box, which is now their garden, depends upon the effort each agriculture student puts into it. “It’s very hands-on,” freshman Shyanne Hammond said. She is just one of about 20 students enrolled in the second year of the agriculture program under the direction of teacher Jodi Koterba. “It’s important for kids to take career classes,” Koterba said. This was a large selling point for Warren Krone, a junior who hopes to become a horse trainer or cattle rancher. “It teaches over everything agriculture,” Krone said. “We’ve gone over reproduction in Waiting to be seeded, the Ag Program students have their 4X4 gardens placed in the greenhouse before they give their plants to the CMR food pantry, take them home, or give to the FCS program. Photo by livestock and the business side of agriculture.” Agri-business is the largest employment Meg Smith. sector in Montana and covers everything from listens to a community speaker or takes a field trip to an agriculturefood science to livestock and crops Koterba said. “I’m looking into the agriculture field,” Hammond said. “But I’m related business. The students even toured the Universal Semen Sales, Inc. in town to see the technical side of maintaining a farm. not sure what exactly I’m doing yet.” For Krone, his favorite part was performing an artificial Many of the kids in the program may be looking into agriinsemination on a prosthetic cow. business careers but don’t necessarily come from farming families. “It was probably the only time I’d get to do something like “Less than one-third of the students in class are ‘farming kids’,” that,” Krone said. Koterba said. Koterba speaks of the wide array of ways in which to This speaks loudly of the wide varieties of study in the program. Underclassmen will work in biology fields to tie in with their individualize projects. “As teachers we’re being taught to teach a skill and application of sophomore biology classes. Likewise, upperclassmen will work a skill,” Koterba said. “I try to tie in all the subjects to the real world.” more with applied physics and chemistry to meld with their science Through this teaching process Koterba has been able to teach to a classes. “It was different than I large range of career fields and interests. “It’s given me a better understanding of the agriculture world,” expected,” Hammond said. Krone said. “I really enjoy all the stuff that we do.” Among her favorite activities is the travelling the program does. Every week the program

Sautering together copper pipe, DJ Matury and fellow classmate work with teacher Jodi Koterba during a Feb. 21 agriculture class. Photo by Ryan Murphy.

Gleeful expectations

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

New glee choir launches on Thursdays downtown by mandi monroe

The casting of the pilot of Great Falls’ own Glee choir is headed by CMR’s choir director Jennifer Cantley and accompanist Steve Olson. “The reason we started [Glee Choir] is because I put out a form to see who would be interested by it and was really floored because a whole page full of names came back,” Cantley said. Now after school on Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. the Glee choir meets to rehearse at The Dot, located downtown at 620 Central Ave. “I think [Glee Choir] will be a good experience. You learn to work further in a group and get more done with people who are serious about it,” junior Libby Carlson said. “It’s a fun way to explore music, “Cantley said. “Right now, we are looking at the music arrangements from the show ‘Glee.’ We also have music from Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ and Queen’s ‘Somebody to Love.’ It is like a rock pop genre.” The Glee Choir will differ from the high school’s traditional choirs music by performing more pop culture songs, leaning towards current music. “It’s different because we have more freedom in song choice,” Carlson said. “It has more freedom of creativity.” Junior Devony Smith agrees. “In Chanteur we sing classical and in Glee we get to sing a lot of pop songs, stuff we hear on the radio,” Smith said. “We are doing a nice mix of modern music and old music, music everybody knows.” Carlson said. “Choir is fun, but there

will always be students who are doing it because it’s an easy A. At Glee choir we will all be serious and interested in following music.” Beside the difference in musical styles, the Glee choir also will be dabbling in the art of dance for their performances. “It will be pretty fun to perform. We get to do choreography, which will be kind of weird but cool,” Smith said. “And I really like Steve Olson, who is the director and should make it really fun.” Cantley has further hopes beyond the newfound creativity in the choir, “We hope it becomes a citywide type of choir with CMR, Great Falls High, Central and all the high schools. It would be a great collaboration,” Cantley said. For now they are starting on a smaller scale. “We are piloting it with the CMR students to see what they think, “Cantley said. The new Glee Choir will be performing at the spring concert with all the other choirs, but with a noticeable influence on the traditional choirs. “It is more of a pop concert,” Cantley said. “With more the type of music like the Glee choir will be working on.” The members aim to put their effort into it. “The show [Glee] makes it look easy, but it will be a lot of hard work. In reality you have to learn it all and spend time memorizing and be able to dance at the same time,” Smith said. Despite the hard work, the students find the Glee choir to be well worth it. “It is something that we all enjoy,” Carlson said.

Artwork by Mandi Monroe.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

6 6

8 6 2

3 3

Students plow ahead with lack of snow High school house ahead of schedule, students exposed to new challenges and difficulties The High School House is located at 1508 5th Avenue North West, near the old Flying J. The two period class teaches students hard work, useful skills and teamwork. (1) Senior Chase Weissman, Junior Austin Geiser, Senior Justin LeBrun (2) Junior Josh Oatman (3) Junior Austin Geiser (4) Senior Chase Weissman, Junior Austin Geiser, Senior Justin LeBrun (5) Junior Austin Geiser (6) Senior Justin LeBrun (7) Junior Josh Oatman (8) Senior Justin LeBrun Photos by Jake Settera, Kelsey Smith, and Lindsey Buck.

by meg smith While skiers and snowboarders lament the lack of snow this season, the High School House has pushed full steam ahead through the extraordinarily warm Montana winter. Retired teacher of nine days and newly reinstated High School House teacher Tom Maurer notes that the house is “way ahead” of schedule with the outside of the house completely finished. This kind of progress is also increasingly due to the enthusiasm shown by all of the students, Maurer said. Junior Jared Davis is not only building a house with the High School House program, but he also is going home to work with his dad on his own unfinished house. “I can use the things my dad teaches me at home when I come [to High School House],” Davis said. Davis works on his own home doing sheet rocking and framing, but when he comes to school he has his own set of challenges. “The foundation was pretty challenging,” Davis said. “I’d

never done anything like that before.” Being exposed to new trials is just part of the High School House experience. Senior Garrett Weber found the drywall to be the most difficult part because it was “just dirty.” But he finds the class to be extremely worthwhile knowing that he “gets to help a family out” by giving the house to “a good cause.” Every year the High School House partners with the local Neighborhood Works Program which sells the home lowcost to a family in need. This makes the house a major commitment. To senior Sydney Squires, it’s great to feel that sense of accomplishment when “looking at a room you’ve done totally by yourself.” Squires has been looking into construction jobs and decided to join High School House for the first time this year. “We are in great shape,” Maurer said. “The kids worked really hard.”

A passion for S I G N Gary McManus teaches alternative language

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

A N G

U A G

Learning sign through the web

www.aslpro.com

aslpro.com is a free informative website where you can learn more than a thousand signs in addition to much more information.

by kaidin phelan

CMR sophomore Jade Motschenbacher is challenging herself to learn a new language, but it won’t require her to speak a word. She is one of the handful of students who is taking sign language, which is taught first period by Gary McManus. Only one class of approximately 30 students can take sign language at a time. Sign language is an important skill, especially for people who are disabled McManus said, but not all students taking the class are disabled. Some of them have personal reasons for learning to sign. For Motschenbacher, it was about challenging herself to learn a new language. “I took a couple weeks of sign language in fourth or fifth grade, but since then I’ve been wanting to learn more, and I’m glad I’ve been able to take this class,” Motschenbacher said. Unlike other teachers, McManus refrains from vocalizing the first few days of class. “I was worried because at first the instructor didn’t talk much but it was fun to learn the signs silently,” she said. McManus uses the silence as a screening process; he hopes that students who are not serious about learning the language will drop the class. “I only want kids who are serious and passionate about sign,” McManus said. He also uses the silence to let his class experience what it would actually be like to speak in sign language to a deaf person. “I want them to see what it would be like to have a deaf person communicate with them,” McManus said. McManus said he hopes that he can teach

www.handspeak.com

handspeak.com is another great website where you can learn thousands of signs and also learn about sign language and its community.

www.lifeprint.com

lifeprint.com contains many free self study lessons to help you learn sign language.

www.cchdwi.org

CMR freshman Jennifer Keller receives a lesson on sign language from teacher Gary McManus during the first period class. Photo by Alyssa McClain.

students not only the language but also the culture of the deaf community. One of his goals is for his sign language students to respect the people with disabilities and also the challenges they have overcome through the use of sign. While he said sign language is not necessarily hard to learn, it depends on the student. “How well do students perceive sign language? It’s different for everyone,” McManus said. “If you think it will be easy, CMR junior Nina Bird demonstrates her sign language knowledge. Photo by Alyssa McClain. then it will be.”

be gorgeous... be beautiful... be fabulous...

1102 Central Avenue Great Falls MT 59401 (406) 761-6338

cchdwi.org is a site that has a host of free games and activites all geared toward teaching people sign language.

www.signtelinc.com

signtelinc.com is a site that has a dictionary for more than 4,800 words and the corresponding sign language translation.

www.squidoo.com/ signlanguagebasics

squidoo.com/signlanguagebasics provides a brief overview of sign language and teaches signs.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

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Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Left: Senior Molly McEntee checks out engine parts during consumer mechanics class. Center: Discovering the mechanical secrets of automotives, two students from fourth period tinker with car parts. Right: Industrial tech teacher Jodi Koterba shows her class some of the car parts they’ll become familiar with this semster. Photos by Jake Settera and Kelsey Smith.

Girl Power:

All-girl auto class teaches students how to own, operate a vehicle this information. It’s amazing how many people drive cars Plenty of students drive vehicles on a regular basis, but and have no idea how they run,” she said. out of those students, how many actually know how a car Having an all-girl class has its obvious disadvantages works or how to fix basic mechanic probwhen it comes to drama, Koterba said, but it lems? It’s amazing how many can be a good thing, too. Teaching students how to manage people drive cars and have no “The advantage is the comfort factor,” she and maintain a car is the basis of the all- idea how they run. said. “It is assumed that most boys know their girls consumer mechanics class, which is Jodi Koterba way around cars and girls don’t, and that’s also offered as an all-male class although wrong. Very few people do in general. Girls they’ve never had enough boys sign up to don’t want to look stupid in front of boys… actually teach the class, consumer mechanics teacher, Jodi and people assume that what they don’t know makes them Koterba said. stupid, and it’s not that they’re stupid it’s just they’ve never “The class is designed for anyone who is ever going to been exposed to it before.” own a car. We look at everything from what should you Seniors Kylie Myers and Maggie Rittel, who took the look at to buy it, to insure it, to carry around with you (in class last semester, as well as junior Katie Diemert, who’s an emergency), maintenance you should do, maintenance currently enrolled in the class, agree that it’s nice not to have a professional should do, [and] basic troubleshooting,” guys in the class. Koterba said. “A lot of the experience kids have had out of “Boys don’t make fun of you,” Myers said. “We learned class is incorrect.” how to change oil, change a tire, rotate tires, and learned “I think every person, including adults, should know how the engine works.” by jennifer verzuh

“You get more time with the teacher because it’s a smaller class,” Diemert said. “We took apart a lawn motor and put it back together,” Rittel said. “I feel more comfortable driving around now. I wouldn’t feel so scared if something happened.” Myers also feels more capable now in case an emergency or other auto-related problems should strike. “If something breaks we can figure out how to fix it,” Myers said. “It’s important so we kinda know what to do and don’t have to rely on guys.” Diemert said she joined to “learn to do things on my own.” “We’re just getting the basic knowledge of tools and how cars work,” she said of their current workload. All three girls agree that it’s a good class to take that, as Myers said, teaches you “important life skills.” “I think all girls should take it [because] it gives them an idea of how to work on things themselves when guys and other people aren’t around,” Diemert said.

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Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Death of a star shines light on Internet insensitivity

by Aaron Sagers (MCT) If everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes, as Andy Warhol suggested, then maybe it’s time to add that they’ll also be considered a genius three minutes after they die. At least that seems to be the new standard in our hashtag, status update and fast-paced breaking-news culture. On Saturday, Feb. 11, when news broke and rapidly blanketed the Internet, news channels and real life that Whitney Houston had died, it appeared that the most frequently repeated phrases connected to the event were “#RIP” on Twitter, and “she was a genius” with a “troubled past” just about everywhere else. Was Whitney Houston a genius? I can’t say whether she was or not. What is clear is that she was a human being, and deserves the respect we should be willing to offer a person in life and death. Whatever toxicology reports eventually say, and regardless of any other news that may surface surrounding her, she was still a member of someone’s family and those who knew and loved her are grieving. But the word “genius” exists on a very lubricated sliding scale. A description meant for those of rare excellence is so often used as obituary fodder that it has lost its punch. Houston was definitely an immensely gifted musician who achieved great success, and she impacted pop culture. But before she, or anyone, can really receive the genius label, it would seem like we’d need to take a long view and see how

she’s discussed 30, 40, 50 years from now. She was also a celebrity, a public figure who sought a spotlight and used her talents and personality to build a career. Once elevated from the obscurity that many most really good singers, musicians, actors, writers, etc. live in she became part of a larger conversation. That’s how it works: If you want to be famous, your successes and failures are on display, and you’re now a news beat. That Balloons, flowers, candles and other items line a fence outside the New Hope Baptist Church, in Newark, New Jersey, seen February 14, 2012, where celebrity status didn’t end with her death. Though it sounds macabre, the public demands Whitney Houston will be mourned by family and friends in a private service details. The circumstances surrounding her death Saturday at the Newark, N.J., church where she first began singing in public, and there will be no public events surrounding the funeral. (JMP/Abaca Press/ are part of a life built around making news. Images MCT) of a corpse on a gurney are taking that demand to important for those in both social media and news media an extreme I’d personally rather not visit, but there is a lot that people reasonably want to know. Moreover, to say something about the event, but we all end up saying to summarize the problems Houston or any celebrity the same shallow things that lack any real substance. experienced as part of a “troubled past” is cheap. A In a way, we were desperate to hitch our wagon to the laundry list isn’t necessary, but both her highlights and Whitney Houston story, and to be among the first to show how good we are at grieving, but the best we could muster lowlights matter. So when I suggest we should set aside the genius was a rote reaction. Whitney Houston will be missed by her family, friends status, and be willing to speak in greater detail about the flaws of Houston or of any celebrity who dies, I’m not and loved ones. She will be missed by her fans who will being insensitive. Quite the contrary: I think reducing continue to appreciate the work she created. It doesn’t anyone’s life to overly broad analysis, hyperbolic language matter if she was a genius or not, and accurate reporting of her “troubled past” won’t detract from her successes or generic phrases is the utmost in insensitivity. Just like “Rest In Peace” or “RIP” hashtags, the quick, and may actually have the opposite result. In life, she was throwaway phrases we toss out when a celebrity dies a celebrity and spoken about in specific detail because of are more about us than about the dead. It becomes so unique talents. So should it be in death.

caitlyn aakre

I sunburn easily

entertainment editor

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Why are we so hard on ourselves? I mean, seriously. We are hard on others for not living up to our expectations (come on Tom Brady!) More than that, we are hard on ourselves. We put pressure on ourselves to be everything we think others want us to be. We aspire to be sexy, strong, smart, stylish, skinny. If we don’t reach the “goals” we set for ourselves, we get down and we think we’re not good enough. It needs to stop. Last year, several female pop stars released songs inspiring their fans to love themselves. With “Firework,” “We R Who We R,” “Born This Way,” and “Raise Your Glass” topping the charts, it was hard for people not to feel good about themselves. However, it seems that the emphasis on perfection is being hit harder and harder every day. Whether it’s television, magazines, or the internet, teenagers are constantly being bombarded with the idea that they aren’t good enough. Well I’m here to say you are good enough. Seriously. We’re all good enough. We don’t need to wear a pound of makeup or lift three times our weight in the gym; we don’t need to be perfect. Everybody walking, crawling, or riding this earth is messed up somehow. We have to accept it and move on. What makes our race of animal so amazing is that we’re all strange. We all come with faults. For me, that’s nice knowing. And if that doesn’t convince you, I’m here to tell you that you are great, no matter the color of your skin, the gender of your lover, or the god you pray to. You’re awesome.

entertainment

Better Words for a Farewell says goodbye to Great Falls Local band prepares for 2012 Northwest summer tour by olivia rudio

At the end of Helter Skelter, Ringo Starr screams, “I got blisters on me fingers!” Likewise, guitarist Jacob Riddle is no stranger to such pains of hard work. “I’ve put more work into this than I have put into anything,” Riddle said. Like “the four lads from Liverpool,” local band Better Words for a Farewell comes from no L.A. pedigree. Instead, their humble beginnings were in a garage in Great Falls. About two months ago, the final roster for Better Words for a Farewell was created. What was once only two guitarists -- Riddle and David Purdy -- has grown into a six-man group. They practice weekly and perform nearly every other weekend at the 406 Club in preparation for a summer tour. At the performances the band has six songs in one set that lasts about half an hour, Riddle said. He usually measures the success of the performance based off the crowd. “If the crowd really gets into it then it’s usually a pretty good show,” he said. But if they are “standing like scarecrows” he gets a little nervous. Vocalist Sam Allison also assesses the show on “crowd response.” “We hand out fliers for the show and advertise on Facebook,” Allison said. “The crowd gets bigger every time.” But the band wanted to get their music out to their fans without having to hear it live. Manager and vocalist Jordan Lee Smith sent in recordings to the local radio station Q106. Smith didn’t tell the band he sent in their songs, Allison said. According to Allison, the band members were surprised to hear their song, “Left Behind”, on the radio for the first time. “I woke up to it one morning, and it was sheer confusion,” Allison said. Along with being heard on the radio, the band also is featured

on a demo CD. It contains five of their acoustic songs and is still available online on their Facebook page. A l s o found on their page is their fan base. The band monitors it closely. According to Purdy and drummer Philip Grimshaw, it consists of 272 likes, 57 percent girls and 43 percent guys. The band is recording an album in Great Falls on March 8. Also in March, a contractor from Epitaph Records is attending a performance to decide if they want to sign the band. This summer the band plans to go on tour. They are doing a West Coast tour and playing in various cities in nine states, including California, Washington, and Montana. Purdy said the band is “stoked” to be hitting the road. In order to raise money for the tour they started selling their demo CD’s for $4 after their show at the 406. Purdy said these are convenient for them and their fans because it’s an easy way to be “heard for a cheap amount.” Although the band is very successful for their age, they do suffer some hardships. Purdy said sometimes they get “terrible slots” due to their age because the 406 club is a bar and they have to play earlier. But at the end of the day the music is all worth it. According to Grimshaw, “Music equals life.”

Photo above: Drummer Philip Grimshaw sets up for a concert at the 406 Club. Photo by Karlee Simonson. Photo far left: On Febuary 17 guitarist Jacob Riddle does a sound check. Photo by Karlee Simonson. Middle photo: Guitarist, David Purdy and vocalist Jordan Lee Smith prepare for performance. Photo by Alex Strom. Photo right: Vocalist Sam Allison and Riddle get pumped up for the show. Photo by Karlee Simonson.

20 THE 84TH Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

ACADEMY AWARDS Sunday, February 26, 2012

iot d I e Th

The category

I choose “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” This just reminds me of a lot of personal experience that I’ve had in my life and if I saw the movie, I could probably relate. People do NOT respect my personal bubble space and sometimes they play a ukulele in my ear EXTREMELY LOUD. George Clooney. He’s a silver fox if I’ve ever seen one. I’m going with Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn.” Does anyone else remember her from “Dawson’s Creek?” She was great. She clearly could’ve only gotten better at acting. JONAH HILL! He is glorious. Haters need to stop hating on him for losing weight and becoming healthy. He doesn’t lose his funny when he loses his extra “fluff.” Because “Bridesmaids” is the only movie I’ve seen on this list, I can say with confidence that Melissa McCarthy undoubtedly takes home this prize. Her portrayal of the groom’s aggressive sister could not have been more spot-on. She tackled her best friend on a plane and suggested “Female Fight Club” for a bachelorette party. I aspire to have her gumption one day. “Puss in Boots.” I haven’t seen it, but that cat was hilarious on “Shrek.” And what’s better than an animal, which is regularly a house pet, wearing a cap and boots, carrying a sword, and giving puppy dog eyes and a British accent to get what he wants? Answer: nothing. Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” is my pick for this category. Let me just start by saying that me and Woody Allen are practically the same person. I mean, besides the fact that he’s an award-winning director and actor. But he got his start writing jokes for a newspaper, and I’m on newspaper staff. He loves playing the clarinet, and I played it for three years. I mean, it doesn’t matter if he actually loves playing his instrument and I haven’t touched mine in four years, or that his newspaper career launched him into stardom while mine launched me into the University of Montana. Actually, maybe we aren’t the same person…but I still think he should win.

Best Picture

Everyone has an opinion about who should take home an Academy Award this Sunday, but no one’s choice is more ignorant than Kristi Gange’s, who has only seen one of the movies that’s nominated, or more informed than Jennifer Verzuh’s, who has seen them all. Bear witness to our picks and see which of our choices emerge the victor.

The Info

rmed

“The Artist.” There are without a doubt many great films nominated for the Oscar’s crowning jewel this year, including the artsy yet beautiful “Tree of Life,” Woody Allen’s charming “Midnight in Paris,” and the affecting “The Descendants.” But none of the films in this category can hold a candle to “The Artist,” a completely original and top notch film. Don’t let the fact that it’s silent and black and white keep you from seeing it because it literally is the best film of 2011. Jean Dujardan from “The Artist.” There were only two serious competitors for the title this year: George Clooney and Dujardan. Both cranked out great performances in two of the year’s best films. However Dujardan managed to outdo favorite Clooney this year in a role that required complete commitment from him.

Actor in Leading Role

Actress in Viola Davis from “The Help.” she wasn’t as prominent in Leading Role Although her film as some of the other nominees Actor in a Supporting Role

Actress in a Supporting Role

in this category were in their productions her performance was far more powerful. Davis was utterly captivating in a beautiful role.

Christopher Plummer for “The Beginners.” Plummer completely transforms himself in “The Beginners” as a closeted gay man who in his 70s finally comes out to his adult son only to be diagnosed with cancer. Plummer showcases massive acting chops as a man who finally starts living and enjoying life just as he’s beginning to die. Octavia Spencer for “The Help.” There are so many talented women in this category that I found myself bouncing back between actresses for a while before I finally decided on Spencer. She gave the performance of her career showcasing not only strength but also vulnerability in a role that has already won her a Golden Globe.

Animated Feature Film

Best Director

“Rango.” Gore Verbinski’s animated flick is fun, quirky, humorous, and ultimately original. It outdid all other nominees in the category and is the obvious choice for the award.

Terrence Malick for “Tree of Life.” With competition from veteran director Martin Scorsese, it’s likely he won’t win, however Malick really does deserve this award. “Tree of Life” was a masterpiece, a trippy one at that but nevertheless a masterpiece, thanks largely to his creative and powerful vision.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

BLAST from thePAST Classic movies, television entertainment that everyone should watch and enjoy TV Shows

by claire knox

Seinfeld (1989-1998)

“It’s a show about nothing!” This classic show starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld is as relevant and hilarious today as when it first aired. It features entire episodes devoted to mundane everyday situations such as looking for a car in a parking garage and waiting to be seated at a Chinese food restaurant. It presents these common social occurrences in a hilarious and enduring way. In 2002, TV Guide named it the greatest television program of all time. TV Guide also ranked one particular episode, “The Contest,” as the best episode in television history. There is no drama, no serious relationships or any tear-jerking scenes. It is pure comedy, and it is pure genius.

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

This original series is what began it all, the six television series, the 11 feature films, dozens of games, hundreds of novels, and a themed attraction in Las Vegas. And let’s not forget Trekkies. Trekkies are the group of sci-fi nerds spawned by the Star Trek franchise. Even though the original series went off the air in 1969, the Trekkie race is still very much alive and well. To this day there are comic conventions teeming with people dressed as Spock and Captain Kirk. This series is so ingrained in our society that even the most scifi hating jocks know who Spock is. It is definitely one to watch and enjoy.

I Love Lucy (1951-1960)

“I Love Lucy” is truly a show that holds up over time. Though it went off the air in 1960, it is still seen by 40 million Americans each year. It was a pioneer of sorts, being the first scripted show to be filmed in front of a studio audience and the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen Ratings. It is referenced in today’s culture more than most people know, and it is something to watch if one wishes to be well educated in the ways of American culture.

Scooby Doo, Where Are You? (1969-1971)

Whether you like him or not, Scooby Doo the Great Dane and his gang of hippy friends are world famous, and the original series “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?” is where it all started. The show follows the storyline of the gang getting lost or taking a short-cut, finding some kind of supernatural trouble, setting a trap, and finally catching and unmasking the bad guy, at which point the criminal says, “I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your dumb dog.” Scooby Doo is still around today, but this original series is a must see for anyone who declares themselves a fan of Mystery Inc.

The Simpsons (1989-Present)

With a total of 498 episodes in 23 seasons, “The Simpsons” holds the titles of longest running sitcom, animated program, and primetime scripted TV series. It has won 27 Primetime Emmys, 27 Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award. In its last issue in 1999, Time magazine named it the 20th Century’s best television series. The Simpson family has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Homer’s catchphrase, “D’oh!” has been adopted into the English language. It paved the way for other animated comedy shows like “Family Guy” and “South Park.” Need I say more? Watch the show.

Movies

The Exorcist (1973)

It received 10 Academy Award nominations, was named “Scariest Movie of All Time” by Entertainment Weekly and Movies.com. Bravo named it No. 3 on its 100 Scariest Movie Moments. It has been preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry. But none of that matters. What really matters is the sheer terror that “The Exorcist” imparts on those brave enough to watch it. It still haunts the dreams of those who saw it as a teenager. It will still raise the hairs on the back of your neck when you witness the little girl’s head turn 360 degrees around and stare at you. “It’s a good day for an exorcism.”

Gone With the Wind (1939)

“Gone With the Wind” received 10 Academy Awards, including the first for Best Cinematography. It has been preserved by the National Film Registry and became the highest grossing film of all time shortly after its release. It earned over $400 million in today’s standards. It is an historical epic movie based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It’s a fantastic story filled with passion and love. It will have you standing up and cheering when Rhett Butler turns to Scarlett O’Hara and states that iconic quote, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982)

“E.T” is a timeless story of friendship and a lost soul trying to find his way home. It was a blockbuster from the start, surpassing “Star Wars” to become the highest grossing movie of all time, a record which it held for 11 years. It ranks “Greatest Science Fiction Film Ever Made” in a Rotten Tomatoes survey. It contains classic scenes such as Elliot using the allure of the humble Reece’s Piece to lure the alien into his bedroom. The final scene in which E.T. leaves Earth to return to his home planet still brings tears to the eyes of those who saw it first as a child. The iconic line, “E.T. phone home” is still referenced often in pop culture. Watch it, and it will forever live in your heart.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

With a name like “Young Frankenstein,” the last thing you would expect would be a movie that has been named No. 13 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Funniest American Movies. It is an affectionate comedic parody of the original film. Even though it was made in 1974, the movie maintains the vintage feel of the original, being shot all in black and white and including 1930’s style opening credits. It is completely original in concept and every bit of comedy is fresh. Anyone interested in a classic parody of a classic will love this movie.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Everyone knows the story of the young girl from Kansas whose house was picked up by a tornado and dropped in the magical Land of Oz. She then proceeds to follow the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City, where a wizard is said to live. Along the way, she encounters a tin man, a scarecrow, a lion, the Wicked Witch of the West, flying monkeys, and the supposed wizard. In the end, she finally realizes that “There’s no place like home” and returns to Kansas. It holds the title of most watched motion picture in history and is often ranked by critics as one of the top 10 movies of all time. So take a chance. Get lost in Oz, follow the Yellow Brick Road, and eventually find your way back home. You won’t regret it.

If you were a flavor of soda, what flavor would you be?

Who is your ideal prom date? Would you rather drink gas or eat toilet paper? The star of the TV show of your life would be? At the movie theater, which arm rest is yours?

Dr. Pepper The girl from Transformers 3 (Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley)

Toilet Paper Will Ferrell

BOTH

Dr. Pepper, ‘cause I got 23 amazing flavors

pratt ryan

ryan

Root Beer

Megan A friend of Fox mine, Kelsey If I had to choose, I’d eat toilet paper. Seems less harmful. Will Ferrell, he’s a god amongst actors

Both. I like my arm room!

Eat toilet paper Who wants to film my life?

Orange Lime Anyone who is ridiculous and as crazy as I am, and can take a joke Eat toilet paper, THERE’S something I haven’t done.

Matt Damon or Leonardo DiCaprio

anderson

ryan

neumann

ryan

nommensen

millhollin

The CHART

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

ryan

Graveyard (All the flavors!) Clearly it would be my wife!

Toilet Paper

Kevin James (with a goatee)

It doesn’t The one on the right. Both! Don’t really Hopefully a stranger’s crowd matter arm isn’t already there. me!

keepingactive

alecks leavey

notes from a

smart-aleck sports editor

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Shattered glass, beer everywhere, a grown man weeping in a corner – no, a heart wrenching breakup did not just go down, a job wasn’t lost, and a beloved pet did not get hit by a speeding truck. No, something much more sinister and cruel has taken place. Perhaps it was a missed layup, a freak pitch, a dropped pass. One thing is for sure: your team just lost. Game over, goodbye, go home. You’re finished with life because life simply has no purpose anymore. The once vibrant colors in the world are all bleak now, or even worse, the colors of the enemy. Food tastes like concrete, or whatever you imagine concrete tastes like. Not even a hug from your mother or the soothing voice of your girlfriend can halt the river of tears drenching your face. You foolishly thought it was written in the stars; that destiny had paved a road, solely for your team, straight to the promised lands. Good defeats evil, truth triumphs lies, “God Bless America” – or so you thought. It turns out not every book has a happy ending, not every rainbow leads to a pot of gold, and not every princess you rescue from her dragon-guarded tower will find you valiant or the least bit attractive. And no matter how long you wait for a flag, a whistle, or a referee to shout “Now hold everything!” what’s done is done. There is no cure for losing, so inhale, exhale, and repeat as needed; actually breathing is always strongly advised. Clean up the mess, ignore the haters, and stand tall. There is always another game to be played, but just in case you relapse, keep your Ben and Jerry’s and Adele album within arms reach.

On this court battles will be won and battles will be lost but pride will always be concored. Photo by. Kelsey Smith

Rustlers begin preparations for new season, upcoming spring sports events by deja lacey

Even a shot to the groin can’t keep junior Nick Yaeger away from his passion. “I actually had a doubles partner hit me in a pretty bad zone for a guy, but it got a good laugh from the crowd, and the other team got a good laugh out of it too,” he said. Yaeger is among the many spring athletes that are already busy prepping for their next season. “I’m the kind of person that tries to do the best that I can and just show up well for every match, and then I hope it turns out well,” Yaeger said. He said participating in tennis has taught him the real meaning of the game. “What tennis is really about is striving to get through the round, it’s not just about beating your opponent it’s about beating yourself,” he said. Even though a hit to the groin might have been painful, Yaeger continues to work with his team and try to make their game better, a goal many coaches also work towards. “The expectations that [the students] have are not expectations for others, but goals that they have to achieve for themselves,” Deb Erwin said, CMR’s tennis coach. “I’ve been coaching tennis for 10 years and it started with my children but I have

always played,” Erwin said. When Erwin first started coaching tennis she was working with her own children in their senior and junior years of high school. However she continued coaching after her kids graduated. She enjoys things like the state tournaments and the excitement from the students she works with. “State is very fun because, as a coach, you get to sit back and watch a little more than you would normally,” she said. Even with the luxury of watching your team compete, Erwin said it is important to stay focused and be serious about the game. Sophomore Maddie Mahoney understands the importance of staying focused. Mahoney has played softball since she was ten and said that she takes the sport very seriously. “I love [softball], it’s my favorite sport; it’s just something I love to do,” Mahoney said. Even though softball is a sport that requires time and patience, Mahoney said that it is still a fun sport. She is responsible and focused on making sure that her schoolwork gets done. “Road trips are the only thing that might get in the way of school work, but I either get [my work done] before I go or when we’re on the road,” she said.

Making sure that her players are taking care of their responsibilities is one of the jobs for softball coach. Graham said that enforcing school responsibilities is the first step to a drama free season she said. Graham has been coaching softball for four years and has been head coach for one year. She said she takes pride in building relationships with students and knowing what they are going through on a daily basis. She said that it allows her to understand the team members and get to know how the individual students learn. “I think that communication is key,” Graham said. If you can communicate with each other on a daily basis and know what’s going on in the student’s life, it eliminates room for drama, she said. “I believe that goal setting is important, having a visual on why they are here and knowing what they are working towards,” Graham said. Yaeger agrees that goal setting is important when making a commitment. “You have to be willing to push yourself and get that extra ball in [before the final buzzer goes] no matter how the game is going,” he said.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Restoring energy by ida andersen

An introduction to three of the major gyms in The Electric City

Gold’s Gym

It all started in the 1960s when Joe Gold founded a fitness center in Venice Beach, Calif., setting a new standard for devotion and enthusiasm for exercise. Since then the chain has expanded. There are currently around 600 gyms worldwide. The Great Falls Gold’s Gym is located at 715 13th Ave. S., managed by Greg Hall. They offer a wide variety of classes, from yoga and pilates to zumba, kick-boxing and boot camp. “Here at Gold’s we are a fun family,” front desk supervisor and instructor Steve Strickland said. “I like to say that we’re not just a gym. We make good friendships here.” According to Strickland, people get a huge advantage of going to the gym because it not only affects your physical health but also your mental health. “Working out is important to de-stress,” he said. All the classes, with the exception of the youth and senior classes, are ideal for everyone, no matter age or physical shape. After paying a processing fee and a $5 key tab, the costs per month for a high school student during the school year are $25 per month, or $20 for school athletes.

Hours: Mon-Fri : 5 a.m. – 10 p.m Sat – Sun: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. 715 13th Ave. S. Great Falls, MT 59405 (406) 727-8888 www.goldsgym.com

Big Sky Crossfit

Described as “the sport of fitness”, the relatively new exercise form crossfit is designed to provide the body higher strength, bounce, speed, coordination and flexibility. Big Sky Crossfit, located near Walmart on Smelter Avenue, opened in July 2011. Ryan Smith, owner and head coach, offers group classes and private classes recomOpen Monday-Saturday mends doing 528 Smelter Ave. NE, Ste. 7 Crossfit beGreat Falls, MT 59404 tween three (406) 360-6656 and five times www.bigskycrossfit.com a week. The structure of the workout is different from day to day, but by liking their page “Big Sky Crossfit” on Facebook, you can keep posted on what the workout of the day will consist of. While prices vary greatly depending on how often you use the facility, there is a 20 percent discount for full-time students. More specific fee information can be found on their website.

Other gyms in town include:

»» »» »» »»

Heart and Soul gym Curves, Snap Fitness Center Malmstrom Air Force Base gym.

Prevention of heart diseases, stress reduction, weight loss and better sleep. These are all benefits regular exercise gives you in reward for keeping your body healthy.

The Peak

The Peak Health and Wellness Center stands out as the most expensive option in town, but in return, it offers a vast variety of group classes and special facilities such as a fullsize basketball court, three squash courts, challenge courts and three indoor 6-lane lap pools. One of the instructors said that what is unique about their gym is the broad age population they have, and the friendliness. “We have a coffee hour, we offer lunch and there’s always snacks, smoothies and juices available throughout the day,” she said. The fee for high school students is $47 per month, Hours: Monday - Friday plus a starting 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. amount which varSaturday - Sunday ies depending on 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. special offers. Day, 1800 Benefis Court punch and week Great Falls, MT 59405 passes also are (406) 727-7325 available.

Cheering toward the future

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Coach, girls reflect on injuries, team-bonding, volunteering

ed and learn technique for safety,” Stordahl said. Coach Becky Anderson, an AACCA certified cheerleading coach who co-coaches with special education teacher Cassy Guiles, agrees that cheerleading is a difficult sport. “[It’s] just like any sport with injuries just more obvious,” Anderson said. “We’ve had girls that have gotten hurt outside [of cheer]. Every person that sits out isn’t injured.” Some of the girls are benched because they don’t meet the grade requirements. To be on the squad the girls have to have a minimum 2.0 grade point average and no Fs. “[The girls are] benched until the F is raised,” she said. The cheerleaders cheer from the sidelines at the Feb. 12 boys basketball crosstown. The While Anderson declined to comment cheerleaders follow Title IX, meaning that they cheer at an equal number of boys and on other injuries, she did say that the girls girls sports. Photo by Kelsey Smith. “are lifting other human beings” and it is leader at the CMR Kids camp. accepted that there are many places open for possible in“I remember looking up at them wanting to be a cheerjury. leader,” she said. Anderson has the girls stretch and condition at pracOne of the most rewarding moments, for Cichosz was tice as a warm-up to prevent injury. when she helped with the Buddy Walk as a volunteer to “[We] don’t push past the level [the girls] are ready to walk with kids with Down syndrome. work at,” she said. “I have no idea how many butterflies I painted on little The cheerleaders work their stunts “from the down syndrome girls’ faces,” Cichosz said. ground up” and have to qualify it and preform it Cichosz and the other cheerleaders are close spending, three times without any mishaps before they can use time not only at practice and games but also at sleepovers, it at a game. team bonding and even on Valentine’s Day. If the girls are injured they have to have a doc“I like being a part of a team,” she said. “We’re like tor’s clearance and a concussion test from Teayre sisters.” Klosterman, freshman health and P.E. teacher. With the two of three of the captains graduating this “[The girls] are re-tested and must meet benchyear, Cichosz aspires to become dance captain. marks,” Anderson said. “We want them to be “My goal was to make varsity next year, but I made it healthy.” this year,” she said. The cheerleaders are healthy in other aspects Like Stordahl, Cichosz has had an injury, though not as well, including volunteering and fundraising at as extreme, as well as her fair share of “shoe hickeys and events such as Kids Camp. shirt burns.” “Kid’s camp practice is not as intense,” she said. “I had the kiss of death. We were doing a lib, and “We do stunting, dancing, and games to teach the when we went to pop her off into a cradle- where we catch kids.” her- we caught too low and the momentum to bash my Sophomore and first time varsity cheerleader and Tauni’s heads together,” she said. “It happens.We just A cheerleader shows some Rustler spirit by doing the signature “Russell Hustle” at the Cassie Cichosz decided she wanted to be a cheerFeb. 12 boys basketball game. Photo by Kelsey Smith. have to practice and qualify and take safety precautions.”

by kendra hix All it took was a slip for cheerleader Jessica Stordahl to go crashing, catching another person in the process. “Safire’s foot fell off the mat, Tariel fell and I caught her,” Stordahl, a junior, said. “I fell back and landed on the mat with Tariel on my chest.” Cheerleading can often be overlooked in the sports injury world, but the athletes who participate in the sport are just as susceptible to injury. Just a mere six minutes before the Jan. 12 crosstown game Stordahl and several other cheerleaders had a mishap while practicing a straight-up into a liberty. “[The stunt] pulled ligaments and muscles in my back, neck, and shoulders,” she said. Stordahl will have to go to chiropractic therapy as well as doing some home stretching to work out the muscle tension in her upper body. “Physical therapy would just improve my motion, [but it]won’t fix the muscle tension for later in life,” she said. “I want to get back as fast as I can.” Stordahl continues to go to the practices and sit and watch while the other girls practice. “I still have to sit there and be supportive,” she said. “So if I see something wrong with stunts I give advice.” Stordahl looks forward to being back in the stunts and introducing some safety to prevent any of the other girls from getting injured. “Time to open some eyes to girls to step in when need-

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Ultimate Frisbee Warm weather provokes a fun-filled summertime activity

by ryan murphy “Ultimate!” With a simple scream, the game begins and both teams rush towards the Frisbee, with one team trying to score, and the other preventing them from doing so. The coordinator of the games is usually senior Beau Bridgeman, who brings the game together through a mass text message blast. The players are usually composed of people from Bridgeman’s youth group and CMR, ranging from the eighth grade all the way up to college students home for the weekend. For those who don’t know, Ultimate Frisbee is a combination of football and Frisbee. Two opposing teamsattempt to advance the Frisbee to an area designated as the endzone, while the other team does its best to prevent that from happening. If at any point the Frisbee touches the ground, possession automatically goes to the other team. The first team to five wins, but that team must win by two. Like any physical activity, Ultimate Frisbee in a great form of excersize and is very good for you. “It’s a good way to stay in shape and get active,” Bridgeman said. Furthermore, many of the people you meet by playing are folks you may never have met without it, you have the opportunity to make great friends. Ultimate Frisbee is just an overall fun activity that’s easy to play. “All you need is just some people and a Frisbee,” Bridgeman said.

1. On the kick off, senior Beau Bridgeman hurls the frisbee to the other team. 2. Junior Brian Perkins and senior Nathan Hazelip fight for possession of the frisbee. 3. Senior Nathan Hazelip chases down an over thrown pass. 4. Senior Brandon Anderson watches his pass as it sails away from him. 5. Senior Adam Cordeiro celebrates his team’s touchdown. 6. Leaping for the frisbee, senior Nathan Hazelip makes the catch while being guarded by fellow senior Cody Toner. 7. While contemplating whether or not to dive, senior Jake Settera chases down the errant pass at Meadowlark Park on Feb. 15. Photos by Ryan Murphy.

Good Luck at Convention Key Club! Bathe Your Own Dog

Grooming by appointment Owner/Operator: Ruth Johns Open Tues. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 1100 Smelter Ave.

(406) 456-9963

Meet with Key Club in room 325 Tuesdays at 6 p.m.

85 Days!

“Finest in Italian and American foods” Fine Dining -Steaks -Seafood -Chicken -Pasta

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U Ma ntil y1 7 th

2012 Yearbook Release Party

RustlerState of Mind Questions &

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Answers:

On the Court

by alecks leavey

I caught up with basketball players junior Tanner Olsen and senior Sara Wier to talk about the season so far and the journey to the state tournament in March.

Tanner Olsen

Junior Joey Marzion attacks the hoop. Photo by Ryan Murphy.

Leavey: What are your thoughts on going to state, and how do you feel the team will do at that point?

Waiting for the buzzer, freshman Elijah Parker prepares to take off into the water at the state swim meet Feb. 10 at GFH. Photo by Kelsey Smith.

Rustler girls make state splash, wrestlers excited for the future by alecks leavey

Confident, sure, fearless – three emotions expected of a reigning four-time state championship team. However, the only feeling racing through senior Nicole Thompson’s mind as she dived into the pool was uncertainty. “No one ever said it out loud, but [winning] wasn’t set in stone,” Thompson said. It was the final race. It was the 400-freestyle relay. It was the difference between four-in-a-row and five years of dominance. Thompson was the first to start. “The whole state championship came down to that last [race],” she said. “We had to beat Helena High. It was intense, and it took a different kind of strength.” After a four-year high school career and over ten years experience in the water, Thompson said she will take to the pools at the college she ultimately chooses. Now it’s up to the juniors and underclassmen to lead the team for title No. 6. “I really liked watching [them at state],” she said. “We have some pretty strong underclassmen.” Fighting for victory, senior Adam Cordeiro She sacrificed soda and time, and in attempts to pin his opponent to the mat at the crosstown meet while Coach Jensen checks on the end helped her team secure another piece of hardware and a tie for first with his player on Jan. 19. Photos by Jake Settera.

Helena High at the 2012 state tournament. “I didn’t drink pop or anything,” she said. “We really had to work for it, but it was totally worth it.” Hard work crossed all fields, all courts, and especially all the mats of the green and gold wrestling team. Although state did not fold out as planned with the boys coming out third to last in the tournament, the Rustler boys can look back at a season of effort and improvement. Senior Woody Buck is excited for his younger teammates and next year. “We have some really good devoted guys. Riley Wavra, Isiah Yates, Bryan Evans, Justin Meyer, and Travis Brugmann are some guys to look out for,” Buck said. “We have some great coaching from Jensen, Heinebauch, Pinion, Floerchinger, and Maurer.” Buck said he knows the team will be working this offseason and going to wrestling camps, and he is confident for the future. He is even more proud of his fellow seniors. “We had five seniors this year, and they all worked very hard,” he said. “I really can’t emphasize how much stock I put in these underclassmen.” .

Olsen: With our late season momentum our outlook for the state tournament is great. Right now we control our own fate with home court advantage, and if we can get there I don’t see our team losing anytime soon. A shot at the state championship game is not out of sight at all. Leavey: What kind of improvements can you and your team make to go deep in the tournament? Olsen: We just need to play to our strengths. We need to improve our defense and hold teams to lower scores. If we can play solid defense for four quarters and continue to play offense and rebound like we have been, we are going to be tough to get past.

Sara Wier

Leavey: What is your team’s greatest asset? What is the biggest concern? Wier: Our team’s greatest asset is our ability to work together. Our biggest concern is trying to maintain a positive energy and keep up the intensity during the last few weeks before state. Leavey: How does the regular season momentum help make a push deep into state? Wier: Finishing off the regular season helps us gain confidence as we hope to seal off our postion as second in our conference which gives us a home playoff game. Leavey: At this point, where is the confidence level of your team? Wier: We believe in each other as well as in ourselves as a team. As we near state our excitement increases and we begin to support each other more and more.

Feb. 23, 2012 The Stampede

Bucket List caitlyn aakre In 2007, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (the voice of God) starred in a movie that glorified what they called “the bucket list.” They set out to finish a list of things to do before they died. In 2010, MTV produced a legitimate show (surprise!) called “The Buried Life.” It followed four young men on a mission to complete 100 things before they died. Along the way, they asked others “what do you want to do before you die?” “The Bucket List” and “The Buried Life” got people thinking about what they aspire to do before they “kicked the bucket.” Senior Matt Hagler is among the bucket-listers at CMR. “I’d like to ride a bull,” he said. “I’ll have clowns nearby, it’s not like I’m going naked on a bull.” Hagler has an “unofficial” list; it’s a mental to-do list of interesting stuff. The list consists of only seven things, and once accomplished, will bring out Hagler’s inner traveler, baker and craftsman. “I want to make a suit out of duct tape. I want like a business suit,” Hagler said. “When I get enough (blue and white) duct tape [I will make the suit.] I’m creative,” he said. Hagler has already accomplished one of his tasks. He had a piece of poetry published in “Signatures,” a literary magazine showcasing young tal-

ent. Hagler will continue working toward finishing his tasks. “I think it’d be kinda cool to look back and say, ‘wow, that was really great,’ you know?” Senior Brandy Kumm also has a list. Teacher Christi Virts inspired Kumm to write a “50 before 50” list in her fourth period Athletic Training on a day called “motivational Monday.” Kumm has only written 35 of the things she wants to do before she’s 50. One list item in particular could be called peculiar. “I just want to ride a unicorn,” she said. “I want to go whale watching in Alaska.” Not all of Kumm’s list items are “funny” as she calls them. “Some are serious,” she said. “… be in four places at once, go to a Celtics game, go fishing for sharks.” Kumm has one item on her list that may surprise others. “[I want to] fly a kite, I’ve never flown a kite before,” she said. Whether flying a kite or riding a bull, Hagler and Kumm would encourage others to create a list. “Just make a list,” Kumm said. “It’s kinda fun if you have something to accomplish,” Hagler said.

“What do you want to do before you die?” “I want to box a kangaroo.” patrick jewell

“I would like to perform a drum solo in front of a group of apes.” logan sobinmuhlbradt

“...work at Starbucks.” jamie mcgraw

The perfect bucket list - abridged something to prove a point to a superior

example: tell my boss to shove it.

something that involves entertainment example: meet Lady Gaga.

something that threatens your life

example: go skydiving. TWICE.

something to prove intelligence

example: be a Jeopardy champion.

something involving excesses of money

“I want to make someone feel like they matter.” garrett lankford

ma gg ie

Junior Maggie Hodges has a mission. With her dad, she is going to take a camping trip in every month. Hodges has only April, May and October left to camp. This month, Hodges and her father travelled to Drywall in Lewis and Clark National Forest to camp. “It’s kinda weenie camping,” she said, precamping trip. “We’re sleeping in a cabin. But there’s no heat!”

mp a ca

trip

in ev ery month with

e Goal: tak

Check out these websites for ideas on what to put on your list and how to keep track of it: • BucketList.org • BucketList.net • Squidoo.com/100things • Facebook.com/tbl (The Buried Life)

example: win the lottery.