Chanute High School 1501 West 36th Street Chanute, Kansas 66720
Friday, September 30, 2011
Volume 4, Issue 1
thecometonline.com
Homecoming
Candidates eager for coronation TARA GUINOTTE JUNIOR
As the Chanute Blue Comets gear up for what could be their last rivalry game against the Iola Mustangs, the homecoming candidates will be awaiting the crowning of the fall homecoming king and queen. The nominees are seniors Macy Harsch and Trevor Summers (cross country), Becca Huerter and Quinton Schooley (football), Jessie Pringle and Jarret Borjas (girls golf), Czarina Ramos and Tyler Dillow (girls tennis), Abbi Reasor and De’Vaughn Amann (spirit squad) and Morgan Hudson and Dakota Droegemeier (volleyball). For many, being picked as the homecoming candidate by their teammates is an honor. “I feel blessed getting to know these amazing girls on my team for four years and being recognized by them,” Ramos said. Huerter echoed those sentiments. “It’s a pretty big honor,” Huerter said. “I’m thankful that the football team nominated me.” Dillow had a bit of a different take on
For more on the homecoming candidates see Page 2
being nominated. “It means so much to me because of who nominated me, my peers, which therefore means girls love me,” Dillow said. Some were surprised by their homecoming nomination. Borjas’s reaction was, “Why me?” The candidates have many different things they are looking forward to during homecoming. “I’m looking forward to having lots of my friends also being nominees and sharing that experience with them,” Pringle said. Schooley is looking forward to the game and said he is confident the Comets will beat the Mustangs. Summers and Harsch are looking forward to sharing the experience of being homecoming candidates together.
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“Shopping with Macy brightens my day, because she is the sunshine of my life,” Summers said. Getting ready for homecoming comes in a variety of forms for the candidates. Figuring out what to wear was on the top of the list for many of the nominees. To get ready, Huerter said she plans to, “jam to some Weezy and break out my stunna’ heels.” “I’ll be turning my swag on full blast [to get ready],” Harsch said. While Reasor plans on campaigning to get ready for homecoming, she is adamant about, “staying true to myself and being real with people.” Though just two of the candidates will be crowned as king and queen, all of the candidates said they would be happy and grateful if they were to win. “I think it’d feel pretty cool [to win] and a cool experience,” Amann said. “And to know that I’m a role model of sorts and feel like I could live up to those expectations.” “I haven’t really thought about what I’m most looking forward to, but I’m sure it’ll be a great memory for my senior year no matter the results,” Hudson said.
Courtesy Photo Homecoming coronation will occur before tonight’s football game against Iola. Members of the fall homecoming court are: Morgan Hudson, Czarina Ramos, Becca Huerter, Macy Harsch, Jessie Pringle, Abbi Reasor, Dakota Droegemeier, Tyler Dillow, Quinton Schooley, Trevor Summers, Jarret Borjas and De’Vaughn Amann.
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Spirited Attire
Drug testing policy amended
This year’s spirit week carried a “salad dressing” theme. From Monday’s Italian day (bottom), Tuesday’s Ranch (below) and even Thursday’s Thousand Island (left), Chanute High School students showed their spirit with some entertaining attire.
MORGAN HUDSON SENIOR Two changes to the chemical substance abuse policy at Chanute High School have closed some loopholes in the policy according to CHS athletic director Eric Methvin. The first change to the policy states that a season will be defined as a semester, meaning year-round activities will be divided into two seasons. The second change states students who are disqualified from participation in a season of activity due to violations of the chemical substance abuse policy will be required to participate in the chemical substance (drug testing) screening before starting a new season of activity. “The drug policy was issued for the protection of students, and these changes make the policy stronger,” Methvin said. Methvin said the second change fixes a loophole that previously allowed athletes ruled ineligible for the sport they were participating in during one season to participate in the next sport without having to prove that they were clean. With these changes, if a student participating in a year-round activity like chess or cheerleading receives two strikes in a single semester the student will be eligible second semester if the student has successfully passed a drug test. Additionally, an athlete ruled ineligible during football season would have to pass a drug test before being cleared play another sport. Before the changes in the chemical substance abuse policy, a student suspended from an activity that spanned more than one semester was deemed ineligible the remainder of the year.
What’s Inside... News................................... 2 Opinion................................3 Sports............................4-5 Student Life........................6 Arts & Entertainment........7 Feature................................8
Photos by Torry Busby and Morgan Olson/The Comet Above: Junior Matthew Hansen and senior Trevor Summers, dressed as a zombie islander, show off their Hawaiian spirit on Thursday’s Thousand Islandthemed day. Top right: Senior Joe Morris gives new meaning to hand guns during Tuesday’s Ranchthemed day. Right: There was a “situation” in the commons area on Monday’s Italian-themed day as sophomore A.J. LaRocca does his best Pauly D impersonation while junior Eric Meyer shows off a freshly drawn six pack.
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Opinion: Are school dances too sheltered?
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Football team faces rival Iola in homecoming game
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High school bucket list
The Comet launches web site TORRY BUSBY SENIOR Readers of The Comet can now find the award-winning publication on the internet. Launched on Aug. 25, thecometonline.com is the digital home for the paper. According to The Comet adviser Dustin Fox, the online version of the paper will include almost all the content of the print version plus additional stories, photos, video and audio. “I am really excited about it, because it will allow us to get in touch with 21st century journalism,” Fox said. “We’ll be able to expose the students to so many forms of media, and hopefully they can find something that interests them and provides them with the necessary skills to succeed in the future.” Senior Morgan Hudson, editor-inchief of The Comet, said the added visibility the web site brings is one of the most important results of having an online forum to share student work. “It’s a great step for the journalism program to help promote what we do at The Comet,” Hudson said. The site was paid for with money from the Career and Technical Education grant. Though still in its infancy, the site is already proving beneficial according to Fox. “The students are excited about it, and we’ve already had several articles written by students who had ideas that wouldn’t fit into the print version,” Fox said. “The web site is going to give them another medium to share their talents with their peers and the community.” Currently The Comet staff is still tweaking the web site, learning its ins and outs. The staff hopes the site will be as successful and popular as the print version, allowing for more news to be shared about the happenings at Chanute High School.
Quote me on that... “We are what we consistently do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit.” -Aristotle