12.13 Issue

DEC. 13, 2013 | VOL. 78 ISSUE 5

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL | 520 E. MAIN ST. | CARMEL, IN | WWW.HILITE.ORG

Freedom *CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSMAGAZINE

Why the Teens for a Choice Club was denied three times before approval and what we’ve learned from its experience

Page 16 Insta

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PAGE 2 | TABLE OF CONTENTS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

Inside this issue:

Feature

Speaking With

Caution

Students discuss their views on body image and its impact 8

Student Section Senior Noah Lybik celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah during the holiday season 15

In touchy moral issues such as abortion, the school tries to take a neutral stance. What does this mean for students?

Entertainment

Page 16

The men’s basketball team prepares for the upcoming season by focusing on defensive intensity 24

NIVEDHA MEYYAPPAN / COVER PHOTO

The school’s Symphony orchestra plans to record an audition CD for Midwest Clinic 20

Sports

Feature 8 Sports editor Matt Del Busto warns students and athletes of the dangers of playing while injured 25

Perspectives

Theatre Productions students work with a professional to help write for a playwriting competition 5

Sports

News

Flip for these stories:

Entertainment 20

Student Section 15

Sports 24

Cover 16

News 5

15 Minutes

Managing editor Hafsa Razi evaluates the potential benefits and drawbacks of AP Capstone 29

Freshman Alisha Wang is a competitive figure skater 32

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | JUST A MINUTE | PAGE 3 Studying for finals can feel tedious, especially when you find yourself sitting for hours on end. As students, we sit for the majority of the day without realizing what may happen to our bodies. Seemingly harmless, sitting has a greater effect than you think. Read on and get comfortable, but don’t take a seat for this.

CONNIE CHU / GRAPHIC NEW YORK TIMES, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, HUFFINGTON POST, LIFEHACKER / SOURCES

THE BREAKDOWN: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SIT

EFFECTS OF SITTING Sitting for long periods of time results in a lower life expectancy.

When you sit, the major muscles in the legs and back are not contracting, which slows metabolism.

Enzymes which help break down fat drop by 90 percent.

After two hours, the good cholesterol in the body drops by 20 percent.

Heart attack and stroke risk also increase as a result of excessive sitting.

After 24 hours, the effectiveness of insulin drops by 24 percent, increasing the risk of diabetes.

According to a study conducted by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, sitting for 11 or more hours a day increases risk of death by nearly

Over time, fat develops in the muscle tissue, resulting in a larger bottom.

PERCENT 2013 MAY YOU SIT IN PEACE

THE AVERAGE ADULT SPENDS

A HEALTHY FIX

LEAN BACK AND RELAX

While you may feel a bit ridiculous, using an exercise ball instead of chair has its benefits:

Taking small breaks throughout the day, even if only for a minute, can actually make a difference: IT CAN HELP REDUCE BLOOD SUGAR TRIGLYCERIDES CHOLESTEROL

IT BURNS MORE CALORIES WHILE YOU WORK IT HELPS STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE IT IMPROVES BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY

TAKE A BREAK

WAIST SIZE Try to sit at a larger angle, which places less strain on the back.

PAGE 4 | NEWS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[news]

Did you know?

This school offers more than a hundred courses each year. Use the Program of Studies to find out information about each course.

SUBMITNEWS@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/NEWS

News Briefs Dec. 13

This day marks the end of Pre-Winter Awareness Week. During Pre-Winter Awareness Week, the school stresses the importance of good decision making.

Dec. 14

House will conduct the Smoothie Smashdown event in the Freshman Cafeteria tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. The price to be a taste-tester is $3.

PROGRAM OF STUDIES / SOURCE

HTTP://BIT.LY/1ITRRV7

CHS to offer new courses for 2014-15 school year

BY LAXMI PALDE lpalde@hilite.org

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everal new courses will be offered to students in the 2014-15 school year, Amy Dudley, CCS assistant superintendent for curriculum Dec. 17-20 instruction and assessment, said. In addition Teachers will conduct final exams during this time. to the AP Capstone program, students can Visit this website to find the schedule for testing. now schedule for IB Computer Science, IB Business and Management, Advanced Science Materials Chemistry and Hebrew II. Dudley said after the school board approved these courses, they were added to the Program of Studies. However, the school board will confirm the classes for next year only if enrollment is sufficient.

If not, students who scheduled for these ALICE ZHU / PHOTO http://hilite.org/archives/31866 classes will have to enroll in one of their HE-BREWING SOME LEARNING: Hebrew teacher Yossi Cohen gestures alternate course choices. as he teaches a Hebrew I class. Since Hebrew II will be offered as a course “I think the new classes add additional for next year, these students can continue their study of Hebrew.

Dec. 21 to Jan. 6 options for students at our school,” There will be no school due to Winter Break. Classes Dudley said. “We have such great will resume on Jan. 7. students at CHS that have so many different interests, regular-weight, yearlong course for students who enjoy and this adds to that, so they can take the courses that chemistry but are not inclined to take AP Chemistry. are interesting to them.”

The course will explore solids and focus on labs relating Jan. 14 According to the CHS Program of Studies, IB Computer to the material taught.

There will be an NHS meeting after school in the Science is a full-weight, two-year course that will give Hebrew II is a second year language course, which Freshman Cafeteria. students the opportunity to develop analytical thinking will emphasize reading and listening comprehension, skills through problem-solving strategies. The prerequisite according to the Program of Studies.

Jan. 20 for the course is AP Computer Science 2.

Madeline “Maddie” Roger, Hebrew student and There will be no school due to Martin Luther King, Jr. IB Business and Management is also a two-year, fullsophomore, said she plans to enroll into Hebrew II next year.

Day. School will resume on Jan. 21. weight course, but it does not have any prerequisite.

“I am so excited that they are offering (Hebrew II) According to the Program of Studies, the course will next year,” Roger said. “(Taking a second year in the same delve into the specific aspects of organizations. language) gives you an opportunity to progress on the According to Dudley, Materials Chemistry is a language, and it gives you more of an insight on how to speak the language. You learn more about the culture that the language is spoken in too.”

According to counselor Linda Skafish, counselors are working to let students know about the new course options The following topics may be among those taught in the new courses available to them when students schedule for next year.

“Anytime a student is choosing classes for the coming year, you always have to look at the big picture and see • The principles of business theory • The basics concepts and practices what combination of classes will work for them, how it fits • The actions organizations can IB Business and of computer programming IB Computer take and the rationale for taking with diploma requirements and where they see themselves Management • How to create algorithms and solve Science those actions after high school. It’s all to make sure they have solid problems regarding programming preparation and a good foundation,” Skafish said.

Dudley said she thinks these new courses add to the wide range of options students have the chance to explore at CHS. “One of the great things about CHS is that we do offer • The chemical composition and • How to write and speak the so many different types of courses, so our students have that properties of various solids Hebrew language Materials Hebrew II opportunity to really explore different courses to determine • How to perform various lab • The culture pertaining to the Chemistry exercises regarding solids what career choices they have in the future,” Dudley said.

Hebrew language “When they go off to college, they might have a better idea IBO.ORG, PROGRAM OF STUDIES / SOURCES of what they might be interested in studying.”

H CHRISHAN FERNANDO / GRAPHIC

Course Information

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | NEWS | PAGE 5

The Play-‘Right’ Way to Go

Theatre Production students write plays for Young Playwrights in Progress (YPiP), receive instruction from professional playwright from Indiana Repertory Theatre

BY CHRISTINE FERNANDO cfernando1@hilite.org

Conservatory and the opportunity to have their play produced by the IRT. In preparation for the competition, Peterson said he has invited professional IRT playwright Andrew Black to work with students on the fundamentals Theatre Production students, according to Theatre of playwriting.

Production teacher Jim Peterson, will be submitting plays “I just wanted to inject some new ideas and approaches to the Young Playwrights in Progress (YPiP) on Dec. 16. into the students’ playwriting education,” Peterson said.

YPiP, sponsored by the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), “Having a professional come in will allow students to is an annual playwriting contest understand playwriting at a for Indiana students from grades 6 deeper level.” to 12. Participants are required to According to Peterson, submit 15-page, one-act, original this experience has already plays to the YPiP website, which helped students with their will then be reviewed by judges playwriting skill. from the IRT. These judges will “I’ve already seen great Remington Bastien choose six semi-finalists who in their Senior improvements will win cash prizes and the writing,” Peterson said. opportunity to attend a workshop to fine-tune their plays “Their scripts have a stronger sense of plot. They’ve gotten with professional IRT actors. The IRT will then award better in character work too. They’ve also gotten a better two finalists $1000, a full scholarship to the IRT Summer writing style, a stronger voice in their writing, so I think Mr. Black’s influence on these kids has been really helpful to their playwriting skills. I’m hoping this new knowledge will carry through in their individual pieces.”

Remington Bastien, Theatre Production student and senior, said he plans on pursuing a playwriting career and agrees that Black’s influence has improved his playwriting ability.

“I can feel myself improving in playwriting because of this experience with working with a professional and entering this contest,” Bastien said. “It’s taught me to focus on the things that I thought would be simple and common sense, but, in reality, is really hard to do. Mr. Black taught us that it’s harder than it looks and helped us do these tasks that are actually really important in writing a play more effectively.”

Black said that though this experience will benefit students like Bastien who plan on becoming professional playwrights, it can also be beneficial to students who plan on pursuing other career paths.

“The ability to construct a good narrative and tell a good story is an important quality that applies to a lot of different fields. Playwriting is just one form, one outlet for a student’s narrative voice, but the principles that are included in it, the elements of storytelling, apply to so many different places,” Black said. “Also, there’s something about live theatre that captures the imagination of the writer and the audience in a way that is unique. It fosters peoples’ imaginations, and imagination is SARAH LIU / PHOTO the key to everything in this world. To do anything and accomplish anything, you’re PLAYWRITING A CAREER: Remington Bastien, Theatre Production going to need an imagination and theatre student and senior, works on the script for a play during his Theatre H helps facilitate that.”

Production class. Bastien said he wants to pursue a career in playwriting.

I can feel myself improving in playwriting because of this experience

Parts of a Play William Shakespeare’s plays, including this copy of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ were originally published in a cheap format called a quarto The character name element should appear before every line of dialogue. The character’s name is typically abbreviated.

The dialogue is the words a character of a play speaks. Good dialogue should reveal information about a character while also advancing the plot.

Stage directions provide informations about the physical actions a character should perform. This text is usually offset from the rest of the play in some way.

BL.UK, PLAYWRITING101.COM / SOURCES CHRISHAN FERNANDO / GRAPHIC

Can I Play Too? Writing a play is hard work, but you can follow these three steps to get started on your own play Step One: Planning Plan out your play before you start to write. Doing so can save you a lot of extra work later in the writing process. Some elements to consider in the planning stage include plot, characters, setting and dialogue.

Step Two: Writing Begin writing the script for your play. Remember to format the text in a legible manner. Write dialogue and stage directions that make sense when performed.

Step Three: Publishing/ Performance When you are finished writing your play, you can submit it to an acting group to potentially perform the play. You can submit the script to a publisher to try to get it printed. Also, you can also submit the play to a playwriting competition such as the Young Playwrights in Progress competition.

PLAYWRITING101.COM / SOURCE CHRISHAN FERNANDO / GRAPHIC

PAGE 6 | NEWS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

FDA in process of banning trans fat from food industry

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f you can not imagine a world without the pizza, doughnuts and other processed foods that are omnipresent in today’s pantries and supermarkets, you might want to consider stocking up on them now. On Nov. 7, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) announced it made a preliminary decision that trans fats are no longer recognized as safe for consumption. It will begin a 60-day

period for food manufacturers to comment on their ability “Right now, companies can claim that there are no trans fat to phase out artificial trans fats in their products before it products if (foods) have less than 0.5 grams (per serving). bans the sale of such products with trans fat additives Even if it is that 0.5 grams, if you eat it all the time, stry to phas u that are not approved beforehand by the d n i e ou it adds up.” food ta FDA. In order to avoid eating e h ll t ft ra o Trans fats, also known as products with trans fats, s n t sf 1957 n partially hydrogenated oils, e at Brown suggests consumers m The American are mainly food additives look for ingredients like It could prevent Heart Association predominantly used in partially hydrogenated 20,000 heart starts encouraging order to improve the vegetable oil. attacks and people to limit fat shelf-life, flavor and However, junior 7,000 deaths intake. every year. texture of processed Matthew DelGatfoods. Trans fat was to said he does 2006 widely accepted not agree with The FDA by both medical the FDA’s deciTrans fats are implements a authorities and sion to phase created by rule requiring food activists out products adding hydrogen manufacturers to as a cheaper with artificial to vegetable oils list trans fat on to make them and healthier trans fats. nutrition labels. more solid. alternative for “I don’t products with think it’s the saturated fats like g o v e r n m e n t ’s Trans fats 2012 butter until studies place to regulate improve First lady Michelle in the 1990s showed it what we can eat,” shelf life, Obama announces played a significant role DelGatto said.

“Once texture guidelines for in causing heart disease. they start with the little and school lunches As a result, trans fat things, they might move flavor. that will limit labeling became mandatory on to bigger things.” trans fat. in 2006, bringing it to the Regardless of public forefront of public attention and opinion, the FDA is obligated to allowing consumers to make healthier protect the public health, and unless choices for themselves. new research emerges that suggests that its However, it may seem odd why certain foods that preliminary ruling is mistaken, there is little that can show they have zero grams of trans fats on their food labels be done to reverse this judgment. may suddenly disappear once the ban comes into effect.

According to Brown, this decision is the result of a wider According to Sonya Brown, Family and Consumer Science push to reduce heart problems after the trans fat issue was teacher, those products may actually contain considerable identified in 1999. amount of trans fats due to a regulation loophole that “After more research and studies were done through the allows them to hide their true levels of trans fats.

Centers for Disease Control, I think they have linked many “Things like your cookies, your crackers, your more heart attacks and coronary disease to these types frozen goods, even (some of) your canned goods of foods, so that’s why they’re trying to eliminate these will have some trans fats in them,” Brown said. products,” Brown said.

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TRANS FAT FRENZY: Junior Matthew DelGatto eats a bag of crackers during SRT. He believes that the FDA ban on artificial trans fats infringes on people’s rights to choose what they want to eat.

Foods that Won’t Be the Same

Eight foods that won’t be the same once trans fat is banned include: Doughnuts

Canned frosting

Without trans fats, they may become more oily. Many desserts, like cookies, cakes and doughnuts rely on trans fats to give them a lighter texture.

Microwaveable popcorn

Without the trans fat, canned frosting will be susceptible to melting.

Frozen pizza

Popcorn commonly has trans fat. More real butter may replace the trans fats to maintain the traditional popcorn flavor.

Any frozen food with many ingredients may contain trans fat. Some experts worry what other additives might be added to achieve the same food preserving features that trans fats had.

Coffee creamer

Chocolate Chocolate candies like Almond Joy, Snickers and Milky Way all contain trans fat. The ban on trans fat may make that smooth candy bar feel a little more oily.

Anytime there is cream in a product, you can bet there is trans fat. Soybean oil or vegetable oil will probably be used as a replacement.

Refrigerated dough products Canola oil will probably replace the trans fat since it preserves foods nearly as well as trans fat.

Crackers Banning trans fat will cause crackers to have a far shorter shelf life.

MILES DAI / PHOTOS CBS, TIME, SHREVEPORTTIMES / SOURCES

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | NEWS | PAGE 7

Building The Bridges

Carmel City Council has approved development of The Bridges, a 21st-century corporate campus, which will include restaurants, offices, a housing complex and other businesses

BY DANNY GOLDBERG dgoldberg@hilite.org

Proposed Layout 116th St.

General

Key Offices Restaurants Mixed Use

Springmill Road

A new shopping center named The Bridges is coming to Carmel. The Bridges will be located at the corner of 116th St. and Spring Mill Road and will add convenience to many people’s lives because it is adding retail to an area with few nearby retail options. Edward Freeman, a real estate agent formerly in retail, said he thinks that it will benefit the neighborhood due to convenience.

“It’s going to help the homeowners and the people in the office buildings because they can run over to get what they need,” said Freeman.

Freeman also said he knows in the future, stores including Jimmy Johns, Morellis Cleaners and Orange Leaf are to open at the complex.

Right now, CVS is the only store open.

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Residential Service Grocery

According to Freeman, CVS was built to add convenience to many people’s lives because there currently are not any retail stores in the vicinity of the project.

Freeman said it will make everything simpler.

“If you have to get something at the minute clinic or in the store, you can save a lot of time,” said Freeman.

Freshman Abby Frank said she thinks that it will help make the west side of Carmel a better place to live. “(It’s more convenient because) it’s closer than any of the other (CVS Stores),” Frank said. “It will be easier to get whatever you need quicker.”

The new CVS has filled in a gap many other retail stores have missed, helping everyone living in the vicinity of the store save time. H

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Another addition that will soon be available at The Bridges is Jimmy Johns, according to Freeman. He said Jimmy Johns will be very convenient for the office workers because there currently are no nearby places to eat lunch.

“It will simply add convenience because office workers can grab lunch there and be back in the office within an hour,” Freeman said.

Sophomore Patrick Laughlin, who lives near The Bridges, said that it will help him save time when getting food.

“It’s going to make my life more convenient because there are not that many stores by where I live,” Laughlin said.

Laughlin said he thinks his friends will agree with him and frequent the new Jimmy Johns too. H

CVS

ALLY RUSSELL / PHOTO

111th St. HELENA MA / GRAPHIC LANDLOCKEDCARMEL / SOURCE

Before and After

NEW CONVENIENCE: Freshman Abby Frank visits the new CVS at The Bridges. The Bridges will also consist of other stores, restaurants, office buildings and housing complexes.

Now just an expanse of land, the area will be transformed into a 21st-century corporate campus with state-of-the-art amenities using sustainable elements BEFORE: As of now, only the CVS is built and open. Across the street (Springmill Road) is where the Mormon Temple is being built.

HELENA MA / PHOTO

AFTER: Once it is fully constructed, The Bridges will include a central canal, green space, rain gardens and geothermal heating.

It is meant to inspire connections and creativity in a purposeful setting.

AMERICAN STRUCTUREPOINT / ILLUSTRATION

PAGE 8 | FEATURE | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[feature]

A male story, too

SUBMITFEATURE@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/FEATURE

Although it may seem more predominant in girls, 33% of boys also have unhealthy weight control behaviors.

AKSHAR PATEL / GRAPHIC HEART OF LEADERSHIP / SOURCE

Recent thigh gap obsession points to an epidemic of other body-image issues

BY KYLE WALKER kwalker2@hilite.org

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n American society today, it is not difficult to notice a ubiquitous struggle between people and ideals of the human body, a fact that has not escaped the notice of junior Eva Bublick. On the covers of tabloid magazines, ultra-skinny starlets pout, showing how everybody should look. In conversation, people wage war with one another on the appearance of a “real” man or “real” woman. On social media, “thinspiration” boards are abound, often promoting eating disorders and supplements for users to attain the current body obsession—smaller waistlines, visible collarbones, thigh gaps.

The latter is only the most recent in a never-ending line of trends, yet its popularity reflects a disturbing issue in self-image nationwide. The ABC News article “‘Thigh Gap’: New Teen Body Obsession?” states that 80 percent of girls are unhappy with their bodies by the time they turn 17 years old, a figure that only grows with the increasing popularity of social media.

As a model for the Helen Wells Agency, Bublick said she especially notices a cultural fixation on body ideals but tries not to be influenced by it.

She said, “I don’t see it as much locally, but I know a lot of professional models, runway stuff, take drugs and starve themselves to get thigh gaps. They become really unhealthy because of it.”

Aside from in the modeling business, according to Bublick, the obsession with thinness is visible among normal teenagers in social media.

“I looked on Instagram for the hashtag ‘thigh gap,’ and (I saw) hashtag ‘thigh gap,’ hashtag ‘I’m fat.’ It was sad how people see themselves as fat when they’re unhealthily thin.

Looking at that hashtag, I wanted to go up to everyone and

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NIVEDHA MEYYAPPAN / PHOTO

APPEARANCES MATTER: Junior Eva Bublick applies foundation in front of her mirror. Bublick said, “Everyone should feel pretty and for some people, makeup makes them feel pretty.” be like, ‘You are skinny.,” she said. “I think a lot of it has to do with (“thinspiration” accounts) on Instagram. They see other people, and they’re like, ‘I need to be skinny to look that pretty.’”

Flavius Duncan, CEO of Designer Fitness, said his job

in helping people “create a functional body” extends to working with models for the Helen Wells Agency. In his work, he said he has encountered people who seek to lose weight in unhealthy ways.

“I make sure (people) understand the unhealthy side of it as far as heart rate, their overall aftermath, their Timeline health risk factors. You will only have a temporary fix if you are able to achieve that goal by using A history of some of the most famous body-image standards those measures. They’re a cheap way out, which 1980 - The ‘80s spawned a trend means you more or less ruin your whole mindset urging weight loss for body-image 618 - Footbinding, one of the 1900 The “S” shaped body of being able to go the right way, getting it done the reasons. Remnants of this trend still most famous body-image trends in became beautiful in 1900. right way, the quality behind that by cutting back exist today. history, began in this year in China. on eating certain things you eat that generate a healthy lifestyle,” he said. “They are not going to be able to sustain that for long bouts without having physical damage. I tell them not to risk trying it because you never know what the outcomes might be, psychologically and physiologically.”

According to Duncan, unhealthy body image RACHEL influences teenagers to take unhealthy measures CHEN / in changing their bodies because of society’s desire 1920 to 1929 - Short hair 1400 to 1523 - During the early years GRAPHIC for “quick fixes.” and lifted eyebrows were the of the Renaissance, having pale ivory skin ALLURE / “Everybody has to do things at a quick level now,” “in” during the Roaring ‘20s. and light hair was a huge plus in beauty.

SOURCE

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | FEATURE | PAGE 9 he said. “Every time (people) turn on the television, somebody is doing some kind of makeover that has manipulation in there: what they see every day, what they have access to every day with the tummy tuck, the stars on television, the things they’ve done to have quick fixes. No one has given them the truth behind it, so they go for quick fixes. People want things right away. It’s the way the world has evolved.”

Personal trainer Sondra Smith said the solution to the “quick-fix” mentality is to adjust step by step for gradual results. “(I help people) through changing their lifestyle, through changing their eating habits—if they have emotional eating, closet eating—the choices they’re making, the portion control, first getting their eating under control in a proper way to get them the success they want. Then we set small goals together, and we accomplish those, and then we move on to the next one through eating healthy and exercise,” she said.

Hard work, according to Bublick, is also vital to having good results in a person’s health.

“If you want to be thin, you have to do it in a healthy way. Losing weight in a healthy way is good for your body, and it makes you feel good. It gets you better results, longerlasting results,” she said. “I feel like people just need to be the best version of themselves and the healthiest version of themselves and not try to be something they’re not.”

Duncan said he agrees that to be successful in maintaining a healthy body image, people must put in work. “(Hard work) is a thing of the past. It’s a diamond that most people are not willing to dig for. They want to see the surface

side of it. They don’t want to go through the real ingredients of it, making healthier choices, so they go to the extreme. They put those kinds of unrealistic goals and time to achieve, something that will take a year, six months, nine months to fall off, they want it done in six weeks. They want it right now. ‘Is there something I can do to get it right now?’ Those things create an intensity that’s out of control,” he said.

But, he added, a healthy body image begins with a healthy self-esteem.

“It starts with the self-esteem issue, because self-esteem is all you have. Don’t let things pile up. If you do just a little bit of adjusting in increments—‘I’ve just got to go to the gym for 45 minutes’—it’s simple. It’s like dishes. I don’t wait until the dishes pile up at the end and then do them all at once. If you don’t clean them today, tomorrow’s going to be really, really bad,” Duncan said. “There are two people you look at. One, you see in the morning, and you wake up and say, ‘What are you going to do with that?’ One, you look at before you go to sleep at night; ‘What did I not do today?’ Those are the kinds of things you have to carry each and every day. In the end, it’s you. In the beginning, it’s you. If you don’t do it now, your later will be your everlasting. The point H of no return starts at self-esteem.”

Know the Facts 43% of people between ages 16 and 20 report an onset of an eating disorder

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Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents

The mortality rate of anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate associated with all causes of death for females 15 to 24 years old

80% of children are afraid of being fat as teenagers

1. Cystic Fibrosis 2. Diabetes 3. Anorexia 4. Arthritis

22% of teenagers diet

58% of teenagers feel pressure to be a certain weight AKSHAR PATEL / GRAPHIC HEART OF LEADERSHIP / SOURCE

The Road Less Traveled

Modern Trends A diagram showing several popular, modern body-image ideals Lighter Hair

Double Eyelids Protruding Clavicles

Protruding Chest Bones

Thinness

Thigh Gap

Skinny Legs

RACHEL CHEN / GRAPHIC HUFFINGTON POST / SOURCE

GOING HER OWN WAY: Junior Eva Bublick reflects on her appearance. Even though she is a model, Bublick said she does not become influenced by body-image ideals, such as the thigh gap obsession.

NIVEDHA MEYYAPPAN / PHOTOS

PAGE 10 | FEATURE | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

Have We Made Progress?

IT STILL HAPPENS: Freshman Tamia Golden says she has experienced racial discrimination despite national efforts to stop it.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, but incidents still occur.

While many advancements have occurred 50 years after the Civil Rights Movement, students here say acts of racism still happen in the Carmel community

CRYSTAL CHEN / PHOTO

BY CAITLIN HARSHBERGER charshberger@hilite.org

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reshman Tamia Golden, who is African-American, sat in the public library one day after school during her freshman year studying for her biology test. An older woman who looked to be about 70 years old came up to her and asked Golden to move. Golden didn’t understand why, but she thought the woman needed a place to sit. Golden offered her a seat, and the woman declined.

“I will always remember how, after that, she said she felt uncomfortable sitting by someone who looked like me,” Golden said. “I asked her what she meant, and she said that people with my skin color cause trouble. I didn’t know what to say, so I just got up and found a new place to sit. I couldn’t concentrate on my homework, though. All I could think about was those lady’s words.”

Golden is among the many members of the black community, especially students, who still feel the effects of racism in their daily lives. 2014 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed major forms of discrimination against many groups, including racial minorities. The act also ended racial segregation in schools, workplaces and facilities that served the general public. But, after all of that time, cases involving racial issues still occur. Just this year, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing the case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, a policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination. The case discusses whether or not states are constitutionally allowed to ban racial preferences in the admissions procedures of universities.

“It never ceases to amaze me how 50 years after the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and The Civil Rights Act, discrimination is still so common,” Vernon

Williams, vice president of communications at the Indiana Black Expo, Inc., said.

According to Williams, the Indiana Black Expo’s mission is to be an effective voice for the social and economical advancements of African Americans. The organization also helps African-American youth and families achieve their highest potential and show pride in their ethnicity.

Williams said, “Obviously the situation is much better than it was in the 1960s, but there is still so much more to be done. The reason the Black Expo exists is to fight against this kind of discrimination. I’m thankful I get to help with this organization, but I wish there wasn’t a need for it.”

A study from Aug. 22 conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that 55 percent of all Americans say the country has not made substantial progress toward racial equality. Furthermore, 49 percent of Americans say more

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | FEATURE | PAGE 11

Students here say race shouldn’t factor in determining role models

National Opinion These pie charts show the racial distribution of opinion on progress made toward racial equality Blacks

Whites

How much progress toward racial equality has the United States made in the past five decades?

11% 27% 38%

28%

Hispanics

Blacks 8% 12%

17% 44%

Little/none

29%

Editor’s note: Remaining percentages represent “don’t know”/”refused to answer.”

needs to be done until racial equality is achieved.

Freshman Jorden Posley, who is African-American, said she has seen examples of racial discrimination in her daily life. During her eighth grade English class, she saw one boy being bullied because of his skin color.

“His friend would always come in with a new black joke every day,” Posley said. “One day he would walk in and call him ‘slave,’ then ‘blackie’ and more like that. It just kept going on and on. I didn’t know any of them—I just sat in front of them—and so I never knew how he felt about his friend calling him these names. He just laughed it off, or he didn’t say anything. Then one day he just blew up. He told his friend that he didn’t like it, and it was hurtful. He changed seats the next day. I never saw them talk again all year.”

Posley said she thinks sometimes people don’t know they are being hurtful.

“One of the things people can do to stop racial discrimination is to check what they’re saying before they actually say it. They need to ask themselves if what they are saying is going to be hurtful,” Posley said.

Williams said he agrees that people need to double check what they are about to say because it could hurt someone.

“People tend to stick to their beliefs even if you argue with them for hours,” Williams said. “You can give them all the factual information you have, but they are still going to think

Past vs Present Aug. 28, 2013 marked the 50th

anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

After 50 years,

BY NATALIA CHAUDHRY nchaudhry@hilite.org

15% 79%

35%

W

48%

ANTHONY KO / GRAPHIC PEWRESEARCH.ORG / SOURCE

they are right. It is going to take a long time and a lot of work to change that. I believe that racial equality can still happen, but people need to help with that. They need to put their beliefs aside for a minute and think about what the person they are talking to might think and feel.”

Golden said she cannot wait for everyone to experience equality, no matter their skin color.

“It shouldn’t matter what you look like,” she said. “Everyone should be judged on the type of person they are, not their skin color. I will never forget that day in the library, and I sincerely hope that kind of discrimination will be solved soon. It’s hard to be judged, so you feel like you’ve done something wrong H when the reality is you haven’t done anything.”

Sense of Black Progress Both blacks and whites were surveyed about whether or not the situation of African Americans has improved 60 49

50

Percent that said yes

Some

43%

39%

Key A lot

23%

32%

48%

Whites

How much more progress should be made in order to achieve racial equality?

Hispanics

40

Whites 37 35 39

30

Blacks 26

20

20

10

Want more?

55% of people believe racial equality has not been achieved.

CRYSTAL CHEN / GRAPHIC PEWRESEARCH.ORG, BIOGRAPHY.COM / SOURCE

hile race continues to play an important role in one’s identity, according to senior Frankie Kozak, who is half-Hispanic, it is important to extend beyond the concept of skin color, especially when identifying role models or leaders.

According to a Pew Research study released on Oct. 22, 75 percent of Hispanics said they believe their community needs a leader. While Kozak said he agreed that the presence of a role model is important in an individual’s life, he disagreed with how the study proceeded to express a need for Hispanics to identify a Hispanic leader. Instead, Kozak said people should choose role models with no regard to race.

“I personally find the concept of certain races needing leaders of their own race weird,” Kozak said.

“We are all humans. Just because we have a different skin color does not mean that we need leaders for our specific skin color. In general, a role model or leader is just someone that someone can look at to make sure that they stay on track for their goal.”

Kozak said he accepts his race as a part of who he is but also said one cannot base an individual’s identity off of a single attribute of who they are. Reasoning that one’s identity should instead be a summary of their being as a whole, Kozak said he agreed with certain parts of the study, but said people should not limit themselves to just looking at people of their own race.

“I cannot think of a specific Hispanic leader in my own community, but we should all look up to people because they are great leaders, not because of their skin color,” Kozak said.

While Kozak said he treasures his own race and views it as something he is proud of, he also does not let it interfere with his mental perception of the world around him. To Kozak, like to many other students, race is just a side-note they take into account, but it rarely affects the bigger picture.

French teacher Lisa Carroll, who studies French culture and has witnessed the effects of race while studying abroad, said she agrees with this mentality and said that past racial struggles have left very minimal stains on today’s society except in the form of racism.

0 2007

2009

Year

2013

ANTHONY KO / GRAPHIC PEWRESEARCH.ORG / SOURCE

Visit www.hilite.org to read the rest of reporter Natalia Chaudhry’s story.

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PAGE 14 | STUDENT SECTION | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[student section]

Did you know?

Ninety-five percent of Americans celebrate Christmas regardless of their religion or heritage.

SUBMITSTUDENTSECTION@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/STUDENTSECTION

95%

GALLUP.COM / SOURCE

Students incorporate traditions from different nations into holiday season COMPILED BY SHAKEEL ZIA AND SRIYA RAVI szia@hilite.org, sravi1@hilite.org

ITALY Freshman Alessandro Thielmann

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Junior Valeria Menendez What do you do to celebrate during the holiday season?

Every other year, we go to the Dominican Republic, and it’s like a whole family reunion. We all get together and have tons of events. One thing that my mom and I always do is we go to this street vendor who fries fish straight from the beach and fries this special dough called “yanikeke,” and we eat it on the street just like hoodlums, and it’s so good.

A Hispanic Holiday Three Kings Day is a traditional Hispanic tradition in which children place their shoes outside in hopes that the kings will bring them presents.

What do you do to celebrate it? Is there anything that your culture does specifically?

We all get together at my great-aunt’s basement that’s kind of like a club.

We all go down there and listen to music and dance to Hispanic music.

On Jan. 16, we get presents for Three Kings Day. Do you eat anything special?

We eat only Dominican food. We don’t eat ham. We eat rice and beans, stews and other Dominican food. H

ENGLAND Junior Emily Abshire What is a tradition your family does every year for Christmas?

One thing we do on Christmas is we have a big roast dinner, like a traditional roast dinner, which includes Yorkshire pudding. I don’t know if a lot of Americans know about (the food), but they’re called popovers in America. That’s something that we eat on every roast.

Also, we wear these crowns that come from Christmas crackers. They’re called crackers because when you pull them apart, they explode because they have gunpowder in them. When you open them, there’s always a joke, a riddle, a hat and a toy in them. So you wear the paper hat while you eat, and then you share your jokes and your toys.

H

What is a tradition your family does every year for Christmas?

We have one dinner with our family in Michigan and one back home with all our family friends.

What kinds of food do you make?

My mom makes tortellini every Christmas, and we usually wake up the morning of Christmas and make them. It takes around three hours. It’s all homemade and it’s tortellini filled with meat, so my mom makes the pasta, and we cut it. It’s usually best if you have three or four people because the pasta dries out fast, so you have to make them really quick.

We cook them in broth.

How many years have you done this tradition for?

My mom’s mom did it when she was a little kid too, so it’s kind of like an old tradition. It’s maybe like a 50-year-old tradition.

What makes you want to continue the tradition?

Well, my mom’s mom passed away, so to (my mom), it’s kind of like a memory. And I hope that someday, I’ll carry on the tradition too.

Is this an Italian tradition?

It relates because a lot of Italian families do that. It is like a traditional thing to do in Italy. Plus, with our family friends here, they’re all Italian, so we bring (the tortellini) there, and everyone brings something Italian. In a way, it’s kind of like Italian Christmas.

Do you still celebrate traditional American Christmas?

Our Christmas in Michigan is more American. In Italy, it’s less about presents on Christmas because most of the people are Catholic, so it’s about Jesus’s birthday. Up in Michigan, we unwrap all our presents with our grandparents, so I guess in Michigan we have a more traditional American-style H Christmas.

NATALIA CHAUDRY, MIKAELA GEORGE AND OMEED MALEK / PHOTOS

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | STUDENT SECTION | PAGE 15

Clash of Cultures

Senior Noah Lybik celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, enjoys all traditions

BY ISAAC WARSHAWSKY iwarshawsky@hilite.org For the eight nights of Hanukkah, senior Noah Lybik’s family lights the menorah, gets a present every night, say the prayers, and has latkes and sufgoniyot, a traditional Jewish pastry. According to Lybik, his family basically does all of the Hanukkah traditions.

But then, because his dad’s side of the family is Christian, he celebrates Christmas as well. According to Lybik, celebrating both holidays is enjoyable and interesting due to all of the different cultures and traditions present.

He said, “I like most that Hanukkah is a laid-back holiday.

You get presents at night and during the day, and sometimes you can even forget that it’s Hanukkah.”

Lybik is 100 percent Jewish, but he still visits his grandparent’s house for Christmas and sometimes for Easter.

On Christmas Day, Lybik said, “We have a regular Christmas celebration except we don’t go to church.”

According to Lybik, he celebrates Christmas for his dad because he grew up being Christian, and it’s also fun to see the whole family together.

He said, “I like that Christmas is very festive, and there’s a lot of delicious food, and I get to see all of my family.”

Although Lybik enjoys embracing both traditions, Hebrew teacher Yossi Cohen said, “I think it’s very difficult to do both (Christmas and Hanukkah). Each person has to choose one of the two because you can’t turn right and left at the same time — you have to choose what you want to do.”

However, according to Cohen, Christmas and Hanukkah have a lot of similarities.

Cohen said, “The idea of Yossi Cohen Hebrew teacher family being together, the value of friendship and being together, the value of looking at life on the bright side and not the negative side — I think the holidays emphasize bringing out the beautiful part H that each one of us has inside of us.”

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This school tries to take a nonpartisan stance regarding sensitive moral issues such as abortion. What does this mean for students and staff here who are not neutral? What about those who wish to speak out?

cover story

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | COVER STORY | PAGE 17

by Maham Nadeem mnadeem@hilite.org t the beginning of this school year, juniors Sydney Kadinger and Shannel O’Neal decided they wanted to create a pro-choice club at the school so like-minded students could come together under a common forum and inform people that abortion is an accessible option. They turned in their required form near the end of August. After some time, they finally got back a response. According to O’Neal, their proposal was rejected, and their application was covered in red pen.

Confused, they tweaked a few areas of the application and sent in the form again. Once more, their idea was rejected. Kadinger and O’Neal submitted the application in a third time, and again it was denied. Finally, out of frustration, Kadinger brought the case up with Principal John Williams, who finally approved it.

A

NIVEDHA MEYYAPPAN / PHOTO

Continued on next page >>

PAGE 18 | COVER STORY | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

>> Continued from previous page

that teen childbearing costs taxpayers at least $10.9 billion annually.

“We must educate everyone properly. We have to. It’s not an option. This stuff is real, and it’s happening,” O’Neal said. “I know for a fact that it has to be scary and just nearly impossible to deal with. There are institutions out there. There is abortion, there is Planned Parenthood, and people must be informed about them.”

According to Kadinger, many people have fostered misconceptions about what it means to be pro-choice.

“We don’t want to protest or hold up picket signs,” she said. “We just want to empower women with information about what’s out there and how they can deal. This is serious.”

Kadinger, who is now the president of the Teens with a Choice club, said, “The justification that the school gave me was that Indiana state standards mandate a stress on abstinence, so you cannot really teach anything besides abstinence in Indiana. Because my club would go into safe sex or abortion, we weren’t allowed to have it.”

O’Neal said she vehemently disagrees with this concept; she said schools should teach both abstinence and safe sex equally and objectively. By stressing one over the other, O’Neal said she thinks the school is fostering a bias. According to her, people must be thoroughly informed about both options so that they can make an educated choice about which route is best for them.

Fair and Impartial “Abstinence would work beautifully Earlier this year, the Indiana in a pristine world. However, the fact of State Legislature introduced Senate the matter is our world is not pristine,” Bill (SB) 454, which would mandate she said. “Teenagers are and will have medically accurate sex education and sex; it’s a natural process. It’s imperative would require factual, age-appropriate that in that case we teach them about safe instruction in public schools and sex. Planned Parenthood gives out free accredited nonpublic schools on human condoms and STI testing. The fact that a sexuality and sexually transmitted lot of people don’t know that is alarming.” diseases. This bill would overhaul Sydney Kadinger According to a post released in July Indiana’s current abstinence-focused Teens with a Choice president 2013 by the National State of Legislatures, sex education policy. Although SB and junior the United States still has the highest 454 was referred to the Committee on pregnancy rate among industrialized Education and Career Development, it countries, despite the recent decline in did not progress. teen pregnancies. The report also states that teen mothers Principal John Williams said the school’s job is to remain are less likely to finish high school and are more likely than neutral and to make sure that like-minded individuals their peers to live in poverty, depend on public assistance have a place to discuss and meet within the bounds and have poor health. Moreover, their children are more of the school. However, the administration does not want a likely to suffer from health disadvantages and come into group promoting any personal ideology. contact with child welfare and correctional systems. These “We are all captive audiences here. You have to come costs add up, according to The National Campaign to here every day, you have to walk down our hallways, and Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which estimates you don’t get to choose that. So we are pretty conservative

No harm can come from more education...

School is the one place we can definitely obtain objective information.

Information that we really need.

When the girls approached me about the club, I knew there was a pro-life club, so I thought there should be a voice for young ladies and men in the building who were pro-choice.

Kevin Daly

Teens with a Choice sponsor

as to what we expose our kids to, as far as positions and beliefs,” Williams said.

Williams said it is imperative for the school to remain impartial. Regardless of what is being taught, abstinence or sexual education, it’s essential to show a comprehensive view of both sides and not favor one or the other.

Williams also said the school must be careful to keep a neutral stance.

“We, administratively, are responsible (for keeping) our antenna up. We have to look at what we are exposing our students to and most importantly whether or not it is outside the scope of our responsibility to provide that kind of information,” Williams said.

According to Williams, the administration often does not fully understand the intent of creating certain clubs.

In those cases, Williams said it likes to talk to those individuals; it is not unusual to have conversation about how exactly the group plans on going about things.

However, the administration definitely does not want any club to promote any specific individual belief.

Nancy Spencer, family and consumer science department head, said that the interpersonal relations course (IPR) does not favor one side or the other.

“The education is just that there are choices. The teachers themselves are not allowed to teach their own personal beliefs as well,” she said.

However, Spencer said the IPR course does attempt to foster an environment where students can easily have their views heard.

“The class structure allows us to have dialogue from both sides,” she said. “That’s something IPR teaches: the ability to have an opinion and not to be judged for it, but to be heard.”

Nonetheless, Kadinger and O’Neal said there are still holes in the current education system that need to be filled as soon as possible.

Kadinger said, “Statistics are out there, and, quite frankly, are alarming. Something really needs to change. No harm can come from more education. For most of us, school is the one place we can definitely obtain objective information—information that we really need.”

>>Equal Access Act “It shall be unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial assistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at these meetings.”

}

20 USC § 4071: Equal access to public school facilities

>>When Does This Apply?

“A public secondary school has a limited open forum whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstructional time.”

But, “Nothing... shall be construed to limit the authority of the school, its agents or employees, to maintain order and discipline on school premises, to protect the wellbeing of students and faculty, and to assure that attendance of students at meetings is voluntary.” DENNIS YANG / GRAPHIC LAW.CORNELL.EDU / SOURCE

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | COVER STORY | PAGE 19 A Voice Heard

“I’m a baby, not a choice. Did you hear that, Sydney? No abortion.” These are the words Kadinger hears as she sits crosslegged on the ground in the back hallway of the second-floor E Rooms. She grabs her The American Pageant textbook and a green one-subject notebook out of her black backpack.

She shrugs, turns around to see a girl’s fleeing back and continues to take notes.

Kadinger said, “I’ve been called a baby-killer.

I’ve been called a heretic. Heck, I’ve even been told I’m going to hell.”

According to her, these accusations are baseless.

Just as the term “pro-choice” implies, she advocates solely for a choice. She said people should have the right to make their own decisions. Additionally, in order to make the best choice, Kadinger said, the individual must be presented with all available options, including abortion and Planned Parenthood.

Kadinger shares this view with approximately 23 percent of the American population according to a Pew Research study published in 2013. She does not think of abortion as an issue of morals, but rather as a viable option. The study also revealed that 49 percent of Americans consider abortion to be immoral, while a smaller 15 percent of Americans consider abortion to be moral. Kadinger argues that - regardless of morality or personal beliefs information about abortion must be readily spread to allow an individual to make an educated decision, and that is the goal of her club.

“If I had a child right now, my life would be over. I wouldn’t be able to attend college in the way I want to.

I wouldn’t be able to play softball. It would take away so much from my future, whereas I could reach my full potential if I did not have the child,” Kadinger said. “At the end of the day, neither I nor the baby would be happy. This is where the option of abortion comes in.”

Kevin Daly, Teens with a Choice sponsor, said, “When the girls approached me about the club, I knew there was a pro-life club, so I thought there should be a voice for young ladies and men in the building who were pro-choice.”

Daly said public schools particularly need to have a pro-choice club if there is a pro-life club for students who think differently.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 19 percent of teens who have had sexual intercourse become pregnant each year. Seventy-eight percent of these pregnancies are unplanned and six in 10 teen pregnancies occur among 18 to 19-year-olds.

Kadinger said she has seen the horrors of unplanned pregnancy up close.

“A few of my relatives had children at a really young age. You can tell that it put a lot of stress on them. They did not get the jobs that they wanted or the opportunities that other people have. They had to get married at an extremely early age, and the child basically consumed a big portion of their life. They came to spite both the marriage and the child, and you can see how that impacted the baby and the relationship: They ended up getting a divorce and the child was left exceptionally unhappy,” Kadinger said. “Even if you look at the adoption system, most of those kids have to deal with the idea of being abandoned, and they just don’t come out happy. Mothers who are substance abusers have children that are actually sick from birth and have deadly defects. It makes the child so unhappy that it’s just not a good place for the child to be, whereas if you had gotten the abortion you wouldn’t have had to put the child in this stressful situation in the first place. You H could have saved your life and the child’s life.”

Taboo Topics Here are some globally-debated controversies that, while not necessarily suited for polite conversation, should be known.

Evolution Many are divided between whether or not it actually occurred. While some believe scientific evidence points to it, others put their faith in religious explanations.

Teachers at this school deal with this by specifying that evolution as taught in school is from a scientific standpoint and has no religious value.

Gun Control The weapon itself may not be a problem. However, many argue about whether or not people should be allowed to have them in homes for self-defense, since such weaponry is potentially dangerous.

Some colleges, particularly in Utah and Colorado, permit the carrying of firearms on their premises.

Indiana allows schools to decide the weapons policy on an individual basis.

NIVEDHA MEYYAPPAN / PHOTOS DENNIS YANG / GRAPHIC COMPILED BY SARAH LIU ARMEDCAMPUSES.ORG, PEWFORUM.ORG, SAPHRYM.COM / SOURCES

Organized Religion There are many rifts between different faiths; most choose to avoid the problem by skirting around the subject all together to avoid conflict.

This school takes a neutral stance; even the Biblical Literature class learns from a purely academic standpoint.

I Will Be Heard: Junior Sydney Kadinger created Teens for a Choice this year and stands here proudly displaying her beliefs. Kadinger said she created the club because she believes people should be educated about controversial topics, regardless of any moral or social stigma against them.

PAGE 20 | ENTERTAINMENT | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[entertainment] SUBMITENTERTAINMENT@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/ENTERTAINMENT

Check it out

Scan the QR code or visit thehobbit.com to learn more about the story, peek at the cast and crew or watch the trailer.

OPINION

‘Smaug’ comes with high expectations

BY DAVID CHOE dchoe@hilite.org

2013 is almost over, and fans are anxiously anticipating “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug,” the second of the three-part Hobbit prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film, which premieres today in the United States (excluding the Dec. 2 Los Angeles premiere), will continue the storyline that started in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” The full ensemble cast, including Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), will return for more action.

“Action” is the keyword here, because “The Desolation of Smaug” will certainly serve as the delicious and spicy main course of the three-part feast that is “The Hobbit.” Because if there’s one thing viewers can speculate on the new Hobbit movie, it’s that this movie will be more fluid, faster-moving

and more interesting (giant spiders) for everyone.

It’s a change that viewers will surely appreciate. When the first Hobbit movie hit theaters in late 2012, many critics expressed their displeasure with the film with two prominent complaints: one, the nearly three-hour movie felt too stretched out for its slow pace and two, did director Peter Jackson really need to make a full-blown trilogy out of this 310-page children’s book? There was way too much walking and meandering, according to critics. People wanted the Lord of the Rings-esque fast-paced, sword-fighting action, not 13 dwarves crowded in a room Gregorian chanting.

The extent of our speculation is limited to the three-minute sneak peeks and the original Hobbit story. The trailers so far show the usual “here-comes-a-blockbuster” teaser, with shots of majestic scenery and landscape of New Zealand (er, I mean Middle-Earth) synchronized with an epic choral soundtrack.

From what I can tell, it looks like Jackson is focusing the

movie more on the group’s interaction with the elves, (insert random storyline with excuse to involve Legolas here) and the buildup of Bilbo’s importance in the journey as the movie presumably climaxes with either the encounter or the defeat of Smaug the dragon (Benedict Cumberbatch).

IMDB / SOURCE Either way, “Desolation of Smaug” is sure to follow suit in what Jackson’s film adaptations do best—provide the perfect medium that pleases both the die-hard fans as well as average moviegoers who just want an ultra-high-definition, three-hour movie to watch for the H holiday season.

Symphony records audition CD for Midwest Clinic If the audition goes well, Symphony Orchestra could play at Chicago festival next December According to Ohly-Davis, the clinic only happens every five years for a particular school.

“Midwest Clinic happens every year. They want to give as many people a chance as possible. So yes, there is a five-year he Symphony Orchestra is applying to perform at the waiting period between tries that you can take. No orchestra Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic held in Chicago in will go every year. That wouldn’t be fair, necessarily,” OhlyDecember 2014.

Davis said.

Orchestra director Elisabeth Ohly-Davis said the orchestra Carmel last performed at the event in December 2009 was scheduled to record Antonin Dvořák’s “Symphony No. and even though schools can only perform every five years, 8” on Dec. 10 in order to submit it to the Midwest Clinic, a Symphony Orchestra still practices for the event annually. program where a lot of secondary schools from the Midwest “One of the things that Midwest is looking (for) is a area audition to be in a music festival. consistent level of your program, so that not one year “The Midwest Clinic is kind of like the music educators’ is really strong. (For instance), we’ll have this year’s conference to go to. I’ve attended several seniors auditioning for it, times before. People from all over the but won’t be playing with us world come to the Clinic and meet each next December,” Ohly-Davis other and see different groups perform,” said. “They want to make sure Ohly-Davis said. that the younger students According to Hyesoo Chae, Symphony coming up are just as strong Orchestra violinist and senior, the clinic to replace those top players provides students with a chance to hang out that are leaving.” with the orchestra members more and to Ohly-Davis also said Soo learn as a group.

Han, orchestra director and coHyesoo Chae department chairperson of the “It basically brings people from all over Camerata violinist and senior performing arts department, the nation, but mostly the Midwest, to perform and work with world-distinguished has high expectations for this conductors and just gives a chance for the year’s recording. students to work with professors or musicians who are at the “The students have worked so hard for this semester professional level.” Chae said. “It provides the students with an for the upcoming project. I’m incredibly proud of the opportunity to learn more about playing in general, whether work that they’ve done,” Han said. “If the work that it is performing in a group or solo. Although I’m not going to the students have put in (is) going to be any indication be there next year, I’ve heard from the group that went five of the performance, I’m looking forward to a fantastic H years ago that it’s a really cool experience.” performance, concert and recording.”

BY SARAH SEO sseo@hilite.org

T

(The Clinic) gives a chance for the students to work with professors or musicians who are at the professional level.

ALICE ZHU / PHOTO

HIT RECORD: Hyesoo Chae, Symphony Orchestra violinist and senior, leads her violin section in preparation for the upcoming audition for the Midwest Clinic. The Symphony Orchestra practices every year to prepare for Clinic.

2014

Pinnacle yearbook

order today!

Order forms available at carmelyearbook.com Pick up order forms outside room C145 (Pay by cash or check made out to CHS Yearbook)

Order online at carmelyearbook.com (Payable by credit card)

Cost is $52 Orders due by Jan. 10 No extras will be available; don’t miss your chance! carmelyearbook.com

@CarmelYearbook

PAGE 22 | ENTERTAINMENT | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

Winter Wonderland Central Indiana has many winter activities to offer

BY LIANNE YU lyu@hilite.org

Break the Ice

Ice Skating

The Carmel Ice Skadium offers affordable public skating

Skiing and Sledding

Service

Cost

Admission for children under 10 PAOLI PEAKS / PHOTO

$5

11 and over

$6.50

Skate rental

$3

Stick and puck

$7

Cosmic skate

$8

CARMEL ICE SKADIUM / SOURCE

Indiana isn’t exactly known for being a winter wonderland, but in case of a snowfall like the “Snowpocalypse of 2011,” there are various winter activities available. Northview Church (above left) offers a natural crosscountry skiing course. For Westsiders, West Park near 116th Street and Towne Road

Let It Snow There are several winter activities planned for the Arts & Design District and the Carmel City Center

provides 16 acres of open green space as well as an enormous sledding hill. For those who are willing to travel a little farther, Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg (about an hour and a half away from Carmel) as well as Paoli Peaks (above right) in southern Indiana (a twohour drive) offer skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tubing and other activities.

H

In the event that there is no snow, students can also visit one of the numerous indoor ice skating rinks that can make the season feel more like winter. The Carmel Ice Skadium and the Arctic Zone Iceplex in Westfield

both offer public skating times with skate rentals as well as H hockey lessons and games.

Downtown Excursions If it’s too chilly for you to be out and about, you can sip hot chocolate while you shop for candy indoors at the Simply Sweet Shoppe (below left) in downtown Carmel. At Starbucks, “Red Cups”—the store’s specialty Christmas drinks—will return.

Previous years’ seasonal favorites have included peppermint mocha and gingerbread lattes.

The Indy Winter Farmers Market in downtown Indianapolis is also open during the winter and runs on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. There, you can buy fresh fruits and veggies as well as carpentry (like cool furniture) from local vendors.

If you’re looking a little closer to home, The Carmel City Center Winter Market also runs on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon with several vendors selling baked goods, H herbs, meat, honey, wine and more.

Younger siblings might enjoy the Christmas-themed events happening in and around downtown Carmel.

• Elves, live reindeer and Santa Claus will all visit the Arts & Design District for the IU Health North Hospital Holiday in the Arts District on Dec. 14 from 3 to 6 p.m. They will offer free carriage rides as well as face painting, balloon animals, cookie decorating and live entertainment from local choirs.

• From Dec. 14 to 23, the fifth annual IU Health North Hospital Gingerbread Scavenger Hunt will begin at TeaBuds and end at the Simply Sweet Shoppe. Participants who complete the hunt can enter a raffle to win a basket of gingerbread baked goods.

• Santa will make a special appearance at Hubbard & Cravens on the plaza of Carmel City Center on Dec. 21 from noon to 4 p.m.

CARMEL ARTS & DESIGN, CARMEL CITY CENTER / SOURCES

KYLE CRAWFORD / PHOTOS

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | ENTERTAINMENT | PAGE 23

Should you really buy that Christmas gift? Check out this flowchart to find out.

Is the website eBay or Amazon?

Does the website use tacky clipart gifs?

Is it being shipped from Hong Kong?

Are the terms and conditions written in Russian?

Find aforementioned item and buy it.

If your response is yes, follow the green arrow. If your response is no, follow the red arrow. The yellow bows indicate the end of a line.

Put it back on the shelf, you terrible person.

Is it for your best friend?

Drop everything and buy.

Perfect. Time for retaliation.

BUY IT NOW.

Is it for your mom or dad?

Brother or sister?

Are you a lazy bum?

I bet you’re just saying that. Is that really true?

Are they annoying?

I thought so. Buy it.

Feel free to buy it, then.

Did your teacher teach well?

Do you still like the teacher as a person?

Buy it. You deserve something nice.

Are you still a lazy bum?

Put what you’re considering down and rethink your values.

Buy it.

Don’t buy it. Use your money to buy yourself an attention span instead.

Buy it. That teacher deserves it.

Save up for something worthier.

Does it involve LEGOs?

Will the present fling shaving cream into your sibling’s face upon opening?

INSTRUCTIONS:

Is the gift for a friend?

START

Would it make any normal person recoil in disgust?

Perfect. It’ll ship just in time for next Christmas.

Scam (noun): A scheme that swindles one out of money.

Most often found in websites with terms and conditions written in Russian and flashing clipart gifs.

Are you shopping online?

Think about making something yourself instead of purchasing a gift, angsty teenager. Put in some effort. They deserve it.

Is it for a teacher?

Did you pay attention in class and get a good grade?

Don’t feel obligated to buy it.

Is the present for yourself?

Buy it anyway, you selfless angel.

COMPILED BY JOHN CHEN JIVA CAPULONG / GRAPHIC

PAGE 24 | SPORTS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[sports]

SUBMITSPORTS@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/SPORTS

DID YOU KNOW? The last Indiana school to win three consecutive 4A state championships was Lawrence North. They won championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

IHSAA.ORG / SOURCE

Defending the Dynasty Men’s basketball team prepares for season with emphasis on defense

BY BOBBY BROWNING bbrowning@hilite.org

L

ast season, the men’s basketball team won its second consecutive IHSAA State Championship by shutting opposing teams down on the defensive end. This year, even with a different roster, the focus will be the same, according to forward and senior Zach McRoberts: Defense is the priority.

McRoberts said the team spends large amounts of time in practice to improve its overall team defense.

“It’s everybody buying into the idea and playing as a team defensively. That can be a huge help to be able to rely on your teammates to help you out on defense when you need it,” McRoberts said. “It’s a toughness thing, where you’re not going to let your guy drive by you or let your guy get a rebound. It’s a mentality, and I think we have that pretty well instilled here.”

According to Maxpreps.com, a high school athletic website sponsored by CBS Sports, last year the team gave up an average of 46.7 points per game. The average points per game given up by the other members of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) was 57.2.

Carmel, however, was not nearly as prolific on the offensive end as some other teams in the MIC, scoring an average of 60.1 points per game compared to the MIC average scoring of 62.2 points per game. Despite that discrepancy, Scott Heady McRoberts said the ability to win Head Coach games on the defensive end is implemented by coaches.

“You either buy into (defense first) or you don’t play. You have to be able to defend well or you won’t play,” McRoberts said. “It’s all about defense.”

Head Coach Scott Heady said players learn the importance of defense when they first start playing here.

“I think our young guys know, if you’re going to play, you’ve got to defend and you have to be tough or you may not play as much,” Heady said. “I think it’s easier for younger guys to buy in because we’ve had success with our defense first mindset in the past. It’s become an expectation.”

Guard and junior Ryan Cline said defense is the main priority for the team every game. Cline said that the defense

I think our young guys know, if you’re going to play, you’ve got to defend and you have to be tough or you may not play as much.

PURE PASSER: Forward and senior Zach McRoberts gets a pass through forward and junior Andrew Sons during practice. McRoberts said defense is integral for the team.

KYLE CRAWFORD / PHOTO

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | SPORTS | PAGE 25 helps the team win lower scoring games when other teams struggle.

“We always have a defense-first mindset,” Cline said. “We say that defense leads to offense; we just get stops and then try to take care of the ball on offense.”

While the team’s identity will be the same, there is no denying that the makeup of the team this year will be much different, according to McRoberts.

“Losing Michael (Volovic) and James Crowley, our primary scorers from last year, I personally am going to have to score more,” McRoberts said. “As a team, we’re a little longer and a little deeper than we were last year. I think we’ll be a better rebounding team this year due to our length. We’re going to defend hard and rebound like usual.”

Heady said the team’s length will be a definite asset, and that toughness will be key

to the team’s success this year as well.

“As long as we’re as tough as we’ve been the past couple years, that’s the main thing. Hopefully we can use our length to our advantage as long as we continue to play with a defensive toughness and play together. We’ve got a lot of wing players that are 6’4”, 6’5” and long, and we can really use that to our advantage.”

While different in some ways, Heady said he sees many similarities between the past two year’s teams and this year’s team.

“They have an overall similar attitude and how they approach practice every day is the same. They’re very much a together team; they understand we’re going to have to do this together,” Heady said. “There are a lot of similarities from the last two years.

They’re unselfish, and they understand that it’s about the program and the team.”

H

Shooting for Success Below are some of the men’s basketball stats for the 2012-2013 season: Points Per Game: 57.9

Record: 20-2

Assists Per Game: 10.3

Rebounds Per Game: 20.1

Blocks Per Game: 1.2

Steals Per Game: 5.8 AKSHAR PATEL / GRAPHIC VARVEE.COM / SOURCE

KYLE CRAWFORD / PHOTOS

MONEY BALL: (from left to right:) Head Coach Scott Heady instructs his team during practice. Guard and junior Ryan Cline takes a three-point shot. Both agree that defense is important to win games.

OPINION

Sports Editor Matt Del Busto

Playing Injured. When players compete despite pain, their decisions outlast their career.

Football is a violent game. It is a game known for its bone-crushing tackles and brutal hits. Simply put, the game is physically intense. With such physicality comes the inevitable: injuries. Yet, players are known to stay on the field in spite of injury. Playing through pain is not a new concept.

For example, Jack Youngblood is a retired defensive end who played for the then-Los Angeles Rams from 1971-1984. In 14 years of playing football, he only missed one game. In 1979, he led the Rams to a Superbowl (which they lost to the Raiders). Leading a team to a Superbowl is impressive, but what is more remarkable is this fact: in the first round of the playoffs that year, he had suffered a fractured fibula—a broken leg.

However, he refused to let his serious injury slow him down. He was fitted with a plastic brace and played through the remainder of the playoffs. He was running, tackling, making cuts—all with a broken leg. As a football player, I cringe imagining all the times he ended up on the bottom of the pile or had his leg twisted under him during those games.

Additionally, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman openly admitted to playing through a concussion his rookie year. In a CBS Sports article published on Oct. 24, he described how he got his concussion and said, “…I played the next two quarters half-blind, but there was no way I was coming off the field with so much at stake.” Concussions and head-to-head hits have been a hot topic in the NFL recently, with new rules being introduced to try to prevent such hits. Yet, from Sherman’s example, it is clear that concussions still happen, and players may choose to ignore them.

While both Youngblood’s and Sherman’s examples are remarkable from a pain-tolerance standpoint, at some point I wonder: is playing through pain worth it?

Looking at the NFL from a business standpoint—these men do, in fact, play football for a living—playing even while injured can seem necessary. If a player gets hurt, there is always someone ready to step up and take his place. When the hurt player comes back, perhaps his backup has played well, causing the

previously hurt player to lose his starting position, which may lead to him losing his job. From a money standpoint, there is a certain need for players to stay in the game even if they are hurting.

However, one must step back and look at the physical toll football takes on these players’ bodies. In a Washington Post survey published on April 13, 56 percent of former NFL players surveyed said they frequently played while hurt. Additionally, 49 percent of them said they wished they played through pain less often opposed to the only 3 percent who wished they played through No pain more often. pain, Perhaps current no players can take the gain results from this survey with a grain of salt. During a game, adrenaline is incredibly high, and a player might not realize the severity of an injury until the following morning. Watching NFL games, I’m always amazed at the high number of injury timeouts, but I wonder how many more injuries actually happen that players don’t admit to.

Say that during one game a player feels something tear in his shoulder.

It hurts badly, but it’s a big game so he finishes the game. Perhaps the player is out for a week or two. Often, people— myself including—forget that just because a player is back from an injury does not mean his body is completely healed. Effects from injuries are farreaching. That shoulder tear could translate into chronic pain throughout the player’s entire life and several surgeries. In a different Washington Post survey published on May 20, 89 percent of former NFL players said they wake up with daily aches and pains; 92 percent of whom believe that most or nearly all are due to football.

The next time I see a teammate go down on the field, I’ll worry about whether he’ll be able to play in next week’s game, but in the back of my mind, I’ll wonder if it’s something that will lead H to surgery in 20 years.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Matt Del Busto at mdelbusto@hilite.org.

PAGE 26 | SPORTS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

Swimming and diving teams seek unity, prepare for Warrior Diving Invitational swimming and diving, although part of the that we have, so this will really set the tone for the more same team, are very different. important ones to come, like conference and Sectional.”

“They are two different sports so choosing Although Trenshaw knows this is a competitive meet, he to dive I guess would be like someone choosing tries to keep it in perspective for his divers. “I tell my advanced between basketball and football,” Trenshaw divers that it is one meet, whether you do good or bad, learn said. While there are fewer divers than from it and apply what you learned to the next meet. I tell swimmers, diving is still very competitive in them that this meet or a meet does not necessarily define who the state of Indiana, thanks to the Starz Diving they are or their ability to dive,” Trenshaw said.

H program, which is a program that has had divers advance all the way to the Olympics.

Trenshaw said that he thinks the greater participation in swimming is a result of the greater amount of swimming opportunities and events provided for a number of kids in the community.

CHRISTINE YANG / PHOTO Tomorrow, the men’s TAKE A DIVE: Diver and senior Laura Rokop prepares to take a dive. Head and women’s diving teams Coach Chad Trenshaw said the Warrior Diving Invitational tomorrow will will compete in the Warrior have competition for all levels of diving.

Diving Invitational at Whiteland High School.

Trenshaw says there will

BY EMMA LOVE be competition for all levels of diving. He elove@hilite.org said this includes those that are just starting diving and those who will compete in the iver and senior Laura Rokop has bigger goals than State meet at the end of the season. Rokop, having a successful diving season. Although the an experienced diver, said the meet will be swimming and diving teams are one team at CHS, challenging with some tough competition. they have been two very separated groups in past Sophomore and diver Christian Smith years. This season, team captains such as Rokop are trying to said the team will practice the dives they plan integrate the teams. to unveil at the Warrior Diving Invitational.

Rokop and the swimming team captains said they Additionally, he said that they will add some have a number of team bonding events planned and more difficult dives. When preparing the that will make sure beginners, Trenshaw said communication between he takes a general approach, the swimming and diving but with the more advanced Swimming and Diving team is greatly improved. divers he looks for more “In the past there’s been specific achievements. As As the teams undergo another more of a division, and this meet is relatively early season, here is a look at their we’re really trying this year in the season, Trenshaw upcoming schedule. to bring the teams together. said it will be a great meet We’re really trying to work to use as a baseline for the Event: Warrior Diving Invitational together to create that team remainder of the year.

When: Tomorrow, 10 a.m. unity,” Rokop said.

“I don’t take an approach Where: Whiteland Despite the common that kids have to achieve belief that swimming a specific goal or score,” Event: Tiger Claw Diving Invitational and diving are one and Trenshaw said.

When: Dec. 21, 9 a.m. the same, Rokop said the Where: Fishers Smith said he hopes to actual competitions are increase the difficulty of his Event: Hamilton Southeastern and very different. dives and wants to try to West Lafayette “I think most people make it to the Regional this When: Dec. 23, 11 a.m. have that misconception. year. Aso, he said he wants Where: Hamilton Southeastern We are a part of the same to do well and hopes this team, but they are different meet will foreshadow the Event: Homestead events. We have different remainder of his season.

When: Jan. 4, 12 p.m. meets from the swimmers, Rokop said she agrees.

Where: CHS Natatorium so it is two different things She said, “As a team, we CHRISTINE YANG / PHOTO but one team,” Rokop said. have a lot of new freshman DYNAMIC DIVER: During practice, diver and senior Laura Rokop performs a CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL / SOURCE Head Coach Chad divers, and this meet is one dive. She said that the communication between the swimming and diving team COMPILED BY MATTHEW DEL BUSTO Trenshaw agrees that has improved this year. of the first big 11 dive meets

D

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | SPORTS | PAGE 27

Under the Radar Despite consistent success, winter guard struggles to gain recognition from the student body

Spin to Win Members of Winter Guard commonly twirl their rifles, or weapons. Here is a how to step-by-step guide to twirling so you can, too EHOW.COM / SOURCE AKSHAR PATEL / GRAPHIC

BY KARI TRUAX ktruax@hilite.org

E

ven though they are four-time State champions and two-time winter guard International Scholastic World Champions, Carmel winter guard often flies under the radar at this school.

But outside of these walls, the team has enjoyed quite a bit of notoriety.

Team sponsor Rosie Queen says via email, “These girls are rock stars in the guard world. There are literally thousands of people from all over the world who know who the Carmel High School winter guard is and strive to achieve what they do every day.”

Winter guard, the sport of the arts, is a club within CHS based around dance, interpretive movements, flags, and mock rifles. The team recently had tryouts and will compete from December through April with practices 20 to 35 hours a week. According to Queen the girls are some of the hardest working in the school.

“We aren’t just a group that spins flags at the half time show,” she said. “Winter Guard is athletic, artistic, intellectual, musical, and thought provoking. These girls are literally the best high school Winter Guard in the world. ” Despite little recognition from the student body as a whole, Leah Patton, guard member and sophomore, said that the team members are able to come together to support one another.

“We are all just really passionate about it and we all strive to get better. We are like a family and so it makes it more fun.” Patton said. The team, Patton said, still feels like it flies under the radar in this community.

She said, “Sometimes I feel like we don’t get much recognition because when we did the (Spring Performing Arts) convocation last year a lot of people said some mean things about (our performance) and I feel like people don’t really realize how hard we work.”

For the team, being in winter guard is not for the faint of heart. The girls are forced to be dedicated and talented to succeed at their sport. They enjoy having a crowd and love to show others their passion for winter guard through performing. In addition to performing for CHS at the Community Night and during the Spring Performing Arts Convocation, winter guard competes Belly

Rifle Anatomy The rifle has several different parts to it that are likened to different human body parts. A Butt of the rifle with labeled parts is below. diagram Belly

Neck Nose Nose

Butt

MBADESIGNS.INFO / SOURCE AKSHAR PATEL / GRAPHIC

Hold the gun with the small end, or nose, pointed toward the left. Your left hand should be on the nose, with the palm facing down. Your right hand should be on the neck with your palm facing up.

Push the nose down with your left hand as you twist your right wrist, spinning the rifle around in your hand.

ALEX YOM / PHOTO

WONDERFUL WINTER GUARD: Holly Vasuta, winter guard member and sophomore, practices her routine. Winter guard has been extremely successful in recent years yet remains largely unnoticed by the student body. in front of thousands of people at some of their largest competitions every year.

For Holly Vasuta, guard member and sophomore, competitions are one of her favorite aspects of being in winter guard.

She said, “Performing is an indescribably amazing feeling. We’re surrounded by our best friends doing what we love and no amount of people watching can take that away.”

According to Patton and Vasuta, the team strives to gain appreciation within the student body throughout the upcoming years. After winning the highest level possible in high school guard, the girls hope that, in time, the Carmel community will learn what guard is and gain an appreciation for it. However, in the meantime the girls motivate each other and themselves to continue to be successful.

Queen said, “These girls are motivated by the legacy of this guard program, each other, and the audiences.

We always strive to represent Carmel high school with H the utmost class, respect, and hard work.”

Release the rifle.

Switch hands while the rifle is airborne and catch the nose in your left hand, while placing your right hand on the top of the butt end.

PAGE 28 | PERSPECTIVES | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[perspectives]

10% of teachers only teach Creationism 30% of teachers only teach Evolutionism 60% of teachers do not take a stance

SUBMITPERSPECTIVES@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/PERSPECTIVES

LIVESCIENCE.COM / SOURCE

Teachers should not let taboo topics affect their methods of teaching

W

e have all been in a classroom where the teacher was teaching something that could be seen as controversial. Whether it be sex education, drug education, or religion, it is not uncommon for teachers to let their opinions slip out when they are teaching. It could be something as blatant as a teacher stating his or her opinion, or it could be something as subtle as a teacher simply glossing over divisive material.

Teachers are given one of the hardest tasks in our society: to educate the people who will run the country in the future.

Educating these young minds is a daunting task, and to make matters more difficult, there are some controversial topics that can be challenging for teachers to teach without fear of offending people. However, these topics are some of the most important things for students to be informed about.

In our information age, it is now easier and more important than ever for people to be informed about almost every topic. If students are not given at least a rudimentary background about taboo topics, then they will not be able to intelligently participate in discussions or debates about these topics. According to Twitter.com, 500 million tweets are sent per day. This amounts to about 5787 tweets being sent every second. With this massive popularity of social media, the exchange of ideas has become much more pervasive and rapid, thus exposing students to far more ideas. These topics can range from tame to very controversial, but students must learn about both.

Speak Up!

While teachers should not stray away from these taboo topics, they also must not allow their own opinions to affect how they teach the curriculum. We understand that teachers are people too, but they need to attempt to be as impartial as they can in order to not bias a student’s opinion since teachers have a large impact on how students learn. According to an experiment conducted

by Robert Rosenthal, a professor of psychology at the University of California Riverside (UCR), a teacher’s expectations of his students influence influences how the students perform. Likewise, a teacher’s opinion can influence students’ opinions.

We have all been taught things by our family, peers and the media as we have grown up. So, students already have many preconceived notions regarding particular topics.

There are certain standards in the curriculum that students have already been socialized to agree or to disagree with. Although students may disagree with some of the ideas taught in school, this shouldn’t affect a teacher’s ability to do his job.

Teachers are given one of the hardest tasks in our society: to educate the people who will run the country in the future.

St

af

fP

er

sp

ec

t

iv Teachers are only supposed to teach e what is in the curriculum, and despite their possible misgivings about the material, they ultimately must do their job without bias.

Of course, if they can only teach what is mandated in the curriculum, then how are students going to be exposed to different ideas? Education is ultimately the responsibility of the student, but teachers can still facilitate discussions. For example, according to Indiana Code 2010.1-4-11, schools must “teach abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for all school age children.” While this is what teachers are supposed to teach, they should also allow discussion of different opinions. So, students who disagree with certain parts of the curriculum have the opportunity to explore the topic and find out what they believe.

We understand that with the standards-based curriculum we currently have, teachers must adhere strictly to what the curriculum states. However, teachers should not simply gloss over or ignore topics that seem taboo or controversial. They should do their best to address these topics and give students the most information that they can. Students then must be responsible for furthering their own education and doing their own research in order to become more informed about the topic. If we all play our part, then we will be able to change simple, ignorant H disagreement into intelligent, educated discourse.

COMPILED BY SARAH LIU

Do you think teachers tend to teach controversial topics differently? Why?

Freshman Maggie O’Scanaill

Sophomore Jamie Vaughn

Junior Billy Ivy

Senior Emily Brungard

English teacher Christopher Warren

Assistant Principal Brittany Wiseman

Yeah, because the topics are sensitive to people, and they can’t go about it the same way.

They’re just doing their job, and they don’t want to offend anybody.

Yes. Most every teacher I’ve had has approached a taboo topic differently.

It’s a controversial topic; you can’t just discuss it like normal ... they approach it with more caution.

Yes. (Teachers) just have to watch what they say because it could mean their job or just offending someone, making them uncomfortable.

If you feel like a teacher is being unfairly biased, challenge them on it. Research your material, fight for what you believe in and you’ll be surprised that most teachers welcome that sort of thinking.

No, I think your teachers do a really good job of separating what they believe and what they’re required to teach when they teach those controversial topics.

FOR MORE ON CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN THIS SCHOOL, TURN TO PAGE 16.

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | PERSPECTIVES | PAGE 29

OPINION

Managing editor Hafsa Razi

Mixed Feelings. AP Capstone is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t accommodate everyone I made one of my best decisions the day before school classes will be housed in the English department, meaning started in my junior year when I switched from AP U.S. that for juniors and seniors in the program, the seminar and History to IB History of the Americas. After two years of AP research project courses will replace the mandatory English history, I couldn’t take another bout of nightly readings and credit (this has been approved by both the College Board daily quizzes, memorizing dates, cramming for tests and and the state). promptly forgetting the material the next day. I was tired of not The school’s reasoning behind placing Capstone courses being able to hear the sound of my own thoughts as we raced in the English department is to prevent students from having through the book at a breakneck pace. to choose between AP Capstone and It’s for reasons like this that the AP elective classes like performing arts, system has come under fire in recent years communications, and all the programs — for encouraging teaching to the test, that make this school great. It’s a valid mindless memorization and promoting point. No one wants to put students in breadth rather than depth. College Board that position. finally took the hint, introducing the AP My question is, what about the English Capstone Program. Its selling point is students? Under the Capstone Program, application, giving students the chance to won’t we have students who are passionate Time for some apply what they learn in other AP courses about English having to choose between thrilling heroics and explore topics that interest them. The English and electives? And might that interdisciplinary, independent, in-depth decision easily devolve into a different nature of AP Capstone courses make choice: English or AP Capstone? them almost the antithesis of what AP The school has made concessions: classes were before. sophomores will be able to take AP It’s hard to say what the outcome of the English Literature and Composition AP Capstone Program will be, but I am as their English credit, and students cautiously optimistic. Yes, the program can take English classes as electives sounds rigorous. Yes, the words “research in junior and senior year. And paper” make my blood pressure rise a according to Principal John little. But this is an academically rigorous Williams, the AP Capstone school with ambitious students. Not Program courses will fulfill the everyone would be successful in AP Capstone, obviously, English curriculum requirements. but the students who want to challenge themselves will do so But I can’t imagine how this could be. The AP Capstone regardless, and in AP Capstone, they will get more out of it. courses are supposed to be “interdisciplinary,” combining I also don’t like being overcautious when it comes to skills from all areas of education: the logic of mathematics, innovation in education. That kind of thinking got America the analysis of history, the inquiry of science and, yes, stuck in the rut it’s in today, the idea that we’ve always done the written word. But it is not a writing class. It is not a it this way, so why should we change? The AP Capstone substitute for an English class, in which students celebrate Program has strong potential, and this school should give language and literature and the way words come together to it a chance. form complex meanings.

There’s just one problem.

The school’s decision seems to reflect a mentality that In mid-November, the school announced that Capstone English is an expendable subject. It’s akin to the protestations

The school’s decision seems to reflect a mentality that English is an expendable subject.

of well-meaning adults who try to dissuade teenagers from majoring in English, or, in my case, journalism. “No one can make a career by just writing.” “If you want to write, why can’t you do it in a different field?” (i.e. one that pays well).

English is just as important, just as legitimate a passion as any other, yet students who are in love with math or science or history will not have to give up electives to study those subjects in their junior and senior year. Students who are in love with English will. The inequity, however unintentional, rankles.

I still have faith in the AP Capstone Program, for those who choose to take part in it. To our stellar math kids, science kids, history kids and others, I say go forth, and good luck. But as for our best and brightest in the English department, well, I H wouldn’t blame you if you bowed out.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Hafsa at hrazi@hilite.org.

Capstone Broken Down In the 2014-15 school year, the current Sophomore Class will be the first students to take part in the two-year AP Capstone Program which consists of the following: Seminar Course: Students will take a seminar course modeled after a university course in junior year.

AP Courses: Ordinary AP courses are an integral part of the AP Capstone Program.

Research Project: During the students’ senior year, they will take part in the AP | Cambridge Capstone Research Project Cambridge project featuring an academic paper.

This program was designed to help students develop stronger backgrounds in research, teamwork and 21st-century ASTER SAMUEL / GRAPHIC knowledge and skills.

COLLEGEBOARD.ORG / SOURCE

Graphic Perspective

JIVA CAPULONG / GRAPHIC

PAGE 30 | PERSPECTIVES | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

PERSPECTIVES IN FOCUS: ABORTION

OPINION

Reporter Annika Wolff

Reporter Christine Fernando

Lifesaver. Legalized abortions save lives.

In September 1973, the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the Roe v. Wade case in which a woman under the alias Jane Roe argued that prohibiting her from having an abortion was against her constitutional rights. As a firm believer in pro-choice, I have to agree.

When I was born, both my mother and I were extremely sick. According to the doctor, if she had another pregnancy, the child would most likely die due to her age and medical condition. The doctor suggested she have an operation to prevent another pregnancy. She agreed.

However, instead of immediately performing the operation, her doctor was forced to stand before a hospital committee and state his case even though it was a perfectly safe and legal process.

This particular hospital was supported by a Catholic organization that frowned upon such an operation.

Years later, when my mother retold this story, an idea firmly cemented in my mind: a woman has every right to her body.

A woman should have control over her own body. Women who are raped should not have to go through a painful pregnancy to give birth to a child who will have to live with the stigma of a rapist father or potentially be abandoned.

Although only 8 percent of abortions are due to rape or health risks for the mother, that is 8 percent of 1.2 million total abortions a year which amounts to 96,000 abortions.

While abstinence might work for some people, it is simply illogical to imply that a married couple should remain abstinent if they don’t want a child.

Contraceptives are a choice, but 222 million women currently do not have access to contraceptives according to Pathfinder, a nonprofit organization dealing with sexual health, and those with access often find that the contraceptives do not always work.

Also, many people who are against abortion are also against these contraceptives due to religious reasons; however, laws should not be dictated on one group’s religion.

Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures in the world provided that medical professionals are trained, possess proper medical equipment and have an appropriate environment to work in.

However, 47,000 women die each year due

OPINION

Serenity now, insanity later to the number of unsafe abortions present in the world today.

These unsafe abortions are the result of laws against them. Laws to prevent abortion do not stop it; they simply make the procedure extremely dangerous for the mother. Doctors, not politicians, should help decide what is best for a woman who is pregnant.

While there are other options for those seeking abortions such as adoption, each year 20,000 children in foster care are never adopted and grow out of the system, where they are tossed from one family to the next, according to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

UNICEF estimates that there are currently 210 million orphans in the world. With this fact, it is important to note that there have been numerous adoption scandals and documented cases of abuse in foster homes. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that the quality of life of those unwanted children is lower than that of the average person.

In 1966, a study by Hans Forssman and Inga Thuwe took the children of 188 women denied abortion and compared them to the child born directly after them in a Swedish hospital. The unwanted children were significantly more likely to grow up with divorced parents, live in foster homes and engage in crime. This means that as a result of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, crime rates in America have decreased.

There is no point in bringing a child into the world just so he or she can be hurt.

No one should ever have the right to judge a woman on her own choices for her own child’s well-being. Making abortion illegal won’t stop the practice. No one has and should have the right to make a choice about H a woman’s body but herself.

There is no point in bringing a child into the world just so he or she can be hurt.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Annika Wolff at awolff@hilite.org.

Rightless. Abortion strips unborn of rights

Be real, not perfect On Sept. 19, pro-life activists in Albuquerque, NM took to the streets to drum up support for a referendum to limit abortion. Despite the protests, however, the referendum unfortunately failed to pass, leaving abortion to persist unchecked.

A year earlier I marched alongside hundreds of Pro-life supporters in Carmel, each of us carrying balloons imprinted with the word “Life.” We passed 4,000 white flags waving in front of our church, representing the 4,000 babies who are aborted each day. As we released the balloons, we watched the lives that had been lost to abortion fade into the sky.

We watched 4,000 babies, brought to life at conception, stripped of their lives by abortion.

At the moment of conception, an unborn child fulfills the four fundamental standards for biological life: metabolism, reproduction, growth and response to stimuli. Therefore, the unborn is biologically alive, and abortion is taking the life of a distinct, whole human being.

Sure, an unborn baby is less developed and dependent on the mother for life, but that doesn’t mean this child is not a person.

A 3-year-old is less developed than a 13year old. Does that mean the 3-year-old is less of a person or deserves fewer rights? A patient may be dependent on medication to stay alive, but does that mean the patient is not a whole person deserving of the basic right to life? Then why should we deny an unborn child his or her basic right to life and humanity?

Additionally, abortion is not just an issue of a woman and her body, like many Pro-choice advocates claim. The child’s life is the issue. And since an unborn baby is a life, not a woman’s property, she does not have the right to choose if the child should live or not. If women truly want control over their own bodies, they should choose abstinence, not abortion.

Also, courts consider cases that include the murder of a pregnant woman as double homicide by the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. If double homicide cases account for the life of the unborn child, abortions should as well.

Aborted children are not the only victims of abortion; women also suffer from the physical and emotional trauma of abortion. For example, a woman may face infection, hemorrhaging and miscarriage following an abortion. Women of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign show their emotional torment resulting from abortion at the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. through “I regret my abortion” signs.

Although Pro-choice supporters claim women often abort in cases of rape or health issues, 92 percent of abortions are solely elective and not caused by rape or health issues, according to the Guttmacher Institute in New York. Also, in incidences of pregnancy through rape, the unborn child is not the one who should be punished.

The perpetrator of rape, not the child who is not guilty of any crime, should be punished.

For these reasons, instead of choosing abortion, women should turn to adoption if they cannot support a child, and with 2.6 million American women taking steps towards adoption, according to a 2002 study by childwelfare.gov, a child put up for adoption will always be wanted.

The horror stories of adoption we hear in the news are extreme cases that do not represent the adoption process as a whole.

Adoption, according to childwelfare.gov, is a safe process that regularly leaves children in good hands by requiring thorough background checks on adoptive parents.

Even so, who are we to choose death for a child who has a slight possibility of leading an unhappy life? We should let the child live and decide if life is worth living on his or her own.

Abortion is not a matter of a woman’s control over her body; it is taking a child’s life. These unborn children, and often their mothers, are the victims of abortion, which deprives the unborn of their unalienable H right to life.

Abortion is not a matter of a woman’s control over her body; it is taking a child’s life.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Christine Fernando at cfernando1@hilite. org.

DEC. 13, 2013 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | PERSPECTIVES | PAGE 31

OPINION

Reporter Aaron Shi

Holiday Mind Control. Why people should shop consciously during the holiday season.

During this holiday season, shoppers are expected to spend an average of $801 on gifts, according to American Research Group. Despite the magnitude of this number, it isn’t surprising: who doesn’t enjoy buying gifts for their family and for others? What is surprising is that countless shoppers come home with items they neither need nor want. Last year, my mom bought a sewing machine—the same one that’s been gathering dust in a cabinet, unused. And my dad bought a jumping toy frog. No explanation is required.

I have a hunch that my family is not alone in their erratic purchasing behavior. Especially during the holidays, people seem to use less judgment when it comes to shopping.

Chances are, my mom wasn’t thinking rationally when she bought that sewing machine. What could have caused my mom—and countless others—to think less clearly when she was in the store?

Many people don’t realize that retailers appeal to shoppers’ senses in order to influence their purchasing behavior. With an objective eye, it’s easy to see the truth in this statement. Crisp peppermint and pine scents waft through stores. Classical holiday tunes play softly through speakers. Wreaths and mistletoe adorn shops. Sensory nuances in the environment can affect how people buy items. Some of these details may or may not be intentional; however, being aware of one’s surroundings can greatly prevent impulse buying.

Take smells, for instance. People are more likely to buy from a store that smells of cinnamon and pumpkin than from a store that reeks of fish. According to a 2012 article from Psychology Today, scents, when used properly, can make products seem more desirable. During the holiday season, the smell of peppermint can increase “physiological arousal,” and the smell of pine can bring happiness and

nostalgia. Classical holiday music also contributes to this nostalgic effect, since Christmas music never changes from year to year (it’s not just because people like Bing Crosby).

Nostalgia, according to Science Daily, is linked to positive emotions, and happier shoppers result in more spending.

The famous red and green Christmas colors also evoke a desire to spend more. Aside from the nostalgia that these colors bring during the holiday season, red and green Fight the good have always stimulated spending.

Waitresses who wear red earn 14 to fight 26 percent higher tips than those who wear any other color, according to Science Daily.

Another study by The Atlantic showed that products against red backgrounds caused eBay shoppers to bid more aggressively. Green, on the other hand, is an optimistic color.

Clearly, St. Nicholas was seeing green when he chose the Christmas colors.

But the greatest influence to buy more during the holiday season is pressure from other shoppers. When retailers release their infamous doorbusting discounts, people feel compelled to shop, lest they miss out on outrageous bargains. When people see others shop, they feel left out. The accumulation of this pressure can lead shoppers to purchase far more than is necessary.

Taking everything into account, my intention is not to ruin the holiday shopping season. I’m not saying people should run out of the store screaming when they hear “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas.” But to avoid making irrational purchases and impulse buys, people should be aware of the sensory details that stores, whether intentional or not, project to shoppers.

H

Being aware of one’s surroundings can greatly prevent impulse buying.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Aaron Shi at ashi@hilite.org.

Graphic Perspective The (Real) Christmas Spirit Christmas is a time for giving gifts. (getting)

Christmas is a time to reflect. (relax)

Christmas is a holiday to spend time with others. (phone)

Contact information

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Letters to the editor will be accepted for the Jan. 23 issue no later than Jan. 9. Letters may be submitted in Room C147, placed in the mailbox of Jim Streisel, emailed to letters@hilite.org or mailed to school. All letters must be signed. Names will be published. (Letters sent via email will be taken to a student’s SRT for him to sign.) Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual and may be edited.

Purpose

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The paper serves as a public forum and two-way communication for both the school and the community. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of CHS nor the Carmel Clay system faculty, staff or administration.

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Claudia Huang MANAGING EDITORS Taylor Acton Eric He Hafsa Razi Andrew Wang ACCOUNTANT Mitch Lindgren ACUMEN Julie Xu Jason Klein ADS TEAM Case Pasanen Molly Surette 15 MINUTES Naomi Reibold BEATS/ CALENDAR Michelle Dai Christine Fernando Sarah Liu Maham Nadeem Laxmi Palde Deepthi Thadasina Christine Yang Cynthia Yue COVER STORY Lauren Lu

DENNIS YANG / GRAPHIC

ENTERTAINMENT Miriam Hu Joseph Lee FEATURE Crystal Chen Rushi Patel FRONT PAGE Connie Chu Dennis Yang GRAPHICS Jiva Capulong Rachel Chen Anthony Ko GMN LIAISON Isaac Warshawsky NEWS Chrishan Fernando Helena Ma PERSPECTIVES David Choe Aster Samuel PHOTO Mikaela George Nivedha Meyyappan SPORTS Matthew Del Busto Arsalan Siddiqui SOCIAL MEDIA Elyse Goldberg Caitlin Muller

STUDENT SECTION Madison Adzema WEB Adit Chandra Kevin Fei Patrick Tan Willie Zhu WRITING COACHES Kyle Walker Cynthia Wu REPORTERS Tyler Baumann Haley Bracken Bobby Browning Natalia Chaudhry John Chen Michael Cheng Lucus Cheng Michelle Dai Christine Fernando Danny Goldberg Nida Khan Jasmine Lam Joyce Lam Michael Li Sarah Liu Emma Love Jill Massengill Laxmi Palde Akshar Patel Ellen Peng Sreeti Ravi Sriya Ravi Sarah Seo Aaron Shi Grant Smith Jessica Tao

Deepthi Thadasina Kari Truax Sreya Vemuri Ai-ning Wang Annika Wolff Ryan Woock Jacob Worrell Angela Wu Christine Yang Alex Yu Lianne Yu Cynthia Yue Anni Zhang Stephanie Zhang Michael Zhao Shakeel Zia PHOTOGRAPHERS Sophia Brewer Kyle Crawford Miles Dai Scott Liu Omeed Malek Swetha Nakshatri Ally Russell Jaymee Stout Karen Swedo Karthik Thadasina Alex Yom Alice Zhu ADVISER Jim Streisel PRINCIPAL John Williams SUPERINTENDENT Nicholas D. Wahl

PAGE 32 | 15 MINUTES OF FAME | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | DEC. 13, 2013

[15 minutes of fame]

Did you know?

Animal bones were used as the blades of ice skates when they were first created in the ninth century.

SUBMIT15MINUTES@HILITE.ORG | HILITE.ORG/15MINUTESOFFAME

RVAONICE.NET / SOURCE

Frozen

Ice Instructions Take a look at some of the many moves Wang performs in her competitions

Freshman Alisha Wang talks about her life as a nationally competitive figure skater

spin around single point

Axel Jump

How do you feel before a jump?

Before a jump, skaters really aren’t able to feel or think anything. People who manually think are normally very cautious; therefore, they overthink the jump and fall. My coach has taught me that it is the people who just attack (the jump) are the ones who land and succeed. Same goes for a competition; people who attack will always do better than the slow, cautious ones.

• Wang says her axel jump is very big, and she attacks it.

Wang is doing a variation of a layback spin called the “Haircutter.”

• Single, double and triple variations: Add half for the number of spins in each variation.

• It is one of the hardest jumps because it takes off forward, unlike most jumps, decreasing momentum and making the timing harder to perfect. “waxel” - when the timing is “out of wack”

Sit Spin • To make it harder, extend both arms in front for a “shoot the duck”

What makes skating special to you?

I think skating is very special to me because normally people say, ‘Oh, I play soccer’ or ‘Oh, I’m on a basketball or tennis team,’ but I never say that.

I just say, ‘I’m a figure skater’ and people are always fascinated. Also, skating is really special to me because I have made a lot of my closest friends in the eight years I have been skating.

KYLE CRAWFORD / PHOTO

• The stretch requires skaters to put their head back, toward their bottom, and some skaters can not do this skill.

• Used so much that some competitions limit how many times a skater can perform it

When did you first step on the ice?

The first time I stepped on the ice rink was when I was about 6 years old. When I first stepped on the ice, all I remember is that it was really scary at first, but I got the hang of it fast and didn’t need to use the wall anymore.

What has skating taught you?

It has taught me to be persistent and never give up.

It has taught me about failure. People nowadays just assume that they will never fail or if they do fail, they are never taught how to deal with it. Skating has taught me it hurts to fall, but in order to get better, I need to get back up and try again and again and again. Persistence is key in this sport.

>180°

• Named after Denise Biellmann

NAOMI REIBOLD nreibold@hilite.org

What is your favorite part about figure skating?

My favorite part of ice skating is jumping. It is just amazing in the air. It feels like I am flying. In the skating world, my jumps are considered very big and open. People always ask me how I make it so big, and I just say, ‘I don’t know, you just kind of skate fast and hope that you’ll land on your feet.’ I’m lucky though because most of the time I do.

Biellmann Spin

Both hands under calf, free leg parallel to ice

Put full weight on foot

Layback Spin

Free leg is bent 90 degrees.

• Put hips forward • This a popular first, then throw spin where the head back skaters can do numerous • Keep shoulders variations to even make it more • Arm positions intriguing. optional

• The more arched the back, the faster and more impressive the spin

LAUREN LU / GRAPHIC FIGURESKATING.ABOUT.COM, ALISHA WANG / SOURCE