December 18 issue

How to handle college rejection 18-19

DECEMBER 18, 2014 VOLUME 88, ISSUE 4

pages 16-17

Photographers Gabi Mu単oz & Colin Morabito 20-21

Three-sport athlete Ben Kimpler 30-31

LETTER TO THE READER 2014/15 STAFF LIST Alex Zoellick, Editor in Chief Kyle Laska, News Editor Ryan Jackson, Feature Editor Mike Gasick, Sports Editor Tom Ackerman, Opinion Editor Hannah Jenkins, Opinion Editor Korina Valenzuela, Photo Editor Maddie Salata, Layout Editor Abby St. Claire, Layout Editor Katie Vrba, Social Media Editor Manal Ahmed Lola Akinlade David Black Hannah Boufford Josh Bragg Becky DeAcetis Anna Demartini Kayla Fiore Lauren Forrest Alo Garcia-Escobar Olivia Griffith Emily Hamilton Eryka Jones Conor Kennedy Jake Luce Jarrett Malec Jack Murphy Tia Petrzilka Connor Polk Jillian Ruff Puja Saha Tyler Skinner Marijke Sommer Gabrielle Struik Maria Thames Sara Thunga Jasmine Turner Kate Vittore Jake Vogt Madeline Werner Kaitlyn Zabadal

DEAR READER...

The holidays are a time for celebrating and spending time with friends and family. With the holidays come moments that are everlasting and memorable. These moments need to be captured so that they can later be remembered.

Photography has become a newly found passion of mine that has exposed a lot of my thoughts and ideas to new things. Most of my ideas I come up with now are more creative than they have been and that has really shown through most of my work. Creativity is something all artists and composers should include in their work. I have discovered that it’s more than just a part of journalism and that it’s more of a form of expression and/or an art.

When I first joined the Drops of Ink staff last year, I had never really realized that photography was a huge part of what the issues and the stories were about. And as a writer on the staff, I never really thought photography had been that big of a deal. It wasn’t until I had taken my first photography class junior year, that I finally discovered a passion for it.

Once I started to develop a skill for it, I decided to expose more and more of my work to the people around me and so much so that I was promoted to photography editor for our staff this year. Since then, I have been given the chance to see different events and meet different people. In this issue, I met two of the funniest kids in the school (see pages 14-15) who I had the chance to share a laugh with. I met two students who had scored highly on the ACT (see pages 16-17) and it was a pleasure to photograph them.

All of my experiences throughout the magazine issues have been interesting and most importantly, fun. And because of photography, I have created unlikely friendships with the people on our staff that I will never forget about. I hope you enjoy the issue.

SINCERELY,

Michael Gluskin, Faculty Adviser DROPS OF INK 2

KORINA

4-6 NEWS WHAT’S TRENDING /WHAT’S HAPPENING 8-9 MORE NEWS 10-11 EMOJI DICTIONARY 12-13 14-15 SERIOUSLY FUNNY 16-17 A PAIR OF SMARTY PANTS 18-19 DEALING WITH DENIAL 20-21 A VIEW FROM BEHIND THE LENS 22-23 SNOW DAY DECISIONS 24 STAFF EDITORIAL 25-27 OPINION 28-29 SPOTLIGHT ON SIMONE BEN KIMPLER: THE WILDCATS’ TRIPLE THREAT 30-31

Learn about some of LHS’ newest clubs and classes like Aviation Club, Deaf Culture Club and guitar class. Also read up on Net Neutrality.

Trust DOI to help make the cold winter hot and stay in the know about current trends and events around the world.

D128 was named a top 100 workplace by the Chicago Tribune, and find out the backstory behind the Mice Be Like posters.

What are the real uses for emojis? Why have they become so popular?

Meet Sean Ferraro and Sarah Durning, two of the funniest students at LHS.

Meet Lauren Williams and Ankur Rastogi, two of the smartest students in the school.

College rejection is tough; find out how to handle it here.

Take a look at the work of Colin Morabito and Gabi Muñoz, whose pictures got them mass Instagram followings.

A behind-the-scenes look at the thought process behind snow days.

Are field trips worth the hassle of missing class? DOI weighs in.

Is being busy as great as it seems? How important is thinking for yourself? Is there a true definition of happiness?

Star golfer and basketball player Simone Mikaelian is only a sophomore.

Ben Kimpler is one of Libertyville’s most exciting athletes, playing on the varsity teams for baseball, basketball and football.

Cover photo by Korina Valenzuela DROPS OF INK

3

a

Up, up and Away!

---------------------------

a

------------------------

By Katie Vrba and Becky DeAcetis

The Aviation Club, a club centered around being a pilot and in flying planes, and he Deaf Culture Club (DCC), which hopes to teach members some sign language and introduce the unique culture of people with hearing impairments, are both new clubs at Libertyville High School this December.

The Aviation Club was started by freshman Wesley Sharon, who hopes to become a pilot one day. He has been taking flying lessons since he was able to. He has been flying for about a year and, seeing no clubs relating to aviation at LHS, he decided to create one of his own. He started the club just before Thanksgiving; the club is expected to have around 16 members.

The club’s first meeting was Tuesday, Dec. 2. “[Wesley’s] mom is providing us with some software and some controls for simulation software,” explained Mrs. Angela Wang, who works in the PAWS department and helped Sharon begin the club and will be the leading adult involved. According to Mrs. Wang, she may be able to take the club to the General Mitchell International Airport, where a pilot will teach them ground instruction and about the profession.

“I’m interested in aviation. It’s my

dream job.”

-Wesley Sharon

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hands Can Talk Too

The Deaf Culture Club (DCC) was started by Ethan Urbanski, a junior with a hearing impairment. The club will be supervised by Ms. Liz Rose, who works with deaf and hearing-impaired students at LHS. The club’s first meeting was Monday, Dec. 8 after school. The club will teach students sign language and about the deaf community.

“Deaf Culture is sign language, what it’s like to have hearing loss and the technology that’s used,” Urbanski commented.

He hopes to create awareness and acceptance through the DCC; each meeting will talk about the traditions, languages, technology and other aspects of deaf culture.

Since many members are interested in learning sign language, it was discussed during the first meeting.

“A lot of it has to do with different traditions and customs that people follow...for example, there’s a lot of rules that apply for sign language,” Urbanski said.

DCC will have meetings twice a month on Mondays.

They don’t have a permanent location as of now; they used room 2109 for their first meeting and are considering using it as a permanent location. Urbanski hopes to have field trips out of school to give members more exposure to deaf culture, but the club has not made anything official yet.

Photo by Becky DeAcetis The DCC had their first meeting on December 8; founder Ethan Urbanski introduced the different types of sign language to the members.

DROPS OF INK 4

Tune in: New guitar class to be offered next year

By Tia Petrzilka Recently, the Fine Arts Department decided that they would add a new class for students to enjoy: a guitar class will be offered during the 20152016 school year.

LHS is known for its outstanding opportunities academically, artistically, and of course, musically. Whether it’s math team, swimming, fashion design, or orchestra, LHS has a variety of activities, allowing each student to find at least one thing they can enjoy.

Dustin Helvie, the supervisor of the Fine Arts Department, explained why this class made the cut for next year’s curriculum.

“We have wanted to expand the offerings of the music department to the general student body not participating in an ensemble. We also offered an electronic music course this year that has been very popular. Highland and Oak Grove both offer guitar and we wanted to continue a guitar course at LHS. The idea has been in the works for only a short time,” he stated.

Teacher Matt Karnstedt, who is currently involved with LHS Band, Jazz, and the new Electronic Music class, is expected to teach this new course.

“It’s not 100% set in stone that I will teach this class next year, but it would be a cool opportunity for me to challenge myself in teaching the class.

It’s also a great opportunity for students that want to learn about music without going through the typical band/orchestra/choir route,” explained Mr. Karnstedt.

The class will be perfect for aspiring musicians, professional air guitar players, and especially good for seniors who have yet to fulfill their fine arts credit. No experience is necessary to enroll in the course.

Sophomore and current guitar player Jasmine Li, who is considering adding this class to her schedule, offered reasons it could be beneficial.

“I think it will be a good new hobby for students. It’ll also allow students to be able to play their favorite songs and even make new friends through their ability to play guitar,” stated Li. The aim of the course is “to deliver a music education to anybody that has any interest in creating and learning about music, regardless of experience” and “[the class] is a great resource for students to take advantage of with little prior musical knowledge,” stated Mr. Karnstedt.

The main focus of the class will be to educate students on the acoustic guitar, which will be provided by the school, including key aspects like note-reading and the learning of chords.

According to Mr. Helvie, more advanced musicians may not want to take this class because it will only cover the basics.

“This is a basic-level course and though all students may take the course, it may be too basic for some students,” he explained.

Karnstedt further elaborated on the curriculum of the class.

“The musical skills that they will learn will be pretty broad, and students will be able to tailor the course goals to their own skill level and interests. The course will cover basic guitar playing techniques, chord progressions, and some basic theory, as well as general music appreciation topics such as contemporary music history, important guitar players and influences, and possibly other topics,” provided Karnstedt.

Despite the fact the this class will merely be an introduction to guitar class, advanced players might still consider taking the class because of its simplicity in certain aspects, the element of individualism and flexibility in the class, and the fact that they can still learn something new. For example, a student may not know how to read notes, only tablature, or they may not be aware of historical elements of music. Mr. Karnstedt explained why he thinks advanced students can and should experience the course.

“I think that they (advanced players) should. Most of the fun of music is getting together with friends -- listening to and talking about music, sharing artists/bands, and teaching each other. Advanced students will have the opportunity to share their knowledge with their peers while enhancing their own abilities. Similar to the Electronic Music course, this class will have a fair amount of projects, with which beginning and advanced students can achieve their goals according to their skill level,” offered Mr. Karnstedt.

The class will offered each semester, one period a day, but depending on enrollment or a high demand from students, this could change.

It will be located in the MIDI Lab (room 194), otherwise known as the choir room, which is surrounded by the rest of the music classrooms.

“I think music plays a vital role in everybody’s lives, whether they choose to recognize it or not. I meet a lot of people who later in life look back and Photo courtesy of Wikipedia wish they had done something with music, even if it wasn’t playing in the band, or say that they wish they could do something music now. Guitar is a An introduction to guitar class will be a part of next year’s curriculum. Students universally recognizable instrument, and with only a little instruction, one can will learn the basics on the acoustic guitar. begin to write basic chord progressions and songs,” reflected Mr. Karnstedt.

DROPS OF INK

5

Open Internet Opens Questions

By Hannah Boufford Since December 2010, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed the Open Internet Order, the question of net neutrality and open Internet grew in both popularity and confusion.

Open Internet is the idea that the web should have “free, publicly available standards” and “[treat] all traffic that flows across the network in roughly the same way,” according to the FCC. This idea of an open Internet would mean that larger corporations and websites will no longer be able to pay for Internet “fast lanes,” and everyone will receive the same service for the same price. The free standards would regulate all websites equally and no longer allow paid prioritization. With paid prioritization eliminated, larger websites like Netflix and YouTube will no longer be able to pay an extra fee for speed to Internet service providers (ISPs). The goal of an open Internet would be to provide smaller websites with the same opportunities as those that are larger or more popular.

While the FCC is separate from the White House, many arguments were stirred up when President Obama released a statement to the public, but the decision lies in the hands of the Commission. The statement was released on Nov. 10 through video, expressing his support of Net Neutrality and urging the FCC to make a decision regarding the subject matter. His support comes from his belief in preserving net neutrality for everyone.

“Ever since the Internet was created, it has been organized around basic principles of openness, fairness, and freedom,” President Obama said. “This set of principles, the idea of net neutrality, has unleashed the power of the Internet and given innovators the chance to thrive. Abandoning these principles would threaten to end the Internet as we know it.”

In December 2010, the FCC released the Open Internet Order which was set to establish many regulations including transparency while prohibiting blocking and unreasonable discrimination.

After being challenged in federal court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit affirmed the

FCC’s authority to regulate the Internet; they upheld the transparency rule but vacated the latter two.

Following the action from the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Commision unveiled a rulemaking, encouraging the public to comment on “how best to protect and promote an open Internet” on May 15, 2014. The FCC planned on releasing more plans later in the year, though President Obama’s recent video brought the subject back into question.

In President Obama’s video speech, he expressed support of reclassifying Internet service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. “In plain English, I’m asking them to recognize that, for most Americans, the Internet has become an essential part of everyday communication and everyday life,” the president explained.

In response to his message, ISP AT&T commented that they would “expect to participate in a legal challenge” should the utility-style regulations be put into action per the president’s favoring.

Fearing a lawsuit, Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler wants to find solid ground regarding net neutrality rules and regulations.

“We want to come out with good rules that accomplish what we need to accomplish… And we want those rules to be in place after a court decision, so we want to make sure that we’re thoughtful in the way we structure them, and thoughtful in the way we present what will ultimately be presented to a court,” Wheeler stated.

Since the major corporations, such as AT&T, are prepared to sue based on the FCC’s decision, Wheeler wants to have a strong support behind whatever rule is chosen.

While the best decision and fate of the Internet remains unclear, the fight over net neutrality is still being waged as the FCC has yet to release a decision on the regulations that will be proposed.

DROPS OF INK 6

ADVERTISEMENT

Holiday Time is Party Time!

Fodrak’s turned 27 on December 7 To Celebrate our Anniversary

$27 off

All catering orders of $200 or more

(Discount good through January 1, 2015) Check catering menu at www.fodraks.com

Show LHS student ID for every day 15% discount on regular menu or free fries with sandwich purchase.

Try our Award-winning Gyros, Succulent Baby Back Ribs, Greek Baked Chicken, Black Angus Burgers and Salads made 100% with Romaine Lettuce. Our gyros has won Daily Herald Readers’ Choice Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 6 Awards from Pioneer Press for Best Gyros in Lake County. .

327 South Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville Phone 847-816-8111 . www.fodraks.com DROPS OF INK

7

What’s Trending Mariah Carey, “Merry “Do They Know It’s Christmas” Idina Menzel, “Holiday Christmas” (One Direction, Bono, Ed Sheeran, Wishes” Sam Smith, Chris Martin, Rita Ora, Bastille, Ellie Goulding and Emeli Sande) Michael Bublé ,“Christmas”

picture from tedguyenusa

l L M P J C U Q O q Statement Necklaces

Sorel Boots

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Fuzzy Socks

picture from onlineshoes

picture from provomayor

picture from polyvore

l L M P J C U Q O q “Elf”

picture from drafthouse

“Polar Express”

“Home Alone”

“A Christmas Story”

picture from movieposterdb

picture from stargatecinema

picture from moviepostershop

DROPS OF INK

8

What's Happening?

1. 2.

By Maddie Werner

5.

Photo courtesy of MCT Campus and local police files.

3.

4.

1. The search for a 30-year-old Libertyville man is still in progress after he left his home on First Avenue on Monday, December 1, with intent to

hurt himself. According to Libertyville Police Lt. Bill Kinast, the ex-army Veteran is believed to be suicidal and in possession of a handgun, but has not threatened to hurt anyone other than himself. All five Libertyville Elementary District 70 schools kept inside on Tuesday, Dec. 2 and Libertyville High School was on “soft lockdown” on Dec. 2 and 3. Any person with information regarding the situation is urged to call Liber tyville Police. Libertyville police used K9 tracking dogs and a search helicopter in attempt to locate the man. In addition, a water-rescue boat was also launched into the Des Plaines River to search for a body, but they did not find one 2. On Monday, Nov. 24, a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown that took place on August 9. The grand jury’s decision prompted new waves of protests in Ferguson due to upset civilians. Parts of Ferguson were destroyed with acts of vandalism and arson. Police warned protesters to exit the streets and then proceeded to fire tear gas. Officer Wilson resigned five days after the court ruling due to threats of violence if he remained an employee. These recent events in Ferguson have triggered a national response as many question how race and justice in America are treated.

3. New titles for Netflix have been released just in time for winter break and the holidays. With new options presented on Netflix, you’ll never go bored over the two-week break. Various movies and TV series are being released daily from December 1-31. Some popular titles include: “Almost Famous,” “American Horror Story: Coven,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Stand By Me,” and “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.”

4. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC), an organization of oil exporting countries and North American shale, an oil company, have rising tension between them. Shale oil drilling through fracking, the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rock to extract oil or gas, is much cheaper than the traditional drilling that OPEC uses. As a result, the U.S. is producing more oil than ever, which is caus ing lower gas prices for Americans. Many analysts predict this will continue at a more moderate pace, making it difficult to maintain unity as OPEC is unhappy with the situation.

5. With the rise in the country’s debt, many Republicans blame the amount of spending on President Barack Obama. According to Fox News, the na tional debt has increased by 70 percent during Obama’s six years in office. The debt is made up of IOUs from the federal government for bor rowed money from Social Security, Medicare, and public debt.

DROPS OF INK

9

D128 Named Among Top Workplaces District 128, consisting of Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School, was rated as one of the top 100 workplaces in the Chicagoland area by the Chicago Tribune in their annual ranking on Nov. 14, 2014.

With 465 employees in the region and approximately 3,400 students at its two high schools, the ranking was based on a 30-minute survey created by WorkplaceDynamics that was completed by employees about their workplace last spring. Questions were centered around being valued as an employee, quality of management, and quality of employee benefits.

Among the 100 workplaces ranked, only four were schools. Out of those four, three were high school districts. Also, D128 was ranked 6th overall among all mid-sized companies. Members of D128 take pride in the fact that they share many of the positives found at high-quality corporate work places.

“I thought that the article would be focusing more on businesses and corporations, so I suppose I was surprised that they were looking at schools, but the fact that people work in this district are happy working here doesn’t surprise me at all, “ said English department supervisor, Mr. Paul Reiff.

Faculty members at D128 admire the amount of resources given to them by the highly supportive communities of Libertyville and Vernon Hills because it helps them help the students.

“I am very proud of our students, teachers and support staff, administrators and our wonderfully supportive communities,” stated Dr. Prentiss Lea, Superintendent of D128.

Dr. Lea feels very privileged to be the superintendent of what he calls, “the best overall high school district in the country.”

By Maddie Werner

“There’s teachers that I’ll hire to work here coming from other districts and they’ll say things like ‘the kids are really nice’ or ‘everybody does their homework’ and those are just two things we take for granted,” said Mr. Reiff.

Faculty members feel that their co-workers are committed and dedicated to their work, making them a part of a great team. Besides the amazing leadership, students in D128 have academics among their highest priorities, creating a great environment to work and learn.

“There is a wonderful sense of family in our district, and everyone who works here is committed to living our district mission,” said Dr. Lea. The “family feel” in D128 helps the staff grow and learn, while maintaining a sense of humor and always remembering to have a good time.

DROPS OF INK 10

Photo Courtesy of D128 Mr. Paul Reiff posing next to a Shakespeare statue, who is also representing D128’s recent achievment.

The Story Behind The Poster

By Hannah Boufford

The newest social norms poster, featuring a dancing mouse, original one that was chosen, the statistics got more recognition has stirred up conversation about the meaning for weeks at LHS around the school the longer the poster is up. As conversation

The gray-and-pink poster captures attention with its on the design of the poster grew, eventually people started payoriginal tagline and picture of a mouse. The top of the poster ing attention to the statistic as well. reads “Mice Be Like…” followed with the social norms statis “People stopped and said ‘Mice be like? What the hell tic: “70% of LHS students choose to be alcohol free.” The gray does that mean?’ but then I asked them ‘Did you read the rest of mouse, pointing towards the statistic, appears to be dancing, it?’ and they were like ‘What? Hell no I didn’t read the statisand is illustrated with its tic... Well, actually, yeah I long tail curving around did because I had to stop the statistic, highlighting and read Mice Be Like, the point of the poster. The so yeah I did read it!’ so poster hangs in most hallthat’s what intention was,” ways and LHS classrooms, Mr. Kulikowski said. allowing for visibility

The new statistic between staff and students. gave a 7 percent drop of The poster and its design students who are alcocomes up in conversation hol-free at Libertyville. daily at LHS and discussion While Mr. Kulikowski has ranged from confusion could not give any definite to various theories. Accordanswer as to why the numing to Student Assistance ber might have dropped, Program (SAP) coordinator he suggested it may have Damian Kulikowski, that been due to the time that is exactly what the posters the alcohol and drug usage were meant to do. survey was administered.

Photo by Hannah Boufford “Two years ago,

“The purpose of our social norms campaign The “Mice be like” poster, seen in both hallways and classrooms, promotes awareness of statistics we took that test in Febis to generate discussion ruary...before the dance, regarding student alcohol consumption. among our students and the February winter staff, specifically about the dance, and then it just so perception of alcohol use and what the data tells us about our happened that two years later, when we took it last year, we had students’ actual use,” Mr. Kulikowski conveyed. it scheduled for after the dance,” he commented. “So that could

As for the design of the poster, its creation began at the be one answer, we really don’t know.”

Lake County Health Department, according to Mr. Kulikowski.

The question used for the posters asks students how Through their grant with LHS, the department’s staff creates many of them have used drugs or had alcohol in the last 30 around 12 possible posters for the school. Then, through randays, which could quite possibly be affected by the dance and domized focus groups, LHS students chose their favorites and its after-parties. However, the statistic still seems too high to voted for the ones they prefer. The high school then discards many students at Libertyville. six of the designs and keeps the others to post throughout the

“I think that’s too high,” sophomore Beth Vogg school year. The Lake County Health Department makes poster answered when asked if the statistic was more accurate in her for other schools as well as LHS, including Vernon Hills, Lake opinion. “77 percent was definitely not right, [but] 70... I think Zurich, and Mundelein. still more people drink.”

While the gray poster with pink writing is the only

Emma Garcia, also a sophomore at LHS, agreed with version known to most LHS students, the tagline was originally Vogg, adding that she thought the drop may have been from different when it was picked in a focus group. However, due people being more honest on the survey when it was adminto a reference to partying, it was changed by the Lake County istered. Though neither fully understood the poster, both were staff, per request of the LHS administration. Mr. Kulikowski extremely familiar with the poster in question and had paid declined to release the original tagline. attention to the statistics, accomplishing the main goal of the

Though the tagline “Mice Be Like…” may not be the social norms campaign.

DROPS OF INK 11

Emoji Dictionary

by Emily Hamilton and Olivia Griffith Layout by Abigail St. Claire

Emoji History

Emojis have been around since the 1990s. However, they have only recently become popular. According to The Verge, a media website for teenagers, emojis were first created by Shigetaka Kurita in Japan for the company he worked for, NTT Docomo. This company originally created pagers. When they released their newest model for a pager and it didn’t satisfy customers, they realized they had to come up with something quick before all their customers flocked to a rival company. Emojis are what Kurita came up with. “Emoji” means “picture-word” in Japanese. Because they are Japanese-based, most emojis were made to fit the trends in Japan. Each emoji also has a specific name.

Emoji vs Emoticons

Many people confuse emojis with emoticons. Emoticons are faces and images created with parentheses, semi-colons, colons, dashes and letters such as :) ;) :0 =D :-P 8D :/ :( :> O.o =(. The creation of the emoticon is credited to a man named Scott Fahlman.

On the other hand, emojis are icons used to show how you feel or what you’re doing. Emojis, unlike emoticons which you create yourself, have now becoming a standardized feature on phones. Companies like Android and Apple have even created their own versions of each emoji. Because emojis are standardized codes within a phone or computer, each one has the same, basic layout on any device.

However, because you make emoticons yourself, the possibilities are endless.

Diversity Argument

Currently there is an argument revolving around the diversity of emojis between Apple (as well as other companies) and civilians.

Emojis were added to the Unicode Standard around 2010. The Unicode Standard is a character coding system that provides a standard for all emojis. Apple’s defense, as to their reasonings behind not releasing more diverse emojis, is that the emojis they have available are based on the Unicode Standard but they are trying to change and update what the standard is. Presently, there is a draft for something called the Fitzpatrick Scale (a standard scale for skin colors), which will allow users to choose what skin tone they want their emoji to have. According to Unicode, this is supposed to come out sometime mid-2015.

Why Have Emojis Become Popular?

Many have embraced the creation of the emoji. It allows for messages to be told faster, and with less effort. They allow for texting limits to not be exceeded. In a sense, it makes the text come alive and adds personality to the conversation. Giving a visual instead or along with written text helps to correctly convey the author’s mood. However, they can also cause problems. Freshman Lewis Wang agrees that emojis are “quicker than typing words.” But he chooses not to use them because he believes “there’s no reason to.” He believes saying what you’re doing or thinking is quicker than sending an emoji with the chance that someone won’t understand it. Another freshman, Megan Fahey, believes people don’t usually use emojis in the correct tense, so she ends up getting confused and annoyed.

Emoji popularity only excels among those who have a good experience using emojis.

DROPS OF INK 12

astonished emoji a face surprised as if they have just seen something horrific

Face with a look of Triumph has closed eyes and a stern mouth with steam coming out of its nose: many think this looks more angry than accomplished

growing heart A heart expanding 3x its size to represent love growing

face massage emoji a stressed woman getting a head massage to calm her down

beating heart Pulsing heart representing life

sleepy face a relaxed face with a “snot bubble� indicating exhastion

tired emoji an exhausted (and maybe slightly angry) face with tightly closed eyes and a downturned mouth

cyclone emoji storm, typhoon, cyclone, or hurricane anger symbol

Japanese Goblin a red bird-like demon: worn as a mask in theaters

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil monkeys three wise monkeys hear named Kikazaru; see named Mizaru; speak named Iwazaru

Photos courtesy of iemoji DROPS OF INK 13

Seriously Funny

By Ryan Jackson Layout by Maddie Salata

SARAH

DURNING

When you meet senior Sarah Durning for the first time, it’s hard to ignore her wide smile, exceptionally bright eyes, and wickedly caustic sense of humor.

After being asked to characterize her own comedic style, Durning was able to rattle off adjectives like she had studied them for a vocabulary quiz: “Vulgar. Cruel. Sarcastic,” she listed without hesitation or a twinge of guilt. Her sense of humor, whether it has been embraced by everyone or not (it hasn’t), has resonated with many of her peers, as she was voted the funniest girl in a Drops of Ink poll two weeks ago.

Alex Barton, one of Durning’s closest friends, is a personal witness and fan to Durning’s whimsical ways.

“Sarah is so funny because...she doesn’t care what people think.

Her sarcastic comments and humor always find a way to make me laugh,” she offered.

While not all students interact with Durning on such an intimate level every day like Barton, it’s not hard to feel the shock waves of her creative, and occasionally abrasive, comedy. The line between a dreary mood and eyes teeming with tears of laughter is drawn at the Twitter login page. Durning’s renowned and oft-recited Twitter account is both her favorite social media platform and her most powerful comedic amplifier.

“I put a lot of thought into my Twitter and Instagram captions…” she admitted. “It’s my only redeeming quality.”

Listening to Durning analyze the tweeting process is like hearing Picasso break down his artwork, or watching Ankur Rastogi derive a polynomial function. (See page 16) It’s hauntingly beautiful. Scroll through her Twitter page, @SarDurn, for a while; it should suffice as a challenging ab workout.

But Durning’s wit is prevalent even beyond the internet realm.

Even in person, her jokes are transcendent of the gender lines that usually isolate people as “girl funny” or “guy funny.” There are several reasons for this -- undeniably sharp wit and an infectious laugh, to name a couple -- but perhaps the most prominent is the way she shamelessly uses the famous, or infamous, depending on who you ask, sarcastic language of the senior class.

“It kind of started out as joke,” she explained. “My friends and I

would use it just to poke fun at the people who used it. But now it’s just bade.”

Durning frequently employs the vernacular that often draws raised eyebrows and condescending smirks from many of her counterparts throughout the school, who often deem the language immature.

“It’s so funny. It’s in all my (social media) captions and everything. I hate when people get bothered by it, just live with it...we’re in high school, we’re not supposed to be mature. Just deal with it,” she preached, playing hopscotch with the line between comedian and philosopher in the process.

While Durning’s way of inducing laughs is relatively brash -- she describes herself as outgoing and loud -- she holds a special appreciation for those with a snarky, drier sense of humor. She cites classmates Nick Jennings, Lily Simpson, Annie Farrugia, Chris Akers, and Eryka Jones, and actor/comedian Nick Offerman, as the people who draw laughs from her more than anyone else. There is is also one LHS staff member that stands out as particularly hilarious to Durning: the LHS Testing Center commander, Mr. Ken Gallivan.

“Whenever I’m in there, he says something funny every time,” she managed to croak between fits of laughter.

Perhaps her most impressive feat is managing to evade the scorn of Mr. Gallivan and the rest of the LHS staff, an inevitability for most of Libertyville’s notorious jokers. Considering some of her stories and jokes make Daniel Tosh look like a saint, it seems to be a matter of time before Durning spends one of her Saturdays at 708 W. Park Avenue. But for now, she’s clean as a whistle.

Whether or not a more official comedy career lies in Durning’s future remains unclear, but one thing stands certain. If all else fails, she still has a hidden talent that will take her as far as she needs to go.

“I do a perfect Shakira impression,” she revealed with a proud smile. “It’s my username on Snapchat -- iloveshakira666.”

DROPS OF INK 14

SEAN

Photo taken and edited by Korina Valenzuela Drops of Ink conducted an informal poll two weeks ago, asking LHS students to vote for who they thought the funniest kid in the school is. Durning and Ferraro earned the most votes for girls and guys, respectively.

FERRARO

Just a couple weeks ago, senior Sean Ferraro was doing something he has become very accustomed to over the years-- making people laugh. This time, however, he was inducing unconcealable grins and gut-busting laughter without even opening his mouth. He let the pronounced stripe of hair right above it do the talking.

“It was somewhere between a creepy pedophile and Ron Burgundy,” he said of his defined mustache.

Ferraro has the unique talent of prying smiles out of people even when they’re reluctant, and he does so in more ways than donning obscene facial hair for days at a time. His sense of humor is multifaceted -- it’s categorized somewhere at the intersection of political incorrectness, hilarious immaturity, and a range of voices and noises that liken him to Ferris Bueller’s famous keyboard.

Senior Jimmy Keefe, one of Ferraro’s closest friends and comedy comrades (he received the second-most votes in the Drops of Ink poll on the funniest students, behind Ferraro), still finds his friend of over seven years as amusing as when he first met him: “The way he moves his body, the way he says things...he’s quiet until he’s in an environment where he’s comfortable. Then when he’s comfortable?

It’s over,” he said with a laugh.

That’s the paradox with Ferraro: his peers voted him the funniest person they know, but his guard is often up with those he doesn’t know well. He describes himself as “cool, calm and collected,” and his dry sense of humor reflects his generally moderate temperament.

This personality trait was amplified when he first moved to Libertyville before the start of middle school. It took him some time to break out of his shell, but when he did, his friends never saw the serious side of him again.

Keefe recalls a situation where Ferraro earned him the funniest bad grade of his high school career: “In class, I was presenting something and Sean was just doing stuff at his desk to make me laugh. I

just lost it. I got a C on the presentation (because) I was laughing so hard.”

For his main comic inspiration, Ferraro cites an older source that most people under the age of thirty often fail to appreciate: “I love Seinfeld,” he shared. “The way the beat of the show goes and everything, it’s hilarious.”

He also listed stand-up comedian Louis C.K. as one of his favorite comics: “(He) always makes me laugh, any time I listen to him he’s hilarious,” Ferraro said.

However many chuckles Ferraro is able to generate, something more widespread than his obscure jokes crowns him as the comedy king of LHS: he is one of the Founding Fathers of Libertyville’s notorious sarcastic language.

“You know it started out really immature, just saying the opposite of stuff...it’s more of how you say stuff than anything. It’s hard to explain,” he shared sheepishly. It’s easy to forget that it was the class of 2015 that generated the native Libertyville tongue that has expanded beyond the confines of just the seniors.

“I don’t know a kid that doesn’t know the language,” Ferraro said.

“Once you get to know the humor behind it, it’s pretty funny.”

The sarcastic language has evolved from just a few inside jokes among close friends to a Libertyville epidemic; it’s commonplace to hear it floating around even Highland and Oak Grove. Whether or not the language will be easy to kick after high school -- it is more of a habit than anything -- only time will tell.

And as for Ferraro? He’ll keep making people laugh, keep coming up with fresh new jokes, keep watching Seinfeld, yada yada yada.

DROPS OF INK 15

- Ms. Naslund

Lauren Williams

by Alejandro Garcia-Escobar

Homework, projects, tests, or simply the blaring alarm that goes off at abominable hours, are enough to scare most students at the prospects of surviving high school. However, the heavy work and demanding requirements have the potential to bring forth the best out of talented students. Lauren Williams is no exception to this.

Williams is well-known for her academic excellence, but there’s more to her than just tremendous grades or test scores. A well-rounded student, Williams has been actively involved in a variety of sports during her high school career, playing basketball and softball her freshman year, softball her sophomore year, and then track last year. She also enjoys Yoga club, having been a part of it since sophomore year.

Another notable aspect of Williams’ life is her singular personality. With her jovial nature and kind disposition, she has maintained strong friendships and made new ones.

“She’s funny without trying, she just does stuff that makes you laugh,” remarked Ellen Kenston, a close friend of Williams.

“To be honest, at first I thought she was kind of strange. Our parents had known each other forever so we were kind of automatically friends. But then it ended up working.”

In regard to Williams’ academic drive and competency, her stellar performance in the school environment can be attributed to both her hard work and natural affinity towards education. Her aptitude towards learning and ability to digest information has allowed her to cope with a demanding schedule, composed of six AP classes this year. She specially referenced two classes that have provided more of a challenge than previous ones.

“Physics, both B and C. I think it’s because I’ve never had it before.

Math builds, all the Englishes and social studies build, but physics was new and hard,” said Williams.

Above everything else is Williams’ incredible work ethic. Recognized as a student of impressive caliber, her thoughtful and cognitive contributions in class have distinguished her as a skillful and diligent learner, one whom both teachers and fellow classmates appreciate. Whether the quality of her homework or the accuracy on her exams, she continually astounds teachers with the high standard of excellence she places on the material presented in class.

“Oh my gosh. It seems to me sometimes like Lauren must spend hours on her homework because it’s done so methodically,” noted Ms. Dyan Naslund, Lauren’s AP Literature teacher.

Although quiet and more reserved than other students,Williams certainly has achieved a handful in her four years of high school. Since her selection junior year, she’s been a part of the National Honor Society, an organization that identifies accomplished students and opens up doors for scholarships. Along with four other students from Libertyville High School, Williams was announced as a National Merit Semifinalist this fall; only 16,000 semifinalists are chosen in the whole nation.

She was also named a National Achievement Scholar, a recognition that highlights outstanding African American high school students, of which only about 4,700 are honored. Williams’ rare perfect score on the ACT speaks volumes on her strengths as a smart problem solver and thinker, and testfies to her tenacity as an active learner. And yet the word that comes to most when asked about Williams is not smart or genius; it’s humble. “ Lauren is more introspective, and I think that what makes her unique is that she’s very humble,” stated Ms. Naslund.

It’s not just the academic aspect of Williams that makes her noteworthy; it’s the fact that she’s a positive influence and has a positive impact on the school. Described as kind and polite, Williams exhibits traits that are valued by the school and shared by many students. Her friendships and connections are facilitated by her easygoing outlook on life and her down-to-earth perspective.

“I just think she’s been a good friend to have for a long time. Even though sometimes we don’t do as much together, we still always come back to each other. It’s nice, we just pick up where we left off,” reflected Kenston.

Her overall persona cannot be defined by one word or multiple achievements, but they can shed a bit of light on the type of person she is and the type of principles she lives by. Undoubtedly, there is a brilliance in humility as much as there is an astonishing awareness of talent when it comes to Lauren Williams. Her dynamic and modest personality, alongside her academic pursuits, come together to mark her as an individual, who in her immense erudition retains a degree of humility that matches her intellect.

DROPS OF INK 16

Layout by Abigail St. Claire

’

- David Cao

Ankur Rastogi

by Puja Saha

It’s Thursday night -- you just got back from a Model UN meeting -- and you’re about to start studying for that massive calculus test tomorrow morning after finishing your ungodly amount of homework. The only thing that gets you through the rest of your all-nighter is the thought that in less than 24 hours, it’ll be Friday -- then you realize that you have a debate meet after school and a research paper due on Monday.While most students would crumble under the pressure of great expectations and a schedule jam-packed with AP courses and demanding clubs, a small number manage to stand out and succeed despite hardly having any free time. LHS senior Ankur Rastogi is no exception.

With a perfect GPA and a near-perfect ACT, Rastogi seems to have used the educational system to catapult himself to the forefront of LHS’ most academically inclined. His sparkling scholastic record and unwavering work ethic has given him a competitive edge. When asked about his plans for college, Rastogi says he aspires to enroll in Stanford University.

“I applied for bioengineering... and then the tentative plan after that is medical school,” Rastogi explained.

To be accepted to Stanford, one’s test scores and school grades must speak for themselves -- in essence, admission into a university like Stanford is extremely selective and highly coveted, demanding not only advanced coursework and community involvement, but also indisputable academic success. In terms of last-minute study tips and how to ace tests, Rastogi says there’s not much to it.

“It’s usually just studying beforehand and waking up, trying not to freak out, and then just going in hoping it’ll be okay,” he noted.

Beyond his academic career lies Rastogi’s unquestionable commitment to extracurricular activities. Even as a member of National Honor Society, a representative to the school board, a varsity member of Worldwide Youth Science and Engineering, and the Penwasciz student intern at Condell Medical Center, he still finds

time to excel in his “big three” clubs: math team, debate team, and Model UN. “I’m on math team for obvious reasons -- I’m Indian, I like math,” Rastogi joked, employing his typical self-targeted humor. “[My interest in] debate team was born out of a desire to respond to the parents who always told [me] to stop talking after a certain time... it was a chance to take those discussions to a logical conclusion.”

Yet what might be most striking about Rastogi’s personality is not his innate ability to make people laugh, but rather his ability to recognize himself as part of something bigger. “[Model UN is] a good way to get some perspective about things... we always think about what’s wrong with our lives, but we tend to not think about anything beyond this little bubble. Model UN is a chance to get out there and explore beyond that bubble.”

This passion for exploration and affinity for Model UN is something Rastogi’s Model UN advisor, Mrs. Lauren Pothast, can attest to.

“Last year, we went to a conference in February, and we actually arrived at the conference a day late because we were snowed in,” Mrs. Pothast remembered. “We were kind of thrown in after the conference had already started...

When we walk into [Ankur’s committee], he’s already up and talking, and he’s already got people agreeing with him... He’s a natural.”

How Rastogi manages his time between clubs, an internship, and some of the most difficult courses LHS offers is much simpler than many would guess. There’s no magical formula -- he even gets to sleep on time rather than dragging his workload out until 3 a.m.

“Schedule,” Rastogi says. “...everybody sees a huge list of tasks or a huge list of things they have to accomplish, and they decide not to do anything because it seems like a really really big problem. Instead, they’re like, ‘I’m just going to go watch cat videos for two hours.’”

Rastogi explains that scheduling about an hour to 90 minutes per subject with 15-minute breaks in between can increase productivity DROPS OF INK 17

and even make the workload more manageable. And in terms of procrastination? Rastogi confesses that while it may not be a regular problem, it definitely is a chronic one.

“The first time I ever procrastinated was fifth grade... at Oak Grove,” he recalled a little sheepishly. “Since then, I’ve gotten used to the negative impacts of procrastinating... if it was a regular thing, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to do everything I do because I’d be spending way too much time crying at 2 a.m.”

Humbly, Rastogi acknowledges that he wouldn’t be where he stands today without the help of the teachers who instilled in him a love for learning. Particularly, he speaks highly of Mr. Mike Bush, LHS’ AP Physics C teacher. “[Mr. Bush] is someone who’s not just concerned with giving you the right answer or showing you how to get to the right answer, but rather with explaining carefully, methodically, and accurately why that’s the right answer,” Rastogi notes. “Also, he has some of the best jokes I’ve ever heard.”

However, Rastogi’s influence doesn’t halt in the academic world -- he has also made a considerable impact on the lives of those close to him. LHS senior and good friend of Rastogi’s for eight years, David Cao, describes Rastogi as “...really smart, funny, charismatic, and [a really great person].”

“He’s always there to offer advice and help others,” Cao says. “Oh, and he can rap.”

Rastogi’s readiness to offer a hand, humble acknowledgement of his accomplishments, and witty sense of humor, all in conjunction with his academic excellence, makes him a student that many at LHS aspire to emulate.

“There’s not a lot of magical spice hiding behind the cupboard,” Rastogi explained..

Perhaps there really isn’t a secret to success.

Perhaps a student is defined not by their GPA, but rather by what they invest in achieving it.

In that case, Ankur Rastogi has had a pretty decent four years.

Dealing With Denial

By Lauren Forrest and Korina Valenzuela

Y

ou visited the campus, applied early, and even bought the sweatshirt -- only to find out you didn’t get into your number one school. Receiving a rejection letter from your dream school can be devastating. For some people, it may seem like the end of the world.

Most students believe that a college rejection letter can define who they are as a person or deem them as “not good enough.” You could have the best grades in the school and the most extracurriculars, but sometimes you just don’t get in.

Students tend to think that their dream school will somehow make something out of them. According to the College Board, the truth of the matter is, at any good college or university, the student can make something out of the school.

College rejections can be tough, but there are still ways to get your life back on track.

Former LHS student Jenna Fletcher, now a college freshman, experienced receiving a rejection letter from one of the universities that she anticipated going to. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a 27.6 percent acceptance rate and accepts about 7,000 of 28,000 applicants.

“I was just really devestated. I was set on going to school there so I was really upset that it wasn’t a possibility,” said Fletcher.

Like most students, Fletcher felt a sense of disappointment and discouragement when selecting other universities. She is now attending Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison and is finding success there.

“Afterwards, I mostly focused on the schools that did accept me and tried to find the one that fit my needs best. It’s hard to understand it when it happens at first but things will end up okay even if you don’t get into the dream school,” said Fletcher.

Ms. Amy Belstra, having helped students with college for many years, knows how it feels for one to get rejected. “I think it is very difficult for students. A college application is often the first time a student puts their self out there to be judged by a stranger. And, if

they are applying to a college that they really like or love, it can be devastating to be told no,” Ms. Belstra said.

She also gave some advice on, hopefully, avoiding a rejection.

“I encourage students to build a college list that is ‘healthy’--one that includes colleges that they know they should be admitted to and colleges that will want them. And of course, colleges that they are truly interested in -- not just looking to see if they can get in!”

When comparing highly selective colleges to other schools, most people think that a selective college provides more success for the future. Ms. Belstra had her own opinion about this theory.

“There have been studies done about students who were admitted to highly competitive schools, but who chose to go elsewhere to college -- and they were highly successful even though they chose not to go to Harvard/ Yale/ whatever.

So, the result is that a person who exhibits strong potential for success can achieve that regardless of where they went to college,” Ms. Belstra stated.

You don’t need an Ivy League school to be successful.

Mrs. Judy Neuberger, one of the social workers at LHS, provided some advice on how to cope with a rejection: “I think it’s important to rely on family, and rely on your friends, and rely on you counselors , or your social workers, your LST people. There have certainly been times where there’s been disappointment and as long as you have a good support system around you, you’ll be fine. I’ve had this job for 20 years and I really believe that everything happens the way it’s supposed to and everything works out the way it’s supposed to, as disappointing as it is, there’s a reason for it,” Mrs. Neuberger said.

Ms. Belstra also gave her input on coping with rejection. She said, “Know that I am happy to talk with anyone about their situation and their feelings about it, as are our counselors. And know that there are so many colleges out there who would love to have you. I have a quote on my door that I know holds very true: ‘As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.’ I fully believe this, and have lived it!”

“As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.”

-Ms. Belstra

DROPS OF INK 18

DROPS OF INK 19

A View from Two students at LHS have taken the art of photography to a whole new level, turning dreams into beautiful visual representations. Junior Gabi Muñoz and senior Colin Morabito have each excelled through their use of photography in the AP photography class offered at LHS.

Gabi Muñoz Starting in seventh grade, Muñoz began to develop an interest in photography by experimenting with a camera. She always knew she was interested in art, but the use of a camera was second nature to her. As explained by Muñoz, “I like art a lot, so I tried painting and drawing, but it didn’t work out for me, but when I did photography, it just connected.”

Grabbing inspiration from the world around her, Muñoz focused on people and has taken numerous portraits of everyday life. “I take pictures of people because I think there is a lot to be said in the way a person looks. I want to create art that creates a physical reaction, like when your heart drops or you get the chills,” Muñoz stated.

For Muñoz, it’s not about the 10,000 followers she has on Instagram, @thespoken_, or her photography that inspires her, but the purpose in art itself. “I get my inspiration from everything around me. It mainly comes from people and what I see in them. I think art is created from our experiences of other people. If I find something beautiful, I want to recreate it in my own way, but there is no such thing as being completely original. The real art behind photography is trying to recreate what you perceive the world to be, it’s setting up every aspect of the picture, not pressing the button,” Muñoz explained.

Although Muñoz has won numerous awards, her greatest reward comes from how personal photography is. As Muñoz explained, “I’ve won awards, but I’d say my biggest achievement is taking pictures for myself and not worrying about what other people think of them. It has taken me a long time to get to that point, where I am doing this for myself.

I just want to take photos that make me feel something. If they connect with another person that’s great because art is universal but is mainly a personal thing for me.”

Muñoz currently is in AP Portfolio for photography; although she enjoys the class, she believes art is an expression of oneself and should not be graded. As she explains, “It’s a cool class, but I don’t think art is meant to be graded. I think assignments and principles limit creativity and the potential of someone finding themselves through experimentation with art.”

Muñoz can be seen taking photos in various locations throughout Libertyville. Her creativity, experimentation, and ability to keep her eye on the camera are what make this imaginative photographer an artist in every sense of the word.

DROPS OF INK 20

Gabi pictured above

Photos taken by Muñoz

Behind the lens

By Jillian Ruff and Gabby Struik

Colin Morabito

Colin pictured above

Photos taken by Morabito

Another student at LHS, senior Colin Morabito, also shares a passion for photography.

Morabito first gained an interest in taking photos when he joined Instagram freshman year and began to share his photographs with the community. Morabito now has 588 followers on Instagram at his account, @coligula.

“After joining Instagram, I started submitting pictures to the Daily Herald for photo contests and I actually won a couple of times,” said Morabito.

Morabito has used the same camera since freshman year, a Sony NEX-5N, but most of his photos on Instagram are actually taken with his phone. His photos contain a wide range of subjects like nature, abstract images, portraits and optical illusions. Through his photos, he expresses everyday moments and makes them extraordinary.

“People are probably my favorite thing to take pictures of,” Morabito stated. “I think they add something to the photos.”

Morabito has won multiple awards because of his photography success. As a freshman, Morabito repeatedly won the Daily Herald photo contests. Recently, Morabito was the winning designer for the District 128 Mission Statement Design Contest. The contest was open to all LHS and VHHS students, and Morabito’s winning design will be showcased districtwide and in all printed materials.

Last year, one of his photos was also chosen to be placed in the Perspective Group and Photography Gallery in Evanston. Morabito’s selected photo contained the image of mannequin legs illuminated by light from a window. Morabito’s photo was one of the few selected out of 570 images submitted from 211 students who attend VHHS and LHS. Morabito has taken multiple photography classes at LHS including Digital Photo 1 and Photo Studio, and he is now currently taking AP Portfolio along with Munoz. In AP portfolio, he is currently experimenting with the concept of taking surreal pictures that look real.

DROPS OF INK 21

Snow Day Decisions

By Jasmine Turner and David Black Imagine a cold January morning. You wake up to see several inches of snow piled up on your driveway, the roads not in much better shape. Your first thought: How do we NOT have a snow day on today of all days?! Twitter and Facebook begin to be overpopulated with complaining tweets and posts about the snow, and students all over town disappointedly make their way to the school.

Although the decision on whether or not to cancel school is ultimately up to the District 128 Superintendent Dr. Prentiss Lea, it is much more complicated than a simple yes or no answer. There are many things that are taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to cancel school. Road conditions, wind chills, and ultimately the safety of the students, all play a part in the decision-making process.

“While I make the final decision for D128, I certainly do not make that decision alone. I work with our feeder elementary district superintendents and our district and building teams to look at all areas of impact, including, but not limited to: current weather and predicted forecasts, road and driving conditions, parking lot and sidewalk conditions, events scheduled for that day, etc.” said Dr. Lea. “There are a lot of things that play into it. The first thing we consider is safety. Like, is it safe for kids to stand out at the bus stop?

Can the buses start? Can they drive?” remarked Dr. Marina Scott, principal of Libertyville High School.

These types of questions and considerations are typically discussed at 4 a.m. the morning after a significant amount of snowfall or when there are dangerous conditions predicted.

“It’s not usually the snow, but rather getting you to school that’s the problem,” said Dr. Scott.

At 4 a.m., a conference call usually takes place between the assistant principal, neighboring superintendents, associate superintendents, the associate superintendent for finance, groundskeepers, and bus drivers to communicate with each other about the status of the weather. Sometimes, if the weather is predicted to get bad in the night-time hours, all assisting members will have a “touch base”

that night, discussing the information they have at their disposal to prepare a decision for the next day.

“I conference call with the superintendents of our feeder schools the night before and/or early morning of the anticipated bad weather.

In the case of really bad weather--like we had last year--we also have conversations with other Lake County high schools,” said Dr. Lea. “Also what makes a difference is when the snow is going to come.

If it’s coming in big at 6 a.m. then it’s hard to turn that around rather than if it came at 10 p.m. that night,” said Dr. Scott.

This means that if the snow comes down heavily with enough time left for a successful clearance of the roads, then school can still be held. But, if the snow comes down too close to when the school day starts, then the school has more reason to close for the day, as the roads will not be as well-cleared for the parents, students, and teachers who would be making their way to the school.

The decisions of other schools in the area are also taken into consideration. Stevenson, Lake Forest, Vernon Hills, Mundelein, as well as other schools, are all watched to see what the decision has been on their end and to see if they are cancelling or delaying school as well.

“Another factor that I think students don’t take into consideration is that when we cancel school, we have to take into account that there is a required number of days that school needs to be attendence. So, we have to be careful when we start to go beyond that requirement.

We have extra days built into our calendar, otherwise you have to make them up at the end. We also consider [students’] safety, but also their education is important,” said Dr. Scott.

According to Dr. Lee, “D128 has three days that we can use for emergency days without further impacting the school calendar. If we reach a fourth emergency day, as we did last winter, then the superintendent can cancel any remaining teacher institute days (no students in attendance on an institute day) and/or teacher grading days at the end of the semester (no students in attendance on teacher grading days) to avoid adding additional days to the student attendance calendar. This option saved us last year when we had four emergency days

DROPS OF INK 22

because we were able to cancel an institute day scheduled at the end of the year, which allowed us not to have to add one extra attendance day on at the end of the year.”

Once the decision is made a mass phone call is made to every LHS student’s home notifying them about the cancellation of school that day. The system is an effective method of notification for parents and students, but it only works if accurate information is provided.

The District 128 website chides in with this reminder: “The successful delivery of information is dependent upon accurate contact information for each student, so please make certain that your student’s school has your most current phone numbers.”

“In addition to using our Blackboard Connect alert system which emails and calls our school families, we also post messages on Facebook, Twitter and our school websites. As you might guess, Twitter seems to be the fastest way to reach students. We also post to cancellations.com (which feeds to the local TV and radio stations)” said Dr. Lee. This goes back to the “polar vortex” that struck the midwest last year with its below-zero temperatures and icy winds. Last winter, Chicago picked up more than 80 inches of snow according to CBS Chicago, being only the third time in history that Chicagoans have seen that amount of snow. Though there was a tremendous amount of snow, the real problem laid in the low temperatures. It was simply unsafe for students to be walking to school in such low temperatures, leading the school administrators to cancel school on January 6th, 7th, 27th, and 28th of last year. When this is the case, the same procedures are followed as when a major precipitation is predicted, and the decision is made regarding whether or not to cancel school.

Dr Lea stressed that, “Ultimately, the number one priority is the safety of our students and staff.”

On the bright side, according to predicting meteorologists, “This [winter] will not be like last winter; we’ll get a few spring-like days to head out to the park with a light jacket even in January. The winter will start warmer and drier than normal and end on the colder, snowier side in February and March” Jill MacMath reported via Accuweather.com.

The weather that will ensue in the upcoming months will be milder than normal, and “...while we fully expect new arctic outbreaks, it appears this winter may vary from the last in terms of the persistence of cold outbreaks,” reported WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling on wgntv.com.

Photo by Alex Zoellick Libertyville experienced major snowfall and cold temperatures last year as part of the polar vortex; four days of school were canceled as a result.

DROPS OF INK 23

Staff Editorial

Field Trips: Worth the time?

Field trips tend to be a source of happiness for students, so they can enjoy time with friends away from school while learning or seeing new things. But, sometimes, they can be a source of confusion and boredom.

The Drops of Ink staff believes that field trips can provide students with more information on subject matter, but that, more importantly, the field trip helps reinforce classwork. For example, the AP English Literature and Composition classes went to see “King Lear” earlier this year, and it also happened to be the play they had read in class beforehand, which is what made it a beneficial field trip since it helped students fully understand the play by being able to see it in its entirety after reading it.

Also, the staff agreed that field trips become more entertaining and informative when they’re hands on. When students have to fill out

packets, it becomes a field trip simply motivated by the need to fill in questions on a piece of paper rather than using the time to look around and find out new things (and this can also make the field trip feel like a gargantuan version of class work instead of a field trip). Plus, when there’s hands-on experience, like when the genetics class recently went to the Museum of Science and Industry, it also can lead into simulations or activities that happen in real life for a particular subject, which tends to be more valuable than just scrambling to scribble answers into a packet.

In addition, we found that the most successful field trips were the ones that had plenty of preparation in advance by our teachers. When teachers inform the classes about the topics before they go to a museum or another destination, then it’s more worthwhile since students are able to relate to the topics since they have previous knowledge of those topics.

The main cause of when field trips flop is when it’s to a seemingly random destination or it’s about a topic not previously discussed in class. We believe it just becomes a waste of time to just attend a field trip that has no ties to a class while one has to miss the rest of their school work.

Thus, this leads to how there also should be a way to make up field trips with equal (but not impossible) work. When a lot of people are missing for a field trip, like an English or Spanish class, work tends to halt and it’s relatively easy to catch up since many classes just pause their work because so many students are missing. But, it becomes a different story when it’s a Chinese or science field trip, since only a handful of people will be missing and other classes carry on. Then, it can be a turn off to even want to go on the field trip because one will have to make up a significant amount of work in their other classes.

This leads to how we believe there should be an equal alternative assignment for students unable/not wanting to attend a trip.

Also, we realize there is a difference between going on field trips with a class versus a club, since students are actually interested in the club whereas they might not love an English or language class they have to go on a field trip for. Plus, with club or elective field trips, they tend to be more engaging for students, like when photo classes took a trip to the Brainerd Building last year, because the clubs or electives one takes generally are ones they are passionate about, which could also lead to future career paths, and it then becomes even more imperative to go on those trips since they help feed curious, passionate minds. With core classes, their field trips can be a bore or seem pointless if a student can’t connect with the material.

Overall, the Drops of Ink staff believes that, yes, field trips are great as long as they have meaning beyond getting outside of the school walls for one day.

Photo by Eryka Jones Seniors Patrick Palmer and Max Roberts interacted with a dance and karate instruction projector at a field trip earlier this month. Their genetics class went to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

DROPS OF INK 24

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

This guy certainly has a lot on his plate(s)...

The Glorification of Busy It seems that recently, people have begun to discuss their daily toil with more assertiveness; we’ve started to glorify being busy. Small talk these days often tends toward discussion about how full our schedules are and the nature of our constant activities. Sometimes such chat reaches a point where the two parties agree they are both too busy to be having their discussion regardless of their actual status.

The fact is, busy is cool, it connotes success, and “busyness” has undoubtedly taken on a growing importance in many Americans’ daily lives. The idea is intuitive: maximizing daily effectiveness can be achieved by packing our agendas. But what if maximizing effectiveness—what if productivity—is not what our end goal should be? This begs the question, then: What is our end goal, our objective? What is success?

Most Americans are aware of opportunity for social mobility through hard work, but the American meritocracy is constantly misconstrued. Some believe they’re entitled to success, while others disregard the American Dream as nonsense, instead settling for mediocrity as those who weren’t born into prominence. Whether self-righteous, supposedly victimized, or normal, however, the ultimate aspirations of our country’s people involve high social standing.

Thus, it is not at all surprising that so many prize being busy; it makes them feel as though they’re continually achieving success and becoming important by doing work they feel is significant. Like that of the Protestants, the American work ethic values effort and diligence, and among the bourgeois populace of towns like Libertyville it has perhaps had the highest cultural impact.

At LHS, which offers its own plethora of opportunities in the form of extracurricular activities, sports, and challenging classes, students are encouraged to apply themselves. Many do, and students sometimes fit several AP courses in with a host of endeavors outside of class.

By Conor Kennedy If the intention in taking five or six of the school’s most difficult classes was challenging oneself to learn, striving to obtain new and exciting knowledge, then slogging through hours upon hours of nightly work would seem justifiable.

Unfortunately, though, most who endure such a packed schedule don’t need to do so and probably shouldn’t.

There is certainly a very valid argument for filling up a school schedule, and it is often true that regardless of intention to learn or not to learn, one simply ends up learning just by taking hard classes. Yet, the excess and extremity of many courseloads can be more detrimental than beneficial to young minds.

Neverending busyness equates to nonstop working, which can lead to loss of sleep, resulting in adverse consequences for overall health; as we all know, late-night hours—even early morning hours—are often used for work to compensate for lost productivity during the day or simply because there’s too much stuff to do.

It can seem like a slippery slope argument, but this situation occurs all the time. One study cited by the National Sleep Foundation notes that only 15% of the high school students from whom data was collected reported getting 8.5 or more hours of sleep every night, the amount teenagers must have on a nightly basis in order to maintain optimal health and focus.

The point is that maintaining a holistic lifestyle is, for most people, more constructive than ceaseless exertion, and bragging about this continuous labor is just another way to justify the unnecessarily stressful lifestyle.

Success should equate to happiness and not to servitude to the insatiable cultural behemoth that dictates to us our social obligations. Hopefully soon, society will start to leave busy behind and worry more about its well-being: we’ll instead glorify being happy.

DROPS OF INK 25

Here’s One for the Black Sheep

By Tom Ackerman

Cartoon by Erin McAuliffe

When’s the last time you really thought about what you believe in as a person? Better yet, when’s the last time you asked yourself why you cling to your morals and the ideologies that you dig your feet into the ground to stand for? Because your parents said so? Because your coach, your pastor, and your friend say you shouldn’t carry that belief?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that there’s no guide to living your life, contrary to what we’ve been guided to believe.

You’ll hear all kinds of reasons as to why you should live your life a certain way...a good one you’ll hear a lot is that it worked for others to live by the book; so therefore you should too. Garbage. You also hear the condescending notion that one way of living is better than another, which drives me up the wall! People fear uncertainty and what they don’t understand, but what fun is life without taking a gamble and doing what you want for yourself? I don’t know about you, but I think I’d be living in regret if I were straight-edged, mister average.

I don’t mean any disrespect to those who have influences in our lives; I value teachers, parents, and coaches immensely and what they add to our development. However, I think it’s important that these individuals should aim to inspire kids to think on their own rather than instilling their own beliefs into the young and impressionable. No matter what you have in mind for your life, I don’t think it’s looking back to see all the rules you’ve followed. Live a little.

It can be an uncomfortable feeling to go against the crowd

at times, but isn’t that a problem in itself? Why is it that our instinct is to fear being the black sheep, to fear being a free-thinker in a sea of conformity? While it sounds cliche, I think you’d be hard set to find a free-thinking individual who lives in fear of the world and its consequences. Instead, they keep their head on their shoulders and live the way that they want. Sounds nice, huh?

Let me ask you this -- what are you afraid of? Afraid of finding yourself or finding yourself condoning different political and moral ideologies than others? Forget what people think. Do you. Anyone who judges you for being a little different isn’t worth the worry anyway. Whether it is high school, college, or even life after, people will constantly be coming and going. Jobs change, people move, and life happens. The people who tend to stick around in your life are the ones who accept you for who you are; the people who you had the guts to speak your mind to with them doing the same.

Conformity is boring. Can you imagine how different the world would be if we all embraced our true opinions and ideas?

What we see now is the tip of the glacier for all the potential creativity and individual expression the world has to offer. In a free-thinking society, we would be engulfed in a variety of perspectives and open-minded people who could offer their personal insight to the problems at hand and encourage well-rounded and knowledgeable ideas that could do the world good.

Conformity is pressured and drilled into the people systematically. Let’s change that.

DROPS OF INK 26

Mind Over Matter: Choosing Happiness Aristotle once said “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” It is within our own mindset that we choose to be happy or not. The idea of a person’s situation and circumstances that they are facing asks the question, is happiness really a choice?

Yes, it is.

One theory in psychology research suggests that everyone has a happiness “set-point,” according to The Huffington Post. This suggests that there is a balance between positivity and negativity in everyone’s thoughts, and when good and bad things happen to us, there is always a counteracting event to bring equilibrium.

However, this starting place where we find balance can be reset by our own standards.

Meagan Silverberg, the G-P LST social worker, believes that sometimes people need help in order to find happiness: “It depends on the person,” she said, “especially with mental health issues such as clinical depression and anxiety that can factor into somebody’s happiness. Those issues aside, there is a choice in moving forward in situations in which you can choose to be optimistic or pessimistic.

The lens that we look out of to the world can create a positive energy and create happiness, and sometimes we need to practice that. Some people just have that, and others need more help in doing that.”

Being happy about who you are is the most important thing. Everybody is different, and people change. Some people enjoy walking around and pleasing others by looking a certain way or saying certain things in order to fill some ideal self-image that they have.

Individuality is important because no two people are exactly alike. Pretending to be somebody that you aren’t is a waste of everyone’s time, yours especially. People who know who they are tend to be the happiest because they aren’t trying to mold themselves into somebody they aren’t.

Bad things happen. There are circumstances beyond our reach that we are not in charge of. Things like family, living situation, and location are sometimes things that we are not in charge of until we are adults. Teenagers, especially, aspire to find their passions and follow their dreams, wherever they may take them. People need these things in order to strive for a better future. Without the positive outlook and attitude that we need to achieve these things, they, too, could be out of reach. You are in charge of who your friends are and what you do with your time, and in high school, that’s where happiness can be found. If you’re not being treated the way you deserve, step up and do something about it.

When I asked students at LHS what words they would associate happiness with, I found that most of the words, such as “kindness,” “friendship,” and “comfort” are all associated with spreading happiness. To show somebody kindness, to be their friend. They’re all acts that depend on you giving to others, sharing the happiness.

By Kate Vittore

Happiness shouldn’t come from material things; it should come from experiences that you share with others. Things like the activities you’re involved in throughout high school, groups you’re a part of in college, getting married, and having children all involve connecting with other people.

Around 40 percent of our happiness can be controlled by us, according to ABC Health. Happiness lies in how we perceive things. While there are things around us that we cannot control, it’s how we let those things affect us that determines how happy we allow ourselves to be.

Walking around with a negative view on life is not the way to go. People can be cruel, things don’t always work out, and sometimes we make mistakes. Life wasn’t meant to be perfect. It’s meant to teach us lessons and be full of experiences that make us happy.

According to studies, Denmark is that happiness country in the world.

Research says that this is because they don’t have an “ideal self” that they strive to embody; instead, they pay attention to their joy in the present which, in turn, creates the lives that they make for themselves over time.

People look for quick ways to figure out how to be happy. Googling “How To Be Happy” will bring up a multitude of suggested practices to incorporate into your everyday life to make a difference. The difference starts with you and your thoughts. Telling yourself that you’re important and have a purpose is the first step to accomplishing your goals. A negative attitude never got anyone to their dreams.

Research says that sleeping more will leave you less sensitive to negative emotions. Spending more time surrounded by people who give you positive thoughts and emotions is an easy way to boost happiness. Above all, training your mind to see the good in everything is something that some of the happiest people will tell you is extremely effective.

Junior Olivia Richardson believes that happiness is attainable for everyone. “Being happy is just simply enjoying life and loving what you do,” she said. “To be happy, you need to surround yourself with the people and things that will make you happy.”

Richardson explained that there are personal choices that are the key to personal happiness. “Positive people and a positive outlook are some of the big things, and if you want to be happy, then you should let yourself be happy. It’s really the most important thing to have, happiness.”

Happiness comes by choice, not chance. Keeping a positive and uplifting attitude is what keeps you happy. Appreciating life and what you have is all you can do, because it’s too short to waste away on negativity and worries. If you’re unhappy, do something about it. You should do it for yourself because your happiness is the most important thing. Surround yourself with good people, gain experiences, and take care of yourself. Happiness is your personal choice to make.

DROPS OF INK 27

Spotlight on Simone

I

By Mike Gasick

t’s a muggy, dreary, brisk day at Bittersweet Golf Course in Gurnee. The flagpoles are whistling in the wind, as coaches and onlookers have their hands in their pockets, trying to keep warm in the raw conditions. Golfers have taken to their respective tees; all warmed up and stretched out, they hope to earn a final spot at the downstate tournament. As the IHSA Sectional finally gets underway after the previous day’s postponement, LHS sophomore Simone Mikaelian gets ready to try to advance to the State finals, where she can improve on her overall score of 167 from the previous year. As Mikaelian approaches her first tee shot, she is locked in and focused on reaching the next round.

“It was pouring to where we couldn’t see,” stated Mikaelian. “Since I really don’t like playing with a jacket, I had to wear our team shirt, so it was super cold.”

At the end of the tournament, Mikaelian finished by shooting 11 over par the first day, followed by a 10 over par the next day, finishing with a two-day total of 165, an improvement of two strokes from courtesy of the Daily Herald last year’s State appearance.

“It was a great experience because I Mikaelian tees off at a tournament in the fall. actually got the chance to go down with years of high school. As a younger kid, she did not get involved my teammate, as well as other teammates watching me. It was a in the sport until her middle school years because her father fun time bonding with my teammates,” stated Mikaelian. Senior influenced her into competing in the sport. He would take her Jessica Lovinger also made it to the state tournament after tying out to the golf course, and she just fell in love with the sport.

Mikaelian’s sectional score of an 81.

She competed in IJGA (Illinois Junior Golf Association) tourAccording to senior Reilly Burnetti, the best part of Mikaenaments to help her prepare for high school level competition. lian’s game is her positive mentality toward the sport. “Simone According to Mikaelian, the tournaments had a similar format is always focused during her matches. You’ll always see her in to high school competitions, as the number of holes and types of her same routine and ready to play,” stated Burnetti. awards were the same.

Mikaelian has been on varsity girls golf for her first two As she grew older, she started playing more challenging courses in the area. Courses like Pine Meadow, Countryside and Knollwood posed challenges to Mikaelian, yet she persevered and kept playing because of her true love for the game.

This preparation has showed off tremendously in high school, as some of Mikaelian’s best scores include shooting an 80 after sinking seven pars on holes seven to 17 at the North Suburban Conference tournament to advance to Regionals. She also started the year off with a bang, as she took

“Not everybody could be a State qualifier for golf. But then again, a lot of talented golfers aren’t State qualifiers.”

-Coach Pedersen DROPS OF INK 28

courtesy of Simone Mikaelian Senior Jessica Lovinger (left) stands near to Mikaelian (right) before at the State tournament.

Mikaelian practices a tee shot before a match. third at the Barrington Invite by shooting an impressive 73 over 18 holes.

“There might be some natural talent [in Mikaelian], but that is overshadowed by how much time she spends and how much effort she puts into her game,” stated head coach Mr. Greg Pedersen. “Not everybody could be a State qualifier for golf. But then again, a lot of talented golfers aren’t State qualifiers.”

Mikaelian attributes much of her success to her teammates and coaches because as experienced as she is, she still takes as many helpful tips and advice from her coaches to learn more and more every day. Mr. Pedersen noted that Mikaelian is a committed individual and deserves all of the credit given to her by her peers. “[The coaches] have helped a ton,” Mikaelian stated. “They are on the course giving helpful tips and have really turned me into a better golfer.”

In addition to competing on the golf course, Mikaelian also applies her athletic abilities to the basketball court, where she is currently playing for the JV Libertyville girls basketball team.

Basketball is not her number one sport, yet she still enjoys playing because many of her closest friends are on the team. On the freshmen A team, Mikaelian played the role of “team player” by dishing out 45 assists and adding 28 steals in 20 games started.

In the spring, the Golf and Sports Center in Buffalo Grove is where Mikaelian can be found. The complex is made up of two sand bunkers, a putting green and a driving range for golfers of all ages. To stay fresh in the offseason, Mikaelian uses the complex to practice a variety of shots to help prepare her for the next season.

courtesy of Brian Mikaelian

“We’re excited for next season. We have Simone at number one, better than most other schools’ number ones and have talented players coming up,” stated Pedersen.

Mikaelian has aspirations for after Libertyville, as she noted that it would be honor to play her favorite sport in college. She is still uncertain to where life after Libertyville may take her, yet she is keeping her options open.

“Not a whole lot of people get the chance to play in college,” stated Mikaelian. “It would be a great opportunity for me.”

courtesy of Brian Mikaelian Mikaelian is also an avid basketball player, and many of her closest friends play with her on the junior varsity team.

DROPS OF INK 29

Ben Kimpler: the Wildcats’ Triple Threat

By Jack Murphy Layout by Maddie Salata

School, practice, homework, dinner, late-night workouts, sleep, do it again for three full seasons. Every year.

This is not a normal athlete’s schedule. A normal athlete may have that schedule for one season. Rarely two. Almost never three.

In today’s sports world, athletes are encouraged to specialize in a specific sport at young ages, often selecting the sport in which they are most successful, with the hope that their development in that select sport will lead to playing in college. This is contrary to “the olden days” when athletes played whatever sport was in season; even though an athlete may be more fit for one sport, he still participated in another or even multiple other sports.

Now, if a boy is hitting the ball out of the park at 11, he may be persuaded by his parents and coaches to quit basketball that next season so that he can thrive in between the baselines. While this may lead to his success in baseball, his overall athleticism may decline as his body adjusts to the demand of only one sport.

Thus, there are fewer athletes every year who are participating competitively in multiple sports. According to LHS athletic director Briant Kelly, while the number of athletes at LHS has remained steady in the last eight years, the number of three-sport athletes has declined significantly, with 127 in 2009, down to 87 and 85 in the last two years respectively.

FALL

Libertyville High School holds one of those gems, a rare threesport athlete: Ben Kimpler.

Kimpler, a junior, has been a fixture on three varsity rosters since his sophomore year. As a defensive end for the football team, a center for the basketball team, and a pitcher for the baseball team, Kimpler is the “throwback warrior athlete,” as baseball and football coach Jim Schurr described him.

Being the youngest player on each team last year, Kimpler “knew [he] had to battle for something every day” to earn a starting nod and the respect from his elder teammates and coaches. He soaked up the spotlight, earning significant minutes on the gridiron and on the court while also logging innings for the varsity baseball team.

Now, in his second year of varsity athletics, Kimpler is looking to make a lasting impact on his opponents. He does not just want to be the “sophomore with potential,” like he was last season.

He is ready to be the upperclassman who delivers when he is needed most.

>>

In the football team’s impressive campaign this season, which resulted in them reaching the final four of the state playoffs, Kimpler terrorized quarterbacks all season long coming off the end. He used his “freakishly tall” -- as defensive teammate Mac Copeland described him -- 6’6’’ frame to have a powerful impact on the defensive side of the football. He summoned his inner basketball skills to swat numerous passes and to evade the blocking linemen.

Mr. Schurr noted that Kimpler possesses “contact courage,” the desire to hit people without the fear of getting hit back, which “most big guys don’t have,” according to the coach. Copeland added that Kimpler provided well-needed energy to the defense with timely tackles in the backfield. His leadership also grew as a player this year, as “he challenged everyone in every practice to strive to be their very best,” Copeland said.

In addition to manning the defensive line, Kimpler was also the team’s punter, which proved to be beneficial down the stretch as he was able to change field position greatly with booming kicks. He shined in the playoff game against Fenwick, pinning the Friars deep inside their own territory numerous times.

Kimpler made massive improvements this season and hopes to build on that development next season with a team that is looking promising. Schurr believes that Kimpler’s “strong presence on the field” and his athleticism coming off the ball could put Kimpler in position for some looks from Division 1 football programs. Kimpler said that powerhouses Notre Dame and Michigan State have contacted him about a potential future in college football; he has also

Photo Courtesy of Kim Reimers Kimpler used his large wingspan and explosiveness off the line to wreak havoc on opposing backfields this season. been contacted by a plethora of Big 10 schools, including Indiana, the Minnesota, and Northwestern. He has not committed to any school yet, and is not even sure if it will be football that brings him into collegiate athletics.

DROPS OF INK 30

WINTER

>>

Last year on a senior-heavy basketball roster, Kimpler pulled his own weight in the low post. Coming off the bench, Kimpler added some spark to the team as a big body down low.

“He brings excellent physicality and is very aggressive,” fellow big man Joe Borcia said about his teammate, adding that he expects Kimpler to be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Kimpler hopes to earn back his starting spot after missing practices in the beginning of the season to accommodate the football team’s extended postseason success. According to Borcia, Kimpler brings the same competitive edge to basketball that he brings to everything he does, as he is “always keeping himself busy, lifting in the offseason, and working hard” in order to put himself in the best position possible to help his team bring home wins.

SPRING

>>

Photo courtesy of Connie Skoug Kimpler’s electric fastball earned him a spot on the mound last season as a sophomore.

HOW HE DOES IT ALL

Photo courtesy of Korina Valenzuela Kimpler hopes to provide a spark on the court this year with his aggressiveness and physicality in the paint.

On a baseball roster with tons of depth all over the field, Kimpler’s 88 mph fastball earned him a spot in the pitching rotation last year. Coach Schurr explained that Kimpler gained some invaluable experience last season, pitching in games down the stretch that are generally given to players two years his senior.

Kimpler bounced between the varsity team and the sophomore team throughout the season, earning opportunities on the mound and at first base. Kimpler joined the varsity squad on its annual Spring Break trip to Phoenix, pitched there, and pitched sparingly throughout the regular season, when he spent the majority of the time with the sophomores, then rejoined the varsity team for good on their quest for a second state run.

For a young player, Kimpler also showed great composure in the dugout, as teammate Jimmy Govern said that “Kimp is always level-headed, and keeps everyone in the dugout [calm].” Coach Schurr believes that his composure will translate to the mound this season as he already has a year of experience under his belt.

In addition to being a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, Kimpler may also find some innings at first base this year, where his height and athleticism around the bag may be a valuable asset for the team. Kimpler does not care where he is at on the diamond, he just “wants to put [himself] in the best spot” for his success, and ultimately the team’s.

Mr. Schurr said that the “adversities he faced last year, dealing with tough innings and surrendering hits, will help him this year” as he has gained some mound presence and command on the bump. Expecting a big year, his coach said that he definitely has what it takes to be a Division 1 pitcher, as his repertoire could rival that of current Division 1 pitchers. Kimpler has been contacted by the University of Washington, University of Central Florida, and Illinois State University, and that was only after a sophomore season; there should be more to come following the upcoming season.

>>

While such an overloaded schedule may be overwhelming for a student, Kimpler “goes with the flow” of the season to balance it out.

And while he does admit that it “is rough without a break” between sports, it is well worth it to be a part of it all. He claimed that this is how it has always been: football in the fall, basketball all winter, and baseball in the spring and summer; if he could do it again, he said that he would not change a thing.

When asked if he would want to play any other sports competitively if he could, Kimpler laughed, “I’m too tall.” While competitive by nature, he also sees sports as a prime opportunity to meet new people and spend time with his friends every single day at practices and games.

Balancing sports, clubs, schoolwork, and a social life is the most challenging agenda in the lives of many high school students, but Kimpler said that sports make him prioritize everything. He knows every day that he is going to be staying after school for practice, so he hunkers down in study hall to finish as much homework as possible, as well as finishing up at home; and he knows that he gets to see his friends at sports. The rest of his very slim amount of downtime is devoting to spending time with his friends and family.

So while Kimpler’s future in college athletics may not yet be determined, there is one thing that is most definite in the “throwback warrior athlete’s” life: he’s going to practice today, tomorrow, and the next day; for all three seasons, for the next two years.

DROPS OF INK 31

Liberty Sports Complex 1950 N Hwy 45, 2nd Level Libertyville IL 60048 POWERED BY PALMEN SPORTS

Libertyville’s Holiday Special!

Reduced December Holiday Pricing -- 20% off • Offer Expires 12/31/14

Take Your Game to the Next Level Athletic Republic of Libertyville is a science-based, sports performance training movement with real, quantifiable results.

How do we give you the edge? With intensive training, sport specific training programs and advanced, patented equipment designed to safely push athletes beyond their limits.

#1 in performance sports training Baseball

Volleyball

Soccer

Football

Cross Country

Tennis

Basketball

Track & Field

Softball

Lacrosse

Golf

Hockey

What Works For The Pros

Will Work For You Train with the same scientific methods and equipment used by professional athletes like Misty May-Treanor, Jim Thome, Darren McFadden, Jameer Nelson, Marian Gaborik, and Montee Ball.

“Their acceleration training has improved [my son’s] 40 yard dash, pro agility, foot quickness, and game speed.”

– Montee Ball Sr.

Science. Technology. Results.

Average Performance Improvements With Athletic Republic Training: 0.2 – 0.4 seconds in 40 yards 2 – 4 inches of vertical jump height 5 - 8 inches in standing long jump distance 5 mph in throwing velocity 50% improvement in recovery ability 20% gain in peak force and power 33% increase in foot speed Significant improvements in both running and skating efficiency  fb.com/palmensports

 twitter.com/arlibertyville

Check us out at palmensports.com/libertyville