February

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Senior Jack Webb pursues his passion for longboarding. Find out more under Video at FHCtoday.com

delve 3-8 | sweat 9-13 | in focus 14-19 | the scene 21-26 | be heard 27-30 | interact 31 | aperture 32

FOUR {increased options} As students enrolled for their 2014-15 classes, they might have noticed some new options. We take a look at the three new courses FHSD will offer next year.

EIGHT {minimum moves up} On Jan. 1, minimum wage increased for Missourians to $7.50 per hour, increasing the pay many students earn for their after school jobs.

TWENTY-ONE {spring slide}

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books head to theaters

Lack of sleep. Senioritis. Lack of motivation. These are just a couple of symptoms indicating a student has fallen into a slump characteristic of third quarter of the school year.

TWENTY-TWO {obsessed} The huge success of “Frozen” has revitalized Disney, but has also shown the effect the movie's focus on two sisters has on girls around the country.

TWENTY-EIGHT {the bieb} check us out on Spotify!

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opening shots | february 21, 2014

a capella club Black Friday

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Hannah Beckmann suggests superstar Justin Bieber’s rash of attention-grabbing incidents indicates the young musician is in need of some serious help.

{delve} Snow covers the sign in front of FHC. So far, students have had seven snow days in the 2013-2014 school year.

photo by Kortney Sheahan

Differences between districts

Varied policies cause confusion for students with family, friends outside FHSD

I

By Emily Klohr staff reporter

n the Francis Howell School District, students must make up the first ten snow days. This year, three of those days are coming from spring break, and the other seven are being taken from the beginning of summer break. Strangely enough, not all schools have the same policies for snow day make up.

Rockwood, Wentzville, and Francis Howell have about the same policies for canceling school. The superintendent must decide whether or not to cancel school by 5 a.m. so the media and bus drivers can be notified. However, that decision might be delayed if weather conditions are changing rapidly.

If the decision is not made before then and weather conditions are dangerous while students are at school, the district can choose to cancel school early.

School closings are announced on the district websites, TV and radio stations, and through an automatic notification system that parents can sign up for.

Sophomore Daniel Engelhardt, who attends Lutheran High School, explained the differences between private school and public school policies regarding cancelling for bad weather.

“At Lutheran High, we do have to make up our snow days. Since we only have one week of spring break, any snow days not factored into the school year are added to the end of the year,” Engelhardt said.

Students in FHSD only have to make up the first ten snow days, but that’s not the case at Lutheran High.

“I don’t believe there is a limit to the number of days we make up, but it’s ultimately up to the principal and school board,” Engelhardt said.

FHSD has the option to have late start days, but those are rarely used. Private schools use these more frequently because they don’t have bus routes.

“Public schools might use late starts less than private schools because it affects less people. If a public school were to do an unscheduled late start, I imagine they’d need to rearrange entire bus schedules. This could potentially leave students waiting for the bus in the cold for unsafe amounts of time,” Engelhardt said.

The way each school deals with bad weather is most likely due to the differences in the areas they are serve, according to Engelhardt.

“A large district with lots of unplowed roads would naturally have a different response than a small district

with well maintained roads,” Engelhardt said.

For students who transferred to FHSD from Normandy, snow days aren’t something to look forward to. When the Normandy district is closed and FHSD is open, buses don’t pick up the transfer students.

The absences are excused, but students still have to make up the work they missed. According to Justin Andrews, a transfer student from Normandy, these absences make it difficult for students to keep up with their work.

“It makes it hard because you miss things your class is doing that day, and you get behind, which slows down the class,” Andrews said.

Andrews believes that Normandy needs to improve this situation in some way.

“Normandy is doing this so they won’t have to pay for a bus. I don’t think they know its effect on the kids missing school,” Andrews said.

A new way to approach snow days is for students to log onto an online server and go through the school day as normal, rather than just sitting around during bad weather.

By doing this, schools are able to avoid tacking make up days onto the end of the year.

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New additions to the

LINEUP

Fitness, AP Geography, Biomedical Science now available

By Joey Silver staff reporter

New classes are added to the line-up for students to take to further their learning and enjoyment at school. The new classes being offered are a gym class, Fitness for Life, which replaces Fitness Walking; a social studies class, AP Geography, which will be offered online; and a science class, Biomedical Technologies.

Fitness for Life is more vigorous than Fitness Walking by adding more cardio options, yoga, and strength training.

Students taking the class will create their own fitness plan focusing on food. The class is going to be broken into several fitness activities ranging from cardio (running, walking, insanity videos, P90, etc.) to low-impact resistant exercises. Fitness for Life teacher Mrs. Jennifer Denny also explained that there will also be yoga, circuit training and strength training.

The students will be creating their own personal fitness plan focused on nutrition analysis and planning. “[This class will be offered] to focus on all aspects of fitness.

We want students to be able to understand the importance of nutrition and exercise for healthy living,” Mrs. Denny said.

Junior Katie Crank chose to enroll in this class next year due to her interest in the variety of activities that the class offers.

“I decided to take the class because it sounded like it had a variety of components to it. Two things the class offers are stretching and yoga, which could help my flexibility for sports,” Crank said.

AP Geography is another new class offered online next school year that has college level instruction on the patterns and processes that impact the way humans understand, use, and change Earth’s surface. The class will examine spatial patterns and analyze the changing interconnections among people and places.

Junior Gage Weindel is taking AP Geography next year because he wants to challenge his skills and grow in his interest of social studies.

“I think it’d be a fun class to take, and I hope that it’s a challenging course. It’s an interesting subject to learn about,” Weindel said.

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delve | february 21, 2014

The Biomedical Science classes are going to solve health related problems; the units connect the content to the problem of determining cause of death for a specific person. It also allows students to tie together the content of their previous science classes and Biomedical Science.

In most careers that apply science, the concepts of a variety of life and physical sciences are combined rather than separated. The course should help students put together what they know and learn in Biology and Chemistry as well as other fields and apply it to help determine the cause of death.

In addition to science content, students in the class will profile approximately 40 science careers over the first year. This class is heavily student-driven rather than teacher-driven, which causes students to search for the information needed and do a lot of reading and writing in order to answer the questions and problems presented in each unit. “[This class is being offered] to give our students more options for science electives, to increase the science credits that our students earn while at FHC, and to provide a class option that increases students’ awareness of science careers and the applications of science content,” Biomedical teacher Mrs. Jessica Rowe said.

Junior Aaron Alden is planning to be a pharmacist, so he chose this course to further his knowledge of the health sciences.

“I’m taking biomed technologies because I wanted to take a class that related to the medical field by combining chemistry with anatomy and physiology,” Alden said.

Biomed shows students how science is used in our lives far beyond what textbooks traditionally present. Few people know what career they want to pursue, so by applying science concepts in health fields, forensics and biotechnology, students can get a general idea of what science career is fit for them.

Students will be profiling approximately 40 science careers over the year and organize their assignments in a portfolio, so this class will give people some ideas and options that they can explore beyond high school.

“I gained knowledge of guns, wildlife and safety; when I go hunting I can be safe and keep other people safe,” Lunsford said. “More students should take it because it would ease their fear of guns while ensuring safety.”

Not only do students learn about the outdoors, they also get hands on experience by attending field trips which apply skills learned from class.

“I also enjoyed it because we took a field trip to Busch Wildlife to practice shooting targets and clays,” Lunsford said.

Human Relations

From the Gods of Olympus to the creatures of the Underworld, Mythology class explores the abundant stories and legends from the past.

Mythology teacher Mr. Jason Becker is passionate about mythology and how students can grow from relating ancient stories to current events and circumstances today.

“This class helps students study mythology of the past and makes connections between it and the world

the relevance of the class and the daily discussion over current events in America and the world.

“It was one of my favorite classes because when you walk in the class you always see breaking news stories and discuss them with each other, and it’s really relevant,” Nielsen said.

Contemporary Issues teacher Mr. Thomas Whelan encourages students to enroll in the class not only to learn about history, but also to help prep for college or future careers.

causing students to flourish in their career and life.

“I believe that all students should learn these basic skills for life-- in turn, I believe all students should take this class,” Ms. McGuire said. “My main focus for the class is to teach the students skills for being successful.”

Junior Lauren Crane enrolled in Human Relations due to interest about controversial subjects, relationships

“It’s an enjoyable class that can spark a greater interest in hunting, fishing and shooting firearms.” { Mr. Kurt Kruse } Physical Education teacher Outdoor Education 1 and 2 are classes Mr. Kruse teaches to provide students with an appreciation of the outdoors.

they live in, the stories they hear and tell every day,” Mr. Warren said.

Junior Satiah Duval took Mythology due to strong interest in Greek mythology and the teen books based on the stories. By taking the class, her interest has grown after learning about stories from years ago.

“I’ve always been a big fan of mythology, and I read the ‘Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief’ series,” Duval said. “It’s just interesting to hear

“It’s a great class that helps you prep for college and all the work and research is done on the iPads, and it’s technology driven,” Mr. Whelan said.

In order to help prepare for college, students work independently on their iPads to find news to discuss in class, while also obtaining both viewpoints.

“Every day you discuss issues and analysis over what’s going on in the world, then you break down the issues and find out the opposing views,” Nielsen said.

and social skills that are life beneficial.

Now, she feels prepared when building relationships.

“In social areas, I feel a lot more prepared to deal with confrontations and how to make connections,” Crane said.

“The class was really practical in the sense that searching for a solid career or when meeting influential people, I will know how to present myself and communicate or obtain connections.”

stories told from thousands of years ago and what people believed back then.”

Although Mythology class consists mostly of stories and legends, those same stories also can relate to students and what it means to be human.

“Mythology class is about studying stories that make us who we are as human beings,” Mr. Warren said. “It also offers students a way to understand the events of their own lives in a much longer context.”

photo by Ozzy Goodrich

Contemporary Issues

Today, politics and news are constantly streaming on televisions and being printed on the front page of newspapers.

In Contemporary Issues, students can discuss current news and events that affect the world, our nation, and our future.

Senior Casey Nielsen e n j o y e d taking Contemporary Issues due to

Social skills are the cornerstone of having a successful career and relationship with family and employees.

Human Relations class helps students build better relationships and learn social skills that can help them succeed at a job or business.

Human Relations teacher Ms. Kathryn McGuire passionately believes that her class is essential to the growth of students’ social skills,

“It’s an enjoyable class that can spark a greater interest in hunting, fishing and shooting firearms,“ Mr. Kruse said.

“This class can spark an interest for students or let it grow.”

Senior Kaylee Lunsford took Outdoor Education to learn more about hunting and to get her heritage card that allows the purchase of hunting permits. She also gained the knowledge and experience of guns and their safety precautions, so she is more prepared when going hunting in the future.

Mythology

You don’t have to wear camo or be a sharpshooter to enjoy learning about the skills of the woods and water in Outdoor Education 1 and 2. Hunting might seem like an out of school hobbie, but in both of these classes, students can learn about hunting, fishing, shooting and more in school as an elective class.

Outdoor Education 1 and 2 teacher Mr. Kurt Kruse encourages students to enroll in these classes if they are generally interested in the outdoors.

photo by Kortney Sheahan

Outdoor Education 1 & 2

photo by Eden Gundersen

HIDDEN GEMS

There are hundreds of classes offered in FHSD. Emily Herd takes a look at four classes you might not know of

fhctoday.com | delve

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All aboard

By Katelyn Viola staff reporter

Over spring or summer break, some students will be taking the chance of a lifetime to visit an exotic country. Some will be going to Ecuador, some to France, some to Italy, and some to England and Scotland. Depending on what class a student is a part of, they were presented this opportunity through a Spanish teacher, a French teacher, a Social Studies teacher or an English teacher.

Spanish teacher Mrs. Ashley Wager will be traveling with 27 students to Ecuador in June for nine days. Most of the students are seniors this year, but there are three 2015 graduates going. Mrs. Wager believes this trip will give students the opportunity to practice their Spanish and experience the culture in a place that they wouldn’t go to otherwise.

“Ecuador is my favorite place that I’ve ever been. The geography is so diverse, the people are nice, and they live life for very different reasons than kids have ever experienced.

Things are simpler,” Mrs. Wager said.

Mrs. Wager first experienced Ecuador in college and claims that it changed her life and made her want to teach others Spanish.

She hopes that it will change the lives of the attending students as well.

“I hope that [students] see how much they actually know of Spanish, enjoy the adventure, and realize how great life is unplugged from the norm,” Mrs. Wager said.

The schedule for the summer visit includes going on a service learning trip. There will be several days where Mrs. Wager and the students work to improve a community’s school. The community is primitive, meaning it is only accessible by water.

Mrs. Wager especially looks forward to what students will hopefully take away from this trip.

“I am excited for the kids to realize how

Teachers take students overseas to enhance classroom content

awesome a simpler life is and what a great “I’m extremely excited for Paris because opportunity this is for them to experience,” I’ve been obsessed with it since I was little,” Mrs. Wager said.

Blattel said.

Spanish and French teacher Mrs. Lauren Mrs. Breite has been to France before. She Breite will be taking 11 juniors and seniors to always enjoys each pool of students and their France over spring break. Students attending reactions. are from French III, French IV or AP French.

“I’m excited for my students to finally see, “I only open the trip exclusively to the juniors hear, and taste the culture that they have and seniors in the upper level French classes spent the last several years studying,” Mrs. because we speak French almost the whole Breite said. time, and I want them to really appreciate the Social Studies teacher Mr. Nicholas language and culture,” Renfrow will be taking Mrs. Breite said. juniors and seniors The trip is nine days to Italy for nine days “Ecuador is my favorite during spring break as long including traveling to and from France. well. Unlike Mrs. Wager place that I’ve ever While in Paris, students and Mrs. Breite, this is been. The geography is Mr. Renfrow’s first time will see the Eiffel Tower, the Musee d’Orsay and so diverse, the people taking an international other tourist attractions. are nice, and they live trip with students. “[The Musee d’Orsay] “We are going to life for very different is my favorite art museum explore the unique in the whole world reasons than kids have culture and history because it holds lots of of Italy and give [the] ever experienced. impressionist work,” Mrs. students a hands-on Breite said. opportunity to study Things are simpler.”

Mrs. Breite believes things only mentioned { Mrs. Ashley Wager } that this spring break trip in our textbooks,” Mr. Spanish Teacher will benefit the AP French Renfrow said.

Mrs. Wager comments on why she loves Ecuador. students in an additional While exploring Italy, way. students will view many “It’s a final push to sights such as the Trevi really glean as much as Fountain, the Colosseum they can from the culture before the AP exam and the Sistine Chapel. in May,” Mrs. Breite said.

Mr. Renfrow looks most forward to seeing The students and Mrs. Breite will also visit the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. He the castle of Chenonceau. hopes students realize the kind of opportunity “I’m super pumped to see the castle,” junior this Italy trip offers.

Jacelyn Blattel said.

“It’s a chance to see history and hopefully Blattel is glad that out of all the traveling make a lot of what we discuss in class come opportunities, the trip to France is the alive,” Mr. Renfrow said. opportunity she received.

English teacher Mrs. Patti Shockley will be

accompanying four seniors from AP Literature on a trip to England and Scotland. The trip is nine days, starting on March 8.

“The trip was moved up, so we will be missing the snow make-up days,” Mrs. Shockley said.

This is also Mrs. Shockley’s first time in charge of a student international trip. She and the students are hoping to connect the locations with literature.

“We are going to get a different and authentic perspective of the settings that inspired many of the works we read in AP Literature,” Mrs. Shockley said.

There are of plenty sights to see and things to do while the students and Mrs. Shockley are in England and Scotland. They plan to visit Edinburgh Castle, Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Big Ben and other attractions.

“Every part of the itinerary is educational and features experiential learning activities.

Local guides provide in-depth knowledge.

Besides the educational aspect, [the students] will also become world travelers while becoming more responsible and mature,” Mrs. Shockley said.

There are many things Mrs. Shockley looks forward to for the trip, but she is most excited to see how the students take everything in.

“What I look most forward to is the reactions of the students as they experience each location first hand,” Mrs. Shockley said.

Senior Chloe Udell is one of the students going with Mrs. Shockley to Scotland and England.

“It’s a really cool opportunity,” Udell said.

“You get to go with people you know and a teacher you like.”

Although these four trips are going to different countries, each teacher behind them agrees that it’s an exhilarating experience to travel and learn about other cultures.

Current Events: The Winter Olympics began Feb. 7 and will go to Feb. 23. Here is

what students around the school think of what has happened so far in the games “I like watching the best of the world compete.

Seeing that high level of talent is just inspiring. It’s really cool.”

“It makes me want to work harder.

Those people train so hard every single day for five hours a day. It makes me want to go do that.”

Senior Jack Webb

Sophomore Kristy Eslinger

“I

like

hockey

Olympic

the best because it means so much to so many people that it’s like watching an allstar game where everyone actually plays hard.”

Senior Scott Halbert

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delve | february 21, 2014

What’s on the schedule?

Scotland/ England

Mrs. Patti Shockley and the students will see the Edinburgh Castle, Housesteads Fort and the Museum at Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland. In England,they will visit Yorkshire, go on the tour of York, see York Minster and view Clifford’s Tower.

In Stratford, they’ll see Gardens of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Shakespeare’s Birthplace. They’ll tour in Oxford and see Brasenose College. They’ll go on a tour in London that includes seeing Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, St. George’s Chapel, State Apartments, a theater performance, Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio and The London Eye.

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Ashley Wager

Ecuador:

Mrs. Ashley Wager and the students will go on a service learning trip. There will be several days where they are working to improve a community’s school. They will hike, stay in the rain forest, see the equator and go to a local market.

Left: People pass The National Palace of Ecuador. Mrs. Ashley Wager has been to Ecuador once before as a college student.

Right: The French flag waves on top of the Castle of Chambord in Paris. Mrs. Lauren Breite brought her 2011 French III, IV, V students with her to see this monument and many other attractions of France.

France:

While in Paris, Mrs. Lauren Breite and the students will see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay and other tourist attractions. They will visit the Palace of Versailles, the Castle of Chenonceau and the Cathedral of Chartres.

Italy:

Mr. Nicholas Renfrow, Mr. Tom Whelan and students will visit Vatican City and take a gondola ride in Venice. They will see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Sistine Chapel and other attractions. fhctoday.com | delve

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Minimum wage increase creates mixed feelings Questions arise in Missouri, other states after a 25-cent increase

By Rachel Large staff reporter

On Jan. 1, 2014, the minimum wage rates of Missouri, including 13 other states such as Florida, Colorado, and New York, increased above the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 an hour.

Every Jan. 1 since 2008, minimum wage increases or decreases in each state depending on the living conditions of a state’s residents. Working teenagers and adults having a hard time finding a job get a chance to live with a little more money in their pockets, with states like New York and Washington increasing their minimum wage above $9 per hour.

Missouri businesses are now paying its workers at least $7.50 an hour, compared to $7.35 an hour in 2013.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 was proposed to help people working the lowest paid jobs make ends meet by raising the federal rate from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour by 2015.

While many workers are supportive of the increases, some workers, as well as everyday people, fear the increases may be harmful to everyday life.

Junior Payton Steiner has worked at Chick-Fil-A for eight months. She thinks that the increases are good, but only until a certain point.

“I like the fact that people are getting more money to live, but if they keep increasing the amount we get paid, then we will be getting paid too much for the amount of work we do,” Steiner said. “We will be taking money away from the people

who work at jobs that require more than a high school diploma.”

Junior Royce Ingram, who worked at McDonalds for about one and threequarter of a year, believes the minimum wage increase will eventually cause a mass inflation, which is when the value of the dollar decreases.

“If they keep increasing the minimum wage, the value of the dollar will go down,” Ingram said. “So if something costs $.50, you will have to pay with $2 instead of one.”

Ingram believes the increase will affect more than just the value of money; it will negatively affect consumers.

“The increase will raise the prices of pretty much everything we buy,” Ingram said.

104,000

people in Missouri got a raise on Jan. 1.

14th

Missouri has the highest minimum wage in the U.S. with $7.50 a hour.

3.6 million

people in the U.S. earn minimum wage.

Source: Missouri Dept. of Labor, U.S. Dept. of Labor

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{sweat} staff reporter

S

tudent athletes involved in winter sports such as sophomore Sydney Lechner, have only the school days to practice their sport. Throughout the week, the swimmers and basketball players, who are winter athletes, practice after school and prepare for their upcoming meets and games.

As students know, the rare, large amount of snow that Missouri received in early January managed to cancel four consecutive days of school, followed by two more snow days two weeks later. Cancelling school also cancels practices, putting the athletes behind on their schedules and training.

Even though they don’t practice in the water at FHC, the swimmers’ practice still depends on if school is in session. Lechner, a swimmer on the girls swim team, took advantage of the four days off and put swimming aside to focus on relaxing.

“I liked getting a break,” said Lechner. “I didn’t do anything over the snow days. It’s nice to have some days off.”

Lechner is all for the snow days, but is convinced that they have a negative impact on the swimmers’ performances during meets. As the number of snow days grows, the available time for practice for the swimmers shrinks.

“Not having practice will definitely affect how we do in meets, but it shouldn’t be too bad,” said Lechner. “We’ve been practicing a lot lately anyway because of all the meets that we’ve been to, so the snow days shouldn’t be a huge deal.”

Basketball players, on the other hand, practice and play at school. During the first week back at school from winter break, boys freshman, JV and varsity basketball were scheduled to have a total of six games. They were all cancelled due to the snow, putting each team behind on their schedule by two games, which will only make their schedule more hectic when they are rescheduled.

According to sophomore Nick Cottner, the boys practice very often. Every day that the teams don’t have school is another day of practice that they have to miss out on.

“We had to miss a couple games and a lot of practices,” said Cottner. “We practice every day that we don’t have a game.”

Because the teams the boys were scheduled to play later in the week were expected to be a tough opponents to beat, the practices that the JV basketball boys missed were essential. According to Cottner, the boys struggled in their tournament games against Howell and Vianney because of the lack of practices.

Girls basketball was also denied three important practices. Freshman Madison Schnurbusch, a girls freshmen basketball player, was disappointed to see the snow days cancelled three games as well. Knowing her team still has a lot of work to do to prepare for games, she doesn’t think snow days are worth it.

“I know our team still has to work on our plays,” said Schnurbusch. “We need to run, and we also need to get our shooting down before we go out for a big game. Snow days take that time away from us, so it definitely affects how we play.”

Schnurbusch has a different approach to snow days. Instead of relaxing, she motivates herself to spend her snow days working out and training for her sport.

“I’ll take any time I can get,” Schnurbusch said. “These past snow days, I’ve gone on runs, and if it was too cold out, I’d run on a treadmill inside.”

Even though girls’ soccer is a spring sport, it too, has been a victim of the snow days. Conditioning was scheduled to begin on Jan. 8. Because they involve longdistance running and sprints for the players, it is easier for conditioning to be held outside.

Being outside also gives the girls the opportunities to get some touches on the ball before the season begins. Practicing with the soccer balls on the tile indoors makes the handling more

Snowbound athletes

difficult. Junior Caitlyn Eddy is attending her third year of conditioning.

“When we’re outside, we get more to practice on,” said Eddy. “When we’re inside, we don’t get a chance to even play with the ball unless we’re in the gym.”

The soccer players are three weeks in, holding conditioning twice a week, but are three conditioning days behind. Because the conditioning were cancelled, Eddy thinks the girls might not be completely ready for try-outs and and the upcoming season.

“I think having the extra days would have definitely helped us,” Eddy said.

Eddy isn’t missing out on the exercise, though. She plays for a club outside of school and practices with her out-ofschool team.

photo by Ashley Marlo

by Morgan Brader

Snow days force winter sports to cancel important games and practices, resulting in hectic schedules later in their seasons fhctoday.com | sweat

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photo by Ozzy Goodrich

Major sports gain huge clusters of fans to fill the bleachers for their games. Other sports, however, don't gain nearly as big a crowd.

A fight to get rowdy Teams struggle to crowds for their games and activities

By Tori Cooper staff reporter

Every student knows what the crowds are like at a football game. There is no doubt that our school knows how to get rowdy for the games.

The atmosphere that the crowd fills our stands with is something to be proud of: the loud cheering, the crazy chants, and the hundreds of students that show up in theme. This all shows the athletes that people are excited about their game.

They see that all the hard work has paid off as they hear the cheering from the crowd.

For athletes such as tennis players senior Nick Vadalabene and junior Elise Thomas, this is not a reality for them. The amount of parents that show up for their matches outweighs the amount of students in the crowd by more than just a few.

“Not including parents, we will have little over five people show up,” Vadalabene said.

A tennis match is meant to stay quiet.

Seeing that the student body is used to

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sweat | february 21, 2014

getting pumped in the bleachers, doing chants and yelling when something exciting happens, this would really test some people’s patience. Getting rowdy may be hard to do at the matches. The support is what matters, though, to players like Thomas.

“We had a group of people show up one time, and they were asked to quiet down, but just looking at that group of people and how well we did, I think a bigger crowd would help us,” Thomas said.

For the softball team, the noise level doesn’t matter. The varsity team’s largest crowds were at their district games at the St. Charles Community College last fall. Junior Sara Kabacinski agreed the bigger the crowd, the more motivated the players would be on the field.

“It would motivate us to do better, and it would encourage us; it would just brighten our moods and give us a more positive outlook,” Kabacinski said.

The team goes against one of the school’s biggest rivals, Francis Howell, every year. Normally, for a sporting event,

these bleachers or stands would be packed with students ready to go crazy.

Instead of students, the softball stands are filled with parents and family members.

Some students don’t even know that the game is happening. The intensity of the game only grows as the game goes on, but no one is there to see it.

“Football plays Howell, and we play Howell; no one really comes up to watch us play a big game; we beat Howell in districts and no one really knows about it because no one was really there,” Kirkman said.

Sports are not the only places that need crowds to congregate. Marching band and the color guard have had plenty of events that the student body could’ve gotten excited for. Not only do they perform during halftime at football games, but they also travel all over to different schools for competitions.

For junior guard member Jacklyn Angel, it’s a frustration to go through late practices to not get any recognition for all that they do.

“I think that if more people were to

show up, then it would give the people on our color guard more confidence; more people would naturally make us want to perform for them,” Angel said.

Sophomore Lexie Clark knows what it is like to have a student section and what it is like to have only parents be at her events. Being a player on the girls varsity basketball team and a part of marching band, she has seen it all. For marching band, the bleachers are filled with each of their parents, all 128 sets of them. Even though that is a huge crowd, Clark sees that a student section would help the marching band.

“It would probably make us a lot happier, and feel more accepted,” Clark said.

The activities here at school all have worked hard to get to where they are.

Students and faculty haven’t even touched the surface of all the places that should have a “get rowdy” section. The section gives the players and members more confidence to do their best and feel like people actually care about the work they have put in.

cold

shoulder

photo by Frank Lunatto

The

Students, coaches explain how hockey suffers from lack of school sponsorship

By Devin Chen staff reporter

Despite the name, the colors, and the alltoo-familiar mascot, the Spartan Hockey team is actually not affiliated with FHC at all; rather, it is an independent club sport.

That means it gets no funding, and unfortunately, no school recognition. Don’t expect to hear anything about Spartan hockey games on the morning intercom or on any official school tweets or Facebook updates. However, the “you can ask, but we won’t tell,” policy regarding the team is simply Francis Howell School District protocol for non-school affiliated club activities.

“I want all of our students to be engaged with school and attached while involved in some sport, club or activity,” Activities Director Scott Harris said. “I know our students have had some great success playing hockey, and we try to do what we can to support all of our students, but, unfortunately, rules and guidelines do not allow clubs that are not school sponsored the same exposure and coverage that school sponsored teams and clubs receive.”

With the lack of school funding for gear and ice time, the Spartans find themselves little fish in a big pond full of private schools that are happy to lavish money and time for their own sponsored teams.

“All of the private schools get sponsorships from the school and alumni, which allows for them to get new jerseys each year and more ice time throughout the season,” Coach Rocky Aliberti said. “Most private schools practice after school just like any other school sport. We have such good athletes that attend Howell Central that if we got to skate as much as the private

school teams, we would compete on their level every year. In turn, more athletes would be getting scholarships for hockey and would also advance in higher level teams, which allows to be seen by a lot more NCAA schools.”

And Coach Aliberti isn’t just blowing hot air when he talks about the ability of his players. Despite not being able to compete with the local private schools in gear quality or ice time, the club still laid claim to the 2011 Challenge Cup title game against CBC at the Scottrade Center with a 7-2 upset. The Spartans won the Cup for the first time, compared to CBC’s 11 championship wins.

“We won the championship, and we weren’t even allowed to announce it on the intercom,” junior Andy Moats said. “That’s pretty pitiful.”

Senior Matt Soderstrom isn’t very pleased about the lack of recognition by the school and faculty.

“It stinks when we can’t get our games announced or our wins reported. It’s not like it’s a really big deal or anything, but it would be nice to have some awareness of our hard work,” Soderstrom said.

Of course, for the players, the fans are the most important thing, and having a healthy amount of Spartan love at their games can make all the difference.

“Those games are the best games,” Moats said. “It’s a truly awesome feeling; the atmosphere is a lot more fun. You want to score the big hit, or score the nice, pretty goal. You want to give the fans a show.”

So why isn’t hockey a school sponsored sport? It seemed like the only consensus among the players and coaches is that there isn’t really a consensus.

“Hockey isn’t recognized as a school-sanctioned sport because the athletes have to pay to play,” Coach Aliberti said. “Hockey is an expensive sport, and the high schools do not want to pick up the cost for ice time and equipment.”

Moats agrees money probably played a factor in the decision not to sanction hockey, but thinks the problem also lies elsewhere.

“Of course it can be very expensive, but I think it also has to do with the fact that hockey really isn’t that popular outside of the St. Louis area,” Moats said.

Soderstrom concurred with Moats and offered yet another explanation.

“I think hockey isn’t sponsored because it’s simply a really physical sport, and injuries do happen, which none of the schools want to have to deal with,” Soderstrom said.

Coach Harris, on the other hand, says hockey isn’t a school recognized sport simply because hockey isn’t a MSHSAA recognized sport.

“It is not a school sport because it is not sponsored by our governing body, the Missouri State High School Activities Association,” Coach Harris said. “The district, on advice from the school attorney, made the decision several years ago to not affiliate itself with ‘non-school’ teams for liability reasons.”

The line of answers stretched from players to coaches to Mr. Harris and finally led to MSHSAA. “Hockey is one of the sports that just hasn’t gone down the path of being accepted as a MSHSAA recognized sport,” the communications director at MSHSAA, Jason West, said. “The feedback we’ve gotten is that the teams

like being a club sport. There are certain regulations that have to be followed for sponsored sports, like academic records, season length, and the number of games per season that the teams don’t have to deal with as a club sport.”

Beside the independence that comes with being separate from the school, Mr. West also explained the process necessary for a sport to become “MSHSAA approved.”

“In order for hockey to be a MSHSAA recognized sport, there has to be at least 50 schools across the state that register for that school for two consecutive years.

I don’t believe that the sport has gained that popularity yet. The annual ballot brought in four emerging sports: bass fishing, chess, bowling and shooting sports, and not even those four have gotten enough schools signed up to remove the emerging sport. Hockey is popular in St. Louis, and really only St. Louis,” Mr. West.

Despite this, Coach Alberti said sponsorship by the state and school that would be welcomed and appreciated by the club members.

“We would love to see school sponsorship,” Coach Aliberti said. “I have some great boys on my squad. Some very, very talented players that if I had some better avenues to advance these guys to college teams and junior level teams, you would see about half of our teams every year playing college hockey. But most people do not know that because it is not recognized by the school. Our student athlete accomplishments are not allowed to be displayed at school to their peers, and that is not right in my opinion.”

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Moving Forward

By Alex Buhse

A

sweat editor

s students continue their athletic careers, they progress throughout their years gaining experience and increasing skill, building upon they base they have established. Within the few of those athletes who do achieve great levels of success, there comes another big step in the sporting process: recruitment for college. The following are perspectives from recruited athletes of their experience while in the recruiting process.

eing recruited for his performance in varsity football, senior Brendan Sullivan will attend Lindenwood University to continue to play football. Sullivan was approached by Lindenwood’s defensive line coach Austin Bortle.

“The first time [Mr. Bortle] contacted me was through a text over summer,” said Sullivan. “First, he said they watched my film from junior year and that they were interested in me, so he just kept in contact with me throughout the year.”

For Sullivan, the process included not only being scouted by coaches, but also doing things on his own to get noticed.

“I had to keep my highlight film updated, constantly keep in touch and email these places and give them my film,” “You just always had be on top of everything, because if you weren’t on top of it they could pass you up.”

Along with doing his own part to make sure he was spotted, Sullivan also had help from head football coach Todd Berck. According to Sullivan, Coach Berck helped play a role in getting noticed by football coaches. “[Coach Berck] talked to some of the coaches and let me know if they were interested in me sometimes,” said Sullivan. “I remember when I was a sophomore or junior, whenever different coaches would come in, he would have

Brendan Sullivan recruited by Lindenwood University

me come down and talk to them, things like that.”

After coming into contact with Coach Bortle, Sullivan was offered a full scholarship to play Division II football at Lindenwood. Sullivan then went on an official visit to Lindenwood University to check out the campus and to help him come to a decision on the offer. According

recruited by Lindenwood University 12}

sweat | february 21, 2014

photo by Zach Grau

R

Troy Newell

photo by Zach Grau

B

to Sullivan, the campus tour was very luxurious, and the campus itself was very impressive.

“For the official visits, they provide everything and pay for everything, and you only get five official visits. For the out of town guests, they pay for their hotel room at the Embassy Suites because it’s right next to Lindenwood, and they payed for our lunches, they provided lunches and dinner and everything,” Sullivan said. “All of their facilities were so nice. [Before the tour], I hadn’t seen the whole campus, so when I saw it I was really surprised with how up to date everything was, especially their football stuff.”

As stated by Sullivan, the offer was too good to refuse.

“Out of the three visits I set up, Lindenwood was my first visit, and I really just fell in love with it right away. Going into Lindenwood, I did not think I was going to be for sure going there at all, but I just liked it, and it was too good of a deal to pass up because it might not have been there a week later, so I just had to take it.”

Looking back on the process, Sullivan said the recruiting system as a whole was strenuous, but rewarding.

“It’s pretty stressful overall because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Sullivan said. “It’s a long process, but fun. It’s definitely something that’s fun.”

ecruited for his performance as a pitcher, senior Troy Newell was approached

by Lindenwood University’s pitching coach Nathan Beuster to play baseball for the college’s team. “[Coach Beuster] emailed me a couple times and went and saw me at showcases. He ended up getting my phone number, and we would text and call each other,” Newell said.

“He would call me for the most part; I couldn’t really call him because it was against the rules until a certain date. At one point after a couple games, he called me and wanted me to come on campus for a visit, and that’s when I got my offer.”

Newell was offered a full scholarship to play at the university. Newell notes that a big part of his success in getting noticed was due to the help of head baseball coach Ray Howard.

“During last year, my junior season of baseball, [Coach Howard] actually played a big role in helping me get recruited,” Newell said.

“He’d email a lot of coaches, he already knew a bunch of people to contact because his son Ryan [Howard] was recruited the previous year. He’d call them and have them come out to my games, so that was a big part.”

In contrast to Sullivan with his duties to get

noticed by recruiters, Newell stated he had few things to do on his own to get noticed.

“They took care of mostly everything, I just kind of went along with it,” Newell said. “They really didn’t make me do much of anything at all.”

After receiving the call to come on a campus tour, Newell traveled to Lindenwood to check out the campus and received his offer for a scholarship there. According to Newell, the campus tour was very informing and interesting. “[The campus tour] was really fun. The pitching coach took my family and I around the campus on a golf court, and we went and looked at all of their different facilities,” Newell said. “He showed us buildings, all of their sports facilities, took me through all of their cafeterias and study halls, and took me everywhere you would want to go.”

In retrospect, Newell’s feelings about the recruiting procedure and what it entailed were bittersweet.

“I’m happy it’s over, it’s definitely stressful during it. Just knowing that you’re finally done with it is really good,” Newell said. “It’s definitely fun and stressful at the same time because you want to see where you’re going to go, but at the same time you just want to get it over with.”

Rec league offers way to reconnect Local students use soccer league at Vetta to have fun, play sports from childhood

By Tyler Tran

Caitlyn Eddy

recruited by University of Arkansas-Little Rock

R

ecognized for her abilities playing center mid for her soccer team, junior Caitlyn Eddy has earned a scholarship to University of Arkansas - Little Rock, paying for everything but her books. She was discovered by head women’s soccer coach Adrian Blewitt.

“We were playing in a tournament - it was a local tournament - and he had talked to my coach and then emailed me, asking me to come visit the campus and that they were interested [in me],” Eddy said. “So we set up a visit and I liked the school.”

As with Sullivan and Newell, Eddy’s club soccer coach Meghan Meyer also played a role in helping her get recruited. According to Eddy, Coach Meyer helped put in a good word for her with Blewitt. “[Coach Meyer] talked to [Coach Blewitt], and talked with him about how I play because he had only seen me play three times,” Eddy said.

“She gave him extra information about me as a person.”

After receiving the email, Eddy traveled to the university to go on a campus tour and to talk with Blewitt about attending the school.

“We set up a visit, and I went down

to visit the school. He took me on a campus tour and I had lunch with some of the players just so I could get to know the players if I went there,” Eddy said. “We just kind of talked it over and then he gave me some time to decide.”

To describe the recruiting process, Eddy stated it required constant focus and attention.

“You are interested in a lot of schools that you don’t know are interested in you or not, and for awhile they can’t email you, and by the time they can email you, if you’re not talking to somebody already, you don’t have [any offers] left.” Eddy said.

Despite the stress and attention it required, Eddy still remains content with her final decision on what college to attend, even though it wasn’t her first choice on her list of places to attend.

“At first when I heard about it I was kind of skeptical because I didn’t really know anything about the school or if they had what I wanted, and I was already talking with a couple other schools I was leaning towards,” Eddy said. “It was kind of a shock that I picked it, but I’m happy with it.”

photo by Zach Grau

staff reporter

By day, local soccer arena Vetta Sports is a place for young soccer players to hone their skills and play in fun recreational games. But by night, the fields become a theatre of war where local students battle it out for bragging rights. For P.J. Brown Town, it all began as a way to alleviate the boredom of the winter months.

“It’s a ton of fun, and it’s really just something for me to do during the winter because I don’t play any sports during the winter,” said senior forward P.J. Brown, founder of P.J. Brown Town.

For others, the league is a place where they can reconnect with their roots in soccer, like the team The Flames. The majority of the team had played together in elementary school at a local parish, and they reunited two years ago for fun and for the spirit of competition.

Retirement could be in the near future for the Flames, so this season the team is trying to make it count.

“It’s just fun to be with old friends playing a sport that’s sentimental to all of us,” senior defender Ryan Schindler said.

Another team that has entered the league to rekindle their love for soccer is Dirty Beech and the Boyz, named after founder and goalie junior David Beecher.

“I love to play soccer, but I couldn’t because it took too much time away from baseball, so being able to go out there and get the recreational part that I love without the stressful part of the sport is a really good substitution,” Beecher said.

The team started out 3-0, facing no real competition until game four against the renowned Mexican Mafia, who had just beaten their rivals The Flames a week before. The game started out as a stalemate, with both teams unable to score for 20 minutes. But as the game progressed, things began to click for

the Boyz, and by the end of the game, the team had scored seven goals while shutting out their opponents and shutting up their doubters.

These fast paced games have garnered some fans as well, such as seniors Madison Grumich and Alexandra Behlmann.

“It’s like going to one of the football or basketball games, and it’s really fun to watch them goof around and try to play soccer,” Grumich said.

Behlmann, on the other hand, serves as mom/cheerleader for P.J. Brown Town, going to games to cheer on her friends but also keep them in line.

“I go to support my friends and to stop them from fighting the other team,” Behlmann said.

Games are often very competitive and can get physical quickly. Tensions are often high, and it’s not uncommon for fights to break out between players or even entire teams. All this, however, is just a part of the experience, according to junior forward Jack Koehler.

“There’s nothing better than just flattening a kid against the wall,” Koehler said.

At the end of the day, however, players say the league is just about getting together with friends, having a good time, and making memories.

“One time halfway through the game, we started playing football with the other team using the soccer ball as a football.

The ref was cool with it, so for the rest of the time we just played a good old game of football,” Brown said.

And when the clock hits zero, the competitiveness between teams fades into friendship.

“After a game we usually all go out and get something to eat, sometimes with the other team. When it’s all said and done, we’re all best buds just trying to have fun,” senior forward Jake Plevnic said.

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T

he

Millennial

Generation

is

loosely defined as people born between

the

early

1980s

and

2000s. Only one of a multitude

of names given to this group, the Millennials have come to be known as Generation We, Global the

Net

Generation, Generation.

Generation In

generation

Next,

addition

names,

our

has

as

technology-dependent,

to

been

and these

pegged

narcissistic,

connected, and self-absorbed. While there is some degree of truth in all of these labels, we seek to prove or disprove the identity given to our generation, to us.

14 }

in focus | february 21, 2014

Finding time for

FAMILY

In spite of heavy load and hectic schedules, students make time in their schedules for their families

As he adjusts his DECA name badge, Sean Earl prepares for the practice competition the business department held in the library in November. Earl works 28 hours per week and is actively involved in five after school clubs and organizations.

By Jessica Mugler

M

copy editor

any high schoolers, such as senior Sean Earl, struggle to find time to maintain extracurricular activities and clubs, a job, homework and sleep on top of school time.

Those who find time to spend wit h family are rare. While college competition is fierce and school involvement is encouraged more than ever, it seems that busyness has become an ordinary part of students’ lives, and family time has become virtually obsolete.

Earl, who runs varsity track in addition to being DECA president, Student Council vice president, Arete committee member, NHS member and McDonald’s manager, works an average of 28 hours a week. These engagements force him to spend much of his time away from home.

“I am not at home that often, and when I am, I sleep,” Earl said. “My family is a pretty busy one, so family time is usually scheduled.”

Junior Lauren Nosal’s time is divided between playing varsity soccer, basketball and club soccer, refereeing soccer, volunteering at an animal shelter, being a DECA officer and working at Freddy’s (yearround) and Cottleville Wine Seller (all seasons except winter) about 20 hours a week. “[Being involved in these activities] definitely takes away from my family time, but being the youngest, and all my siblings have graduated college, makes it a little easier,” Nosal said. “We all are going in a million different directions.”

This active family makes an effort to stay in touch with each other. According to Nosal, her family understands her hectic schedule

thanks to her siblings, but she would still like to have more time to spend with them. “[If I were not as involved], I would absolutely spend more time with my family,” Nosal said.

“They are all such great inspirations and would love to have the time.”

Earl also comes from a family who is always on-the-go. Although they would like more time with him, they understand his commitments.

“My family is proud of all my accomplishments, especially those with DECA and getting employee of the year at work,” Earl said. “They would love for me to be home more, but they are busy people themselves, so it’s not as relevant.”

Parents themselves are often torn between a longing of family time and the knowledge that extracurriculars will help their child on a college application. Mrs. Danna Tedder, a Mathematics teacher at FHC, has experienced this first-hand as a parent of two FHC alumni and one current FHC student. Her kids have been involved in soccer, football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, Principal’s Council, NHS and Fellowship of Christian Athletes while in school, leaving little time to spend with family.

“When they’re not in activities, they try to be at home,” Mrs. Tedder said. “We try to make time as a family to spend on the weekend.”

Mrs. Tedder encourages her kids’ involvement and would not want them to give up any of their activities. Although she enjoys family time, she sees the value in being involved.

“I think it’s really important that they are active,” Mrs. Tedder said. “As much as I like having them around, I know that the more activities they’re involved in, the better they

do in school.”

To stay involved in their kids’ activities, Mrs. Tedder and her husband attend their sons’ games. Nosal shares this parental involvement, as her family also makes an effort to watch her play.

“My family has always supported everything I do and often take time out of their day to visit me at work or come to a game,” Nosal said.

“The best thing is to look up in the stands and see them supporting me.”

While trying to balance an active life with school and family time, students must find priorities and try to balance time accordingly.

Earl makes attending church at least once a week his top priority and then finds time for his other activities.

“I try to stay focused on getting my school work done and not get caught behind, which can be easy,” Earl said. “Then I try to balance all my activities as even as possible. Family time is a rare thing.”

Nosal ranks schoolwork first in her life. She values the time she spends with her family but knows that they support her involvement.

“School is most important, but my family is all more than willing to help me with difficult homework assignments,” Nosal said. “I spend a lot of time with family, but they understand that I work and play.”

A bustling, hustling lifestyle is not fit for everyone. Though it is not impossible for families to still spend time together, this family time is often sacrificed for preoccupation when high schoolers are engaged in more extracurriculars and out-of-school activities.

This phenomenon is becoming more and more prevalent as involvement continues to be pushed upon the millennial generation.

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“I WANT THEM TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THEM TO BETTER THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE REAL WORLD.” -MR. BECKMANN Go to FHCtoday.com to read Claire Richardson’s story on the benefits of being plugged into the world through technology.

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in focus | february 21, 2014

Electronic communication builds

BARRIERS While providing more opportunities, technology can make relationships less personal.

By Erin Schroeder print executive editor

Epic love stories have captivated audiences for centuries, and the overwhelming majority of them include the same ingredient: a reunion, a reconciliation, usually some sort of “making up” between the characters.

Another common thread: these scenarios, even in “You’ve Got Mail,” happen in person.

For those in the connected generation, and those following their lead, more and more of the interactions between people are either spoken on the phone, sent via text, or held on social media. These new mediums of communication offer more opportunities to build relationships, and some, like senior Emileigh Wiegert, believe that while this new way of getting to know others is relatively new, it isn’t altogether bad.

“I think that’s how relationships are started, through technology, because people don’t have the guts to say it in person, so they talk over Facebook or text,” Wiegert said. “I think it’s good, because you’ll say things you wouldn’t normally say in public, and that’s what girls get excited for.”

Although people are apt to say more of what they feel when communicating electronically, emotions sometimes get lost in pixels and text messages, and gestures can seem less sincere. Wiegert thinks while technology offers more chances to grow relationships, people tend to hide behind it. “[Talking electronically is] definitely not as manly; guys need to step up and say things

in person. I think there was a lot of of missed opportunities [in our parents’ time], but I think men were also more gentleman-like, so I think it’s better for men, but worse for women.

There is a bad side to that, because people are a lot more protected behind a keyboard than they are in person, and they say things they wouldn’t normally say,” Wiegert said.

In addition to the moments and gestures being lost with more and more communication happening electronically, it often leads to misunderstandings when intentions aren’t effectively conveyed. According to freshman Taylor Fawcett, when emotions are misread in a text, it can lead to arguments and discord.

“I think sometimes it can cause confusion, because when you’re reading, you can’t use the tone of your voice, and you can’t really use sarcasm,” Fawcett said. “I think there might be more arguments now because people might think that it’s literal.”

The effects of technology and the strain that it can have on relationships is especially evident to Mrs. Linda Palmer, who compares it to the way disagreements were handled when she was in high school. s“It was quite different since we didn’t have cell phones. We had to actually drive to their house and knock on their door. Honestly, I think it was better,” Mrs. Palmer said. “If I was in a fight with one of my friends, I had to drive to their house, which usually changed my temper. Now, things are said that aren’t really meant because it’s so easy to pick up a phone and send a text.”

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Misconstrued millenial

MOTIVATION

Notion students are lazy has been around forever

T

Senior Shashank Nedungadi engages in the class discussion during 6th hour AP Chemistry.

Nedungadi dedicates himself to hard work in school and learning all he can.

PASSION pushes these kids to work for issues they care about

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in focus | february 21, 2014

By Alex Buhse sweat editor

he myth that today’s generation of students are less academically motivated now than the past generations is one that has been often spouted off by older generations. While some may believe this, the myth just doesn’t hold true; students today still have a drive to do well academically. Disputing this false allegation, Principal Sonny Arnel claims that student work ethic hasn’t changed since he was in school.

“I had some friends that worked very hard academically and some friends that blew school off, [and] I see that here,” Dr. Arnel said. “We have a lot of incredibly gifted students that work very hard, grades are very important to them, academics are very important to them, [and] we have some kids who come for the social aspects, but I don’t know if it’s very different.”

Arnel isn’t the only adult that believes there really hasn’t been much of a change from then to now. Confirming Arnel’s described

By Maddie Newton

multimedia executive editor

After an 18 hour bus ride to the nation’s capital, seniors Erik Reese, Evan Dwyer and Joe Muich, along with junior Jake Baumgartner, arrived to march against abortion.

Their passion for this issue drove them to fight for their beliefs in hopes to make a difference.

These young men displayed their dedication to this issue, and they are an example of students who are passionate and willing to stand for their beliefs. Not only are they educated about these political topics, but they are motivated to fight for a change.

One area in which teens are said to be ignorant is politics. While young people have only experienced a few

variety of students from generation to generation, Art teacher Ms. Lisa Milos depicted how there has always been a range of motivated students.

“I think there is a range of students who work and who don’t work hard, and I’m sure that range existed when I was in school as well,” Ms. Milos said. “I would say there is a range [now], and [that] there was a range.”

The stereotype, Dr. Arnel believes, is due largely to the advances in technology that have allowed students to do things easier, which has lead to a perceived appearance of laziness. Dr. Arnel described the differences in technology between today’s generation and his generation.

“It used to be, to do something you had to work very hard to achieve it; now we can do so many things now because of technology that you don’t have to work as hard to get the same result,” Dr. Arnel said. “Just writing a paper [now], you can type it, save it, and go back later and make changes; when I was in high school, you had to type a paper on paper, and when you had to make changes you had to

presidents in their lifetime, it does not limit their ability to create an opinion.

Many assume ignorance based on age and experience. They fail to recognize the true knowledge these teenagers have acquired through their passion and beliefs.

Marches and events have become popular among the youth as today’s government and policies are constantly changing. Reese explains he has been influenced by his family and religion, but he has chosen to defend these beliefs as his own. “[The march] sounded fun, and it sounded really interesting,” Reese said. “It’s how I’ve been raised to think that way. We have had some recent births in my family, and that’s just how we’ve always been. Abortion is just

retype the whole thing, because you couldn’t save it to a computer and just go and edit it.”

Dr. Arnel went on to explain that this ease of school work due to technology was what really formed the foundation of the stereotype.

“Just that is less work; if you wrote a ten-page paper and had to add a paragraph, you had to shift everything, you had to retype it basically,” Dr. Arnel said. “So that appearance is, by appearance, that you don’t work as hard [now] to get the same result.”

Despite the appearance,however, Dr. Arnel pointed out that it may be unreasonable to have negative assumptions about today’s generation because of the impact of the advancements in technology. Dr. Arnel questioned whether it was all right to assume that students have a weaker work ethic because of technology.

“Now is that fair? It’s debatable,” Dr. Arnel said. “I mean, is it fair to say that we worked harder than our students now? I don’t know if that’s fair; you’re using the advantages of technology, and the appearance is

not even an option.”

Reese chose to advocate for this cause because he feels this is important in society and many, unlike him and his friends, are uneducated.

This march was a way for Reese to express his feelings in a way that would reveal what he believes to be true.

“There are a lot of misconceptions.

A lot of people think it’s against the power of women to fight against abortion because they should be able to choose that. It’s life that you’re taking away, whatever the situation is,” Reese said.

Not only are students becoming more educated, but they have developed a sense of their own views and opinions. Senior Abby Rigdon-

“

It used to be, to do something you had to work very hard to achieve it; now we can do so many things now because of technology that you don’t have to work as hard to get the same result.

— Dr. Sonny Arnel, principal

that it’s easier.”

Regardless of the advantages over the older generations with technology, students now across all levels of classes still work hard to achieve a good academic status.

Among these students is senior Shashank Nedungadi, a student with six AP classes and one honors class, who takes his academics as seriously as he can. Nedungadi described his motivation to do well in school to better himself.

“I really want to do well and be successful in my career and just want to be prepared for when I go to college,” Nedungadi said. “I feel like if I let myself slack off or put forth a lower standard that I won’t be as happy as I might be with myself or my future.

I won’t be happy with how it is and might regret something later on, so I always try to work as hard as I can.”

Even on a non-honors level, students still strive to do the best they can. A prime example of this is senior James Hurley, a student with one honors class and six nonhonors classes. Hurley looks at academics as something he needs and should be able to excel at.

“I have high standards for myself.

I feel like I need to get good grades, As and such,” Hurley said. “As are

the top you can get, and I want anything that can get my GPA up.

It’s high school, so I should definitely be able to get As in my classes.”

Just looking at the responses from both Nedungadi and Hurley, it can be seen that having high standards and striving for success have become a necessity for today’s society, rather than being satisfied with average success. Ms. Milos described how a lot of these high standards have been due in part from the pressure of colleges wanting the best students they can receive.

“If you’re applying to a university, anything below a 3.0 [GPA] is considered less advantageous, less optimum,” Ms. Milos said. “So if you’re getting grades that are below a 3.0 [GPA], a university doesn’t see it as favorable.”

Dr. Arnel explained more reasoning behind this increased need for success and achievement.

“I think it’s because our society forever has always dictated what we felt about grades on a curve, the curve being the bell curve. You always had few As, few Fs, a lot of Cs, and a few Bs, so everyone wanted to be in that A and B group,” Dr. Arnel said. “People always wanted to be in that elite group,

Featherston is one example of a student who has very strong political opinions.

“I don’t think it’s right to tell someone what they can and can’t do. Since our government was founded on the idea that all men are created equal, I think it’s important that we really follow through with that, and I don’t think we do,” Rigdon-Featherston said.

In order to establish a country that follows through with the idea that all men are created equal, RigdonFeatherston feels speaking out will allow young people to get their opinions in the public and begin changing the world.

“I think it’s important to have strong feelings because if you

don’t, then maybe nobody else will, and somebody has to stand up for what they believe in or nothing is ever going to get done,” RigdonFeatherston said. “I think by being outspoken about your beliefs and letting everyone know that you care and don’t let anybody question it.”

Reese, along with RigdonFeatherston, understands the importance of being vocal about beliefs and feels that the youth has embraced this by supporting causes and political issues. The root of the stereotype comes from the teenagers are apathetic and neglects those who do care, according to Reese.

“I actually think kids care a lot more than some people because

so that A and B view has become that’s what you need to have [now].

That’s sort of stayed in our society because, as a parent, you want your child to be the best.”

Both Hurley and Nedungadi can confirm this influence from parents to be the best they can possibly be.

Both claim a lot of their drive has been fueled from the encouragement of their parents. Nedungadi described how his dedication to working hard was instilled in him at a young age by his parents.

“They helped get me to a start of hard work and high standards,” Nedungadi said. “They always pushed me and made me put in the extra work and it’s paid off in the end.”

Just as Nedungadi had experienced, Hurley’s parents had a major impact on his need to academically prosper. Hurley described his motivation from his parents as a need to move up from his parents’ place in life.

“My parents have always told me to work hard. My dad was never a straight A student or anything, so he always influenced my brother and I to get good grades so we wouldn’t end up with a bad job or anything,” Hurley said. “He wanted us to turn out better than him.”

the youth gets up and does something, like the retreats that you see everywhere and the 5ks and stuff like that. It always seems to be the younger generation,” Reese said.

In order to avoid this stereotype, the youth not only needs to become educated but simply needs to realize what kind of impact they have on the world, according to Williams.

“It’s affecting their lives directly.

It’s happening all around us, and if you don’t know more about it, how can you have an opinion on it. Your opinion does matter today, and if you’re not educated about it, then the right choices aren’t going to be made,” Williams said.

Senior James Hurley carefully sculpts his art project. Hurley works hard to maintain good grades and a high GPA.

Students traveled to Washington D.C. at the end of January to protest abortion in front of the capital. This shows the dedication of students to their country and being active citizens.

fhctoday.com | in focus

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WHIRLWIND still on sale!

Yearbooks are on sale until May 1! Make sure you get your copy of the 2013-14 yearbook to relive all the amazing, crazy things that have happened during this school year.

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advertisements | february 21, 2014

{the scene} Everyone’s loving

Disney

Success of ‘Frozen’ has reinvigorated

By Hannah Beckmann

F

staff reporter

or many students, Walt Disney is more like a childhood friend, than a simple founder of a company.

For freshman Mackenzie Morris, this is most certainly the case.

“I used to watch Disney movies at least every weekend as a child, but I find myself now watching more Disney than ever before,” Morris said.

There is something about Disney movies that keeps audiences of all ages continuously watching. Stress only seems to increase as kids grow up and more and more responsibility is thrust upon them, but childhood favorites never seem to change.

“Teenagers can be really afraid of growing up, and they like to have something that can make them feel young again or bring back good memories of childhood,” senior Chloe Udell said.

Disney movies seem to be targeted more towards children than adults.

They often tell the story of familiar fairy tales, and are advertised with family friendly animation, like “Cinderella” and “Tangled.” Some teenagers like the childish tone of the movies, and that keeps them coming back.

“They remind me of childhood, and I like the wholesome goodness of it,” senior Melissa Albers said. “The songs are catchy, and they give me a good, hopeful feeling.”

However, hidden just below the surface of these family flicks, there is a company that may not be as

flailing movie studio

wholesome as it claims to be. Part of the reason Disney is so popular is because of its ability to appeal to a wide range of audiences, including adults. Though their movies may be targeted towards kids, there is an element of Disney that appeals to adults.

“Disney movies have a ton of inappropriate jokes snuck in for the older people,” Udell said.

Most of the Disney movies that high school students grew up with came from what is often referred to as “The Disney Renaissance.” This time period covers classics like “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” and “The Little Mermaid.”

After this golden age of Disney, the company went through a bit of a creative dry period, with very few movies released, and even fewer getting the praise that previous movies had received.

In 2009, Disney began its great revival with “The Princess and the Frog.”

Movies released during this period are highly acclaimed, like “Tangled” and “Wreck it Ralph.”

Many doubted that Disney would be able to top these box office hits, but in Nov. 2013, Disney released its latest movie “Frozen.”

Since its release, “Frozen” has repeatedly proved why Disney

is at the top of the movie food chain.

It has spent week after week in the number one spot at the Box Office.

Its soundtrack beat out Beyonce to be on top of the iTunes charts. It is so successful that Disney has released plans for both a sequel and Broadway musical.

The reason for the success of “Frozen” is not clearly defined, but senior Will Distl believes it may come from a variety of sources. “‘Frozen’ was very different than past movies; it had good messages, the animation was top notch, and the music was beautiful,” Distl said.

Others, like Udell, found its success in the movie’s characters, particularly Queen Elsa.

“I liked that Elsa didn’t need a prince to be happy,” Udell said.

“And it was super cool that she had powers.”

“Frozen” is simply another example of Disney’s ability to make movies that audiences of all ages can enjoy, and proving that Disney is one childhood friend t h a t won’t leave once you enter high school.

fhctoday.com | the scene

21

playlist “Love is in the air” Even though Valentine’s Day was last week, cupid’s spell is still in the air. Get in the spirit of love with some romantic jams.

by Brayden Densmore

“Burning Love”

by Elvis Presley

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Bring a fire extinguisher because things are about to get hot.

“Fly Me To The Moon”

by Frank Sinatra A classic love song perfect for serenading the Marilyn Monroe in your life.

“Heartless”

by Kanye West Kanye showcases his sensitive side. Even gods have feelings.

“Let’s Stay Together”

by Al Green Don’t be a square daddy-o.

“Love Game”

by Eminem and Kendrick Lamar

Don’t hate the player; hate the game.

“Love Song” by 311

Short, sweet, and to the point. The name says it all.

“That’s Amore”

by Dean Martin Two birds with one stone; incentive to grab your girl and learn Italian.

“Touch Me”

by The Doors

K.A.H.F.O.O.T.Y.

“Why I Love You”

by Kanye West and Jay Z What Kanye asks himself when looking in the mirror every morning.

“Your Body Is A Wonderland”

by John Mayer Lovey, dovey, classic; yeah, he’s talking about you. yeah. seriously.

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the scene | february 21, 2014

From paperback to box office

With the new year already in play, there are many novels to be read and movies to be seen.

Kennedy Meyer staff reporter

Do you remember the last time you were so invested in a book that nothing else, other than the contents of the book, mattered to you? It may be hard to dive into a good book what with all the stress of work and school you might be carrying, but 2014 is a good year to get started. Book after book will be coming out in movie theatres this year, and it would benefit you to read them before they hit the box office. Freshman Lily Hoesel has read the “Divergent” trilogy, written by novelist Veronica Roth, a highly anticipated series.

“Everyone has to take a test when they turn 16 to decide which faction they belong in and [Beatrice Prior] realized she was divergent, meaning she didn’t really belong to one faction, she could go into any of them,” said Hoesel. “Being divergent is dangerous.”

With the movie coming out soon, there has been a lot of talk about how the trilogy “The Hunger Games” is quite similar to “Divergent,” and, although Hoesel agrees, there is something different about the two.

“It is like The Hunger Games, like how it is all dystopian society,” said Hoesel.

“As for the love story behind it, it’s different. I like the love story; I like how they have to take risks for each other.

Everyone thinks she’s so crazy, but she’s just crazy in love; it’s sweet.”

Another novel-turned-cinema coming out soon is “The Fault in Our Stars.”

This touching love story of two very sick people is definitely an eye-opener.

According to senior Abby RigdonFeatherston, it is an honest look into the lives of teenagers with cancer.

“Hazel is just a normal girl who thinks she’s nothing special,” said RigdonFeatherston. “Her parents are always very concerned about her health, so her mom kind of forces her to attend a cancer support group where she meets Augustus Waters. He basically sets out on a mission to prove to her that she is truly extraordinary.”

When reading a book primarily based on health conditions, one might start to wonder how much of it is true.

Rigdon-Featherston says that author John Green did a great job of telling an honest tale.

“It’s a story about cancer, and it doesn’t hold back in terms of honesty,” said Rigdon-Featherston. “I think it’s important that John Green didn’t sugar coat anything.”

With the movie coming out June 6, Rigdon-Featherston has prepared in every which way.

“I love the trailer,” said RigdonFeatherston. “I think it reveals just enough to generate interest without spoiling the story.”

Some prefer to see a movie before reading the book, but others prefer it the other way around. According to junior Sam Patton, it is important to read a novel before it hits theatres.

Reading something before visually seeing it being acted out allows you to create your own vision of the novel.

“Of course I think it’s important!” said Patton. “I never go see a movie without reading the book first. It’s important because then you get more detail and understand what it’s all about, so then when you go see the movie, you know what’s going to happen and can compare the book and the movie!”

Rigdon-Featherston has a slightly different view on the topic, although both students are on the same side of the spectrum.

“Movies sometimes leave a lot out, so if you read the book first, you’re getting the exact story the author wanted to tell rather than an adaptation of the story.”

To some, like senior Cory Mercurio, it makes no difference one way or another.

“It doesn’t matter, because it’s always different,” said Mercurio. “I saw the movie ‘Fight Club’ before I read the book, and the book had a different ending. It doesn’t really make a difference.”

With many, many books hitting the box offices this year, it may seem overwhelming to read all of them before grabbing a seat at the theatre, digging into some popcorn and feasting your eyes on something you once could only imagine. Keep your head held high and open the cover of the book of your choice, and enjoy the ride.

“

I feel like it’ll be one of those movies that you either like it or you don’t really care for it. Because the book was so good that the movie has to live up to the expectations.

Cory Mercurio {senior

More popular reads: 1. “Labor Day” by Joyce Maynard 2. “The Monuments Men” by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Wittera

3. “Vampire Academy” by Richelle Mead 4. “Winter’s Tale” by Mark Helprin 5. “A Long Way Down” by Nick Hornby 6. “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare 7. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak 8. “The Hundred-Foot Journey” by Richard C. Morais

9. “The Giver” by Lois Lowry 10. “Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn 11. “This Is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper

“

12. “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner 13. “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn 14. “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand 15. “Serena” by Ron Rash

Some say Divergent is just a cheap knock off of The Hunger Games but I don’t think so, I think it’s worth reading.

Lily Hoesel {freshman

fhctoday.com | the scene

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Meet Central Harmony FHC starts an all girls a capella group

Photo by Caitlyn Sanders

Ms. Elisabeth Baird instructs the girls of Central Harmony, and the girls respond during rehearsal. The a capella group was started at the request of several of Ms. Baird’s students and has already performed one concert.

By Madison Viola staff reporter

FHC has finally implemented an all girls a capella group. “I always thought it would be really cool to have an a capella group, but I didn’t push it. Then ‘Pitch Perfect’ came out, and I guess it sparked an interest in others,” junior Kara Hubecky said.

It was Hubecky who pushed Ms. Elisabeth Baird to start the a capella group.

“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while but haven’t had the time for. This year, I just made it a priority. Kids have been wanting to do it since I first came here three years ago, and it was just time to do it,” Ms. Baird said.

“Ms. Baird wasn’t sure if she could do it

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the scene | february 21, 2014

because of her schedule. She and I found a way to work around her schedule,” Hubecky said.

Hubecky is named the president of the Central Harmony since she had the idea for it.

No audition is needed to be in the a capella group. Though signups are closed for the semester.

Central Harmony began in the beginning of second quarter. They meet after school on Fridays for 20-45 minutes.

The a capella group rounded out to 35 members first semester. Not all of them are in choir, either. Junior Michayla Pordea is one of the girls who joined in the first week that it started.

“I joined because I really like music and

thought it was a cool idea that we could do after school, especially since it involved all girls,” Pordea said.

Central Harmony sings everything from classical songs to pop songs. Ms. Baird and Hubecky are the ones who select the songs for the group.

The girls had their first performance at the winter choir concert.

“We sang ‘Tango to Avora,’ and we were going to perform a mash-up of songs from 2012, but we didn’t have enough time, so we will be performing that at the next concert,” Hubecky said.

Central Harmony only had six rehearsals before the concert.

“With the time that we had and having 35 members who weren’t all in choir, the

concert was a bit challenging, but it went well,” Ms. Baird said.

The group will be performing pop songs from ‘Pitch Perfect’ and a Disney princess medley along with a jazz a capella piece at the spring concert in May. Since this is the first a capella group at FHC, Ms. Baird wanted the group to be all girls in order to start off basic.

“A mixed group is more challenging. I might start a mixed a capella group in a few years when it’s more comfortable,” Ms. Baird said.

Ms. Baird has recently started a boys barbershop group, so the mixed a 0capella group could be in sight.

“The group all works together really well and they are very accepting. We all get along and make fun music,” Pordea said.

In the director’s chair Student-directed One Acts are a time for troupe members to show their true potential

By Olivia Biondo staff reporter

The student directed One Acts allow students the opportunity to express their directing and acting talents.

The One Acts were a series of four shows that occurred on Friday, Jan. 24, and Monday, Jan. 27. Each show lasted half an hour with about a five-minute break in between.

The One Acts have a much smaller cast compared to the normal musicals and plays the theater department puts on.

The most characters that are in a show is seven; with the cast being smaller, the audience is able to feel like they are more connected to the show.

“Just learning from someone their own age as opposed to me, you can learn from that,” said Ms. Michelle Moll, the producer of the shows.

“It was a very big responsibility, but it was a great experience,” senior Jessica Reid said.

The One Acts are very different compared to the normal plays and musicals. It is smaller, and the production tends to be closer knit.

“The stage is turned into the audience since less people have come before during One Acts,” said sophomore Samantha Taplin, who was a narrator in the show “Sort of Snow White.” “It’s a closer setting.”

The whole idea of the One Acts is to have students direct it. In order to achieve the role of director, students sent in scripts and the best were chosen.

The directors were Jessica Reid, Ashley Myers, Alexandria Lembeck, Madison Lembeck and Hailey Stephens. After being chosen as directors, they wrote scripts and watched others audition for roles and decided who they wanted in their shows.

“It’s all them,” said Ms. Moll. “There was maybe some mistakes, but because they were able to do it, they really learned from that.”

We’re lovin’ it Each month, members of the Spartan community will share what they are loving this month. From happenings at school to cool new tech to the best concerts, we’ll find the best things going on now.

Tyler Tran THING 1: Shia Labeouf’s latest piece is an art exhibit called #IAMSORRY, which allows fans an opportunity to sit in a room alone with an unresponsive, crying Shia LaBeouf. It’s pretty weird, but sorta artsy I guess.

THING 2: Boasting a star-studded cast, The Lego Movie is a movie for all ages filled with laughs and easter eggs satirizing our culture and popular movies of the past decade. It also has a pretty kickin’ soundtrack, my personal favorite being “Everything is Awesome” by the Lonely Island.

The five directors of the student-directed One Acts take the stage at the conclusion of the plays. These students wrote and directed their own short productions.

Due to the excessive amount of snow days, not many rehearsal days were available.

“I think it turned out very well considering the restraints we were under,” said Reid, referring to the snow days taking a week off their rehearsals. “The biggest problem was time.”

“It’s just not as close knit as plays or musicals; it’s still fun though,” said sophomore Katrina Krieg, who plays 817 in the show “The Girl Who Was Asked to Turn Blue.”

The audience fully has the chance to be involved with the

cast, as they sat on stage with the actors.

“We only have seating for about 150, so the audience is smaller,” said Krieg.

Although the student directed One Acts may be a smaller production, that does not mean that people will be any less interested in seeing them.

The FHC One Acts were an opportunity for the young actors and future directors to come together and create a show that was created to their own ability.

“I love getting to work in that role as director,” Reid said.

Claire Richardson

Katelyn Viola

THING 1: If you haven’t heard of Sugarfire Barbeque, you’re missing out! In addition to pulled pork that will make your mouth water, they have tons of options for sauces. With flavors like Honey Badger, Candy Apple and even Coffee, Sugarfire has a little something for everyone.

THING 2: Even though I’ve been a huge fan of the store Aerie for awhile, their recently launched #AerieREAL campaign has given me something new to love. Their vow to stop using super-models and Photoshop in ads boosts the self-esteem of young women everywhere and makes them a company I’m okay with supporting.

THING 1: The trend of strong female protagonists in a dystopian setting is taking off right now. I’m in the middle of reading “Divergent” by Veronica Roth, and I’m loving it. It’s a page turner that’s fast paced and an easy read but still interesting.

THING 2: I’m loving the Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant Mai Lee. Located in Brentwood, it started out as a family business. With a big portion of my family being Vietnamese, I get to eat there every once in awhile. I usually order pho tai, a beef and noodle soup, and spring rolls, but there’s a variety of delicious Asian cuisine.

fhctoday.com | the scene

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Snow stumps slumping students

By Madison Viola staff reporter

Just like many other students, senior Jocelyn Thro wakes up in the morning and thinks, ‘do I really need to be at school right now?’ She’s ready to get out of school, and she’s not trying any more due to lack of caring.

These are some of the major symptoms of the third quarter slump.

According to senior Roger Lewis and sophomore Kaleigh Zehnle, one of the factors of being in a slump is not getting enough sleep at night.

“I have to stay up late, but even when I do that, I‘m still not totally caught up with all the things I need to do, and I only have time to do what’s due the next day,” Zehnle said.

Lewis claims he only gets around two hours of sleep per night.

“Last semester, I tried to pay attention in class, but now I sleep at school,” Lewis said.

Math teacher Mr. Steven Le agrees that adjusting to a healthy sleep schedule is hard

after having a long winter break.

“Over Christmas break, students stay up at night, and they can sleep in. When they return to school, they don’t get much sleep because they haven’t adjusted to going to bed earlier. I struggle with it too; I’m not a morning person,” Mr. Le said.

Third quarter is a crucial time for students.

Students have to keep up with daily school work while preparing for the ACT, AP exams, and college forms and scholarships.

“It’s important for students to pay attention in class third quarter, especially in math. If you aren’t paying attention to what you’re supposed to be learning, it will affect fourth quarter because you build onto what you learned before,” Mr. Le said.

Along with the business of four honors classes, studio dance and the Sensations, Zehnle also has to find time to study for the ACT. “I’ve taken the ACT twice, but I feel like I need to take it more because I need to do

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the scene | february 21, 2014

really well on that, and that adds to the stress,” Zehnle said.

Lewis, however, is more worried about college than high school.

“Homework seems like a waste of time because I still get As and Bs without doing it. College is more stressful because it’s terrifying, and it’s a lot of money I have to pay by myself,” Lewis said.

Lewis has to work to pay his bills, but saves what he can for college.

Thro is one of the seniors who desperately wishes she graduated early.

“If I wasn’t in school, I could be working full time at my job and get help on moving up into the career I want to pursue,” Thro said.

Thro works at Shirt Kong and plans on being a printmaker.

“School wears me out. I could be out there living the dream, but instead I’m here living a nightmare,” Thro said. “Near the end of the semester, I’ll work my butt off so I don’t have bad grades on my final report card.”

Meanwhile, junior Dylan Gerding is still in the mindset of Winter Break.

“Due to all these snow days, it’s been hard to get back into the swing of school. It must be hard for the teachers to teach kids the material properly with such a fragmented and unpredictable schedule,” Gerding said.

According to Gerding, finals is another cause of the third quarter slump.

“I feel like the stress of finals last semester has worn me out little bit. It might take me a while to gain back the motivation for third quarter,” Gerding said.

Though finals are over for now, AP classes have been preparing students for the AP exams all year and the test dates will not move whether Francis Howell gets a load of snow days or not. The polar vortex is no excuse in the AP handbook.

“Missing days because of cold weather or snow won’t move back the AP exams. So I’m losing class time that could help me prepare for them,” Gerding said.

Ups and downs of immodesty

{be heard}

Cultural trends have shifted away from modesty, but it isn’t always a bad thing

I

remember it as clear as day.

My freshman year, I couldn’t drive yet, so my mom picked me up from Homecoming.

The first words she said to me once I got in the car really stuck with me. “I don’t understand how these girls are dressing nowadays.

I never would have dressed like that when I was your age,” she told me. It became a common refrain for her at any school event she came to. At first, I thought that she was being old-fashioned and judgemental, but as I’ve gotten older and developed my own sense of style, I’ve begun to understand her point. According to most adults, modesty wasn’t as controversial when they were teenagers because the types of clothes that are an issue now just weren’t around. If people wanted crop tops or short shorts, they had to cut them apart themselves. And the same goes for dance dresses. There were no low-cut, backless dresses full of cutouts in the stores, so it never became an issue.

But that is clearly no longer the case. Part of the reason our standards of modesty have changed are because we as a culture are becoming more accepting and open of things in general. We’ve moved away from a judgemental culture that sets limits on people to one that preaches personal freedom and individual choices.

To an extent, this has been a really positive shift.

Women and men have the rights that they deserve and the freedom to dress and behave how they want.

However, it has reached a point that some of what high school students wear is not conducive to a successful learning environment. And I’m not about to say that how women dress distracts men. Men should have enough self-control to behave themselves and focus no matter how the women around them are dressed. School should be a semi-professional atmosphere where the focus is not on gossip about what other students wear, but on learning, and this is not a gender-specific issue.

This is the argument that is often behind why private schools require uniforms for their students. While I don’t think that this issue needs to be addressed with measures that extreme, I do feel like something needs to be done.

No matter what age group is asked, the two most common reasons proposed for why people choose to dress immodestly are attention and rebellion. Both reasons are partially correct, but not in the ways that people assume.

Attention is normally the first word on someone’s lips when they see someone who dresses in a way

that they disagree with. How often do we glance at someone’s outfit and think, “Well, someone is looking for attention,” without any actual reason to believe so. However, the most common assumption is that people are looking for attention from the opposite sex.

This is not always the case. Sure, it happens sometimes, like any stereotype, but it’s hardly the main reason that people dress in ways that stand out.

The desire for attention is a natural human concept that doesn’t just have to do with impressing boys or looking good for the ladies.

A big part of our increasing desire for attention is societal pressure. Women (and men) feel the need to meet certain standards of appearance. And these expectations often include and measure of sex appeal. But when society almost requires a level of something, there will of course be people who go beyond that expectation to stand out.

But wanting attention for how you dress is not something that should be considered negative. It’s normal, and many people gain confidence from the way that they dress. If dressing aspecific way makes you feel better about yourself, than to an extent that’s a great thing. It’s only when the style of dress becomes unprofessional enough that more people are talking negatively about it than not that it really becomes an issue at schools.

The subject of rebellion in clothing styles is something very applicable, but not just to today’s teens. Almost everyones mom has a story about cutting holes in her jeans or cutting her shorts a little shorter than when she bought them. The whole idea was to push the limit of what was considered acceptable. Nowadays, the concept of “acceptable” is a lot broader and more inclusive than it was 20 years ago. And because of this, pushing boundaries is becoming more and more of an issue. It isn’t that teenagers are rebelling, though that sometimes is the case. The bigger problem is that society itself is rebelling by constantly pushing new boundaries, to the point where it’s almost impossible to find a plain pair of jeans with no rips or a skirt that reaches the knees anymore.

So is there even a solution? Culture will keep trying to outdo itself, humans will continue to want attention, and our society will continue to condemn natural behavior and the expectations that it has itself established. In schools, the only thing that can really help regulate dress is a strictly enforced dress code or uniforms, but this isn’t always the popular choice.

Nor is it a guarantee of success because people will always find ways around rules. So we as a society have to either accept that the situation is out of our control, or universally decide that we don’t care about the expectations that others have of us. Somehow the latter option seems unlikely. But we can dream.

fhctoday.com | be heard

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Bieber’s arrogance leads to shocking arrest

Justin Bieber’s delinquent behavior calls for the world to let him go Hearing news of celebrities going wild is nothing new. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that a celebrity arrest may just be the least newsworthy story to constantly be reported on the news.

By Hannah Reporters seem to be particularly fond of child Beckmann stars gone bad, most staff reporter notably celebrities like Justin Bieber.

In 2010, this Canadian pop star was practically America’s sweetheart. Teenage girls loved him, mothers loved him, even grandmothers loved him. It seemed to the world Justin Bieber could do no wrong.

His music was catchy and blared out of every public speaker in every public facility.

Everything he did was seen as endearing.

After all, he was just a kid and the only thing the people who disliked him had to complain about was the subpar quality of his teeny bopper music.

Things started changing as time went on. Justin Bieber grew up, and where some people grow wiser with age, he simply became a little punk. There are few celebrities who will garner such strong contrasting opinion than Justin Bieber. On the one side, there are his mindless flock of “beliebers” that will follow Justin to the ends of the earth and back. On the other side, there are his relentless anti-fans that will find every little thing he does wrong and scream loudly from the heavens about how he is almost akin to the devil himself.

Recently, those anti-fans seem to have a bit of a point. His bad streak has been on an upswing. Story after story and picture

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after picture is being released, just proving that this teen heartthrob is so far gone within his self-obsessed, idiotic, and blatantly disrespectful mind that there may be no return.

It seems like we’ve seen it all.

In 2013 alone, he proclaimed that he hoped Anne Frank would have been a belieber, an act that is incredibly disrespectful to the memory of such an inspiring and important historical figure.

He continued his rebel youth behavior when disturbing the peace at a restaurant by peeing in a bucket and screaming expletives at a picture of the former president Bill Clinton.

He showed no admiration for one of the greatest wonders of the world and had his body guards carry him up the Great Wall of China, showing just how pretentious and spoiled this kid is.

Every single faux pas and incident is met with the same tired excuse by his fans, manager, and the great Justin Bieber himself. “He’s just growing up, and making mistakes is part of that.” But between showing up two hours late to a concert his fans paid obscene amounts of money for and spitting on a crowd of people waiting for him below his balcony, this excuse seems to wear rather thin.

However, all these “mistakes” are just child’s play compared to the stunt he pulled in January. Justin Bieber was arrested, finally. But it’s not the fact that he was arrested that makes this incident so appalling, it’s what he was arrested for:

DUI. Driving while under the influence is one of the most selfish, irresponsible, and dangerous things a person can do. He not only put himself at risk, but any innocent civilian who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He could have killed somebody, and still he smiled like the arrogant child he is in his mugshot.

Beliebers flooded the internet, claiming that they would always support Justin Bieber.

The world watched as #FreeJustinBieber trended on Twitter. Did the people tweeting that tag even think about the one person who dies every half hour due to drunk drivers? Could they explain to a family who had lost a loved one to a drunk driver why they would always support Justin Bieber?

My guess is no. If they did, they would have been too disgusted by Bieber to even think about him being freed.

When will the world say enough is

enough? Justin Bieber is a spoiled Hollywood brat, and he only got that way from the idolization he received from his fans. Every time his name appears in the media, he only gets the thing he cravesattention. Whether it’s good or bad, attention is attention, and it all feeds into Bieber’s enormous ego.

He needs help. If his fans really loved him like they said they did, they wouldn’t keep excusing his misdeeds. They would understand that their idol messed up. He’s human, and that’s what humans do. They would take him down from the pedestal he built for himself and allow him to quietly recede from the limelight. Perhaps if he is not fed the attention he craves, he will correct his delinquent behavior and proceed to becoming an actual functioning member of society.

That’s about all we can hope for.

Is college worth it?

By Ben Morrison

be heard editor

Life is unfair- we’ve been told so since we were little.

It seems like it was always this same unforgiving lesson that every baby boomer and generation x-er was instructed to tell us at some “raising a millennial” seminar held before we were born (for those wondering, it was covered during day two: how to quell complaining

kids).

Despite our resentment of this statement — and its overuse by our parents and grandparents — the fundamental idea still holds true, the idea that nothing will come easy, and regardless of our efforts (and sometimes, because of it) we will most likely be screwed over in the process of simply trying.

All this resonates with the lives of high schoolers, and especially in those of seniors, as we look forward to what is possibly one of the most unfair situations of our lives: college.

The epitome of conventional education, the gateway to success, one of the key criteria for achieving the middle class American dream, it is drilled into our brains from a young age

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the only way to land a decent paying job is to graduate from a four-year college.

We are led to believe a degree is the only option, and acquiring one will teach us some magic handshake to use during job interviews that will make the interviewer legally obligated to give us the job (like the Konami code of the adult world).

Unfortunately for us, despite the fact that during our parents’ time, the idea college would provide you with a better life was almost certainly true, in the age of cell phones and social media and free health care, the idea of unyielding success due to a college degree does not always hold true.

Decades ago, in the years much before our time, college made sense. There was a specific reason for this too: the economy.

The economic situation during the ending decades of the 20th century and the second one of the 21st are vastly different, not only in the domain of the diminished value of the dollar, but also in the increasing malleability of the job market.

Seniors are going to college to train for a job in a market that is likely to be a completely different scene in ten years or less. We get top-of-the-line skills for a career that is at the end of the line. It’s like being given a new hightech phone and having no way to charge it.

seasonal reprieve

Though it suffered an icy beginning, this last week has left us with a much needed respite from the cold weather, warming everyone’s spirits and foreshadowing the summer ahead.

The biggest hardship we will face as people who are headed to higher education is one of cost. Since the years of college past, the cost of college has skyrocketed to astronomical proportions, and as much fun as that sounds (especially if it was directed by Michael Bay), the realities of it are much less appealing.

Even during the days of our parents, the cost and debt of college (though, more specifically, the higher tiers of college) had someone paying back loans for quite a few years, there was still the possibility that one could earn the funds to pay for college by working a parttime job and deliberately saving their money.

This is, unfortunately, no longer the case.

College costs are continuously rising, with no intention of stopping. Prices that are currently in the tens of thousands of dollars are only going up, with the flimsy excuse that it is to account for inflation.

That ignores the fact that prices shot up awesome amounts in the past two decades, with no explanation better than “we realized we could.” As a result, the long-time college debt adults have always talked about has only become much more crippling, and in combination with the volatile job market, some graduates are faced with debt payments that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The dream of going to college is slowly

free act

becoming something outside of the grasp of the middle class American, and is receding back into its original function as a higher education for the upper class. Even public colleges are starting to resemble private schools because of the monstrosity which is cost, despite their endowment from the state.

If the cost of college continues along its current path, it seems almost inevitable that it will regress completely to being the privilege of the upper class, only further contributing to the eradication of the middle class.

There seem to be only two solution to this problem. The most obvious, and possibly most unlikely (though both have slim chances of happening), solution is the conglomerate of college simultaneously coming to the consensus of lowering prices.

The only other option would be some type of endowment or socialization of costs by the government, enough to rival Europe’s program of similar intent. Unfortunately, neither of these seem very likely, and even less likely is the possibility that it will change before any of us, senior or freshman, are already out of college.

But something has to change. Because if nothing does, the fundamentally American dream of higher education is going to become a thing of the past.

snow days

The district has decided it will pay for one ACT test for the junior class, allowing those students to save some hard earned money.

It is only halfway through February and the school district is already nearing snow days in the double digits, and a steady schedule and an earlier summer break are much more enjoyable.

a fine night

pam hate

LOVE LIKE LEAVE fowl play

Despite making massive profits from ad revenue, the creator of the hit Flappy Bird has pulled the app from the app store, preventing anyone who hasn’t already downloaded the game from wasting any more time.

The Fine Arts Festival brought music, acting, and image based art to the populous, and despite the night not being a financial success, it ended up being fun for all those who attended.

Regardless of the verdict over whether a day is called off for snow or not, there always seem to be people ranting on twitter about how unintelligent they think Pam Sloan is.

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staff editorial Writing our own prophecies

O

ur generation, the Millennials, is indubitably more connected than any of our predecessors. Within seconds, news of a snow day can spread to thousands. Within minutes, breaking news taking place across the globe can make its way to our handheld devices.

While being more plugged in to the world is a characteristic of our generation itself, it has its own consequences and benefits, many of which have come to define us.

We have been labeled as narcissistic, lazy, extrinsically-motivated, and technologydependent, to name a few. On a more positive note, we have been described as open-minded, accepting, and more aware of what’s taking place in the world.

Of course, not everyone conforms to these generational labels. While one couple is breaking up via text, another is taking the responsibility to meet face-to-face. However, It is true that, collectively, we spend more time on social media and the Internet than any other age group. We are living in the Digital Age. Is this a bad thing? Yes, in some ways.

It tempts us to be distracted and lazy in our direct encounters with others. We are so connected through the social media world that we are disconnected in the real world. Then again, this constant stream of interaction and information available to us through technology also brings us awareness to the events of the world, gives us new forms of learning and education, and builds relationships otherwise impossible to be formed.

We should overcome the disheartening labels that define our generation. We, as the Millennial generation, have defining characteristics that we can choose to either

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be heard | february 21, 2014

conform to or diverge from. However, the one thing that we cannot and should not do is let our labels be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What I mean is this: we are told by our parents and grandparents that we are dependent on technology to get things done and that by using technology, we don’t have to try nearly as hard as they did to get the same result. Instead of planning out a route on a map, we have GPS. Instead of traveling to the library to conduct research for a paper, we simply search for the information online.

Once these expectations, fast-paced and lazy, are established, it is easy to make them our own standard. In some cases, if these expectations are beyond what we would normally expect of ourselves, we feel motivated to shoot higher and end up accomplishing more than we thought we could.

Unfortunately, the opposite occurs far more frequently. This pattern of adolescents meeting, but not exceeding, others’ expectations for them holds true even when they are capable of achieving much, much more. When others expect so little of us, we can easily lose the motivation to be better simply for the sake of being better.

Only after we are able to discern between our actual abilities and the standards set by society will we be able to live up to our full potential as individuals and as a generation.

Granted, positive labels, such as openmindedness and optimism, should be wholeheartedly embraced. But we should feel just as compelled to challenge the poor expectations other generations have for us and live up to positive examples that we, as the Millennials, have set. Others can give us whatever names they want, but it is our choice whether or not we will fulfill them.

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teacher Go to FHCtoday and take our quiz to find out which teacher you are!

are

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A FINE NIGHT

Junior Tara Parnacott and senior Chloe Udell play their flutes at the Fine Arts Festival. The concert band played two songs at the festival.

The Fine Arts Department showcased the artistic, singing and acting talents of students at its third Fine Arts Festival on Jan. 31. Photos by Dohen Gallagher and Ashleigh Harding

Students in the theatre department view a piece of artwork displayed at the Fine Arts Festival. All the artwork showcased at the festival were made by students in FHC's Fine Arts Department.

LEFT: Cadence Bippen and Emily Turner sing their hearts out to represent the choir department, at the fine arts festival.

Alumnus Phil Mannino tries his hand at throwing pottery. The guests at the festival were able to make their own pots out of clay.

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aperture | february 21, 2014

ABOVE: Senior John Emery and junior Danielle Deweese perform a skit together.

The theatre department acted as one source of entertainment for the festival-goers.

RIGHT: Sophomore Elise Wantling paints hands at the hand painting station in the cafeteria. The Fine Arts Department provided many artistic designs to choose from.