Feb. 10, 2016: Culture and Consent by North Star

N S Francis Howell North St. Charles, MO 02.10.16 Vol. 30, Issue 06

Culture and Consent

Pg 17

contents NEWS

NEW SUPERINTENDENT 3

On Feb. 4, FHSD announced its new superintendent.

PRIMARIES

5 Missouri primaries are approaching, and candidates work to win over voters.

FEATURES SOHAIL’S MIXTAPE 10

Senior Sohail Jchaj creates his own rap mixtape that quickly gains popularity.

Senior Maria Michalski was adopted from Russia during her struggle with cancer.

BATTLING CANCER

SPORTS

Tale As Old As Time

Every two years, FHN’s drama department puts on a musical of their choice. This year they decided on “Beauty and the Beast’’ BY SAMMIE HERR sammie.herr17@gmail.com

The musical is coming up and auditions for “Beauty and the Beast” start Feb. 10 and 11. The Drama and Choir departments are putting on the musical. FHN is doing a joint production with Hollenbeck Middle School so they can space out the cast and make the production better. “We picked this show because it showcases our program and popular talent and with a popular name, it’ll bring in a lot of ticket sales,” Junior Zac Cary said. “Also with this money we make will help get better equipment to help with our future productions.” The practices will run at both schools and the auditions will also be at both schools on separate days. Callbacks will be held here at FHN. “There will be no role difference because there could be anybody who can act and sing no matter the grade difference,” Drama teacher, Kim Sulzner said. “We’re not predetermined.” Vocal Music teacher, Lorraine Smith, who is helping with auditions is looking for people with talent and confidence. She wants more solo auditions for singing. The musical will take place on April 7-9. “I hope that students will be fun and energized

Seniors Marissa Meyers and Andrew Stoker rehearse a scene from last year’s Spring Play ‘Anything Goes”. (File photo)

and just have fun with everything,” Smith said. “We’re also combining with the middle school so I hope they have fun with that.” Many students have been looking forward to auditioning. Hannah Kientzel and Angeliya Collins are both sophomores who have been practicing for auditions. They hope to participate in the musical so they can have more experience. “The actors here at North are all so good and I aspire to be one too,” Kientzel said.

NEW NORM

29 FHN debuts a new mascot uniform.

Returning Player 30 Senior returns to the basketball court after not playing for two years.

OPINIONS FREE FLYING

34 Looking into why banning flight in Syrian air space would be detrimental.

on the cover A closer look at how the prevalance of rape and the culture surrounding it impact both our community and society as a whole. Photo by Amanda Eckhard. (Pages 17-24)

letters to the editor Have an opinion on something in this month’s paper? Send us a letter in 026 or an email to yourfhn@fhntoday.com. Distributed for free to FHN by the North Star Staff. Providing an open forum since 1986.

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY ERIN LEVINS

02.10.16

FCA’s First Dodgeball Tournament FCA is hosting their first ever dodgeball tournament open to all students, staff and administration on Feb. 11 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to raise money for FCA. “We’re hoping to get as many people as possible,” FCA sponsor Dawn Hahn said. “Students and teachers are welcome.” Students and teachers are encouraged to sign up. The tournament is held in the big gym. There is also contest for best team costumes. A trophy goes to the winning team and a special prize goes to the team with the best costumes. FCA is hoping to get at least 20 teams. “I’m setting up my own team to hopefully win,” FCA officer Jake Beckmann said. Teams are required to pay $25 or $5 per person to participate in the tournament and are also required to have a team name and theme. “We’re hoping students will be more interested in joining because everyone loves dodgeball,” Hahn said. The tournament isn’t only limited to FHN students and teachers. Students and teachers from FHC and FHHS are welcomed. FCA plans on getting people involved by spreading the word and sending flyers to all the homerooms. If the tournament goes well, FCA plans on trying to make this an annual tournament. “Dodgeball is a popular sport so people should be more interested in participating,” Beckmann said. (Brief by Kylah Woods)

A New Coffeehouse The annual 2016 performances are coming up The Coffeehouse will be Feb. 25 and 26. This year they’re serving the traditional coffee, hot chocolate and cookies while the audience enjoys the new acts. Unlike other years, this Coffeehouse will be different. “We are bringing the focus back to more of a spoken word feel, which was always the intent of the coffeehouse, so we are taking 50/50 for our acts,” FHN’s media specialist Tara Willen said. “So, 50 percent will be spoken word, 50 percent music, because [Coffeehouse] has been very music focused the past couple years.” Splitting the two different interests in half will give students who are more interested in poetry, acting, or speech and debate a higher chance of being able to perform what they love students. The other half of the differing interests includes sophomores

Aaliyeh Habibi and Devyn Meyer. Habibi and Meyer performed a song last year at Coffeehouse with Meyer on guitar and Habibi singing along. “We wanted to be able to perform our music for the staff and students here at North,” Habibi said. This will be the first change to the Coffeehouse in a while. Senior Emily Rish explained that not much has changed over the four years that she’s attended North. Although there will be a slight change in variety of acts, the Coffeehouse hardly ever disappoints the staff and students with the experience of seeing and listening to people express their talents. “It’s really cool to just go and see the other people perform their personal talents,” Rish said. (Brief By Emily Hardin)

Sophomores Aaliyeh Habibi and Devyn Meyer performs in 2015 Coffeehouse. English classes of all grade levels come to watch people perform at Coffeehouse. These performances consist of singing and poetry. (File Photo)

Upcoming Events Here’s a quick overview of some of the major events and activities coming up in the next month around FHN to get involved in for the school year

Mock Trial Round Two On Feb. 16, FHN’s mock trial team will be having a competition at the St. Louis County courthouse at 6 p.m. for round two of district competition. Mock trial is an imitation of what a real trial would be like, except students play the parts of the lawyers and witnesses. Mock trial at FHN consists of three teams of seven members, three members will play the witnesses and the other four will be the lawyers. In round two, two of the teams will be defense and the third team will be plaintiff, which will be the opposite of the sides the teams played in round one. Even though they are separated into three different groups, they work together as one team to put together their cases and help each other prepare for their role before competitions. Two of the three mock trial teams already won their trials in round one. “I think it definitely went well,” senior Caleb Black, a member of one of the winning mock trial teams, said. “I think we all did a good job and I think the other team also did a good job, but I think it was pretty clear who won.” (Brief by Kylie Moser)

Feb. 13 Choir is holding its dinner concert on Feb. 13 in the Commons at 7 p.m. All choirs other than Chorus have been practicing for weeks to perform on that night. Food will be served during the concert by choir members. It is $20 to attend the concert. Performers, families and all students are welcome to attend, support and enjoy FHN’s choir talent.

FEB. 18

FEB. 24

Meet The Coaches Night for spring sports will be on Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the FHN auditorium. Anyone can attend. This will be when players can turn in their paperwork. Eligibility requirements, tryout information, team expectations and commitments will be covered as well. For students wishing to tryout for spring sports, tryout packets are available in the activities office.

Sophomores and juniors will be inducted into the National Honor Society at FHN. The induction ceremony will take place in the auditorium at 7 p.m. Parents and family members of inductees are welcome to attend. At the ceremony each inductee will place a candle along the stage then make a brief statement. There will be refreshments available after the ceremony.

MAR. 15, 17 FHN will be open to students’ parents for Parent Teacher Conferences. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. parents are welcome to come visit with teachers. The parents will be able to get to know their children’s teachers as well as discuss their grades, behavior and any other concerns they may have. This is a good way to keep active in student life.

FHNTODAY.COM

PAGE BY SAMI SCHMID

02.10.16

The Search Concludes After the long search for a replacement for current superintendent Pam Sloan finished, the school board has announced who will be stepping in to fill her position for the next school year. BY ANTHONY KRISTENSEN anthony.kristensen17@gmail.com • @anthonyk17slsg

The Board of Education’s search for a replacement to take over the superintendent position after Pam Sloan retires at the end of the year has finally come to a conclusion. The Board of Education went with the decision to name Mary Hendricks-Harris as the new superintendent. Hendricks-Harris has been serving with the district for 10 years. She will take over for Sloan at the start of the 2016-17 school year. Hendricks-Harris is currently the Chief Academic Officer of FHSD. The announcement came last Thursday, Feb. 4, at the FHSD Administrative Building, where HendricksHarris was introduced to everyone at a board meeting, concluding a long search process that took almost five months to draw a conclusion. Sloan announced her retirement on Sept. 18 of last year. “[I’m] just so excited and honored,” HendricksHarris said. “It’s very humbling to know that of all the people that could run this district that I was selected.” There were two other finalists for the job who were also interviewed on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27. There were over 20 applicants for the job, and the district had to condense the pool as much as possible. The district declined to release the names of the other finalists. The board ultimately chose her because she had the characteristics that they were looking for. “One of the things the board did before we started interviewing was we looked at the characteristics of what we thought the new superintendent would be,” board member Mike Sommer said. “The board was in agreement with a lot of those characteristics.” Hendricks-Harris will have many different situations to deal with, most notably the need for budgetary changes within the district, after the failure of Proposition Y this summer, and after the board decided to not try for another

New superintendent, Mary Hendricks-Harris, makes her thank you speech after being introduced on Feb 4. President of the Board of Education, Mark Lafata, introduced Hendricks-Harris and thanked Pam Sloan for her service. The Board of Education made this decision on Jan. 27. (Photo by Alyssa Savage)

tax levy this spring. The superintendent will also have to deal with many other situations, such as playing a part in the decision to call a snow day, as well as overseeing and managing district operations. “[Hendricks-Harris will have to] make sure that we maintain our high standard of academic performance,” Sloan said. “An additional challenge she is going to be facing with that is the financial pressure that we’re under right now, so I think that will be something that they’re going to have to continue to solve and figure out in the short term, so that will be some

of the most pressing business when she takes over.” Overall, the Board of Education as well as Hendricks-Harris seem confident that her appointment will be the right choice for the district and that she will have a successful tenure at the helm of FHSD. “One of the things that I’m excited to do is to work on next year’s strategic plan,” HendricksHarris said. “I love to work with different groups of people, so being able to bring people in and talk about where we’re going to go with the next five-year plan.”

Timeline of Finding the New Superintendent September 18, 2015 Pam Sloan announces retirement.

January 8-20, 2016 Superintendent Search Firm screen and vet candidate applications.

January 8, 2016 Applications and resumes for candidates for superintendent due.

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY CAROLYNN GONZALEZ

02.10.16

January 26-27, 2016 Final interviews.

January 20, 2016 Superintendent Search Firm presents information to the Board of Education.

February 4, 2016 Official announcement of new superintendent.

Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Carly Fiorina stand at the Reagan Presidential Library for a Republican debate. (Photo from Joseph Sohm /shutterstock.com)

Missouri Primary Preparations Voters in Missouri prepare to show their support for the 2016 candidates after Iowa and New Hampshire BY NOAH SLAUGHTER reader524@gmail.com • @ngs524

A reality TV star, a retired neurosurgeon and a former Secretary of State were just some of the candidates in question during the Iowa presidential caucuses, which were held on Feb. 1 and were the first in the nation. Like the primary elections in other states, the main goal was to show the Democratic and Republican parties how voters felt about the presidential candidates. “I feel that the primaries are important because the party is able to get the best candidate that they can send to the general election,” junior Chris St. Aubin said. Going into the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, there were three Democrats running: former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. “I personally would like to see more [candidates] because even if they aren’t significant or they don’t even get close, it really makes a candidate better in later years,” Cheryl Hibbeler, Democratic Committeewoman for St. Paul Township said. “There are some people who we need to have ready to go in future elections, and I think Hillary having challengers rather than just being the crowned candidate from the very beginning is making her a better candidate.” O’Malley struggled throughout his campaign to gain attention. In fact, he dropped out of the race the night of the Iowa caucuses after results showed that he received only 1 percent of the Democratic vote in the state. The gap

between Clinton and Sanders, who initially entered the race as a long shot, decreased to microscopic levels in Iowa. Final results show that Clinton finished ahead of Sanders by a mere 0.2 percent, according to BBC. “I’m proud that they’re speaking on the same issues and that there isn’t a big difference between them policy-wise,” Hibbeler said. “It goes to show that we are a united party.” On the Republican side, voters had 12 candidates to choose from. The top five candidates in Iowa in order, according to the Associated Press, were Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee decided to end his campaign after the caucuses. Many people questioned how Trump would do in the caucuses, especially after he opted out of the last Republican debate. While many people find his far-right comments offensive, others view him as an anti-establishment leader who isn’t afraid to speak his mind. “Each candidate is a little bit different,” State Rep. Chrissy Sommer said. “Trump is appealing more to people who like that real approach because he’s being very upfront.” The Missouri presidential elections are set to take place on March 15. After all states have held their primaries, both parties will host a convention in July, where they will nominate a candidate and a running mate. Then, the two nominees turn their eyes toward Nov. 8, election day. “If you’re voting in the next election, you need to pay attention,” St. Aubin said. “It’s important to know who supports your beliefs, and then you can find out who you truly align with.”

How to Register to Vote: To register online… • Visit http://goo.gl/Bjs5Mw. • Fill out basic information about yourself on the online application.

To register by mail... up a registration application at your local library, the DMV or online at http://goo.gl/jSnN8b. • Complete the application. • Send your completed application to St.Charles County Election Authority, 397 Turner B Blvd., St. Peters, MO. Applications must be postmarked no later than Feb. 16 • Pick

To register in person… your County Clerk’s office, St. Charles County Election Authority, 397 Turner Blvd., St.Peters, MO. • Fill out the voter application in person. • Visit

Source: http://goo.gl/n3AucV

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY BENNETT SMALLWOOD

02.10.16

The Board of Education stands with the new superintendent Mark Hendricks-Harris on Feb 4 when they introduced Hendricks-Harris to the comunity. One of the main problems Hendricks-Harris will face is budgetary cuts throughout the distrcit next year. (Photo by Alyssa Savage)

What Happens Next?

After the FHSD school board decided not to try for a new tax levy, questions remain about the future of the district BY ZOE LAWSON zkl131@gmail.com • @zkl131

On Jan. 21, the school board met for what most suspected would be a fairly routine meeting. They were making one big decision: how much to ask for with a new tax levy after the failure of Proposition Y and when to put it on the ballot. The board went in a different direction. They decided on a vote of 4-3 to not go out for a new tax levy at all. The decision to not go for a new levy came as a surprise at the meeting, and the debate surrounding the issue ultimately culminated in board member Amy McEvoy walking out after the vote. Board president Mark Lafata, treasurer Cynthia Bice, and members Rene Cope and Chad Lange voted to not place a new proposition on the future ballot. This was a reversal of some of their previous roles, with Cope helping with a campaign for Proposition Y this summer. “All of the board members had different reasons for not wanting the tax levy,” FHSD communications manager Jennifer Henry said. “The general consensus was that they felt it was too soon to go back to

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY ZOE LAWSON

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voters. They wanted to live with the cuts we’ve made and come back together on the issue at a later date.” Since the failure of Prop Y this past summer, it has been clear that if FHSD did not see increased income, they would have to make cuts, though those cuts were delayed with the promise that a levy was on its way. With that option now off the table, the FHSD community is left wondering what happens next. For many, this decision is especially concerning given the school board’s past difficulty agreeing on what cuts will need to be made. $8.2 million have already been cut this year, and at least $4 million in additional cuts will be made for next year, $3 million of which will be personnel related. According to FHSD chief finance officer Kevin Supple, approximately two percent of administration, two percent of teachers, and less than one percent of all support staff will not be returning next year. FHN and FHC will be losing approximately three teachers each, and FHHS will be losing four. Even still, much of what will be cut is up for debate. “As far as possible, we’re trying to keep the cuts out of the classroom, but there’s only so much we can

do,” Supple said. “Staffing is the largest portion of our expenditure, and while we will be trying to cut other things like club funding and transportation first, cuts will have to be made.” For Superintendent Pam Sloan, being able to make up for the cuts being made now once the district has proper funding in the future will be difficult. With updates and curriculum revisions being put on hold, she worries the district may have to play catch-up later, costing the district more money and making future changes more difficult. “We’ve already begun to downsize and reduce some of our expenditures quite a bit in these last couple of years,” Sloan said. “I think those are things we are not going to see come back. One of those is tutoring services for kids. We also had a technology plan in place for this year, and coming years, and that’s had to be put on hold. Every year we refresh our technology to keep up and make sure we have what students need. Depending on the tax levy how long we postpone that, we may not be able to do this for quite a while. As soon as you skip one refresh cycle though, it becomes increasingly difficult to catch up

So What Does It Mean? While all of the financial changes for next school year have not been made, there are some plans for next year the board has already decided on. According to chief finance officer Kevin Supple, FHSD has already cut $8.2 million this year, but still has $4 million to cut for next school year. Below is an image of the agenda for the Jan. 21 meeting, and what key votes the board took mean for the district. To view a full list of the documents and proceedings of the board meeting visit: http://goo.gl/L27xZW

Next year, Vacation Station and preschool tuition will increase by one percent. This is due to both an increase in enrollment, but is also facilitated by a decrease in district revenue.

The board officially decided to not go out for a new tax levy at the Board meeting on Jan. 21.

MEet the CandidateS On April 5, 2016, FHSD community members will have the chance to vote to change the make up of the Board of Education. Board member Amy McEvoy and board treasurer Cynthia Bice’s seats are up for grabs. Both are running for re-election. Michelle Walker, Kimberlyann Granger, and Mike Hoehn are also running, hoping to replace the two incumbents.

Michelle Walker

Between the three FHSD high schools, ten staffing positions will be cut. FHN will be losing approximately three staff members. Middle school will be losing three and half and elementary will be losing 14.

This is Walker’s first time running for a seat on the Board of Education, though she has been involved in FHSD for five years. She is the owner of STL Buy and Sell Realtors and president elect of the St. Charles Real Estates Brokerage Society.

Kimberlyann Granger Granger ran for the school board in 2015, beat out by current members Sandra Ferguson and Chad Lange by less than one percent. Granger has run several times in the past, and hopes to make it on the board this time around. She is an assistant professor at St. Louis Community College.

and make those changes. We do the same with our curriculum every five years, and make sure the outcomes are correct for the student. That will change, the materials and the review process will have to be put on hold. All of these things are going to continue to change and all of this will be have to put on hold until we see increased revenue.” FHSD will be cutting the funding for smaller clubs and activities . Tutoring services will also not be returning any time in the near future. “Tutoring cuts are going to carry forward into the foreseeable future,” Supple said. “We’ve had stories from parents about the impact this has had on students. Students in the middle are going to feel the largest impact. We hope that we’ll be able to find a way to bring it back, that remains to be seen.” While the Board of Education has agreed to not cut any transportation services for the remainder of this school year, board member Sandra Ferguson says bus services for students living less than three and a half miles from school will likely be one of the largest cuts. “The busses will be the first things to go [without a new levy],” Ferguson said. “There’s no other choice. It may take some getting used to for parents, picking up kids and dropping them off, but it’s the best option we have in a bad situation.” Bussing cuts would have impacts on the FHSD community beyond students and parents.

Twelve thousand students make their way to school everyday, 7,000-8,000 of which come by bus. “It will end up causing a lot of traffic problems,” Supple said. “It will at least double drop-off and pick-up rates, making things more difficult for everyone. It will make it harder for people getting to work, not to mention students that may be late, or may not be able to make it to school at all. We’re going to need to find some way to work this all out.” Until a new tax levy is proposed and passed and programs and staffing can be refunded, FHSD will have to learn to live with the cuts they’ve had to make. “If we had the tax levy in August as we had planned we would have been able to see that revenue right at the beginning of this school year, but we didn’t so we had to make some changes,” Sloan said. “I think this year we had an appropriate fund balance ending in our board policy but we could very well be under that. I hope that our community wants great schools and I think we have to prove that we’ve done our due diligence in controlling expenditures where we can, that so called tightening of the belt. I think that maybe people didn’t see that because we just didn’t want to make some of the cuts we’ve now had to make. I do believe in our community, I do believe they think education is priority and I do believe that we can get through this and come out all the stronger.”

Cynthia Bice Bice is a returning board member hoping to retain her spot. Bice has been on the school board for six years, having served two terms after first being elected in 2010. Bice is the Dean for the School of Education at Lindenwood University.

Mike Hoehn Hoehn was on the FHSD school board from 2008-2014, when he ran for re-election but lost to current board member Rene Cope. He ran again in 2015 but was beat out by Sandra Ferguson and Chad Lange. Hoehn is a local business owner.

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY ZOE LAWSON

02.10.16

Senior Connor Malpiedi escorts senior Taylor Ousley. Ousley was wearing a dress provided by David’s Bridal. (File photo) Graduate Hayley Shumpert and senior Jailan Thomas perform their talent during the prom fashion show last year. Shrumpter and Thomas rapped and danced to “Push It”. Other talents included reading and eating a chicken leg. (File photos)

Senior Lauren Wood, graduates Marty Aubuchon, Alexis Tainter, Kristina Forst and senior Zoe Seemes dance on stage during the prom fashion show last year. Dresses were provided by David’s Bridal, Chache and Camille La Vie, while the tuxedos were provided by Savvi Formalwear. There was a raffle at the end of the show that included a variety of gift cards to restaurants and gas stations and even a free ticket to prom. (File photo)

Fashion Fundraiser

The prom fashion show is an event put on to support the funds for prom and is a chance for upperclassmen to model clothes The junior class started working on BY MCKAYLA BOGDA mckayla5bogda@gmail.com

The prom fashion show is an annual tradition for FHN, organized by the junior class. The show is a chance for local businesses to show off some of their fashion and for upperclassmen to get the opportunity to model and perform in front of fellow students and friends. “The fashion show is important because it is the biggest fundraiser for prom, and the more money we get, the better the quality of prom,” Michael Shine, junior class president, said. The fashion show will be Feb. 17 in the auditorium. Every year they have about 100 people show up to support the models. Students model clothing from local stores, dance and perform different acts. At the end of the show students have the option of buying the clothes for discounted rate. Students have in the past, but it is not required. The stores participating change from year to year. “I love seeing the kids model and the community letting them show off fashion pieces,” Marissa Cohen, junior class sponsor, said.

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the show in December, before winter break. Students had to have their applications to be in the show in by Jan. 22. The upperclassmen in the show have to sell five tickets, then go to stores on certain dates to choose what they are going to wear in the show. “I’m looking forward to seeing the girls wearing the dresses,” senior Madi Oostendorp said. The junior class delegates are in charge of planning the whole thing, with the help of Cohen. They make the flyers and tickets, recruit people to be models, advertise the event, find an MC and make sure the night runs smoothly. The delegates also have to contact the businesses and get donations for raffles. Cohen has been helping the event for four years now, and it started before she started teaching at FHN. This is a fundraiser many other high schools put on to fundraise for their prom and to let the businesses advertise their clothing. “We hope that everyone comes out to the prom fashion show and supports us,” Cohen said.

The History of Prom Many high school students attend prom nationwide every year, but few actually know the history behind the social gathering. Here are a few highlights from the history of the dance, which is named after a promenade, the formal parade of guests at a party. 1800s: The ancestors to prom are held at colleges nationwide. They consist of co-ed banquets celebrating graduation.

1936: The first guide to prom planning, “The Junior-Senior Prom: Complete Practical Suggestions for Staging the JuniorSenior Prom,” is published.

1894: The first references to the prom are made by a male student of Amherst College in his journal.

1950s: The booming economy means that schools can now afford to hold the dance in places other than high school gyms, such as banquet halls or country clubs.

1940s: The modern version of the high school prom spreads to high schools across the nation.

2015: The households of Americans spend an average of $919 on prom-related expenses. This amount is actually down 6% from 2014.

1975: The daughter of President Ford, Susan Ford, holds her special high school prom at the White House.

Sources: time.com, mentalfloss.com, theguardian.com

Freestyling Isn’t Enough for Senior

Sohail’s mixtape contains four tracks and an intro and is 13 minutes and 22 seconds long. (Illustration by Madi Graves)

Sohail Jchaj quickly gained popularity after the release of his mixtape that shows his creativity and passion for rap music. BY ERIN LEVINS

erlevins013@gmail.com • @ItsLevins

On any school night, most students are busy doing homework, hanging out with friends, or simply relaxing. But senior Sohail Jchaj is not most students. While others are doing calculus or watching Netflix, he is working tirelessly to drop his mixtape, “I’m An Only Child,” by the end of 2015. Thankfully all of this hard work and dedication wasn’t for nothing, and by the turn of the new year, he was quickly gaining popularity and attention for his unique music. “I’m really grateful for the success and support of the mixtape,” Sohail said. “I feel like people really loved it and finally recognized my talent and love for rap.” Sohail began working on his mixtape “I’m An Only Child” towards the end of last year and spent countless hours doing everything he could to perfect his first attempt at releasing music. It was rumored for months that he was dropping a mixtape but no one knew what to expect until it was released on Dec. 31. He posted it to several sites to gain notice as quickly as possible, including Follow the link ReverbNation, Youtube and goo.gl/B7PbYJ to see a video on Sohail, and the making of SoundCloud. Evidently it his mixtape worked, because after a week he was ranked sixth out of over 300 artists on ReverbNation (a popular music sharing site). “Most people don’t get overnight success but he did amazing,” Sohail’s friend Kush Patel said. “Not many people know how to do a single task, but he did everything including making the beat, writing the lyrics and even recording it himself.” When Sohail first released his mixtape, he expected a moderate amount of attention for being unique and releasing his personal brand of music to the FHN community, but not only was he surprised by the influx of popularity and feedback from his peers, he also received a lot of support from his family as well. Coming from a conservative viewpoint, most parents wouldn’t agree to their child focusing on creating rap for their classmates. But Sohail’s parents were more than grateful to love and fuel his hobby with him by paying for his equipment and even make an appearance on the mixtape itself. “As long as he continues with his education and college, we’re more than happy to support his hobbies and passions,” Parmjit Singh, Sohail’s father said. “We’re so blessed to have a son with so many skills and confidence.” Sohail does plan to release future projects for marking the end of his senior year, but the details are classified. This time around he plans on improving his delivery, creating a smoother flow and making diverse beats that will draw more attention. He encourages feedback and suggestions so he can become a better artist. Although he has had great success now, his future with hip hop and rap remains unknown. “If I become famous that’s great, if I don’t, that’s okay too,” Sohail said. “I plan to keep this as a hobby and let success come to me if that’s what happens.”

WATCH

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY ERIKA PAAR

02.10.16

Passion For Pets Forms Into A Job

A love for animals sparked an interest in becoming a veterinarian Assistant BY ETHAN SLAUGHTER ethanslaughter01@gmail.com

Ever since she was a little girl, senior Kasey Wagner has had a strong love towards animals and known that she wanted to become a veterinarian when she grew up. Growing up, Kasey had many different types of pets ranging from dogs to lizards to a crayfish. She got her first pet, a dog, when she was two years old and has had pets ever since. Growing up with pets constantly surrounding her created a bond and love towards animals which made her want to get a job at a vet clinic in hopes to become a veterinarian. “I was just searching for a job and I came across it and I figured why not,” Kasey said. “They were looking for a person with a year of experience, but I didn’t have that, but figured I would just apply anyway and I ended up getting it.” Her love of animals is what made her want to get the job at the vet clinic. She hopes to learn from the veterinarians and technicians about what it takes to be a good vet and get experience working with animals before going to college. Kasey does a wide range of things while working like helping with blood work, trimming nails, helping the veterinarians or helping give animals different vaccines. “She gets to see how a vet truly interactions with the pets” Kasey’s mother Kathy Wagner said. ”It’s not just all the fun side of being a vet but you also see the sad side of when you have a pet that is older or sick.” Kasey has been working at Bogey Hills Animal Hospital since June, and takes care of many animals like cats and dogs with the occasional guinea pig, rat or hamster. When Kasey gets older she hopes to become a Vet or Zoologist. She is currently taking BioMedical Science, Genetics and Environmental Studies to better prepare herself. ”I wanted to gain experience before I get into college to see if I still want to be a vet and don’t go down the wrong path and get into vet school and not like it,” Kasey said.“ For the most part I love my job so I usually don’t dread it or anything but there’s days I wish I didn’t have to work just because I have a lot of homework but for the most part I enjoy going to work.”

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY CHELSI HOSKINS

02.10.16

Senior Baylie Clynes, holds up her acceptance letters from multiple colleges. “With college so close it makes me scared, because that means I move out and every aspect of my life changes,” Clynes said. “I’m going to miss seeing all my friends everyday at FHN. I am going to miss being in student council meetings all the time and planning pep assemblies.w” Clynes said. (Photo by Ashleigh Barlow)

Upperclassman Immunity

Senior Baylie Clynes has stayed motivated and not given in to the infamous “senioritis” BY CHELSI HOSKINS

chelsihoskins@gmail.com • @chelsih_98

It’s six o’clock in the morning and her alarm goes off. Baylie Clynes gets out of bed, gets dressed and heads towards the kitchen for her morning coffee. She heads out the door to start her car and will soon be on her way to school. Senior year of high school is the beginning of the rest of her life. Once high school ends, planning for the future begins. With all of the loose ends that are being tied up, the desire to wear anything other than sweatpants and take challenging classes seems to dwindle. As the end approaches, the less effort she wants to put into high school. However, quite a few seniors have become immune to this “infectious disease.” By working harder to prepare for the futures as well as staying active and involved in their school, according to their counselors, these seniors are working harder than ever. Senior Baylie Clynes, DECA and NHS member, StuCo Treasurer and AP student has been preparing for college her Quizlet senior year. Baylie challenges herself by taking AP Calculus BC as her math class to gear towards her career of accounting. “I think taking AP classes helps a lot because colleges figure if you can handle an AP class you have a good idea of what a college course will be like,” Clynes said. One of the main reasons Baylie stays motivated during the school year is the fact that she has to maintain her scholarships and keep a good work ethic for college. “I have already been accepted to my school of choice, I’ve taken the ACT four times and applied to five colleges so I still have to work to keep my scholarships,” Clynes said. Senior year comes with a lot of fun events that can’t be experienced any other year such as senior toga day and graduation. “Your senior year you become more mature,” Clynes said. “You grow up mentally and realize that

your whole life is about to start.” With high school coming to an there are a lot of things that can cause her get caught up in other aspects of her life such as work . “I like working and having my own money it can help me save for college and it also helps me learn to juggle school and work.” Clynes said. Baylie juggles a total of three clubs and is Vice President of StuCo. She has been in StuCo all four years of her being in high school. “I love being in StuCo and it’s fun planning events like Homecoming and Snowcoming,” Clynes said. “I’ve been doing it for four years and I’m happy I was Vice President my last year.” Study Early Baylie had the opportunity to graduate in December this year because she had the required amount of credits, but she chose to finish the rest of the school year. “I could have graduated early but I didn’t because I would miss prom and planning snowcoming with StuCo and I really like doing that every year,” Clynes said. Baylie’s counselor was a beneficial resource for her to get in contact with colleges and figure out where she wants to go and what she wants to do. “The counselors help you get in touch with the admissions counselors the school partners with it helps a lot,” Clynes said. The counselors enjoy helping the seniors get on track to graduate as well as go to college because they know how overwhelming the process can be. “We enjoy giving advice and helping set the seniors up with the admissions counselors,” counselor Lisa Woodrum said. “We have the scholarship drawer and are always open to give advice to make college going easier on the student’s.” Senior year has changed a lot of people and it’s slowly but surely coming to an end for the class of 2016. During her last semester of high school Baylie plans to continue to work hard and finish her Senior year with good grades. “This has been an unforgettable four years and high school I will miss it, but in order for my future to go as planned I can’t give up now,” Clynes said.

Sophomore Maddie Adams helps the birthday girl open her presents.

Nikki Grellner places a glitter tattoo on the cheek of a girl dressed as Elsa. The employees learn how to do hair, makeup, and nails for parties. (Photos by Katie Worsham)

Manager Brittney Windell lights candles for the little girls birthday party on Saturday Jan. 30. The salon offers different styles such as, fashion diva, girls rock, princess, and spa parties are all choices for the girls to pick from. (Photo by Katie Worsham)

Just Add a Little Glitter

FHN sophomore Nikki Grellner has worked for one month at a salon for young girls that opened in November 2015. The salon hosts parties with themes ranging from a princess tea party to a rock star bash to even a relaxing spa day. BY ERIKA PAAR

Totally Adorable Salon

FHN

Jungerm

Empowering young girls, boosting their self confidence, and making them feel beautiful inside and out. This is the mission for sophomore Nikki Grellner, who works at Totally Adorable Salon in Cottleville. “I think it’s really cool for [young girls] to have a place where they get to feel really pretty for a day, and hang out with their friends,” Nikki said. At the salon, girls can come in for a birthday make-over, or have a birthday party where they can dress up like princesses, pop stars or even models. “I really like the Disney and princess parties,” Nikki said. “The little girls get to put on fancy dresses and it’s really fun.” The salon has been open since Nov. 21, 2015. Owner Shae Calcari got the idea from a similar place in West County, called Sweet and Sassy, that her daughters liked. She believed the area needed a place like this, so she decided to make one closer to home. “My two girls really loved going there,” Shae said. “Sometimes since they were so busy it was hard to get in, so we ending up buying this building that already had a salon, and putting a Totally Adorable Salon here.” Nikki has been working at Totally Adorable Salon for around a month, and her job is to work with the girls who come in to help them feel beautiful. “Little girls come in and I paint their nails, and do their hair,” Nikki said. “They also get to dress up, and it’s really cute.” Seeing all of the girls so excited to be there and dress up is Nikki’s favorite part of her job, especially the little ones, ages 4-6.

erikakristine101@gmail.com • @curliegurlie101

Mid Rivers Mall Dr.

Hwy 364

FHC

12 min 6.7 miles

Hwy 364

“I love seeing all the girls get so excited to dress in costumes and get all made up,” Nikki said. Nikki found out about the job from sophomore Maddie Adams, who also works at the salon, and was excited to get to work with a friend. “Nikki and I have been close for a while,” Maddie said. “So getting to work together makes us closer.” According to Shae and Nikki, brightening up these girls day is all they want to do. Making a little girl feel beautiful and better about herself can be as simple as a smile and a touch of glitter. “My favorite part is interacting with the young kids and really making them feel good about themselves, just really making them feel beautiful,” Shae said. “Because whether we’re little or grown adults, we all like to hear that, and need to hear that from time to time. And believe it.”

FHNTODAY.COM

PAGE BY EMILY WILSON

02.10.16

Senior Maria Michalski stands and poses for a picture with her math teacher Bridgett Meyers at last year’s annual Knights of the Round Table ceremony. Michalski’s parents were in the stands to see her accept her award. Maria Michalski stands with her family in front of a sign in Vladivostok, Russia. This was the day she got adopted. “Moving to this country was scary. I didn’t sleep for weeks had a hard time adjusting, but my parents helped me,” Michalski said.

Maria Michalski stands with her family consisting of Rae, Mack, Mark, Logan, Luc, Jennie, Alex, Christine and Brent. Her favorite thing to do with her family is to just hang out with them. “They all accepted me right away and that was and always will be the best feeling the best thing in the world! My family hang out and plays board games or video games all the time! We all have fun together,” Michalski said. (Photos submitted)

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY KARIS SKAGGS

02.10.16

To Be Chosen and Loved Maria has been able to live a new life in the US because she was adopted from Russia and loved by the Michalskis’

While she made it through that struggle, all her news wasn’t good. One very defeating day for her came when she was at the orphanage and she found out that her everything and her hope, her mother, had passed away. “She’s going to die, why waste our time?” Maria Michalski remembers her “For all those years I was waiting for her to come back and I was hoping, you doctor saying while she was sick with Leukemia, a cancer of the blood. She know, for something, but you know like you say, there’s bigger things to happen was living as an orphan in Vladivostok, Russia, and she wasn’t expected to afterwards,” Maria said. “Once God closes one door, he opens the other. After survive under her circumstances. On the other side of the world, Brent and she died, a month later they told me I was getting adopted.” Christine Michalski heard about her from some friends in a letter and knew they It was time for another mother to step up to the plate and provide love and needed to do something to help. a family for this poor, dying and weak girl who needed someone desperately. “We had some friends in Russia in the process of Maria testified in court that she wanted Christine and adoption, and they posted a picture of Maria on their Brent, whose names she couldn’t even remember at blog and I read her story and I cried and I knew right that time, to be her parents. Her parents said that then what I needed to do,” Maria’s mom Christine she quickly began to love and trust them, and that Michalski said. she was willing to try new things. They said loving Before living in an orphanage, Maria was abused and her was easy and adopting her seemed right. taken advantage of by her step-father. When her mother “It just felt like the right thing to do, it didn’t seem could no longer care for her she brought her to an weird at all, it was just normal,” Brent said. “I don’t orphanage with the promise of returning for her. Maria view any of my other kids different; biological or not.” soon became ill and began seeing doctors. She was moved With these two new parents, Maria ventured on to 11 different hospitals and three different orphanages her first plane ride to go home. At the airport in the during this time. It seemed that as soon as she began to US she was greeted by her new family with a sign in get to know and trust someone she was moved away Russian to welcome her, and a scrapbook describing from them. many things about her new family and her new life. “I needed people in my life that would be positive with Maria said that her family really knew how to get her me, but I grew up with every teacher telling me how stupid comfortable and settled into the family. I was, and every doctor telling me I needed to die and quit Five years later, Maria is living like an American life before I made anymore hardship on anybody else, and teenager, attending high school, and planning for her that was hard because it’s just, you know, selfish people,” future. She now is involved in track and cross country Maria said. and is a senior at FHN. In her eyes, her mom is Maria compared her experience with cancer like trying passionate and good at giving advice, her dad is also to run by yourself and stay motivated, it was hard. At each passionate and protective of his kids, and her family hospital that she was brought to, doctors injected her as a whole is loving and crazy. In her mother’s eyes, with numerous shots, and gave her different intravenous Maria is kind, strong willed and loving. She is very medications and pills only to realize eventually they didn’t open about her life and isn’t afraid to tell people about know why she was sick or how to help her. She was taken her past because it doesn’t define who she is now. between the hospitals and orphanage by random people “I love when people ask me about this,” Maria said. each time. At this time in her life she was 7 or 8 years old. “The funniest part about my life is that I’ve gone She said that sometimes the hospital rooms, which she through pretty much anything scary movies could spent much time alone and sick in, felt like jail cells. show you, and some people go through that and “Most of the time what happened with me is I would they shut down but I’ve went through that and I talk be in the orphanage and get a fever of 103 and it will not about it more than I ever thought I would talk about Maria was born in Vladivostok, Russia go down with anything so they have to send me to the something.” hospital,” Maria said. “They would have to all the time, After high school Maria plans to use her two free send me to the hospital because my immune system was years at Saint Louis Community College through the just down all the time, but it would be every time, random A+ program to become a nurse. She hopes to work people, random nurses.” her way from a nurse’s assistant, to a registered Follow the link http://goo.gl/Q4EvcU Her cancer came in waves. She would feel healthier for nurse, to a doctor’s’ assistant, and finally to a doctor. to watch a video of how Maria overcomes a while, then more and more sick. She recalls painting a She wants to become a doctor so that if someone struggles by smiling. picture one day in class, the next night she was in poor was suffering, much like herself when she had condition and was sent to a room in the hospital where cancer, that she could help them. Maria said that she is she spent the next three weeks alone. While being there and on the verge of willing to set down money if people are struggling. She believes by saving one death, she heard doctors talking, glad that she was almost dead and that they life many more lives could be saved, and that is the best thing in life. wouldn’t have to worry about her or care for her anymore. That night, after “I want to experience all of the fields because sometimes they say when thinking this was the end of the road for her, she pictured her painting of the you go into nursing you don’t understand the struggle of a nurse’s assistant angel and sensed a feeling of hope. The next morning she began to improve, because you’ve never been one… I would be a doctor who understands the and she was able to pull through. nurses because I’ve been in their shoes,” Maria said.

BY KARIS SKAGGS

karisskaggs@gmail.com

WATCH

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY KARIS SKAGGS

02.10.16

The AR Drone 2.0 is sold at Sears for around $400. There is a remote control that is included with the purchase. The AR Drone 2.0 is produced by Parrot.

HOW TO:

FED

IO N

Go to RegisterMyUAS.FAA.gov. and click “Register My Drone.” The aircraft must weigh more than .55 AL AVIA T ER pounds and less than 55 pounds. Users who have a drone weighing DM I N I S T R AT I O more than 55 pounds, intend to fly outside the United States or use it for commercial purposes must register by mail.

Step 2: Users must be 13 years or older to register. Registering with the FAA requires a valid email address, which under Federal law cannot be obtained until a minor is of the age of 13. Enter an email into the respective box, and also be sure to create and verify an eight character-minimum password. An email will be sent from the FAA making sure the account is valid.

Step 3: Upon verifying the email, fill out the required fields such as the user’s name and address. Only users with an address in the U.S. are eligible to legally operate a drone in the National Airspace System. Foreigners intending to operate a drone will need prior written permission to do so.

Step 4: The user must agree to adhere to Federal 8 Aviation Regulations 3 7 set in place for UAS’. 4 6 Aircraft must fly 5 below 400 feet, in a visual line of sight and within the guidelines of airspace set in place by the FAA. 9

Step 5: Finally, a form of payment will need to be entered. Payment must be carried out via a credit or debit card. The cost for registering a drone as a recreational user or hobbyist is $5.00. If registration occurs before Feb. 21, 2016, a refund of that amount will be issued back to the user.

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY KYLIE MOSER

02.10.16

Senior Alex Dickinson flies his drone on Jan. 24 by his house. Dickinson got the AR Drone 2.0 as a Christmas gift. He used to use Google Maps to search his neighborhood, but with the drone he can now do it himself. (Photos by Lucas Tabaka)

On the Rise

Drones become more popular as the FAA scrambles to regulate them BY CHASE MEYER

iOS or Android, the regular-kid-turned-pilot can control the five-pound aircraft with the tip of his finger, making In what some would describe as a technological it go up, down, side-to-side and even upside down. He revolution, many companies are looking to expand their can see what the camera on his drone is capturing product lines into a realm that only organizations such through his phone as well. Because he’s not running as NASA, the Air Force and Boeing could go in the past. a commercial operation, Dickinson needs no special Small start-ups alongside larger businesses are diving permission to record his flights as long as he doesn’t head-first into the industry of drone, or unmanned intentionally distribute them. A three-step tutorial is aerial vehicle, manufacturing. These generally small, provided by the app, walking the user through the basics remote-controlled devices allow consumers to of the UAVs flight controls. take the ability of flight into their own hands, “It all comes down to education,” Jeff Nielsen, Want to read the rest of this flying recreationally and commercially over a captain who has been flying with a major U.S. story? Follow this link http:// goo.gl/5e5WYg to read the neighborhoods, business districts and rural legacy airline for 26 years, said. “But how are full story. areas. you going to educate people who don’t know “[My parents] always knew I liked the idea of drones,” they need to be educated?” UAV owner Alex Dickinson said. “The fact that I can fly That’s the problem. The Federal Aviation over my neighborhood now, and even record it, is a really Administration (FAA) and the United States Department cool idea.” of Transportation (USDOT) are facing an education UAVs can be ordered online and bought in store. By crisis, attempting to come up with a plan to enforce going to the manufacturer’s website, anyone can have the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) that surround the aircraft shipped directly to their house with no unmanned aircraft. In order to appeal to the mass of hurdles to jump through. Local stores that offer drones UAV owners, the agencies have launched vigorous in stock include Target, Walmart and Best Buy. social media campaigns promoting registration of Being the owner of a UAV manufactured by Parrot, consumer aircraft along side of informing the public of Dickinson has one of the world’s most technologicallyproper usage of their new devices. As a result of these advanced yet consumer-friendly drones available in the campaigns, nearly 300,000 UAVs have been registered palm of his hands. By using a smart device operating via so far. stlavjournalist@gmail.com • @AvJournalist

CLICK

Most of us have talked about rape - what it is, why it happens or why it’s wrong. Some may even know someone who has been a victim of rape. It’s a serious topic, yet in today’s society, it has become normalized through jokes and media. It’s treated as a punchline, a plot device, an edgy lyric. This lack of sensitivity is known as “rape culture.” Society often blames victims, both men and women, for getting raped - for what they were wearing, what they were doing or where they were. But what we must realize is that rape is no one’s fault but the offender’s, and it’s far from a trivial matter.

In today’s society, rape is often joked about and not taken seriously, desensitizing the real issue BY CAROLYNN GONZALEZ Carolynnnn.182@gmail.com • @carolynng0

Sex without consent is no joke, though students can often hear the casual use of the word "rape" float through the hallways. Turn on the TV and one might find the latest "Game of Thrones" episode on, airing yet another rape scene. Many of the artists behind today's hits have lyrics that often degrade women, portraying them as sexual objects. Together, these factors contribute to what is referred to in our society as rape culture. “Rape culture is increasingly normal,” Scarlett Peterson, former leader and alumni of the Sex and Body Positivity Committee at Kennesaw State University, said. “It’s always been there, especially in patriarchal societies.” Rape culture affects both genders, however bias against women tends to be more common. It is easy for males to blame a victim of rape or assault and tarnish their image, however in many cases, it is dismissed. Because men are not targeted by rape culture as frequently, it can make it difficult for them to be aware of it. Women are objectified, sexualized and stigmatized as victims. Female victims may find it difficult to report claims of sexual assault because they are often blamed for how they dressed or how much they had to drink during the account of the assault. However, because rape is generally perceived as something that only happens to women, men who are raped are often dismissed, shamed or invalidated as well. “Rape culture doesn't really give males the chance to speak up and say that this is not the norm,” sociology professor at St. Charles Community College, Vicky Herbel, said. It’s often said that the entertainment industry plays a large role in condoning rape. “Blurred Lines”, a popular song from 2013 by Robin Thicke, is one of many songs that includes lyrics with derogatory phrases towards women, suggesting that there is a gray area between consensual sex and rape. Rape jokes are found often in the television sitcom “2 Broke Girls,” and the use of rape as a lighthearted joke is what promotes the attitudes of rape culture, according to Herbel. “The joke you make is the experience of someone else,” Herbel said. Social media platforms like Twitter and FaceBook give people a medium to promote rape culture. The nature of social media makes it easy for anyone, from a high schooler to an adult, to make rape jokes or blame the victims of sexual assault because all interaction on social media is indirect.

While the dress code is enforced in many schools to create a safe and disciplined learning environment, it also has the potential to condone rape culture by sexualizing and objectifying women. It can send the message that their bodies are more important than their education. Because of rape culture’s prevalence, wherever there is a social setting, rape culture is likely to manifest in various forms. “Many people promote rape culture without realizing what they’ve done,” Peterson said. When the ideologies of rape culture are seen everywhere in people's daily lives and in the media, they lose sensitivity to the severity of the topic of rape, which is a major component of rape culture. For example, people may find it normal for a Super Bowl advertisement for a fast food chain to feature a very sexualized woman. This advertising tactic takes advantage of the objectification of women as a device to encourage sales. Ads by companies like Gucci and Prada also include the objectification of both men and women. Also, rape cases sometimes indicate a bias toward the perpetrator. Even those who are advocates against rape culture may occasionally promote it unintentionally. Because rape culture is so internalized, it makes it hard to stop since the thoughts people have seem so normal, even if they have harmful implications that they don’t recognize.

“People subconsciously promote rape culture,” Herbel said. “You may sing along to a song that contains lyrics that promote rape culture. It's hard to escape, but important to be critical of it.” Although progress has been made with bringing about awareness of the spread of rape culture and the seriousness of sexual assault, there is still much to be done. According to Herbel, the conversation of sexual violence is a lot more prevalent than it used to be, but the movement against rape culture is not yet strong enough 1 to halt it. Peterson suggests that keeping the conversation of rape culture going and letting those who make jokes know that the jokes are not acceptable can help challenge the normalization of rape. “By making rape culture part of the daily conversation, it will make people more aware of the seriousness of rape,” Herbel said.

“THE JOKE YOU MAKE

IS THE EXPERIENCE OF SOMEONE ELSE” -Vicky Herbel

sources: 1. Justice Department, National Crime Victimization Survey: 2008-2012 2.U.S. Department of Justice: National Institute of Justice. Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women. 2000.

FHNTODAY.COM

PAGE BY BRANDON MCCARTY

02.10.16

Some people today believe victim blaming can start with something as simple as middle school dress codes while others believe it’s just part of society BY ALY DOTY alydoty02@gmail.com

In today's society, when someone is raped, many people assume it was the victim's fault for getting raped. This is called victim blaming: when a victim’s choices, including what they were wearing, whether they were drinking or what they were doing, are used to justify an attackers actions. “The worst part about victim blaming is the impact it has on the victim,” assistant principal Chris Birch said. “They’re already a victim of whatever crime and are going through a lot and I think that if they’re being wrongfully blamed or others are judging, and the victim knows they’re judging, it can be very painful, and it certainly doesn’t help.” Starting as early as elementary and middle school, the dress code, a set of rules about what clothing can and can’t be worn at school, is enforced by teachers and administrators onto students. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, approximately 49.1 percent of public schools have a strict dress code policy. “I think a dress code is important,” Birch said. “As an administrator and someone who handles discipline on a regular basis, I don’t feel like we devote a lot of time to disciplining or having those conversations with kids because of the dress code. Certainly, in the whole scheme of things, sure, we have conversations with students about it, but it doesn’t take up a lot of our time. It’s not something that’s overwhelming.” Many people believe the dress code contributes to the sexualization of men and women, due to the age of the students that it’s enforced upon, and then later to victim blaming.

Other people believe dress codes serve their one specific purpose: minimize distraction in the learning environment. “The reason the dress code’s written the way it is, I think, is to encourage people to respect themselves, and what’s considered appropriate in a professional environment,” eighth grade English teacher Alan Beeson said. “The idea is to have some respect for the learning environment. If people are taking that to mean ‘Hey, if you dress like that, you’re gonna get raped,’ I don’t think that’s the intention at all. Traditionally, it’s a sign of respect, not hanging out of your clothes out of respect. If the message people are taking away from it is that we’re saying don’t dress like this or else this will happen to you, I think the message should be clarified.” While the dress code in schools are intended to keep distractions out of the learning environment, some people believe that it does nothing besides promote the sexualization of children, typically girls. Others believe girls get in trouble for what they wear more often than boys because of the way style is today. The style for girls is typically shorter shorts and lower cut tops, while the style for boys isn’t nearly as revealing. “I think in some respects, the dress code is harsher on girls because of style,” eighth grade science teacher Michelle Oppenborn said. “I know, having a daughter, it was difficult to find shorts that were long enough. I think some girls are trying to be fashionable, and I think in that they run into spaghetti straps and lower cut shirts.” Students typically don’t have any -Alan Beeson conflict with the school dress code until they reach the middle school level, which is the age that sexualization of others typically begins, due to puberty. Middle schools work to prevent any type of sexual assault by having speakers from organizations such as the Crider, a health center, come in and discuss the importance of abstinence.

“THE REASON THE

DRESS CODE’S WRITTEN THE WAY IT IS, I THINK, IS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO RESPECT THEMSELVES.”

FHNTODAY.COM

PAGE BY BRANDON MCCARTY

02.10.16

Victim Blaming in College BY ALY DOTY alydoty02@gmail.com

According to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. Many people believe this is because of the things that happen on most college campuses such as drinking and partying. Another common misconception today is that if somebody isn’t saying no, they’re saying yes. Consent, permission for something to happen, isn’t consent unless somebody is saying the word “yes.” This ties into victim blaming due to drinking because they may not give a clear yes or no because of their intoxication. Whenever people talk about someone who was raped, they often talk about what the victim was drinking or doing. They believe that it’s the victim's fault for drinking in the first place, so the offender had the right to their body. Many others believe that no matter how “flirty” the victim was acting, or what they were wearing, if they don’t give consent, it’s still considered rape. “I think the reason drinking comes up a lot is because you lack a lot of control,” Birch said. “Alcohol impairs your decision making, and that’s one of the problems with it. If it does that, then it could impact the way that you interact with someone who may have that motive to take advantage of you.” Another common instance of victim blaming relates to date rape, rape committed by someone who is dating or on a date with the victim. People tend to believe that if the offender and victim were dating, it’s not considered rape, and is just considered normal for relationships today. They don’t look at it as rape because they believe that if someone is in a relationship, they universally give consent, which leads them to think the victim is just overreacting. Others believe that rape is still rape no matter the relationship between the people involved, which, by law, is true. “I think that the victim has the tendency to blame themselves regardless, and I know that’s a big problem because there’s guilt that shouldn’t be there,” Beeson said. “Because of that, they don’t talk about it, and not talking about things is bad. It’s a traumatic event that can cause problems with someone mentally. They need to get help as well as bring the other person to justice. The worst part of victim blaming is that the victim doesn’t get the counselling and support they need because they think it’s their fault.”

FHNTODAY.COM

1. National Criminal Justice Reference Service

PAGE BY BRANDON MCCARTY

02.10.16

The growing presence of rape culture in students’ lives and varying opinions online demand awareness education in high school BY EMILY WILSON itsemilywilson@gmail.com

Rape. It’s just four letters, one word, with no synonym that packs the same punch. Written down on paper, there’s very little confusion as to what those four letters mean, and by high school, most students know why the word rape carries the resounding power that it does. And most students know from being taught in health class that rape is not okay. “It’s not a conversation a lot of people want to have,” Freshman Health teacher Chris Brown said. “Parents don’t want to have it, and teachers are nervous about bringing it up in class, for fear of people not taking it seriously or teachers [not] being able to talk freely without some parent or administrator getting upset about something that can be so controversial.” “Rape would be a criminal offence,” counselor Mary Kerr-Grant said. “If a student came and said ‘I was raped on the premises,’ I would immediately contact the police.” At FHN, Freshman Health teachers Jenelle Louis-Bauer and Chris Brown bring in Resource Officer Sarah Brueggeman and Lauren Klepac, a victim advocate from the St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, to discuss the importance of consent and the legal implications of sexual assault. “Rape would be a criminal offense,” counselor Mary Kerr-Grant said. “If a student came and said ‘I was raped on the premises,’ I would immediately contact the police.”

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY BRANDON MCCARTY

02.10.16

Due to mandatory reporting laws and Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools, schools must have protocols in place for handling reports of sexual abuse. “Our building is really, really strong if a student comes with a sexual harassment claim,” Kerr-Grant said. Rape culture. It’s just two words, three syllables, 11 letters. Despite the extra characters, rape culture is a topic that is rarely talked about and is much harder to recognize. But rape culture is a silent killer - the influence it has on society is subtle, but the effects it has are just as dangerous as rape itself. The conversation about rape culture is often accompanied by confusion. While the phrase has had a growing presence on social media over the past few years, the definition is sometimes still blurred and unstable. But rape and rape culture have two different meanings. Rape culture encompasses the normalization of rape, that it’s okay to promote sexualized violence on TV and in video games, that victims are the one to blame for what happens to them. However, rape culture is a social issue that goes mainly unaddressed in schools. Rape jokes are still a prevalent form of humor amongst teenagers, unrealistic beauty standards still dominate Twitter and Facebook feeds, and many students have experienced the effects of dress codes at one point or another. “They’re quiet [when discussing rape culture],” Louis-Bauer said. “I think a lot of [students] see it, and when they really start to recognize it, I think it scares them.”

The phrase itself carries a lot of prejudice. Some people are 1 hesitant using it due to some of its isolating connotations. Elisabeth Condon, an FHN graduate and the Sexual Assault Prevention Committee Chair in Truman State University’s Student Government, tries to avoid using the term rape culture, as some believe that it excludes the idea that men can be victims. “[Rape culture] tends to be alienating for male victims,” Condon said. “Men can also be affected. [The committee] tries to proliferate that rape can happen to anybody.” At Truman State University, the Sexual Assault Prevention Committee is working on updating posters and information around the school so that students know how to report instances of sexual abuse and where they can find help. FHN used to hold a presentation to raise awareness for sexual assault, including a video on dating violence, for the junior class, but last year was the first year that it wasn’t held since the video seemed too outdated to use. Without any discussion about rape culture at school, students won’t be taught to recognize the problems in advertising, television and pop culture that perpetuate the normalization of rape. Those 11 letters should carry the same punch as the first four, but without any attention, the term risks getting lost and ignored by society. “It’s important to educate people about it,” Kerr-Grant said. “I think a lot of people don’t think twice about it but it’s there.”

INFOGRAPHIC BY JAMIE HETLAGE

• Consent cannot be given by a person who lacks the mental capacity to authorize the conduct charged to constitute the offense and such mental incapacity is manifest or known to the actor • Consent cannot be given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or defect, or intoxication, is manifestly unable or known by the actor to be unable to make a reasonable judgment as to the nature or harmfulness of the conduct charged to constitute the offense

• Someone who is incapacitated cannot consent. • Silence or absence of resistance does not establish consent. • Consent to one form of sexual activity does not imply consent to other forms of sexual activity. • Consent to engage in sexual activity with one person does not imply consent to engage in sexual activity with another. Consent must be obtained at the time of the specific activity and can be withdrawn at any time.

• Unless consent is knowing, clear and voluntary it is not given. • Someone who is incapacitated cannot consent. Silence or absence of resistance does not establish consent. • Consent to one form of sexual activity does not imply consent to others. • Consent to sexual activity with one person does not imply consent to engage in sexual activity with another. • Consent must be obtained at the time of the specific activity and can be withdrawn at any time.

A person commits the crime of sexual assault if they have sexual intercourse with another person knowing that they do not have the person’s consent.

Means an offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting system.

Any non-consensual sex act prescribed by Federal, tribal or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent.

In a study done at the college, 3 percent of women reported being sexually assaulted during one school year.

In the 2014-15 school year 11 cases of sexual assault were reported, accounting for over 20.8 percent of all campus crime.

In the 2014-15 school year eight sexual assaults had occurred, six on campus and two off of campus.

• Emergency text messaging. • Cameras around campus. • Outdoor Warning Systems. • Lighted halls. • Shuttle System all night and day.

WHAT IS TITLE IX?

• A title IX office is available for anyone needing help with sexual harassment. • Every student is required to take the Not Anymore training and pass with a 70 percent to learn about sexual assault, consent, dating and domestic violence, stalking, and bystander intervention. • MU Alerts are online to check in case of emergencies. • Cameras. • Emergency Lighting System.

It says that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

• RAD training for women to learn how to protect themselves. • Safety Alerts. • Safe Team escorts are students who walk around campus and report crime. • Outdoor Siren System. • Emergency Phones.

SOURCES: 1. http://police.truman.edu/services-programs/ 2. http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/university-of-missouri-columbia/student-life/crime/ 3. http://mupolice.missouri.edu/ 4. http://www.semo.edu/dean/sexual-misconduct/guidelines.html 5. http://www.bestcolleges.com/schools/179557-southeast-missouri-state-university/ 6. http://police.truman.edu/files/2015/04/2015-Campus-Report-B.pdf 7. http://police.truman.edu/services-programs/

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY BRANDON MCCARTY

02.10.16

If you or someone you know is a rape victim, there are multiple ways to get help BY PRISCILLA JOEL

pjchristo16@gmail.com • @JCPjchristo

According to the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), about 1.8 million adolescents in America have been sexually abused, however, only 30 percent of all sexual assault cases are brought to the attention of the authorities. However, many times, sexual abuse, or rape, is not reported by students. “I think kids often try to handle things themselves, which is a mistake,” Mary Kerr-Grant, Crisis Counselor at FHN, said. “A lot of times, unless an adult finds out, it goes unrecorded.” In the state of Missouri, rape is classified as a criminal offense, and all public schools are mandated to disclose any reports of rape to the police, regardless of whether they happen on school campus or not. If the student who has been victimized is under the legal age of 18, then they must press charges against their assailant. However, if the student is 18 years of age, or older, then they may choose whether or not they want to press charges, unless the

rape is domestic, or, committed by a relative or romantic partner. According to Kelly Schneider, Senior Sexual Assault Therapist at Bridgeway’s Sexual Assault Center, the first step to preventing rape among teenagers is recognizing that it’s a problem. “[Schools] can bring in agencies like ours to provide prevention education, but it’s really about schools taking the issue seriously,” Schneider said. High school students are often hesitant to report that they have been raped for different reasons, including feeling embarrassed about it, thinking law enforcement won’t believe them or because they don’t want to get in trouble. “I would just let them know that they are not alone,” FHN Student Resource Officer Sarah Brueggeman said. “There are many resources out there that will help them, that can protect them from their abuser and keep it as discreet as possible. Even when we take police reports, if somebody is a victim of sexual assault, we do not put their name in the report.”

According to Kerr-Grant, the faster the incident is reported, the easier it is to find evidence so that the victim can press charges. “Get help immediately,” Kerr-Grant said. “Tell an adult, not just a friend.” If a student has been raped, it’s never their fault for what happened to them, so by getting help, people can provide them with the support and resources that they need. "I would say that what they've been through is a very terrible experience,” Schneider said. “And talking with somebody, anybody, trusted friend or counselor can help tremendously In the long run."

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY BRANDON MCCARTY

02.10.16

Join the FHN Media Program! SIGN UP FOR INTRO CLASSES:

JOURNALISM, JOURNALISM II & DIGITAL PHOTOJ Going Places

Meeting People

Skills

Courses

Students move out of their seats and beyond the classroom to cover community and national events. They attend a local events at places like Webster University and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Staff members also attend national conventions each year in places ranging from Denver and Orlando to Anaheim and Seattle.

Members of staff after conquring Lombard Street in San Francisco during a trip to the National High School Journalism Convention in California. This is one of the many trips the staff has taken. Future trips will be to a variety of places from Indianapolis and Seattle, to Chicago and Dallas!

FHNtoday.com FHNgameday.com North Star Newsmagazine Excalibur Yearbook FHNtoday TV

Contact FHN Media (Room 026)

Aaron Manfull, Adviser aaron.manfull@fhsdschools.org 636-851-5107 Jordyn Kiel, Adviser jordyn.kiel@fhsdschools.org 636-851-5048

Awards Join one of the top journalism programs in the country. The publications consistently rank among the nation’s elite at national conventions and contests. The staff has earned Pacemaker, Crown, Gallup and Best of Show honors numerous times. Win awards as part of a team and individually. In the past 5 years we have had two named Missouri’s High School Journalist’s of the Year and staffers have won numerous scholarships for their work.

If you’re into writing or designing, there’s a place for you. Want to be a sports reporter or a movie reviewer? There’s a place for you. If you’re into photography or videography, want to work on the web or in business advertising, there’s a place for you. Like Facebook and Twitter? We even have jobs for that. Learn skills that matter now and help later.

In room 026 you’ll meet everyone from sports team captains and Student Council members to artists and those in band. You’ll also have the chance to meet and talk with famous people. Staffers have interviewed and/or photographed everyone from Barack Obama and Rand Paul to boxing great Evander Holyfield and First Amendment fighter Mary Beth Tinker.

Looking to get an Honors Point? Publications can get you that too. Newspaper, Yearbook FHNtodayTV and FHNtoday.com staffs are all co-curricular classes that meet during the school day. You get Practical Arts credit for being a member of staff and even have the option to take the publication courses for an Honors Point. Inquire about your options.

A Family Bond Junior Emma Kolkmeier and her family adopted 6-year-old Danny on December 10, 2015. Although Danny just got adopted, he has been living with the Kolkmeier’s since June 26, 2013, when they became an official foster family. In September of 2014, they got legal guardianship. Emma and Danny’s bond has only grown from there. They like to watch movies, play with Play-Doh and play in his toy kitchen together. Danny also likes to see Emma perform at her guard performances. “My favorite thing about Danny is how sweet he is to everyone, and some of the things he says is hilarious,” Kolkmeier said. “He’s really funny.” (Photo story by Kyra Peper)

Danny smiles for the camera with his adoptive father, Jeff. Danny and Jeff watch a lot of old western movies. Danny currently favors western theme stuff and horses. His room is even decorated with horses.

Danny points at the wall during their dinner, claiming that it was upside down. Danny has recently been loving pancakes. “He always wants pancakes in the morning,” Kolkmeier said. “For dinner he usually eats chicken nuggets.” Kolkmeier and her family sit around their table at dinner. They first met Danny because he was in Emma’s mom’s preschool class. Emma volunteered at the preschool and they had an instant connection. When Kolkmeier first interacted with Danny, he played with her hair a lot.

FHNTODAY.COM

PAGE BY RILEY MCCRACKIN

Danny grabs Emma’s hand and holds it.

02.10.16

WARNING!

DON’T FORGET TO BUY YOUR 2015-16 EXCALIBUR YEARBOOK • Check this link to see if you’ve already ordered: • http://goo.gl/yTriv3 • The staff will not be ordering extras once the ﬁnal sale number is set at the end of the year. How do you buy your yearbook? • In room 026 • In the main ofﬁce • On FHNtoday.com under the yearbook tab on the top menu

SALON SERVICES Haircut $10 Shampoo, Blowout $13 Conditioning Treatment, Blowout $19 Color, Shampoo, Blowout $25 Highlighting $39 SPA SERVICES Signature Facial $25 Alpha Beta Peel $20 - $35 Advanced Micro Peel $50* Makeup Application $11 Brow Wax $12 *Cannot be combined with any other facial services.

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Upcoming Games B. Basketball Feb. 12 Varsity vs. FHHS @ 7 p.m.

Feb. 16 Varsity @FZW @ 7 p.m.

Feb. 17 Varsity @Timberland @ 6:30 p.m.

Feb. 19 Varsity vs. FZW @ 7 p.m.

Feb. 23 Varsity @Troy @ 7 p.m.

Feb. 26 Varsity @SCW @ 7:30 p.m.

A goalie of last year’s Warriors boys lacrosse team sprints down the field during a game after catching the ball from the opposing team. (File photo)

New Sport for FHN

Feb. 12 Varsity vs. FHHS @ 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 16 Varsity @FZW @ 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 19 Varsity vs. Troy @ 5:30 p.m.

WATCH

The Eighth Annual Pink Ribbon Game

Feb. 26 Varsity vs. SCW @Lindenwood @ 6 p.m. Senior Austine Pauly rushes down the court at last year’s Pink Ribbon Game on Feb. 13 against the Howell Vikings. The game is to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. (File Photo)

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY ALY DOTY

02.10.16

Moving On to the Playoffs

The FHN hockey team finished their season with 6 wins, Practice for girls lacrosse, a sport new to FHN this 15 losses and 3 ties. They will attend the playoffs. They year, begins on Feb. 29. The coaches of the new team are plan to improve on staying in position and not leaving Ryan Darks and Debra Knowlton, two physical education people open during games. teachers who are from Hollenbeck Middle School, and “[We] just need to get back to the basics,” junior Adam former member of the Lindenwood University lacrosse Dempsky said. team Jessica Corbett. According to Tyler Krakosky and Girls lacrosse is a non-contact sport played on a Kavan Johnson, the season could 65 by 120 yard field. Each team can have 12 players Follow the link have gone more smoothly, but was on the field at once. Most of the team members are http://goo.gl/QdcWW5 to watch a recap of the hockey still successful. inexperienced in the game. season. “We had a good season,” Johnson “I’m trying out to try something new and stay fit said. “It could’ve been better for cross country,” freshman Autumn Schrader said. because we lost some games we should have won, but “If the girls are as dedicated to practicing as I hope they we also won some games that we shouldn’t have.” (Brief are and the coaches know what they’re doing, it won’t be by Sami Schmid) too bad.” (Brief by Claire Boenitz)

G. Basketball Feb. 10 Varsity @Timberland @ 6:30 p.m.

Francis Howell North Knights vasirty go after the puck in a game against the Francis Howell High School Vikings. (Photo by Hannah Medlin)

The FHN girls’ and boys’ basketball programs hosted the Timberland Wolves on Friday, Feb. 5 in the eighth annual Pink Ribbon Game. For the past eight years, Coach Dawn Hahn and her team have honored those affected by cancer. Athletes honor someone in their life by making a jersey with the honoree’s name and their number on it. The players come in before the games and decorate the gym and gym lobby with pink streamers and balloons. The teams raised money by selling pink ribbon t-shirts and sweatshirts. The varsity girls’ team also went around to classrooms and collected donations from students and teachers. During halftimes of both games, the players did a one minute bucket dash where they ran into the stands and collected as much money as possible before the time ran out. All profit that was made that night was donated to cancer research. “I think it’s beneficial that [FHN] goes all out for Pink Ribbon because it attracts people to the game,” Senior Julia Crets said. “The game raises awareness about breast cancer. The game also helps raise money to support the fight against breast cancer and help find a cure.” (Brief by Reaghen West)

Sophomore Jacob Smith switches to the other side of his opponent to try and pin him on his back during a match against Francis Howell Central Spartens on Dec. 16 (Photo by Kristen Pike)

Junior Fletcher Dietrich dribbles the basketball in a game against Central on Dec. 18. The Knights lost the game with a score of 55-74. (Photo by Lauren Price)

Leaving it on the Mat

Boys Basketball Prepare for Next Game

The wrestling season at FHN has come to a close with two total wins for the varsity team. “For me [this season has been] good because I’ve medaled at almost every tournament,” senior and varsity wrestler Tyeler Collins said. According to Collins, facing Holt was one of their biggest challenges this year and the match ended with a loss. “I mean there’s definitely some matches we had the potential to win but didn’t,” wrestling coach and FHN staff member, Chris Brown said. “We’ve got to get better in the top

position and need to be more physical. [But] Overall I think we’ve got a pretty good team chemistry.” One of the wrestling program’s highlights this season was when the freshman team won the 17-team GAC Championship on Jan. 23 by three points. The GAC champions included Dillion Lauer, Zach Anderson and Josh Simmons. GAC runners-up included Cole Hayse and Taylor Layne. The fourth place finishes went to Peyton Hebert and TJ Condren. (Brief by Sami Schmid)

The boys basketball team is having their next game Feb. 12 against FHHS. The team has been working to improve their skills for this upcoming game. According to junior and varsity boys basketball player Fletcher Dietrich, making smarter passes and dribbling are the things the team needs to practice on. They need to work on saving their dribbling until they are under pressure and have to use it in order to prevent the ball from getting stolen. “It’s not always bad dribbling the ball, but if a team is pressing us then it’s smartest to just pass and not dribble

unless you have to,” Dietrich said. The team has had 11 losses and 5 wins this season but have four games left to boost their record. To prepare for the games they will still be having practices after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. They typically have games on Tuesdays and Fridays. The boys basketball team is wrapping up their regular season on Feb. 23 against Troy high school. “I love that I have something to do right after school and I love being good friends with everyone on the team,” Dietrich said. (Brief by Sami Schmid)

Swimming Towards Success With the upcoming State Championship, the season is coming to a close for the girls’ swimming team. “[It has] been a challenging season for us,” Coach William Crow said. “I thought we would’ve been stronger than we have been this year. It didn’t develop like I hoped it would.” At the beginning of the season, the team consisted of 20 swimmers and one diver. Five of them were new to the team this year. “We got a lot of new swimmers, so they weren’t as experienced as some of the people who have been swimming for a longer time or who have been on club teams,” sophomore Anna Lindquist said. “We had to introduce them to new events that they’ve never done before, so it gave us a disadvantage to the more experienced teams.”

Throughout the season, Crow has allowed them to try out events in their comfort zone. This allowed them to discover what they were good at and what they wouldn’t do so well on. After determining what they were good at, they continued to do the events they were more comfortable in. “I think I’m looking forward to introducing new swimmers, especially since I’ll be considered a more experienced [swimmer],” Lindquist said. “This is my second year swimming, but instead of being that person that’s been swimming for only one other year, I can help with the newer swimmers, and I think that’s exciting.” GACs are on Feb. 11. The top 16 swimmers on the team from preliminaries on Feb. 8 will swim. (Brief by Michal Basford)

Senior Claire Bonitez swims the 200 Individual Medly during the meet against Howell and Timberland. The lady Knights came in second against the Vikings and Wolves. (Photo by Katie Worsham)

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY MCKAYLA BOGDA

02.10.16

WATCH

Follow the link http://goo.gl/PWaH7G to see the new mascot design for Norm.

A New Look The FHN Booster Club invested this year in the creation of a new mascot costume BY DAVID BODDEN

davidbodd@gmail.com • @davbodd

His name is Norm the Knight, and he has just gotten a makeover. This year, the FHN Booster Club has worked to create a new costume for the mascot, Norm. This new costume replaced the roughly 25-year-old former costume and debuted on Feb. 3 at the FHN College Signing Day. For years, the FHN Booster Club had considered the idea of replacing the Norm costume. It was old, and not many people can remember exactly when it had been created. It hadn’t been used much in recent years, and many students didn’t even know of its existence. But, this year, things finally fell into place. “Mike [Janes] and I met over the summer, and we wanted to make it happen, so we went ahead and started looking at companies so that we could purchase one,” FHN Booster Club President Jef Fletcher said. To start the process, Fletcher called Kincaid Karacters. They worked with him by sending sketches of possible ideas for the new costume. Fletcher and Activities Director Mike Janes looked at the sketches, and talked it over with the company to form a more specific idea of what they wanted. After working hard on the costume’s look over the past semester, the project was finished toward the end of January. Norm made his first appearance at the FHN College Signing Day. “[Norm will be at] hopefully all the big ones: Howell, Howell Central and most of the home events,” Fletcher said of the future Norm appearances. “We would like to see him go to those places and invite their mascot to come out too.” The plan for Norm in the future is to have him out with the cheerleaders. It has been a long time since FHN has had a mascot at a game, and Fletcher and Janes have just brought that experience back to the students. “I’m excited for the new Norm because the one we have now is kind of outdated,” sophomore Jamie Sneed said. “I think it’s always good to change things up.”

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY GARRET GRIFFIN

02.10.16

The Journey to Nationals The Knightline dance team competes at Nationals BY RILEY KAMPFF kampffriley@gmail.com

Senior Jordan Throgmorton follows teammate Chase Powelson down the court during the varsity basketball game on Dec 18 against Francis Howell Central. Throgmorton is back for his final season as a Knights varsity basketball player this year. (Photo by Lauren Price)

Returning to the Court for the Final Season

Unable to play basketball his sophomore or junior years, senior Jordan Throgmorton has returned to play for one final season BY GARRET GRIFFIN ggriifin@gmail.com

It has been two years since Jordan was a part of the FHN basketball team, and for his final season he had to show his teammates and his coach even after missing two seasons, he could be apart of this season’s varsity roster. “I played with most of [the team] before so it wasn’t too bad but I definitely felt like I had to prove myself,” Jordan said. Jordan was not able to tryout his sophomore or junior year due to shoulder and arm injuries and due to the fact that after months of physical therapy he would not be prepared to begin a new season after recover. Physical therapy helped him fix his injuries but he was limited to working out his other muscles which didn’t help him into being in shape for the upcoming basketball season. “Basketball has helped with everyone’s mental and physical aspect,” senior Matt Borelli said. “Jordan has been keeping up pretty well and he’s definitely a part of a good team.” Jordan is 6’1 and 210 pounds, he believes that his height and weight allow him to help the team defensively. “His size and aggression has really helped us at

the games,” varsity coach Darrell Davis said. “He’s a great practice player and has really done well during practice. Jordan wanted to let his friends and family see him play basketball for the final time before he moved away from the court and went to tryout for the FHN baseball team and eventually on to play college baseball. “I joined back because playing basketball in gym, I did miss it a little and I did it for my parents so they could watch me play one last time,” Jordan said. The Knights’ current record of 5-11 hasn’t affected Jordan’s attitude toward the current season. Jordan has played every game and currently has 20 rebounds, 15 fouls and eight attempted free throws. Before the season began, Jordan avoided setting high goals for himself this season due to the fact that he hasn’t played for two seasons. “I just try to play my best and help my team,” Jordan said. Jordan’s coach and teammates view him as a wellrounded person and athlete. “Jordan is a good student and a good athlete,” Davis said. “Both as a student and a player it has been great to have him a part of the team for his senior year.”

After weeks of elaborate training that Knightline has been going through, they earned the title of 14th place at Nationals out of 54 teams in small varsity jazz. The team says that it was a stress-free process and that the performance was one of their best. “I think that everyone was so happy that we made it to finals so it didn’t even matter how we placed,” Knightline member Rachel Kamp said, “As long as we knew we did our best, and we all felt so confident walking onto the finals floor.” With the team of 12 girls and an addition of two alternate dancers, practice for them was four times a week, and training became more complex by practicing buries, jumping jacks, and other endurance boosting exercises in order to prepare for the big journey to Orlando, Florida, where Nationals is held. “The leaders and I make it a point to not care about necessarily winning,” Knightline member Reiley Rufkahr said. “The best reward is stepping off the floor with your best friends knowing you communicated well, emoted well and nailed every single one of your turns and leaps.” According to the girls, dancing was only half the battle because nationals was a very important competition. Dancers say that the experience for the team was immensely powerful, and that they were ready to take the challenge head-on. “Lately we have all been so pumped up for nationals,” Knightline member Alyssa Vincenz said. “The other freshman and I have been really listening up on what to expect for nationals. We all just remind ourselves the main goal for nationals, which is to do our absolute best and to walk out of the castle [which is the final stage of the competition]. We really just remind ourselves that if we put in our hardest work from recent practices, it will result in a great thing at nationals.”

FHNTODAY.COM

PAGE BY ANTHONY KRISTENSEN 02.10.16

Puns and Roses Me?

I don’t know what it is, but I feel so gloomy.

Yeah, you! I know it’s gloomy out, but the rainbow always comes after the rain!

HEY! DON’T SAY THAT!

Wow. I never looked at it like that before.

Thanks, little bud.

(Comic by Riley Kampff)

(Cartoon by Riley Kampff)

The Hot Topic Of. . .

Print or Cinema?

CLICK

What’s your take? Let Us Know By Following This Link: http://goo.gl/p9NZxH.

Some die-hard fans insist on reading books before seeing movies, but is the difference really significant enough to count? BY EMILY WILSON

BY ANTHONY KRISTENSEN

For some people, it’s that new book smell, and for others it’s the excitement of having an entire adventure in the palm of your hand. Whatever the reason, books have a unique quality that movies will never be able to replicate. Books take every single reader through a slightly different story. Most movies are limited to a short two or three hours to tell a story The Book is Better that could be taking place over several years; books have much more potential for detail and depth. One book can cover the story of generations, and once one book is done, sequels are there to carry on the story. And when a series is finished, truly dedicated fans can explore their favorite authors’ other works, so the excitement hardly ever ends. Books are also open to interpretation. No two people will read a book quite the same way. Characters will look a little different and have different quirks, while cliff hangers create a great opportunity to have book discussions with other people. Favorite books are hard to forget, and are often a easy way to connect with others. Many movies are great for only a short period of time; they often come and go as pop culture rapidly changes. It’s because of great books that so many movies are made. Movies like “Fight Club,” “The Social Network,” and “The Wizard of Oz,” were all based off of books, and that’s only to name a few. The amazing success of Harry Potter and the Hunger Games franchises is all thanks to the incredible books that started it all. Books offer a new adventure, introduce characters that can become your best friend, and open the door to a brand new world. While movies are exciting, they’ll only be a nice compliment to a story that was probably inspired by a book.

The Hunger Games. Harry Potter. The Avengers. What do all of these movies all have in common, you may ask? The simple answer is that all of these were popular book series or comic books turned into movies. Many who have read the books, as well as those who hadn’t, flocked into movie theaters nationwide when these popular novels Movies are Masterly were transformed into the movie icons that they are today. Many of those that hadn’t read the novels, as well as those that did, would leave the movie theaters raving, impatiently waiting for the next movie to come out. Yet, not all appreciate the fact that movies seem to be taking the attention away from the original works. The main reason for most people that movies are better than the books is the time they take out of a person’s life. Especially in today’s world, people often don’t have time to sit down and read a book. Their lives are simply too busy. Watching movies, such as the ones listed before, gives you the jist of what happens in the book, in a much more timely manner. While it’s different for everyone, it can take the reader days or weeks to complete reading just a single book. With the movies, it only take about an hour and 30 minutes to watch. Movies are also more group friendly. Who asks their friends to go hang out and read together at the library? Very few people. Now, how many people go out to the movies with friends? Many people. So when asked what the better option is between a book or a movie, the answer is quite simply the movie, especially with people’s live becoming more and more busy. So, whenever you get the free time, sit down and watch a movie with some friends and gain all of the information from the book.

itsemilywilson@gmail.com

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY DAVID BODDEN

02.10.16

anthony.kristensen17@gmail.com • @anthonyk17slsg

Free Flying With the civil war in Syria escalating, implementing a no-fly zone in the country would be the most catastrophic action that could be taken

An explosion after an apparent US-led coalition airstrike on Kobane, Syria, as seen from the Turkish side of the border, near Suruc district, Oct. 13, 2014, Turkey , Syria. (Photo from Orlok/ shutterstock.com)

BY ANTHONY KRISTENSEN

Those in support of this proposal say that it provides a solution for the refugee crisis coming out of Syria, as a no-fly zone would cause less homes to be destroyed, which would lead less people to leaving Syria in search of Look back at the time frame between the end of World War II and asylum. However, this is not the case. With ISIS, the FSA and Syrian armed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Think about the tensions between the forces fighting in heavily populated civilian areas, people will continue to flee governments in Washington and in Moscow. The constant threat of nuclear the country in search of a peaceful life. Also, there are possible catastrophic war between the world’s two superpowers drove people both inside and results that could come from this proposal for the U.S. outside the government to extremes. Inside the government, Senator Joseph Keep this in mind, the government of Syria has invited Russia to conduct McCarthy ruined the lives of many by accusing them of having ties to airstrikes in the country to combat ISIS, meaning Syria wants the Russians communism with no evidence. Outside the government, people all over the flying over their country. In no way has the U.S. been given authority to dictate country spent thousands of dollars on nuclear fallout shelters in case the U.S. what happens in Syrian airspace from anyone. Not and Soviet Union were to fall into nuclear war. Luckily, the from the Syrian government, not from the United prospect of such a war seemed to fade away after the Nations, not from anyone. Now, what an American Soviet Union collapsed. implemented no-fly zone would mean is that any plane Fast forward to today. The tensions between the flying over Syria would be shot down. No exceptions. governments in Washington and Moscow are escalating Now, let’s link this back to the relations with Russia. again, with U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian Keep in mind that the Syrian government wants President Vladimir Putin seeing eye-to-eye on a very, very Russia to conduct these airstrikes. They invited Russia small amount of topics. One topic that the traditional to do these attacks. Implementing a no fly zone adversaries do see eye-to-eye on, unmistakably, is that wouldn’t change that, Syria would still allow Russian the terror group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Facts to Know airstrikes to take place. So what happens next? The needs to be destroyed. However, the two presidents U.S. implements this no fly zone and Russia continues show their differences here, too, in how this should be • The U.S. has been involved since 2012 to conduct airstrikes against ISIS. The U.S. would then done. shoot down these Russian jets. This could result in The current government in Syria, led by President • The war has killed over 200,000 civilians the possibility of another World War. It’d be different Bashar Al-Assad, is an ally to those in Moscow. However, than the Turkish downing of the Russian plane most in Washington want to see Assad toppled and Syria • Over 4.3 Million Syrian Refugees because the U.S. would shooting the planes down in turned over to the rebels fighting in the Free Syrian Army an airspace that they were invited to. Turkey shot (FSA). Putin has discussed that the future of Assad should • Most Syrians flee to Jordan or Lebanon down the jet saying that is way in their air space, be left up to the Syrian people, while Obama has stated where Russia wasn’t invited. Do you see the problem that peace cannot be brought to Syria with Assad at the • U.N. predicts $7.7 billion dollars to now? helm of the government. provide emergency support This proposal could possibly lead to the U.S. and With this massive war, the government of Syria has Russia declaring war on each other, which could lead mercycorps.org: goo.gl/G25Bgh invited Russia to conduct airstrikes in Syrian airspace. to Russian allies, such as Syria and Iran, declaring This has not only caused controversy between the U.S. war on the U.S., its NATO allies and Israel. NATO and and Russia, but also between Russia and American allies, Israel would then declare war on Russia and its allies. China, who is not a most notably Turkey, when a Russian warplane supposedly flew over Turkish fan of either the U.S. or Russia, would likely join on the side of Russia due to airspace, which promptly caused Turkey to shoot down the jet, killing one of their geographic location, with North Korea joining with them and South Korea the pilots. One solution to this problem that has been introduced by many joining the U.S. Many nations in South America and Africa would then be split in Washington is implementing a no-fly zone over Syria, which is essentially on the conflict due to relations, resulting in fighting in those continents as the worst possible move that could be made. This proposal has received well. support from presidential candidates from both major political parties, notably All of these risks because the U.S. didn’t want anyone flying over Syria? Hillary Clinton (D- NY) and Governor Chris Christie (R- NJ). The only presidential This proposal is not only irresponsible on behalf of the U.S., but it could be candidate that stands in firm opposition to this proposal is Senator Bernie catastrophic. This is why the U.S. cannot support this proposal. Sanders (I- VT). anthony.kristensen17@gmail.com • @anthonyk17slsg

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY ETHAN SLAUGHTER

02.10.16

BRINGING BACK CLASSIC APPS

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A “Fine” Film Disney’s new film based on a true story, “The Finest Hours,” finds a balance between character and plot development, and keeps the audience engaged throughout BY SAMI SCHMID

impressed by how closely they kept to the facts of the story. The only fabricated events were the ones Cold water is splashing everywhere. involving characters Bernie and Miriam’s It’s dark and you can hardly see. You romance. Bernie and Miriam were are in the middle of the ocean in a small actually together, but they were already boat being knocked around by strong married when he set out on the rescue waves. It’s freezing and you’re not mission. She also had the flu during the sure that you’ll make it back alive. This storm, so she was at home the whole was the situation faced by the coast time, not out and about. guardsmen of the Chatham station. While the movie did spend a lot of time Set in 1952, “The Finest Hours” depicts focusing on the ocean and the events the extraordinary true story of the that transpired there they did a good job rescue of two sunken oil tankers. of keeping it entertaining and with just Coast Guardsman, Bernie Webber enough out of water scenes to balance is ordered to pick a crew and take a the film. The two main characters, small rescue boat out to sea during a Bernie Webber, played by Chris Pine, and terrible storm and save the seamen Ray Sybert, played by Casey Affleck of of the SS Pendleton after it was cut in “Gone Baby Gone” fame, were both the half. However, his rescue boat has a underdogs of their profession in the film, capacity of twelve, and when he and yet in the moment that disaster strikes his crew arrive at they were the ones to the wreckage they step up to the plate North Star Rates find 32 survivors. and save everyone’s The movie follows lives. I loved the way 7/10 their attempts and the filmmakers gave conflicts as Bernie the movie symmetry works to retrieve with the characters and and safely return all 32 of the surviving the ongoing plot lines involving the crewmen. SS Pendleton and the Chatham Coast After watching the trailer, the movie Guard. was everything I had hoped and What I liked most about the movie imagined, almost too much so. The was that even though you know what is trailer sums up most of the movie, so going to happen, even though you know there’s not a lot to learn plot-wise. there are survivors, they still managed However, it is still great to watch. If not to not only make it worth watching, but for the exciting, fast paced vibe, then for also kept you on the edge of your seat the plot itself. The fact that a giant 500while doing so. The fact that it is based foot ship could be split in half due to a on a true story doesn’t make you any relatively small crack it had sustained less worried that the whole crew could prior and some vicious waves seems to perish at any moment. be a bit far-fetched. To further make the This is a classic rescue story perfect story seem like it would be a fabricated for anyone into disaster movies. The one, the rescue boat that was originally effects are great and it’s a plus to only supposed to fit about 12 people watch it in 3D. Due to its setting in the managed to take 32 men back to shore. 1950s, anyone not into vintage movies While the movie itself did not much might have a hard time with this film. surprise me I would never guess Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and I this was a Disney movie and I was would recommend others to watch it. saminicole102@gmail.com

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY RILEY KAMPFF

02.10.16

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Top Eight Sporting Events of 2016 With all the different sports out there, it sometimes becomes difficult to decide what to spend valuable time watching. Here’s your guide to the world of sports for 2016 BY JACOB LINTNER

lintner.jacob@gmail.com • @TheJacobLintner

1. 2016 Summer Olympics: Aug. 5-21

This year’s Olympics are taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. New additions to the field include such classics as golf, sevens rugby and kitesurfing. No matter what sports make the cut, though, the Olympics is always an awe-inspiring spectacle of worldwide unity and athletic conquest. That is why the 2016 Summer Olympics tops my list of sporting events this year.

5. Copa Ámerica: June 3-26 Copa Ámerica is a yearly soccer tournament that features the top teams from the combined Americas. 2016 is not only Copa Ámerica’s 100th year, but it is also the first year that the tournament is being held outside of South America. 16 teams. 10 U.S. cities. One champion. The action will range from Chicago to New York to L.A. Make sure you catch the matches on television because these intercontinental rivalries get fierce.

Editors-in-Chief: Priscilla Joel Bennett Smallwood Business Manager: Austin Ferguson Business: Brandon McCarty Editors: Sports Editor: Garret Griffin Opinions Editor: Anthony Kristensen Copy Editor: Zoe Lawson Design Editor: Erika Paar Content Editor: Jamie Hetlage General Staff: David Bodden Riley Kampf Claire Boenitz Erin Levins McKayla Bogda Joe Luley Aly Doty Kylie Moser Carolynn Gonzalez Samantha Schmid Emily Hardin Karis Skaggs Sammie Herr Ethan Slaughter Chelsi Hoskins Noah Slaughter Kayla Martinez Emily Wilson Kylah Woods Editor in Chief of Photography: Alyssa Savage

2. World Series: Late October

6. Stanley Cup Final: Mid June

Last year’s battle of class and crass between the Mets and Royals was a great example of what the World Series has become- the exciting, hard-hitting championship of a sport many once considered dead. This year’s series is sure to be an exciting culmination of a very open-ended season. It is also sure to be covered by media outlets, such as your own FHNgameday.com. Lookout for the coverage of the 114th World Series.

Another yearly championship: the Stanley Cup Final. A more realistic endeavor for St. Louisans would be the first or second rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as there is a better chance of the NBA Finals to be in the River City than the Stanley Cup Final, yet we hold out hope in this 30-plus year drought. Back to the case to watch, this year’s playoff race is wide open for nearly any team to make a deep playoff run.

3. NBA Finals: Early-mid June

7. Masters Tournament: April 4-10

Just a spot below the risen-fromthe-dead baseball is the NBA, a sport steadily increasing in popularity. It seems that every NBA player has a strong presence on social media, and that has skyrocketed the sport right into the hearts of the American public. This and the fast-paced, highscoring gameplay has made the NBA one of the most popular sports in the U.S. This next season will definitely be a wild ride from start to finish.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I’m not traveling all the way to Georgia to watch golf, and I’m sure not watching golf on television. I’m gonna pass.” Well, while you’re entitled to your opinion, golf is in a transition right now. They are in search of the iconic golfer- a Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus- to define golf for this generation. That golfer will be determined in the coming years as the battle between Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson sorts itself out.

Photo Editors: Photo Essay Editor: Abby Temper Newspaper Photo Editor: Amanda Eckhard Yearbook Photo Editor: Ashton Stegman Sports Photo Editor: Lauren Price Portrait Editor: Madi Graves Photographers: Samantha Alexander Riley McCrackin Ashleigh Barlow Hannah Medlin Emily Floyd Kyra Peper Daisha Harris Kristen Pike Jared Kinnard Alexis Rowe Bernadette Kornberger Katie Warsham Alex Lane Lucas Tabaka Katie Warsham

FHNTODAY STAFF Web Editors: Webmaster: Chase Meyer Managing Editor: Michal Basford Web Staff: Isaiah Bryant Martin Groves Josh Cage Jacob Lintner Tristan Chenoweth Joe Luley Zach Mills Breighen Williams Chris Wood Editor-in-Chief of Video: Autumn Todd

4. NFL Draft: April 28-30

The NFL Draft has evolved from a small conference of owners to an international, widely-covered phenomenon of the exploitation of college youth and the open criticism of both the exploiters and the exploited. Even with the poor morals behind it, the Draft is a great way to get to know the NFL’s future stars, and it’s always a treat to watch Roger Goodell fumble around. It is one of the top events every year.

8. WrestleMania: April 3

The dark horse of the Top Eight, WrestleMania. Again, cast aside those nasty and discouraging thoughts, and enter with an open mind. Forbes named WrestleMania the fifth most valuable brand event in the world, behind only the World Cup, the Winter and Summer Olympics and the Super Bowl, so there is a very substantial following. And, in our barbaric society, who doesn’t like to blow off some steam watching two men beat the snot out each other?

Video Editors: Kyle Cuppy Brayton Larson Video Staff: Alyssa Barber Ben Moxley Monica Buckner Adam Quigley Laraya Griffith Joseph Samuels Sasha Kaganov Taylor Sheridan Brayton Larson Nathan Williams Kamila Zendron Advisers: Aaron Manfull Jordyn Kiel

FHNTODAY.COM PAGE BY JAMIE HETLAGE

02.10.16