Drops of Ink Final Volume 89, Issue #5 Please do not write on the exam. Read the directions on page 4 carefully. Be sure to fill in your answer on Twitter @lhsdoi.
Michael Gluskin Name _________________
5New Years Eve: Chi-Town Style 6Uniting LHS through LHS United 7 Math Students Make Magic 8 Some Finals Are Worth 10 Percent 9 First Semester Finals Moved Before Break 10Turnabout 2016: Out of this World 11A Vote is A Voice 12PARCC Testing Results Update 13 LHS receives Scores from 5essentials Survey 14 What’s Happening 15What’s Trending: Winter Shoe Edition 16-17 A Fire in the Dark Room 18-19Between the Pages: The Real Story of Banned Books 20Hotseat: William Engfer Similar to New York, Chicago began its own New Year’s tradition this year, including the raising of the Chicago Star.
Amnesty International recently became LHS United and has become a growing force at LHS.
While the math team has been piling up the awards, the new Mu Alpha Theta club has been making its own mark on LHS.
Teachers of different courses at LHS, mainly in the science and social studies departments, have made the decision to change the weight of finals.
Students and teachers at LHS give their reactions to the change of dates taking place for for finals. Finals are being moved to before winter break in the coming school year.
The upcoming winter dance at LHS is going to be “Out of this World”!
With the upcoming presidential election, and many seniors and juniors able to vote, an update on the election could help to shape your views.
Although some statewide PARCC test results were disappointing, LHS outshined most schools in the newest form of state testing.
The results from the 5Essentials survey, which tests what is conducive for academic success, have been reported.
Extra! Extra! Read all about the current news throughout the world!
Formal, Fashionable, Fun - Many of these shoes are making their name at LHS.
Since beginning his photography business in his basement, Jake Rudolphi’s work has flourished and become well known throughout Libertyville.
Many books have been banned from different schools due to the language they use or the message they give.
Interesting questions and even more interesting answers are supplied as William comments on DOI’s inquiries regarding his high school experiences and plans for afterwards.
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21 Hotseat: Mrs. Owens 22 It’s the Most Horrible Time of the Year 23-24What Are Those! 26Moving on and Letting Go 27“Click for Drama” 28Sleeping to Sweating to Sleeping 29 Temperamental Temperature 30 Coming Together 31“That’s Racist!” 32 Going Mainstream 33 Calm Before the Storm 34 Jack Lipp Honored with Jersey Retirement 35 LHS Basketball Roll Call 36 Libertyville Wrestilng Enjoying Successful Season 37 Baumruk and Davellis Look to Continue Bowling Mrs. Owens answers the many burning questions about gymnastics and her career at LHS that DOI has to offer.
Instruction and medical advice is given for the students at LHS overwhelmed by Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Attempt to decipher what each of these close-up pictures of objects around school could be.
A staff member gives advice on how to move past all the negativity of the old year and look forward for what’s to come.
Over the past few months, numerous Twitter accounts have been breaking through the walls of kindness at LHS and have proved detrimental to the students within it.
Does having gym first period interrupt your day and sleep cycle? If so, what other relevant information do you not know?
Dressing for success is hard when the temperature of the school fluxuates.
People all around the world are coming together following the woeful events in Paris.
The debate on whether race is becoming too sensitive of an issue for discussion.
Many artists have found new methods of attracting more listeners to their work.
A DOI member questions the ability of students to rush the field following sporting events.
Former LHS student Jack Lipp was recently honored with the framing and retirement of his former jersey.
After a slow start, both the boys and girls basketball teams are looking promising.
LHS Wrestiling is flourishing this year and expected to achieve new heights.
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Both the girls and boys teams at LHS have further developed their skill and gained many new players since their start in November.
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Hannah Boufford, Editor-in-Chief Maddie Werner, Online Editor Gabby Struik, News Editor Tia Petrzilka, Features Editor Jake Luce, Opinion Editor Josh Bragg, Sports Editor Manal Ahmed, Entertainment Editor Kayla Fiore, Photo Editor Becky DeAcetis, Layout Editor Katie Vrba, Social Media Editor Sara Thunga, Copy Editor Jillian Ruff, Community Service Coordinator Kate Vittore, Staff Fun Director Blair Abington Lola Akinlade Brianna Baez Grace Bloom Nathan Campbell Tanner Dorow Alo Garcia-Escobar Max Friedlander Demi Glusic Jenna Grayson Olivia Griffith Abbey Humbert Hannah Hutchins Jack Kosowski Jarrett Malec Mary Kate Mieszala TJ Murbach Sam Nelson Dolores Palmieri Alyssa Stokovich Maria Thames Stephanie Thomas Hadley Van Der Bosch Carly Wegren Emma Williams Emily Yates Kaitlyn Zabadal
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Contact us at doi@lhswildcats.org Michael Gluskin, faculty adviser January 22, 2016
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Letter to
2015-2016 Staff Listing
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Dear Reader, It’s the start of a new year. You’ve bought your gym membership and you’re getting organized. Finals are also over (Yay!). You can finally catch up on some of your sleep (aka Netflix) and hang with friends again. Second semester is soon approaching, which means you’re halfway done with the year. All is going well. More importantly, welcome to the first ever online Drops of Ink magazine! We normally don’t print a January issue because we wouldn’t have enough time to complete it due to the finals schedule, and we usually post our final exam stories to the DOI website. But this year, we wanted to do something different. This digital version of the magazine will seem familiar to readers, it’s just not in print form. It also allows photographers and layout designers to continue doing what they’ve been doing all semester. We hope you like it! In the last issue, you got the inside scoop on how magazine stories are created and picked. Today, we decided to continue our discussion on the journey each story must take in order to become published. Once each story is paired up with a writer, designer, and photographer, it’s time for the staff to get to work. Writers start researching and planning their interviews, while layout designers search through other magazines and on Pinterest for inspiration for their next masterpiece. Photographers plan out their pictures and set up photo shoots. Everyone works on a time crunch because first drafts are quickly approaching. Each story has a first draft editor and a second draft editor; even layout and pictures have an editor. Staff members must meet their firm deadlines or else it throws off the rest of the magazine (everyone really is connected). The last day to finish any work for the issue is the final deadline. That day the staff must stay after school as late as possible to finish the issue. After that, it’s off to the printer! Now that you learned a bit more about the magazine process, aren’t you feeling a little hungry? Well, what about winning a $10 Starbucks giftcard? All you have to do is find the key word or phrase located in the magazine (this month’s key phrase is “cultural issues”) and direct message it to @LHSDOI on Twitter. Make sure to include the key phrase, article title, page number, and the hashtag #ThinkInk. Message us before the end of the school day on Tuesday the 26th and you could be a big winner! You might even get a shoutout on Twitter. Thanks for reading, bae. Have a great long weekend!
Sincerely,
Katie Vrba Social Media Editor
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New Year’s Eve: Chi-town Style
By Carly Wegren
imilar to New York’s New Year’s Eve celebration, Chicago decided to launch a new event called Chi-town Rising this year, with most events starting around 6 p.m. and continuing on into the early hours of the next day. In hopes of becoming an inaugural event, Chi-town Rising transformed popular strips downtown into festive attractions along the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive. A uniquely Chicago version of a ball drop and a large firework display occurred about 20-30 seconds after midnight. The event was forecast to draw about 20,000 spectators, according to promoters of the event. Organizers of Chi-town Rising have yet to release concrete numbers. Initially, it was supposed to be a free celebration drawing around 100,000 spectators. After safety considerations, organizers decided to scale back due to crowd concerns. Nearly a week before kickoff, it was converted into a charged event, with pricing for passes ranging from $99-$120. The producer of the event, Arena Partners, which was founded by John Murray commented on profits in a press release for the Chicago Tribune, “I do hope that someday this is profitable, but I don’t anticipate making a profit this year,” said Murray. Sponsored by Corona Extra and Hyatt Gold Passport, Chi-town Rising offered young and old alike interesting festivities. Millennium Park transformed into a family-friendly environment to ring in the new year in an “Around the World for New Year’s Eve” theme from 3-6 p.m. Children could attain a “passport” and visit activity stations featuring different cultures
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from countries such as Thailand, Denmark, Egypt, Scotland, and Italy. For the price of $99, city folk and out-of-towners alike could find warmth in a chilly Chicago night at the Corona Beach House. Full of bars, beach-themed food, and DJs, the Beach House offered a party with a view of the Countdown Stage for those 21 and older. The Beach House offered a full dinner buffet, law games, and a Ruffino Prosecco (sparkling wine) New Year’s toast. At the Countdown Stage, fireworks were scheduled along with performances from legendary rock band Chicago and the fairly new band American Authors. Prior to the two headliners, who performed at 11, an array of about seven other less well-known artists performed, such as Kweku Collins, The Heard, and The O’My’s. For those who wished to be directly a part of all the commotion, Broadcast Boulevard was the place to be. With access to the Countdown Stage and performances, passes for this area, which were previously free, rose to $150. A main attraction of Chi-town Rising was the 12,000-pound star set to rise 360 feet upwards on the face of the Hyatt Regency Chicago hotel. An astounding 70-feet tall, the star acted as the main symbol for the event. By midnight, instead of dropping like the ball in New York City, the star rose to ring in a new year.
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hat does the Chicago star represent? The star appears four times on the notorious Chicago Flag. The Chicago flag was originally designed by Chicago author Wallace Rise in 1917. He was initially asked to create rules for a competition to decide on a design for the flag but ended up using his own design. The star was thoughtfully designed to represent key events in the city’s history. The Chicago flag has, since 1939, four stars: the first representing Fort Dearborn and the founding of the Chicago Territory; the second representing the Chicago Fire and the city’s miraculous rebirth in its aftermath; the third representing the Columbian Exposition of 1893; and the fourth representing the Century of Progress World’s Fair of 1933 (chi-townrising.com).
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Uniting LHS through LHS United
By Gabby Struik
Photo Courtesy of Mrs. Regina Chamberlin LHS United meets on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. in room 121A Canning, Schmidgall, and Berman are some of the club’s original members. Canning and Berman joined Amnesty International mid-freshman year and Schmidgall joined his junior year. “I like how we can get the word out to people about things that they need to know but haven’t necessarily heard about,” shared Canning. “I think we provide an important education that isn’t always provided by the school.” Since revamping the club’s appearance, they went from having an original four members with Amnesty International to now having around 15. Some students may have noticed a recent poll that was sent to them through email regarding which issue LHS United should advocate and fundraise for this year. When the results came in, the winner of the poll was Prevent Child Abuse America, a Chicago-based organization that works to protect kids from abuse. First semester, the club mainly focused on reorganizing their structure and goals but second semester will start the actual fundraising process. Current ideas include fundraising at the upcoming basketball game on Jan. 22 along with a possible silent auction. A typical LHS United meeting consists of planning fundraisers and future events. LHS United meets on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. in room 121A, and all students are encouraged to stop by to join or just to ask any questions.
Amnesty International is coming back stronger than ever and hopes to recruit new members with their new name and mission as LHS United. The decision to change the club name was made earlier in the year due to a low amount of members. Speech and Language Therapist Mrs. Regina Chamberlin took over the sponsor position from English teacher Mrs. Anne Singleton. Mrs. Chamberlin, along with the help of seniors Barak Schmidgall, Joey Canning, and Charlie Berman, all worked together to create a name that was easier to understand and better demonstrated the club’s goals. “The first thing we did was to rebrand ourselves; we decided to create a new name because nobody really knew what Amnesty meant, so we created something simpler, which was LHS United,” shared Berman. The club’s mission is to unite LHS and bring about an acceptance of different cultures while working toward helping others in the school, community, and world. They hope to achieve their goals by making students more aware of the humanitarian and cultural issues both here and abroad. “As a highschooler you are still so focused on your current situation. Kids are still so young in that they are not as aware of the world around them; they want to make changes but they have homework and this and that, so we tried to bring awareness closer to home,” stated Mrs. Chamberlin.
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Math Students Make Magic By Emily Yates
Photo by Samantha Nelson Students and advisors on the math team review their meet results after receiving first place at the third North Suburban Math League meet at Lake Forest on December 10. There are a few different opportunities for LHS students to display their love for and interest in mathematics: they could compete with the award-winning Math Team or join the newly formed Mu Alpha Theta club, a mathematics-based honor society. The LHS Math Team’s season stretches from the first week of school until the first week of May, and the team has about 80 members currently. They spend every Tuesday afternoon practicing for their meets, which occur twice per month, one at home and one away, during the North Suburban Math League (NSML) Conference season. After the conference season, the team must compete in regionals. If they win their regional, they head down to the state championship in the spring. If they don’t win their regional, however, their dreams of state aren’t over yet. They may qualify for state by being the “wild card,” meaning that they are in the top 10 percent of the state during regionals. “Being a member of the math team is pretty much like a big, nerdy family, as cheesy as it sounds; it is really nice to be with everyone who shares that common interest.” said senior team member Hannah Loizzo. Mr. Rick Brenner, LHS math teacher and head coach for the team since 2002, described the rigor of their weekly practices. The team members complete practice tests on the given topics from past years in preparation for individual events. For team and relay events, the students work together in practices in order to solve the problems with their team of either eight, five, or two other students. When asked about the secret for the team’s continuous success, Mr. Brenner said, “I think that success breeds success. There’s a drive there from being good to want to stay good. Everybody is trying to knock you off the pedestal.” Ms. Christee Joesten, Ms. Tamara Rende, and Mrs. Lisa Davis accompany Mr. Brenner, serving as assistant coaches for the team. The coaches and team members have high hopes for another strong finish in the postseason this year following their first place win last year and second place finish in 2014. They are already well on their way to success this
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season as they have recently won first place at the third NSML meet at Lake Forest on December 10. Another way to get involved in the math community at LHS is to apply to join the nationally based Mu Alpha Theta Society. Mu Alpha Theta was introduced to LHS for the first time this year by junior Emilia Ruzicka, who had been a member of the society at her previous high school in Yorktown, Virginia. “With the course load that I’m taking and that a bunch of kids take at this school, [Math Team’s] just really not what I was looking for. So I thought, ‘Hey, if they don’t have [Mu Alpha Theta], I’ll make it,’” said Ruzicka. Ruzicka described the club as a very low-stress and relaxed alternative to the competitive environment that comes with being a member of the Math Team. Mu Alpha Theta meets twice a month and discusses unique and interesting math applications. Mr. Brenner sponsors this club in addition to coaching the Math Team. In order to be recognized nationally as a member of the club, you must complete an application. Some prerequisites of membership include a 3.0 GPA in all mathematics courses and completion of at least one semester of Algebra II. There are currently 16 official members at LHS. Even if you don’t meet the requirements for national membership, anyone is able to join the club as an associate member. There are currently three associate members, and they are able to attend all of the meetings and participate in all of the activities. Because the club is actually a service-based organization, Ruzicka has high hopes of initiating a tutoring system. Once the club has been up and running for a while, she plans to implement one meeting a month dedicated to fun math concepts while the other meeting will be dedicated to tutoring any LHS student in need of math help. She plans to advertise it to her peers in a casual manner by saying, “we have kids that are proficient in these subjects; come in, and we’ll help you.”
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Some Finals Are Worth 10 Percent
By Hannah Hutchins
Photo by Hannah Hutchins This year, several courses, including Mr. Wiggins’s geography classes, are making their finals worth 10 percent rather than 20. Courses within several departments have elected to make their finals worth less, including classes in the social studies, science, and English departments. While the school policy, which says that a final may be worth up to 20 percent, has remained the same, teachers are now discussing the possibility of a change -- and some are making this change -- within their own classrooms. “Lately there has been dialogue about what [the teachers] believe is best and now they are acting upon this,” said Social Studies Supervisor Mr. Shawn McCusker. “Whatever they agree is the best choice for their students is what they’re going to go ahead and do.” This change centers around an idea that is becoming more common at LHS and schools around the country: the idea of analyzation rather than content memorization. “In general, in education across the United States, the move has been to skills of volume for content. So the idea is application,” said Mr. McCusker. This new way of testing is thought to be better for future preparation, especially in higher-level courses, such as AP classes. “[The science department has] been working on a whole different kind of final exam. In science in particular, [we’ve] been trying to tie in the next generation of science standards,” said Science Supervisor Mr. Greg Herman. Because of these changing standards, many courses have elected to include these in their final exams, as well as make them worth 10 percent
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of the semester grade. These classes include Human Physiology, Chemistry, Geography, Drops of Ink, AP Government, and AP US History. Since this is a new way of learning, however, and a concept unfamiliar to many students, a large variety teachers with these exams have decided to lessen the impact they will make on a student’s grade. “We wanted to lighten that load until we really figure out how to do good assessments, and then, once we feel more comfortable in how we assess and how that shows up in our curriculum throughout the year, we may go back up to 20 percent. Right now we’re in trial mode, so we thought we’d make what’s done in the course during the year the more important part,” Mr. Herman said. Mr. McCusker, who teaches Government and International Studies, believes that this new way of teaching will bring new conversation into the classroom setting and will allow students to put together different pieces of information in their own ways. “If we came together and we all left with one answer, which is more like the traditional ways of teaching, we wouldn’t have all this conversation that creates beautiful diversity and I love that,” said Mr. McCusker. In addition to some teachers seeing this change as a good thing, many students are agreeing, including sophomore Katherine Roleck. “It’s definitely helpful for my grades. I don’t need to do as well on those finals to maintain my grades which gives me more opportunity to study for all my classes equally,” said Roleck.
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First Semester Finals Moved to Before Winter Break By Manal Ahmed
Photo by Manal Ahmed First semester finals will be moved from the second week of January to the week prior to winter break starting in the 2016-17 school year. Starting in the 2016-17 school year, first semester finals at Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School will take place before winter break. The final decision was made by Superintendent Prentiss Lea, however, the idea was initially brought up by the D128 Calendar Committee and has also been brought up numerous times in the past years by the LHS administration. According to LHS Principal Dr. Marina Scott, the main reason that finals are being moved to before winter break is because D128 administration truly believes that both students and teachers need a two-week break, free of any stress or lingering assignments and studying. Also, other schools in District 70 and Hawthorne are moving their finals to before break, which would make scheduling events such as music and theater events, and sports more difficult. “Having the semester end before break is good for everyone because you get that closure before break so everyone gets a break. Not only the fact of getting a break, but the fact that hopefully [students] do better when [they] do not have that two-week gap,” Dr. Scott stated. With the change of finals also comes the change of the school calendar. LHS and VHHS will now begin on Monday, Aug. 15, which is two days earlier than the normal starting date. The first day of school will not be a late start. First semester finals will take place Dec. 20-22. Winter break will begin for students on Friday, Dec 23, which is a grading day for teachers. Although the calendar is still subject to change, Columbus Day is the only holiday that has been waived so far. Second semester finals for the 2016-17 school year will take place May 24-26, so students will be out of school before Memorial Day. Although D128 believes that finals before break will be beneficial for students, there are also a few concerns about the upcoming change and
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how it will impact both students and teachers. “The cons are minimal; it’s just change, which is hard for all of us. We have to start a little earlier and we have to be ready to take finals before break. Teachers have to rethink their teaching to get [material] into a shorter span of time and that week before break is not as relaxed for all of you students,” Dr. Scott said. Student reaction to the news of first semester finals being moved has also been mixed. While some like the idea of having final exams before vacation, others do not enjoy the change and would prefer to have finals take place mid-January. “This is my first year at Libertyville; I previously went to Warren Township High School. At Warren, we always had finals before break. After seeing how it is to study before break and take finals right away versus studying throughout break and taking finals after, I can undoubtedly say that finals before break are a lot easier and cause less stress,” transfer student and junior Areebah Siddiqui said. Contrary to Siddiqui’s thoughts, some students at LHS like to utilize winter break as a time to study and prepare for final exams. “Before [finals were moved to before break], a student had the choice to decide whether or not they wanted study over winter break. This choice allowed students to create their own study schedule that worked best for them. Having them before break is not beneficial to the student as it removes this choice, forcing more stress and workload onto an already overwhelmed student,” junior Natalie Perritano stated. According to Dr. Scott, the school calendar will continue to adjust as years pass on; although it is possible that finals can be moved back to after break following the 2016-17 school year, Dr. Scott and LHS administration do not think that this will be the case.
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Turnabout 2016: Out of This World By: Brianna Baez
Photo Courtesy of Flickr A preview of the excitement that is in store at the winter turnabout which is blacklight themed.
This year’s Turnabout will surely be stellar. The theme is outer space, as voted on by the members of Student Council. Turnabout will be held on Saturday, February 20th from 7:30-10:30 p.m. in the main gym. Tickets will be available to purchase online at the end of January for $25 each. As always, students are required to bring their ID to serve as their ticket. The Turnabout assembly will take place on Friday, February 19th. Student Council executive member Cameron Chen has said, “We definitely are planning out an exciting assembly for the student body; we don’t want to give out too many details, but it definitely will not be the traditional assembly.” When Chen was asked what he found most exciting about Turnabout this year, he replied, “I’m definitely the most excited about the assembly for this year’s Turnabout. We definitely have something big planned for the school. Much more will be revealed to the student body as we get closer to the date.” Turnabout spirit week will run from Tuesday, February 16th to Friday, February 19th. The themes for the dress-up days will be announced on Wake up Wildcats in the future.
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At the Turnabout dance, Student Council will be bringing back things from previous dances. There will be a lounge with refreshments during the dance. A special ceremony will also be held to recognize the Select 16 and their dates. All four grades participated in pitching in ideas for the theme of the dance. Some of the other suggested themes were: Alice in Wonderland, and travel themed. Without giving away too many details,confirmed by Ms. Andrea Lara, the decorations for the dance will have a starry sky vibe. “We encourage EVERYONE to come to Turnabout, either with a date or with a group of friends.” said Ms.Andrea Lara, “High school goes so fast and there are only a total of eight opportunities to have the whole dance in the gym with all of your buds. This is a classic high school experience. We want everyone to feel included and of course invited to their Turnabout 2016!”
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A vote IS
The Elephant is the symbol that represents Republicans. Photo courtesy of factmonster
A voice
The Donkey is the symbol that represents Democrats. Photo courtesy of factmonster
By Blair Abington Seniors and juniors who will be 18 on Nov. 8 can make the choice of who our future president will be. Many young kids do not pay attention to elections and as they grow older still have no interest in the world of politics. Come voting time, only 58.5 percent of 18-24 year olds vote, according to Voting Statistics. “I am not 100 percent sure who I’m voting for. Honestly, I probably won’t be voting. I think my biggest concerns are that, in my opinion, there is not one leader I 100 percent support. I feel like if I voted for one person but felt indifferent about another, I might have made the wrong choice,” described senior Alexa Hryniewicki. Hryniewicki is 18 and eligible to vote but is not registered to vote because she did not wish to be. A person’s vote it their voice as an American citizen. As a democracy, it’s important to receive everyone’s opinion on important issues that affect our country, which is why every vote matters. According to Big Think, an online digital newspaper, young people care about politics, they just dislike it. Harvard research shows that two-thirds of students who are eligible to vote believe politicians only go into public service for selfish reasons. Junior Emily Baumstark made the age guidelines and is able to vote in the upcoming election. She plans on voting but is not registered yet. “I believe that young people should vote,” explained Baumstark. “We have the privilege to be able to choose who represents us and...each person’s vote has an importance.” Ms. Amy Holtsford teaches government at LHS and talks with her students about the upcoming election often; she is also registered to vote for this election. “I think that many students have been following our political system enough to have a general understanding of the differences between the two main parties. Probably seniors who are in government or have already taken it have a better understanding, though,” she said. “One thing we have to remember is that WITHIN the same party people have different views on policy issues, so it’s difficult to describe accurately the differences with specificity.” Diffen, an online comparison website, describes that dealing with tax policy, the Republicans believe there should be tax cuts for everyone of all incomes and the Democrats believe there should be tax cuts for middle and low-income families.
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With social issues, Democrats tend to take a more progressive view about things. They favor abortion rights and want strict gun controls to limit ownership, according to the online newspaper Enkivillage. Republicans take a conservative view and tend to be more opposed to abortion and promote the right of gun ownership. For individual liberty, Diffen states that Democrats tend to favor legislation that restricts some freedoms. They believe that human ideas should be based more on community and social responsibilities. On the other hand, Republicans support individual rights and personal responsibilities. There are still many more ideas that distinguish the difference between the two parties, so having a knowledge of them before voting will help the decision in picking a candidate that sides more with your values and beliefs. As the election begins to approach, certain candidates start to gain more popularity over others and develop a stronger chance at becoming their party’s nominee. The election for president and vice president is an indirect vote. In the end, it is the electoral college that is voting. Each state gets as many electors as its number of representatives. So, each state has at least three members and with all the states, there are 538 electors voting for president and vice president based off of what the people of their state wanted. Currently there are three Democrats and 12 Republicans still in the presidential race. So far on the online Republican polls, which is sponsored by RealClear Politics, Donald Trump is in the lead followed by Ted Cruz. On the Democratic side, the online polls that are sponsored by RealClear Politics, show that Hillary Clinton takes a big jump over everyone but is still trailed by Bernie Sanders. According to Election Central, there will be seven more Republican debates, dating from Jan. 14-March 10, before picking the Republican candidate. There will be three additional Democratic debates, which are scheduled in January, February, and March before the Democratic candidate is chosen. The first primary election will be held in February. Then on Nov. 8, people make their decision for the future of the country. Although Democrats and Republicans are the two main parties, they aren’t the only ones that can be voted for. There are third parties and independent candidates running.
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PARCC Testing results update by Josh Bragg Byline
Data courtesy of Illinois Report Card Although LHS standards are lower than in years’ past, the PARCC standards as a whole are lower than that of its predecessor, the PSAE exam. On Dec. 10, the results of the controversial PARCC test were released. LHS’s scores placed in the upper echelon of high schools in Illinois, which follows a trend established from previous tests. At LHS, 60.8 percent met or exceeded expectations, compared to just 33 percent at the state level. In English Language Arts (ELA I), 69.3 percent of LHS freshmen met or exceeded expectations, a noticeable difference from the state average of 36.2 percent. In mathematics, the school saw 44.5 percent of students meet or exceed expectations in Algebra I (freshmen and sophomores) compared to a 17.3 percent state level. Although the numbers are lower than previous state achievement exams’ expectation levels, the point still stands that Libertyville stands out. According to Diane Rado of the Chicago Tribune, even the very best schools struggled with this new test form: “State test scores took a nosedive as students struggled to pass the first PARCC exams last school year, with some of Illinois’ most elite schools seeing a sharp drop in performance compared with the old days of easier exams.” Dr. Rita Fischer, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for District 128, believes that the PARCC test failed to live up to expectations: “While the PARCC test as originally conceived held promise as an online assessment of student knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills aligned to rigorous standards, it has not fulfilled that promise.” The test was administered at LHS on Mar. 10, 2015, to freshmen (now sophomores). The revolutionary new exam included an entirely digitalized format, as the students took the test on Chromebooks and in computer labs. Many students complained about the unnecessarily complex design and the various technical difficulties that came along with it. “As administered last spring, the assessment included instructions that were unclear, digital tools that did not work well for students, and connectivity issues that prevented some students from completing the test and/or getting scores. Because of the variables that may have impacted student performance, the PARCC results do not provide accurate data,” Dr. Fischer said. Another shortcoming of the PARCC test was the inconsistency found at both the national and state level. According to Dr. Fischer, the
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standards set for Illinois were different from that of other states: “States used different proficiency levels to categorize student performance. For example, students in Ohio whose scores were in Performance Level 3 (of 5 levels) were identified as ‘meeting standards.’ In Illinois, Performance Level 3 was deemed ‘approaching standards’ and only students performing at Level 4 and 5 were considered to have mastered standards.” The PARCC test was also administered to eighth-graders at Highland and Oak Grove. The trend from LHS carried over into its feeder schools, as 63 percent of Highland students and 64 percent of Oak Grove students met or exceeded expectations, compared to a 35 percent state level. Despite its disappointments, there remains room for improvement, especially considering that this was the first iteration of the exam. Mr. Ray Albin, an LHS assistant principal, believes the test can be administered in a more efficient manner: “I’d like to see PARCC develop test segments that can be delivered in 40 minute increments so that the test could be delivered during a class period and not disrupt a special school day and/or schedule.” In the summer of 2009, President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Arne Duncan announced that states that adopted new academic standards would be eligible for federal Race to the Top grants, a competitive grant created to spur and reward innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education. The standards were released for mathematics and English language arts on June 2, 2010, and were soon adopted by 41 states shortly thereafter. The PARCC test is intended to reflect the “new, more rigorous academic standards” adopted by most states in 2010 and 2011 (the academic standards refer to the Common Core standards prompted by Obama/ Duncan). “The state of Illinois continues to require PARCC for the 2015-16 school year as an accountability measure for districts. PARCC has made some changes due to feedback from last year’s administration,” Dr. Fischer mentioned. “We will do our best to ensure an appropriate, comfortable testing environment for students and will continue to encourage students to use the experience to enhance their comfort with and success on online assessments.”
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LHS Receives Scores from 5Essentials Survey By: Alo Garcia-Escobar and Emma Williams In the 2014-2015 school year, Libertyville High School administrators, teachers, students and parents participated in the 5Essentials Survey (5 Essentials Background), conducted by the Illinois State Board of Education; the results were released in November, and teachers and administrators of LHS reacted to the varying scores. The survey focuses on five key “essential” factors that were designed to verify whether a school is a conducive environment for student growth. The categories include Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families, Supportive Environment, and Ambitious Instruction. Scores in each category range from 1-99, but this is “neither a percentile nor a percentage rank,” according to 5Essentials. Rather, it is a carefully constructed score based on a Chicago Public Schools Benchmark. The report placed Libertyville in the upper tier for strength in the Involved Families, Supportive Environment, and Ambitious Instruction categories, all receiving scores of 71 or above. Those scores came to no surprise to faculty members, who accredit the community with fostering an environment where students can flourish. Dyan Naslund, an English teacher at LHS, gave a glowing opinion on the community spirit of Libertyville. “The community support, all the way from looking at storefronts downtown Libertyville displaying pictures of the school, the Parent Cats organization and all of the things they do to support teachers, to support students — it’s something that I think every single teacher here at Libertyville High School can say is one of the greatest things about the community,” Naslund commented. The Effective Leaders score for LHS was much lower than the aforementioned community-concerned categories, receiving a score of 42. However, for some, this is not reflective of the people so much as it is reflective of the programs that the leaders are attempting to implement. Naslund spoke on several recent changes going on at LHS and attributed the significantly lower score to lack of direction. “I think what it is is that we’ve had so many changes in our school over the last probably two or three years, with the PARCC test, with the One-to-One Initiatives, with the students all getting Chromebooks at the same time,
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coming up with common final exams for departments,” Naslund explained. “And I think what happens is that people sort of lose what the vision is supposed to be. We’re not exactly sure what we’re supposed to be focusing on and what our goal is in each of those areas, which is why I think people feel a little bit of a sense of ‘where are we going? We’re not sure of our direction,’ so it makes sense to me that that score would be low.” LHS Principal Dr. Marina Scott shared a similar view. “There’s so much going on right now in terms of state requirements that it’s hard to control that anymore... Everybody is working standards into their instruction and coming up with more skillbased standards and less content-based standards,” Dr. Scott said. All these things are a lot of extra time for teachers that take away from what they like to do best, and that’s deliver instruction to [the students] and plan for that instruction. So that’s challenging. And I think people feel frustrated by that, and we’re the vehicle to ask them to do that.” Discussing how she felt about the scores, Scott said that she wishes the leadership score were higher. “The part that’s hard for me to read is there’s a small amount of people that don’t feel respected. Even though I want people to feel pushed and challenged, I still want them to feel respected,” she explained. Although the 5Essentials report releases scores to the public, there is something that the public does not get to see: a question-by-question response breakdown sent directly to the head administrators of each school. The further in-depth report is organized by category and comprised of specific questions targeted toward a particular category — included are the responses depicted in bar graphs. The report is made accessible only to the head administrator so that leaders can more fully understand how to benefit from the feedback. Upon closer inspection of the report, it appears that for the majority of questions, most answers fell within the more favorable ranges, and a few outliers could drag the overall score down a lot. Without extrapolating from the scores presented in the survey’s report, it would be logical to assume that LHS falls below the marginal line of what the Illinois Board of Education expects from schools. However, the deeper layers of the survey reveal the scores are comprised of key questions, and, although the questions, responses, and graphs cannot be made accessible, Libertyville High School received scores comparable to other high schools in the area.
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What’s Happening? By Hannah Boufford / Jan. 22, 2015 / Vol. 89, Issue 5
‘El Chapo’ recaptured in Los Mochis N. Korea
possibly detonates H-bomb
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was captured in Mexico after a gun battle that killed five.
Cubanos Por El Mundo / CC
Jan. 8 saw the recapture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. The leader of the drug cartel -- one of the largest suppliers to the United States -- was captured after a gun battle. Five were left dead in the draw, but it marked the end of the hunt for Guzmán. The manhunt began six months ago when he escaped from the maximum security prison outside of Mexico City, Altiplano.The criminal tunneled his way out of his cell, with the help of of some allies outside the prison (and possibly some within) who cut through the floor of his shower and offered him a passage out of the prison; however, he is now back in the same prison following his capture. Following his escape but prior to his recapture, Guzmán sat for an interview with Sean Penn. This interview and story has since raised suspicions: Guzmán was given the final say on what he wanted to go into the story before being published. Rolling Stone magazine is facing some criticism for allowing this piece to be published with the violation of journalism ethics. (Source)
Politics: British Parliament will debate barring Trump On Jan. 18, the British Parliament will debate whether or not Donald Trump will be banned from Britain. Following his proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, a petition was created to bar him from entering England. The petition grew, gaining 500,000 signatures; the opposing petition has received over 40,000 signatures. In response, Trump said he would cancel plans to invest over a $1 billion in Scotland. (Source)
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Music: David Bowie dies
after 18-month cancer battle
stratopaul / flickr
Following an 18-month battle with cancer, music legend David Bowie passed away on Sunday, Jan. 11. This was confirmed by his publicist the following day. His death came two days after his 69th birthday; his latest album “Blackstar” was released on his birthday, as well. (Source)
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On Jan. 6, North Korea announced that they successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb. However, since this report, Japan, China, South Korea and the United States have looked into these claims and doubts have arisen. Given the magnitude of the denotation and lack of radiation, there is a chance it was not actually a hydrogen bomb. “We won’t know for another few days or weeks whether this was (a hydrogen bomb),” military expert Martin Navias, from King’s College London, told CNN. “It doesn’t look like one. ... One would have expected [the power] to be greater if it was an H-bomb.” Following the claim of any H-bomb detonation, South Korea resumed playing propaganda and music, including K-Pop, on their shared border with North Korea after 10 years of silence. (Source)
Health: New dietary guidelines urge less sugar in diet The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion released the 20152020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans at the start of 2016. They suggest reducing added sugars to less than 10 percent of the total caloric intake per day, as well as increasing intakes of both vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Both nutrient-dense dairy products and an increased variety in protein sources are also suggested. Sodium, refined grains, solid fats, and saturated fats should be reduced. (Source)
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WHat’s Trending: Winter Shoe Edition By Jillian Ruff
(gals)
#Oxfords
#Timberlands
#Sorels
(guys) Feature
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A Fire in the
dark room By Grace Bloom Layout by Kaitlyn Zabadal
Photo by Sam Nelson Since 8th grade, Jake has been taking portraits of people and hopes to move somewhere that he can further his career. Feature
Sophomore photographer and entrepreneur Jake Rudolphi runs his very own photography service right here in Libertyville. His passion for photo and art brought him to start working so young. He made the business to help the future of his photography career. “Because I’m so passionate, why not just get as close to the fire as I possibly can, as soon as I possibly can, instead of just waiting,” he shared. The business consisted of a computer in his basement and maybe 2-3 clients a year. As the months and years have gone by, his studio keeps expanding and getting more recognition. Although it is time-consuming doing all the shoots, editing, and communication by himself, he the sacrifice of time is worth it for his passion. Most of his clients are local parents looking for headshots for kids, or occasionally senior portraits. He likes to vary it but the clients are usually the same. “I mostly do head shots though for acting, business, and modeling. Rudolphi takes one of the photo classes offered here at Libertyville High School with teacher Mrs. Stefanie Dahlstrom This is his first year in a photo class. Dahlstrom explained what it’s like to have him in class. “He is a student that really listens to everything I have taught, and I have learned a few photographic tips from him as well, she explained.” She loves presenting a project and waiting to see what Rudolphi will create. Rudolphi says his focus is mostly on fashion photos with a shoot, set models, and the opportunities for retakes. When asked where he hopes to go with his photography and business, he replied: “In the future, if I want to really expand (the business), I’d probably go to New York or L.A., just some city that has what I need...They need stuff like [what I do] and I’d be the perfect add-on to the whole collection of people.” He recently worked with Sarah Potempa, former Wildcat and celebrity hairstylist during this past homecoming assembly, taking pictures of her crowning homecoming queen. He got an invitation in his photo class, and then emailed her and they started with small social media projects. These projects involved taking pictures for her instagram and the LHS sites. Although he enjoyed it, he explained that he doesn’t like the stress of having one take to get the perfect shot. Rudolphi started his photography business in 8th grade. His reasoning for starting was, “I have some stuff now, and I have a little bit experience, why not just go for it now?” He doesn’t have any specific stories about clients, but says that it’s hard for him when people try to be difficult. Some people have specific ideas for a shot and it might not line up with his. “For the most part parents (of children clients) will let me take creative action and do what I think is best, but every once and awhile I’ll have a parent that is extremely picky. That makes the job way harder than it needs to be for me.” Rudolphi added. Rudolphi knew he wanted to be a photographer in the future, so starting the business is just a way for him to take his dreams into his own hands. Rudolphi has managed to make many of his good friends through people talking about his business; he likes that his photography friends share the same interests, while his other friends continue to support him.
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“B
ecause I’m so passionate, why not just get as close to the fire as I possibly can, as soon as I possibly can, instead of just waiting?”
Photos Courtesy of Jake Rudolphi Entrepreneur Jake Rudolphi experiments with different props to create unique photos. Feature
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Between the Pages: The real story of banned books
Banned Books at LHS:
By Maria Thames Layout by Becky DeAcetis
Reasons Books Are Banned:
At LHS, there have never been any challenged books, meaning there are no books that are banned from being in the library. Despite this fact, “The Libertyville High School Library has a formal selection policy that guides our purchasing decisions. When selecting books and other materials, we take into consideration the school’s curricula, the needs and interests of our patrons, literary and professional recommendations, and published reviews,” explained librarian Mrs. Amy Wiggins.
Banned Books Week: Every year, there is a week named “Banned Books Week,” which celebrates the right to read and supports the freedom to express ideas, as abnormal or unaccepted as they may be. During this specific week, the banned books of the previous year are released. So, this past “Banned Books Week,” the banned books of 2014 were announced, and during the celebratory week this year, during the last week of September (Sep. 26-Oct. 1) the banned books of 2015 will be announced.
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*A challenge can have more than one reason *Information from ala.org
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The following is a list of books that were banned in various situations. Information from about.com, study.com, buzzfeed.com, american library association, ala.org, banned books awareness, bannedbooks.world.edu
WHhyY it was banned:
WHhyY it was banned:
Offended some Christians as The Bible was burned and the book included bad comments about Christianity Language/profanity
Language Sexual reference
WHhyY it was banned:
WHhyY it was banned:
Violence (kids killing kids) Language
Considered sexist Challenged foresting agency
WHhyY it was banned:
W WHhyY it was banned:
Sexuality Language Drugs/alcohol
Topless beachgoer
WHhyY it was banned:
WHhyY it was banned:
Religious viewpoint Unsuited to age group
Gave false ideas about foresting industry
WHhyY it was banned:
Why W H Y it was banned:
A cult Satanism Witchcraft
Sexual content Homosexual/sexual orientation “Too depressing�
WHhyY it was banned:
WHhyY it was banned:
Animals disrespect God
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Woman in a powerful position
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The Hot Seat with
William Engfer By: Dolores Palmieri
William Engfer is a current senior at Libertyville High School. During his years at LHS, he has been involved in Topcats, Cross Country, Choir, Mastersingers, Link Crew, and National Honor Society. Next year he plans to attend John Hopkins University in Baltimore. Here is some more about William. Stephanie Thomas Senior, William Engfer takes a seat in the hot seat.
Q A
What is your favorite childhood memory?
“Some of my best memories that I had were playing in my neighborhood when I was little. My best friend lived right next door to me. One of my favorite memories is when my dad built us a tree house in my backyard. The first time we went up there, we stayed in there for like two days straight.” Q: Where did you grow up? A: “I grew up in Barrington and lived there for eight or nine years. Then, I moved to London for two years and then I moved back to America, to Libertyville, and I have been living here for five or six years.” Q: Where did you like living better, Europe or America? A: “Each has their own thing that is special about them. In Europe, there is great traveling and there are amazing people there, and lots of amazing things you can do. But America is always going to be home for me, so I love being here.”
Q: What has been your favorite LHS memory? A: “I will really remember not necessarily a memory but all the different people. I won’t remember some events more than others being really special, but I will remember the people I did them with.” Q: What are you looking forward to in college? A: “I really want to study abroad. I really hope to do that and [get] some great experience in stuff that I am interested in. In high school, you mostly take classes that you have to take, but I am looking forward to taking classes that I am interested [in] at my university.” Q: Where are you going to college? A: “I am going to be headed to John Hopkins University in Baltimore, and I will be studying international studies and computer science.” Q: What is something that you really like about yourself? A: “I really love my sense of humor. It makes getting through things a lot more fun, and I just really love to make people laugh.”
Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where Q: If you could be in any TV show what would it would it be? be and why? A: “I would love to live in south of France or deA: “Oh, ‘The Office,’ easy. It would be the easiest pending on my mood, either there or in an igloo in work environment because they always get distracted Greenland. One of those two.” and you literally don’t have to do anything. I would be laughing all day long at Jim and Dwight.” Feature 20 Drops of Ink
Hot Seat: Mrs. Owens By Abbey Humbert Some may know her as Mrs. Owens or Coach Rafiner. Others may know her as a co-worker. But did you know that she left a legacy for gymnastics at LHS? Q- What year did you graduate LHS? A- 1991. Q- When you were in high school, did you play any sports other than gymnastics? A- “I did cheerleading when I was a freshman. Although it was not a sport then.” Q- What classes do you teach here? A- “This year I teach biology and human physiology. I taught genetics and physics [in previous years].” Q- How long have you been the head gymnastics coach at LHS? A- “This is my fourth year.”
Photo by Abbey Humbert Mrs. Owens teaches her freshmen biology class how to draw a pedigree.
Q- Is it rewarding to know that you broke records here and they are still records here? A- “Yeah it’s kinda fun. I feel like it gives me credibility with my athletes. I can empathize with things they are frustrated with. With regards to gymnastics, it’s scary, the events are really scary ... A lot of times, it’s just as much a mind game as it is physical. I can relate to being afraid of things and I can relate to getting hurt and struggling with minor injuries. I understand all of that because of my experience. It definitely helps me as a coach.” Q- In your opinion, what does someone need to be a good coach? A- “Setting goals is really important. And help[ing] the athletes set individual goals is also really important. I think designing conditioning activities and arranging practices that will allow each of the athletes to develop individually [is important] because everybody on our team has different goals and ability levels.” Q- Is there anything else you would like to add? A- Never in my life I thought I would come back to Libertyville High School and teach. I liked Libertyville growing up here, but I didn’t realize how awesome Libertyville High School was until I was in college. I was so well prepared, more so than anyone I met at school, that was not from Libertyville. Photo courtesy of LHS Gymnastics Website
Photo courtesy of LHS Yearbook 1991 Feature
It was then that I realized how great a place it was to go to high school. I loved it here. I met so many great people that have grown up to do so many wonderful things with their lives. I just imagine, I couldn’t ask for a better place to work as an adult. I love it, I love my job, I love everybody I work with. The administration is great. I’m sure as you know, I think all the teachers are phenomenal teachers and phenomenal people. I guess there is that. I don’t know how to put that out there. I’m so lucky that I get to work the same place I want to school. It makes it really fun. I feel like I have a little bit more of a connection with the students as well because I grew up here and you guys are all growing up here. It’s just a really great place to be and I’m just very thankful.
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It’s the Most Horrible Time of the Year: A Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Guide By Jenna Grayson What’s known as the “winter blues” could actually be seasonal affective disorder, also known as SAD. Seasonal affective disorder is defined as a “depressive disorder” with a “seasonal pattern,” according to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This essentially means that SAD sufferers display symptoms of some form of a depressive disorder, just only in certain seasons. Psychology Today estimates that around 10 million Americans suffer from SAD, and the disorder is much more common in colder months. With winter continuing to grow colder and the season being dreaded by most people, especially those with seasonal affective disorder, why isn’t it a more well-known mental illness? Stigma surrounding seasonal affective disorder seems to be the main reason that it’s not more well-known and openly talked about. Actress Rosie O’Donnell, Andrew Torba, the co-founder and CEO of AutomateAds.com, along with frontman of Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph, are just a few of the public figures who have come forward about their struggles with SAD. Torba has said on the topic of SAD that “we also have the social stigma of ‘people just looking for attention’” along with “This stigma needs to be broken.” Many factors can lead to seasonal affective disorder, but one of the most common causes is lower serotonin levels, which is due to a lack of sunlight. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that is essentially an emotional regulator and it affects levels of happiness. Dr. Ananya Mandala is a doctor who specializes in clinical pharmacology along with being a feature writer for news-medical.net and her article on Serotonin Biosynthesis explains that “serotonin regulates many important bodily functions ranging from sleep, mood, appetite and eating habits as well as influencing anxiety levels, suicidal tendencies, and our ability to learn and memorize things.” The United Kingdom’s National Health Service also says that a lack of sunlight causes changes in circadian rhythm (the body’s internal sleep clock) because of the changing times of the sunrise and sunset, each getting pushed back earlier during the winter. An estimated six percent of the United States population suffers from seasonal affective disorder, according to the the American Psychological Association. One of those Americans living with SAD is 15-yearold citizen of Long Island, New York, Rachelle Elaine, who estimates that she’s been had seasonal affective disorder since moving after her parents’ divorce, which was around late 2011/early 2012. Elaine says in her experience, “SAD usually feels kind of… drowsy and blank. It’s as if someone came up and just took the color and joy out of things for a while, then returned them when the late spring comes back.” Elaine’s seasonal affective disorder takes its course during the winter and that’s when she says that she gets “mopey” and “tired” due to the fact that it’s “grey and cold outside most of the time.” Another sufferer from seasonal affective disorder is 21-year-old Audrey R. (who requested that only the first initial of her last name be used due to privacy concerns), who is a college student majoring in computer
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sciences and is currently living in Portland, Oregon. Audrey stated that her mother “also has SAD” and that she “noticed the same signs in me.” Audrey assessed that she “experiences SAD anywhere from November to April” and that she is “much less productive in the winter” along with being “more prone to feeling upset and tired.” Although seasonal affective disorder is not the best thing in the world (to say the least), there is some good news for sufferers of SAD -- a plethora of diverse treatments is available. One of the most common treatments for SAD is what is known as “light therapy.” Light therapy is when someone with a sleeping disorder, bipolar disorder and/or depressive disorder is exposed to a bright indoor light. Light boxes or sun boxes are one of the most effective treatments for seasonal affective disorder. Audrey uses a heating lamp in the morning, which helps her alleviate the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. According to depressiontoolkit.org, “Research has shown that exposure to bright artificial light can improve symptoms in two out of three cases of SAD.” Other treatments for seasonal affective disorder include antidepressants during the affected season(s), psychotherapy (also known as “talk therapy”) and/or taking vitamin D if the season affected is during the winter. For those with SAD, taking vitamin D can help replace the lost amount of sunlight absorbed during fall and winter months. Antidepressants during the affected seasons can help elevate serotonin levels in the brain, which can lighten the symptoms of SAD. Psychotherapy can be a useful way to combat seasonal affective disorder as well because it contributes to finding out the root of the problem, whether it be chemical, emotional or both. The herb St. John’s Wort is also Photo by Jenna Grayson known to help in cases of seasonal affective disorder or those with a depressive disorder because it boosts serotonin levels. This is probably the cheapest option; no prescription is needed to obtain it, and St. John’s Wort can be taken either in tablets or tea, but should not be combined with any of the treatments above aside from talk therapy, due to the fact that absorbing too much serotonin can result in a serotonin syndrome, which is a condition in which too much serotonin is absorbed in the brain. This occurs when two or more medications with levels of serotonin are combined and can cause hallucinations, shivering or shaking, muscle spasms and many more unpleasant symptoms, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says. Because of this potential danger, it’s highly recommended that one considering taking St. John’s Wort speaks with their doctor first. Although a lot of this medical information may sound intimidating, it’s crucial to know if you think that you or someone you know may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder because getting proper help and treatments are vital in recovery from SAD. Elaine added: “I want all of you readers to understand that you’re all important and someone cares. Especially to those with depression/SAD – you’re not alone. I care.”
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What are those? By Kayla Fiore and Katie Vrba
Can you recognize what these random, zoomed in snapshots are and where they’re located around LHS? Good Luck!
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Gumball machine located outside room 258
Bulletin board border located by the auditorium
Room in use lights located above music practice rooms
Beethoven mural located by practice rooms
Elevator light indicating floor level located by Drivers Ed room
Pencil dispenser located in main hallway
Water fountain located by drop in lab
Lunch table located in cafeteria
Elevator ceiling grate located by cafeteria
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Promo
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Tidbits
keeping the little things in mind
moving on & letting go
By Kate Vittore Layout: Kaitlyn Zabadal
moving on and letting go inspired organization: clean... how to *sleigh* the holidays the six steps: DIY manicure and that’s real life?... the six steps: the art of... create a vision BOard the six steps: your night... experiment: a week without... top 10 new fall makeup pro... keeping it real: offline mode the six steps: decluttering... 10 steps to moving on from...
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Everyone has experienced the loss of a friendship. It can be difficult to accept and cope with the idea of letting go. But taking a step back and examining these situations is what makes letting go and moving past them a lot easier to do. Putting yourself first is crucial. Always. Before you go tearing yourself apart to keep someone together, you need to consider that you matter too. Your feelings matter, your well-being matters, and your best interest matters. We can all put ourselves out there to support others and make their lives easier, but there’s a line that we cannot cross where we break ourselves down for the sake of the people we love. Being generous and giving and compassionate are all great qualities to have, but sometimes we need to be selfish. It’s a part of having healthy self-worth. Letting go of baggage in the form of managing feelings is a difficult task to master. With time, it becomes easier as you become more in tune with yourself. Recognizing your emotions leads to acknowledging your feelings and minimizing your stress and sadness. As human beings, we attach ourselves to what we care about. That’s how we operate. And when something becomes unhealthy, there are a number of ways people handle “breaking up” with whatever the negative influence is. You may cut the ties and never look back. Some people ignore their emotional response to the difficulty of moving forward. You may need some time to get past it. Some people can’t grasp the concept of letting go completely and have a more difficult time moving forward as time goes on. Whatever it may be, recognizing it and allowing yourself to feel this way is the first step to understanding the situation. When you think about feelings, they resemble balloons that only keep getting bigger. They can’t be deflated unless you acknowledge them and let the air out. Sometimes, feelings will only grow larger and larger and weigh in more on your mind if you don’t let the air out. Managing feelings involves more than acknowledging emotions as they’re happening. A vital element of losing someone is to recognize a universal concept in life: everything runs its course. Things end because people change, and with that change comes differences and disagreements and drifting. That girl you were close with your freshman year turned out to be nasty by the time you were sophomores. That friend who was so stubborn that when you got into a fight, he was ready to cut you out of his life. The guy you cared about for all those years was never meant to be yours. These things happen. Recognizing that you can’t control other people’s thoughts and actions brings some closure by examining the fact that once you’ve done everything you could, there are no regrets. It’s out of your hands after that. Don’t go chasing after people. Part of moving on is truly allowing yourself to go forward with the past in the rear-view mirror. If you keep reliving your past, how are you going to work towards the future? Never allow yourself to sell yourself short. Because once you realize you deserve better, you’ll find the people who matter the most.
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Click for Drama By Maddie Werner
Photo Courtesy of Flickr Anonymous Twitter accounts not only cause issues between peers over the internet, but some of these tweets cause real life relationships to suffer.
@Savage_lhs, @lhsroast, @savagepolls, @LHStruefact. If you don’t recognize these Twitter handles, you’re probably living under a rock. Each year I’ve spent at Libertyville High School, I’ve seen another harassing Twitter account humiliate, hurt, and affect the lives of students here. There is no way to explain the awfulness in what these accounts do to the self-esteems of so many of my peers. However, it would be wrong to blame the creator of these accounts, whoever they may be. It would be wrong because without our anonymous direct messages, likes, retweets, and votes, these accounts would be non-existent. The individual(s) who create these accounts are not innocent, as they know how the fate will unfold, but it is us, LHS students, who fuel the fire. It is us who constantly refresh the Twitter pages to see the latest “roast” and it is us who are hungry to see which one of our enemies will be humiliated next. Whether it be plainly insulting someone’s physical features like their hair, their skin, their nose, or the size of their body, or tweeting about two people who dated or may like each other, these tweets are never appropriate and should never be justified. It seems like human nature to be intrigued by these offensive tweets. People like gossip and they like to read things about the other kids they go to school with, but it is something we need to fight. On Jan. 28, 2014, former LHS student Charlie Murphy who graduated from LHS in 2015 tweeted “I feel like everyone is sitting on Twitter refreshing their feeds anticipating the next tweet from @LHStruefact.” In backlash and in efforts to combat these humiliating accounts, there have been numerous accounts created that are dedicated to compliments to students, such as @kindwordsLHS and @WildcatGrams. These accounts are kind and only tweet out direct messages that compliment LHS
students instead of offend or humiliate them. While these accounts have a good intention, they are only created because of the hurtful accounts. The worst part of all of this is that almost every LHS student agrees this is wrong and pathetic. However, students still continue to follow the accounts. Students tweet out “These pages are ridiculous. Please stop.” Yet, they are the ones who contribute to the 200 votes for each choice on the poll, just to view the results. Some people view these accounts as funny and they don’t take them seriously, but these are mainly the people who never see their name appear on the account. It’s all fun and games when you’re reading things about other people, but when you see your name, your heart drops immediately. I personally have been victimized by one of these tweets and the feeling isn’t a good one. “People should find something better to do in their free time,” said senior Erin McAuliffe, who has also been a victim of these Twitter accounts. This also brings up the intriguing aspect of an anonymous tip. When someone insults you face to face or even over text, you know who you are receiving it from and you know their reasoning behind it. When you see a tweet about you that was sent in anonymously, your mind wanders with possibilities of who could say these things about you and why they are trying to humiliate you. I want to finish this piece on a call for action. When the next account appears, whenever it may be, I encourage you all to not follow this account. I encourage you not to like, retweet, or vote. If you do, you are ultimately the reason for hurting the feelings and tearing down the self-esteem of a fellow student. There is too much pain in the world and too many self-esteem issues---stop the hurting!
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Sleeping to sweating to sleeping
By Nathan Campbell
Photo from Pixgood.com Having gym first period can lead to drowsiness in later classes, putting grades at risk.
Wow, waking up at 6:45 is so great. Having the privilege of first-hour gym is such an honor. You don’t need to shower this morning because you’ll be taking another shower first hour right after gym! Being able to shower at school is great: you have almost a full six minutes to shower, dry off, and change! And for those who don’t shower after playing an intense game of extreme frisbee outside in the blazing sun, that’s understandable. You enjoy the feeling of being sweaty and transitioning from your gym uniform to a nice warm flannel. And, oh my, when your pants stick to your legs because you didn’t get to dry off completely, it’s always a plus. Now you need to hurry and meet up with your friend to walk to second period. You get to your class, and, lo and behold, a test! You sit down in the already uncomfortably warm chair for 50 minutes while you answers questions that you had no time to do any last-minute studying for. Finishing the test was a great feeling, but you’ve realized that you forgot your phone in the gym locker room...Great! Now you can venture back to the place you so much enjoyed leaving. You walk back into the groggy, smelly locker room and spot the diamond in the rough; now you’re ready for the rest of the day. I expect waking up to be an unstressful part of my day, where I can take my time and enjoy the people and setting around me, but having PE first hour ruins my daily routine. It’s as if I’m put in a never-ending cycle. If I don’t try in PE, I’ll fail and be put in summer school. But when I do try, I get tired and sweaty, and then the rest of my day is ruined. When asked if he makes an attempt at the activities during gym class, junior Brandon Rule, who has first-hour gym, stated, “Since I’m active out of school, having to go through pointless
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activities at 7 in the morning doesn’t appeal to me.” He, like many other students, doesn’t appreciate having to try to wake up while running the mile. “I’m always in a bad mood and I always am tired throughout the entire day,” stated Rule. “I always start off my day upset about having to run around before I have the chance to remotely wake up. I also smell bad for the rest of the day since there isn’t time to shower,” Rule said. Having the burden of being smelly and not even being awake gives me the chills just thinking about it. And during a workout day? Riding a bike for 12 miles for completion points isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when your legs haven’t fully woken up yet. So gym obviously doesn’t sound very appealing whether you enjoy participating in gym or not. Unless you enjoy the sticky, sweaty, grimy notion of going throughout the school starting in the very beginning of the day, and lasting the whole rest of the day. While your body may wake up at 6:45, your brain doesn’t fully awake. Studies shown by the National Sleep Foundation, “Teens’ natural sleep cycle puts them in conflict with school start times... They are like zombies getting ready for school and find it hard to be alert and pay attention in class. Because they are sleep deprived, they are sleepy all day and cannot do their best”. With this shown, having gym very early in the morning can affect how kids wake up, leaving them to be extra drowsy. And with only 15% of teens not getting up to 8 ½ hours of sleep (National Sleep Association), teens are already not getting enough sleep. Which adds to the drowsiness and fatigue of a high school student. So no matter what the case may be, gym first hour can lead to downfall in grades and attitude. My sincerest apologies to anybody who must deal with first hour gym class.I’ll be busy looking forward to zero-hour crossfit!
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Temperamental Temperature By Hadley Van Der Bosch
Photo by Hadley Van Der Bosch
Junior Georgia Sampson sits in the hallway before her first class, freezing because it is much colder than she expected.
What to wear? You check the temperature for the day. You see that it is supposed to be 40 degrees and partly cloudy. Upon seeing what the temperature is outside, you decide to wear jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, and a hat, just in case it starts to get a little windy. On your way to school, you are content in your decision, considering you don’t quite feel too cold or too hot. Then you walk through the band doors, the ones closest to the parking lot, and feel confident in your clothing choice and are ready to take on the rest school day ahead of you. You walk into first period and less than two minutes into class, you realize you are already sweating. A little toasty? That’s okay because you were prepared and you wore layers. Ten minutes after taking your sweatshirt off, you conclude that it must be getting a degree warmer per minute and you think you are finally starting to understand what they mean by global warming. It becomes apparent to you that you will have a difficult time getting through this class without sweating through your entire wardrobe. DING, time for your next class. Alright, gym. The locker room is freezing and you hear many complaints from others around who must have come from another class that felt like the arctic but you are feeling great. You get dressed and walk to the fieldhouse, where your class is meeting that day. You take one step through the door and
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you already feel as if you have entered a sauna. Not again. You struggle through that class and reason with yourself, saying that it was only that hot because people have been working out there. You arrive at your next class 30 seconds early and are instantly relieved. It’s social studies class and the air conditioning is cranking. You sit in your seat (which just so happens to be right next to the air conditioner) and you are feeling cool and refreshed, ready to start this class. The next thing you know, you’re only four minutes into note-taking and you already feel the need to block the AC by covering it with notebooks and folders. You instantly regret never buying a Snuggie back when you couldn’t get through a commercial break without an advertisement to but the “blanket that has sleeves.” DING. The rest of the day follows the same model as the beginning of the day: temperamental temperatures. You even had one class that started at a solid 68 degrees and made it up to levels you were sure were unhealthy to be in an atmosphere that warm. You go home and decide to plan your outfit the night before this time after the traumatic day you just endured. You realize it’s impossible to know what to expect given that every class ever day is drastically different. What to wear?
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Come Together
By Jake Luce
Photo From Wikipedia/CC
In light of all the problems occurring in our country, it is now more important than ever for our citizens to come together and regain the sense of unity that we once had On Sep. 11, 2001, one of the most infamous events in American history occurred. Almost 3,000 people were killed in various terrorist attacks, the main attacks being the planes that hit the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. Americans saw the attacks as a threat to our safety and our freedom, but despite the horrors that took place on that day, many positives came out of it. According to The Washington Post, the government has created over 2,000 organizations related to counterterrorism since the attacks. They increased security measures in airports. They have improved surveillance techniques to screen potential terrorists. But above all, the biggest positive that came out of 9/11 was the sense of unity created within our country. We, as Americans, came together to pay respect to the fallen victims and to pursue the perpetrators overseas. Even if an individual was not directly affected by the attacks, he or she felt the same sense of loss as those who were affected. We were a wounded nation, but our people came together to mend that wound. Recently, our country has faced many struggles. A new terrorist threat has emerged. ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has been dominating the media for committing acts of terror in Paris, the Middle East, and inspiring attacks in the U.S. Many disagreements have arisen regarding how to respond to these attacks. Some say we need to declare war or bomb ISIS; others think we should not intervene. In addition to the terrorist organizations overseas, we have to worry about the increase in domestic terrorism. Mass shootings have unfortunately become way too common in our country. According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non for profit organization formed to provide accurate information about gun violence, 330 mass shootings were committed in the U.S. in 2015 alone. Again, people disagree on what actions to take in order to prevent the shootings. Some think gun control is necessary while others do not. Despite the different proposals on how to deal with our coun-
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try’s issues, there is one thing to do that is absolutely necessary: We, the citizens of the United States, need to come together. After 9/11, the sense of unity between citizens of our country was undeniable. However, in light of the ISIS attacks and all that is going on in the country, we seem to be more separated than ever. People are bickering over social media about what is best for the country. People are not only criticizing our current president, but ruthlessly making fun of him. Even if one strongly dislikes President Obama, their love for the USA should be more powerful than their hatred for the president. In order to actually make America great again, we cannot pin our citizens against each other. We need to wake up and realize that this is exactly what the terrorists want us to do -- tear our own country apart. It makes the terrorists’ jobs much easier when Americans are too busy arguing with each other to look at the big picture. When our citizens are constantly bickering, we are more vulnerable to attacks from ISIS. In order to save more lives and stop these horrible people, we must start by regaining the sense of national pride that we once had. One of the main reasons for our country’s citizens being separated is the upcoming election. Political tensions are high in this country, especially with certain candidates trying to stir up hatred and fear within their supporters. Our partisanship is destroying this country. People need to realize that our problems go beyond politics. This is about our freedom, our safety, and our unity. Despite one’s views on gun control, war, or the upcoming presidential candidates, they have to realize that not everyone will think the same way as them. Instead of focusing on our differences, we need to focus on things we have in common. We must set aside our discrepancies and realize that we are all citizens of the greatest country in the world. We are not liberals. We are not conservatives. We are Americans, and we need to start acting like it.
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“That’s Racist!”
By Lola Akinlade
Photo Courtesy of MCT Campus People gather hands in prayer at a service held on June 20th, in honor of the shooting of a historically black church on June 17th in Charleston, South Carolina.
Being one of the only black people in a white suburb, it’s all too easy to stumble on the subtle, well-meaning acts of “racial protection.” I define “racial protection” as refusing to mention any type of race in order to protect anyone that might get offended -- in this case, that would be me. The problem with refusing to see color is that it desensitizes, devalues, and destroys a chance at a meaningful conversation about race. It not only strips races of their unique culture, but being colorblind does not do anything positive for anyone. Race is still a prominent issue in our country, and ignoring it does not solve the problem. Racial protection capitalizes on the effort of ignoring the topic of race in hopes of it not being “awkward,” but why is talking about race still “awkward”? According to The Washington Post, Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz was concerned about the growing racial divide in America, so in March 2015, he decided to use his forum of 11,000 coffee shops to start a conversation. He encouraged people to have a discussion about race with workers and customers at Starbucks. Understandably, this attempt of racial awareness did not turn out as planned. Usually talking about the racial divide while trying to get a cup of coffee is not customary. Instead of using such a drastic approach, it’s critical to at least get comfortable with the idea of race. In several instances, I’ve been shunned by peers for describing someone by mentioning their race; describing someone as
Opinion
“Asian” is not racist if it’s their ethnicity. It’s common to hear “that’s racist” as a remark after mentioning anything that has to do with race. It’s similar to the boy who cried wolf. Continually referring to non-racist incidents as racist trivializes the instances where a response is needed. According to Merriam-Webster, racism is “the belief that some races of people are better than others.” Given this definition, a lot of instances described as racist are not. Knowing the correct meaning of racism is the first step to avoiding false classifications of racism. While this misclassification can be harmful to genuine racist incidents, it’s understandable why people view race as a sensitive topic. Our country was built on the racist beliefs ingrained in slavery, and those same views have been exhibited in the recent violent acts of racism. One of the most tragic ones was the shooting this year in June, in a historically black church by a white supremacist in Charleston, South Carolina. Being a minority, it’s easy and understandable to become sensitive to anything dealing with race. Becoming too afraid to talk about race, for fear of appearing racist, restricts humans from developing culturally. Educating each person from a young age about the different cultures and customs will help to end unnecessary racial tension. Each race is unique in its traditions, and it’s vital to respectfully appreciate these differences in order to value each aspect of our world to the fullest.
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By Demi Glusic It’s a cold winter day and there is only one way to give light to the the rest of the tracks on “True,” lean toward country and bluegrass, but bleakness. It is to plug your phone into a speaker to hear your favorite still have some house influence in them. artist comfort you. Most recently in October 2015, Avicii released his second album, titled Fast forward six months: it’s now summer and the biggest party is “Stories,” which drifted even farther from his original house feel, showgoing down. Someone yells to crank up the radio’s volume. Good grief, ing off more of his new alternative, pop and disco feels. This slight what is that horrific noise? Why would someone want to sound like genre change can be attributed to Avicii’s rise in fame but also a loss in that? Who even is that? Wait… Those chords sound semi-familiar, so his house-loving fans. does that voice. Oh no, no, this can’t be happening. I’m sorry, but it On certain occasions, artists move farther than the one to two songs, or already has. Your favorite hidden artist has gone mainstream. even albums, away from their original source, and they change genres This trend is very all together. observable nowadays. After her fame When first coming into blew up all over the the music scene, an world, there is no artist establishes their denying Taylor Swift “sound;” it’s what they has changed from the become known for. country girl everyone Eventually, if lucky, got to know. Unlike the artist moves up the Avicii, Swift has totem pole and becomes changed her genre all recognized worldwide. together after years of When that happens, the sticking with country. pressure, the anticipaAfter moving to tion, and the stress all Nashville, Tennessets into the artist. see, to further her Skip forward a few music career, Swift years. Artists now start got a contract with Big to experiment with Machine Records after new genres to cona performance at the tinue to expand their Bluebird Cafe. Shortly business and attract after, she started more listeners. When releasing albums that experimenting with new featured country songs genres, usually it entails that became chart one or two new songs toppers worldwide. with a different feel to In 2012, Swift them, perhaps an added released an album Photo By Demi Glusic titled “Red,” which instrument, or with Additions or subtractions of an instrument can change the dynamic of an entire album album different mixing. threw a curveball to One artist who has her typical country seen ups and downs in his career due to mainstreaming is swedish DJ roots. Featuring hits such as “Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Tim Bergling, who is more commonly known by his stage name of Back Together,” this album had moved into a new genre for Swift, as it Avicii. had a big pop influence. After her latest album release, “1989,” no hints After the release of his single “Levels” in 2011, Avicii was launched of acoustics can be heard at all, and it might be safe to say that Swift has into the mainstream. Focusing on creating house-oriented tracks, Avicii kissed pure country goodbye as if it was just another boyfriends of hers. grew his fan base worldwide. Whether artists change genres due to their personal musical preference In 2013, after the announcement that his first album, which he called or to gain more money in the industry, most people aside from the artist “True,” was in the making, Avicii played a track at Miami’s Ultra Music will likely never know. Yet one thing is certain: change is not always a Festival that would be on his new album, titled “Wake Me Up.” The good thing. crowd’s reactions were overwhelmingly negative. This new song, and
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Calm Before The Storm
By:Jarrett Malec
Will Privette gets pushed onto the court by another student at the end of NC State’s upset vicory over Duke in January of 2013.
One student, Will Privette, who is in a wheelchair, attempted to rush the court with crazy fans and Division One athletes who just completed their biggest win of the season and maybe their careers. Shortly after Privette started to head toward midcourt, he got knocked out of his wheelchair and found himself at the bottom of a crowd of rowdy college students. Fortunately, N.C. State player CJ Leslie saw Privette on the ground and picked him up from the madness. Privette was unharmed but a few seconds later, and he could have seriously been hurt. Along with this case, there have been other similar examples of court-stormings that have gone wrong. Most of them stem from the collegiate level. In high school, the amount of court-storming is apparently less frequent and dangerous than college because there aren’t as many people to rush onto the playing area at one time.Coaches such as Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski have stated that court storming is “potentially very dangerous.” Along with the risk of injury for students and anyone else on the court at the end of a game, the school itself could face liability issues. In 2004, the Southeastern Conference banned court-storming and with recent problems with court-storming, there might be more leagues that follow suit. Although there is much excitement that comes for the students and players involved in court-storming, the danger and liabilities outweigh the temporary jubilancy after a game. High school and colleges should consider making a stronger stance on banning mass student court storming to avoid unnecessary injuries.
In the world of today’s sports, there are many dangers that come. Injuries while playing are the most prevalent. However, there are dangers outside of the play itself when students storm the field or court at once after a big win. This event has grown over the years and is now becoming more and more of a safety issue. So, should high school and college students be allowed to leave the bleachers and rush onto the playing field after a win? First of all, we have to ask ourselves what qualifies as a game being worthy enough for a storm. Normally, in high school and college, students will spend weeks getting prepared for a game by talking smack to the other team and creating a fire that often times can’t be held in. These types of games are usually rivalry games. For example, LHS playing Stevenson would constitute as a game where students might want to storm the court after. Another time court-storming could occur is if a team that is an underdog and not supposed to win ends up beating its heavily favored opponent. These games are called upsets and since they are surprises, the students realize they have no choice but to celebrate and stampede onto the field to meet their team in celebration. No matter what the circumstance, however, the sheer amount of people on a small court or field is no safe place, especially with everyone jumping around. For example, on Jan. 12, 2013, at N.C. State University, the Wolfpack basketball team defeated the Duke Blue Devils and because of the huge win, the N.C. State student body stormed the court.
Opinion
Photo From ZumaPress.com/CC
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Jack Lipp Honored with Jersey Retirement By Tia Petrzilka / Photos by Tanner Dorow / Layout by Mary Kate Mieszala On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Libertyville High School hosted the Warren Blue Devils in basketball for a special night to honor former basketball star and student Jack Lipp, who passed away in December 2014. Lipp, a beloved friend and athlete, was a North Suburban All-Conference and Daily Herald Lipp’s parents, John and Stephanie Lipp, look on with principal All-Area basketball player who impacted Dr. Marina Scott and athletic director Mr. Briant Kelly as Lipp’s the lives of many. white jersey is presented to the team. “Last year we looked at doing something to honor Jack Lipp,” explained Athletic Director Mr. Briant Kelly, “and we also needed to find a time that was appropriate…We wanted to respect his family, his parents, and find a time to honor him, but at the same time respect their wishes.” Prior to the game, the Lipp family was presented with a framed jersey of their own and another jersey was presented to the basketball team, to be hung in the main gym. Parents, staff members, students, and community members were encouraged to come “to celebrate Jack’s life along with his contribution to the Libertyville Basketball Program,” according to the Jack Lipp Foundation website. Senior basketball player Ben Kimpler spoke about what the ceremony meant to him as well as the team. “It means a lot for this team because he was someone that gave it his all whenever he stepped foot on the court so however we can still carry his legacy on is important to myself as well as the basketball program,” stated Kimpler. According to Mr. Kelly, the ceremony was done particularly at this time so teammates and friends of Lipp’s could attend as opposed to later in the year when they’d be away at college, not on their breaks. Mr. Kelly also emphasized that the effort to coordinate the event was done most-
The game program on January 5th.
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Members of the boys basketball team receive Jack Lipp’s home jersey, which will be hung above the scoreboard in the main gym.
ly by friends of the family and of Lipp’s. “I help to facilitate [it] more than everything,” Mr. Kelly said. The foundation, which was developed by Lipp’s parents and friends last spring, held the 1st Annual Jack Lipp Alumni Basketball Tournament at LHS the previous Saturday, with the goal to raise money and spread
the word about the foundation. Friend and teammate of Lipp’s since fourth grade, Matt Reed spoke about the foundation. “The foundation was started by Jack’s parents who selected a group of Jack’s closest friends to be a part of it,” said Reed, who graduated from LHS in 2014. “The goal of the foundation is to fund the Play With Heart scholarship and to more importantly, carry on Jack’s legacy.” According to the foundation’s website, “The scholarship is a $2,000 scholarship given once a year to a member of the Libertyville High School Basketball or Golf team” as “basketball and golf were Jack’s favorite sports.” This past summer, the foundation successfully raised $10,000 at its first annual golf outing for the cause and is currently an official non-for-profit organization. “I think anytime you have a recent student athlete [pass away], it’s difficult,” stated Mr. Kelly. “I think the work of the foundation has been able to keep his spirit alive,” stated Mr. Kelly “Sometimes there’s some good that comes out of a tragic situation,” he added. For more information about the foundation visit www.jacklippfoundation.com.
The jersey Lipp wore during his career at Libertyville remains on the first seat of the bench, where it has been since he passed away on December 25, 2014. 34
Members of the basketball team, along with head coach Mr. Brent Mork receive Lipp’s home jersey.
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LHS Basketball: Roll call Written by Jack Kosowski Photos by Tanner Dorow Layout by Sara Thunga The team has a home game coming up on Jan. 22 against Mundelein and an away game on Jan. 23 against Jacobs. On the girls’ side of the ball, head coach Greg Pedersen and the team have put together a 10-9 record in nineteen games. After a slow start in which they only came out on top four times in their first 11 games, the varsity squad has put together a 5-3 record in the last eight games and were champions of the recent Mundelein Holiday Classic. Juniors Riley Weis (guard) and Claire Keefe (forward) received All-Tournament honors. The girls held three of their four opponents in the tournament to under 30 points. “Sometimes, it’s just all about effort, and best to tell your players, ‘Hey, you just have to guard someone, get in their face, and stick on them like glue.’” Pedersen said after the Conant win. Although the team did have a rough start to the season, in the last eight games, the Cats have outscored their opponents 378-308. “We rebounded by staying as a team and tried to look positive on the season coming up,” Keefe responded. “We played a tough schedule
The team huddles on the court before starting lineups are announced. With both the boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball teams already through part of their respective seasons, it’s time to check up on the latest from the squads. Coach Brent Mork has led the boys’ team to a solid 10-5 record in fifteen games. The team has gone 2-1 in away games and 2-2 at home They also have competed in two tournaments so far this season, including one at Maine West at the end of November, going 3-1. Senior guard Jabari Quigley was named to the All-Tournament team with his impressive performances in that competition. The team also competed in a tournament over winter break in Wheeling, in which they also ended up with a 3-1 mark in four games. Guard Drew Peterson, a 6’5” sophomore, was nominated to the All-Tournament team there. Mork is pleased with the team’s promising start: “I think the guys are doing a nice job. They’re working hard each day and seem to be embracing the system we’re trying to implement. We’ve had some nice wins over quality opponents and I believe we’re continuing to get better.” Mork also commented on how the team learns from past mistakes and successes and puts what they learned onto the court in future games: “I always believe we can be better than we are and push the guys to believe that if they do what we work on daily, the success happens. The guys are starting to understand how much I value practice and try to make it tougher than a game would be. If we practice well and are prepared, the results in games many times happen.” Senior guard Cam Chen, who has been on varsity for three consecutive years, added, “The only thing holding us back from achieving the highest level of success comes down to us. We have to keep pushing each other, working hard, and executing, and the sky’s the limit.”
The Libertyville student section taunts a Warren player after he fouls out late in the game.
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The team huddles to get hyped up before tip-off against Grant. over Thanksgiving and we feel playing that schedule put our play at a higher level and made things more competitive for the season. Looking back, we feel that playing in that tournament really paid off!” Keefe also praised the team’s defensive toughness that has helped start producing wins: “We believe our defense has been able to allow us to win five games in a row. The energy we get on defense allows us to get energy flowing in our offense. As Coach says, ‘defense wins championships’, and we did over winter break.” The girls’ basketball squad has upcoming games, one away at Warren on Jan. 23 and a home game on Jan. 26 against Zion-Benton.
Jabari Quigley takes a free throw to score his third point of the game. At the time, Quigley was the only Libertyville player currently on the court with points.
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Senior guard Erin Dunleavy takes a mid-range shot early on in the first quarter.
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Libertyville Wrestling Enjoying Successful Season By Max Friedlander
Photo courtesy of LHS wrestling Junior Alex Mitchell, the top returning wrestler, wrestles in a match against Grant during the 2014-2015 season. Mitchell hopes to build off of his 26-13 record from last season. The LHS wrestling season is underway and the team now holds a 6-6 record (2-2 in conference). In a season that’s been predicated on the idea of hard work and development day in and day out, the team has been showing improvements as of late. The team was faced with adversity as soon as the season began. Due to football’s extensive playoff run, the athletes who played football along with wrestling had to miss the first three weeks of the season. Additionally, the team has faced some big injuries, as key senior wrestlers Ben O’Donnell and Kyle Smith suffered concussions. Despite having a young and largely inexperienced team, senior William Johnson is impressed with what he sees: “We have a young team in general, but we’ve been working hard regardless. I’m impressed by the work ethic of some of our underclassmen.” Head coach Mr. Dale Eggert reiterated the idea that the team is getting stronger and making improvements each day. This improvement was evident in an early season tournament, the Barrington Invite. The team finished in ninth place out of 26 teams, which was better than expected considering the football-playing wrestlers had still not returned. Coach Eggert explained that the Barrington Invite is one of his favorite moments of the season to date, as Libertyville had five guys place in the top eight and the team went 5-0 in the final round. There have been many strong performances for the team as a whole so far this season, such as going 2-1 in the Naperville Central quad, despite
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missing some guys due to injury. According to Coach Eggert, the team had one of its strongest performances of the season in a 37-19 victory over Neuqua Valley. On Jan. 2, the team took down Schaumburg, one of the strongest opponents on this season’s schedule, by a score of 38-26. Along with team success, individuals have also been putting together strong campaigns, led by junior Alex Mitchell, who is currently ranked sixth in the state in the 106-pound weight class. Mitchell, who was a sectional qualifier last season, came in third place in the Barrington Invite and finished as the champion of both the Prospect Invite and the Palatine Invitational. As for his current success, Mitchell said that “it has really helped with [his] confidence” and that “[he] expects a lot more hard wrestling and fun with the team” going forward. Other notable performances have come from freshman Michael Gunther (third in the Barrington and Prospect Invites); junior Jack Damenti (second in Prospect Invite); senior Mike Beck (third in Prospect Invite); and sophomore Charlie Schmidt (sixth in Prospect Invite). With three weeks left in the regular season, the team is trying to build momentum heading into the conference tournament and state series. Senior Brian Vickers said that “[conference] should be very competitive, but we will be up to the challenge.” When asked what to expect for the rest of the season, considering how the team has been trending upwards recently, senior wrestler Mike Hogan proclaimed, “expect the unexpected.”
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Baumruk and Davellis Look to Continue Bowling Dominance Boys: Ever since the boys’ bowling team started their season in November, the team has developed to a level that excites head coach Roberto Sweno. They won the bronze division at the Glenbrook North Invitational in November and still strive to improve even further. “The season is going very well,” Sweno said. “My players have continually improved as individuals and as a team. Each of them have put a lot of hard work in at practice and are seeing the payoffs in our most recent matches and tournaments.” All of the team’s growth started when Coach Sweno gathered the team to create goals at the beginning of the season. They then devoted specific practices to help achieve those goals and prepare the team for competition. The team’s success is led by junior Spencer Baumruk, who averages a score of 191. His career high is an incredible 279 which is the second highest in LHS history. Baumruk is not only the leader on the scoresheet, but he is also a team leader mentally. “I try to bring a lot of energy into the matches,” Baumruk commented. “Bowling is more of a mental game than most people think, so having a focused positive attitude really drives the team’s scores up.” Baumruk has been bowling since he was 6 years old and he has picked up a lot of information over the years. “The hardest thing about bowling is that it’s a game of precision. It doesn’t come down to being the strongest, or the fastest; what matters is being able to make repeatable, accurate shots and to adjust properly to the conditions of the lanes.” Throughout the season, the team has taken great strides towards advancing to sectionals which start Saturday January 23rd.
Written by TJ Murbach Photos by Maria Thames Layout by Sara Thunga
Photo courtesy of Suzanne Baumruk Some of the varsity boys talk as they gather around their head coach, Mr. Robert Sweno. Junior Spencer Baumruk (leaning over on the right) helps to lead the team not only through his consistent high scores, but also through his strong leadership qualities.
Photo courtesy of Lindsey Siegel Sophomores Katelyn Kubalanza, Allison Friello (both on the JV team) and Abbey Humbert (on the varsity team and also a staff member of DOI) wait for their turn to bowl as other teammates bowl. Their home lanes are located at Lakeside Lanes in Mundelein, where this photo was taken.
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Girls: With 11 new bowlers on the team this year, the girls’ bowling team stresses the importance of practice in order to improve. The experienced bowlers play a vital role to the team’s success. Not only do they lead by example on the lanes, but they help the team’s chemistry with all the new bowlers. “The experienced bowlers have been helpful with the newbies and teaching them the ropes. We are learning how to work together as a new team this year,” head coach Lindsey Siegel said. Senior bowler Emma Davellis added, “I always try to keep the team motivated and excited. Our Saturday morning invites can be rough, but we all keep each other motivated.” Davellis’s favorite moments of the season are the team-building activities in practice to help the team work together. “The hardest thing about bowling is probably keeping everyone motivated and staying positive. It is very much a team sport so we have to work together as a team.” Davellis is one of the team’s leading scorers with a career high of 279 and a high streak of 10 consecutive strikes. So far, the team has a record of 4-2 and still has more matches ahead in the new year. A typical week for the team has about two matches after school and on other days that they don’t compete, they have practice. Practices are key to the young team’s success, according to Siegel: “Practices consist of drills, spare practice, proper techniques, team building and strength training.” Even though they have had some obstacles this year with inexperience, they are in good shape moving forward in the season.
Drops of Ink