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Sunset Village residents struggle to secure homes Zoë Shancer

co-features editor Contaminated water. Frequent water outages. No working fire hydrants. Potholes that wreck car tires. These are perhaps not someone’s first associations with the Glenview community, but add in rising rent costs, displaced families and looming foreclosure, and this is reality for residents of Glenview’s Sunset Village mobile home park, some of whom are South students.

According to Anita Noel, secretary of the Sunset Village Residents’ Association, devastation has occurred in Sunset Village

on many levels. The rising rent costs have resulted in the displacement of over thirty families, many of whom have had to pull their children out of Glenview schools.

“We don’t know where those families are living today because Sunset Village truly was one of the few affordable housing options in Glenview,” Noel said.

Sunset Village also suffers from poor management, according to Mike Vilches, president of the Sunset Village Residents’ Association. Vilches noted that the mobile home park has elevated levels of radium in its water, as the park is on a well system rather than the Glenview water sys-

tem. According to the Village of Glenview, the Village has no authority to regulate the water or how it is supplied.

Senior Omar Alcocer, who lives in Sunset Village, is appalled by the water situation in his neighborhood.

“The water isn’t even clear sometimes,” Alcocer said. “It’s yellow, and I take a shower in that. I use that water to wash my hands.”

The park experiences frequent water outages as well, according to Vilches, in which residents go two or three days with-

See SUNSET VILLAGE page 11

SET TO GO: In preparation for a possible foreclosure, junior Sydney Iosello (left) and her parents Leann and Chris have piled boxes of their belongings for

quick access. According to Leann, the family planned to remodel the attic, but they changed their plan because of the possible evacuation. Photo by Wyatt Richter

Biss, Farkas visit South in Poly-Sci-sponsored congressional debate Julianne Arnold & Dani Tuchman

staff reporters South’s Political Science (Poly-Sci) students organized a debate between Daniel Biss, Democratic State Representative, and Republican candidate Glenn Farkas in the Norman E.

Daniel Biss (D)

NEWS

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Watson auditorium Wednesday, Sept. 19.

The Poly-Sci students, who are taught

by David Kane, social studies teacher, wrote questions, organized additional questions that the audience submitted, publicized the debate and worked to make sure the night itself ran smoothly.

Kane explained that the purpose of the debate was twofold: his hope was to benefit both the Poly-Sci students as well as the audience by raising awareness regarding politics for both groups.

“The process made me more aware of politics,” senior Chandler Farrell, Poly-Sci student, said. “I feel like I really got to understand the different platforms.”

According to Kane, Tara Tate, GBS debate head coach, was asked to moderate the debate because of her intimate knowledge of debate formats as well as the is-

OPINIONS

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sues to be covered.

Sci students about the complexities of the “I thought the candidates did a great political process.

Senior Conor Heneghan, a Poly-Sci stujob answering the questions in a factual basis,” Tate said. “I thought it was very dent, said, “I found well balanced [between informing the students and delving into the political See issues more deeply] and informative as DEBATES well as [the candidates doing a good job page 3 of] selling their platforms.”

The Poly-Sci students collected questions from the audience and chose certain ones to be asked at the end of the debate in addition to the ones that the students had written themselves. The debate highlighted issues regarding state pensions, Medicare and Medicaid, and budget cuts. In addition to learning about politics, Kane hoped the process of putting together the Glenn Farkas (R) debate would also educate the PolyPhotos by Zach Baker

FEATURES

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A&E

19

SPORTS

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Oct. 5, 2012

news

Community copes with tragedy through Compassion It

Tammy Craven & Faith Savaiano

co-news editors Compassion It, a non-for-profit group based in random acts of kindness, was brought to the community this summer following the deaths of GBN students Billy Garrity and Kyle Caraher and alumnus Ryan McCarthy.

Compassion It sells bracelets that are black on one side and white on the other. Both sides read “Compassion It.” According to Casey Tanner, 2009 GBN graduate who brought Compassion It to Northbrook, the bracelet is a visual reminder to do acts of kindness daily, because the bracelet is supposed to be worn on the black side every day until the person donning the bracelet has done a compassionate act.

The idea stemmed from an assignment Tanner had as a member of the Movement 121 Fellowship in the fall of 2011. Tanner and a group of people were assigned to come up with an idea of a social business or non-for-profit organization that had the potential to change the world as a part of her fellowship. “[My group member Sara Schairer] had this idea that you could spread compassion and change the world that way, and everyone on the team…all really loved the idea,” Tanner said. “So kind of the basis of the idea is compassion, instead of being a noun like it normally is, becomes a verb.”

However, according to Tanner, Compassion It was just an idea until the tragedies occurred this summer. After the tragedies, Tanner realized how Compassion It could unite the community to honor the memories of Garrity, McCarthy and Caraher.

“I went to [Billy’s] funeral to support [his sister] Molly and there was a point during the funeral, where I don’t remember who was speaking, but…they said the Garrity family is just asking that you perform random acts of kindness in Billy’s name,” Tanner said. “I took that seriously and was thinking about it and kind of just had this epiphany that the mission of Compassion It and what the Garrity family was asking for from the community really went hand in hand.”

Garrity’s aforementioned sister, Molly Garrity, also said that the goal of the Compassion It bracelets was fitting with what her family was asking for and what Billy would have wanted from the community.

“I think you don’t know...who’s hurting so just doing these acts of compassion to people, it really does make a difference in that person’s day,” Molly said. “Even doing the acts of compassion makes me feel better about how I [have] spent my day.”

After checking with her teammates from the fellowship and the Garrity family, Tanner ordered the bracelets, which are sold at the boutique La De Da in Northbrook. So far, over $4,000 has been raised and over 1,000 bracelets have been sold.

The proceeds from the bracelets, which cost $5 but were raised to $10 in September, go to Garrity, McCarthy and Caraher’s families. Each family can donate a third of the proceeds towards any charity. According to Tanner, the Garrity family is donating the money to their scholarship fund, the McCarthy family to the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and the Caraher family has not yet informed Tanner of where they are donating their portion.

According to GBN senior Christina Salonikas, the bracelets have made an impact on her life. The common experience has additionally allowed the GBN community to become closer.

“Every day when I put it on, it’s on the black side and I look at it and try to actually find one thing I can do that’s compassionate to flip it to the white side,” Salonikas said.

“I do think about it every single day. Not only has it affected my life, but the kids in my grade will see someone have it on the white side and be like, ‘Oh, what did you do today?’”

According to Tanner, many people have been posting their different acts of compassion on the Compassion It Facebook page. GBN senior Kathryn Schmidt said she uses her bracelet as a constant, positive reminder to be compassionate in memory of her friends.

“Two of the boys that passed [this summer] I knew almost my whole life, so keeping their presence with me is something I really care about,” Schmidt said. “These bracelets are a great way to do that.”

According to Schmidt, she tries to make the bracelets accessible to anyone who is interested in having one. Schmidt also believes that the bracelets are beneficial to the community as whole, in addition to individual lives.

“The reaction... has been very positive,” Schmidt said. “The series of events that happened [this summer] were unexpected and difficult to react to. The idea of doing these bracelets is wonderful, and a positive way of coping.”

A d d i t i o n a l l y, the bracelets have BOUND TOGETHER: allowed the comPeople who wear the munity to find a Compassion It bracelets flip them from the way to support black to the white side the families going after they have perthrough the tragformed a compassionedies, according to ate act. The bracelets Tanner. Molly said are worn as a way to commemorate that Compassion It the lives of three means a lot to her GBN students and and her family, and alumni who passed she is thankful for this past summer. the organization.

Photo by Evan Richter “I just hope that people keep wearing their bracelets and keep remembering to do these things,” Molly said. “I think it’s a really beautiful idea, and I think a lot of these kids in high school and anyone who’s suffered a lot of losses, it does make such an impact on you that I’m hoping [Compassion It] will stay with them and that they’ll continue to do these acts of compassion.”

According to Tanner, the exciting aspect of Compassion It is that it has spread beyond the Northbrook community.

“People all over the world have Compassion It bracelets now,” Tanner said. “We’ve been giving women in very poor countries bracelets for free....It sprouted out from these tragedies in Northbrook, IL. Who knew that in just a couple months, this would be changing the world?”

news

Oct. 5, 2012

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State pension debt requires costly solution So, What Now?

would be paying more into pensions over the long term.

According to Whipple, another The Illinois pension debt reached over $80 proposal involves the largest benefit in billion this year, according to Hillarie Siena, the teacher retirement system: the costdistrict assistant superintendent of business How these proposals might play out in the real world. of-living adjustment (COLA). In Illinois, affairs. every year after retirement teachers are The Illinois government is currently given a 3 percent compounding COLA District pays 7 percent instead of .58 percent; exploring pension reform options to pay added on to their pension check. So every Cost Shifting back the debt and restructure the system. year, teachers receive a payment with 3 The debt is an accumulation of pensions percent of the previous year’s payment $80 million cost increase over 20 years for the district. from state employees and public workers, added on. such as teachers. The Teachers’ Retirement Lawmakers are proposing to give System (TRS) makes up the largest portion teachers and retirees a choice: either keep of the pension system, according to the the 3 percent COLA, but stop allowing Teachers retire at 67 instead of 64, Raising Retirement Illinois Business Journal. future salary increases to be factored Teachers’ pensions involve three parts: into pension calculations, and lose access paying more into their pensions long term.

Standards employee contributions, investment income to state health-insurance; or, accept a from the state, and general tax revenue, non-compounding COLA and lose the according to Benedict Hussmann, social aforementioned benefits. studies teacher.

That proposal would save the state $33 Teachers keep current 3 percent COLA and lose From every paycheck, 9.4 percent of a to 37 billion over 30 years, according to benefits,or drop COLA and keep benefits. bene teacher’s salary is taken out and put into the TRS, but at the cost of current retirees.

Cost of Living a pension fund, according to Matthew “The idea that they’d do this to people Adjustment (COLA) Whipple, social studies teacher and South who are retired, who have no income…

Would save the state $33-37 billion over 30 years. union president. Siena said that the district that’s pretty ugly,” Whipple said. pays .58 percent, and the state pays for The final option would be to increase the rest through a formula specific to each what teachers pay into their pensions teacher and school. However, Illinois has from the current 9.4 percent to a number Teachersʼ contribution increases from not come through. undetermined by lawmakers. Hussmann Increase Teacherʼs Pay “Some years they’d pay, some years they’d said teachers could more easily adjust to a 9.4 percent to unknown, higher percentage. pay but not all, some years they didn’t pay 1 or 2 percent increase, but anything more in Pension System into any, so now there’s a deficit,” Whipple said. would be similar to a severe pay cut.

The debt will continue accumulating According to Hussmann, some Graphic by Evan Richter because of baby boomer retirees and the teachers think the potential changes to economic downturn, according to State their benefits and payments are unfair Representative Daniel Biss, heightening the would mean less supplies and technology, infrequent since they have consistently paid their portion of their need for reform. replacement of equipment and fewer resources, according pension fund each month.

The Civic Federation, an Illinois research organization, to Whipple. However, Riggle said the goal is to make Lawmakers have been debating over the pension issue said that between fiscal years 2012 and 2013, pension sure the student body is affected as little as possible. since last fall with little being accomplished, Whipple costs will increase by $4.5 billion. They estimated that by “I’m a very strong believer that students should not said.

2019, pension payments will account for 27 percent of the be harmed by these things and we try and find a way to The uncertainty has led to an increase in retirements entire Illinois general revenue fund. make it work,” Riggle said. of state employees, with over 5,000 in the past year, Illinois Governor Patt Quinn, Democratic leader Mike The district is under a ‘tax cap,’ Siena said, meaning according to the Chicago Tribune. That number is close to Madigan and Republican leader Tom Cross have all that taxes can’t be raised from current levels to pay for the previous two years combined. suggested different solutions, such as shifting costs to the possible cost. Riggle said the district has worked to New employees have to think differently about the school districts, raising retirement standards, decreasing save money in recent years to buffer costs through cost- future, according to Joanna Lialios, social studies teacher. benefits and increasing teachers’ payments. friendly endeavors like saving energy. Assets like teacher “Newer teachers have to start planning ahead from Cost shifting is the state shifting its pension payments benefits, the district reserves and other places to cut costs now and have a back-up plan for retirement, as the to the district, or ‘getting out of the game,’ according to will be looked at, according to Principal Dr. Brian Wegley pension system has become unreliable,” Lialios said.

Superintendent Michael Riggle. District 225 would have and Riggle.

Whipple doesn’t expect change until after the election, to pay an estimated 7 percent instead of the current .58 “We’re planning for it, we’re working on it…and I’m because few politicians would take the political risk. percent, according to Siena. This would be an $80 million confident that we’ll figure it out, but there will be some Riggle said the key time is January, when politicians are cost over 20 years to the district. pain involved,” Wegley said. either leaving or secure in their seats for the next two The proposal comes without a means for districts to Raising retirement standards is another option, years. increase their revenue, or income, to pay for the pensions, according to Whipple. Current standards allow teachers Wegley said that the issue can’t be put off much longer. according to Siena. to retire at age 60 or after teaching for 35 years. The “The sooner the better [because] the longer we wait, Cuts to the operating budget could be made, and that retirement age would increase to 67 years, so teachers the more compounded the issue becomes,” Wegley said.

Rosie Kelly

staff reporter

DEBATE, continued from front page

out how much goes into a debate. It’s not just two people talking; it takes a whole organization to run these debates.”

Two years ago, Kane’s class helped organize a debate between Bob Dold and Dan Seals, former candidates for U.S. Congress. That debate was held in conjunction with the League of Women Voters, but Kane wanted students to have a bigger role this year.

In an Oracle-conducted survey of the Poly-Sci students, many students said they learned a lot from their experience.

“The goal of the debate was to present both sides and views on the issues in the most respectful manner to a wide range of people,” senior Casey Chiappetta, Poly-Sci student, said. “The questions we wrote, paired with the questions the audience asked, definitely accomplished this goal.”

Another Poly-Sci student, senior Grace Pittner, agreed.

“I think the debate went very well,” Pittner said.

“Watching the candidates and listening to them speak triggered [a lot] of questions in me and made me intrigued about what they had to say.”

Kane’s class also aimed to inform the audience. In an Oracle-conducted survey of 52 debate attendees, nearly 70 percent felt they had little to no knowledge regarding the candidates before the debate. However, 40 percent of those surveyed felt they learned at least a little about the candidates from the debate.

The debate even transformed some attendees’ opinions; 28 of 49 people surveyed said that the debate “swayed their opinion of the candidates” in some way.

Of the 28 people swayed, 22 decided to support Biss.

“We think Biss explained things in a better way,” ju-

nior students Georgia Gountanis and Daniela Vargus think for all the students here to do something like this.... wrote on a survey they filled out. “He made it easier for is a great experience... and I think it’s very important.” [students] to understand what they were talking about.”

Biss agreed with his opponent about the value of the Five of the 28 decided to support Farkas. debate.

“I don’t know if Mr. Biss is any better educated than “I chose to come to this school because when a group Mr. Farkas,” community member Jeff Tousek said. “Al- of students want to put on a debate, they can name the though Mr. Biss is not far off-track on a lot of things, time, they can name the place, and I’ll be there,” Biss said. whether or not he does anything about that is a different story. Based on the debate tonight, I’m voting for Farkas.”

The candidates believed that the student involvement was impressive and said that there is a need for students to become educated about politics even before reaching voting age.

“I think [the students] did a great job,” Farkas said. “They set [the debate] up [well]; the coordination was phenomenal. I’m also impressed with the overall interest in politics the students have. I remember when I was a high school stu- WHERE THEY STAND: Illinois Representative Daniel Biss listens to Republican opponent Glenn Farkas dent. I didn’t know a during the Sept. 18 debate. According to Principal Dr. Brian Wegley, GBS also hosted the largest congresthing about politics, so I sional debate in the country in 2010 between Robert Dold and Dan Seals. Photo by Zach Baker

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news

Oct. 5, 2012

Latest additions to school make debut, evoke reactions eme Makeov r t x E HEARD IN THE HALLS er

Carolyn Kelly

asst. news editor

What do GBS students think about the new College and Career Center...

“Last year when I was a junior it was a little disorganized, but this year since they have the new center everything’s organized, everything’s where it should be.

So if I ever need help for college or if I ever need any resources I can just go there and all my questions will be answered.”

-Senior Chloe Coletta Dramatization NOW CONNECTED: College coordinator Ann LePage demonstrates how to access the Common App on the College and Career Center’s new computers. The Center has received five new computers as a part of its relocation and renovation. Photo by Evan Richter

MIXED FEELINGS

“Well, we’ve had a mixed experience, but I’d say overall that it enhances our practices.

The surface is better. It’s softer, so it’s easier on your legs, and your back, so I think it’s better for the kids and coaches in that respect. ” -Mike Knoll, varsity football head coach “It’s a lot harder to move the ball up in the air—it’s a lot easier to have the ball on the ground and do like stick work, moving around people, but when you’re trying to go above them [the ball is] harder to lift up.”

-Greer Heinzen, varsity field hockey captain

n

ducin o trThe newest faces in g the GBS CounselingServices Department:

Travis Myers Before South:

Myers spent three years counseling and coaching football and baseball at Sterling High School in Sterling, IL.

Goals while at South: “I’d like to be

a great resource for kids, whether it be socially, emotionally, academically, preparing for college—just that resource that students can come to, can learn from and hopefully feel like I was able to help them.”

Favorite Food: Lasagna.

Favorite Movie: Gladiator.

Photos by Evan Richter

OPENING NIGHT: Tommy the Titan cuts the ribbon in a ceremony before the turf’s inaugural game, Aug. 31. Representatives from every outdoor sport that would play on the turf were present for the ceremony. Photo by Wyatt Richter

.. .

Pros and cons arise as different sports adjust to the new turf:

I

It ’

RF

s

OUR TU

Matthew Topham Before South: Topham counseled students at Taft High School in Chicago and most recently Niles North High School.

Goals while at South: “I

would like to help guide my students toward a life path that meets their hopes and personal expectations. President Obama... said, ‘Persevere because nothing worthwhile is easy.’ I believe this is a powerful statement and a message that I would like to pass along to my students.”

Favorite food: Thai food and peanut butter.

Favorite Movie: The Goonies.

news

5

Oct. 5, 2012

District prepares for teacher contract negotiations Aaron Ach & Inaara Tajuddin

staff reporters District 225 Board of Education and Glenbrook Education Association (GEA) representatives will negotiate teachers’ contracts throughout this school year, following a year which saw highly publicized negotiations in the Chicago Public School (CPS) system.

This is the last year of a five-year contract agreement with GEA for the district. Meetings regarding the revision of teachers’ contracts will begin in early October and continue throughout the school year.

According to Dr. Michael Riggle, District 225 superintendent, contract negotiations will primarily focus on topics such as compensation and contract language. He emphasizes that the contracts will not be discussed outside of the negotiation meetings. Riggle also said that the goal is to have ratified contracts by the end of the school year.

Matt Whipple, president of the GEA, said the teacher evaluation system, which is a result of state legislation, may be discussed during negotiations.

According to Whipple, South originally used a method to evaluate teachers that used a box-checking system with words like “excellent” and “proficient.” Ten to 12 years ago, a new system, which assessed teachers on their strengths and weaknesses, was implemented, according to Whipple. The state recently announced that schools had to revert back to the box-checking model, the model that South will use from now on.

“The state of Illinois, in its infinite wisdom, has said ‘you need to go back to the old system,’” Whipple said. “’And not only do you have to [go] back, but everybody has to go back.’”

South Principal Dr. Brian Wegley explains that in 2016, a new aspect will be required as a part of the teacher evaluation system throughout the state. This will include, in

TEACHERS UNITED: Protesting outside the Walt Disney Magnet School Sept. 10, Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers participate in the seven-day strike. The 25,000 CPS teachers, who went on strike together for the first time in 25 years, began the strike in response to disagreements about their contracts. This year, District 225 will negotiate teacher contracts, which were last negotiated in 2008. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

part, using student growth measurement as a component of teachers’ evaluations. Growth will be determined by students’ improvement of composite scores on the Explore and ACT tests, according to Wegley.

Although this is an issue District 225 will likely face in four or five years, it is an issue that CPS teachers have to deal with soon. Despite it not being required for four years, CPS teacher evaluations will include student growth within the next year.

Furthermore, student performance in Chicago influences not only teachers’ evaluations but their pay as well.

“Then came another A great selection of top quality, round and [an] ambiguous carefully selected clothing for adults and children, set of uses for standardized tests, inhousewares, toys, jewelry and accessories. cluding...applications of test scores for teacher ratings and the assertion that these ratings would somehow, in some part, start determining part of our pay scale,” CPS teacher Nora Flanagan said. “Our heads were spinning. We reached our limit as a group.”

Along with protesting evaluation Donations and consignments welcome techniques, CPS teachers were on strike Sept.

12-18 as an attempt to gain back a 4 percent annual sal1000 Elm Street, Glenview, IL 60025 ary raise that was rescinded Located downstairs when the Chicago mayor 847-724-2638 Rahm Emanuel stepped into office, Flanagan said. The Hours: Wed. 9-1, Thur. 9-5, Fri. 9-1, Sat. 9-1 CPS school day was also extended and according to www.TheResaleShopGlenview.com Flanagan, teachers were not compensated fairly.

Wegley said that he hopes

Hundreds of Items at Great Prices!

CPS can resolve any remaining issues.

“Kids are being harmed, and I would hope that whatever differences exist, the students can be pulled out of the middle,” Wegley said. “It’s unfair to education.”

According to Riggle, although the issues of compensation and benefits will not present as much controversy in the District 225 negotiations as they did for CPS, they still need to be discussed and agreed upon. Whipple does not seem concerned about this subject.

“There is not a glaring hole in how we are in [District 225], meaning that we’ve been paid well, we have a good benefits package, and we generally have very good facilities across the board,” Whipple said. “It’s not like CPS where you’re trying to cram 40 people into a classroom and you have less than 40 desks.”

Whipple recalls talking with his niece, a CPS student, who on the first day of school, was among the last to get to her next class. When she got there, there were six people packed in the doorway because there was no place to sit. The one empty desk was in the middle of the classroom, soaked from a leak in the ceiling. This happened every day. The teacher told the students, “You have to get here as fast as you can.”

“Can you imagine?”

Whipple said. “That’s just something that doesn’t happen to [South].”

Whipple said that the fact that these situations do not happen in District 225 will ease the negotiation process.

“It will be a tough negotiation because negotiations are always tough,” Whipple said. “We will ask for what we think is fair, but we will also try to determine what they think is fair. Those things don’t always match up, but we have a trusting relationship with the district, in general, and we talk first about things.”

Riggle also feels that both parties involved in the negotiations have common interests and goals.

“We feel very fortunate that we’ve had a good, strong relationship with [the teachers],” Riggle said. “A lot of it’s based on trust. It’s forged usually by the people who sit down at the table with certain common philosophies or principles that help make that happen.”

“There is not a glaring hole in how we are in [District 225], meaning that we’ve been paid well, we have a good benefits package, and we generally have very good facilities across the board.”

-Matt Whipple, Glenbrook Education Association President

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editorial

Oct. 5, 2012

Election 2012: an opportunity for political awareness is published monthly by students at Glenbrook South High School, 4000 W. Lake Ave., Glenview, IL 60026.

The opinions expressed in The Oracle are that of the writer(s) and not necessarily of the staff or school.

The Oracle neither endorses nor rejects the products and services advertised.

editors in chief

Sarah Jaleel Kathryn Jaslikowski

news editors Tammy Craven Faith Savaiano

opinions editors Bailey Monte Emma Sailer

features editors

CJ Park Zoë Shancer

a&e editors

Maddie Abrams Rachel Mann

sports editors John Adkisson Ethan Spalding

web editors

Mary Friedman Ben Kraus

illustrations editor Ellen Takagi

photos editor Evan Richter

asst. news Carolyn Kelly

asst. opinions Julia Jacobs

asst. features

Shea Anthony Elisa Kim Madison O’Brien

asst. a&e Sally You

asst. sports

Rachel Chmielinski

asst. photos Wyatt Richter

asst. web

The Undecided Voters of a Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit Sept. 22 had many questions to ask regarding the upcoming presidential election.

“What are the names of the two people running? Be specific.”

“Who is the president? Is he or she running [for reelection]?”

“Can women vote? Can men vote?”

While the SNL cast perhaps exaggerated the ignorance of Americans, the sad reality is that there are citizens who honestly couldn’t tell you who is running in the election, let alone who the president is.

In order to prevent this attitude from dominating our future, The Oracle Editorial Board encourages South students to become involved in the upcoming presidential election, even if you are not eligible to vote.

Becoming involved doesn’t have to mean volunteering at rallies or handing out campaign materials.

Simply reading the news every other day to get a recap of what has happened is sufficient in becoming active.

The youth vote (ages 18-29) is perhaps the most important in any election.

Candidates make many attempts to connect with the young voters and may even alter their platforms in order to suit their opinions.

According to civicyouth.org, the youth vote is almost a quarter of the entire voting population. Just a few percentage points usually determine which candidate will win, and to be able to sway the quarter vote that the youth constitutes means a distinct advantage for any candidate.

It is truly a spectacular opportunity for those will turn 18 by Nov. 6 to be a part of the demographic that can make or break the election. In 2008, 51 percent of eligible youth participated in the election, according to civicyouth.org. For those of you who qualify, help in-

The Oracle Editorial Board Vote

Agree: 25

Disagree: 0

Oracle chiefs encourage student body to vocalize thoughts

Kelsey Pogue Madeleine Salah

adviser

Marshall Harris

Letters to the Editor We would love to hear from you! Write a letter to the editor at gbsoracle@gmail.com.

The editorial board reserves the right to edit letters, being careful not to alter intent.

Signed letters may be published anonymously with the consent of the letter writer, the adviser, and the editors in chief.

crease that percentage by going to gottaregister.com, a quick and easy way to sign up to vote.

It is vital for our country’s future that we, the young people, are educated and willing to be politically aware.

While national issues like tax rates and unemployment may seem like our parents’ problems right now, in a few short years, we will be thrown out into a world where they will become our problems.

In addition, there are issues that affect young adults that we should be aware of now like abortion, student-loan legislation and affirmative action.

Therefore, The Oracle Editorial Board encourages students to use mass media as a unique tool to become politically active. On Facebook, we urge students to take advantage of the platform you have. Post links about political topics and suggest that others comment accordingly with educated comments or other links of their own. We know that this type of activity does not happen currently, but there is no better time than now for these enlightening, controlled discussions to take place. On Twitter, you can follow candidates and news outlets like CNN and NPR in order to get quick updates on the election.

If we work to educate ourselves using tools we know, we can become an informed student body ready to face our future and prevent that SNL skit from becoming a reality. For a complete article about what non-voting age students can do to stay politically involved, please see pages 12 and 13.

Sarah Jaleel & Kathryn Jaslikowski

co-editors in chief Dear GBS, There is a standard in the first issue of The Oracle that we wish to uphold for this upcoming school year. We commence the year (South’s 51st year) with an impressive first issue in which a variety of topics are covered - from the presidential elections to CompassionIT to fall play - that have a great impact on South and the world around us. Each and every issue we work to push the limits of student journalism and deliver the truth to people who may have heard otherwise.

Our goal is to keep the student body in-

formed about what happens in our hallways and beyond. Ignorance is not bliss, and that is a frequent misconception we strive to override.

With so much going on in our hallways and beyond, how do we decide what to put in the paper? Why is this story more important than that one? Why does this photo carry more weight than the others our photographers took?

We strive to find the stories that will have the greatest impact on you - our readers – and inspire you to listen to the voices that speak through our paper. The goal of journalism is to give voice to the population, and we hope that we can honor that as we bring you the stories of people who need an open ear.

And it’s not just in our stories, either. If you want to see something in the paper that you think needs to be addressed…you’re a person, you have a voice, and we want you to be heard. TELL US what you’re think-

ing because it is our duty to listen. The four walls of Room 246 and the inbox of gbsoracle@gmail.com desire to be filled with the ideas that our community brings to the table.

Sure, The Oracle staff can write the stories, take the pictures and design the pages. But without the people around us, those whom we walk alongside each and every day and to whom we come home at night, we have nothing. Without those stories to tell and those eyes to read, our work would be mere words on a page.

If you’re a faithful follower who reads cover to cover or if you’re someone who’s reading this letter right now and rolling your eyes at us, we want to hear from you.

Your voice is unique, and it’s our goal to make the community listen. Here’s to an amazing year, South.

-Sarah and Kathryn

opinions

7

Oct. 5, 2012

In the ‘war on women,’ don’t count out teen girls Rape culture: an unspoken social norm in serious need of exposure

Julia Jacobs

asst. opinions editor As the sound byte from Rep. Todd Akin’s interview flooded the media, millions of women across the country pasted Akin’s face onto dartboards. The liberal blogosphere erupted with indignance, the Romney campaign scrambled to keep their distance and comedians racked their brains for the most original material as Akin stepped into the spotlight as America’s favorite political target.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin said in an Aug. 19 interview. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

As for Akin’s blatant misunderstanding of female anatomy, health teachers Laura Duffy and Michelle Scheinkopf ask, “Who was this man’s health teacher?”

I likened him to a turtle. Not just because of his long forehead and beady eyes, but because of the way he popped his head out of his shell of political obscurity, dropped a bomb of a sexist remark and shrunk back to safety as the media threw rocks at him.

Even the left-wing podcast Citizen Radio, which dedicates itself to reporting non-mainstream news, was talking about it but in a remarkably different way than the rest. Hosts Allison Kilkenny and Jamie Kilstein connected Akin’s remarks to a term I had never heard before, but which sent my head spinning. Something called ‘rape culture’.

I soon learned that rape culture is when rape is tolerated, validated or trivialized by sexism. It is an unspoken part of our social environment that places unjust blame on victims and allows 97 percent of rapists to never spend a day behind bars, according to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. The very act of classifying rape as legitimate or illegitimate is a product of rape culture, one that men and women must consciously recognize and reject.

As a 16-year-old girl, if I were walking down the street and were abducted and raped, I can be sure that Turtle Todd would accept my rape as legitimate. But what if I were raped by my boyfriend, who later swore it was consensual? What if it wasn’t even forcible penetration but psychological pressure that convinced me it was the right thing to do?

What if I were physically unable to tell my rapist to get off of me, like Savannah Dietrich from Louisville, Kentucky? Just 16 years old, she was lying unconscious on the floor when two boys penetrated her with their fingers and snapped pictures of her unclothed body because they “thought it would be funny,” according to CNN.com.

She was even victimized well after her rape when the boys were offered a grossly lenient charge: 50 hours of volunteer work and the chance to expunge their records when they turn 19.5 years old. This was thanks to the prosecutor who was not only an alumnus and donor to the boys’ high school but also outspokenly hostile to Dietrich and skeptical of her story.

If you look at this through the lens of rape culture, the reason is clear: the younger you are, the harder it is to escape these sexist social norms. But that’s faulty thinking because females aged 16-25 are three times more likely to be sexually assaulted, according to Rachel Rozynek from the Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault.

As minors, we can’t vote against people like Akin and when we speak out like Dietrich, we’re often not taken seriously. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying. By combating rape culture as teenagers, we’re signaling to people that we exist in the ongoing conversation about women’s rights.

Realize that ‘combating’ doesn’t have to mean kicking down Akin’s door. It could be as simple as recognizing instances of rape culture in your own life: from how male friends treat you to who you choose to ‘hook up’ with and why. ‘#LegitimateRape’ was the trendiest topic on Twitter for hours and suddenly, the majority of the country condemned it. If national understanding can truly be measured by hashtags, what women really need is for ‘#RapeCulture’ to go viral.

Abortion: the future of women’s rights hangs in balance this election season

Bailey Monte

co-opinions editor If I were to get pregnant tomorrow, or the next day, or the next year, or the next, next, next year, I would probably get an abortion. Does that make me a bad person or an honest one? Maybe both. But that choice should always be my own.

Abortion: a complex and emotional issue with impassioned, clashing arguments. Despite what anyone claims, this topic doesn’t boil down to one question. Rather, it is a complicated web of questions.

I will be the first to say that I do not know all of the answers.

I can only hope to provide the perspective of someone who should really matter when it comes to the issue of abortion: a teenage girl. I cannot reckon with those who see this as a black and white issue; I will, however, speak to those who accept its discomforting gray areas.

As a side note, I cannot stand the labels “pro-choice” and “pro-life,” as they represent propaganda at its finest.

Just because I’m not pro-life doesn’t mean that I am prodeath or that I devalue human life, as the name seems to insinuate.

“Pro-life” advocates encourage alternatives like adoption, but in reality adoptions are uncommon. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of infants given up for adoption in the States was

a mere 1 percent from 1996-2002. The emotional bond formed during pregnancy often makes it too difficult for the mother to give away her baby. Often, that baby will instead be brought into a world of unfit parenting.

New research only adds to the complex contentions in this debate, like the fetus’s ability to feel pain occurring earlier in a fetus’s development. Therefore, if a timeframe for when a woman can obtain an abortion is based on these scientific findings, abortions will eventually be banned altogether.

The answer has to be based solely on the principle of the matter; a woman should always have the power to make choices about her own body.

Allow me to be blunt in saying that the abortion debate wouldn’t exist if it were men who carried babies. The government would never try or succeed in forcing a man to have a baby against his will, which makes this, in some ways, a sexist debate.

Another important fact to consider is that illegal abortions are unsafe. According to emedicinehealth.com, illegal abortions account for 13 percent of all deaths of women worldwide. Death from abortion is almost unheard of in places where they are legal.

In light of the upcoming election, Republicans seem to be shying away from social issues like abortion in favor of economic ones.

According to CNN, the draft language for the 2012 Republican Party platform includes support for a constitutional ban on abortion without specifying exclusions in the cases of rape or incest.

This could incur a scary future for all of us. Especially because of what this could mean for women’s rights in

this nation, banning abortion could open the door to further intrusions on women’s rights.

The most infuriating aspect of this issue is precisely who will decide its fate. A woman’s right to an abortion should not lie in the hands of a Congress that is overwhelmingly dominated by 50-70 year old men.

Furthermore, no father is required to stick around once that baby is born, and when it comes to unwanted pregnancies, he often won’t. The mother is solely responsible for facing the consequences of what was originally a joint decision to have sex, or in cases of rape, the man’s alone.

None of this means we should be encouraging abortions. Nor should they be used as a form of birth control. Personally, I wouldn’t get one if I got pregnant due to unprotected sex or if I were past the first trimester.

Luckily, 88 percent of abortions are obtained within the first 12-13 weeks of the last menstrual period, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that works to advance reproductive health.

Abortion rights are especially relevant to teenage girls.

Mistakes do happen, even when using proper birth control methods. It’s easy to say now that you wouldn’t exercise your right to an abortion if you got pregnant in high school or college. But until it’s actually happening to you, it’s impossible to rule out that option.

I hope that if you are reading this and you have a daughter, you are taking necessary steps to ensure that she has the power to make these decisions for herself, should she ever have the burden of doing so. And if you are a teenage girl, it’s about time you consider what a ban on abortion rights could mean to you and women everywhere.

Despite what anyone claims, [abortion] doesn’t boil down to one question.

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opinions

Oct. 5, 2012

A freshmen guide to surviving the next four years Chris Altonji

columnist As a freshman at this fine institution, I used to look around for examples of proper behavior from the upperclassmen. Now, I am the upperclassman and see large numbers of confused freshmen walking around oblivious to the proper conduct of high school. It is for you, freshmen, whom I’d like to share a list of tips and rules (yes, rules).

I’d like to let you know that this set of rules was not created by me. This is simply the observed Truth.

School can be hard sometimes, yes, but you will make it harder by choosing to walk around with a five-ton

rucksack on your back.

There is a right and a wrong way to get from class to class. The right way sounds simple: walk. And yet I often find that the Glenbrook South student body does this poorly.

First off, running is not necessary. However, being on time requires you to actually walk for those five minutes and not participate in any of the following activities.

Don’t stop walking. If you don’t have anywhere better to be than standing still at the bottom of the New Pit stairs, find somewhere better to be.

Having a friend to walk to class with is nice, and if that friend is also going to walk hand-in-hand with you and suck on your neck, I am happy for you. But I really, REALLY don’t want to see it.

Additionally, get good grades. When you’re applying to college, you’re going to wish your grades were better, so you might as well start working at it now.

Now that the important issues have been covered, I’d like to address some of the more trivial matters, such as dress code.

For guys, it’s simple: don’t be dumb. If you are wearing a shirt that portrays anything involving beer, sex or five leaf clovers, you’re going to be forced to turn your shirt inside out.

For girls, don’t wear miniskirts or SHORT-shorts. It’s usually not as attractive as you think and even if it is, this is school. Let’s keep work away from play, shall we?

Freshmen, even if you have the crowded fifth period lunch, you have your cafeteria and the SAC to eat and hang out in, so stay there.

If you need to go to your locker or see a teacher during lunch, go at the beginning of the period because if you don’t, you will have to play the game of get-past-theparapro. When forced to play the game, it’s always good to have a strategy.

You can either walk right by the parapro and pretend that you have something very important to do and that the rules of the hallway don’t apply to you, or you can choose to approach with a sunny disposition and use kindness to get your way across the line they guard (this one really never works).

Accidents and embarassment are common, but there are ways to avoid them.

Look up when you’re walking. This is one of my biggest pet-peeves. You can text your mom (or whoever you need to talk to at 1:30 on a Tuesday) when you get to the top of the stairs.

I’m on the field for football games, but I can tell you this: you should go. They’re fun. And please, if you’re not going to go to every game, at least wear blue and gold on Fridays. If you wear red on the day we play Maine South, you will be judged. Don’t do that to yourself.

Late arrivals are amazing, and I would recommend you take full advantage of those two hours by either sleeping in late or going out to breakfast.

Although everybody is happy on late arrival days because the periods are shorter and they got extra sleep the night before, don’t be the too-happy kid that goes up to kids and asks, “Dude, are my eyes still red?!” You know the kid.

Calling yourself out of school is nearly impossible.

Somehow they know what your parents’ voices sounds like. It’s a little freaky.

Lastly, get involved. Whether it’s Juice Club or STAND, there are so many fun things to do at this school, and I encourage everyone to get involved.

In time, you will learn the rest of the tricks of this school. I am confident that every one of you, freshmen, can have as great of a time here as I have had so far.

Prince Harry’s immature antics tarnish royal family’s name

Emma Sailer

co-opinions editor I was driving to school with my little brother a few weeks ago, and we were listening to a typical trashy radio station when the MC started talking about the debacle between Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes. The underlying question - who is the bigger train wreck? It turns out that Lohan had hit a pedestrian and fled the scene. Bynes smoking pot in her car, Lohan hitting someone, these idiocies come as no surprise. To be honest, it’s what I expect from them.

Celebrities have become notorious for doing incredibly stupid and chaotic things. From Britney hitting paparazzi with an umbrella to Michael Phelps hitting a bong, the tabloids go crazy over the antics of these celebs. Recently the tabloids have focused on a whole other category of “celebrities,” a category that I would never expect these rash incidents from. None other than the royal family.

In August, His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales was photographed in a Las Vegas hotel room with a female playing strip billiards. The story made international news and even the cover of People magazine.

He doesn’t deserve to be exploited by tabloids in this way, but he chose to accept this life and to represent his

family every day. I’m not asking for him to be a perfect his family. For example, fulfilling his duties at the closlittle choir boy, but he can at least act like an idiot away ing Olympic ceremony this summer. Despite having little power or responsibility, he does represent the Queen evfrom backstabbing friends with camera phones.

Unlike other trashy celebs and despite past incidents, ery day of his life.

Harry has done a lot of positive things in his life. He’s it came as a surprise to the population to see the prince and third successor to the throne in such a compromis- a philanthropist, a Captain in the military, and from what ing position. Perhaps it came as a surprise because Prince I’ve read, a pretty nice guy. Yet, he continues to jeopardize his image and his family’s good name by making Harry isn’t really a celebrity, but something more?

Since the day Harry was born, he’s been in the spot- stupid decisions. light. His grandmother is the queen of England for Pete’s sake. When Harry leaves his palace, the whole world watches.

Yes, he’s a 28 year-old bachelor. Yes, he is human, and as humans we make mistakes. It’s not like he killed someone or got a DUI. He played strip pool in a private hotel room.

However, he can’t make these errors, whether he likes it or not. Obviously when you go to a private hotel, you put your guard down. You’re not in the public eye.

Once again, that’s what distinguishes Harry from your average hotel guest. He’s always in the public eye, and he should realize that by now.

He was born into this role as a prince.

He didn’t ask for this spotlight, but I don’t think that gives him the right to disrespect his grandmother. He clearly prospers from his grandmother’s power and has made TABLOID TERRORS: Magazines and other media outlets often capitalize on the the decision to accept the life he was given. slips ups of the rich and famous. Prince Harry recently made news for explicit photos He’s a legal adult, yet continues to act for that surfaced of him playing strip billiards. Photos from Google Images

reviews

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Oct. 5, 2012

Cruel Summer reveals less Kanye, more collaboration Will Gould

music critic GOOD Music’s Cruel Summer is, for lack of a better word, an advertisement for West Island’s Def Jam imprint, Getting Out Our Dreams. While it’s presented as a Kanye West album, fans expecting the next College Dropout or My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are in for a rude awakening. That isn’t to say that it’s not a fantastic album, but it is clear that there was more than one cook in the kitchen this time around.

The album opens gently with the string introduction of “To the World”, but it doesn’t stay soft for long. R. Kelly is barely given the chance to croon out the chorus before the machine-gun-like beat drops and the album heads down the path of heavy, lumbering backbeats and slow, sweet rhymes that pour out of your speakers like maple syrup.

Although West is technically the leader of Cruel Summer, Big Sean is without a doubt the album’s MVP. With simple yet colorful lyrics about his favorite topics, how much women like Big Sean and how cool Big Sean is, he breaks no new ground but still lays a solid rhythmical framework for the other artists to expand on. Considering that Big Sean is featured in the album’s best songs, it is clear that he is also the unsung hero of Cruel Summer.

While producers are generally left out of the limelight, Hit-Boy also deserves recognition for his contributions to Cruel Summer. Hit-Boy is responsible for the booming background to West and Jay-Z’s hit single “N***as in Paris”, and he held

himself to that same standard of excellence with his latest work.

Hit-Boy produced three of the songs on the album, most notably the first single, “Mercy”. It leads off by sampling a highly distorted reggae vocalist wailing about “a gnashing of the teeth” and quickly becomes a powerful beast of a beat complete with a floor-shaking vocal line and a squealing synth lead. While there are many producers on this album, including West himself, Hit-Boy is the one most worthy of acclaim.

The four singles: “Mercy”, “Clique”, “Cold” and “New God Flow” are absolutely the strongest tracks of this collection. While this is generally the point, as singles are released to build anticipation leading up to the release of an album, it is disappointing in and of itself. While not every song can be as good as “Mercy”, it’s not a great feeling to listen to a record and realize that you heard the best song it had to offer back in April.

To be fair, “Mercy”s infectious downtuned chorus,

“Clique”s lazy, rolling beat, and the jaw-droppingly angry breakdown during West’s verse on “New God Flow” are hard to top, but they make the rest of the album feel lacking. These disappointments include the bottom third of the album, the four tracks that West was not a part of.

Kid Cudi’s “Creepers” strays too far into the realm of radio rock to be enjoyable. Pair this with his less-thanwitty rhymes, and you get some of the longest three minutes and 14 seconds you’ve ever experienced.

The next track, “Bliss”, suffers from a case of corniness despite its impressive pedigree. John Legend and Teyana Taylor’s vocals on top of Hudson Mohawke’s production work should mean an impressive rhythm and blues song, rather than a track with forced positivity and bald eagles screeching over the chorus. The song can’t stand up to Taylor’s contributions on West’s most recent solo work, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and anyone who has heard Mohawke’s production in TNGHT will surely be expecting a far more impressive song. We may never know if West’s magic touch could have saved the songs he decided to not be involved in.

Overall, Cruel Summer is a solid effort. While the singles outshine the rest and there are a few tracks that West should have tweaked before pressing the album, it features a fair amount of solid songs and an awesome performance by the up-and-coming Big Sean.

SWAG OVERDOSE: Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Big Sean, Kanye West, Q-Tip and 2 Chainz (from left to right) are six out of 11 artists signed by GOOD Music. West’s label was founded in 2004 and released Cruel Summer Sept. 14, 2012. Photo from inqmind.co

provides mirror for North Shore suburban quirks out with the redheaded teenager Tessa Altman (Jane Levy) moving from her beloved diverse city home in Manhattan to less-than-hip suburbia. Her single faGreat, yet another show to make the suburbs of ther George (Jeremy Sisto) insists on Tessa having the America look even more vapid and shallow than they opportunities she’d otherwise miss in the big city. So already are. This one’s called “Suburgatory”, set in the from here on out it’s white picket fences and designer close-minded suburb of Chastwin, New York. handbags for Tessa.

Why is it that people from the burbs get such a bad Although Tessa fails to find much diversity in her rep? Is it jealousy, prestige or maybe just…tradition? new carbon-copy town, she does get a glimpse of two Think about it: every movie, show and song about the polar opposites living next door. Her two neighbors suburbs gives them a negative connotation. There’s Dalia Royce (Carly Chaiken) and Sheila Shay (Ana Mean Girls, “Desperate Housewives” and Rebecca Gasteyer) are truly on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Black’s “Friday”. Well, I guess “Friday” was just askBeing the stubborn non-conformist that Tessa prides ing for it, but in all seriousness, what is it about the herself as, she sees beyond the shiny exterior of airsuburbs that make them so darn entertaining? head Dalia, and instantly the two begin to butt heads.

Now in its second season, “Suburgatory” starts However, Tessa is not the only one feeling left out of the loop. She and her other neighbor Sheila bond over being the outcasts of Chatswin.

Unlike Dalia, Sheila is stuck in the shadows of her praised, all-star jock brother and will do anything to be a part of the “in crowd”.

While sitting down to watch the premiere, I wanted to laugh at how inaccurate I thought the show would be.

I was still a little annoyed at the repetitive criticism of places I grew up in; POLAR OPPOSITES: Tessa Altman (Jane Levy) and Dalia Royce (Carly Chaiken) clash in surburban Chastwin, I’ll be the first to adNew York. Season two of ABC’s “Suburgatory” premieres Oct. 27, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. Photo from abc.com mit there are flaws

Rosie Nash

columnist

in suburbia, but there are also definite benefits that get swept under the rug.

I wanted to hate this show. I already hated this show. I tried to hate this show, but the second that redheaded Tessa opened her mouth, I couldn’t help but giggle.

Because of her sass and smart-aleck charm, I found myself eagerly awaiting her next punch line.

Throughout the first season especially, Tessa allows her guard to come down a bit. Whether it’s because of her first boyfriend or her constant bond with her father, little by little she lets more of her true colors show. And although she’s as funny as can be, she’s not the only star of “Suburgatory”.

Prissy-Miss Dalia Royce never ceases to make me laugh. Made up like a pageant queen, she seems to be disgusted by everything and anything. Her nasty comments and obnoxious facial expressions take the show to a whole new level.

On top of that, I was amazed by how wrong I was about the plot. I was able to relate every single thing that happened in Chatswin back to something in the North Shore. Whether it was the huge gap between cliché high school cliques, or (my personal favorite) the Suburban mom living vicariously through her teenager’s life, “Suburgatory” said it all. I almost felt like I was reading off of the “NorthShorePrbms” Twitter page.

I guess that’s why this show caught on so quickly.

I’d like to think it was from the incredible cast, but unfortunately it’s not. “Suburgatory” is such a hit with suburban teens because it’s relatable. Although I have grown to love suburbia, it’s not a crime to laugh at our own faults sometimes.

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features

Oct. 5, 2012

Webb molds experience, travels into passionate career Addie Lyon

staff reporter Only Kurt Webb could describe the feeling of crawling into the ceramics classroom at South on a Saturday through a slightly cracked open window. Webb, South ceramics teacher, has been in love with ceramics since the beginning of his high school career, and he is seen by his colleagues and students as much more than an average arts teacher.

“I used to set the windows so the janitors wouldn’t notice over the weekend, and I would climb in on Saturday mornings and work with clay, and when I saw people coming I would get down below the tables so no one would come in to stop me,” Webb said.

Webb described the moment when he first became interested in ceramics.

“I was taking a lot of architecture classes in high school, and the door from the architecture room was right next to the door to the ceramics room, and they always seemed like they were having a lot more fun,” Webb said. “I just kept seeing such a nice atmosphere in that classroom, which is one of the reasons why I decided to try it.”

Senior Mary Friedman, who is currently in Ceramics 2, explained how Webb’s experience shines through in the classroom.

“I can tell by his character that he has had a lot of experience in ceramics because he’s not like normal teachers that seem to value grades more than anything else,” Friedman said. “He just wants you to discover your interests and enjoy the experience overall.”

Sophomore Eleni Pappas described Webb’s personality as the main reason she

enjoys the class.

“I enjoy it so much because of the environment, especially after a long day,” Pappas said. “This atmosphere in ceramics is created through the amazing stories that Mr. Webb tells the class about his traveling.”

Natalie Ingaunis, Webb’s coworker of 17 years, believes his travels have had a great effect on his character.

“His travels to Japan and Australia greatly influenced him as a person,” Ingaunis said. “The exposure and working with Japanese potters and the work that he did while he was in Australia gave him so much hands-on information that people don’t get in college, which makes him so experienced with his job.”

Friedman explained how he incorporates his stories and knowledge on the other parts of the world in the classroom.

“He’s taught us a lot of techniques that I feel like he wouldn’t know if he hadn’t traveled and learned so much from different places around the world,” Friedman said. “He wouldn’t be close to the same guy without his travels and insight.”

Webb explained that though his travels out of the country were amazing and different, his favorite experiences are the ones he has had traveling within the country.

“My mom and dad, when we traveled down state, they wouldn’t take an interstate,” Webb said. “We would often take side roads and we would end up in places that people probably don’t even know exist. They would look completely different, a lot of poverty and segregation, and separation of wealth and poor, but that never held back my parents be-

es iec ’s p b b e r of W lick tos rom F o h f P

cause they wanted me to see what America was.”

Friedman believes that these experiences have a large impact on his way of being today.

Webb described how his adventures not only affected his personal character but his outlook and perspective on the rest of the world.

“It really shed light into a different way of seeing this country,” Webb said.

“It wasn’t the tourist way of seeing it; to me they were adventures, and it wasn’t always wonderful. Sometimes it was really heartbreaking for me to see, but that’s what really opened my eyes to all of my opportunities.”

According to Stephanie Fuja, Webb’s coworker of five years, his experiences and travels make him the perfect fit for his position as a ceramics teacher.

“He has always been a very open person to anyone and everyone,” Fuja said. “He inspires his students greatly through the stories and insight he gives them about the world around them, which really supports why he’s a great teacher overall.”

Furthermore, Ingaunis believes the character Webb has developed throughout his travels makes him a great teacher for South’s ELL program.

“His travels have really made him an excellent choice for teaching our ELL program students,” Ingaunis said.

“They’re of such a great diversity and he embraces and he really enjoys working with them and sharing his passion with them. He’s a very passionate person and very intense, and he takes what he does very seriously.”

According to Webb, his travels gave him a story and made him see the world from a new point of view. He began to see things in a bigger, more meaningful way, which made him want to share these experiences with his students so they could be encouraged to do the same.

Webb shared what he wants his students to learn from his stories.

“I want to teach my students to take acceptable risk, not risk that leads to any harm, but trying foods that you wouldn’t normally try or talking to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to,” Webb said. “Seeing the world from a different perspective can change everything you value and what kind of character you are.”

“Seeing the world from a different perspective can change everything you value and what kind of character you are.”

-Kurt Webb

WEBB AT WORK: With his hands in a pottery wheel, Ceramics teacher Kurt Webb handles clay pieces during a ceramics class.

Webb has taught for more than two decades at South and received the 2012 Distinguished Teacher award. Photo by KK Kuramitsu

features

Oct. 5, 2012

SUNSET VILLAGE, continued from front page out water while the infrastructure is being repaired. The park also lacks any working fire hydrants, an issue the Glenview fire chief is helping to rectify with a plan that involves bringing in water from other locations.

According to Communications Director Lynne Stiefel, throughout the late 2000s, the Village talked with management of the park about many safety concerns. While some of these concerns were taken care of, the water system was not, resulting in several Illinois EPA violations.

In 2008, Cook County no longer took jurisdiction of the mobile home park, changing its policy so that Glenview’s building, electrical, plumbing and other life-safety codes applied to Sunset Village.

The Village eventually adopted a manufactured home licensing ordinance. They attempted to enforce this by issuing daily tickets regarding the water pressure in the park. In March 2009, a settlement was reached in the Cook County Circuit Court which called for Capital First Realty Inc., which owned the property, under the direction of CEO Richard Klarchek, to complete installation of a new water system, make improvements to the sanitary system and repave existing streets.

The owner took no action to advance compliance, however, and the settlement agreement was then put on hold October 2010 when Klarchek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As conditions in Sunset Village worsen, some families have moved out willingly while others have been forced out. Chris Iosello, Sunset Village resident and father of junior Sydney Iosello, witnessed the public auctioning of mobile homes off of the property in mid-August, an experience he found both shocking and frightening.

Chris described a man in an enclosed glass “pope mobile” using a loudspeaker to auction off mobile homes in Sunset Village. Chris claims the police were escorting the auctioneers throughout the neighborhood.

According to Vilches, many residents were evicted from their homes because the bank wasn’t receiving the checks being sent to Sunset Village. He believes

11

BARREN BLOCK: An empty lot in Sunset Village mobile home park is used as a playground for neighborhood children (above). Several vacant foundations are left where mobile homes in Sunset Village formerly stood (below). According to resident Chris Iosello, about half of the mobile homes which used to occupy Sunset Village have been moved out or been demolished due to poor conditions and the financial crisis.

Photos by Wyatt Richter

Klarchek was pocketing the money he was supposed to pass through to the banks. Consequently, when Sunset Village went into foreclosure, residents had no proof of their payment to Klarchek and were forced out of their homes by the bank.

“There has, in our opinion, been one man, [Klarchek], who’s been enriched at the expense of the finance community, the housing community, the community at large,” Noel said. “The devastation is in no way justifiable.”

A representative from Capital First Realty Inc. declined an interview but said over the phone that Klarchek and Capital First no longer have any control over the property. Capital First refused to provide contact information for Klarchek.

A representative from the Village of Glenview claimed that Klarchek’s actions did not involve the Village at all.

Lincoln Financial is the current note holder on the property, according to Vilches. A representative from Lincoln Financial declined to comment on this pending legal matter. Vilches noted that a Receiver, Steven Spinell, has been hired by the courts to run the property and list it for sale.

“Currently the property is listed,” Noel said. “We are told there is going to be a 90 day marketing period. So within the next 90 days we will either survive and succeed or we will face demise and destruction.”

Laws don’t prevent developers from taking over the property and forcing residents out within a year with no financial reimbursement, according to Chris. This uncertainty has caused stress for families like the Iosellos.

“You don’t know if next week may be the day they say, ‘Everyone out,’” Chris said. “[…] Our house is full of boxes because we want to be ready for when that day comes for us to leave.”

Students face challenges regarding their education as they fear they may have to move out of the district.

“I worry about not finishing school here because I don’t want to switch schools during high school because that’s the hardest time to adjust,” Sydney said.

In an attempt to take control of their futures, Sunset Village resi-

dents would like to make a cooperative purchase so that the residents own the park and have jurisdiction over their community, according to Noel. “[Sunset Village residents] have a different relationship with each other, and this community can be one of the most amazing communities within Glenview,” Noel said. “We ask [Glenview residents for] help to make that happen.”

Residents hope to preserve Sunset Village as an enclave of affordable housing, one which can contribute positively to the Glenview community as a whole. As Sunset Village residents look to the future, they call on the community to help change the way they live and end the stigma they feel they live under.

“The only time we’ll see a future is when we’ve finally gotten everything together, so that we can purchase the park with the help of the community and become a part of the community that’s no longer ridiculed or scorned or thought little of because there [happen] to be wheels under our houses,” Chris said.

13

12

STUDENTS INVOLVE THEMSELVES IN UPCOMING ELECTION FUN FACTS

POLITICAL By 2015, this generation will make up one-third of the electorate.

In 2011, voters ages 18-29 were 24 percent of the electorate.

Barack Obama won among young voters by 27 points against John McCain.

In the 2008 primary campaign, Barack Obama had six times as many youth votes as any of the Republican 2012 candidates. civicyouth.org yda.org

First-time student oters Grace Abiera

staff reporter As the presidential election draws near, many seniors are able to tap into the real world by voting for the first time. Senior Maggie Condon is one of them.

“I know that I am just one person in the country, but I’m hoping that my vote can make a difference in achieving what’s best for our nation,” Condon said.

Likewise, senior Will Kozloski is glad he is eligible to vote in this election.

“I would be a little upset if I was born after the cut-off date just because it’s a cool opportunity to be a part of an election like this as a senior,” Kozloski said.

Senior Katherine Loiselle claims she feels extremely privileged to be a part of this voting process.

“The fact that I can be part of something that other countries are currently fighting over the right to do so easily helps keep me to stay grounded and aware of what reality really is,” Loiselle said.

Although senior Will Gould has not yet registered to vote, he shares his fellow students’ excitement for the upcoming election.

According to Gould, during the previous election, it was a mandatory middle school project to research the candidates, and this exposure to politics influenced his decision to vote this year.

“After researching a lot in eighth grade, I believed that Barack Obama was personally the better candidate,” Gould said. “If Obama is anything like he was four years ago, then I still am up for supporting him this election.”

On the other hand, Condon says the reality of these past four years did not match her expectations of Obama.

“Over the past four years with Obama I haven’t seen much change,” Condon said. “Although I haven’t been completely invested in politics, what I hear on the news and read in newspapers is never good.”

However, Gould and Loiselle believe that Obama is the more popular vote among high school students, including at South.

“Students tend to assume they’d be Democrats just because generally Illinois plus young person equals democratic,” Loiselle said.

Condon believes that peer pressure plays a huge role in why Obama wins a large amount of student votes. According to Condon, voting for Obama is more acceptable and less controversial among students. “[High school students] should be challenged more to vote for who they want to vote for, and not who their friends or even parents want to vote for,” Condon said.

However, Kozloski is still skeptical about allowing high school students to vote.

“I know that many high school students don’t follow politics very thoroughly and are swayed to vote for a candidate just because he’s a Democrat or Republican,” Kozloski said. “They don’t bother to see if their beliefs match up to their own, which seems pretty unfair to me.”

According to Loiselle, there is no way the majority of high school students take this process seriously.

“If every senior knew every issue that is facing our country in regard to its domestic affairs as well as its foreign affairs, there’s no way we’d be packing the stands every Friday night to watch boys run into each other,” Loiselle said. “It’s a great thing finding joy and happiness in high school, but it comes with an element of ignorance that keeps teenagers from developing well informed political knowledge and opinions.”

Kozloski said he is glad that high school students have a voice in the upcoming election.

“Whether they like it or not, we are the new generation and deserve a say in how our next four years go,” Kozloski said.

GET INVOLVED There are many ways to get involved in political events, even under the voting age. Some of the ways to get involved in the upcoming presidential election are listed below. For more information, visit YSA.org and ASCE.org.

Calli Haramaras

staff reporter

Watch and attend candidate debates to become familiar with the issues.

Visit with candidates at forums, held by local community and campaign groups.

Donate money to candidates to help fund their campaigns.

Volunteer on a candidate’s campaign.

Publish ideas and thoughts about candidates to get the word out on specific issues.

Serve as a poll worker on Election Day.

“The e ting arlier yo in u like a volved [. start get .. men habit of l ] it becom t if volve that you’ e-long en es re g d -Dav in the p going to ageo id Scien K ane, P litical pro be ino cess. ce te ” ache litical r

Political differences within family Kelsey Pogue

asst. web editor Everywhere students look, there is information about the upcoming presidential election: from TV ads to articles in history class.

Although many students seem to share political views with their parents, 27 percent of the 207 students in an Oracle-conducted survey said their views differed from those of their parents.

According to junior Nick Moses, his family is liberal, but he is much farther to the left than his parents.

“I am, I guess if I had to label it, a social anarchist,” Moses said. “Which basically means that, ideally, I think that there should be no hierarchy in society, and that we should have everybody pitch in by doing what they’re good at, and then in return they get what they need.”

Although his parents do not entirely disagree with his views, Moses and his parents disagree about how someone should go about making change in the world.

“[My mom] believes that you can’t really change people and that you should just do what you can to make the best of your experience,” Moses said. “But I believe in direct action, direct activism, and I really do believe that we can make the world better.”

While Moses wishes his parents would agree with him, he tolerates their differences.

“I think compared to the way that a lot of the mainstream political views in Glenview are, I’m very proud and glad with where [my parents] are, but I do also think that they’re not radical enough,” Moses said.

While Moses and his parents generally agree, sophomore Jane Brennan says she disagrees with her dad’s views.

“My dad and me are complete opposites on everything,” Brennan said. “I agree with my mom on a lot more than my dad… [My political views aren’t] very extreme, [I am] more of a moderate Democrat maybe.”

Like Brennan, junior Izzy Fradin said she and her parents disagree on certain issues, despite the family being mainly liberal.

“I know that they think [my views] are very liberal,” Fradin said. “They think because I’m a teenager, I’m supposed to be [...] rebellious.”

Fradin described her feelings on her parents’ views.

“The interesting thing about it is that it seems like it’s about what benefits them, as opposed to what benefits society as a whole,” Fradin said. “That’s just the take I get on it, I don’t know if that’s entirely true or not.”

Senior Aadil Bhatti’s situation is similar to Fradin’s, but his family is conservative. His parents emigrated from Pakistan, which has led their conservative views, Bhatti explains.

“I feel conservative on some issues also, [but] not as extreme as theirs; I’m open to change, I can change my mind whenever I feel like enough evidence points me in the right direction,” Bhatti said.

Bhatti says his parents are open to letting him think what he wants. “[My parents] let me think however I want,” Bhatti said. “They’ll say […] ‘Even though you disagree with our views, we’re fine with that’.”

14

features

Oct. 5, 2012

Inked teens permanently make their mark with tattoos Madison O’Brien

asst. features editor

Pearl Angob, Junior Last February, junior Pearl Angob had a tattoo inked on her back.

According to Angob, she did not have parent consent and had the tattoo done by a friend’s brother who works at a tattoo parlor.

“I wasn’t pleased with how [the tattoo] turned out, so I went to my other friend who worked at an actual tattoo parlor and he totally fixed everything and made it look nicer,” Angob said. “But he did it behind the tattoo shop and his boss so he wouldn’t get fired.”

Angob explained how she got her tattoo after breaking up with her ex-boyfriend.

Later on, she changed the words written about her ex to “trust no one but God, fear no one but God.” “The meaning behind it is that I shouldn’t have to fear anybody who’s under God, and I shouldn’t put complete trust in anybody else except for myself and God,” Angob said.

According to Angob, she had wanted a tattoo ever since middle school.

“I wanted something meaningful to be marked on my body,” Angob said.

Sophie Hartler, Senior

Statistics are from statisticbrain.com.

14%

of all Americans (all ages) have at least one tattoo

45

million Americans have at least one tattoo

17%

of Americans with tattoos have some regret after getting their tattoo

29%

of people with tattoos say their tattoo makes them feel rebellious

11%

of people with a tattoo are getting or have gotten one removed

43%

of people with tattoos think a tattoo with a personal meaning is the most important factor

Senior Sophie Hartler got her first tattoo one week before her 17th birthday. According to Harlter, she had wanted a tattoo since she was really young.

“I knew exactly what my first [tattoo] would be, a yin-yang, when my dad got his [yin-yang tattoo] when I was around 13,” Hartler said.

Hartler explained how she got two more tattoos two months later.

“I have my yin-yang on the back of my neck, my feather on my ribs, and an infinity sign on my hand,” Hartler said.

According to Hartler, each of her tattoos has a specific importance to her.

“My yin-yang is to match my dad’s,” Hartler said. “I got it because I moved out to live only with him two and a half years ago. I really grew up during that time and got closer to him. My feather is a reminder that a lighter day is ahead, and my infinity symbol is on my hand to match my boyfriend’s.”

Hartler explained how she doesn’t think she will ever regret her tattoos.

“I love them all so much,” Hartler said.

Emmanuel Torres, Senior Four months ago, senior Emmanuel Torres had a tattoo inked on his right shoulder. According to Torres, he did not need parental consent because he was over 18.

“On my shoulder I got a tauro, which is a Mexican symbol of a bull,” Torres said.

According to Torres, he chose the Mexican symbol because he is proud of his culture. He explained that he had wanted a tattoo since he was really young.

“I’ve always loved tattoos,” Torres said.

Torres believes he will never regret getting his tattoo.

“No, [I won’t regret it because] I love tattoos and I like the design of this symbol a lot,” Torres said.

Rashawna Robinson, Senior Senior Rashawna Robinson got her first tattoo one week before her 18th birthday.

“Both of my parents were okay with it because I had been asking them if I could get [a tattoo] since I was 16,” Robinson said.

According to Robinson, her siblings influenced her choice to get a tattoo.

“My brother has many tattoos and four of my sisters have one, so I thought it was pretty cool and interesting,” Robinson said.

Robinson explained that she wanted to get something meaningful for her first tattoo.

“I figured my, or anyone for that matter, first tattoo should be something that actually means something,” Robinson said. “So my first tattoo was my zodiac sign. I got it on the left side of my chest.”

According to Robinson, she believes she will never regret her tattoo.

“It’s a decision that I have been thinking about since I was 16, and I’m sure that it’s something that I wanted to do and still want to do,” Robinson said.

Michelle Askin, Junior

Ph o

tos

by Junior Michelle Askin got her tattoo as a sophomore last DeKK cember.

Ku ram “My friend’s older brother is a professional tattoo artist, and he had its his license so he did it for me,” Askin said. u According to Askin, she got the words ‘one love’ inked on her wrist because she is always going to be her own, one love.

“You have to love yourself before you love others,” Askin said.

Askin explained the significance of the words as well as the appearance of her tattoo.

“I decided on purple because it is my mom’s favorite color, and pink because it is mine,” Askin

said.

Michelle explained that her mother was fine with her decision to get a tattoo, but her father was not.

“My mom just said not to get anything stupid or anything I’ll regret,” Askin said. “But, my dad wasn’t okay with it.”

According to Askin, she doesn’t believe that she will regret her tattoo when she is older.

features

Oct. 5, 2012

15

Mission trip helps students recognize value in service pare mentally,” Cho said. “Then after, we would have physical training. We would usually run Trash was everywhere. Small children a mile or do some team-building walked barefoot on dirty streets. People exercises. We would also have our on bikes rode past on the bumpy ground. daily meetings where we would Although it’s only about a two-and-a-half [have] Bible study and bond.” hour plane ride from America, life in MexThe physical training helped ico came as a culture shock to senior Tim the volunteers learn perseverance.

Cho, junior Jeffrey Mathew and freshman Moreover, it prepared them for the Dana Sim, as they devoted their time to a walking they would do during mission trip in the cities of Celestun and their trip.

Izamal.

“I think there [were] double From Aug. 4 to 11, Cho, Mathew and meanings or triple meanings beSim accompanied Chicago Covenant hind everything that we did,” Presbyterian Church on a mission trip to Mathew said. “Physical trainhelp two churching for example, es run a Vacation when we started, Bible School proI thought it was gram for kids in solely for the purMexico. pose [of being] “Our part was physically trained, to come with fun but then I learned and creative activafter a few more ities for the kids,” times doing it Mathew said. “We [that] this physipresented body worships, praise songs, cal training really unites us as a skits and crafts for the kids. Our main fo- team.” cus of the trip was to train the local leadRegardless of the fact that ers on how they can lead their peers in a Mathew was not expecting to prespiritual and effective way.” pare in this way for the mission Much preparation took place, accord- trip, he was grateful for the expeing to Cho, before the trip was underway. rience he had.

The preparation period was devoted to “I can honestly say I’m so haphelp the members of the group both spiri- py we had each and every one of tually and socially. those 35 meetings because I think “Fridays and Saturdays we would those meetings [were] just a really wake up at 5:30 in the morning, and we good time to get to know people,” would go to morning prayer just to pre- Mathew said. “I didn’t attend the church, so getting to know [people] before we went on the trip [helped me] communicate with them.”

In spite of the fact that they put a great deal of time and ef- HUMBLE SERVICE: Senior Tim Cho participates in the feet washing ceremony for children in Mexico. According fort into prepara- to Cho, the feet washing ceremony is a reference to the passage from the Bible when Jesus washed his disciples’ tion for the trip, feet. Photo courtesy of Tim Cho their time in Mexico was not all smooth sailheat stroke,” Sim said. “Some of the guys’ time to take care of their children could ing. shirts were a whole [other] shade from be- bring them to the program, according to “Considering it’s con- ing drenched in sweat by the end of the Cho. stantly over 90 degrees, it day. It really pushed us to our limits.”

The program was completely free, and PREPARING MINDS: Before performing the skits and body wor- was hard to praise, jump Children who attended the Vacation Bi- the number of kids who attended grew ships at the town center in Celestun, Mexico, the whole missions and dance without feel- ble School varied in age from 2 to 7. Fur- significantly day by day, according to team prays together. Photo courtesy of Tim Cho ing like you’re getting a thermore, parents who did not have the Cho. “It started off really small, like 30 to 40 [kids],” Cho said. “And the next day would be like 70.

And after that, like 100.”

Cho, Mathew and Sim were rewarded for the effort and time they gave to the children in Mexico.

“There was a little kid, and he became really attached to me,” Cho said. “Everything he wanted to do, he would have to hold my hand. When he wanted to go to bathroom, he would drag me along. He was really attached to me and I felt the love from him, so it was really nice.”

Cho’s experience on the mission trip opened his eyes to how fortunate he is to live in America.

In addition to that, Cho realized that much can be learned from serving others.

“The kids taught me a lot of things,” Cho said. “Even though they were [less fortunate], they really loved a lot. They didn’t seem like they knew they were [less fortunate]. They were really happy. They saw no barrier between us, and they just wanted to play with us and love us.”

Elisa Kim

asst. features editor

“I think there [were] double meanings or triple meanings behind everything that we did.”

-junior Jeffrey Mathew

16

Oct. 5, 2012

features

Bucket lists bring new opportunities to teenagers Olivia Day

staff reporter

From graduating high school to competing in a Lady Gaga singing tournament, juniors Chris Neuhaus, Daniel Landgren, and Cole Hamilton have mapped out what they want to accomplish in life.

According to Neuhaus, Landgren, and Hamilton, they have already accomplished things like going to every day of Lollapalooza and getting their driver’s licenses. While other things, like visiting Jim Morrison’s grave or eating a crepe in France, are still tasks they must undertake.

They each have their own primary goals they want to achieve. “[I would]probably climb Mt. Kilimajaro,” Landgren said. “It seems like it would be a great feat to accomplish.”

According to Hamilton, making the list has made him realize how many goals there are to complete in life and how little time there is to do all of them.

“It makes me appreciate that we aren’t here for that long,” Hamilton said.

On the other hand, Neuhaus feels that it has taught him to appreciate the “famous term” YOLO. “I like to live in [...] the concept of YOLO,” Neuhaus said.

From growing a mustache, to being an extra in a movie, a bucket list is a creative outlet for fulfilling all of your wildest fantasies.

Sophomore Janie Kahan wanted to convince a group of people in a public place that she is British. Her motivation: moving towards completion of her bucket list .

According to Kahan, leading a Chinese dragon in a parade tops the list as the goal she most wants to accomplish.

Kahan said she was most amazed after standing in a thunder storm for the list.

“I was in Wisconsin,” Kahan said. “Even though it was a little dangerous, I just stood outside and watched this amazing show of lights.”

According to Kahan,her proudest completion of a goal is throwing a bowling ball down an alley and not letting go.

“I ran down the lane and I slid and it was probably very dangerous and I did get injured a little bit and I ended up getting kicked out of the bowling alley, but it was the most fun 30 seconds of my life,” Kahan said.

Live without electricity for a week, be a guest on “Oprah”, and own a house on the coast of Australia. For many people, these things do not even cross their minds.

This is not the case for sophomore Noreen Andersen. According to Andersen, these are all goals on her bucket list. She had a unique way of creating it in the first place.

For Andersen, her list developed due to a night of homework procrastination. According to Andersen, her bucket list allows her to be an individual and accomplish her own dreams.

“For me, it’s more being able to say that I’ve done some things that a lot of people haven’t been able to do in their lives,” Andersen said.

According to Andersen, climbing a mountain is the one goal that she wants to accomplish the most.While climbing a mountain is physically challenging, she feels that it would be very rewarding.

Andersen explains how making a bucket list has not changed her sense of direction in life because what she wants to do is all across the grid.

“I have more of a sense of what I want in the future,” Andersen said.

For Seong Ha, South business education teacher, the list was merely an assignment to do in his high school English class. The prompt: make a list of fifty goals you want to accomplish in your lifetime. Sixteen years later, Ha has accomplished 47 of the 50 goals on that list.

Graduating college, buying his own car, going to a FIFA World Cup match, and traveling to the east or west coast are all goals on his bucket list, according to Ha. Ha says being a Chicago Cubs season ticket holder is the goal he wants to accomplish the most.

Ha explains how he feels it is great, as an adult, to be able to look back and see all that he has accomplished because of his list.

“Whenever you put your mind into something, just do it,” Ha said. “Say that you did it at full tilt, with all the energy possible, and be proud of the efforts invested in your desired result with no complaints. In essence, don’t be perceived as being weak.”

17 features South quadruplets strive ‘four’ individualism Oct. 5, 2012

compared but I would like some individualism,” Quinn said.

Joyce is also aware of her When Joyce Hennelly’s kids were young, she brought them over to a friend’s house for a playdate. They shuf- kids’ struggle for individufled into the house like ducklings, following their mother ality. She knows that they in a single-file line. Once they got inside, they were sur- are compared and labeled, prised to find only one kid waiting to play with them. so she tries to protect them from it. In addition, sched“Where are the other three?” they curiously wondered.

Freshmen John, Grace, Holly and Quinn Hennelly are uling is another issue that Joyce faces. not only siblings; they’re quadruplets.

“Scheduling is a night“Being a quadruplet is normal to me,” Holly said. “It’s mare,” Joyce said. “It’s like all I’ve ever known.”

According to Joyce, having quadruplets was a surprise four kids in four different places. I have to remind myto both her and her husband.

“I would have never known I was going to have qua- self it’s only like this for a druplets, never saw myself with quadruplets,” Joyce few more years so I don’t get so crazed about it.” said. “It has obviously been our greatest joy.”

According to John, the John says that he feels very fortunate to be a quadrukids are aware of their hectic plet because it’s a rare occurrence. schedules and try to help out Holly has similar thoughts. as much as possible.

“I never get bored or lonely,” Holly said.

“We all have pretty crazy Though being a quadruplet has its benefits, according schedules,” John said. “I carto Grace, it also has its downsides.

“The one thing that is annoying with being a quadru- pool, which makes it a little plet is that people tend to compare you with your sib- easier.”

According to Holly, her lings,” Grace said.

According to Quinn, his looks and John’s looks are mom had help, especially w h e n they were youngcompared on a regular basis. er.

“I’m not sure how the girls get “When we were FOUR’S COMPANY: From birth (right) to elemenlittle, my parents’ tary years (above), the quadruplets have remained family helped out close. According to mother Joyce Hennelly, raisevery day and ing quadruplets is both a joy and a challenge. my mom’s girlPhotos courtesy of Joyce Hennelly friends and their moms [helped] too,” Holly said.

“One of my friend’s moms did our entire went to the beach laundry for one year when we were first and when we were swimming, a little born.”

With a lot of kids comes a lot of memories. girl stole my sand Joyce recounts an incident that occurred bucket,” Grace said. “My mom told us to go get it and so we all walked over to the little girl, holding hands for while driving.

“We passed a preschool class and John moral support, and got the bucket. The girl must have goes, ‘Look at how many [kids] she has, been terrified.” cards nnellys hold up According to Joyce, parenting the quadruplets has Mommy!’ They just assumed kids came in He e th y, da y rth ell eir 13th bi of Joyce Henn LUCKY 13: On th chapter of their life. Photos courtesy been a positive experience. multiples,” Joyce said. w to represent a ne “It’s unique and it’s fun,” Joyce said. “It’s exciting and According to Grace, the quadruplets it’s challenging. The love is four-fold. [We] feel very, very also have memories from their childhood.

“One time, when we were three, we blessed and lucky.”

Shea Anthony

asst. features editor

Frequent family dinners create closer connections

Hailey Hauldren

staff reporter The scene shown on countless TV shows every day: kids come back from an exhausting day at school right as Dad arrives home from work. The family meets Mom at the dinner table for a warm, home-cooked meal. This picture-perfect American family then shares laughs and stories from the day. For some South families, eating dinner with the family every night is a tradition. For others, it is simply unrealistic.

Sophomore Monica Masini said that even though she and her brother play sports, her family makes time to eat dinner together most nights.

“Eating together allows [my family and I] to share the ups and downs of our day,” Masini said. “It does impact our relationship in a positive way.”

According to a study done by the University of Florida, the effects of eating dinner as a family do not stop at the dinner table. Research has shown that eating dinner as a family at least five times a week can lower rates of obesity, illegal drug use, drinking and smoking in teenagers and pre-teens compared to those who eat dinner with their families twice or less in a week.

Sophomore Nash Kennedy says that his parents make it a priority to eat as a family every night and it strengthens their relationship.

“We talk a lot, and sometimes we even argue, but [eating dinner as a family] still

brings us closer,” Kennedy said.

In 2009, the fourth Monday of September became designated “Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children” as a day to have a sit-down, family dinner. Joseph Califano, founder of the Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), said “Family Day” was made as an anti-drug measure.

“America’s drug problem is not going to be solved in courtrooms or legislative hearing rooms by judges and politicians,” Califano said, quoted in Time Magazine. “It will be solved in living rooms and dining rooms and across kitchen tables — by parents and families.”

Health teacher Michelle Scheinkopf thinks eating as a family can benefit many aspects of a student’s life.

“Anytime where [family time together] is fragmented, or when you don’t have a block of time together where you can really start to have conversations, I think that’s a problem,” Scheinkopf said. “I definitely think kids, whether it’s their grades, their mental health or problems they’re having with friends, it starts to get bad when they can’t find the time to talk about it with their parents or loved ones.”

Sophomore Catherine Frey said that because she and her family have always been on different schedules, it is difficult for them to eat together.

“My family never really had that tradition [of eating together] so it doesn’t really affect me,” Frey said, “It’s not unusual, it’s my usual.”

Although freshman Carrie Reusche also does not eat dinner with her family on a daily basis, she understands

why it may be important.

“I do believe that eating dinner with your family is good because the more influence your family has on you the better,” Reusche said. “But I don’t eat with my family every night, and we still find time to talk together everyday.”

Another study done by CASA says that students who eat dinner with their families five times or more in a week get better grades than those who eat dinner with their families twice or less times in a week. Frey, however, does not believe that family dinners correlate with grades.

“I think that kids might get better grades, but I don’t think it’s based off of family dinners,” Frey said. “Times that most people are having dinner with their families, I’m studying and doing homework and my parents are working.”

Scheinkopf stresses the importance of making time for family. “[Most times when students aren’t at school], they’re with your friends, and not that your friends can’t be good role models, but let’s face it, you need your family,” Scheinkopf said. “You need that support system of your family to help guide you, guide your values and your beliefs. Your parents were your first teachers, they know how to help you.”

Reusche also values the importance of spending time with family, regardless of when this time occurs.

“It’s important for kids to have family bonding time, whether it’s at dinner or somewhere else,” Reusche said, “With a family to listen to them and help them, kids don’t have to feel alone.”

a&e 18 Fall play puts new spin on age-old themes Oct. 5, 2012

Kali Croke

staff reporter No scenery, no props, no costumes.

The only items on the stage are the actors and the deep, universal emotions that fill every moment of their characters’ lives from birth until death.

This year’s fall play, Our Town, follows the story of two neighbors, Emily Webb and George Gibbs, as they deal with the many trials and tribulations of the human life in the small town of Grovers Corner, New Hampshire.

According to director John Knight, the play is divided into three acts that focus on essential themes of life: growing up, love and marriage, and death. “[The play] is meant to encapsulate the entire human experience and kind of celebrate and look at all the parts of life,” Knight said. “No matter what happens, we need to move on.”

Senior Allie Kahan plays Emily Webb, one of the lead roles. “[Our Town] mainly follows the story of Emily Webb, [...] her family, and her next door neighbors, who have a boy whom with she ends up falling in love,” Kahan said. “She is really smart and really bright, and I think she just wants to succeed and wants everyone around her to be happy.”

Freshman Chuck Quinn plays the male lead and Kahan’s love interest, Emily’s next-door neighbor, George Gibbs.

“George is a passionate, wellintentioned and good-hearted guy, though he’s a bit oblivious at times,” Quinn said. “He plays baseball and grows up to be a farmer. [He] is really just your average guy. I like to think of him as an energetic Forrest Gump.”

As a newcomer, Quinn was honored to be chosen as a lead his first year at South.

“When I first saw my name on the call board, I thought it was a misprint,” Quinn said. “Even when I was at callbacks for the part, I had picked out three other guys who I thought were going to get [the part]. I really just wanted to be involved with the play somehow. I did that; everything else is icing on the cake.”

According to junior Zack Bauer, who plays the town’s milkman, the play’s seating arrangement allows a closer, more personal interaction between the actors and the audience.

“It’s kind of a new idea to have the audience on stage with us,” Bauer said.

“It’s going to be a very intimate play, like the spring play last year where the

..

. h t i w A & Q

MIND OVER MATTER: Sophomore Janie Kahan conveys enthusiasm while practicing her part as one of the townspeople during a fall play rehearsal. Traditionally done in an unconventional way, the actors’ performances eliminate the need for scenery, props, and costumes. Photo by Jackie Cortopassi

audience [was] on stage with the actors in the middle, except this year is going to be a little different, [having the audience on] three sides instead of two. I think it’s going to be really cool to see the reactions of everyone watching.”

Another change will be the modernization of the performance, according to Knight. In order to duplicate the original relatable feeling that the audience felt while watching the early performances of Our Town, the actors will not wear any costumes. “[The play] deals with universal human themes that are still with us today - life, and love, and death,” Knight said. “If we [looked] at it from a modern perspective,

I thought we could still see how it related to us. Our Town will literally be like our town, like Glenview, in modern day.”

According to Knight, Our Town also lacks props and scenery, making it unique in comparison to most plays of its time.

“It was one of the first plays where people were not used to seeing no scenery,” Knight said. “You were not ever going to get caught up in the fact that you were watching a recreation of life. All of these things are common today, but at the time it was kind of revolutionary and avant-garde, and that’s why it is so enduring.”

Due to the lack of scenery, Knight plans on spending more time rehearsing the

Purple Apple

Favorite set at Lolla?

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis or Florence + the Machine.

What was performing at Lollapalooza like?

Unreal. It was so amazing.

There aren’t words to describe.

Current favorite song?

There [are] too many!

Anything country.

Favorite quote to live by?

“This too shall pass.”

Favorite TV show?

Friday Night Lights and The Walking Dead Favorite beverage?

Lemonade Scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Jumped off a cliff into water If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?

John Lennon

Madi O’Brien

q&a’s compiled by a&e editors Rachel Mann and Maddie Abrams

realism of the cast’s emotional portrayal and less time on blocking and movement. “[It is my job to] help them analyze the roles,” Knight said. “I help them figure out how to play the roles and make them their own. [...] Really looking at the realistic, deep emotions is going to take a long time.”

According to Bauer, the play’s relatable and emotional plot allows the audience to take away something much more than just entertainment.

“There are a lot of life lessons you can learn,” Bauer said. “Live life in the now.

Do not think about the future or the past.

You have to love life to live life, and live life to love life and live it to the fullest.”

Purple Apple, a band comprised of sophomores Nonie Andersen, Olivia Eigel and Madi O’Brien, and their former babysitter Devin Ulery, performed at Lollapalooza Aug. 3 and 4. The A&E editors asked them questions about this event along with questions about themselves.

Olivia Eigel

What are Purple Apple’s preshow rituals?

We kind of just goof around.

We jump around in a huddle trying to make each other laugh.

Favorite set at Lolla?

Macklemore Current favorite song?

“Take a Walk” by Passion Pit Favorite store to shop at?

Zara or Forever 21 Favorite TV show?

Awkward.

Favorite beverage?

Arnold Palmer How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

Six or seven Favorite subject in school?

Chemistry Scariest thing you’ve done?

Bungee jumping. It’s terrifying.

What were your reactions when you found out Purple Apple made the line up for Lollapalooza?

I was at lacrosse practice and my mom texted me. I pretty much just dropped all my stuff and started jumping up and down and screaming. I was really excited.

Favorite set at Lolla?

Passion Pit Favorite quote to live by?

“You got a dream... you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it.

If you want something, go get it.

Period.” - The Pursuit of Happyness Pet peeve When my friends come over and use my pillow. It’s really annoying.

Nonie Andersen

a&e

19

Oct. 5, 2012

3

Lucky :

Senior Yoojin Seol developed an interest in web design as a result of her artistic aspirations. She now has her own website: yoojin.star-bottle.net.

Sally You

asst. a&e editor Surfing the web has become an everyday routine for the majority of teens today. Depending on a teen’s interests, the websites they visit and things they do online may vary.

Typically, the average teen does not know the steps behind the process of creating a website. Senior Yoojin Seol, however, knows the ins and outs of website design, as she has her own website called Lucky Cubed. Seol picked a name that she felt was catchy and was an accurate reflection of her identity.

“I describe myself as a lucky person, blessed with this education and living in the U.S.,” Seol said. “My website has a 3-D feel to it, so I put a 3 there so it could be called Lucky Cubed.”

Seol initially began the process of designing her website the summer before her junior year in preparation for studying business and art in college.

“Some of the colleges I’m applying to want a website portfolio and most people would probably use Deviantart or Flickr, but I wanted to make my own,” Seol said. “I wanted to see how far my limits could go and [see what they could produce].”

Although one of Seol’s main reasons for creating the website circulated around college admission, she has been interested in web-designing since middle school.

“In sixth or seventh grade, I started having an interest in web-designing and that’s when I started to learn GALACTIC GRAPHIC: This image is featured on Seol’s website. “I’ve always been fascinated by space and stars and celestial stuff,” Seol said. “[The image] decoding by myself,” Seol said. “I just scribes imagination to me. Whenever I look at it, it’s endless and anything could be possible there.” Photo courtesy of Yoojin Seol learned it over the years. I never took a class or anything, and I just like photography contest and the winner would get a prize learning about it. […] I learn from other people’s coding was to come up with a URL for it.

“Once you purchase a domain, you need to pay [a and an artwork done of the photograph, and I was the and other people’s websites.“ One of Seol’s first steps in establishing the website certain amount of money] a month, and I don’t like person who made the prize for him,” Seol said. “It was to spend money, so I found a person pretty fun because you got to manipulate a photo [into] who uses star-bottle.net,” Seol said. “[I your own style.”

According to Seol, the general payments she receives thought] it was a pretty name so I just Hey! Sixth graders through seniors... contacted [the owner] and asked if she are proposed by her customers.

Having a math “problem”?

“All the offers are a lot [more] generous than I could host my website. […] She hosts my website for free and I just have to keep thought [I would receive],” Seol said. “[I think it’s Want to get ahead? because] buying art is not the star-bottle.net to Call me! [like] buying an object. It’s show that she’s my a [personal] request.” host.”

While running the Seol describes her website is significant part website as a gallery in Seol’s life, she has to to display and sell prioritize the amount of her artwork. time she invests in it.

She receives “I usually save all my private commissions [work] for the summer from visitors of the or spring [and] winter website on a certain break,” Seol said. “I think theme or character my priority is more school which she then Joanne Lurie 847 - 291 - 0066 than my side hobbies. [My draws digitally on schedule is] very flexible Photoshop or CS5 We can work it out! because I am my own or herself using manager so I close commissions or I [make] wait lists so colored pencils.

Seol is also capable - Over 25 years experience helping kids of creating pixel images, Lolita hats and I [can] save them for the next break.”

Seol plans on continuing her work in web-design. felt plushies for anyone interested in - All North Shore suburbs “I won’t stick with the same website but over [my] purchasing them.

- Certified secondary ed math teacher “[A piece of art usually] takes about college years, I’ll keep continuing online businesses five hours depending on how complex because I do want to major in art and business and make - ACT Math prep it a part of my future,” Seol said. the background is,” Seol said.

- Available anytime you are Thus far, Seol has received much praise from her A memorable experience Seol has had while running her website was when she family and friends on her website.

- I come to your house “It looks amazing!” senior Rachael Kim said. “There’s was acknowledged by one of her website so much detail and creative artwork, you know that a fans.

- Sho Short notice OK “One of the biggest clients I had was lot of effort and thought was put into it.”

Explore Seol’s website at yoojin.star-bottle.net. someone in Australia, and he had this I love math and you will too!

“I describe myself as a lucky person, blessed with this education and living in the U.S. [...] My website has a 3-D feel to it so I put a 3 there so it could be called Lucky Cubed.”

-Senior Yoojin Seol

20

a&e

Oct. 5, 2012

Jameson Brenner takes advantage of musical opportunities Mary Friedman

co-web editor Through the hallways of the music department and various GBS productions, senior Jameson Brenner turns eyes with his unique sense of style and skills on the guitar. From his involvement in the GBS Music Department to the establishment of himself as a teacher, songwriter and band-mate, Brenner believes it is the journey of his musical career that brought him to where he is today.

His interest in the music world began at a young age when Brenner became jealous of his older brother Nick’s opportunity to join the elementary school band. Brenner’s father saw this fascination and decided to give Brenner the chance to explore his musical interests.

“My dad […] jumped at the THEN AND NOW: Young Jameson Brenner opportunity (left) developed a passion for the guitar. and came home Currently, Brenner (right) participates with a brand in the GBS jazz ensemble, a studentrun band, Zaramela, and on new guitar his own. Left photo coura week later tesy of Jameson Brenner to teach me and right photo by Jackie ‘Smoke on Cortopassi the Water,’” B r e n n e r explained. “It never would’ve started, though, if my dad didn’t bring home that guitar.”

According to Brenner, this desire to get involved with music was more than a temporary childhood wish, it was the early stages of a passion that has lasted for the rest of his life.

“It’s so much fun to do,” Brenner said. “I just never get bored when I’m sitting with a guitar. I just get immediately entertained.”

Brenner’s musical involvement at school began with the jazz ensemble, in which he has been participating every day before school since his freshman year. Other courses that Brenner has taken at GBS include Electronic Music, AP Music Theory, and independent study time, which involves working on solo compositions.

Throughout his life, Brenner has felt an attachment to other forms of art as well, including photography. However, he explained that his experience in the GBS Music Department brought him such enjoyment, he naturally narrowed his focus to music.

“Before [high school], I’ve never really considered music as my main interest because there’s a lot of other things I’m into,” Brenner said. “At this point, now, though, I can’t really do much else besides music and that’s because of the program at South. [...] The music program at South made me almost entirely into it all.”

The young guitarist’s most memorable performance was at the GBS Variety Show

from his freshmen year when he accompanied senior Kris Hansen to perform their original song, “Don’t Fly Away.”

“It was so real,” Brenner said. “As a freshman, I was so terrified and we had no idea if we were good or not.”

Brenner stressed that a developed good taste for a variety of music is just as valuable as being able to create it. Brenner explained that he learned this through his experience preparing for the Variety Show performance with Nick. “[My brother] never considered himself a musician or anything and just enjoyed listening to music,” Brenner said. “He showed me half of my songs and has been a huge music lover. Anybody can do anything with music.”

Brenner explained that crafting a solid collection of sounds does not necessarily require skill, but, rather, a large amount of dedication.

“No matter who you are, straight up, the first time you put your fingers around the neck, it’s awkward,” Brenner said.

The first time you push the strings down, it’s a challenge.

“We build kalasses and also work to build muscle memory. […]

If you put the time in and don’t get frustrated going note by note, then anyone can do it.”

When Brenner found himself spending a lot of time around other musicians as the role of a teacher, he decided to start offering organized instruction.

“There was an opportunity to make money, that’s why I started teaching,” Brenner said. “I’d been messing around and teaching stuff to friends who already play and then realized that I could probably make a job out of it without charging ridiculously overcharged prices like I’ve had to pay for. I charge less than half rate pretty much.”

Brenner’s committment to his band Zaramela makes it difficult to set aside hours for teaching.

The band is in their final stages of mixing a few of their recordings, and they are expecting to release them onto iTunes and Amazon in the near future.

Senior Josh Schwartz-Dodek, Zaramela saxophonist, described Brenner as the backbone of the band.

“When we write new songs, a lot of the times his guitar riffs are instrumental in coming up with the melody,” Schwartz-Dodek said.

Aaron Gamalinda, who plays trumpet for the crew, depends on Brenner when the band is struggling from a creative standpoint.

“When we hit these writing blocks, it’s usually up to Jameson to figure out a new direction because he sets the foundation for a lot of the songs,” Gamalinda said.

Schwartz-Dodek described Brenner as the one who challenges the band to reach a level better than simply just “good enough.”

“When we’re in the studio, Jameson is really comfortable, yet, at the same time, he understands how important the work is and tries to get everything perfect,” Schwartz-Dodek said. “He doesn’t stop doing takes until he gets it completely right, which although we like to joke about is actually a really good quality in his studio ethic.”

With graduation slowly approaching, Brenner faces a decision on whether he should continue his educational journey in college, or get into the studios right away. If Brenner decides to put his college experience on hold, he would seek music internships with recording studios and work on contracts already made.

“Most of the people successful in the music business now came from hard work as an intern getting coffee and you work your way up,” Brenner said. “Once people realize your value, that’s when you can get a job out of it.”

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21 sports Ladies looking to build off of shaky start Oct. 5, 2012

two major factors that frustrated South. One way to combat this going forward will be to get the middles more involved in the offense.

Starting off the year with a 1-2 “Our middle hitters are really conference record, the South womgood, they can definitely get us a en’s volleyball team is looking to lot of points,” Dwyer echoed. build on successful moments in Hoover believes that their midthe early stages of its season. dles are key contributors to the “Our team has tremendous team and wants to make them a chemistry,” head coach Katie bigger part of their offense.

Hoover said. “Everybody is work“We need to get our middle ating hard whenever we get togethtackers more involved,” Hoover er as a team.” said. “We need get them more opAccording to Hoover, the team portunities to swing.” started the season by playing a seAccording to Dwyer, although ries of tough teams. the middles are a key part of the They currently have an 8-10 points they score, they’re not the overall record. According to only part. Other key players inHoover, the record has been imclude captains Teigan Flaws, Dwproving since the start of the seayer, and Rachel Tiedmann; outson. She attributes the losses mainside hitters Meghan Guinane and ly to the inconsistency of the team Kaitlin Sontag; defensive specialthroughout the matches. ist Kiva Talty; and Libero Emily “We tend to fall apart towards Mitchell. the middle of the games,” senior “Our team is really close this captain Katie Dwyer explained. year,” Dwyer said. “We’re really “We just need to stay consistent great friends.” and stay strong.”

In Hoover’s opinion, the team’s As the season was still getting started, the team faced New Trier SCINTILLATING SPIKE: Fighting at the net, sophomore Sylvia Wojslaw looks to spike the ball past the opposing Maine South communication has been just what she hoped for. While the and finished with a loss in the third middle. Wojslaw is the lone sophomore on the squad this season. Photo by Wyatt Richter communication is great, she feels set. Hoover believes that although the team needs to be more consistent. the game didn’t end in a win, it was still a our first game and played so close with of leadership on the floor.”

“We need to get the consistency piece them in game two demonstrates how far According to Hoover, New Trier’s positive match for the team. “[It] was the best that we’ve played so we’ve come. We were ready right off the powerful offense and consistent aggres- along with the aggression piece,” Hoover far,” Hoover said. “The fact that we won bat, we served aggressively and had a lot sive serving throughout the match were said. “Then we’ll be unstoppable.”

Rachel Chmielinski

asst. sports editor

Gbs_Sports

22

sports

Oct. 5, 2012

Tennis capitalizes on senior experience, team unity Ben Wittenstein

staff reporter Currently in second place in the CSL South, the GBS women’s tennis team is 4-1 in conference.

According to head coach Katie Nicolotti, South has had big wins against Deerfield and Lake Forest, whom they’ve lost to in the past. They have come in fourth place in the Loyola tournament, the Fremd invite and the New Trier invite this year.

Nicolotti feels that team chemistry is the key to her team’s success. In fact, creating team unity was a personal goal of hers.

“I feel like each year my personal goals for the team involves fostering a sense of team unity,” Nicolotti said. “I try to remind them that we win and lose as a team. They may lose their match, but we may win as a team.”

Even though the season is still young, Nicolotti’s goal seems to be becoming a reality. Senior co-captains Mary Friedman and Allie Sonneborn not only understand the importance of team unity, but they see it developing first hand.

“This year is the best team I’ve seen because they are so nice and genuine off the court, it makes it easy on the court to work well together,” Friedman explained.

Sonneborn echoed the importance of team unity.

“It’s important to foster team chemistry so everyone feels that they are welcomed on the team,” Sonneborn said.

“It’s important to make people feel that they are connected.”

ACED: Junior Caroline Ryba practices her technique to serve the team to victory. This season, Ryba is the team’s number one singles player. Photos by Wyatt Richter

The big wins don’t come as a surprise to Nicolotti. However, since she started

coaching, Nicolotti has noticed a yearly improvement.

“Since my first year, we’ve always been slowly moving up in the state standings,” Nicolotti said. “My first year here, we were 32nd [in state], and last year, we were tied for 20th.”

Armed with seven seniors and a good sense of team unity, Nicolotti sees an opportunity to succeed in conference play.

“When I started, New Trier creamed us [...],” Nicolotti said. “But in the past few years, we’ve been able to get more and more games off of them.”

Despite the promising outlook, there are still things that both Friedman and Sonneborn understand need to be worked on.

“We need to make sure the energy at practice is [a] very high level [...],” Friedman said. “You have to push yourself to the maximum in order to play well in matches.”

According to Friedman and Sonneborn, seniors have proven to be the backbone this season. They include Korri Hershenhouse, Stephanie Kaszuba, Alison Mah, Grace Pittner and Zoë Shancer.

The Titans hope to send Friedman and Sonneborn to state this season. They also hope to send junior Caroline Ryba along with sophomore doubles team Martina Dragoytchev and Jessica Chepurda as well as singles player Annie Emma.

Overall, Nicolotti feels that the season has been successful both through their attitudes on and off the court.

“They mesh so well together, not only because they are teammates, but because they are friends outside of school,” Nicolotti said. “They have a lot of fun [...] They really enjoy what they’re doing, and I can’t really ask for anything more than

Cross country shares success, aims high for post-season Justine Kim

staff reporter

Men’s

Women’s

elle D ume

The varsity women’s cross country team started off their season at the Fenton Invitational with co-captain Mollie McMahon and freshman Anne Brennan in the top 60 runners. Brennan also placed fourth individually in the Wauconda Invite.

According to McMahon, the team is still transitioning from losing some of their top runners but are doing their best to adjust.

“We haven’t been [running as fast as we would like to], but we’re strong this year and our coaches are really trying to get us into a team mentality,” McMahon said.

According to Coach Frederick Kocian, the team has improved a lot since the beginning of the season.

“The girls are very competitive and as the practices get more difficult, they respond by doing well in meets,” Kocian said.

Key runners on the varsity team include co-captains McMahon and Melissa Bastanipour; juniors Jamie Studen-

Mich

The varsity men’s cross country team kicked off their season with an overall dual meet record of 3-1.

The team started off their conference season with a win over GBN in a dual meet, placing third out of 19 teams at the Crystal Lake Invite and second out of 18 teams at the Warren invite; it was the highest they’ve placed at Warren in years.

According to co-captain David O’Gara, their success is due to their strong team this year.

“We’ve been doing really well this season, and our team this year is stronger than last year’s with a [wide variety of ages],” O’Gara said.

Some key runners on the varsity team include senior co-captains Peter Westerfield and Dan Weathers; juniors Charlie Castelli, Alex Jackman, n and O’Gara; and sophoso ck i mores Colin Burrowes yD nr and Henry Dickson.

He According to Coach Kurt Hasenstein, the team works assiduously and extremely well together.

“They’re all hard working kids that are willing to run seven to eight miles a day and the team has great leadership this year with our three cap-

tains,” Hasenstein said.

Though the team is cohesive, they have been working on running together as a pack. According to Westerfield, O’Gara leads the pack as one of the faster runners, but the team’s aim is to work together for the entire race.

“We’ve been trying to pack up to work together to help us move forward in the rankings,” Westerfield said.

According to Weathers, throughout the entire season, the ultimate goal of the season has been to qualify for State.

“We know that we have a chance to go to State, and as the season goes on we keep having hope,” Weathers said. “[I think] that we can get to State because of how much depth and how close our times are.”

The men’s team has been improving annually and State has become more of a reality this year, according to Jackman.

“The focus is on finishing at the top half of our conference and hopefully sending some individuals down to the State meet,” Hasenstein said.

roth and Jamie Vear; sophomore Emily Wyland; and freshmen Rose O’Grady, Ali Campbell, and Brennan According to Bastanipour, the team has four returning varsity runners and some talented freshmen that will help them qualify for Sectionals.

“We’ve got some great talent and our strength is in our returning varsity runners,” Bastanipour said.

The GBS team is consistently in the middle of the rankings, neither at the top nor bottom, but according to Studenroth, they are working on packing to reach the top.

“We run the first mile or two together to keep pace, which we run strong, but we’re especially working on getting strong on the second mile,” Studenroth said.

According to Brennan, one of their main goals is to just go through the season as a cohesive unit while breaking individual goals.

“For the rest of the season, the whole team just wants to stay in a pack during all of the meets so we can push each other to decrease our times,” Brennan said.

Their ultimate of all of the varsity cross country goals this season is to qualify from Regionals to Sectionals and finish at the top half of their conference.

“As the season goes on, the girls get more competitive and we’re aiming to get in the top five teams of our conference,” Kocian said.

sports

23

Oct. 5, 2012

Safe or sorry: EKG takes minutes, prevents deaths Sports opinion EKG tests provide information that can keep potentially at-risk athletes out of danger

What is an EKG? Ethan Spalding

co-sports editor

necessary angioplasty (an invasive procedure conducted to enlarge the opening in arteries). Some experts suggest avoiding radiation exposure as much as possible, and thus recommend not getting an EKG test without symptoms of heart problems.

While this all may be true, another Glenbrook John Adkisson South case shows the benefits of taking an EKG test. co-sports editor Two years ago, JJ Connor, 2012 graduOn Aug 3, Jesus Lupian ate, varsity swimmer collapsed on the soccer field, and water polo playdying later that day. He had er, was diagnosed turned 20 one week prior to with Long QT synhis death. drome, a disease of Jesus, an alum of South and the heart named after John Hersey High School and the pattern the disa sophomore at Robert Morris played on the EKG University, was a hard workresults., according to er and loved by everyone that the National Heart knew him. Before his death, Lung and Blood InLupian was playing soccer for stitute. Long QT synRobert Morris and majoring in drome is “a heart accounting. He was the first rhythm disorder that member of his family to go to can cause fast, chacollege. otic heartbeats, faintAs a freshman at South, I ing spells, seizures, had the great pleasure of being and sudden death” acquainted with Jesus through according to the our soccer program. My first Mayo Clinic. impression of him was that of In general, coveran incredibly nice, wholesome ing your bases and and down-to-earth kid who doing an EKG test absolutely loved the game of GONE TOO SOON: Jesus Lupian, a sophomore at Robert Morris University, died after collapsing has more potensoccer; he always had a smile playing soccer. An EKG test could have detected Lupian’s heart irregulariteis. Photo from Facebook tial for benefit than on his face and made everyone harm. Many schools, Glenbrook South included, around him happy both on and off the field.

I could spend a long time writing about how great of a kid Jesus was, which can be have coordinated programs that ofseen with numerous posts about him on his wall on Facebook (something I encourage fer free EKG, and regardless, everyone to look at). However, I think it is necessary to talk about what can be done to the $50 cost is worth saving a ensure that a death as unfortunate as Jesus’s will not happen again. To do this, I implore life like Jesus’s.

If your test comes back that all athlete have an Electrocardiogram (EKG) conducted before competing.

An EKG test measures for the electrical activity in the heart; if there are irregular pat- with problems, do not hesiterns in the readings a doctor can notice them and direct the patient to the necessary tate to receive further testing. Dr. Johnathan Drezner, associate profollow-up exams.

EKG testing does have its drawbacks. According to consumerhealthchoices.org, the fessor of family medicine at the University of tests are not always accurate, and for low-risk subjects, often they can produce mislead- Washington and vice president of the American ing results. If I took an EKG test, for example, and was told that I could never play again Medical Society for Sports Medicine, suggests that based on the results, there is a possibility that the results are faulty, and there is really the EKG is a helpful tool if used correctly.

“No one is recommending you only do an EKG,” nothing wrong.

Furthermore, testing positive requires follow-up tests that expose subjects to radia- Drezner said. “It really is the combined protocol of tion equal to that of 600 to 800 chest X-rays, something that should not be done unless history and EKG that provides the more advanced necessary. In some cases, false positives even lead to overtreatment with drugs and un- heart screening that we should aim for.”

An electrocardiogram (EKG) is a test used to measure electric activity of the cardiac, or heart, muscle. According to Web MD, the EKG machine measures the electrical pulses through pads called electrodes, which it translates onto a sheet of paper. Though this is best read by a doctor, an untrained eye can notice irregularities relatively easily.

EKG tests generally cost around $50 according to Consumer Reports, though Glenbrook South has offered free tests in the past.

Electrocardiography is not a perfect science, according to Web MD. Activities that increase heart rate (i.e. working out prior to the test or moving during it) or poor application of the electrodes can cause the machine to misread the heart of the person being tested.

These false- positives can require intensive follow-up tests to be conducted, according to Consumer Health Reports.

The diagram at left displays a typical alignment of electrodes from the EKG machine. The electrodes, which are attaced with an adhesive jelly-like s u b stance, measure the voltage difference between pairs of pads, according to the University of Utah’s ECG learning center.

Image from Wikipedia

Soccer overcomes early season inconsistency; defense ignites hot streak Harrison Kenner

staff reporter

the team cites confidence and extra time as the driving forces behind a playoff run. Senior defender John Hudson knows that the team’s performance can only get better.

“Individually we are a great team,” Hudson said. “It’s just a matter of time before we get together.”

Junior midfielder Kosta Brkovic, the team’s leading scorer, reiterated Agombar and Hudson’s sentiments as just part of the growing process.

“The season hasn’t really been what we have imagined,” said Brvokic. “It’s been disappointing but the results can only get better.”

The Titans’ Sept. 15 matchup against Ridgewood was the first in a string of victories. A late goal by junior forward Michael Hanches put the Titans up 3-2, the first in an eight-game streak in

Late in the season, the South men’s soccer team has a record of 7-4-5. According to head coach Paul Agombar, the team’s unevenness tells the story of the 2012 season.

“The team has been inconsistent,” Agombar said.

“We have played well against the good teams, and we haven’t played well against the teams that we were expected to beat.”

Agombar attributes the inconsistencies to a shift in focus.

“The team is much more focused on the game plan against a good team,” Agombar said. “This is because they realize [they] need to execute to beat a good team. I think against the weaker teams they feel that their talent will just get them through without playing...it hasn’t.”

Despite negatives, the team is pressing forward. Senior captain Stephen Lee believes that the team’s success in late-season competetions and the playoffs will SWEET AND SALTZY: Sophomore goalie Zack depend on its focus.

Saltzman punts the ball after making a save during a “We really need to focus on playing 1-0 victory at New Trier. Saltzman replaced senior goalie well throughout the whole game,” Lee John Adkisson, who sprained his ankle at the beginning of conference play. said.

Photo by JP O’Rourke After having the extra pressure of living up to last year’s expectations

which they did not lose a game.

After the Ridgewood game, the Titans continued to win, defeating the Evanston Wildkits 4-1 before playing Waukegan. The Titans defeated the Bulldogs, who went on to win the Central Suburban League South for the first time in history, by a score of 3-1.

Senior captain Ethan Boner attributed the change in performance to a work ethic that only Glenbrook South has.

“We may not be the best team, but we are the hardest working team,” Boner said. “[When] other teams [in the] 78th minute are tired, we are still going hard.”

According to Boner, the team is optimistic and focused for a playoff push with the same drive and motivation that has aided them all season.

“Confidence in front of the net, making smart shots, connecting passes and looking for outside players to go [are the important factors],” Boner said. “[If we do that] we will be looking strong going into playoffs.”

Hudson believes that the team’s record does not do it justice, and believes teams may underestimate them based on it.

“Anybody that is looking at our record really can’t judge who we are,” Hudson said. “This team is definitely underrated”.

The Titans will next play Zion Benton Oct. 6 in a charity game benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Institute. Following this game, the Titans will head into the playoffs as the seventh seed.

sports 24 Swimmers succeed despite missing star Oct. 5, 2012

Photo by John Adkisson

Ethan Spalding

co-sports editor At last year’s state meet, the South women’s swim team took fifth place and claimed two individual titles, both IHSA records.

The Titans are undefeated so far in dual meets and have placed in third in a pair of invites so far this season. They have achieved this despite swimming four meets without senior Olivia Smoliga, the Titans’ four-time state champion, holder of three state records, and owner of the 13th-best 100 backstroke time in the world in 2012, who has been away on recruiting trips. According to head coach Kelly Timson, Smoliga’s absense has allowed the Lady Titans to show off their depth.

“We’re pretty deep, and our [200 and 400] free relays are really good without her,” Timpson said. “It’s a lot easier to set a lineup with her, but we can be more creative without her to make sure we’re covering all our bases.”

Though she prefers having Smoliga because the team is better with her, sophomore Katie Wells (pictured above) believes swimming without her will make the team better for when they swim with her at late-season championship meets.

“There’s a lot of stepping up that needs to be done,” Wells said. “There’s a lot more pressure on [some of the younger girls] to do well, but I feel like that pressure helps us go a lot faster. It’s good practice for us to be in pressure situations, though it’s nice to have [Smoliga] to help score points and make winning meets easier.”

The Titans went into a Sept. 14 dual meet against Fremd without Smoliga. Despite being ranked fourth, over 20 places higher than Fremd in the state by wildkitaquatics. com, the Titans failed to clinch the meet before the final event, the 400 free relay. However, the Titans wound up winning the race after Wells posted a time of 51.8 seconds in her leg of the relay, a season best. According to Wells, the pressure of the situation made her go faster. “[Knowing the meet was on the line] was really motivational, just to look around and see both teams lining up at the side of the pool [cheering],” Wells said.

A week later, at full strength, the Titans took on their archrivals, the Glenbrook North Spartans, who wildkitaquatics.com ranked 15th in state heading into the meet.

The meet began with a Spartan victory in the 200 medley relay, but the Titans answered by sweeping the first three spots of the 200 yard freestyle. Smoliga won both the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke, and senior Kimmy Durkin won the 200 and 500 freestyle. The Titans also won both freestyle relays, finishing the meet with a score of 116 to GBN’s 70.

According to junior Bailey Moynihan, beating North has special meaning to the team.

“Beating GBN was really exciting because they’re our biggest rivals,” Moynihan said. “It gives us a boost of confidence knowing we can beat our biggest rivals, which gives us confidence going up against even better teams like New Trier.”

At this point in the season, the Titans have the fourth ranked team in the state. They will finish up conference play over the coming weeks before the CSL South Conference meet Nov. 2, their sectional meet Nov. 9, and state Nov. 16-17.

Smoliga has high hopes for herself at these late season meets, specifically hoping to achieve one long-term aspiration.

“It’s been my goal [since my freshman year] to get the national record in the 100 back,” Smoliga said.

Smoliga’s time of 53.43 from 2010 is less than two seconds off of Minnesota’s Rachel Bootsma’s national record of 51.53. Smoliga and Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin both will have their last shot at the high school record at their respective state meets this year. Smoliga’s expectation for herself and her team are very high for the postseason.

“We want to get top three in state,” Smoliga said. “Not only have we gotten stronger, but [our top competition], like New Trier, has gotten weaker.”

A top three finish at state would award the Titans a trophy, something no Glenbrook South swim team has done since the 2009 men’s team took third in state and set a national record in the 200 freestyle relay. No women’s team at South has ever taken home a trophy.

Football disappoints against rivals, previously beaten opponents John Adkisson & Ethan Spalding

co-sports editors Midway through the regular season, the GBS varsity football team has an overall record of 3-3. According to head coach Mike Noll, the season has been defined by a series of inadequate performances in the fourth quarter.

“I’d say there’s a certain amount of frustration because we’re used to winning close games in the fourth quarter,” Noll said. “We’re not at all comfortable with where we are [...] and yet we realize we’re doing the best we can, [and] that’s all we can do.”

According to Noll, this achilles heel has been apparent since week one, when a fourth quarter collapse cost the Titans a victory at Prospect High School in a 55-41 shootout.

The Titans’ game two weeks later against Glenbrook North was more of the same. Despite having not lost a game against the Spartans since 2003, the Titans failed to capitalize on offensive opportunities, costing themselves over 50 yards on penalties. The Titans resorted to a Hail Mary on their last drive, which proved unsuccessful.

In their most recent game, the Titans played New Trier, who last year they shutout 27-0 in the playoffs. Despite taking a 21-17 lead heading into the third quarter, the Titans fell 31-21, marking their first loss to the Trevians since 2006. According to Noll, weak defense in the second half proven to be fatal for the Titans.

Noll attributes much of his team’s failure to injuries that have forced to put inadequate players in the starting lineup.

“We only had so much depth going in [to the season] and we’ve stretched it too thin,” Noll said. “We’ve put some guys out there that are not ready physically to play varsity football. We’re putting out some guys that aren’t ready yet, and 8A football is very unforgiving.”

The offense as a whole has been decimated by injuries since before week one, when they lost starting tailback Grant Paterakos to a broken ankle. According to Noll, their inability to run, along with the talent of receivers senior Ose Ilenikhena and junior Cody Carroll, has made passing the ball more necessary.

“Our passing game has been a strength,” Noll said.

“The problem is that we’re not physical enough on offense to be balanced, so the typical run-pass balance that we have isn’t there.”

Despite the talent in the aerial attack, Noll is wary of passing the ball as much as he has so far this year.

He believes their lack of balance has caused a multitude of problems for the offense.

“When you throw the ball all the time, [more] de-

“We’ve put some guys out there that are not ready physically to play varsity football. We’re putting out some guys that aren’t ready yet, and 8A football is very unforgiving.”

-Head Coach Mike Noll

BASKET CASE: Tracking the ball into his hands, junior Cody

Carroll makes a catch for the Titans. Carroll, according to Coach Mike Noll, has been an integral part of the Titans’ offense this season. Photo by J.P. O’Rourke

fenders can rush at the quarterback,” Noll said.

“Balance helps everyone get their job done.

Our inability to rush the ball has hurt a little bit.” With more defenders rushing the quarterback, the offensive line’s role has become magnified. Though they started the year poorly, quarterback Max Cohen believes they are getting better as a unit.

“Even though [the offensive line] didn’t start off too hot at the beginning of the season they’re getting a lot better and a lot more comfortable with playing in the games,” Cohen said. “They’re not nervous at all [any more] and they’re just doing a lot better over all.”

With this improvement, the Titans need to win the next two games to secure their spot in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) 8A playoffs.

These games are against Waukegan on Oct. 6 and Niles West on Oct. 12. According to Noll, this is all they can hope for after a season plagued by inconsistencies on both sides of the ball. However, Noll promises that everything will be left on the field “I can promise we’re going to play hard,” Noll said. “We control our own destiny, and we can make the playoffs, [which] would be a great achievement for this team.”

The Titans homecoming game against Waukegan will take place tomorrow at 1:30 in John Davis Stadium.