9.23.2011 haslett high school
5450 marsh road haslett mi 48840
by lauren HOOPER
It’s been 10 years. Ten years since the day Americans tuned in to see two massive towers fall to the ground in a matter of a few hours. It seemed something like this could never happen. Yet over the past several years all Americans are suffering the repercussions, even the many who were too young to remember the day it actually happened. Since 9/11, airlines are feeling the biggest heat. Before that day, it was possible to walk into an airline and get on a plane without even having your bag screened. However that all changed 39 days after the attack when George W. Bush signed the Aviation Security Act which required all bags to be checked for any type of harmful items. EFFECTS on page 2
AMC Cinema in the Meridian Mall closed it doors after serving the East Lansing area for 25 years on Sept. 5. After AMC was unable to reach an agreeable lease term, another company has plans to revamp the theater. Atlanta’s American Theatre Corp. has planed to open a Cinema Grill as a theater and diner combination. For now, NCG Cinemas in Eastwood and the Sun Theatre in Williamston are the closest alternatives.
Local CADL moves
What’s On Deck? • September 21 HS College Planning Night 6:30 p.m. • October 7 Murphy Fun Run • October 9 Race for Ralya 8:30 a.m. • October 8 Choir Boosters 9 a.m. • October 13 Band Boosters 7 p.m.
photo by sierra DOVE Pat Hepfer instructing a few of his students during his computer tech class in fifth hour.
Staff shuffle
BD
BENEATH DECK
AMC cinema closes
Haslett’s Capital Area District Library moved a week early on Sept. 1. It is now located in the old Meridian High School building. The new building is over triple the size of the old one which allows for more space of the 500 average visitors per day that the library comforts. While the library’s new location is only a few blocks away from the original, ithe $300,000 project is for larger space.
volume 17 issue 1
9/11 has everlasting effects
PORTSIDE
LB PS
viking LONGBOAT
Year kicks off with significant changes in faculty by travis STIREWALT
After a year of budget cuts, lay-offs, position adjustments, retirements and changes in general, students enter a brand new school year facing even more changes. As a result of some of the changes, the roster of teachers has undergone a sort of shuffle. The academic departments primarily affected by this switch-up are the Television Production and English departments. “Mr. (Brian) Town is currently on leave,” Wegenke said. “I cannot comment on the details. It’s a personnel issue.” The Vision television program and TV media classes are currently directed and taught by Patrick Hepfer. “I have been brought in for the duration of his leave” Hepfer said. “I was asked to do this a week before school started. I was almost pushed into it.”
SHUFFLE----- on page 2
Fall sport update pg. 3
9/11: Where were you? pg. 4
2
September 23, 2011 SHUFFLE from pg 1
EFFECTS from pg 1
Transportation Security Administration (TSA): an agency of
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States.
3,051 children lost a parent to the World Trade Center attacks. nymag.com
Airplane passengers pay a $2.50 “September 11th Security Fee” for every plane they board. money.cnn.com
ews
Hepfer has begun to initiate some changes in the way the program operates, and the quality of the content produced. “You can expect a strong overall quality and a wider variety of sports. You might see sports on the Vision you haven’t seen before” he said. “We will be giving a diverse overview of our school, informative entertaining announcements and we will be taking a more journalistic approach”. In addition to directing the Vision program and teaching TV media and computer technology, Hepfer also works behind the scenes of all auditorium events including plays, musicals, concerts, and other theatrically-related events. “I run the Performance Arts Center,” Hepfer said. “I’m in charge of every production that goes through.” Veteran students in the program also believe that things will be significantly different under the new instructor. “He makes us be our best and pushes us to do our best,” junior Mitchell Kreps said. Hepfer also directs the Students in Entertainment Technology program. The SET program is a hands-on training program for high school juniors and seniors in Ingham County. Students learn skills with lighting, sound, visual, and design in live settings under Hepfer’s instruction. In the English department, there have been a few major changes for more subtle reasons than the television production department. Both British Literature teacher Carol Sanford and AP English teacher Dee Schnarr retired last year after long teaching careers. Sanford taught at Haslett for 39 years, and Schnarr for 21 years. Sanford’s position as the British Literature teacher has been filled by Craig Kueffner. Kueffner taught seventh grade language arts for nine years at the middle school, and has taught English at the high school for the past five years. He also advised the Dixit yearbook program for three years. “I feel like my professional writing background, graduate degree in educational leadership and five previous years part-time at the high school help me transition into this new position,” Kueffner said. British literature is the last English class students take before they enroll in AP English. In order to prepare students for an advanced placement class, Kueffner pushes his own college preparatory agenda. “Keeping the pace of instruction swift, promoting higher-order thinking, and providing activities, materials, and a course that are at the college-prep level,” Kueffner said of his approach. Schnarr’s position as the AP English teacher has been filled by Arthur Chiaravalli. Previously, Chiaravalli worked in the math department, teaching introductory math classes including Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II. “Although I have enjoyed my past four or five years teaching Math, I have always looked forward to making a return to my first love (English),” Chiaravalli said. The large number of AP English students this year are divided into two separate classrooms. The first hour class consists of 40 students and is held in the Viking Room for optimum space. The sixth hour class consists of 30 students and meets in Chiaravalli’s room. In addition to AP English, Chiaravalli is teaching the English 9 course to the incoming freshman. AP English is a college level class and can only be taught by a teacher with certain qualifications. “I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan,” Chiaravalli said. “After that, I earned my State of Michigan teacher’s certificate with a major in language arts and a minor in mathematics. This summer, I completed the AP Summer Institute in Muncie, Ind. qualifying me to teach AP English under the auspices of the College Board. I also have a black belt in Karate.” Classes, sports, and life go on at Haslett High School despite the shuffle of staff. Although under the constant pressure of budget cuts, this school year may bring many more changes.
Not only were bags being searched, but bodies as well. Junior Katie Panter experienced this when traveling to London over this past summer. After putting her shoes and other mandatory items in the boxes, Panter proceeded to walk through the metal detector. However, the zipper on her jacket triggered the alarm. Two security officials walked over and began to search. “They systematically searched my entire body,” Panter said. “It was pretty embarrassing.” Panter understands why security has come to this and she is glad for the extra precautions. “I think the concept of higher security is a good thing,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to pay the embarrassing price.” Senior Tosh Blosser finds it random, but needed. “It’s kinda weird having a random person pat you down,” Blosser said. Another effect that seems to take place is racial stereotyping. Since finding out that people from the terroist group of Al-Qaeda planned the attacks, many people believe followers of the Muslim faith have been targeted for further inspection. Blosser notices this first hand. “At the border going into Canada, a man was pulled over in front of me who was of MIddle Eastern descent,” Blosser said. “They searched his car just because he looked that way.” Even though many of the current high school students may are too young, some can still remember the day that changed everything. “I remember seeing my dad cry for the first time,” Panter said. Others were affected in a different way. “The dad of a good friend of mine was a firefighter in 9/11,” Blosser said. “Even though it wasn’t my dad it still touched me.” As much as people may complain about the extra 20 minutes needed to go through security and boarding, Panter is willing to pay the price. “This protects us from more things like 9/11 happening again,” Panter said. “Airplanes are dangerous things, we don’t want to suffer losses like that again.”
BEHIND THE LINES
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graphic by eric FROBOM
20 percent of Americans know someone that has been hurt or killed in the 9/11 attacks.
The average wait time at a security checkpoint is 8 minutes and 50 seconds. abcnews.go.com
Fewer than 3 percent of passengers get pat-downs at security checkpoints. abcnews.go.com
30 percent of Americans say post- 9/11 security procedures are “more hassle than they’re worth”. www.pcmag.com
nymag.com
photos by sierra DOVE
S
ports
September 23, 2011
Back
To Sports
Athletes eagerly return to busy fall schedule Page by Shane Heston and Adam Foren
Football Record: 1-3
Girls Volleyball
Boys Soccer
Captains: Jess
Captains: Josh Saw-
4
By the numbers: underclassmen on the team
1.6
By the numbers: goals given up per game
Boys soccer players doing drills at practice.
photos by sierra DOVE
Boys Tennis
Girls Swimming
2
Record: 7-1
Record: 4-1 Captains: Kate
By the numbers: games decided by 3 points or less The varsity offensive line gets ready for a big play vs rival DeWitt.
Captains: Zach Bepler, Adam Schoonmaker, Wes Holton
Steinfield, Victoria Bishop, Ashley Fongers
Record: 8-0
5
By the numbers: games the teams won in a row
Sophomore Cathleen Donahue swims during practice.
AO TM
Sophomore Mitchell Stewart 11-1 3rd singles tennis
Cross Country
Record: 2-1 at invites Girls record: 0-4
Favorite pre- game meal: Subway What gets you pumped up for matches: “Coach Henry Brunnschweiler really gets me fired up for matches.�
Girls captains: Ellen Corder, Tara Mahon Boys: Alex Van Camp, Ryan Beyea
Both Cross Country teams pictured together.
Favorite professional athlete: Aaron Rodgers Favorite team to play: DeWitt
Junior Charlie Rumsey swings at a ball during practice.
ATHLETE OF THE MONTH
Captains: Chelsea Root, Erin Lawrence, Daisy Yonkus
By the numbers: Number of runners who ran under 18 minutes at the Haslett Invite.
24
By the numbers: the most players on any teams roster in the area
4
By the numbers: number of years they have won leagues in a row
Girls Golf
7
yer, Zach Morlock, Josh Kleinow, Tanay Salpaker
Tyrer, Colette Reed
Girls volleyball players go for a block during their game.
ing, Adam Foren, Sam Wegenke
Senior Chelsea Root finishs her swing during there meet.
Record: 4-5-2
Record: 5-0
Captains: Eric Ver-
3
4
O
September 23, 2011
Ten years later - September 11
by maggie TURNEY
Many of us, we were still in elementary school when 19 AlQaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets within two hours on September 11, 2001. I was in Mrs. Muth’s second grade class at Mt. Hope Elementary school when the first attack took place. I remember we were doing our daily Spanish lesson when one of the janitors walked in and whispered something to Mrs. Muth whose face turned pale white. The janitor soon exited the classroom and locked the door behind him. As a scrawny second grader I didn’t think this was too odd. We were in downtown Lansing, lock downs and a feeling of slight terror was normal. Roughly about 15 minutes later we heard the door being unlocked and the vice principal swung it open and practically
ran to our teacher who had just recovered from her momentary paleness. I overheard her say that there was a second attack and that many parents were coming in to pick up their children early. She then left the room and re-locked the door behind her. Still clueless, I went on working on my vocabulary words and arguing with my friend Aaron about who was the faster runner. As the next couple hours passed our classroom population dwindled and then the janitor came back to our classroom and unlocked the door and hurried away. As I look back now, I realize that the school thought that locking everyone in classrooms wasn’t such a good idea especially since no one knew what was going on. If evacuation was necessary, it wouldn’t be possible and everyone would basically die because we were locked in 30X32 boxes. My day went on pretty normally, at least in my opinion. By about 5 PM when my mother picked me up from the after school program, I had really forgotten all the odd events that took place throughout the school day. When we arrived at our
house, my mother immediately turned on our television and sat me down in front of the set. Images of burning, crumbling building flashed before my eyes, red and white headlines kept running across the screen. Being, what, seven years old, I was in awe of the colors of the headlines flying by staying completely oblivious to the words my mother was telling me. She was trying to explain to me that “bad men” had stolen planes and flew them into some important buildings because they wanted to scare people. I didn’t care at all. I just kept on watching the colors fly by and thinking about unicorns, crayons, slides, or whatever I used to think about when I was 7. Now, it’s the 10 year anniversary of the attacks. I’m 17 and a senior in high school. I now know what really happened 10 years ago and the importance of it. I guess I didn’t really care when I was younger because I didn’t have any connection with the attacks. I had never been to New York and I had no family living in the city when it happened. It’s not that someone my age couldn’t understand what was going on, I just had no connection so I didn’t really care.
Also, 10 years later we’ve seen the repercussions of the attacks. Increased security at airports, the war against terror, other acts of terrorism around the world, and more intolerance towards Islam. The thing is that the terrorists who blow up buildings and crash planes may say they’re Muslim, but they’re not. There is nowhere in the Quran where it says that God wants people to blow up buildings and kill people. The people who use this as an excuse or explanation for acts of terrorism are not following the religion of Islam. Too many Americans don’t know this and it’s just sad. Intolerance towards these innocent and very nice people just because a few people who look like them did something bad is wrong. Despite the repercussions, some good has come from the attacks. The devastation was something all Americans could relate to so it unified us as a nation. Every year on the anniversary of the attacks, people set aside their petty arguments and differences and remember those who lost their lives. It’s a reminder that we’re all human and we’re all equal despite social class, race, gender, or intelligence level. Just the fact that we can stop what we’re doing
and join together is a wonderful thing. However, the bad repercussions still out weigh the good. I think that we need to work harder at changing that fact. One thing that social studies teachers are doing to try to change things are teaching about world religions. Hopefully, this will help the intolerance level go down. Once kids know more about Islam and other religions in gerneral, things will change for the better. However, teachers can’t do it alone. The education needs to spread out of the school and into their everyday life. Kids learn from parents, older siblings, and even friends. We have to set a good example. We have a chance to change the way the world is. In 10 years I’ll be 27. I will hopefully be graduated from college and working steadily. It seems like a long time from now but I’m sure it’s going to fly by like these past 10 have. I can’t really say what will have been accomplished by then but hopefully things will be better. Maybe the war in Iraq will be over. Maybe we’ll have a new World Trade tower. Who knows. All I know now is that September 11, 2001 has affected graphic by erik FROBOM
Where were you and what were you thinking when the September 11 attacks happened?
“I was in kindergarten and we didn’t go out to recess that day but my teacher promised we’d go out tomorrow. When I got home my mom didn’t turn on the news in the evening. She later told me what had happened. I wasn’t old enough to understand the significance of the tragedy, but it was the first time I realized that that bad guys weren’t just in cartoons.”
“Well I think I was in second grade. So my mother didn’t really tell me anything. She just said something bad happened so I just believed that and went on being a second grader.” Jordy Rich,
Senior
Erin Gamber, Junior
“To be honest I don’t remember where I was. I was only five.”
Quinn McCabe, Sophomore
“In second grade, I had the flu and stayed home that morning. My mom was watching television with me when it came on and I just remember watching my mom cry. It ‘s the first memory I have of her crying.” Michelle Daniels,
Senior
pinions
The CREW
Viking Longboat staff
editor-in-chiefs Travis Stirewalt & Lauren Hooper photography editor Sierra Dove photographer Chase Cain opinions editor Maggie Turney sports editor Shane Heston sports writer Adam Foren feature editor Jill Detwiler copy editor Phil Prescher graphics editor Erik Frobom web manager Austin Rosenbaum ad managers Kristen Everhardt & Logan Milliman adviser Julie Price
STAFF Laine Alexander Quinn Alexander Nick Andreson Amy Baumgartner Jeremy Burton Caitlin Eddy Reid Fowler Patrick Gifford Tirzah Harter Nick Lemmer Griffin Marinez
Nicholas McPhee Alex Murshak Tanay Salpekar Shelby Savage Josh Sawyer Jordan Scott Kurstian Shooltz Asha Sultani Morgan Underwood Emily Virkus Rory Youngs
The Viking Longboat is a monthly publication of Haslett High School, 5450 Marsh Road, Haslett, MI 48840. It is published by the fifth hour Newspaper Production and Journalism class. The Longboat has been established as a student run public forum circulated within the school and to subscribers in the community and outside the school district. The Longboat is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. The publication is an eight-time Spartan award winner and CSPA gold medalist. Letters to the editor are accepted at the discretion of the editorial board. Forms of speech not protected by the First Amendment will not be published. Letters must be signed by the author and may be edited for grammar, spelling and style. Direct all questions to the Publications Room, Room 411.