3.17 Issue by HiLite News

HIL TE

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL NEWSMAGAZINE Vol. 81, No. 8 | March 17, 2017

NEW ROOTS With Betsy DeVosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s confirmation as Secretary of Education, discover what changes may affect public education and CHS. PAGE 26 | CARSON TERBUSH

CONTACT INFORMATION

TA B L E O F C O N T E N TS | M A R C H 1 7 , 2 0 1 7

Mailing Address: 520 E. Main St. Carmel IN 46032 Phone: (317) 846-7721, Ext. 7143 Website: www.hilite.org Email: Staff members may be contacted by using their first initial and their last name appending @hilite.org,

PURPOSE The HiLite is a student publication distributed to students, faculty and staff of Carmel High School, with a press run of 4,500. Copies are distributed to every school in the Carmel Clay district as well as the Chamber of Commerce, City Hall and the Carmel Clay Public Library. 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 Carmel Clay system faculty, staff or administration.

The HiLite belongs to the Indiana High School Press Association, Quill & Scroll and the National Scholastic Press Association.

ADVERTISING Businesses may advertise in the HiLite if their ads adhere to guidelines. The advertising policy is available in Room C147 or at www.hilite.org/ads-info. Grace Zhang

Student Section Lilly St. Angelo

Managing Editors Cover Asim Dhungana Katie Long Shiva Vallabhaneni Melissa Yap Jenny Zhao

Front Page Aditya Belamkar Chelsea Dai

News Mary Salzmann Rachael Tan

Feature Bethlehem Daniel Nyssa Qiao

Ads Team Sabrina Mi Jai Sanghani

NEWS // 6

STUDENT SECTION // 22

NEWS BRIEFS | 6

ASK THE HILITE | 23

CLUB SPOTLIGHTS | 7 PATH TO THE FUTURE | 8

CREDENTIALS

Editor in Chief

CONTENTS

Jessica Mo

Web

Adam Stockholm Allen Zhang

Kelsey Atcheson Adam Gostomelsky

Perspectives

Accountant

Teresa Chen Kalea Miao

Sports

Manahil Nadeem Gillian Paxton

Indhu Meena Ramanathan

15 Minutes

Adviser

Cory Steele

Jim Streisel

Social Media

Principal

Gabby Perelmuter Rebecca Qin Angela Sun

Superintendent

John Williams Nicholas Wahl

RESPONDING TO THE HILITE Letters to the editor will be accepted for the April 20 issue no later than April 10. Letters may be submitted to Room C147, placed in the mailbox of Jim Streisel, emailed to management1617@hilite. org or mailed to the 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.

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS Entertainment Briefs in the most recent issue said that “Newsies” is coming to Indianapolis from March 15 to March 20; however their tour ended last year. This has been corrected on the HiLite webpage. The HiLite strives to correct its errors. If you notice any inaccuracies in this or past issues, please contact management1617@hilite.org.

ELLIOT CHOY | PHOTO

REFERENDUM | 9 The school board has proposed a new referendum that may lead to cuts in AP programming, staff positions.

CAFÉ CONSTRUCTION | 10 DECA plans renovation of Carmel café, collaboration with architects.

(DEAF)INING HISTORY | 24 Student activists share their stories about how they became passionate about their beliefs and why they choose to be vocal.

COVER // 26 IS OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM A GOOD APPLE OR A BAD ONE? | 26 New U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos raises concerns among CHS teachers, students about the future of public education.

Copy Editors Emily Dexter Heidi Peng Adhi Ramkumar Pranav Sriram Carson TerBush Christina Yang James Yin

Entertainment

Carmel plans construction of paths, ,trails for bicycles.

Read about why ISTEP+ is still being administered to high schoolers.

ENTERTAINMENT // 32 MUSICAL MADNESS | 32

FEATURE // 12 PROFITS VS PEOPLE | 12 Recent studies have shown an increase in companies that submit certain drugs for orphan designation. What do students who work to cure rare diseases at CHS think about this?

SLIPPING OUT OF SCIENCE | 16 While there is a large interest in STEM fields during high school, it is matched with a large dropout rate in these majors during college.

PROUD TO BE...AMERICAN? | 18 Recent studies have shown there are certain characteristics many characterize as being distinctly “American.” How do students from other cultures view themselves within this context?

Take a peek into the top performing arts groups at CHS and what they’re preparing this month

WORKING TO IMPROV(E) | 36 Comedy Sportz prepares to compete in match on March 23 and 24.

FLAGS IN FLORIDA | 38 World Guard to compete in WGI Southeast Power Regional in Orlando, Fla.

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS | 39

FEATURED MAKE-UP MADNESS Junior Katherine Hook does a stunt for the color guard’s show “Arabesque” with senior Kylie Houser, senior Kristin Sams, and sophomore Oumou Soumah (left to right). The show’s theme revolves around feminity.

38 SPORTS // 40

PERSPECTIVES // 48

15 MINUTES // 54

A RUN ON RECOVERY ROAD | 40

REPEAT THE REFERENDUM | 48

ON CAMERA | 54

CHS athletes don’t let serious, traumatic injuries stop them from returning to the games they love.

HOOSIERS GOT HOOPS | 44 Take a look at the mystique of basketball in March in the state of Indiana.

DISCOVERING A NEW SPORT | 46 Students at CHS participate in Disc Golf, rank highly among high school level competitors.

The HiLite staff encourages parents and students to support the school board referendum.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | 49 CHS student responds to February article “An Educated Investment.”

PRO2TEST | 50 Section Editor Manahil Nadeem talks about protest being one of our most American rights.

SHADES OF GRAY AND COLOR | 51 Reporter Raiha Zainab urges students to look beyond their own personal beliefs.

WHERE’S THE SENIOR PRANK? | 52 Section Editor Kelsey Atcheson celebrates the legacy of the (harmless) senior prank.

A NEW VIRTUAL REALITY | 53 Managing Editor Shiva Vallabhaneni discusses the possibilities of using VR headsets in classrooms.

Junior Justin Park is a filmmaker currently working on a student-led movie.

ONLINE GOING BACK IN HISTORY Carmel Clay Historical Society to launch interactive app for Carmel residents.

JUST A MINUTE

January 2017 was the third warmest January on record. Whether or not the rises in temperatures were caused by human activity, climate change will surely have an impact on current habits, water supplies and habitats. Here’s how various parts of the Earth will be affected. CHELSEA DAI | GRAPHIC NASA.GOV, NEWSCIENTIST.COM, OCEANSERVICE.NOAA.GOV, EPA.GOV | SOURCES

e rises atur r e p . tem 4°C..

°C

wat 1°C, er sh

Many parts of the western United States depend on water from the Colorado River, which is fed by melting snow in the Rocky Mountains. Less and earlier snowmelt will reduce the amount of water flowing into the Colorado and other rivers. This would limit the amount of safe drinking water in many areas.

By 210 0, if

WATER SUPPLIES

al r lob °C o g 3 e h ,

ge a t or

FOREST FIRES

Hotter, drier climates will result in a greater risk of forest fires. With a 3.6°W increase in temperature, wildfires in the western United States are expected to burn four times more land than they do now.

age

CORAL BLEACHING

Higher tides will result in more coastal destruction and flooding.

Higher ocean temperatures create stressful environments for the colorful algae on coral. When these algae leave corals, the corals lose their major food source, causing them to turn white. Rising ocean temperatures are the leading cause of coral bleaching. In 2005, half of the coral reefs in the Caribbean were bleached.

SPEAK UP! How will climate change affect us? “Growing seasons would have different lengths. That whole shift will be an economic, scientific and environmental shift. The immediate impact isn’t so obvious, and I think that’s why its taken so long for people...to accept the idea.” Frances Rushing, AP Environmental Science teacher

...here ’s h ow exi sti ng

ing elt m 4

iel ly

a g ric

u ult

Miranda Frausto, Environmental Action club co-president and senior

AGRICULTURE

Kara Deady, Thirst Project member and junior

“...Climate change is affecting Indiana [in ways] like crop failure, severe weather, and having to pay for what the severe weather does to public transportation...It’s the hottest that its ever been and [the temperature is] going to keep [rising] if we don’t do anything.

ify. ens int ill sw ue ss

gla cie r

“I definitely think that it’s happening, but I’m not sure if I agree with some of the causes of it...As we start to see more of its effects show up and the severity of it, people will be more willing to change how they impact the environment.”

ENERGY PRODUCTION

If the global temperature rises an additional 3.6°F, U.S. corn production is expected to decrease by 10 to 30 percent. Stronger storms and floods associated with warmer temperatures will result in more damaged crops.

More frequent and intense heat waves would lead to increased airconditioning usage. This would lend to more blackouts and carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

ARCTIC ICE MELT Losing ice sheet habitats will result in the loss of a number of arctic species. A loss of a prey species could be amplified into the loss of more predator species. Area of arctic sea ice is decreasing at an average rate of 13.3 percent per year.

Wind power supports 73,000 well-paying jobs in the United States.

NEWS

NEWS BRIEFS | MARCH 17, 2017

News Briefs JULIANNA KESSILYAS | BRIEFS, PHOTOS

MARCH National Nutrition Month is an educational nutrition campaign that spreads the knowledge about making healthy food choices.

DID YOU KNOW? This year’s theme for National Nutrition Month is “Put Your Best Fork Forward,” which promotes small changes in diet that lead to lasting effects. EATRIGHT.ORG | SOURCE

NUTRITIONAL CHOICES: Cafeteria worker Rola al Zureikat lays out healthy food options for students to make it easier for them to eat a well balanced diet. Little aids like these expose students to healthy food choices.

MARCH 29

TODAY

Percussion concert will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room P105.

Report cards for third quarter come out.

To see the full story about the Historical Society App, go to hilite.org/news

MONDAY Spring equinox will occur, officially starting the season of spring.

MARCH 31 TO APRIL 9 School will be closed in observance of spring break.

HISTORIC APP

APRIL 11

A project developed in partnership with Ball State University, the Carmel Clay Historical Society app plans to educate Carmel citizens about the history of the city. The pilot program begins this month and the app plans to launch April 20.

PTO board meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to noon in the community room.

APRIL 13

FANTASTIC FEATURES AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Below are the most prominent features of the app. The app will feature professionally-recorded audio to supplement information in text. The app will also have historic photos like the one to the left of Carmel from over 100 years ago. ADHI RAMKUMAR | GRAPHIC CARMEL CLAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY | SOURCE

Frosh Rock for the incoming freshman will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Dale E. Graham Auditorium.

APRIL 17

The Academic and Hall of Fame Banquet will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Ritz Charles.

MARCH 17, 2017 | CLUB SPOTLIGHTS

CLUB SPOTLIGHTS MICHELLE YIN | SPOTLIGHTS, PHOTOS

FED CHALLENGE SPONSOR: Paul Clayton CURRENT EVENTS: Students may be participating in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Fed Challenge on March 31 and April 24, in which a group organizes a 15-minute presentation on the state of the economy and recommends policies. Carmel may not participate this year due to the time constraints of members. THOUGHTS: “I think we have some really strong students. If they have adequate time to prepare for it, they can be successful,” Clayton said.

GOOD-HEARTED STUDENT: Muskaan Ramchandani, Good Samaritan Club president and sophomore, discusses logistics for the group to accomplish before next meeting. Ramchandani said, “It’s global, and we’re working to end a problem that’s been out there for years.”

GOOD SAMARITAN CLUB PRESIDENT: Sophomore Muskaan Ramchandani WHERE AND WHEN: Blue Wednesdays 7:15 to 7:40 a.m. in B201 WHAT IT IS: A newly founded club, Good Samaritan Club’s goal is to raise money and awareness for an non-governmental organization called Open Door Foundation that helps orphanages in Bangalore, India receive education and other necessities. They are currently planning a bake sale for fundraising. THOUGHTS: “I realized there are a lot of clubs that involve giving and service to people within our community and beyond, but I feel like this is a unique cause.” Ramchandani said.

CHESS CLUB PRESIDENT: Senior Sam Philleo WHERE AND WHEN: Every Monday 3:15 to 4:20 p.m. in F106 CURRENT EVENTS: Chess Club members are practicing for a state finals tournament on March 25 in Hammond, IN. Carmel will send multiple teams, each consisting of four people in which the best player competes against the best player on another team, the second best against second best, and so forth. Chess Club has placed first in the competition for the last three years.: THOUGHTS: “We’re pretty inexperienced. But that’s good because a lot of people, they play a lot more by the rules, and I think we’re more creative with our styles. We have unorthodox ideas because we don’t usually follow the status quo,” Philleo said. DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Dalton Thompson, Chess Club vice president and junior, contemplates his next move. “Sam and I have some pretty good experience from tournaments in the last few years,” Thompson said. “We have a lot of good chess players.”

NEW BIKE PATHS | MARCH 17, 2017

BUSY BIKER: Photography teacher Kevin Daly prepares his bike before commuting home after school. Daly said he supports the addition of new bike paths and trails in Carmel, especially because he bikes 22 miles to and from CHS on a daily basis.

PATH TO THE FUTURE

CAROLYN ZHANG | PHOTO

Carmel City Council plans expansion of bike-friendly paths ANNA KLAUZ | STORY

ruce kimball, city Council member and bike advocate, said he hopes to incorporate more bikefriendly paths in Carmel. Kimball said he and his fellow City Council members are vigorously planning the expansion of walkable and bicycle-friendly infrastructure to reach this goal. Kimball said, “My passion for bicycle advocacy has grown as I became more involved in the city." Kimball said incorporating a bicycle-friendly aspect will be a major draw to the city, bringing newcomers to Carmel and reaching out to the growing number of adolescents throughout the community. Although Carmel provides a great school bus system, studies from People for Bikes, an industry coalition of bicycling supplies and retailers, show that biking provides better mental health, reduces cardiorespiratory fitness and reduces risk of breast can-

cer. By adding on to the existing 180 miles of all Carmel paths and trails, the City Council hopes to encourage people to bike instead of using less environmentally-friendly transportation, like buses. The already-existing trails have had an effect on our community in several ways. Teachers and students at CHS use these paths often. For the past 15 years, photography teacher Kevin Daly has commuted 22 miles every morning and afternoon to and from school. Living in Broad Ripple with his wife and dog, his daily ride is around 45 minutes each way on the Monon Trail. Daly said his love for biking started at a young age. “I remember countless summers where all my friends were at the lake and I was alone and you would just get on your bike and ride all day long,” Daly said. Freshman Lina Waseem said she rode her bike to school everyday when she was in middle school.

DID YOU KNOW? The average operating cost of a bicycle per year is $308, less than 4 percent of an average car, which costs $8,220 annually. PEOPLEFORBIKES.ORG | SOURCE

“I am hopeful that the new trails they are planning to build will give me a straight shot to the school so I can ride my bike and not worry about missing the bus,” said Waseem. With these goals in mind, the City Council submitted a grant to People for Bikes, a foundation funded by the bicycle industry to help them kickstart a new project. Out of the 80 communities that applied, the members of the Council hope Carmel will be one of the lucky 10 to receive a grant for $250,000 each a year for three years. With this money, they hope to not just build trails but to expand the bicycle community. Not only do these new bike trails encourage healthy living and saving money, they also advertise the idea of improving the environment and minimizing the ecological footprint. Kimball said, “Our goal isn't to replace cars, but to see bicycling maybe making up to 10 to 20 percent of H local residents' trips."

MARCH 17, 2017 | REFERENDUM

REFERENDUM

SPEAK UP!

Expiration of current referendum could end some AP programs, staff positions

How would you feel if the AP program was cut back?

EMILY DEXTER | STORY

ince the current referendum for the school district will expire on Dec. 31, Carmel citizens will vote on May 2 on a new referendum to take its place. If it fails, according to Superintendent Nicholas Wahl, programs not required for graduation, such as the AP program, could be cut back, and hundreds of school employees could potentially lose their jobs. According to Wahl’s presentation to the Board of Education, if the referendum fails, 260 total employee positions would be cut across the school district, including 77 positions at CHS. With fewer teachers, the average class size at CHS would increase from current levels of 28 to 30 students to 35 to 40 students. Wahl said if the referendum passes, it will replace the current tax rate of 16 cents with a higher rate of 19 cents, which will keep the flat school tax rate at 83 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Wahl said via email, “We hope (taxpayers) can appreciate the topREFERENDUM REFEREES: School board president Layla Spanenberg and Superintendent Nicholas Wahl discuss the proposed referendum. Wahl said he hopes the referendum passes to preserve funding at CHS.

REBECCA QIN | PHOTO

BY THE NUMBERS

$14.5

million

amount the referendum currently generates for Carmel Clay Schools NICHOLAS WAHL | SOURCE

To read the staff editorial about the referendum, see page 48.

notch education Carmel Clay Schools provide to their children and realize that we can’t continue to do what we do without this very important source of funding.” Michael Wang, AP state scholar and senior, said he would be disappointed if the referendum failure requires cuts to the AP program. “Without having more challenging courses, school could become a little more boring or less meaningful,” Wang said. The potential cuts to the AP program do not reflect trends in student participation. According to the counseling center, CHS student participation in AP courses from 2012 to 2016 increased from 1,457 to 1,580 students. According to Wahl, beginning after the 2009 recession, school operating funds began to come from state taxes instead of both state and local taxes, causing the Carmel Clay school district to pass referendums to preserve their educational programs. Wahl said, “If this referendum fails, the impact will be felt farther and wider H than our classroom walls.”

Junior Cat Moraitis “I would be pretty upset about that. One of my favorite parts of this school is the variety of options we have with AP courses. It offers an advanced level, and it provides so many opportunities for students, and benefits.”

Sophomore Rida Bonday “Depending on which classes (were cut), I probably wouldn’t care, honestly, because a lot of AP classes are liberal arts, which I don’t care about. If it were science classes, I would be pretty mad.”

Junior Sarah Henderson “I feel like that wouldn’t be the best idea because the AP classes are important to a lot of people, and for some people they work better. A greater variety is better. I’d feel a little cheated.” EMILY DEXTER | SPEAK-UPS APURVA MANAS | PHOTOS

DECA RENOVATION | MARCH 17, 2017

CAFÉ CONSTRUCTION DECA to renovate current café, work with architects on new design ADHI RAMKUMAR | STORY

he current carmel café will be undergoing renovation and construction beginning in May and lasting until August when school will start. Students and faculty are currently discussing designs with the architects who will be involved with this project. Andrew "Drew" Seketa, DECA president and senior, said the current café has a variety of issues. He said some of these problems include lack of room to sit, which is causing many seniors in the new Senior Transition Schedule to gravitate towards the library. DECA wants to bring them to a café setting in which students can work

"Our size of the cafe itself is too small. In essence, we're running out of a storage closet." Senior Drew Seketa

A NEW LOOK The current DECA café will be replaced with a new, sit-in one. Here is how it might look: Windows Entrance or Exit

and collaborate in a quiet area. “We have no seating available right now, and our size of the café itself is too small. In essence, we’re running out of a storage closet,” Seketa said. Isabella Yallapragada, café customer and sophomore, said, “The waiting lines are really long. Sometimes it takes 10 to 15 minutes to get tea or coffee. It’s a good idea to renovate the café, and having it as an option to go to would be pretty nice. It’d be nice to have a really nice setting, outlets and better coffee.” Richard “Chard” Reid, DECA sponsor and business teacher, said, “(The café) was always designed as a

Tables

The path you will take to go through the new café

retail space, and there just wasn’t the proper amenities to be a café. We kind of started with a small list of things, and we decided to redesign the place so, functionally, it will operate like a café and will allow production to be a lot more efficient.” According to assistant principal Joe Schaller, discussions with the school board began in the fall, and conversations among DECA members and students regarding updates occurred around September. Based on these meetings, a prospective panoramicview design of the café was created in late January, and the design is currently being updated.

Chairs The new café will have tall, circular and rectangular tables.

New tall chairs add to the chic style of the café.

Order Up Multiple lines make the process go faster.

Clothing Display

DANIEL LEE | GRAPHIC

Just like before, the café will have an array of CHS spirit wear.

RICHARD "CHARD" REID | SOURCE

MARCH 17, 2017 | DECA RENOVATION

However, according to Seketa, it is imperative that decisions that are made about the café are in consensus with regulations that have been set by the government. He said DECA does not want the café to become a “food-service area,” which would bring more regulations to follow. Schaller said, “Nutrition of the items sold is a very important factor to keep in mind, and cleanliness is also something we must take into account with this renovation.” Seketa said, “With any design or renovation, you’re going to have so many details you need to take into account, and we want to make sure that everything is perfect and it can last for a long time.” In addition, the café will see changes next year as a part of DECA’s goal is

to create a center of entrepreneurship for students. “We’re going to be having students sign up for independent study shifts who receive full-weight grades and keep the café open throughout the day,” Seketa said. Seketa said he hopes the timeline will work out, as the café makes a lot of revenue due to back-to-school sales. Reid said, “In a perfect world, we want to close down shop May 1.” However, Reid and Schaller said students will not be affected much by the construction, as most of it will happen in the evenings and summer. Schaller said, “I think the renovation will make the Carmel café a much more welcoming area by lessening the amount of traffic there and making it an option for students to go to.” H

CAFÉ CRAZE: (TOP LEFT) During SRT, sophomore Thomas Dziwlik makes coffee for café customers. Drew Seketa, DECA president and senior, said the new café will allow students to enjoy their drinks sitting down in the café. (TOP RIGHT) Sophomore Amy Zhong takes an order from customer and freshman Brian Boynton. Seketa said the location of the cash register and how it will work will change after the construction. (BOTTOM LEFT) Seketa has a conversation with Jackson Holforty (left), DECA district president and senior, about the DECA State competition. According to Seketa, because the new café is designed for the seniors who are taking senior schedule, the organization of DECA will change next year. For example, students who are taking independent study will have to help out in the café. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Junior Rithika Chari makes coffee for café customers during SRT. Seketa said in order to expand the café, they will take down the wall in front of Chari and extend it to the business classrooms.

CHRISTINA YANG | PHOTOS

FEATURE

ORPHAN DRUGS | MARCH 17, 2017

PROFITS VS PEOPLE

Recent studies have shown increases in companies submitting certain drugs for orphan drug designation HEIDI PENG | STORY

n a research lab at Purdue University, Sepehr Asgari, a student researcher and sophomore, tests the effectiveness of his combination treatment on neonatal meningitis. Just last June, Asgari began working with this rare strain of meningitis that mainly affects newborns as a result of personal interest and enjoyment. “I personally enjoy it because I learn a lot from it, and it’s an application of what I would learn from textbooks,” Asgari said. “I don’t enjoy just learning about what other people have done, and I like to innovate and find new things that other people haven’t done.” Asgari said his goal is to develop a drug that will cure this disease. The drug he is attempting to develop is classified as an “orphan” drug, a drug manufactured primarily for the treatment of a rare disease. “The bacteria is E. coli K1, which is a specific strain (of E. coli), and

it has a capsule on the outside of it, of long-term epilepsy in children are and that capsule is associated with classified as a rare brain disorder. the pathogenesis of the bacteria,” As“We were looking at problems gari said. “My treatment is that I’m that the world faces; (we found) taking two proteins; one will strip epilepsy to be stated as one of the the outer capsule main probaway and that’s lems,” Kumar fused to another said. “The main “For me, it’s (more important) protein that has problem is, if to help people. I would anti-inflammato(patients with personally be more happy ry properties.” epilepsy) get Today, more knowing that I saved lives treatment within and more students rather than making money.” five minutes, it are beginning to helps them. But work on innovathe average amSophomore Sepehr Asgari tions that may bulance response help patients with time, even in the rare diseases. AcUnited States, is cording to Satvik Kumar, injection lead 9.4 minutes. It’s even longer in unof InvenTeam and sophomore, CHS derdeveloped countries.” InvenTeam is working to develop a According to Wendy Tian, senior device that can inject medicine into an director of regulatory affairs at Lundepileptic patient, specifically children. beck, a pharmaceutical company that While epilepsy is not ordinarily specializes in psychiatry, neurology classified as a rare disease, many forms and brain disorders, the United States

THE LONELIEST DRUGS

Orphan drugs are drugs designed to treat rare diseases. Here’s a look at the growth and profits of orphan drugs over the past years.

2010

2011

2012 Year

2013

2014

Pfizer

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Roche

Most Successful Orphan Drug Companies

Bristol-Myers Squibb

100

Celgene

Sales (billions of dollars)

Worldwide Orphan Drug Sales

Company Name PRANAV SRIRAM | GRAPHIC EVALUATE GROUP | SOURCE

MARCH 17, 2017 | ORPHAN DRUGS

classifies a rare disease as a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people; one such way to treat these diseases is with orphan drugs. Tian said, “The prevalence of patients defines whether (a drug) is an orphan or not. If the drug is an orphan drug, the government wants to encourage the developer, pharmaceutical company to study it.” Moreover, Tian said she believes it is important that everyone, including students like those in InvenTeam, be educated on the importance of orphan drugs and help patients with rare diseases. “I think it is good for students to participate (and) to develop technology and contribute ideas in drug or medication device discovery for rare disease treatment,” Tian said. “In many ways, young people have great innova-

FINDING A CURE: Sepehr Asgari, student researcher and sophomore, combines chemicals under a fume hood in a research lab at Purdue University as part of his search for a drug to cure neonatal meningitis. Asgari said he enjoys being able to apply his knowledge to discover new things through his research.

SEPEHR ASGARI | SUBMITTED PHOTO

BY THE NUMBERS

450

orphan drugs have been produced since the passing of the orphan drug in 1983

200

companies have produced orphan drugs since the passing of the law in 1983 NPR | SOURCE

tive ideas and can think out of the box, which could be converted to novel approaches to address the medical needs of patients.” DUAL DESIGNATION According to NPR, there have been cases where companies create orphan drugs for profit and for economic advantages on the market rather than focusing on helping patients. In 1983, the Orphan Drug Act was signed by President Ronald Reagan, creating and ensuring a few benefits for companies developing an orphan drug such as tax deductions and market exclusivity. Eleanor Dixon-Terry, Regulatory Health Project Manager at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said via email, “Orphan designation qualifies the sponsor of the drug

for various development incentives of the (official development assistance) ODA, including tax credits for qualified clinical testing.” Tian said, “You will also get seven years exclusivity. After you market the drug, no one else can market the (same) drug until after you have finished seven years of marketing.” According to a separate NPR article published this year, some pharmaceutical companies are beginning to take advantage of these benefits. Furthermore, it highlighted that some drugs were given orphan designation and regulatory status. The FDA’s CDER Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Designated Approvals spreadsheets and NPR indicate Abbvie Inc’s HUMIRA© as one such drug. First approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

ORPHAN DRUGS | MARCH 17, 2017

(RA) in 2002, HUMIRA© later received multiple orphan designations; in 2014, it was approved for two different rare diseases, and in 2015, it was approved yet again for another rare disease. All in all, HUMIRA© has made a profit of approximately $11.8 billion worldwide last year. Moreover, according to the same NPR article, orphan drugs have become a booming business, as orphan drug tax credits paid by the federal government totaled at $1.76 billion last year. According to Tian, one drug can actually treat multiple diseases no matter what designation. “Orphan drugs are not designated based on the compound; they’re designated for an indication, a disease,” Tian said. Tian also said there is no difference in the approval process of regular and orphan drugs. Dixon-Terry said via email, “The granting of an orphan designation request does not alter the standard regulatory requirements and process for obtaining marketing approval. Safety and effectiveness of a drug must be established through adequate and wellcontrolled studies.” MOTIVATION TO INNOVATE Asgari, however, said he understands some companies feel the need to make more money, but he still believes it is more important to really help peo-

ANOTHER LENS: Sepehr Asgari, student researcher and sophomore, looks at samples through a microscope. Asgari said he has been working on a drug to cure neonatal meningitis.

SEPEHR ASGARI | SUBMITTED PHOTO

ple. “It’s in their economic interest to do that. But, sometimes you need the more human aspect,” he said. As in the case of InvenTeam, their work also began as a result of one of their team member’s close connection to epilepsy. Cameron “Cami” Poulsen, PR lead of InvenTeam and junior, said one of her close friends was affected by epilepsy as a child. “It’s hard to see someone in that (state) … and I think seeing that really affected me more. Epilepsy has so many triggers; one of the doctors told her she had to live life in a bubble because of how often she could get triggered by heat or any lights,” she said.

Tian said she also believes that in any case, not specifically HUMIRA©, a drug cannot be truly successful if the company is only in it for the profit. “In my experience, I don’t think the company will be successful or work if their motivation is to only go after the profit,” Tian said. “I think if they can develop a drug and in the meantime make a profit from that development that’s great because they have the money to continue development for other drugs. But if their only motivation is money, it will be short-lived.” In trying to actually develop a working drug, however, there are

ORPHAN DRUGS: THE PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE Over the years, orphan drug regulation and utilization has changed. Here’s a closer look:

The United States passes the Orphan Drug Act.

1983

Australia passes orphan drug legislation.

1993 Japan passes legislation supporting the creation of orphan drugs.

BETHLEHEM DANIEL | GRAPHIC VIRGINIA TECH | SOURCE

1997

2000 EU passes orphan drug legislation.

MARCH 17, 2017 | ORPHAN DRUGS

“Every patient who has a disease deserves to have the right treatment. Just because they have a rare disease, you should not ignore them.” Wendy Tian, Senior Director other obstacles besides moral ones that are frequently encountered. Asgari said, “Bringing new drugs to market is a lot harder than it seems, especially medical devices… It’s very expensive to do that. I think it would be beneficial for all of society if somehow the whole process were made a whole lot more easy: shorter, cheaper and more accessible to more people. “With research, there’s so many new concepts and applications of drugs being discovered, but they’re just not going to market because it’s not feasible for them to do that.” OVERCOMING OBSTACLES According to Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, it now costs about $2.6 billion to not only create a drug but also have it approved. Tian, however, encounters a different problem when trying to create a new drug. “For a lot of normal drugs, you may have 1,000 patients in the clinical trial, but for orphan drugs you may have only a couple 100, which is a big

deal,” Tian said. “And some of the drugs are called ultra-orphan and you may have only a couple 100 in the whole world and only a handful of patients in the study.” Nonetheless, Tian said she believes everyone deserves to be treated respectfully and get the right treatment for a reasonable cost. “Every patient who has a disease deserves to have the right treatment. Just because they have a rare disease, you should not ignore them,” Tian said. Asgari said he is still hopeful in face of the many trials he may encounter. “For me, it’s (more important) to help people,” Asgari said. “I would personally be more happy knowing that I saved lives rather than making money.” According to Tian, it is not only important to keep developing these drugs but also vital to continue educating the next generation. “Our company has a story,” Tian said. “One day, a girl was walking on the beach, and there was a starfish on the beach. So this girl picks up the starfish and throws it to the sea. Her mom came over and asked ‘What are you doing?’ and she replied, ‘Oh, I’m putting the starfish back in the sea so the starfish can survive.’ The mom said, ‘There are so many starfish on the seashore; you cannot save them all.’ But, she says, ‘I can save this one.’ Tian continued, “The moral of the story is if you can save one patient and make a difference to their life, it’s H meaningful.”

WANT TO TAKE ACTION? You can start by donating to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).

“Because orphan drugs are so often overpriced, individuals in need of them often cannot afford them. Programs like NORD provide financial assistance to those with rare diseases.” NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR RARE DISORDERS | SOURCE

ORPHAN DRUG OR NOT?

Here are some orphan drugs that target diseases you may know.

ion

ion for inject

Solut

n beta-1a)

(interfero

Name: Avonex Treats: Multiple Sclerosis Name: Halfanotrine Treats: Malaria

Eloctate

250 IU

Name: Eloctacte Treats: Hemophilia A ALANNA WU | GRAPHIC USDA | SOURCE

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley opens investigation on the Orphan Drug Act.

Since 2000, mean orphan drug value increased by $286 million.

2010

2016 More than 575 orphan drug products have been developed.

2017

2020 Worldwide sales for these drugs are expected to reach $176 billion.

STEM DROPOUT RATE | MARCH 17, 2017

SLIPP NG OUT

SC ENCE

While there is large interest in STEM fields at CHS, it is paralleled with large dropout rate during college MANAHIL NADEEM, BETHLEHEM DANIEL | STORY

eet senior darren right now is cognitive science because Chang. For the past three it provides an interdisciplinary study summers, Chang has of the mind. I have always been inworked eight to 10 hours terested in how our minds work, how a day for five days a week to complete the cognitive processes really impact his research project on transcription our worldview and how we interact modulation at the Indiana University with others.” School of Medicine. Additionally, the intellectual “My research, at its most basic levpassion that Chang has for the sciel, is about developing a method for ences is also showcased in his extramodulating transcription through epicurricular activities. genetic regulation (chemical modifica“I am the captain of the Science tions to the DNA), mostly through Olympiad team at the high school methylation, the addition of a methyl and I am really passionate about group, or hydroxylation, the addition (Science Olympiad) since it gives a of a hydroxyl group using 600 nanogreat sense of camaraderie (and) exmeter nanobubbles made of oxygen. poses high school students to fields It’s part of a larger project that is atof science they might not otherwise tempting to normalize the negative experience,” Chang said. “I am also impacts of maternal alcohol consumpa research intern at the neuroscience tion,” Chang said via email. lab at the Indiana University School Chang’s interest in science is not of Medicine and I am completing my an isolated case. According to a Pew research project there as well.” Research study conducted in January However, despite high-achievof 2016, interest in science is increasing students like Chang, STEM ing exponentially. The study revealed (Science, technology, engineering that 37 percent of young adults ages and mathematics) majors have the 16 to 29 said science and technology highest dropout rate during college. is one of their passions. It also docuAccording to a study conducted by mented that this number increased by the New York Times in 2013, roughfive percent since 2012 and is likely to ly 40 percent of students planning keep on increasing. engineering and As for Chang, he science majors end has been interested “I feel like science is up switching to in the sciences from always a backburner other subjects or a young age. failing to get any option for (undecided) “I have always degree. The dropstudents, even if they been interested in a out rate increases lot of different fields, aren’t very passionate to as much as 60 but I think that sci- about it or even if they percent when preence stood out to don’t excel at it.” medical students, me especially in high who typically have school as a basis of a the strongest SAT lot of other fields,” College and Career scores and high Chang said. “The Resource Center school science major that I am re- counselor Ann Boldt preparation, are inally interested in cluded. This value

NOT JUST ARTS AND CRAFTS: (right) Senior Darren Chang checks a Robot Arm during a Science Olympiad meeting. The Robot Arm is one of the build events in competitions. (top) Chang checks the motor to his hovercraft. He said this is for the upcoming state competition for Science Olympiad. (bottom) With senior Cindy Lee, Chang works on the computer automated design for helicopter ribs. He said this is done in order to laser print them out of balsa wood at a later time.

APURVA MANAS | PHOTOS

MARCH 17, 2017 | STEM DROPOUT RATE

is twice the combined attrition rate of all other majors. Chang said the lack of a balance between the STEM and fine arts field, with regards to its societal perceptions, is a factor that may influence one’s decision to enter or leave the STEM field. “I think that there is an inherent misevaluation,” Chang said. “I think that currently in society people are promoting STEM fields as a way to make money and impact the world in a great way, but I think there is a balance to be struck between STEM and the fine arts and that (society) needs to reevaluate both of these fields.” Ann Boldt, College and Career Resource Center counselor, said there are many different reasons students decide to drop out of STEM programs during college. “From what I’ve seen from my time working here, students go to college with this really large passion for science, but later they realize one of two things: one being science just isn’t the right fit for them

BY THE NUMBERS In the United States,

8.6

million are employed in STEM jobs

percent of high school seniors will earn a degree in a STEM field

6.2 percent of U.S. employment is STEM-related ROBONATION | SOURCE

and the other being the field is just too difficult for them to handle,” Boldt said. Boldt also said she sees these patterns when talking to high school students. “At the College and Career Center, I see a lot of undecided students, who don’t really know what they want to do just yet. I feel like science is always a backburner option for these students, even if they aren’t very passionate about it or even if they don’t excel at it. Honestly, two things draw these types of undecided students to science: money and parental pressure,” Boldt said. Boldt continued, “In Carmel, we live in a very affluent society and many students’ parents are either doctors or engineers or somehow tied to these fields, which causes to push their children to do it as well,” Boldt said. “Students often get confused because of this because they don’t want to see their parents getting disappointed in them.” LuAnne McNulty, chemistry department chair at Butler University,

said she also sees the pattern documented in the New York Times study. “Along with my job as a chemistry professor, I also work as an adviser. At Butler, the adviser’s role is like one of a counselor. We help students with planning out their class schedules, as well as make plans for the student’s future,” McNulty said via email. “I see the same pattern with freshmen every single year. They come in energized and motivated about chemistry or biology or whatever their major is. But by the next time I meet with them, in their sophomore year, they’ve realized how truly difficult the field is and they don’t want to continue it. It’s a complete 180-degree flip.” According to McNulty, the difficulty of the STEM field is the largest factor that pulls them away. “Before anyone goes into the science field, they need to realize how difficult the path in front of them will be,” McNulty said. “They need to forget about everyone else’s opinion and truly focus on what H they really want to do.”

AMERICAN NATIONALISM | MARCH 17, 2017

PROUD TO BE ... AMERICAN?

Recent surveys show some Americans see language as a key part of our culture. What do CHS students and staff think? ALINA YU | STORY

fter moving halfway across the world from China to the United States in the summer before her sophomore year, Qitao “Rachel” Du, former English as a New Language (ENL) student and junior, took a test in the counseling center that measured her ability in the English language. “They tested me on reading, listening, speaking and writing. (For the speaking portion,) the ENL teacher gave me a comic and asked me what did I see on it, and try to tell a story,” Du said. The ENL program placed Du in Level 3, an intermediate level in the scale for fluency in English. Once the

school year started and Du stepped into the halls of CHS, she said she had a hard time adapting to her new life in the school. “I actually went through a hard time first coming to a new school. I had to adopt many new things: the language, the environment and classes in America are also very different,” Du said. According to a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, 70 percent of people in the United States felt being able to speak the national language is the core of national identity. Furthermore, out of people ages 18 to 34, 58 percent believed speaking English is important to national identity. In

STUDENTS UNITED: Gordon Copee, AP U.S. History teacher, runs through a powerpoint presentation during his B3 class. They were discussing the events that unfolded throughout the course of World War II.

APURVA MANAS | PHOTO

addition, people with high school degrees were more likely to have that opinion than those with college degrees. However, the English language is not the official language of the United States, according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook. Thus, people may question exactly what the national language is and how it plays into determining how “American” a U.S. citizen is. As a former foreign student, Du said she does not agree with the previous views. To her, the national language is not the core of national identity. She said having lived in China nearly all her life, she still sees herself as mainly Chinese and not

MARCH 17, 2017 | AMERICAN NATIONALISM

SPEAK UP!

HEIDI PENG | SPEAK-UPS, PHOTOS

What first comes to mind when you think of an American; what do you think makes someone American? “(It’s) a mix of a lot of different things. You’ll have some really nice people and some really mean people ... We’re just a mixture of a bunch of different people.”

“There are many things to being an American ... But, being an American means being free and just being able to do whatever you want.” Junior CarynGrace Horn

Senior Olive Phillips

QUICK QUIZ Take this quiz on strange facts about American culture in recent years. 1. What characteristic makes someone a “typical” American? a. There is no such thing as a typical American b. Wears Vineyard Vines c. Played baseball or softball d. Likes casserole 2. What percent of Americans believe the moon landing was faked? a. 12 percent b. 20 percent c. 3 percent d. 7 percent 3. Approximately how many languages are spoken throughout the United States? a. >300 b. 100 c. <50 d. 1,000 4. What percent of Americans believe it is necessary to speak English in order to be considered a true “American?” a. 20 percent b. 89 percent c. 5 percent d. 46 percent

1. a 2. d 3. a 4. b

American, not because she grew up speaking the language but because she understood Chinese culture. “To make people American, I think the first thing is to try and learn the culture and embrace their culture, which is how people interact with other people and the ways of living. I don’t think language is the main part of the culture. It’s probably a small part, but not the main part,” Du said. English and ENL teacher Kristin Beeson said she agrees with Du. She said she thinks culture is multifaceted and is subjective to each person, and just because someone is not fluent in the language doesn’t mean he or she is not part of the culture. “There are a variety of factors (involved with culture), and it differs from person to person, but I would tend to think anthropologically. Basically, I feel like typically commonalities, in terms of food, stories like myths and legends and literature, language, religion to some extent, could all be unifying factors within a culture,” Beeson said. According to Gordon Copee, AP U.S. History teacher, there were many defining moments in U.S. history that not only shaped American culture but also included people from various countries in hopes of freedom and a new life. Immigration dramatically increased in the mid to late 1800s, and the World Wars, Cold War and Great Depression all defined what it meant to be American.

HEIDI PENG | GRAPHIC PRRI.ORG, LIVESCIENCE.COM, CENSUS.GOV, INTEREXCHANGE.ORG | SOURCE

“There’s a wide range. It’s really extreme; that’s an American thing. Extremes are always an American thing.” Sophomore Luana Caçula “I think it lends to sort of creating, what people refer to as, the ‘cultural melting pot:’ being more inclusive of people who speak different languages and come from different cultures and backgrounds. American culture isn’t what it is without immigration and people coming in and influencing American culture in different ways,” Copee said. Still, Copee said speaking English and knowing the language would certainly be helpful, as it is the most popularly spoken language in the United States. “I think it’s certainly helpful to know English. But, I don’t think it’s in our best interests to declare it or try to make it a national language with all of the different cultures. In the United States, I think it’s important to celebrate all of the different cultures and diversity.” Copee said. Yet, as once a student who couldn’t speak English well in a new school in a totally new country, Du said she thinks being immersed in a culture is more about interacting with people. She said the language could help her learn, but it is not a major factor. Du said, “I’d like to know more about the ways people use to interact with others, and things that people should be aware of in daily life. I feel like Americans chat differently compared to how I chat with my friends from China, so I think it’s important to know more H about that.”

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(DEAF)INING HISTORY

| MARCH 17, 2017

DEAFINING HISTORY

As Deaf History Month approaches, students reflect on deaf history, culture RAIHA ZAINAB | STORY

rowing up, sophomore David Leffler lived a normal life with his family with one difference: his father, Andy Leffler, is deaf. When he was a baby, along with learning English like other children, David learned American Sign Language (ASL) and learned how to communicate with his parents non-verbally. While Mr. Leffler’s wife, Laura Leffler, interpreted for him, Mr. Leffler

said his sons learned to sign in ASL before they even learned to speak. “He’s been deaf my whole life so it seems normal to me,” he said. “I can understand him when he’s speaking, but that’s because I’ve been listening to it my whole life and I’m used to it.” To Mr. Leffler, ASL and deaf history and culture have been very important parts of his life. He said he believes it is necessary to spread

SIGNING FAMILY: David Leffler and his family have a conversation in sign language at the dinner table. Because of his dad’s hearing impairment, they use sign language to communicate in their everyday life to communicate.

DIVYA ANNAMALAI | PHOTO

HOW TO SAY “YES” IN ASL

awareness about them in order to give deaf students all of the opportunities that other students have. Every year, Deaf History Month is celebrated from March 13 to April 15. According to the New York Public Library, this month was marked by several key events including the founding of the first college for the deaf, Gallaudet University, on April 8, 1864, and the founding of the first public school for the deaf on April 15, 1817. The month celebrates deaf history and promotes awareness and appreciation of deaf culture, heritage and ASL to the general public. Andy Alka, Middle School and

MARCH 17, 2017 | (DEAF)INING HISTORY

BASIC SIGNS IN ASL

AMBER ZHAO | PHOTOS DEAFWEBSITES.COM | SOURCE

Sophomore Mark Zaki teaches basic signs in American Sign Language (ASL) with these signs and those scattered throughout the story

“Thank you”

“Hello” 1

High School Principal for the Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD), said he thinks it is very important for people to learn about deaf history and culture in order to change the perception of deafness within our community. He said, “If we could change something, it’s that perception that there’s only one way to deal with deaf people and that’s to fix them. Rather, (we should) just embrace them and give them every option possible to help them flourish.” Mr. Leffler said that he was very fortunate to grow up in an accepting family that taught him sign language and sent him to a school for the deaf. “My parents just taught me don’t give up and to work hard,” he said. Senior Alex Pitchford is a student at CHS who deals with hearing loss everyday. He was born with bilateral hearing loss, meaning his hearing is deteriorating overtime and he must use hearing aids in order to hear properly in both his left and right ears.

HOW TO SAY “NO” IN ASL

2 HOW TO SAY “GOODBYE” IN ASL

HISTORY WITHOUT HEARING

“I always have to be aware of my surroundings and safety,” Pitchford said. “In school, my education relies a lot upon my hearing aids because if I can’t hear my teachers, my grades can be affected.” When Pitchford was younger, he went to ISD before transferring to Carmel Clay Schools. However, because he wasn’t completely deaf, he found that he didn’t entirely fit in. “There was always a barrier (between) the deaf community and the hearing community and I was always in the middle so it was hard to fit,” Pitchford said. “I mean I was accepted by the deaf people and I still am, but from a deaf perspective, they see you as a hearing person and they don’t quite understand you as well.” After transferring schools, Pitchford became very self-conscious about his hearing. “I was pretty quiet and I kept to myself a lot in my middle school years and I finally started embracing it my LILLY ST. ANGELO, RAIHA ZAINAB | GRAPHIC DEAFWEBSITES.COM | SOURCE

These famous individuals impacted deaf culture and our world in big ways Thomas Gaullaudet

Gaullaudet founded the first free deaf university, Gaullaudet University in Washington D.C.

Thomas Edison

William Ellsworth Hoy

Edison lost his hearing Hoy, one of America’s first as a child, and used it as deaf baseball players, hit the an advantage to avoid American League’s first grand distractions in his work. slam and is the reason why umpires use hand signals.

sophomore and junior years,” he said. Alka said that many deaf students find they are unable to be accepted by others in their community, and the students at his school want to be treated normally. “No matter what age these students are, they want to be treated like every other kid,” Alka said. “They don’t see themselves as different. They don’t see themselves as having a handicap.” Recently, both Pitchford and Alka said they have seen a surge in acceptance of people who are deaf or affected by hearing loss. Alka said he believes the rising popularity of ASL is changing the way many deaf people are perceived within our community. “More and more young people right now are really opening themselves up and wanting to learn and to listen and to see what is going on and what has happened and what could change,” Alka said. “The popularity (of ASL) is skyrocketing unbelievably and that’s wonderful. Deaf history could come full circle real soon.” For Mr. Leffler, giving back to the deaf community and spreading awareness has been very important. He is part of several organizations including the Junior Organization for the Deaf and the Indianapolis Mayor’s Advisory Council for Disabilities. “I don’t want the world to make the same mistakes they did in the past,” Mr. Leffler said. “I think it’s important for us to learn our history and appreciate our culture so we don’t make the same mistakes we H did in the past.”

will our education system be a good apple...

New Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was sworn in Feb. 7. What could her leadership mean for a school district like Carmel's?

...or a bad one?

CARSON TERBUSH | STORY ELLIOT CHOY | PHOTO

n feb. 7, the senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as the U.S. Secretary of Education. DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman, has sparked controversy among educators and politicians alike. Erin Odya, human anatomy and physiology teacher, said she strongly disagrees with DeVos’s views. “I think she’s a terrible choice,” Odya said. “The more I read about her, the more angry I got, and it had nothing to do with the politics. It was just the fact that she’s nowhere close to being qualified to holding this position.” Hailey Patane, daughter of Carmel Clay Schools employees Dan and Cathy Patane and sophomore, said she is concerned about the effect DeVos will have on her parents and students in general. “Just the situation as a whole, (my parents) definitely do worry about (it) because by appointing her, (Trump) definitely puts all of the power for education in her hands. The fact that she doesn’t have any background and her kids went through private school, she went through private school, she just doesn’t have any experience with just plain old education as a whole,” Patane said. Despite concerns voiced by parents, teachers and students, school board president Layla Spanenberg said DeVos’s new role will not have a dramatic impact on Carmel Clay Schools (CCS). Spanenberg said, “(The school board) will continue to make our decisions for our school district with students as the center of our focus. (DeVos) taking office doesn’t impact us at this point; there aren’t any new federal laws that we have to comply with that might be different from what we’re already doing.” Although DeVos’s policy doesn’t directly affect CCS, it is important to understand how she might impact public school in the United States overall. DeVos’s policy focuses heavily on school choice, or private school vouchers. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, school choice is a concept which al-

SWAPPING SECRETARIES

How does Betsy DeVos's background compare to that of previous secretaries'?

KEY

Each vertical bar represents either beliefs toward education or experience prior to becoming Secretary of Education. Attended public high school

Business experience

Public school administrator

Pro-charter schools

Children attend(ed) public high school

Political experience

Public school teacher

Pro-privatization/ vouchers

NAME

YEARS BELIEFS/ SERVED EXPERIENCE

BEST KNOWN FOR

2017-

Being a proponent for school vouchers, winning the Senate confirmation with an unprecedented tiebreaker vote

2016-2017

Implementing Every Student Succeeds Act, working toward socioeconomic and racial diversity and equality in education

2009-2016

Supporting Common Core standards, pushing for Race to the Top initiative, a school grant competition rewarding innovation and performance

2005-2009

Pushing for the No Child Left Behind Act, creating commission to reform postsecondary schools

2001-2005

Presiding over the rise in text scores in the "Houston Miracle," pushing for the No Child Left Behind Act

Betsy DeVos

John King Jr.

Arne Duncan

Margaret Spellings

Rod Paige JESSICA MO | GRAPHIC WWW2.ED.GOV, WASHINGTONPOST.COM, LATIMES.COM | SOURCES lows students to apply their allotted taxpayer money as vouchers toward any school: public, private, charter or otherwise, instead of federal funding feeding directly into public schools. For example, a student enrolled in public school may decide to redirect their allotted funds to a private

school or charter school, as long as the student is eligible and their desired school is involved in a school choice program. School choice promotes a freemarket philosophy in which educational competition weeds out poorly-performing schools. Oppo-

How do you think Betsy DeVos will affect you? "Betsy DeVos's programs don't seem to benefit the 99 percent...The thing is, we'll probably be able to resist some of this change with the power of the local school board. She can't destroy everything from the federal government if we focus on local change."

Junior Keegan Parkhurst "In Carmel, we have a lot of support from our community. I don't see (DeVos) having a huge impact on what we can do, because if funding is taken away from public education, I think our community would step up and give us that money."

English teacher Allison Malloy "I think that her policies are going to affect me as a teacher's daughter because whatever she does directly affects my parents...Whatever she does has another direct effect on the school. Whatever that is happening inside or outside the school (directly affects) me." Sophomore Hailey Patane JESSICA MO | SPEAK UPS CHELSEA DAI, APURVA MANAS | PHOTOS nents of school choice argue public schools will lose funding overall, and federal funding going toward religious schools may jeopardize the separation between church and state. However, there is little research to back up either side and the topic is still widely debated. According to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), Indiana’s school choice program is one of the largest in the nation. An IDOE study released last month showed as of the 2016-2017 school year, 34,299 students participated in Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program. Despite its prevalence in Indiana, Spanenberg said the school board is alarmed by DeVos’s endorsement of school choice and private school vouchers. “When we take money for the vouchers, it all comes from one pot, so when money is funneled away to the private schools, that leaves far less for the public schools,” Spanenberg said. Odya said she agrees DeVos’s school choice policy may negatively affect funding at CHS, a school that already

has large class sizes and teachers without classrooms. “It could definitely cause a lot of trouble with funding in a district that already has trouble with funding,” Odya said. “I feel like this school, because of our teachers and our students and our families, that we’ve been able to sort of counteract what happens

EDUCATED IN EDUCATION: Erin Odya, human anatomy and physiology teacher, explains how the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) works. Odya showed the devices to her class for their cardiovascular unit. Odya said she disapproved of DeVos as Secretary of Education; however, she also said CHS will maintain its tradition of excellence in education through DeVos's term.

APURVA MANAS | PHOTO

when you lose funding, just because we love it here. We take care of it, we take care of Carmel, we take care of each other, because we’ve been able to throughout the (funding) squeezes that have come the past decade. If it keeps squeezing, if we keep losing more money because now it’s going to be sent to private schools, we may not be able to counteract it anymore.” DeVos’s strategy is to run U.S. education like a business: by giving each student the option of applying funding to a school of their choice, schools will be motivated to improve as they compete for students. Sophomore Eden Szydlowski said she supports DeVos’s capitalist view of education. “She is a proponent of school vouchers, which I think is a great thing because it gives people the option to go to school (where they want),” Szydlowski said. “You could take (your funding) to any school you want. My grandpa’s friend, they live in a pretty crappy area; his friend, he has a kid, and he was like, ‘We can’t afford to go to the only school in the area, which is this private Catholic school, but all the welfare kids can.’ If the funding worked (with vouchers), then he would be able to go. Instead, they have to go to public school.” Though private school vouchers are commonly used in Indiana, Spanenberg said CHS does not participate in a voucher pro-

gram. She said any new policy relating to school choice would not directly affect the number of CHS students, but would affect school funding. “Unless they change how they’re defining what a voucher is used for, it would not affect public schools. Where it impacts public schools is it’s taking the public dollars that were once going to the public schools and it’s being diverted to a voucher system. It’s pulling money away from our public schools," Spanenberg said. The IDOE’s study compared the cost of school vouchers—$146 million for this school year—to the hypothetical cost of all school choice students attending public school—$214 million. While this confirms overall state savings, they also show the loss of funding experienced by public schools as a result of the school choice program. Spanenberg said DeVos’s extreme focus on school choice prompted the school board to draft a letter for Indiana state legislators before DeVos’s confirmation, urging them not to vote for DeVos. The letter read: “We are not against parents having a ‘choice’ in education, and we believe all students, regardless of their zip code,

should be able to attend a school that will allow them to reach their potential. However, we are deeply concerned about public funds financing for-profit or religiously based schools.” DeVos, though decisively in support of school choice and private school vouchers, has demonstrated a lack of knowledge about other important educational issues. When questioned during her confirmation hearing on her stance regarding the importance of growth versus proficiency, a commonly debated educational issue, DeVos did not understand the difference between the two and had to ask for clarification. DeVos’s confusion about educational issues worries people like Odya. Odya said, “The growth versus proficiency is just her showing her complete lack of knowledge of anything education. When we were first talking about it, right before her hearings, I asked my students. All my students know the difference between growth and proficiency." Additional controversy stemmed from DeVos’s response to gun control in schools and disability funding. Though Szydlowski supports DeVos, she said some of her un-

To read a news story on the referendum, see page 9. To read an editorial on the referendum, see page 48.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: The Carmel Clay School Board discusses issues regarding the district on its Feb. 27 meeting. Board president Layla Spanenberg said DeVos's support for vouchers may present funding problems for public schools like the Carmel school system.

DIVYA ANNAMALAI | PHOTO

clear stances on educational issues are concerning. “If I were going to say that I have any problem with her, it’s that she doesn’t seem to be well-versed in a lot of issues with the actual running of public schools because she seems so into letting people go to private schools,” Szydlowski said. According to ABC News, during her time as a Michigan Republican Party chairwoman, DeVos campaigned for educational rights, especially emphasizing school choice. Though she has a political history tied with education, many people, like Spanenberg and Odya, believe the Secretary of Education should have a background in public education. Spanenberg said personal ties to the Carmel Clay School system allow her to understand and do her job better on the school board. “When Alexander, my oldest, started at Smoky Row, I wanted to better understand who developed the curriculum, who made the rules, what policies, what guidelines, I wanted to better understand how the school system functioned,” Spanenberg said. “I felt like I had to take a bigger role in my school district and make sure I could advocate for all students ... I was very much interested in advocating for everyone.” Spanenberg said DeVos’s lack of educational perspective from may be detrimental to her performance as the Secretary of Education. “I can appreciate that she’s trying to run education like a business, but students aren’t a business. Students are individuals, and if we are not looking at the role of leadership directed at the success of each and every student, I think we’re missing

the boat,” Spanenberg said. Patane said she agrees. “(DeVos) has never been a teacher (or a) principal. Had (Trump) chosen someone who actually does have experience in some way, even if it’s just going to public school, that totally could have helped because they would know the environment, and they would know just how regular schools work. But by appointing her, it’s just not going to be easy because she doesn’t have the background experience that we need,” Patane said. Now that DeVos has been confirmed as the Education Secretary, Spanenberg said the school board is focusing on the future. “(DeVos’s school choice plan) does affect programs. That is the primary reason we have to ask our community for the referendum,” Spanenberg said. “The school board, at our February workshop, passed a resolution to have another referendum vote, a special election on May 2 to continue funding to maintain what we’re doing now.” Spanenberg said the tax referendum will allow the school district to maintain funding whether or not DeVos’s school choice plan is put into action. Whatever happens as a result of DeVos’s new position, Odya said CHS will maintain its legacy of excellence in the future. “This is CHS,” Odya said. “I send my kid here by choice because it’s an awesome public school; it’s not going to stop being an awesome public school because parents yank their kids out to send them to (a private school because of the voucher program). It’s still going to be a great school.” Spanenberg said CCS will likely not be affected by DeVos’s policy, at least in the short term. Spanenberg said, “I can’t speak for tomorrow, but as we sit today, we are the same as we were yesterday. We are still implementing our guiding principles, our same policy, our same curriculum. Unless there’s some federal statute that changes, or state statute, we will continue to do business as we have been doing business, and our business is to educate students.” H

A BREAKDOWN OF THE VOTES The Senate vote to confirm DeVos was the closest in history, with Mike Pence, current vice president and former Indiana governor, casting the tiebreaking vote. DeVos was confirmed 51-50. This is a tally of the vote, with voters distinguished by party.

Republican (R)

Independent (I)

Democrat (D)

YES

TODD YOUNG

BERNIE SANDERS

Indiana senator (R)

Vermont senator (I) and former presidential candidate (D)

MIKE PENCE

JOE DONNELLY

Vice president and former Indiana governor (R)

Indiana senator (D)

VOUCHING FOR VOUCHERS Indiana is one of 14 states with voucher programs. While vouchers allow economically disadvantaged students to attend different schools, they also generate controversy. How have vouchers made an appearance in here in the past? How many students in Indiana used vouchers to attend private schools?

29,148 students in 2014-2016

32,686 students in 2015-2016 How many students in Carmel used vouchers to attend private schools? students in 2014-2015

40 39

Eligible voucher schools near us

Hamilton County

Indiana Academy, Legacy Christian School

Marion County Brebeuf Jesuit Prepatory School, Cardinal Ritter High School

students in 2015-2016

percent of parents said a percent of voucher religion environment was the schools spend government top reason for choosing their dollars more efficiently student's private school than public schools

percent of voucher users are from suburbs

JESSICA MO | GRAPHIC INDIANAPOLISPUBLICMEDIA.ORG, CHALKBEAT.ORG, DOE.IN.GOV | SOURCES

MUSICAL

MARCH 17, 2017 | PERFORMING ARTS

MADNESS

Check out some of CHS’s top performing arts groups and their upcoming events KALEA MIAO | STORIES

JAZZ 1 THE MUSIC MAKERS: Members of the Ambassadors, Jazz Ensemble 1 and Camerata Orchestra perform and practice. These groups are comprised of the best musicians in the school.

CARMEL CHOIRS, KALEA MIAO, GRACE ZHANG | SUBMITTED PHOTO, PHOTOS

onight in the auditorium is Jazz Expressions, the first jazz band concert from the CHS jazz ensembles. The concert will feature all four groups. According to Jazz 1 Director Michael Pote, Jazz Expressions features one specialist each year, and this year’s guest artist will be Scott Belck, professor and director of jazz studies from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. “(Belck is) a big time jazz artist,” Pote said. “He comes over and spends a couple days with the students, teaches them, works with them, then plays on the concert.”

Belck will be featured on the first two songs in the set. These songs were chosen because Belck has previous experience with them and is easily showcased on the songs, Pote said. Meanwhile, the other two songs in the set were chosen for different reasons. “Black Friday,” a jazz rock song from the band Steely Dan, was chosen because of its sound and guitar part, Pote said, while “Wind Machine” was chosen because it is a personal favorite of Pote’s. “I always try to play a Sammy Nestico chart, and ‘Wind Machine’ is my favorite from college,” Pote said. “It’s one of my favorite that we’ve ever played. H It’s fast, has a lot of notes, so it’s fun.”

THE SETLIST 1) “I Remember Clifford” by Benny Golson 2) “And That’s That” by Count Basie 3) “Black Friday” by Steely Dan 4) “Wind Machine” by Sammy Nestico

SPEAK UP! What’s your favorite song on the setlist and why? “My favorite song that we’re doing is called ‘Wind Machine.’ It’s by Sammy Nestico, who is my favorite big band writer, and he just turned 93 years old and is still writing.”

CAROLYN ZHANG | SPEAK UPS, PHOTOS

“My favorite song from the Jazz 1 setlist is ‘And That’s That’ and I like it because it’s just a really nice medium swing and I feel like it really features the rhythm section.”

Jazz 1 Director Michael Pote

Emma Hedrick, Jazz 1 Pianist and junior

“‘Wind Machine’ because it is really high tempo and exciting and crazy at points, but it’s still very fun to play.”

“My favorite song would also be ‘Wind Machine’ because it’s just got a good rhythm to it and is very fun to play.”

Michael Doman, Jazz 1 Saxophonist and junior

Patrick Cavanaugh, Jazz 1 Trombonist and sophomore

PERFORMING ARTS | MARCH 17, 2017

arch 25 marks the annual “Evening with the Accents and Ambassadors” performance, featuring two of the top choirs at CHS. It will be at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. “It’s just a feature evening, it features Accent and Ambassadors, not just the competition shows but all the other material they’ve performed all year,” choir director John Burlace said. “It’s kind of a light hearted evening of pop music and singing and dancing.” The Ambassadors will perform their competition set and a few other show choir songs (listed on the right). “The first part of the show takes us from Indiana, trying to find bigger opportunities out there so they wind up in New York, so the second half of that is a reflection of New York City before, during, and after H 9/11,” Burlace said.

SPEAK UP! What’s it like balancing two sets? “In terms of the stress level, I don’t think it’s any more or less than usual. It’s just an interesting twist on what we’re bringing to competition.”

Ambassadors Director John Burlace “Well, at first it was really difficult, but it’s definitely been worth it because you feel really accomplished, but you really do have to stay on task and not procrastinate at all.”

Ambassador and sophomore Savannah Fisher CAROLYN ZHANG | SPEAK UPS, PHOTOS

CAMERATA SINGING STRINGS: Camerata members rehearse during class. The players in this group are among the best in the entire school and balance literature for two ensembles.

GRACE ZHANG | PHOTO

MARCH 17, 2017 | PERFORMING ARTS

THE AMBASSADORS

THE SETLIST* 1) Indiana Medley “Back Home Again in Indiana” and “Footloose”

GRAND FINALE: The Ambassadors perform their closing song of their set, which focuses on world unity. This features a medley of songs and an array of costumes.

CARMEL CHOIRS | SUBMITTED PHOTO

SPEAK UP! What’s the most challenging piece on the set and how do you overcome its difficulties? “The Tchaikovsky String Serenade. There’s four movements in that one and every one of them is hard. I’ll have to point out things that are marked that they may have missed and a lot of those musical aspects.”

Camerata Director Thomas Chen “The first movement of Tchaikovsky’s String Serenade, and it’s hard because you don’t know when to come in and you need to count, but I overcome this by playing with a metronome.”

William Cheng, Camerata violinist and junior CAROLYN ZHANG | SPEAK UPS, PHOTOS

2) New York Medley “Amazing Grace” and “We Are The World” 3) Other show choir material - “California Dreaming” and “What a Wonderful World” *Doesn’t feature all songs

he camerata orchestra will have their concert on March 27 at 7 p.m. in the Studio Theater. According to director Thomas Chen, 1) “Mass No. 2” Camerata is an elite class of Symphony by Franz Schubert strings. This concert, Chen said, is 2) “Serenade for String a way to showcase Orchestra, Op.48” these players. by Pyotr Ilyich “I think the full orchestra gets a lot of recTchaikovsky ognition because ... most of the time we perform as a full Symphony Orchestra,” Chen said. The group will be playing two full works, uncommon for most high school level groups, and will also be performing with the Ambassadors in their first piece. “In Camerata, they’re very proficient from a technical aspect, so they can play the notes and rhythms generally just fine, and they know how to practice at that level,” Chen said. “They know how to practice a lot of H it too to get those.”

THE SETLIST

COMEDY SPORTZ | MARCH 17, 2017

WORKING TO IMPROV(E)

Comedy Sportz members discuss the details and challenges behind their improvisational shows NYSSA QIAO | STORY

n thursday and friday, the Comedy Sportz team will have a match at 7 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. Since 2000, the team has been the only club here to perform scenes to an audience using a non-scripted method called improvisation, or “improv.” The name “Comedy Sportz” stems from the structure of the club: two different teams competing in a match to win the most laughs from the crowd. Although the performers may make the comedy seem effortless, there is a lot of practice that goes into being able to perform improvisation. Jacob “Jake” Greene, Comedy Sportz co-team captain and senior,

said when he did not make the club as a freshman, he spent the rest of that year working to improve his improvisational skills. “I saw my first Comedy Sportz match in eighth grade…I really liked it and it was something I just kept following throughout my freshman year. I joined a club that some members of the team started, which is called Comedy Kids Club…which is basically practicing the improv skills,” Greene said. “It definitely wasn’t something that was just spurof-the-moment. I definitely worked hard at getting better at improv before I got on the team.” Comedy Sportz sponsor Jim Peterson said the situations teams get

FUN AND GAMES: The Comedy Sportz team celebrates during a practice match. According to Jacob “Jake” Greene, Comedy Sportz co-team captain and senior, games involve two teams and include different types, such as scenic and music games.

SELENA LIU | PHOTO

put in are often unusual so members have to be willing to put themselves out there in a vulnerable way. “You have to be willing to make things up on the spot, and you aren’t trying to be funny. That’s kind of the goal of the whole thing, but if you work at trying to be funny, then it usually isn’t. So it’s finding that humor in being convincing with what you’re doing,” Peterson said. “Just living truthfully in that unusual circumstance that the audience has suggested is usually where the humor comes out.” Peterson, who helped start the Comedy Sportz high school league here, said to prepare for their matches in February through April, the

MARCH 17, 2017 | COMEDY SPORTZ

team spends the entire first semester training. For instance, they use pantomime to help establish a setting without the use of props and scenic improvisation to create characters quickly and convincingly while performing on stage. Greene said, “That’s the best way you can really develop those skills, (which) is using them again and again and again. We would practice the different games you would play (in matches)…and just by the repetition, it would help get a lot better. The first time you play a new improv game you’ve never played before, it’s not going to be perfect; it probably won’t be funny, but if you give up there, you’ll never be good at it. So many games I’ve started out just not liking at all because I just didn’t think I was good at them, but practice and practice and practice helps so much.” Chuck Burton, co-team captain and senior, said he agreed. “Getting comfortable with the games, comfortable with making things up in front of other people and just repetition helps you become more comfortable with the whole process, and with more comfort comes more proficiency,” Burton said. Greene said skills needed during improvisational comedy are represented with an acronym called PEACH—pay attention, ensemble

GAME TIME

Check out the different types of games that go into a Comedy Sportz round.

Music Games Based off a rap or song and teams work together and respond using rhymes

Scenic Games Gimmick Games Use an audience suggestion to make a three-minute comedic scene

KALEA MIAO | GRAPHIC

Two teams compete to see who can come up with something the quickest

JAKE GREENE | SOURCE

first, agree, commit and have fun. “All those things kind of work together if you want to have a successful scene or improv game,” Greene said. “So like, P: pay attention. It’s seeing everything that’s going on around you; it’s part of quick thinking and being able to use suggestions from the audience, as well as things your partner may say or do in an action and picking up on those and being able to create a scene.” This year, about half the members of the team are seniors, meaning the vacant spots for next year’s

DID YOU KNOW? Improv has become a way to teach students to become better at public speaking and quick thinking. KGED.ORG | SOURCE

team will be filled with members with less experience. “We will definitely make sure that we’re helping the younger members of the team so that they have everything they need to build the team up in future years after the seniors have graduated, because ComedySportz, even after you’ve graduated, you still care about it, so you still want them to do well once you’re gone,” Greene said. Peterson said he hopes members of Comedy Sportz take away not only improvisational skills, but other skills that will apply to their life outside of the club, such as a sense of confidence as well as a sense of public speaking. For his part, Greene said he has learned a lot about teamwork by working with club members in his three years in Comedy Sportz. Greene said, “You learn to rely on each other and you learn to help one another in a way that is just so beneficial, and I’ve been able to see how that’s translated over to group projects and just working with people in my life in general. There’s so many takeaways you can come up with, how you really work with people and a big thing in improv is, the more you give to someone else, the more they can give to you, and I feel like that’s something that really H applies in real life, too.”

WORLD GUARD | MARCH 17, 2017

FLAGS IN FLORIDA

World Guard to attend Southeast Power Regional in Orlando, Fla.

KALEA MIAO | STORY

arning seven consecutive Indiana High School Color Guard Association (IHSCGA) State Championships and four Winter Guard International (WGI) World Championships since its founding in 2003, the CHS World Guard ranks among the best in the nation. The group is currently preparing for the WGI Southeast Power Regional in Orlando, Fla., which will take place on March 25 and 26. Color guards across the nation will be competing in the Regional. According to color guard director Rosie Queen, one of the major reasons why the CHS guard is making the long trip to Florida is to see their competitors. “Two of our main competitors nationally, Flanagan High School and Tarpon Springs High School, will be at that regional to compete with us,”

Queen said. “It will be a nice way to see some of our main competition before the big World Championships in April.” Last year, CHS came in second to Tarpon Springs in the Scholastic World division. This division is the highest class school color guards can compete in within the six classes offered: Scholastic A, Independent A, Scholastic Open, Independent Open, Scholastic World and Independent World. High schools fall under the scholastic classes, while other groups fall under the independent classes. Furthermore, each division denote difficulty, with World divisions typically having the most experienced members. Regardless of class, the concept of the show is most important to success, and Queen said this year’s theme will be especially unique. “We are doing a gorgeous piece of music called ‘Arabesque’ by De-

KEEP YOUR GUARD UP: Color guard members perform in the WGI Indianapolis Regional. Stella Mo, World Guard member and senior, said she is very proud of this year’s piece.

CARMEL GUARD | SUBMITTED PHOTO

bussy,” Queen said. “It offers us a chance to show our feminine softer side and expressive qualities, which is a departure to some of the shows we have done the last few years.” Stella Mo, World Guard member and senior, said she agrees. Mo said she is unsure of what the audience’s reception will be to their theme, but still hopes it is successful. “This year’s show concept is very different from what the World Guard has done in years past, so I’m more anticipating mixed reactions, but I don’t know,” Mo said. “Even though it’s different, I’m excited to see where it goes and I think it’s going to be an awesome show.” Although the primary focus will be competition, this trip will also offer new opportunities to the guard members. Unlike previous competitions at places like Bowling Green, Ky. or Dayton, Ohio, according to Queen, the Southeast Power Regional will also serve as a reward for those involved in the World Guard. “It will be a lot of fun for the kids and staff to go to sunny Florida instead of a regional that we have been to every year,” Queen said. “It will also give them the chance to socialize with a whole new region of color guard kids just like them.” With all that is coming up this season for the World Guard, both in terms of competition and leisure, Annie Bitting, World Guard member and senior, said this trip will be bittersweet. She said it will be her last Regional with the World Guard. “My favorite part is getting to perform in front of people and making a connection with people in the audience,” Bitting said. “I want to work hard to be sure I won’t have any regrets at the end of the season and I can end my senior H year on a high note.”

M A R C H 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 | E N T E RTA I N M E N T B R I E F S

Entertainment Briefs

TERESA CHEN | BRIEFS

Beauty and the

Beast

comes out in theaters today. This version is a live-action remake of Disney’s original 1991 animated film. Starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, this film tells the story of a young woman taken prisoner by a Beast in his castle.

IMDB.COM | SOURCE

BASKING IN THE GLORY Carmel Clay Historical Society will host Carmel High School’s 1977 IHSAA Boy’s State Basketball Championship celebration. What: Former players will share their personal memories of the championship. A video of the game and the community pep session will also be shown.

UPCOMING ALBUMS Zara Larsson “So Good” Today

PLAY THE COMPLETE WORKS OF

William Shakespeare

What:

Fast-paced production containing 37 plays in 97 minutes

When: March 21 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Trey Songz “Tremaine the Album” March 24

Where:

Where: Flix Brewhouse

Nelly Furtado “The Ride” March 31

Studio Theatre 4 Center Green, Carmel, IN 46032 IMDB.COM | SOURCE lobby) (across from the Tarkington

When:

Today to April 1 7 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays 2 p.m. on Sundays

Tickets: $5 Free for children 12 and under

CARMEL CLAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY | SOURCE

The Chainsmokers “Memories... Do Not Open” April 7 METACRITIC | SOURCE

CIVICTHEATRE.ORG | SOURCE

“

m e a n

y o u

h a v e

t o

b e

MENTALLY STRONG ”

w h e n

y o u

g o

t h r o u g h

c h e m o t h e ra p y

SENIOR MATT COOPER

MARCH 17, 2017 | COMEBACK STORIES

A RUN ON

RECOVERY RD

Several student athletes at this school have suffered from major medical problems, have coped with their ailments and have used their experiences to come back even stronger.

or most chs students, feb. 16, 2016 was just another normal day, but for Matt Cooper, student athlete and senior, it was a day that would change the rest of his life. On that day, Cooper was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. The diagnosis presented Cooper with a low chance of survival, and it meant that for the next year he would have to give up many aspects of his life in order to get healthy, including running. Cooper said, “It was definitely shocking. It doesn’t really hit you until you’re in the hospital just laying there.”

ALINA HUSAIN | STORY

ELLIOT CHOY | PHOTO

COMEBACK STORIES | MARCH 17, 2017

Cooper’s treatment included chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and months in the hospital. But even as Cooper began to undergo treatment and spent most of his days in his hospital room, he did what he could to stay active. “As an athlete, if you’re a cancer patient, you have to stay in your room so you can’t really do anything too active. But I was lucky enough to have enough room in my little hospital room to have a stationary bike placed in there, so that’s how I stayed active during it,” Cooper said. Cooper is not alone in his efforts to continue exercising even while he was sick. Anastasia “Tasha” Geisler, student athlete and junior, was diagnosed with an accessory navicular bone last year. After undergoing surgery, Geisler had to take more than six months off from running, but even as she watched from the sidelines, she did what she could to stay active.

Geisler said, “If you ever went to a cross country practice, you’d see me hopping around on one foot, doing anything I could to stay active and get out all of my energy.” For both Cooper and Geisler, the road to recovery was not short or easy, but both continued to fight and were able to slowly become healthy again. For Cooper, after months of treatment, he finally beat all of the odds and entered remission. Although Cooper continues to deal with some of the lasting effects of his cancer, he is now back on his feet and running again. According to Cooper, beginning to run again was not a simple process and was at times both mentally and physically draining. Cooper said, “(Running) kind of sucked at first. When I first got out of the hospital, I couldn’t even run a mile, but it’s kind of just been a slow progression getting my strength back, because during the bone marrow transplant you can’t even get out of bed because you feel

like crap. So it’s just a matter of being patient.” According to athletic trainer Brittani Moore, student athletes who are coming back from major medical problems often find that the mental aspects of recovery are the most challenging. Moore said, “At first, typically (athletes) are a little more scared, especially with the bigger injuries, they’re a little more scared and timid, so it’s really more of a mental game

Q & A Harrison Adams (pictured below), soccer player and senior, missed close to two years due to a serious lower back injury, called a pars fracture

When did you realize something was terribly wrong? So it happened in a showcase freshman year and it was such a physical game. My back hurt, but I started the next game before coming off because it just hurt too much. I thought it was only going to be a short term injury but, it never went away. I missed about a year and a half of soccer.

Did you ever fear for your playing career? If I wouldn’t have done physical therapy, I would never have been able to come back and play. It was so difficult to stay motivated because it’s tedious and it’s so painful. And I never thought I would be as physically strong as I am now back when I was hurt.

What did it feel like to finally step onto the field fully healthy? My junior year of high school I was finally able to play, but I was so scared I was going to reinjure myself the whole season. But, eventually that feeling goes away and I gained more confidence throughout the year. And then this year, especially on senior night, reflecting back on my career, I felt as if I had become the best player possible, something that seemed so far away and not possible just two years ago. ADAM GOSTOMELSKY | Q & A HARRISON ADAMS | SUBMITTED PHOTO

MARCH 17, 2017 | COMEBACK STORIES

to let them know they’re fine, which is why a lot of the drills we do during the therapy process is sports related specifically to their sport so that they have confidence that they’ll be able to do it.” Additionally, in 2015, a study from the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Sports Science Institute reported that the mental effects of illness and injury on students can be extensive, ranging from annoyance and frustration to anger and depression depending on the severity of the problem. Cooper said, “The hardest part is probably the mental (side), because my long run used to be 10 miles, and all of a sudden you’re diagnosed with cancer, and all of a sudden you lay in bed all day and, you don’t even have the strength to get out of bed. It takes such a mental toll on you because you start thinking down on yourself almost, so definitely the mental aspect is the hardest part.” While both the Sports Science Institute and Moore’s experiences show that athletes must overcome

significant mental barriers on their awareness and better pain manageroad to being healthy, studies also ment skills, but it is likely that they found that many athletes may will also come back with a new percome back from injuries stronger spective on their sport and more emothan before if they have a good suptional strength. port system and proper treatment. This held true for Geisler as she According to Cooper, the support said, “I think (my injury) helped me from his friends, family and become a better runner beespecially his teammates has cause it made me really love been an important part of his what I’m doing. It helped recovery process. me know my limits, but also DID YOU KNOW? “It’s everything (having showed me how tough I am.” their support) because if I Similar to Geisler, CooMatt Cooper completed his didn’t have the cross counper found that through his comeback from cancer by try and track teams, and if I recovery process, not only did recently committing to Miami didn’t have teams that I knew he discover more emotional University (OH) to run cross I was running for and that strength, but he also found a country for the Redhawks. were including me in pracnew outlook on life. tices, even though I’m not ofCooper said, “I’m defiMATT COOPER | SOURCE ficially on the team yet, that nitely mentally stronger, but does a lot and that means a I think everyone gets mentally lot,” Cooper said. “Without stronger. I mean you have to the cross country and track be mentally strong when you teams’ support, I really don’t go through chemotherapy, know where I’d be or what I’d be but also I look at life in a whole differdoing right now.” ent perspective now, especially because Furthermore, according to the I wasn’t given that great of a chance to aforementioned 2015 study, athletes live, and you just get a sense of what’s who are returning from a major injury really important, like family and what’s may not only have a heightened body maybe not that important.” H

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK These athletes won their battles with cancer to not only return, but thrive

Eric Berry Kansas City Chiefs Safety Diagnosis: Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2014

Jon Lester Chicago Cubs Pitcher Diagnosis: Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma in 2007

Returned: 2015 NFL season

Returned: Late in the 2007 MLB season

Accolades Named to the 2015 and 2016 Pro Bowls and is Since: now the highest paid safety in the NFL

Accolades Started and won the Red Sox World Series clinching win Since: in 2007 and was part of the Cubs team to break the 108 year World Series drought

THESPORTSTER.COM, ESPN | SOURCE ADAM GOSTOMELSKY | GRAPHIC

Mario Lemieux Former Pittsburgh Penguin Center Diagnosis: Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1993 Returned: Late in the 1993 NHL season Accolades Played on the same day as his last chemotherapy Since: session and finished the season as the leading scorer

H O O S I E R S got

HOOPS It’s March Madness season, and with the men’s basketball tournament ending, we reflect on Indiana's basketball legacy.

This is Indiana Basketball

SHIVA VALLABHANENI | GRAPHIC BASKETBALL-REFRENCE, MAXPREPS, WIKIPEDIA | SOURCE

s the indiana high school basketball tournament continues with Semi-State, take a look at the impact basketball has on Indiana and the way that Indiana changes basketball. From the famous movie "Hoosiers" to some of the top collegiate basketball teams

and rivalries, to some of the best high school basketball in the country, "Hoosier Hysteria" is a major component in basketball culture. Here are some of the highlights of CHS's basketball history, Indiana's emphasis on the sport and its influence on basketball on the nation as a whole.

OLD VICTORIES CHS has earned three State Championships total, two of which were under Head Coach Scott Heady. Heady will leave at the end on the 2016-17 season.

STATE TITLES

OUT OF 6 APPEARANCES

1977* 2012 2013

22-7 RECORD 25-2 RECORD 21-2 RECORD

*The first State title was under Eric Clark, whom Eric Clark Activity Center is named after.

"Once I made a decision, I let them know, and they’ve kind of been working with me, and I’ve been working both jobs for the past week or two. Obviously, we have work to do (at CHS) and finish our season. That’s the priority, it’s our number one."

Head Coach Scott Heady Shepherd played at CHS where he was coached by his father, Bill Shepherd Sr, scoring 2,465 points in four years. He was Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1968.

BILLY SHEPHERD

WE OWN THE

BIG HOUSE 13 of the top 15 largest high school gyms are in Indiana (based on capacity)

THE CARMEL LEGACY

1 New Castle

9,325

Hammons attended CHS, averaging 8.3 points and 7.8 rebounds as a sophomore. He now plays for the Dallas Mavericks.

2 East Chicago

8,296

3 Seymour

8,110

4 Richmond

7,635

5 Marion

7,560

CHS

3,870*

AJ HAMMONS

Josh McRoberts is a CHS alumnus from the class of 2005 who currently plays for the Miami Heat. In his senior year, he led CHS to a 21-4 season and a trip to the Sectional Championship game.

*more at convocations

HIGH FLYER: Edward "Eddie" Gill, men's basketball player and junior, goes up for a shot against Noblesville in the second round of the Sectional. The team won and continued into Regionals.

MIKE JOHNSON | PHOTO

MARCH 17, 2017 | HOOPS

WELCOME TO THE

BIG LEAGUES A brief look at basketball's top Hoosiers. HIGH SCHOOL: Springs Valley

LARRY BIRD

HIGH SCHOOL: Lawrence North

MIKE CONLEY HIGH SCHOOL: Park Tudor

YOGI FERRELL HIGH SCHOOL: North Central

ERIC GORDON

HIGH SCHOOL: Hamilton Southeastern

GARY HARRIS

HIGH SCHOOL: Pike

COURTNEY LEE

HIGH SCHOOL: CHS

JOSH MCROBERTS

DISC GOLF | MARCH 17, 2017

DISCOVERING A NEW SPORT Students at CHS lead the way as disc golf and ultimate Frisbee grow JESS CANALEY | STORY

risbee sports have an increasing presence around Indiana and in Carmel. Disc golf and ultimate Frisbee have made their mark on some of the students attending CHS through clubs and leagues the athletes participate in. Jackson Holforty, disc golfer and senior, discusses the new popularity of the sport among CHS students in recent years. “I have noticed (disc golf growing) here within casual players. A lot of people will just come out and play a few rounds at Northview,” Holforty said. “At Carmel it’s more of something to just have fun. Hamilton County has a disc golf union which is a little more competitive. The guys in that play almost everyday, and we’ll link up on Facebook, so that’s really the main place to play with people.” Stuart Anker, ultimate Frisbee player and sophomore, said he also has noticed the increase of players in his sport. “The swim team plays ultimate (Frisbee) pretty frequently. We went to state last year and we lost to Center Grove, but we’ll probably win this year. The sport definitely seems to be growing in popularity,” Anker said. He said the reason for the possible increase in popularity within Frisbee sports is the ability of the game to be practiced and played almost anywhere. “It’s a game that every person can play because it’s so easy to play. Literally all you need is a few friends, a Frisbee and an open field,”Anker said. In the case of disc golf, it may appear harder to get out and find a course to practice on, but getting used to the different types of discs, distance drivers, fairway drivers, mid-range discs and putters is just as important.

BY THE NUMBERS

901

Jackson Holforty’s professional ranking

976

Edward “Eddie” Ward’s professional ranking

1000 the highest rank among professional disc golfers PDGA.COM | SOURCE

“For someone starting the sport, I’d say don’t pick a driver that has super high speed just because you think it will throw far. For beginners it’s better to start out with slower speed drivers,” Holforty said. “The best way to improve is to start with a putter, and don’t cheat yourself. Try to throw straight and look up some motions online, so you’re not cheating yourself and you’re getting better form.” Edward “Eddie” Ward, disc golf player and senior, emphasizes the importance of practicing throwing each of the different discs in order to get better at the sport. “The different molds of discs all fly in unique ways, so you have to learn how each of the discs in your bags fly depending on the angle you throw it at with different wind conditions or if it’s uphill or downhill,” Ward said. While disc golf and ultimate Frisbee are both played with Frisbees, the

two sports differ in multiple ways. In disc golf, the rules are almost the same as ball golf except you are using discs. Each disc serves a different purpose in a player’s bag. The goal is, from the start, to get the least amount of throws possible to get the disc into the basket. Each time the player throws the disc, he or she must throw from where the disc landed until they make it into the basket. Ultimate Frisbee, on the other hand, is a mixture between football and soccer. The objective of the game is to score a touchdown or to throw the Frisbee to someone in the zone. In this regard, it resembles football. The soccer aspect comes in with the constant motion and continuous nature of the sport itself. Basic rules of ultimate Frisbee include not being able to take any steps whatsoever after a player catches the Frisbee. Teammates will run around as the player attempts to throw to one

GAINING GROUND

As disc golf’s popularity grows at CHS, see where the sport got its roots 1970

Jim Palmeri and his friends start playing disc golf in New York.

1976

The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) is created

The National City of Rochester Disc Golf 1974 Tournament is created.

1979 First qualification Disc Golf tournament is held with a $50,000 prize.

2002 Commisioner Pat Govang creates a ranking system. The year ended with 2,590 PDGA pro tour created. events and seven events 2015 1983 Innova Disc Golf created. on the PDGA pro tour.

KELSEY ATCHESON | GRAPHIC

PDGA.COM | SOURCE

MARCH 17, 2017 | DISC GOLF

THE MAGIC NUMBERS

A look at the different things affecting disc performance SPEED How fast the disc travels. Fast discs cut better and work better upwind while slower discs are more accurate.

GLIDE

How much loft or lift the disc has. More glide is better for a beginner, but it will affect accuracy in wind.

TURN

Turn is how much the disc curves right in the start of the throw. +1 means more resistance, -5 is less.

KELSEY ATCHESON | GRAPHIC of them. If the Frisbee touches the ground at all or goes out of bounds, then it results in a turnover. Ward suggests to anyone interested in playing a Frisbee sport to get cheap equipment and just try throwing the Frisbee around to get comfortable with the discs. “I would tell someone who wants to try it out to go to Play It Again Sports (or) online, get a few cheap discs and go out to the closest course or field to them, probably with some friends, and just throw around. Nothing too competitive,” Ward said. “For anybody who’s trying to play and get better, just keep playing and the imH provements will come.” HIGH FLYER: Jackson Holforty, disc golf player and senior, throws a disc after school at Northview Church. Holforty is highly ranked among disc golfers. MIKE JOHNSON | PHOTO

MAP IT See where some of the local disc golf courses are 1 Dr. James A. Dillon Park 6001 Edenshall Lane, Noblesville 2 Lawrence W. Inlow Park 6310 E. Main St., Carmel 3 Northview Church 12900 Hazel Dell Parkway, Carmel

Hazel Dell Pkwy

East 146 St.

East 136 St. 3

MAPS.COM | SOURCE

FADE

Fade is opposite of turn and is what affects the turn to the left. Lower numbers equal a straighter finish.

INNOVADISCS.COM | SOURCE

PERSPECTIVES

S C H O O L B OA R D TA X R E F E R E N D U M | M A R C H 1 7 , 2 0 1 7

REPEAT THE REFERENDUM

The school-board proposed tax referendum will lead to positive improvement at CHS; students should support it. HILITE STAFF | EDITORIAL

OUR VIEW Students and parents should support the new tax referendum that calls for a three cent increase from 2010. If the referendum is not passed, it would lead to significant cuts in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget, leading to the disbanding of many non-graduate requirement activities.

THE ROOT OF THE REFERENDUM Take note of how referendums are passed. School Board decides to change school tax policy for the future.

School Board votes on whether to add referendum to the ballot

If vote passes, School Board decides on what date / ballot referendum occur

IL FA

for the fact that CCS has the second lowest per pupil funding in the state. In fact, as a whole the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funding per student is $786 below the state average. Often, people are opposed to tax increases in general, but this increase of three cents is relatively minor considering the many benefits it will provide. CHS staff will also face cuts, increasing the size of each class in a school, that already has problems with population. Therefore, there is no reasonable point to oppose it. To prevent further confusion, students and parents should attend school board meetings and inform others about the importance of supporting the referendum. Decisions made at school board meetings ultimately affect us the most, and therefore we should be aware of what is happening at them. If we spread the word and encourage voters to vote in favor of the referendum, it will provide innumerable benefits to CCS and allow CHS to H maintain its academic legacy.

PA SS

n dec. 31, the school tax referendum of 2010 will expire. On May 2, the citizens of Carmel will vote on the new tax referendum. If the proposed referendum fails to pass, Carmel Clay Schools will be forced to cut programs and staff members. Though some may be confused about the purpose of the referendum, it is clearly a good choice that will benefit CHS and all of CCS. The proposed referendum suggests a tax increase of three cents per $100 of assessed property value, raising the amount taxpayers pay from 16 to 19 cents. Though many people are opposed to the tax increase, they should realize the increase is a relatively small amount, especially since these changes will generate approximately $14.5 million for the school, according to Superintendent Nicholas Wahl. Many students have demonstrated confusion about the proposed referendum, mistakenly believing it will lead to the decline of the AP program at CHS. However, the referendum will cause the complete opposite. If the referendum is passed, it will allow for Carmel to take on more AP programs, as well as other programs not required for graduation. It is important to realize that this referendum is a replacement for a previous referendum already passed in 2010. Furthermore, the proposed 3 cent tax increase is only to make up

School Board can suggest different tax policy in successive referendum

Tax measures are implemented by the county MANAHIL NADEEM | GRAPHIC

(NOT) REFERENDUM RESULTS

CCS.K12.IN.US | SOURCE

The referendum threatens the employment of many teachers. Here are the estimated number of layoffs. High School

CCS.K12.IN.US | SOURCE

Middle School

Elementary School

Teachers

Support

Admin

Teachers

Support

Admin

Teachers

Support

Admin

MARCH 17, 2017 | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Senior Matthew Simons responds to the February article “An Educated Investment.” MATTHEW SIMONS | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

ear editor, antees to meet the full demonstrated financial need of a I found the Feb. 23 article “An Educated Investment” student, was out of reach to the middle class. This could on private colleges to be grossly misrepresentative of not be further from the truth. According to UPenn’s actual student experiences. It made several claims I Office of Financial Services, the school meets 100 perbelieve to be false. cent of financial needs and will even provide a median Firstly, it argued that the prestige of a university can comamount of aid of $15,935 to families with incomes up pensate for high tuition rates. While this principle may hold to $220,000, who Investopedia states are well within the true for certain fields, such as liberal arts, this cannot be genranks of the upper class. Perpetuating the belief that prieralized to all graduates. According to a data analysis by the vate colleges are unaffordable only discourages financially Wall Street Journal in 2016, the difference disadvantaged and middle in earnings between majors from selective class students from applying and nonselective universities in STEM-reto schools that are actively lated fields was negligible. In those fields, making themselves accessitalent can be cultivated by and recognized ble to low-income students. in public universities as well as private Not only does UPenn offer ones. At Purdue, for example, major coma considerable amount of panies such as Google and Hulu recruit aid to financially deserving programming talent because the school students, which includes produces qualified graduates. those occupying the middle Secondly, the article made the asserclass, but it even attempts tion that UPenn is “the top-ranked school Check out the story at http:// to recruit students from in the country to study both computer scihilite.org/50103/topstory-2/ disadvantaged backgrounds ence and business.” This is also false. Acthrough the Penn Early Exan-educated-investment/ cording to U.S. News and World Report, ploration Program. a widely accepted college ranking system, Although universities UPenn is ranked only 19th in computer such as UPenn may be critiscience and 24th in undergraduate engineering. In fact, its cized for favoring wealthy students, such universities are computer science program is ranked one place above Purdue, certainly accessible to the middle class and are not the an institution with a dramatically lower cost of attendance. end-all-be-all of college admissions. H Finally, the article stated that UPenn, a school that guarMatthew Simons, senior

America’s Biggest Threat

WANT TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR? Letter must be submitted to letters@ hilite.org, RoomC147 or Jim Streisel’s mailbox All letters should be signed Letters cannot contain personal attacks and can be edited

America’s BFF

News

Russia

GILLIAN PAXTON | GRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

KEEPING PROTEST ALIVE

| MARCH 17, 2017

PRO2TEST Protest is one of our most American rights; we should never be denied of it. MANAHIL NADEEM | COLUMN

“T

ell me what democracy looks like… this is what democracy looks like,” the protesters shouted. Fingers numb, feet frozen and voices loud and clear, 400 people, myself included, marched on Butler University’s campus in the common name of unity and peace. I marched to the rhythm of our chants—chants of freedom, chants of love, chants of America. That cold February afternoon, for the first time in my life I truly experienced the essence of the freedom to protest. In that congregation of people, I felt empowered, my opinion validated and my voice heard. That day I marched for the people from the nine countries banned from entering the United States by Donald Trump’s executive order and I was proud of it. That day I used my most American right: the right to protest. In fact, I have never been prouder to call myself American than when I was marching with 400 people that day. A bit of silver lining at the onset of the Trump administration has been the groundswell of activism by hundreds of thousands of Americans taking to the streets to face off against a president, and a Republican establishment, they see as reckless, divisive and destructive. While I am overjoyed our voices are being heard, Republicans have started introducing measures in at least 18 states to intimidate free speech by criminalizing it. I feel the Republican government is using fear tactics to get their political message across, and limiting the right to protest is just one example of this. Protest is the most American right, and we should never be denied

GUESS WHAT? I’M LIBERAL DID YOU KNOW?

There have been 15 planned protests against Donald Trump’s presidency. MSU.EDU | SOURCE

it. While Republicans say the initiatives are aimed to ensure public safety, the fact of the matter is these efforts would crush a key American principle when it is needed the most. A bill in Colorado seeks to intimidate environmental activists who oppose the expansion of oil and gas drilling in the state by making it a felony, punishable by up to 18 months in prison, to “interfere with the action of any equipment used” for oil and gas extraction and distribution. In Indiana and Iowa, lawmakers have proposed stiff punishments for demonstrators who blocked roadways. One lawmaker in North Carolina recently sought to make heckling elected officials a crime. While none of these bills appear to have enough support to pass, the fact Republican lawmakers are trying to pass these bills is demeaning to the American public. Many opponents of protests state that it never works. This idea is innately false. According to the London School of Economics and Political Science, who conducted a study on the effectiveness of protest, found that demonstrations can directly change political agendas by disruption. In an attempt to settle the issue of protest, politicians put it on the political agenda. Instead of seeking to penalize their critics, lawmakers have a duty to listen to them, perhaps make an earnest effort to find common ground and address the root causes of the grievH ances that have so angered and mobilized Americans. The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Manahil Nadeem at mnadeem@hilite.org.

CAUSING CHANGE See how peaceful protest has made substantial change throughout American history.

Cause

HISTORY.COM | SOURCE

Protest

Effect

1773

Taxation on tea by British Empire

The Sons of Liberty dump tea in the Boston Harbor

America gained independence only three years later

1920

Women denied right to vote

Alice Paul and many other suffragists protest for women’s suffrage

The 19th amendment was passed two years after the protest.

1963

Segregation in America

Martin Luther King Jr. protests for civil rights for African Americans.

Racial segregation made illegal across America

CONFIRMATION BIAS

| MARCH 17, 2017

SHADES OF GRAY AND COLOR People should look beyond their points of view and hear others out. RAIHA ZAINAB | COLUMN

“I

would never be friends with someone who I began to actually do research on what others had to supports Donald Trump” were words I found comsay, and doing this opened me up to new opinions and ing out of my mouth during yet another political a new dialogue I simply wasn’t exposed to before. This discussion with my friends one afternoon. My vague “other side” was not oblivious or unknowledgfriends, a majority of whom share my political beliefs, able, but rather had different priorities and connodded their heads vigorously and then proceeded to trasting points of view on how to approach differadd even more similar opinions until we were drownent situations. Not only this, but I came to find ing in both frustration against others and superior feelthere was no “other side” whatsoever. Every single ings of ourselves for having the “better” belief system. person I encountered had their own personal outFor the majority of the past year, I couldn’t comlooks and frames of reference that shaped the way prehend certain viewpoints. Surrounded by friends they saw the world. and news sources with similar political views, I The world was gray…and blue and yellow and red couldn’t understand how anyone could and white and black and brown and evbe quite so dumb to disagree with me. ery color in between. The world did not Had they not seen all the statistics, vidhave two sides, but seven billion, with a BREAKING THE BIAS eos, headlines, news articles and facts I’d different one for every single person. seen? Had they just been so ignorant as Expanding my vision on some topConfirmation bias affects the way people to ignore them? Had they not reasoned ics, I changed a few of the beliefs on view political events. through any of their opinions? That simwhich I was previously set in stone. - Confirmation Bias is the belief that your view ply had to be it. There could not have I learned to defend the beliefs I do is the only one supported by fact due to a lack of possibly been any other answer. possess. I found why different people representation of any other perspective. I had a perception of myself and my have different ideas, and this gave me - One reason for this bias may be the difference friends as greater than, condemning such a deeper understanding of the world in the way people consume news and ignorant and outrageous ideas. Little did around me. Seeing this made me more discuss politics based on their political leanings. I know, I was the ignorant one. open about changing my ideas and Liberal 100 As I rarely ventured out of my sphere working with those who don’t agree. Mixed of beliefs, I’d never fully seen any of the So, no matter what stance you 80 Conservative points other people would try to make or personally may take, listen to other heard the reasoning for differing opinpeople, particularly the ones who have 60 ions. I’d done my research, but it may opposing views than yourself. Participerhaps only present one side of the pate in healthy conversation and de40 story. I assumed the “other side’’ had conbate, and be open to changing what veniently looked past these crucial details you believe in. You may be surprised 20 I’d seen, even though there were often to hear what others have to say, and different opinions I may have also conyou may be surprised to see you may Fox H veniently looked past. The assumption of even agree with them. MSNBC CNN News a “knowledgable” side and an “oblivious” The views in this column do not necessarily side left me in the dark of these “oh-so-igreflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach norant people”. I was seeing the world in Raiha Zainab at rzainab@hilite.org. black and white and the occasional gray. All of this isn’t to say I didn’t try to understand other people, because I did. I never particularly enjoyed this 20 40 60 80 100 view of the world; however, it was one Read the full column Percentage of people who only say they only I was encompassed by and had begun discuss politics with other Liberals/Conservatives online: hilite.org/50347/ to adopt as my own without even realGILLIAN PAXTON | GRAPHIC topstory-2/shadesofgray/ izing it. Herein lies the danger of only PEW RESEARCH, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN | SOURCE fully hearing out one side. Percentage of people who find source trustworthy

READ IT AND WEEP

SENIOR PRANK | MARCH 17, 2017

WHERE’S THE SENIOR PRANK? The tradition of a harmless senior prank should continue. KELSEY ATCHESON | COLUMN

here have been years where senior pranks ability to walk at graduation or, in extreme cases, expulsion. didn’t go awry. For example, one year all the Scary? Yes. However this is how those in charge must seniors lined up to shake hands with Printreat these situations when pranks hurt people’s feelcipal John Williams, creating a line all ings, create messes for custodians or reflect poorly down senior hall. It’s pranks like these administration on the school. As I said earlier, the trust between the approves of because nothing inappropriate happened administrations and seniors regarding senior pranks and no one was hurt. has been broken. So many times these acts of foolishness are So seniors and subsequent classes, it is your job thought to be a staple of the stereotypical American to start rebuilding that trust. This means not doing high school. However, when can you remember a sucany senior pranks that lead to something negative. cessful senior prank from a CHS class before you? It may even mean doing something positive as a That is due in part to the administration’s hesitance group effort, like going to a women’s softball game toward allowing the seniors leniency to actually do the till the point there is no more space to fit another senior prank. About 10 years ago, some seniors graffitied person or even doing some unique fundraising efnumerous different signs around Carmel, fort that benefits the Riley Children’s which is vandalism, aka, a crime. After Hospital and Dance Marathon. that, the administration, understandably, The only way to get to a point where JUST A began to crack down on pranks leading senior pranks again become a CHS tradito mischief and harm. The trail debacle tion is to start with the senior class this last year doesn’t help the case for allowyear. Trust won’t be built overnight so Even harmless pranks can have consequences. ing seniors to partake in this fun bonding that means the subsequent classes must tradition many other seniors do. follow in this year’s footsteps. EventuIn 2012, seniors from Cascade High School in As of right now, senior pranks that are ally administration will bend the rules to Hendricks County covered their school in harmless, positive and follow handbook work with students. rules are not punishable. But the moment We all are Greyhounds, and while this the prank derails and becomes mean, year’s seniors might not get a huge senior harmful or inappropriate, normal punishprank like everyone has once imagined, Post- it Notes. ment will be enforced. According to Amy it doesn’t mean CHS will never see this In response, five seniors were suspended. H Skeens-Benton, Assistant Principal and tradition again. someone who has been with CHS since The views in this column do not necessarily she was a student, these misbehaviors GILLIAN PAXTON | GRAPHIC reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach WTHR | SOURCE means one will face suspension, the inKelsey Atcheson at katcheson@hilite.org. EMILY DEXTER | GRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE A gorilla escaped from the zoo Really? APRIL FOOLS! Aw, rats. and is coming for our house!

MAKE CHS GREAT AGAIN

PRANK

AS A CHILD

NOW

Gorillas are critically endangered, the nation is at odds and finals are coming up faster than you think!

Is nobody going to yell “April Fools?”

MARCH 17, 2017 | VIRTUAL REALITY

A NEW REALITY

Virtual reality can offer a wide range of new possibilities. SHIVA VALLABHANENI | COLUMN

mmersed in a game called “The Solus signers and cinematographers are figuring out how VR will DID YOU Project,” I was enthralled in the level of narrative play a role in redefining conventional methods of storytelland problem-solving in the game. Through this KNOW? ing. As storytelling has evolved in the past, it will evolve now immersive experience, the benefits are far more as well. The question is, how will that take place now and than just an experience. It’s a way to grow. By using a human36 percent into the coming years? The problem many designers curcentered design of storytelling, the player is able to take risks of teachers rently face is the fundamental changes in storytelling in VR. and make decisions, improving the understanding of the said they As storytelling exhibited itself orally in the past, the structure world around them. On the plus side, Virtual Reality (VR) expect their of storytelling was linear. There was a beginning, middle and is also a bit addicting. Being in a virtual world with countless school to end. With radio and cinema, this convention of storytelling things to learn, VR will be the future of education. It will be adopt virtual carried over, leading to the stigma of linear storytelling. Now the future of storytelling. VR allows storytelling to take the reality in video games and VR are starting to challenge that convennext leap forward as it can fully transport audiences into the classrooms tion. VR introduces an immersive simultaneous narration, a world of their narrative. in less than nonlinear form of storytelling which games have embraced Currently, VR seems like a medium for simulation—a five years, for the past 10 years. medium where people can travel to other locations, play with while 28 I never would have thought storytelling and narratives weapons without any real consequences and a place where percent said to be the apex form of VR before I used it. With VR’s abilpeople can create experiences. As I started playing games in they never ity and great capacity for storytelling, I hope it will become VR, I realized while VR can be used for creating experiences, expect their a medium that will allow people to step into a different it offers something more valuable. As more and more game school to perspective. VR allows storytelling to take the next leap developers are coming to terms with VR, they are understandadopt it. forward as it can fully transport audiences into the world ing VR will become one of the best mediums for storytelling. H of their narratives. SAMSUNG | Present in human cultures for ages as an oral process before The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of SOURCE the advent of writing, storytelling captures pictures, images, the HiLite staff. Reach Shiva Vallabhaneni at svallabhaneni@ and, most importantly, feelings. Over hilite.org. time, these campfire tales have led to an evolution of stories, taking advantage of the technology at hand. As stoLearn about the advantages to introducrytelling mediums have evolved, first ing VR to the classroom. with cuneiform writing to now with video games and film, the storytelling 1. Learning by doing is more industry continues to grow. engaging and memorable. VR is at the start of its reign in VR Studies have shown that VR caters technology media. With so much to all three learning types (visual, potential for storytelling, game deauditory and tactile), making lessons 2. VR provides little room for accessible to all students. It also helps distractions. students remember more information. The immersive nature of VR education makes it difficult to get distracted by phones or assignments 3. VR can make abstract or for other classes, leaving students distant concepts tangible. fully engaged. By experiencing lessons first-hand, like for example, seeing historical #1 people and places, students can 4. You can be a trendsetter. more easily grasp concepts that Currently, only two percent of are confusing or difficult to conteachers across the nation use VR, nect with. although upwards of 80 percent believe it would be beneficial. GILLIAN PAXTON, EMILY WORRELL | GRAPHIC SAMSUNG | SOURCE

WHY USE VIRTUAL REALITY?

Trend ies t Teache r

PASS INTO THE IRIS

15 MINUTES

MOVIE MAGIC: (TOP) Junior Justin Park discusses a shoot of “Rhapsody Rouge” with actors while filming. (SECOND) Park directs a cinematographer in a different film. (THIRD) Principal actors in Park’s film, sophomores Ayden Stewart and Madeline Hatfield, rehearse choreography. (BOTTOM) Choreographer and junior Elise Winn directs Hatfield and Stewart in a dance sequence.

JUSTIN PARK | SUBMITTED PHOTOS

INDEPENDENT FILMS

Learn more about some of the more successful and well-known “indie” movies.

Juno (2007)

Received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Ellen Page), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, which it won.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

During filming, the movie used five identical yellow Volkswagen T2 Microbuses.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Stephen Chbosky, the author of the novel the movie was based upon, also wrote the script for and directed the film.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Junior Justin Park discusses his film with an actor and cinematographer. Park said he believes he enjoys filmmaking because of his artistic family.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The Bible passage Ezekiel 25:17 quoted in the movie was actually fabricated and doesn’t exist.

APURVA MANAS | PHOTO

IMDB | SOURCE CORY STEELE | GRAPHIC

Q&A with junior Justin Park, a student filmmaker making his own movies CORY STEELE | Q&A

MARCH 17, 2017 | VIDEOGRAPHER

Can you talk a little bit about your movie? The movie is called “Rhapsody Rouge.” It’s a little bit of a complicated story about...a high school student dealing with reality and fantasy and about his relationship. It’s a project that me and some guys I’ve worked with before (are) doing outside of school, not for a grade, just to make a film. It’s not a musical, but it kind of has....a dance sequence, so some trace of a musical. I kind of got inspired after watching the trailer of “La La Land.” But yeah, many people draw a connection between

that film and this; I guess there are some similarities.

to work with (on each movie), even actors—they’re all students.

Can you explain how the movie is completely student-led? The one thing that we tried to push for this project was that everything from the pre-production to the post-production would be all done by students. We had people composing, we had a production designer who sort of...well, we didn’t get sets, but we sort of got locations and all those things, and we had a costume designer picking out the costumes, choreographer making the dance sequence. Of course, the guys I used

How did you get into filmmaking? My parents both went to art school; they both had that art background...we always went to (art) museums. I kind of knew that I was always going to do something in the art field. My first exposure to that theatre and film world was in my middle school (where) I was in the “Wicked” musical. I really love that aspect of how you can produce art while working with a group of people.

Q&A WITH JUSTIN PARK

ON CAMERA

LITEBOX

PERFECT PITCH | MARCH 17, 2017

L I TEBOX

PERFECT PITCH Karlyn Doty, varsity softball team pitcher and sophomore, pitches a softball in a warmup exercise during practice. The first match of the season will occur on Tuesday at Cherry Tree Softball Complex against Hamilton Southeastern High School. SELENA LIU | PHOTO