HiLite 10.17

(I,ITE . . .

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL

inside • The pros and cons of Carmel’s round-a-bouts, Page 2 • Orchestra’s busy schedule this month, Page 3 • A look back at some of our key varsity football players, Page 8 • Indepth feature on texting, B1

marching band to perform at semistate We bring you the most current coverage on our performing arts department. see page 3

www.hilite.org

520 E. Main Street

Carmel, IN 46032

Volume 54, Issue 4

October 17, 2008

School board, teachers reach contract impasse during negotiations The last time the school board and teachers reached an impasse was in 2006. We dug through our archives. Here’s then and now

Then

v.

Now

WHY

Keep up with inflation rates and insurance costs

8

8

To remain competitive with other districts’ salaries 8

8

Described as frustrating, tense and contentious

Described as more amicable than the last impasse

WHAT

8

8

June 2005 to Aug. 28, 2006

June 2008 to ?

WHEN

hilite archives / source

by cathy chen cchen@hilite.org Teacher contracts for the Carmel Clay school district expired after last school year, and because the teachers and the school board could not agree on a new contract, teachers at this school are currently working without one. The school board declared an impasse, meaning the two sides could not agree and they requested that a mediator be brought in to help resolve the contract issues.

Although this may seem to resemble the situation three years ago, school board president Stephen Backer said both parties are handling the negotiation process very differently.

“Last time, it’s my understanding-I wasn’t in it until the end- it was very contentious. People weren’t speaking

to each other. It was pretty nasty,” Backer said. “This time, we’re all speaking to each other… I think, at least from our standpoint, there certainly is no animosity.”

According to Karen Taff, member of the Carmel Clay Education Association and histor y teacher, the key issue on which the teachers and the school board disagree is the financial package. “In a broad sweep, that would be issues of salary, insurance, that sort of thing,” Taff said. “The teachers believe that the package that we put forward is something that is based on the ability of the school board to pay.”

Under wood said that the administration requested a mediator from the Indiana Education Employments Relations Board (IEERB). She said the IEERB sent

a letter to her, informing her that they have assigned a mediator to the situation.“In the past, it would just take forever,” Underwood said.

“The mediator set mediation for Nov. 12 and 13.”

Taff said the administration did not call in a mediator three years ago during the teacher contract negotiations, so she does not know exactly how effective it will be.

“One would hope that that would be a positive experience… We’ve done mediation in the past, and, you know, it has the opportunity to achieve results, I guess,” Taff said.

As to the effect this negotiation process may have on students, Backer said he hopes that there’d be no effect whatsoever, but Taff said it’s still too early to tell if the teachers will need to demonstrate

A Shift in Priorities

like they did last time.

“You always worr y that these things might distract the public from really looking at what our schools, teachers and students do, but I would say that impasse is not a negative. It is simply looking for a third party to assist in the process. And we could have gone on and continued to work like we were but then it does get more frustrating,” Underwood said.

Backer said,“This kind of situation is very unfortunate where you’re forced to negotiate with people that you respect, admire, and 364 out of 365 days you’re all working together, and it’s a very unnatural situation that we’re in,” Backer said. “We think a great deal of the teachers and what they do and hope this can be resolved quickly.” Additional reporting by Brittani Wheeler.

Shopping green may not be so environmental

Students reassess career goals due to recent economic crisis

by aili arnell aarnell@hilite.org

EVELYN FORBEs / photo

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE: Rachel Cera, marketing and fashion merchandising teacher, gives a presentation during one of her marketing classes.

According to business teachers, while they think that students are reassessing their career paths, most are not completely dropping their future goals.

ehman Br others, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and American International Group (AIG) are all prominent financial institutions that were in

economic crisis by the numbers 700 billion dollar bail-out

package approved by Congress The House of Representatives voted 263-171 on the package

The Dow Jones index dropped almost 778 points one day before the plan got approved Every American could receive

2000 apple pies with money

from bail-out package

know and tell

forbes.com / source

4

number of people who played Darth Vader (body, face, voice and breathing)

crisis in September. While it is no surprise Wall Street executives and stock brokers are nervous about the recent economic situation, the worry and apprehension has also spread to students across the country.

As the economic state worsens, more and more students are reassessing their career goals in the financial sector due to recent events. This school’s students are no exception.

Senior Nick Cooper, who said he originally was thinking about pursuing a career in investment banking, has now decided to look at his other options. He previously had taken business classes, including accounting and AP Computer Science, and plans to take personal finance next semester.

H o w e v e r, b u s i n e s s t e a c h e r Debbie Lesjak said that she thinks most students are worried but not, like Cooper, changing their career path just yet.

“Students are following the news very closely with the recent changes in the economy. (I think) that they are just trying to determine whether this will affect them long term after

41,806

different spoken languages in the world today.

53

percentage of Europeans who speak another language in addition to their native language fluently

9

percentage of Americans who speak another language in addition to their native language fluently

they graduate or in college for now,” Lesjak said.

Although teachers have not changed their curriculum to suit student’s dynamic ambitions, they have integrated current events in their classrooms. Economics teacher Michelle Foutz said that incorporating current events in class has provided real world examples and explanations to the book.

“All of these things, talking about the money supply and the effect of higher and lower interest rates on borrowing and how that af fects growth in the economy, that’s something that is part of our curriculum,” Foutz said. “Sometimes I feel like they read these terms, they read these definitions in the book, and they think that these are only things economists care about, but they’re starting to realize these are things that touch their lives every day.”

Overall, Lesjak said that students are becoming more aware and vocal about what’s going on in the economy in her business classes.

“More of my students are talking about the economic situation, when in previous years they were not

concerned,” Lesjak said.

Regardless of the state of the economy, business classes have provided information for students on what they would possibly want to pursue as a career. Cooper said that he took business courses as background knowledge before he started college.

Leskjak, Foutz and Cooper said they agree on the fact that the economic situation affects all students, especially seniors who are currently applying for student loans for college.

“The problem right now is that banks are holding on to their cash, and that is creating a lot of lending problems,” Foutz said.

“That is really going to affect everyone in the economy.”

Even though the recent economic situation has worsened, Cooper said he has not ruled out investment banking completely.

“I’m not going to be graduating for another four years of college,” Cooper said. “There’s still plenty of time for things like the bailout or other public policies to greatly impact the economy.”

see “ gree n ” o n page 2

Green facts 8

tons of mercury released each year by compact fluorescent 8 light bulbs

4

28

8

how many times more energy used to create a reusable bag than a traditional grocery bag steven chen / graphic Wall street journal, naturalnews.com, fox news / sources

For the complete reviews, see pages B3 and B4.

672

The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica F

B-

Blindness starring Julianne Moore and Mark A Ruffalo

“Jobs, baby, jobs.”

-Hillary Clinton, referring to the “Drill, baby, drill” chant of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, at a Pennsylvania rally

preview

B

A

go online

Ceremony of Blood Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 1, 7 and 8

Storm Front

by Jim Butcher

Godless

by Pete Hautman F

100

percent increase of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years produced by ethanol production

F

B

A

As always, you can find the latest reviews on the most popular movies, CDs, restaurants and books online.

www.hilite.org

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BY tracy sun tsun@hilite.org

Walking through the hallways of this school, one may see the occasional “Go Green” shirt or recycled handbag. These purchases may be fashionable and trendy, but some believe that they are not necessarily helping the environment.

According to one report in the New York Times, some 35 million Americans regularly buy products that claim to be earth-friendly, including items varying from organic beeswax lipstick from the west Zambian rain forest to Toyota Priuses.

George Ohmer, sponsor of The Healthy Environment (T.H.E.) Club, said, “I think it is great and amazing that people are finally beginning to jump on the bandwagon. I do believe that all of these followers are helping. They are bringing so much attention to the cause. Some people do need to be better educated on what to do to properly assist the environment though.”

Consumers have embraced living green, and for the most part the mainstream green movement has embraced green consumerism. But, even at this moment of high visibility and impact for environmental activists, a splinter wing of the movement has begun to critique what it sometimes calls “light greens.”

Critics question the notion that we can avert global warming by buying so-called earth-friendly products, from clothing and cars to homes and vacations, when the cumulative effect of our consumption remains enormous and hazardous.

Page 2 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • News

GREYHOUND NEWS BRIEFS superintendent The alternative school program received a grant toward the program from the Clay Township trustees according to Superintendent Barbara Underwood.

This expansion of the Carmel Clay Alternative E d u c a t i o n Program located in the modular classroom behind Clay Middle School was one Barbara of Underwood’s Underwood goals at the beginning of the year. Now, the administration is one step closer to achieving that goal.

“The trustee’s office – the Clay Township trustees - have been very interested in what we are doing and I went and met with them a month ago. They had lots of questions and they just weren’t sure, then they asked me to come back last week and gave us $50,000 for next year. It will add at least one more staff member starting in January so we can expand the (alternative school program) a little bit,” Underwood said.

Underwood said that this grant will really help the program, but said that it would be great if more grants would be given in the future.

To figure out the complete allotment of funds Underwood said that she was scheduled to meet with Assistant Principal John Newton, who has been involved with the program for five years. He said that he has several ideas to bring into the discussion. Underwood said that there will be some ideas ready for implementation in January. “(The alternative school program) ser ves some kids ver y well,” Underwood said. By Brittani Wheeler

Principal Starting last year, the administration has put emphasis on doing what Principal John Williams calls “walkthroughs,” in which administrators visit a number of classrooms and spend only a few minutes in each.

Administrators will continue to do that this year.

“We’ve been doing (walkthroughs) for a while, but seriously doing them, this is the second year,” Williams said.

Freshman Katie Bosler said that she has had several administrators walk into her classes recently, including Williams and Assistant Principal Amy Skeens-Benton.

She said, “I think (the administrators) like doing it. They talk to the students and see how they’re doing.”

Each administrator has a goal of doing 10 walk-throughs per week, according to Williams. Williams said he is happy with the current number of walk-throughs but that the administration just needs to maintain that number.

Williams said he has done over 120 walk-throughs already this year. “(Walk-throughs) are just opportunities for administrators to be in the classroom, see what’s going on. Our teachers do such wonderful things that it’s nice for us to see those,” Williams said.

Bosler said she appreciates the administrators making this effort.

“They’re always smiling and greeting you,” Bosler said. “And I think it’s nice that they’re interested in what we’re doing.” By Amy Flis

CORRECTIONS and clarifications From the 10.3 issue In the Debate beat, the meet against Brebeuf Jesuit High School will begin around 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 11.

In the story “Recent Southern weather reminds Carmel to take precautions,” Assistant Principal Doug Bird said that emergency drills, not severe weather drills, are every month.

In the Feature Story “Hidden Truth,” Avery Hollenback is in Algebra II. In the Acumen story “Troops to teachers,” math teacher Dawn Laumeyer was incorrectly identified as retired from the Marine Corps.

Orchestras to perform with guest soloist

Green, from Page 1 Alex Stef fen, the executive editor of Worldchanging.com, a Web site devoted to sustainability issues, said, “There is a very common mind-set right now which holds that all that we’re going to need to do to avert the large-scale planetary catastrophes upon us is make slightly different shopping decisions.”

The genuine solution, critics like Steffen say, is to significantly reduce one’s consumption of goods and resources. It’s not enough to build a vacation home of recycled lumber; the real way to reduce one’s carbon footprint is to only own one home. Another example, buying a hybrid car won’t help if it’s the aforementioned Lexus, the luxury LS 600h L model, which gets 22 miles to the gallon on the highway; the Toyota Yaris ($11,000) gets 40 highway miles a gallon with a standard gasoline engine.

16-, 17-year-olds to work election day polls

By SUsie Chen susiechen@hilite.org

Michelle Hu / Photo

MUSIC TO MY EARS: Orchestra Director Soo Han rehearses “Musica Mobilis” with Symphony Orchestra. All the orchestras will perform at Hilbert Circle Theatre on Tuesday, where the composer of the piece performs with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

ext Tuesday, all the high school and three middle school’s orchestras will perform at Hilbert Circle Theater, home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO).

Zach De Pue, concertmaster of the ISO, will solo with three students in Symphony.

Yifan “Peter” Hua, concertmaster of Symphony Orchestra and senior, said, “The opportunity to play (at Hilbert) is simply tremendous and spectacular. It’s a professional hall so everything just sounds that much better. Everything just comes alive at Hilbert.”

Orchestra Director Soo Han said he has been looking forward to it since the beginning of the school year.

“I think it has a potential to be the highlighted orchestra event of the year,” he said. “It’s very rare for school programs and orchestras to take on something so big and something so demanding at the beginning of the year.”

The theater granted CHS to play there after Han contacted the administration there. Han said, “In terms of students’ side of things, it’s just a lot of work getting ready for this. We are very aware and know the sanctity of playing at Hilbert Circle. You don’t want to go and play bad at Hilbert because it’s a sacred performance.”

In fact, students have been preparing for this since before the start of school with a week of rehearsals. He said, “That’s when we handed out the music, so since then we’ve been going at it. We start at a different level than anybody else does so that’s all part of it for us to

start really high and just go even higher from there.”

Han has background experience in orchestra, but said that he has never tackled anything like this with a high school orchestra program since no high school has ever performed at Hilbert.

In addition, Han said that he is excited to work with De Pue, who is an up-and-coming young performer.

“He’s just going to take the music scene by storm in just a little bit here, and we’re very fortunate to have someone like Zach in Indianapolis and for him to be willing to do something like this with our students at Hilbert Circle,” Han said. Along with De Pue, junior Hong Yang “Jimmy” Sun, senior Tianyi Zhang and Hua will be accompanying him in a solo on Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Four Violins.”

According to Han, Symphony Orchestra will also play a composition by local composer Jim Beckel, who plays trumpet for the ISO. The pieces that will be featured include “Musica Mobilis” by Beckel, Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings,” the first movement of the “Mars” by Gustav Holst and “Orange Blossom Special,” an improvisation fiddle piece with De Pue. Both Han and Orchestra Director Rachel Tookolo will conduct the orchestras with the middle school directors conducting their respective orchestras.

The concert will last approximately a little over two hours. Han said, “Hilbert Circle here is the premiere performance hall in Indiana. It’s the home of the Indiana Symphony Orchestra and a gorgeous hall with great acoustics and I’m really excited that the students at CHS have an opportunity to plan on the stage because it’s just magic.”

st. olaf college orchestra

hilbert Circle Theatre

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By Steven Chen stevenchen@hilite.org

Private, liberal arts college in Minnesota 92-member orchestra founded in 1906 Embarked on first tour in 1949 under direction of Donald Berglund Second Philharmonia Orchestra formed in 1976 Performs annually in the United States, along with tours of Europe and Scandinavia www.stolaf.edu / source

Hilbert Circle Theatre, originally named Circle Theatre, opened in 1916 as one of the nation’s first grand movie palaces Circle Theatre opened on Oct. 12, 1984 as the home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, which began in 1930 under direction of German conductor Ferdinand Schaefer It has featured many leading entertainers, including Tommy Dorsey, Spike Jones, Frank Sinatra, Rudy Vallee, Tex Ritter, Glenn Miller and Erroll Garner www.hilbertcircletheatreindy.org / Source

At 5 a.m. on Nov. 4, while some students are sleeping, junior Luke Bunting will be at his assigned precinct’s polling office, setting up for when the doors open at 6 a.m. for the voting to begin.

Bunting said, “Being able to work the polls is an extremely awsome opportunity.”

According to an article in USA Today, the Nov. 4 election will require nearly 2 million pollworkers nationwide; this large number has election of ficials nationwide encouraging high school students to work the polls Luke during election day. Indiana is Bunting one of more than 40 states that is following this trend.

On Aug. 31, 2004, the Hamilton County Election Board unanimously agreed to let 16- and 17-yearolds work as precinct officers. Social studies teacher Alicia Smith said via e-mail that the Election Board approached teachers a few years ago about making students aware about this opportunity.

She said, “Traditionally, it is hard to get enough people to work the polls. Therefore, if they can encourage students to work the polls, then they can hopefully get them coming back and working, as well as taking an interest in politics. Students also tend to have fewer barriers to being available to work. It can be a valuable learning experience for students to see all that goes into administering an election.”

Bunting said he took advantage of this opportunity because he wanted to get involved even though he isn’t old enough to vote. “This upcoming election is really important,” he said.

The students will work from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.

According to Bunting, this is the only drawback to the situation. “I’ll have to make up (school) work, but (working the polls) will help me get involved in the election and in politics,” he said. Bunting also said that although the hours are a bit long, he did not consider it a deal-breaker.

He said, “It’s a long day, but I know that I’m going to have fun regardless, and it will help prepare me for when I vote in the future.”

According to Smith, Congress sets the election date so there are no other options for students who want to work at the polls. She said, “I believe it can be a valuable experience, so it is okay for students to miss a day of school. I hope they can learn more about elections, as well as a greater appreciation for their civic duty to actively participate in politics.”

Not only will students have the opportunity to participate in the voting process, they will also receive monetary rewards for their efforts. Clerks are paid $95 with an extra $20 for food. Judges receive an identical payment, with an extra $5 for accompanying the Inspector to the Judicial Center Tuesday evening with the results.

The form to apply is on the Hamilton County Election Office’s homepage but it is the student’s responsibility to turn in the forms to the Hamilton County Election Board. “They also will have to attend a training (session) and provide documentation for attendance for it to not count against Skip-a-Final,” Smith said.

Another way students can get involved is by campaigning for a specific party. Bunting said he encourages other students to take part in this upcoming election. “There are a lot of advantages that come along with this situation,” he said. “You get to be involved in something that is quite historic.”

AP Statistics classes to attend career fair

By Sara Rogers srogers@hilite.org On Nov. 4, AP Statistics students, including senior Alexandria “Allie” Weller, will have the opportunity to get out of the classroom and go on a field trip to the IUPUI Statistics Career Day on the IUPUI campus.

“I think the field trip will be interesting; I’d like to see how statistics is used in the real world,” Weller said.

IUPUI annually hosts the Statistics Career Day for high school and college students, as well as teachers and parents.

“The whole purpose is to bring in speakers from different fields to show how statistics is involved,” AP Statistics teacher Matt Wernke said.

Around six speakers come to the campus to deliver short presentations about their career and how it relates to statistics. Along with the speakers, companies, colleges and other groups give out information on different career choices and options with relevance to statistics. Students

can ask questions and interact with professionals currently working in career fields they wish to pursue.

The field trip is one way Wernke said he helps alter the “boring” stereotype associated with statistics.

“I think math is exciting on its own in the fact that it deals with real world data,” he said. “It applies to nearly every career field such as engineering, physics, pharmacy, biology and business.”

Wernke also provides real-world data for students to analyze during class to help keep them interested and to portray the subject as more than just graphs and numbers.

Weller said, “I think that statistics is like any class, it’s only boring if you make it that way. I try hard to keep focused and pay attention in class so I can maintain a good grade, so that leaves little room for boredom.”

Weller’s class analyzed the relationships between SAT scores and GPA to help students see how people use statistics in the real world.

“In class we have used a program called TI Interactive on the

computers which allows us to look at graphs and data in a new way,” Weller said.

Nicholas “Nick” Pearson, AP Statistics student and junior, said his teacher is also making an effort to make the math course more intriguing and interesting.

He said, “(My teacher) has tried to make class more interesting by showing us videos of some of the lessons we’re learning (as opposed to) lecturing.”

According to Wernke, concepts learned in statistics can be applicable to real-life scenarios.

“The biggest misconception is that the only field that uses math is math and the only field that uses statistics is statistics, which isn’t true,” Wernke said.

Although students often label statistics as a boring class, the IUPUI Statistics Career Day field trip gives students the opportunity to relate the subject to life outside of the classroom. “Statistics are used ever ywhere,” Wernke said. “It’s really not just boring.”

Michelle Hu / PHOTO

THE REAL WORLD: Junior Nicholas “Nick” Pearson finishes a project in his AP Statistics class. The two teachers plan to take students to the IUPUI Statistics Career Day to teach the applications of the subject.

News •Friday, October 17, 2008 • Page 3

PLAN (Pre-ACT) Test on Nov. 1

Band to compete Oct. 25 Group particpates in first ever ISSMA Semistate competition

By Hope Boyer hboyer@hilite.org The 22nd annual Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) State competition is just around the corner for this school’s marching band and color guard.

But, before the group reaches State, it must compete in the ISSMA Semistate competition on Oct. 25.

This is the first year the marching band here has ever competed in the Semistate competition.

According to Richard Saucedo, director of bands and performing ar ts chairperson, the Semistate competition is just another weekend that the band has to compete in.

“It’s our job to make sure at the end of the week we’re showing at least a week’s improvement, if not more,” Saucedo said.

According to Jessica Hof fa, member of the marching band and senior, the Semistate competition will provide a good tune-up.

“ISSMA (Semistate) is like our trial run before we actually have to compete for the real deal. It helps us individually and as a group. On (Oct.) 25th, I hope that we can perform just as well as we have been.

By Michelle Yun myun@hilite.org Last year, senior Kevin Wang earned a perfect composite score on the ACT. Though he took both the SAT and ACT, he said he prefers the ACT because he did better on this test.

According to counselor Stephanie Pa y n e , I n d i a n a p r o m o t e s t h e SAT more than the ACT. But for sophomores wanting to take the ACT, the school will give the PreACT, or PLAN, on Nov. 1. This test provides an indication of how students would do on the ACT exam.

“We’re traditionally in Indiana more of the SAT state,” Payne said, “which just means, for whatever reason, we promote the SAT more than the ACT. Most of the Midwestern states are more focused on the ACT.” Payne also said that this preference is the reason sophomores and juniors no longer pay to take the PSAT. She said, “The state department pays and provides the funding for all juniors to take the PSAT in the fall. And so, ever since they’ve done that, we’ve just made it a day that every junior takes the PSAT.” However, the state does not cover the cost for PLAN. Payne said, “We offer it to students on a Saturday where there is also a SAT test going on. We offer it to sophomores to pay for it and take.”

Wang said he felt that the ACT held certain advantages over the SAT. “I feel like the ACT is more straightforward; there are less trick

“

Jinny Zhang / Photo

COMPLETE CONCENTRATION: Kevin Carlson, drum major and senior, is conducting the marching band. As a drum major, he is in charge of leading the stretch routine and representing the band as a whole.

This year’s been awesome so far and I love our show,” Hoffa said.

The reason for the new Semistate competition is to narrow down the number of Indiana high school bands competing in the State competition, according to Saucedo.

In the past, the Semistate competition chose five schools from the north district and five from the south to move on to the State competition. Since there was a discrepancy among the schools that won from the two districts, the policy of choosing schools to advance will differ from last year’s.

Now, the State competition will choose the top 10 bands from the entire state in order to avoid concerns

that winning schools from one district received lower scores than schools in the other district who did not receive a victory.

According to Kevin Carlson, dr um major and senior, the ISSMA competition is a great place to re-evaluate how well the band is doing compared to the other bands in Indiana.

“ISSMA always helps us fix what we haven’t already perfected for Nationals,” Carlson said. “It lets us see how good the other bands, like Avon and Lawrence Central are this year.”

Saucedo said, “We obviously just want to make sure that we’re the best.”

questions. It’s also shorter. Towards the end of the SAT, I didn’t even care anymore; I just wanted to get out of that testing room. I also cared more and was more interested about the ACT’s writing prompt than the writing prompt on the SAT.” In addition, Payne said she recommends students who are strong in science and math should try the ACT because the test covers English, reading, math and science, whereas the SAT covers only English and math.

Payne said, “The ACT adds that science component in there so it sort of spreads out how much that English and reading impact the overall score. So I always recommend the student who are strong in math and science to try the ACT.” In contrast, Payne said that the SAT should be taken by students who excel at reading and writing. “ T h e S AT i s j u s t purely English and math,” Payne said. “The math level only goes up to Algebra II.” However, the ACT math section is different.

“On the ACT the math level hits a few pre-calculus type questions,” Payne said. “So the math level is a tad higher, but I’m seeing more and more where if students maybe don’t get the score they want on the SAT, they try taking the ACT and they tend to do better.”

In addition, Payne said, “And colleges will look at either tests.

They have comparison charts and they will determine which score is the higher score and that’s the score then that they will look at for admission (and) scholarships.”

The ACT is more straightforward; there are less trick questions.

Senior Kevin Wang

TEST Dates ACT DATES Oct. 25 Dec. 23 Feb. 7, 2009 April 4, 2009 June 13, 2009 SAT DATES Nov. 1

”

Dec. 6 Jan. 24, 2009 March 14, 2009 (No subject tests) May 2, 2009 June 6, 2009 Collegeboard. com / Source

R o u n d a b o u t Up d at e

Keystone Avenue construction nears end of Phase One 106th and 126th street interchanges almost reach completion at time when city’s roundabouts garner national attention for safety and efficiency successes

By Beverly Jenkins bjenkins@hilite.org

L

ast May, the city of Carmel initiated Project Carmel Link, which is currently installing a series of roundabouts on Keystone Avenue in order to speed up traffic flow and reduce congestion. Right now, the 106th and 126th street interchanges are nearing completion. Keystone is already lower in elevation at least 10 to 15 feet at some sections than the surrounding land. The end of Phase One of the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of December. At the end of the year, those intersections will be teardrop-shaped roundabouts.

While construction has irked some local citizens and students here, Carmel and its roundabouts as a whole have received national attention, including coverage in the Sept. 4 issue of Time magazine. In addition, research has shown that there are numerous spillover benefits as a result of this construction.

Environmental concerns

According to the Time magazine article, the placement of roundabouts here has not only prevented many citizens from having an accident, but it has also benefited the environment. Some 24,000 gallons of gasoline, roughly translated into $75,600, has been saved every year per roundabout. This is because roundabouts eliminate or radically lessen the time cars spend stationary.

generally minor, such as the one involving Walker’s bus due to cars slowing down before entering the intersection.

Stilts said, “If there are accidents in a roundabout, the speed is so slow that any injuries that could happen should not be as serious, versus a four-way stop, where speeds are not controlled.”

In addition, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, serious crashes are less common with roundabouts because cars are going in the same direction.

This eliminates head-on and left-hand turn collisions.

A study by this institute also showed roundabouts have decreased accidents by 75 percent at intersections that previously had traffic lights or stop signs.

Installing roundabouts has not only been occurring in Carmel, but internationally as well. Statistics worldwide support roundabouts as safe transportation tools. According to terrain.org, France is placing roundabouts at the rate of 1,000 per year and the reduced speeds

have diminished accident rates by 30 to 60 percent; accidents that do occur harbor a significantly smaller chance of being severe.

Stilts said that in time, he envisions a world which views traffic lights as outdated. “I can’t see traffic lights still being used 10 years from now,” he said.

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ROUNDABOUTS REDUCE ACCIDENTS by 78 percent

In rare cases, accidents involving roundabouts still occur. Recently, junior Riley Walker’s school bus number 41 was involved in one such accident with a truck at the roundabout on 116th Street and Ditch Road.

Referring to the accident, she said, “There was a truck watering the flowers at the roundabout. A normal car would have had no problem getting around the truck, but our bus was just too big.”

However, despite such incidents, roundabouts have shown to be immensely helpful in terms of safety and efficiency.

Time noted that Carmel, known as “roundabout city” by some, has experienced a 78 per cent decrease in driving accidents. Since 2001, Carmel has built over 50 roundabouts and is in the process of installing even more. Many people, including Mayor James Brainard, said the astounding drop in the percentage of accidents is due to the relatively recent mass installation of roundabouts.

What’s more, according to this school’s police officer Gene Stilts, the design of roundabouts not only prevents accidents but significantly cushions those that can occur.

This is due to simple laws of physics: in roundabouts, cars have a limit to how fast they can go through the intersections, whereas stop signs cannot force cars to slow down.

Even then, accidents involving roundabouts are

“

I can’t see traffic lights still being used 10 years from now.

Officer Gene Stilts

”

arjuna capulong / photo

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Keystone is part of a new wave of roundabouts being built in Carmel. According to Time magazine, roundabouts here and internationally benefit both the environment and its citizens, reducing the driving accidents here by 78 percent. However, there have been several recent accidents involving roundabouts, which were attributed to the fact that those people were not from Carmel.

Page 4 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Beats

FOR MORE CLUB AND ACTIVITY INFORMATION Go online to hilite.org and click on ‘BEATS’ in the navigation menu

Best Buddies

This Issue @ HiLite Online Video of the day

Best Buddies is preparing for its first tailgate coming up at the end of this month. President and senior Tianyi Zhang said she is very excited for the event.

“We are having the first tailgate Oct. 17th, at 5 p.m.,” Zhang said.

The club’s matching party Tianyi was a great zhang success, according to Zhang. The Meet the Parents Night also went well, said junior Molly McKneight. “It was when the parents met the buddies,” McKneight said.

Zhang also said that Best Buddies would be having their first meeting on Oct. 21. “We will be planning for future events like the cookout,” Zhang said. By Meher Ahmad

CCPL

Watch a video about the Senate canned food drive happening now online at hilite.org.

Recent updates

Keep up with what's happening around the school and in the community by reading the 'Recent Updates' online.

Photo of the Day

There are many activities occurring at the Carmel Clay Public Library this month, including many volunteering opportunities, Chess “U,” the AllDay Anime Fest and the Mini-Pumpkin Contest. Hope Baugh, the Yo u n g A d u l t ( YA ) S e r v i c e s Manager, said the library’s Teen crystal Volunteer Corps wespestad (TVC) will need extra volunteers after school and evenings today and tomorrow for Operation Undercover, which is an annual computer usage project.

According to Crystal Wespestad, who is a Key Club member and junior, Key Club r equir es its members to complete 50 volunteer hours by the end of the school year.

Of those 50 volunteer hours, at least 25 have to be group hours but the rest can be individual hours.

Wespestad said, “In past years I have volunteered for Operation Undercover during October to reach the hour requirements for Key Club.

I basically sat at a desk and recorded the number of people using the computers at the librar y. I am looking forward to volunteering at the library this year to get individual hours for Key Club.”

Besides Operation Undercover, the semiannual book sale is also during October and CCPL will need volunteers to help with that event.

In addition to an increased

Club and Activity News at a Glance

amount of volunteer opportunities, Chess “U,” which is a series of talks given by experienced adult and teen chess players, is this Monday.

YA librarian Jamie Beckman said, “We will have Bernard Parham here to speak about chess. Bernard will introduce his matrix system approach to playing chess and there will be an opportunity after his talk for students to implement some of his suggestions.”

Furthermore, the YA Department will be hosting the annual All-Day Anime Fest on Oct. 24.

Beckman said, “We are doing the All-Day Anime Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (in the Program Room). So we will be watching anime, we will have a cosplay contest and pizza will be provided and the anime this year will have a supernatural theme. It is a supernatural theme because we are tying it into Teen Read Week, and the theme for Teen Read Week this year is 'Books that Bite'.”

Finally, there will be a MiniPumpkin Decorating Contest on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Program Room. According to Beckman, teams will consist of one to three people, and they will be given one small pumpkin and a decorating kit.

They will then have 45 minutes to create a masterpiece.

Students who are interested can pick up the registration forms at the YA desk.

As for her goal for CCPL this year, Beckman said, “We hope to have a great Teen Read Week this October and that lots of teens will participate in our activities this year.” By Michael Wang

debate After last weekend’s meet at Brebeuf, the debate team prepares to go on the road yet again for tomorrow’s meet against Kokomo.

According to sponsor Amanda Richmond, nuclear energy will again be one of the topics covered. Another topic that will be debated tomorrow is the morality of killing Amanda an innocent Richmond person to save countless other innocent people.

Unlike the Brebeuf meet, tomorrow’s meet is open to everybody. Joey Baertschi, senior and varsity debater, is one student that will be competing. He will debate on the topics of four Congress bills. According to Richmond and Baertschi, the four bills deal with getting rid of the use of plastic bags, allowing a non-natural born citizen

to be president, mandatory health care insurance and U.N. sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Students prepare for the debate in various ways, which for Baertschi also includes helping novice debaters. “The varsity debaters help teach novices how to make effective points, how to refute opponent points, that kind of thing,” he said.

“The meet will be at Kokomo High School at 7:30 a.m.,” Richmond said. By Reid Conner

Rotary Interact

Nalin said, “I hope with this incentive people try harder to raise money. It is for a good cause.” By Aili Arnell

hera ashraf / photo

Rotary Interact Club’s next meeting will be on Oct. 28 Sally Bae, Rotar y Interact’s publicity advisor and junior, said that at this meeting, the members will be deciding on what future ser vice projects they will complete.

“It will basically be a brainstorming Sally bae meeting. We’re just going to come up with some new ideas for projects we’ll do later,” Bae said.

Interact Club usually selects one major international project for the year. Last year, they raised money to buy school supplies for children in Mongolia. However, they have not yet decided what their international project will be this year.

Sponsor Brenda Lester said the member’s participation in selecting service projects is extremely vital.

“It is so important to give back to the society,” she said. “That’s why it’s so impor tant for the members of the Interact to choose one they will dedicate themselves too.” By Susie Chen

senate The Senate sponsored canned food drive started on Oct. 7 and will be ending today. The proceeds so far are good, but the Senate still wants more people to participate.

Ansel Nalin, member of the Senate and junior, said, “We are asking students to bring in money instead of cans. We then give the money to the fire depar tment and they actually buy the canned goods. It is better this way because they know exactly what the families need. It is easier than bringing in heavy cans. More people participate this way.”

Senate sponsor Sarah Wolff said that the canned food drive is a SRT class competition as well. The Senate is offering a pizza party to the top SRT in each grade.

Steven Brisley, Senate member and junior encourages junior Rebeca Cassani to donate money to the canned food drive.

Stunt the Academic Stress Stunt the Stress Club has changed its name to Stunt the Academic Stress Club to clarify what the club hopes to achieve.

“It is supposed to be a network for students and teachers so they can see eye to eye,” Alexandra Keehan, founder and senior said.

Keehan setup two new pages on the club’s Web site and is planning to conduct a conference call with Stop the Homework author Sara patricia Bennett. She balchan plans to involve members to help out in the organizing process.

“A big par t of the club is brainstorming together and see what members want,” she said.

Keehan will work with sponsor Patricia Balchan to figure out what the club’s needs are.

“It is going to evolve once we get people in the club finding out what needs students have and figuring out how to meet those needs,” Balchan said.

Keehan has also been busy advocating for the club outside of school to help more students.

“It’s pretty cool because Stunt the Academic Stress is getting around because a girl in Brooklyn is trying to get a club started at her own school,” Keehan said.

She said she has a lot in mind for the club. However, a lot is still unknown, such as meeting dates and times.

Balchan said, “I will be learning along the way with Alexandra to find out how to best serve this club." By Afra Hussain

F E AT U R E D B E AT : H ea lth c e n ter

Nurses to give flu shots today at football game

by Mike blaha mblaha@hilite.org

Model U.N. sponsor Tracy Hadden leads the club's call-out meeting. To learn more about the picture and see more photos, go to hilite.org.

and much more For daily updates, photos and stories, go online now to hilite.org. You can also subscribe to HiLite Online to receive notifications when new stories are posted.

T

oday, this school, with the aid of the Visiting Nurse Service (NVS) will provide flu and pneumonia shots to students and community members alike who wish to receive them.

According to school nurse Carol Gelatt, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) has been taking an interest in schools lately.

“The CDC is targeting schools because children are the main carriers [of sicknesses]” Gelatt said.

The CDC recommends that anyone from 6 months of age to 18 years, as well as people above the age of 50 should be vaccinated, especially if they have a job working among young children.

The price of the shots will range from 15 to 45 dollars depending on the type of shot.

There are six different kinds of shots. Two are limitly available.

Gelatt said she recommends the flu shot for high school students.

The shots will be given on the home side during the Ben Davis game from 5 to 7 p.m., and anyone under the age of 18 will need a parental consent form to be turned in at the time the shot is

administered.

Parental consent forms can be found at the health center.

Besides just getting vaccinated, Gelatt said that prevention is also key to staying healthy. “ Wa s h i n g y o u r h a n d s i s important, as well as remembering to sneeze into your elbow or a Kleenex when you sneeze. Also, if you have a fever over 100 degrees, it is important to stay home for at least twenty-four hours after the fever has receded," Gelatt said. Additional reporting by Afra Hussain.

By the numbers Flu shot is $25.

Mist flu is $35.

Half dose flu shot is $15.

Pneumonia shots are $45. carol gelatt / source

Weekend Patrol Saturday

Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation Health Fair at the Monon Center's Banquet Rooms 8 a.m. to noon Admission: Free Sunday

Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk at the 4-H Exhibit Hall and Outer Track 12:30 p.m.

Admission: Free

Haunted Houses Fright Night Haunted House at 5860 E. 71st St. Indianapolis from 7 to 11 p.m. $10 per person at the door The Fear Fair at 800 A Ave. East Seymour from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays $10 for adults, $8 for 12 and under

kaitlyn lampe / photo

Reading Records: The nurses at the health center check records of students on the computer. Today, nurses will give students shots at the game.

Eerie Express at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis from 6 to 9 p.m. from Oct. 11 to 31 $6.50 at the door, $6 for members Hauntedhouse.com / source

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Page 6 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Ads

Sports • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Page 7

Cross-country teams put faith in depth

Fa ll s p o r ts w r a p - u p

Teams compete in tournament play

by david zheng dzheng@hilite.org As the postseason is progressing, both the men’s and women’s cross-countr y teams are having success. The Sectional was scheduled for last Tuesday, and if this team finishes in the top five, it will progress in the tournament to the Regional competition, scheduled for tomor r ow at Br ebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School at 11 a.m.

Also, even if the team did not move on, should any Carmel runners finish in the top 15, those individuals would move on.

“We’re rated number one in the state for both our (men’s and women’s) teams, so you would think that we want to win these Dan kinn competitions,” Head Coach Chuck Koeppen said. “But I’ve learned over the years that the bottom line is all you really want to do is win the one at the end.

If we don’t win the (Regional), that’s okay, but talent-wise, we should be the best team in the competition.”

The men’s team has been ranked number-one for the whole season, but for a week or so at the start of the season, the women’s team was ranked behind Lake Central. Koeppen said, “(Our women’s team) just started looking so good and we ran against Lake Central last weekend at the Culver (Invitational) and we beat them, so our girls are pretty much a bona fide number-one.”

According to Koeppen, the top five teams advance in the tournament up until the State meet; so as long as Carmel is in the top five, they will be fine. Dan Kinn, men’s varsity team captain and senior, said, “Also in the Regional, the top 15 individual runners qualify for the next round as well.”

Koeppen said that he has just been taking it easy and being careful with both teams. “We’re not completely healthy on both sides,” Koeppen said. “Even if we have to rest somebody or just be a little careful, as long as we’re in the top five we keep advancing. It doesn’t affect the outcome of the state meet. Our girls aren’t completely healthy and our boys aren’t quite there, but hopefully we’ll be wise enough and get these kids mended up and be at full strength when it’s necessary.”

Even if it is unfor tunate enough for an injury to occur to a varsity runner, both the men’s and women’s teams have enough depth to recover from 2004 it, according to Alex Chitwood, Second varsity runner and sophomore.

Chitwood said, “As of now, most 2005 of the varsity runners are healthy.

Fourth A few have minor injuries, but they are taking precautions so they can recover and return to 2006 their prime condition, but if we Third stepped up to the challenge, we could still do very well.”

2007 “The team has great depth,” Kinn said. “Every runner one Third through 12 could be a numberone runner easily, so although ihsaa.org / we’d like everyone healthy we source have so much depth one injured runner could easily be replaced.”

Both Kinn and Chitwood are front runners for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively. “Being a front-runner is like setting the comfort level for the rest of the team,” Kinn said. “Everyone on varsity works together to build off each other in meets. If I have a good race, everyone wants to have a good race because they see me up front working hard. If I have a bad race, the team doesn’t have as much motivation to work hard themselves.”

“We’ve got a really good one-two-three punch for the girls team, and the boys could have a decent one-two punch before it’s over,” Koeppen said.

“Kinn has run up front most of the year and Logan Rosenberg, (varsity team captain and senior), has potential to do that and may do that before it’s all over with. I also think the boys do have the possibility of running in a pack in meets.”

According to Koeppen, running in a pack is when you have two or three guys that are running together helping each other by talking to each other and pulling each other along.

“The pack is huge because at least for me it’s a lot easier to run if you’re next to someone running and working together,” Kinn said. “It keeps your head up. If you get lost you might just give up, but if you have a teammate to push you on it makes you want to work harder for them.”

If the men’s and women’s teams advance in the Regional meet, then they will move on to the SemiState meet, which will take place on Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. at Northview Christian Church.

“If we want to win the Regional, we have to stay focused,” Kinn said. “One of the main things we’re trying to do is win Koeppen a State championship this year because it’s his last season and we all love him.”

Men’s CROSSCOUNTRY STATE RESULTS

elizabeth trancik / photo

SHOT AT SECTIONAL: Freshman Ashley Twer attempts a shot during practice. If the team won yesterday against Noblesville, a team it tied during the regular season, it will play in the Sectional Championship tomorrow at Hamilton Southeastern.

By andrew browning abrowning@hilite.org If the varsity women’s soccer team won its match against number-oneranked Noblesville yesterday, it will enter the Sectional Championship tomorrow at Hamilton Southeastern at 6 p.m. Based on the results of Sectional games on Tuesday and Thursday, Head Coach Frank Dixon said via e-mail that the Hounds could face any one of four opponents, including number-four-ranked Zionsville and the host team, number10-ranked Hamilton Southeastern.

Regardless of the outcome, after compiling a regular season record of 14-1-2, defender and junior Amanda Babbin said she is pleased with the Hounds’ season but would love for the team to be able to cap it off with a State title.

“I think we’ve had a great season,” Babbin said. “I think we have a great shot at winning State.

Our seniors are really determined.”

For more men’s and women’s crosscountry results and scores, along with the Joseph “Joe” Rippe, varsity football player and senior, interview, log on to www.hilite.org

Editor’s note: The women’s soccer team was scheduled to play a Sectional game yesterday against Noblesville, after press deadline. If the team won, it is scheduled to play in the Sectional Championship game tomorrow.

Find out the results at www.hilite.org.

Seasons complete: Men’s soccer and tennis TENNIS

The tennis team lost its only dual match of the season on Oct. 8, falling to defending State champion North Central in a Regional match.

The Panthers eliminated the Hounds 3-2. Five of seven varsity players return next season. By Andrew Browning

against Hamilton Southeastern, with a score of 4-0. The Hounds then lost their second Sectional game to Westfield, with a score of 3-2 in overtime. By Ryan Duffy

Soccer

The men’s varsity soccer team ended its season with a Sectional loss last Saturday against number-three ranked Westfield. Carmel ended its season with a final record of 9-3-5.

Carmel went into the Sectional on a decent note, tying its final regularseason game against Zionsville. The team won its first Sectional game

nick johnson / photo

NEXT YEAR: The men’s soccer team runs before a home game.

The Hounds must look to next season to capture a State title.

JV, Freshman Athletics News FOOTBALL Tomorrow the junior varsity football team plays at Ben Davis at 10 a.m.

Tyler Marotti, inside linebacker and sophomore, said that the JV team has defeated Ben Davis twice, for the second time this season. Marotti said he played in one of the games, and he expects the Hounds to win their game against the Giants tomorrow.

Running back and sophomore Devin Brinson, a JV player who sometimes plays on varsity, said that he, like tyler marotti m o s t p l a y e r s , might be selected to play in both

games, depending on his playing time on Friday. Marotti said he also plays on the varsity team.

Coach Toby Steele said that those who do not play in the JV game will play in the upcoming C team game on Monday at home against Pike at 6 p.m. That game will be the last game for all JV players. From there, the players will concentrate on helping the varsity team improve, and some will be included in the roster for away games, but the coaches will only take approximately 75 players. By Faith Mwalwa

MEN’S SOCCER The junior varsity men’s soccer team finished their season with a win against Zionsville, which secured them an undefeated season. JV

Coach Bobby Loy said he was very pleased with the season the team had. “The team continued to exceed expectations. They came out every game, and dominated and controlled every team we played,” Loy said.

Sophomore Zachar y DiCarlo said he is already looking forward to playing for his club soccer team. “Club starts up in the next week, and I am playing for Carmel United,” DiCarlo said.

DiCarlo, like many other JV players, will play for club teams until next season starts, and many of them hope to make the varsity squad. DiCarlo said making varsity would be no sure thing for these players next year, though. “ I am hoping that I will make varsity. It will be tough, but I am prepared to work really hard,” he said.

So, another JV season comes to a

J V S p o r t i n t h e S p otl i g h t : C h e e r l e a d i n g

Squad hopes to win State title on Nov. 8 By lily zhao lzhao@hilite.org

Elizabeth trancik / photo

want more?

results online

HIGH FLYERS: The junior varsity cheerleading squad practices a routine. The team has added extra practices in order to prepare for a competition at Lawrence Central on Sunday and State and Regional events in November.

The junior varsity cheerleading squad plans to perform at Lawrence Central on Sunday in events sponsored and set up by the National Cheerleading Association (NCA), like the “Spirit of Indy” and “Back-to-School Bash.” After all these events, Amy McLean, JV cheerleader and junior, said that she hopes the team does well at its Regional event Nov. 1 at Center Grove and then the State competition on Nov. 8 at Newcastle. “(Head Coach Maggie Rieder) added an extra practice to our week, so now we practice Mondays through Thursdays,” McLean said.

“By doing that, we’ll be focusing on our repetition (of techniques) and making routines for the (Lawrence Central event).”

Rieder said that during the JV football games and during the events where the cheerleaders compete against other teams around the state, it takes a lot of hard work

and dedication.

“The best par t about the freshman team is getting to know the girls and watching them work as a team and encourage each other,” she said.

McLean said that for every event the team attends, Rieder instructs them to do a bunch of endurance work, like running the mile and lifting weights; she said that cheerleading does not come easy.

“Many people think that cheerleading is easy, but it’s quite hard,” McLean said. “We’re tumbling as a whole, doing stunts and putting together whole routines.”

But overall, McLean said she hopes the team does well because the team’s ultimate goal is to win the State title, something that is extremely coveted.

“I love being physically active, having school spirit and being athletic at the same time,” McLean said. “But most of all, (the team) has become stronger as a whole and we want that State title.”

successful end. DiCarlo said looking back he was happy with this year, and said, “ I really enjoyed playing for JV this year. It was a great learning experience for me, and I had a blast.” By Ryan Duffy

CROSS-COUNTRY Although the varsity cross-country teams are still in the post-season, some of the junior varsity athletes have already begun of f-season training for track and field.

“One thing that’s important for some of the kids is that you have to have some rest after the season ends,” distance coach Erhard Bell said. “So we encourage them not only to train hard during the season, but to get their rest between seasons.”

Bell has served as an assistant coach under Head Coach Chuck Koeppen and will enter his fourth year coaching the distance team this spring. It will be his first year under new track and field Head Coach Will Ellery.

“The two sports, cross-country and track, complement each other,” Bell said. “Cross-country will build you up for track, if that’s your preference, but if you’re more of a cross-country guy, then track in the spring will build you up for the next cross-country season, so they really complement each other quite well.”

According to Bell, track meets begin the last week in March and go through the State meet, which is on June 5 this year.

“We usually get the groups together and meet in the locker rooms as the winter goes on,” Bell said. “We welcome everyone with open arms.” By David Zheng

Nick johnsoN / photo

JUMP TO THE FRONT: Juniors Griffin Brunk (7) and Steven Gomez (17) lead in the JV race at the Wildcat Invite. The Hounds won and now some are now training for track.

PAGE 8 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2008 • SPORTS

Oh, how the years go by...

WIDE RECEIVER TAYLOR WAGNER

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN BROOKS MICHEL

Today’s varsity players weren’t always as big as they are now. They had to get their start somewhere.

By Faith Mwalwa

FOOTBALL TIDBITS: TONIGHT’S GAME: Carmel v. Ben Davis Senior Night 7 p.m.

Home game SECTIONAL: Oct. 24-Carmel v. Noblesville Sectional 4 opener 7 p.m.

Location not confirmed WWW.INDYSTAR.COM, WWW.CCS.K12.IN.US / SOURCE

QUARTERBACK MORGAN NEWTON

Senior Morgan Newton’s interest in football started with his dad, vice principal John Newton, who coached the sport. He began at an early age, in the third grade with Pike Youth League.

“He always just stood out. He was an outstanding player, in the literal sense. In fact, in elementary and middle school, he played both football and travel soccer, which most players (could) not do,” John said.

Morgan said that he has played several positions on the team, from a receiver to a lineman to his current role as quarterback.

As a freshman, playing for Pike High School, Morgan weighed about 185-pounds and was 6 foot, one inch.

Morgan, now a six foot, four inch, 285-pound player, said he will continue on to play football in college and verbally committed to University of Kentucky. “(I will continue because) I really enjoy it. It’s great to play. I (may even go pro) if that works out,” he said.

RUNNING BACK KURT FREYTAG

Senior Kurt Freytag said that his parents signed him up for football because he showed an interest in the sport. Freytag began in the third grade and progressed from there.

“I was pretty good for a freshman.

I was on the scout as a freshman, and was (promoted) to varsity at the end of that season,” he said.

Scott Dehnke, strong safety and senior, said that he first got to know Freytag in the eighth grade.

“He knocked me out once during a Carmel versus Clay (basketball) game. That’s how I got to know him and became friends with him,” he said. “He’s just very physical.”

Currently, Freytag is about six foot, two inches and 230-pounds and is a fullback on the team.

Freytag said that he is interested in pursuing collegiate football. He has had several offers but said he is not leaning toward any of them, and is keeping an open mind to all of them. According to ESPN.com, he has offers from Ball State, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.

Senior Brooks Michel is hard to miss. This burly left tackle stands at six foot, seven inches and 285pounds. His accomplishments on the field have led to recognition among students and college football recruiters.

At an early age, Michel liked the Colts, and the IU football team, so he joined Carmel Dad’s Club football in the third grade; he has played ever since. Aware that he needed skill development, Michel sought the improvement he needed.

When asked if playing football has provided an opportunity for growth, he said, “It has. For me, football has taught me camaraderie, (as well as) responsibility on and off the field.”

“I love the game. This is the opportunity for me to continue,” he said. Michel said that the State championship last year was his fondest memory and recalls the small things that got him where he is today.

“In sixth grade, I made the A-team with Carmel Pups. In seventh grade (as a tight end) I caught the touchdown pass,” he said. Now, he has committed to play football as a Minnesota Golden Gopher.

Senior Taylor Wagner, unlike these other players, did not start at an early age. Before getting into the sport, he said that travel soccer took up most of his athletic life, and he had no time to join football, although he was interested in doing so.

Center and senior Joey Barnes was the one to push Wagner to play; Wagner credits Barnes as having taught him most of what he knew about how to play before actually joining, and teaching him about the sport of football itself.

“Well, Joey played and I didn’t,” Wagner said. “We often played together (unofficially).”

Since then, Wagner has played numerous positions: fullback, safety, quarterback and running back, before settling into his current position as wide receiver.

“Last year, (Wagner) made the most of an opportunity to get play more as a starter. We lost some wide receivers and (Wagner) stepped in.

He’s one of the fastest players on the team and he’s a difference-maker,” Toby Steele, first-year varsity coach and social studies teacher, said.

Wagner is now five foot, eight inches tall and 165 pounds. Wagner said he is planning to continue playing football in college and is looking at various colleges.

STEVEN CHEN, KAITLYN LAMPE, FAITH MWALWA, LILY ZHAO / PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS

Power of the fans MIDWEST SPORTS TALK

BY DANIYAL HABIB The Indianapolis Colts, from the turn of the century to the end of last season, have a combined record of 89-31, a winning percentage of .695, good enough for secondbest in the NFL over that span. At the same time, NFL. com, ESPN.com and Yahoo.com all had the Colts in the bottom half of their weekly team rankings after the third week of the season.

The Indiana Pacers, over the last six seasons, have an average winning percentage of .537, good enough for a tie for eighth in the NBA over that span. At the same time, most people are predicting doom and gloom for the Pacers this season and the foreseeable future.

The stat I want to know is how many times people in Indiana have complained about these two franchises in the past few months. It’s ludicrous, really, to compare this city’s franchises to those of, say Miami, where the Dolphins, Heat, Marlins and college football Hurricanes finished 1-15, 15-67, 71-91 and 5-7, respectively last year, for a paltry win percentage of .338.

So I’ve come to the obvious conclusion that Indiana sports fans are, well, spoiled. We’ve heard talk that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is on the downhill, that

KAITLYN LAMPE / PHOTO

HOMETOWN SPIRIT: Seniors cheer for the varsity football team during the Homecoming game. The Hounds impressed the CHS fans, winning 42-7.

wide receiver Marvin Harrison is washed up and that the Colts window of opportunity has closed. I ask, does our track record not give you confidence that this is just a bump in the road? Against the Texans in week five, the Colts showed they still have some of that magic in them, despite being flawed. Every major player who is no longer with them from the 2007 Super Bowl team has been replaced with solid, younger players. Manning is only 32 years old; John Elway won two titles in the last two years of his career at ages 37 and 38. Manning relies even less on his athletic ability than Elway, so he won’t be fading soon.

With the Pacers, the struggles have now lasted three years rather than three games, so I admit there is some more room to be worried here. Still, from 1989 to 2006, the Pacers made the postseason 16 out of 17 years, a feat that seems to go unnoticed when talking about them.

All I’m asking for is some loyalty. We’re so used to teams being in the top tiers of their divisions that when they struggle, the fans jump off the bandwagon so quickly that the horse stumbles. The Pacers, for example, dropped to last in the league in fan attendance last year. People cite reasons such as, “I don’t like the character of the players.” True, the Pacers aren’t angels, but is there no allegiance to the franchise that brought you a decade and a half of spotless success? The franchise that brought you a trip to the NBA Finals and consistent playoff appearances gets no love?

We can’t take for granted the success of our teams.

Even here we often say things like, “Oh, we’re playing (insert team) this week; I think I’ll stay home.” True, we may be superior in some facets, but if sports teaches us anything, it is that anything can happen. I ask you, how many times have you appreciated what this school’s women’s swimming team has accomplished over the past two decades? It may be second nature to expect the team to win, considering only the administrators here were born when the team began its streak, but as the coaches like to say, “It’s the first State championship for this particular team.”

And did you know that since 2000, the junior varsity men’s tennis team has lost an insane total of three matches? Again, it may be second nature to expect the team to win, but that is no reason for support of these teams to wane and vanish; actually, it is more reason to get out and support them. And should any of our teams lose, including professional ones, it is no reason to not believe anymore. Therein lies the beauty of sports: the fact that there is always something to cheer for.

It is a simple fact of life; you win some, you lose some. That’s especially true in sports. Thankfully, saying Carmel and Indianapolis have been successful in sports is like saying the sun is big; it is a huge understatement.

But if they don’t win? That is no reason to jump off of the bandwagon.

Sometimes teams need fans more when they’re struggling than when they’re winning. Will you be there during both?

HARD WORK PAY S O F F : Sophomore Jordan Foyer dives for the ball during volleyball practice. Foyer has worked hard to adapt to this school after transferring from University High School.

Faces in Sports: Jordan Foyer SHIRLEY CHEN / PHOTO

BY MAGGIE BRANDENBURG mbrandenburg@hilite.org Starting at a new school can be a tough situation with the search for new friends, classes and teachers, all while trying not to get lost on a new campus. For Jordan Foyer, junior varsity volleyball player and sophomore, the shock was even greater when after her freshman year, she made the transition from University High School, one of the smallest high schools in the state to this school, the largest. That change is even harder when a whole new sports team gets thrown into the mix. “(Carmel High School) is a heck of a lot bigger. It’s harder to get to know people,” Foyer said.

Since third grade, Foyer has been playing volleyball and competed on the varsity team for her school last year. But financial troubles and a change in the coaching staff at University led her and her family to their choice of switching schools. Foyer, however, is no stranger to Carmel. Her sister, Brooke Foyer, is a recent graduate and while Brooke played for this school, Jordan got to know the coaches, who she said also contributed to her choice.

For Jordan, the differences between the two schools were immediately apparent. For example, the student body was so small at University that their lockers did not even have locks. When volleyball practices began, she said, the distinctions became even more evident because of tougher practices and conditioning. But, none of this surprised Jordan after watching her sister play.

“I knew (the teams here were) good and they had a lot of leadership because they had six seniors,” Jordan said.

Head Coach William Bastin said he

believes that the social aspect of becoming part of a new team could be the most difficult.

It is like being a freshman, but harder, because a player has to intermingle with all the grades instead of having old friends in the same grade. To help the team bond, he said players have several opportunities to come in for open gym situations and gather off the court with activities at different player’s homes, play different games like kickball and even hold tailgate parties. Luckily for Foyer, she had an edge over most other new players with the social aspect of the new team setting.

“No (it was not difficult to fit in), because I knew (the other players) through my sister,” Foyer said.

Another large difference for Foyer was the difference in the conference each team plays in. University is a 1A team, the smallest school division, while Carmel is in the 4A division, the largest. According to Bastin, the distinction between the two lies in the size of the schools and the level of competition from the other teams. The 4A division is usually regarded as the tougher of the two and Foyer said she agrees that this school could beat her old school. She cited that at University, a Carmel volleyball player came to a practice and impressed the team with her skills, but surprised the entire team when she revealed that she had been cut from the team at her own school.

While Jordan said she’s had to work harder to earn a spot on the team here, she said the benefits of that hard work are also greater. For example, since this school is larger, there is a greater chance for recognition from college scouts and she said she feels that this team has more spirit.

“I miss some of the people (at University), but I think this team has a little more heart than they did,” Foyer said.

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL

3POT,ITE

Spectacular scares Hilite reporter shares the Top 5 classic horror movies to watch this holiday season

PAGE B3

www.hilite.org

520 E. Main Street • Carmel,IN 46032 • Volume 54, Issue 4 • October 17, 2008

Bands face uncertain future after high school by jon haslam jhaslam@hilite.org In 2001, a local high school band emerged to become one of the most recognized names in the music industry. While the genre of music is distinct, Christian hard rock, the band has its roots right here. Haste the Day has created over four top-selling albums since its emergence from here.

However, while Haste the Day managed to make it to the big time, current high school bands said they find that to be an impressive task.

For senior Jonathan Hourmozdi, he said that he has already been faced with that challenge.

“I was in two bands before, but with band members moving to college and stuff, it’s really hard to keep things like that going,” Jonathan Hourmozdi Hourmozdi said.

Hourmozdi has been playing music since his freshman year and said he has only excelled through his high school years.

“I sing, play guitar, piano and sometimes play the (synthesizer),” Hourmozdi said. “I really wanted to learn, and so when my friend loaned me his guitar, I just sat down and started playing until I got good at it.”

Hourmozdi is currently in three bands with friends right now, including his most recent one, Kamikaze Proxy.

He said it’s been cool with the new band because it’s been so much different from what he is used to playing.

But with college just months away for Hourmozdi, he said he hasn’t really thought about the idea of continuing his current bands after high school.

“It’s going to be hard,” Hourmozdi said. “There are people spread out among different ages and grades (in my current bands), but we still haven’t talked about it.”

Not only did the idea of playing after high school plague students like Hourmozdi, but faculty as well.

Assistant Principal Amy Skeens-Benton has been singing since age 4, plays the drums and is a part of the faculty band here (10 Days Pending).

Skeens-Benton said she never performed in her school years and added that she appreciates how difficult that success can be. “I did not have the confidence to do that,” she said, “I was too worried about what others would say. Now, I don’t care.”

As for Hourmozdi, he said he looks to continue with music throughout college and maybe even take advantage of some of the resources that colleges have to offer, but his plans for college are still up in the air.

“I might take advantage of some of the music programs that whatever college I go to has to offer,” he said. “However, I wouldn’t want to major in music.”

W

hen junior Kelly Quinn is with friends she expects it to be a time to talk, catch up and hang out. The last thing she wants to see her friends doing during this time, she said, is sending text messages.

“When my friends text while they are hanging out with me, it is possibly in my top three pet peeves. It’s just rude and disrespectful,” she said.

“When I am hanging out with someone it is because I want to, and when that person is texting it gives the impression that they would rather be talking to that person.”

Quinn said she doesn’t text very often, only about five texts a day, and uses it for Close to half of teens (45 percent) own a cell communication purposes. “That’s how it phone, and 33 percent should be,” she said.

As for senior Kristen Neher, an avid have used a cell phone texter who averages about 100 texts a day, to send a text message. she sees no problem with the continuous communication.

Almost one in three (29 “Many people seem to get annoyed percent) teens who use with me if I am texting while with them they think I am not paying IM or text messaging will because attention to them when really I am,” use it to communicate Neher said. “The only time I personally with their parents. see it is rude is in church.”

F o r N e h e r , t e x t i n g h a s j u s t become a habit that fulfills a need An average youth for constant contact with others. between ages 12 to She said that she uses it for both 17 reports spending communication and chatting. It is also 10.3 hours a week with something to do when she’s bored. friends doing social Interpersonal relations teacher DeAnn Shrewsbur y said that texting can be activities outside of inappropriate in many situations and that school and about 7.8 there is a proper etiquette to texting. hours talking with friends “Texting is abused because it is not via technology like the just used for communication but for telephone, e-mail, IM or chatting,” Shrewsbury said. “It can very easily become impolite. Texting while text messaging. talking in a group, in a classroom or pewinternet.org / source church is just unacceptable.”

Shrewsbury said she believes there is a proper etiquette to texting. “When in one of these inappropriate situations, the only way it would not be rude is if it is an important text or call. In that case

Txt usrs BTN (by the numbers) in 2005

Haste the Day Carmel has seen the success of an alumni band before

Members: Devin Chaulk (Carmel alumni, Drums) Stephen Keech (Vocals) Brennan Chaulk (Carmel alumni, Guitar) Michael Murphy (Carmel alumni Electronic Bass) Genre: Metal / Hardcore / Screamo

arjuna capulong / photo

Label: Solid State Records purevolume.com/hastetheday / source

THnX 4 The TXT: Junior Kelly Quinn sends her friend a text message. Quinn said she doesn’t text very often and uses it only for communication purposes.

g n l t o x T toc o r P

d e t a at t i irr ing s ow text ime e r s g ds te t geri t n en ria ur e d fri p o u St ith pro di B w nap ad i M By

you will need to remove yourself fr om the situation and take care of it,” she said.

Science teacher George Ohmer, who has been teaching for 35 years, gives an older perspective on the updated version of communication.

Ohmer said that he rarely texts, but he believes there are times that it is more convenient and efficient to send a text message instead of a phone or voice message.

He added that texting has evolved to a place among young people of a major form of everyday communication.

But teachers like Shrewsbury said they see other problems in texting. “One problem that I see is in the class work,” she said. “Students are abbreviating words instead of writing them out.”

According to Pew Internet and American Life Project, “60 percent of teens do not think of these electronic texts as ‘writing.’ Teens are utilitarian in their approach to technology and writing, using both computers and long hand depending on circumstances.

Their use of computers for school and personal writing is often tied to convenience of being able to edit easily. Many do admit that the informal styles that characterize their e-communication do occasionally bleed into their schoolwork.”

Ohmer said texting is much less personal. “Cell phone contact is almost always a given priority over personal contact, which is rude on the part of the receiver of the message,” he said. “Many younger people spend hours texting their ‘contacts’ as a new form of communication. I believe that e-mail and texting have reduced the quality personal communication skills. Many verbal conversations are short, and the use of the word ‘like’ and the phrases ‘you know’ and ‘know what I’m saying’ are used excessively and improperly. I have also noticed an overall negative change in spelling and handwriting abilities probably due to electronic communication.”

As for Neher, she said she thinks some people express themselves better through text, but mostly because they don’t have the courage to say it in person.

Quinn said, “Texting is making this generation more distant, less personal and more vulnerable.”

sarah sheafer and Steven Chen / photo illustration

Non-voters get involved in 2008 election by ellie seta eseta@hilite.org Unlike most high school teens, junior Vincent Reuter does not have a passion for sports or another activity; he has a passion for politics. Although he can’t vote yet, Reuter still is an active member of the Students for Barack Obama Club. He has set a goal to share his passion with the rest of this school and beyond.

This year, many teens like Reuter are getting involved with political campaigns despite not being of voting age.

Although many speculations have arisen about teen political participation, it’s clear this particular election has caused a great increase in teen political enthusiasm. Reuter said he strongly encourages teens to get involved in politics. He said that even though he can’t vote it makes it all that more important to get involved and to encourage the people who do have a voice to vote and participate in political campaigns.

Reuter said that he was not always so involved in politics.

“I really did not get involved until second semester (of last year),” Reuter said. “There was a kid in one of my classes that was very conservative and he would always talk about politics. I knew that I did not agree with him so that motivated me to find out more and to form my own opinion.”

Over the summer, while his peers were lounging by the pool and sleeping in, Reuter was in Cincinnati working for the Barack Obama campaign. He was also very active during the Indiana primaries by canvassing door to door and making phone calls.

Kaitlyn “Katie” Klootwyk, a member of the Students for John McCain Club and junior, said that she just recently got involved with the campaign.

“I got involved because my block class has been starting the mock election and there was already an Obama group so we decided to make a (McCain) group,” Klootwyk

said. “A lot of the reason why I got involved was because I wanted to get a good grade (in her block class) but then when I started watching the debates I got more interested in it.”

Alicia Smith, Students for Barack Obama sponsor and social studies teacher, said via e-mail that even if a student cannot vote, the best thing to do is to motivate those around them.

Reuter said that by getting more involved and getting excited about politics builds momentum. He also stresses the impact of the teen vote.

“I have heard stories about some states having a higher percentage of the high schoolers registered in the primaries than the percentage of the adults,” Reuter said. “If this did not happen then the outcome (of the primary election) would have been different.”

Smith said that more teens should get involved with this election in particular because of its historical importance.

“There seems to be more of a

sense of urgency this election cycle.

It will be interesting to see if the turnout and interest are maintained in coming elections.”

Klootwyk said even though she doesn’t always understand what the politicians are talking about, she still continues to listen to the debates.

Overall, Reuter said that just because a teen can’t vote that should not stop him from getting involved.

“Campaigns are always looking for volunteers,” Reuter said. “But more importantly, energizing your friends that can vote and spreading enthusiasm is the best way to get involved. This affects people greatly and soon it becomes contagious.”

related column See Page B5 for a guest column about how to vote for the right candidate

michelle hu / photo

speak up: Junior Vincent Reuter speaks to the Students for Barack Obama Club. The club was created last year to support the running candidate.

Page B2 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Feature

Turn out your pockets Each year students are asked to pay more for lunch even though this is necessary for the school to provide the meal

Nick johnson / photo

Pony up: Sophomore David Williams gives his lunch money to lunch worker Nancy Durfey. This year, lunch prices have increased by 35 cents.

Amanda nguyen anguyen@hilite.org The cost of a school lunch increased 35 cents this year from $1.90 to $2.25 and senior Patrick O’ Shaughnessy is one of the many students upset about the increase.

“I feel (increased lunch prices) are unfair,” he said. “They charge kids a lot of money for low-quality food.

Two dollars a day for a week is $10, and a month is $40. It’s too much for a lot of families to pay with rising prices and inflation on the dollar,” O’Shaughnessy said via e-mail.

H o w e v e r, A m y A n d e r s o n , supervisor of food and nutrition ser vices, said via e-mail, “It is a necessary evil. In some ways, the students are feeling the effects of the economic conditions of the times. The sacrifices they are making now will seem small if the United States and global markets do not improve.”

O’Shaughnessy said that he now only buys school lunch three days a week to save his parents some money that they need for other expenses.

“A large number of my friends have started eating less and less and have started bringing lunch because of the prices and because it is cheaper in the long run,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Anderson said she was the person who suggested that lunch prices should be raised. She said, “Our costs continue to increase, causing us to pass some of those increases on to our customers. Any item that we purchase that is delivered has an

increased transportation cost, which has caused prices to increase.”

According to Anderson, the cost of a truckload of produce increased $4,000, and the price of corn on the Chicago market increased almost 250 percent in the last two years Almost all of the cafeteria’s protein items such as chicken, beef, turkey and pork were all grain-fed animals, and grain prices have also increased.

The cost of these items, along with many others, caused the cafeteria to increase the meal prices.

“Lunch prices increased this year mainly because our costs have dramatically increased since our last price increase three years ago,” Beth Galloway, assistant manager of the main cafeteria, said via e-mail. “Our dairy costs alone have increased by

30 percent over last year. Also, due to the rising cost of gasoline, many of the companies that deliver to us add on a fuel surcharge. This also serves to increase our prices just to cover that.”

Anderson said another factor in the raised lunch prices is food theft. “(Theft) really isn’t a small issue. If a kid steals from us, they are basically really stealing from you because you are going to pay for what they take in increased prices,” Anderson said.

Galloway, who is also a parent, disagreed with O’Shaughnessy and said that the cost of school lunch is still a bargain.

“As a parent, I am personally af fected by the rise in lunch prices with two of

the rising cost of lunch Over the years, lunch prices have consistently risen. Here’s the breakdown:

2008 $2.25

2007 $1.90

2003 to 2005 $1.75

my own children in the Carmel Clay School system. If I take my two daughters out for a fast food lunch, it costs about $4.50 or more for one lunch that is not really nutritious. It seems like a bargain to me to get milk, an entrée and two sides for only $2.25. Some of those who are complaining about the rise in school lunch prices don’t realize that it is still a good value compared to market prices,” Galloway said.

O’Shaughnessy said he believes that something should be done about the raised prices.

“Even dropping the lunch prices 10 to 20 cents will save families 50 cents a week. It doesn’t seem like much, but 180 days of school is saving a family 20 bucks or more. For some families, it is the difference between paying a certain bill or not,” O’Shaughnessy said. He also said that it would be more helpful for many people if the lunch prices were reduced, especially because of America’s current economic situation.

O’Shaughnessy said, “I think it would be fair if they put lunch prices back the way they were last year. That’s 35 cents a day saved, which is, added up, a decent amount of money that can be added towards many things that are important to a family, especially with the economy.”

SteVen Chen / graphic

SAT Prep courses don’t replace education by kelsey binion kbinion@hilite.org Despite some schools dropping the requirement, the SAT is still a major factor in many college applications. A student’s SAT score can either open or close admissions’ doors depending on the college. Before taking the test, students have the option to seek help to perform their best. One option is the SAT prep course offered here during the fall and spring. The first of these sessions started earlier this week.

But do prep courses really help?

According to The Record, Laurence Bunin, general manager of the SAT program for the College Board, said, “Short-term commerical prep courses don’t take place of rigorous education.” Such courses, he said, “Result only in very small score improvements.”

“There is no tricks to taking the SAT and no mystery,” Bunin said, countering the test prep companies’ claims to teach “strategies to conquer Jordan Rolsky the format.

“The SAT prep courses can be a cottage industry, which means that people are out there to help kids but also as a money making business. It is not cheap for parents going the private route,” counselor Rich Allen said.

Reactions from those who have taken the courses are mixed. Senior Joseph Cawley took advantage of an SAT prep course available at school. He only took the math section of the course and said it wasn’t very helpful.

“The course didn’t really help. Math is my strongest point, but if I took the English and writing portion I could have done better,” Cawley said.

Senior Jordan Rolsky, on the other hand, took a class called the Princeton Review SAT prep course at Park Tudor and said she had a good experience. “I credit my high SAT scores to the class,” Rolsky said. “Every Saturday we took SAT tests from the previous year to get in the habit of taking the test. When the test day arrived, I was very well prepared and knew exactly how to manage my time. I also learned many helpful tips to solving problems.

Micki Smith, a math instructor for the SAT prep course here, said the courses were good preparation for the SAT. “I believe the course is very beneficial,” she said via e-mail. “It helps students to know the directions ahead of time, gives extra practice problems to help study for the test, teaches strategies on how to approach certain types of problems and overall gives a better understanding of what the test will be assessing. I wish I would have had a class like the SAT prep course when I was in school. I know I would have been less anxious about the test. Working through practice problems is the best way to study.”

In addition to the SAT courses, there are resources outside of school. The counseling center has an adult tutor list of private tutors.

Regardless of the method, Allen recommended that students do something to prepare for the SAT, whether it’s a course or simply logging on to the College Board Web site for resources. “It is hard to cram for the SAT,” he said. “Students have been preparing ever since first grade. They have been reading as much as possible and doing well in core classes. Go to the College Board’s Web site and take a practice test that they put out. Also, there is an SAT question of the day. Answer the question, see how you do and bookmark the questions into a file, so when the SAT comes around you can have a review.”

Like Allen, Kristi LeVeque, a critical reading and writing instructor for the SAT prep course here, said preparation is key. “Test-taking strategies and familiarizing students with the test format and content are the kind of skills that are taught in a SAT prep course,” she said. “Taking the mystery out of the SAT helps students feel more confident. Also, knowing what to expect will make students feel more prepared. I know that if I had some of the information we give the students, particularly the information about test-taking strategies and the format of the test, I would have felt much more confident when I took the SAT. “Taking the class gives students a good idea what areas of the test will be more challenging for them, so they can concentrate on those areas in preparation for the test,” LeVeque said. “And sometimes something as simple as knowing when to guess and when not to guess can raise a test taker’s grade a few points.”

Cafeteria works to ensure food freshness, quality by jade schwarting jschwarting@hilite.org A 2005 investigation of school cafeterias by “Dateline NBC” found that in just a few months after the start of the school year, seven students and a teacher in New Jersey became ill after getting Salmonella poisoning from the cafeteria food. According to a 2007 investigation of Indiana cafeterias by “Channel 13 News,” some cafeterias, such as those in Kokomo, had not been inspected for 19 months, possibly leading to serious health violations.

More common than most think, cafeteria food-borne illnesses are becoming more and more widespread in the United States. However, according to assistant cafeteria manager Beth Galloway, students have nothing to fear.

Galloway said via e-mail, “The Board of Health comes out and inspects every cafeteria twice per year. They have the ability to close a kitchen down if there are gross violations. We have already passed our fall inspection this year and the inspector commented on how clean our kitchen was, especially considering the amount of food that comes out of our kitchen.”

Galloway said the main cafeteria serves approximately 2,000 students each day and, generally, food is not reused. “Any food out on a salad bar must be thrown away at the end of the day. That is why the fourth line might not have the lettuce or other items filled up to the brim,” Galloway said. “If a specialty salad, such as a chef salad that is served in the clear plastic container, is left over, then we can put it out the next day. It is kept

refrigerated between lines and in a cooler during the lines so it has been kept at a safe temperature.”

“Most of our products can be served again one time. For example, a pan of macaroni that is left over can be frozen then thawed and used the next time. It would be used first for that day.”

Although the cafeteria food is not pre-made and completely fresh, junior Maryam Semssar said she has noticed a trend of food re-use in the cafeterias. “They always have chicken fingers and deli bar in the main (cafeteria). It’s not good if we’re eating old food. We could get sick. I think the re-use of food can put our health at risk,” Semssar said.

While some foods are re-used, Galloway said opinions of people like Semssar are inaccurate. The food is stored properly and most of the meals are completely fresh. She said, “We get deliveries from different companies daily.

Many of our items come from Gordon Food Service which is very well known for the good products they make. We also get shipments of fresh fruits and salads twice a week. All items are checked in and put in the fridge or freezer immediately. We cook fresh all day long; no items are prepared when they come in.”

Although Semssar said eating re-used food could put her health at risk, she said, “I wouldn’t want to know how old (the food is), because then I wouldn’t eat it.”

While almost 250 school cafeteria violations in Indiana in 2000 were recorded by the United States Department of Agriculture, this school stands high above many other local schools. Semssar said, “I think for the most part (the food) is safe but it can always be improved.”

Nick johnson / photo

Hot out of the oven: Cafeteria worker serves pizza during lunch to hungry Hounds. The school adheres to guidelines to guarantee healthy and fresh food for its students.

ENTERTAINMENT• FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2008 • PAGE B3

Spectacular Scares

Forget the recent Halloween releases, HiLite reporter Lauren Mugavin brings you the top 5 classic movies to scare you silly

THEEXORCIST.WARNERBROS.COM / PHOTOS

1. ‘THE EXORCIST’

2. ‘THE SIXTH SENSE’

At first I had no idea why everyone was making such a big deal about this movie about a girl named Regan MacNeil who is possessed by a demon…until I saw it. It had an incredibly intense effect that both surprised and scared me.

Considering it was made in the ‘70s, it is extremely dark and evil–in an entertaining way, of course.

The stair scene was delightfully disturbing, something that’s sure to leave an imprint in my mind for a while. Regan was entrancing as the little girl possessed and as the normal, happy girl. The entire time she is possessed, you aren’t even aware that it’s a little girl, only that it’s a demon in a deceiving form. Some of the events that occur from the time the demon enters are shocking and horrifying, tearing the viewer between the desire for more and the desire to cover their eyes. I love the whole trek through trying to discover the truth behind the little girl’s “personality disorder” until they realize they don’t need a doctor, but an exorcist.

This horror/suspense movie by M. Night Shyamalan rules. The story is about a young boy who is cursed with the ability to see the dead and is helped by a child psychologist. Everything about the plot and story line is brilliant.

The actors are perfect for the parts they played. Bruce Willis allowed me to sympathize with the struggling child psychologist, Malcolm Crowe, who was willing to sacrifice everything just to help young children. My heart reached out to young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) the moment he came into the scene. It was so obvious that this adorable boy was an innocent, tormented soul who just wanted to “make them go away” so that he could be a normal kid with real friends and problems like, “What am I taking to lunch today?” instead of “What am I going to do about that bloodied dead guy standing next to me?” The real horror in the movie are from the ghosts Sear is cursed to see. They are battered up enough to at least make viewers cringe. It’s not a constant horror fest with scene after scene of senselessly bloodied bodies that are just meant to get a reaction out of the viewers. It has a real storyline that reels viewers in and conjures up emotion.

3. ‘PSYCHO’ This 1960’s movie is about a violent murder and the mystery of who committed it. It is definitely a classic. It proved that Alfred Hitchcock was thinking way ahead of his time. Because it is a slow-paced movie that moves gradually from one conflict to the next, it gives viewers a bunch of time to figure the character out.

The infamous suspense music adds anxiety for something to happen, and eventually audiences are blown away when they reach the famous scene, the moment of suspense, the part that everyone has been talking about: the shower scene. The shower scene is the essential item that makes this a horror movie, and everything surrounding it is just adding to the movie’s mood.

Plus, the ending is completely shocking. You almost have to laugh at how sick or “psycho” it really is.

PSYCHOMOVIE.COM / PHOTO

4. ‘NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET’ A breakthrough for its time, this movie scores the top five of my list for its pure uniqueness. The fact that Freddy kills teenagers in their sleep was new and intense.

He is the perfect horror image, with his burned and torn face and his knife-claws. The theme music to the movie is a suspenseful mix between the “Phantom of the Opera” and the “Exor cist”, promoting the scary movie mood.

Aside from the hor r or, it was also J o h n n y Depp’s first emergence in NIGHTMAREONELMthe film world, STREET.COM / PHOTO which may have started his successful career.

He gave a great performance as Glen Lantz, a lazy but supportive jock boyfriend to tormented Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp). She added to the movie with her extensively dramatic portrayal of a frightened teenager, haunted by a creature she can’t get away from. Together, they strive to stay awake in order to avoid Freddy, which is an adventure in itself.

5. ‘INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE’ This movie explores different aspects of being a vampire, making audiences r ealize things about the demons that you would never suspect. The characters are bloodthirsty killers. Still, you cannot help falling in love with them and eventually thinking, “God, I wish I were a vampire.” You would never have thought that one man’s transformation into an immortal being would be so interesting, but yet, his story is both sympathetic and wondrous. If you thought Brad Pitt was gorgeous as a human, you clearly have not seen him as Louis the vampire. His creamy and pale skin along with his perfectly proportioned features make you wonder why Lestat (Tom Cruise) is getting all the girls (although Cruise is equally enchanting). Just when you think it cannot get any better, in swoops Kirsten Dunst as the stubborn Claudia who completely changes up the engaging storyline. The horror in the film mainly comes from the different kinds of vampires, their non-romantic, but binding relationships, and most importantly, the way they enchant and kill their prey.

OWEN WILLIAMSON / PHOTO

VOTE FOR ROSIES

‘Blindness’ loses sight with excessive violence

BY MITCH RINGENBERG mringenberg@hilite.org

Beginning Nov. 3, a review of every 2008-2009 Rosewater nominee will be featured exclusively on www.hilite.org.

Read the review, watch the accompanying video produced by the drama department, and vote for your favorite in January.

“Blindness,” the new film by acclaimed director Fernando Meirelles, is an intelligent and thoughtprovoking film, but not one for the squeamish.

“Blindness” is based on a novel of the same name by José Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize for literature.

Meirelles directed the ground-breaking and awardwinning “City of God,” along with the acclaimed “The Constant Gardener.” With such an impressive billing behind the film, many will be expecting a masterpiece.

Alas, this is not the case. “Blindness” is a good film, with a great story and message to offer, but many of its flaws are not difficult to miss.

The movie begins with a single inexplicable event. A young man is driving his car down a busy intersection in an unknown city (we are never given the name of the film’s setting) when he suddenly goes blind. This is not blindness in the conventional sense. Instead of seeing “black” or the absence of light, all the victim sees is a bright white. To make things even stranger, it is contagious.

Eventually, it seems as if the majority of the country has caught this “blindness” and panic has erupted throughout the world. Nobody has any idea where this plague came from or how to cure it. The blind want to be cured, and the unaffected desperately want to hold onto their sight.

The government begins to send all of the afflicted into quarantines, where the real story begins.

The story follows the plight of one survivor, played

by Julianne Moore, who feigns blindness in order to be with her husband (who, ironically, is an eye doctor), who is being sent to a quarantine. The quarantine is essentially an abandoned hospital with around four separate wards where the blind are basically just given food and left to fend for themselves. It is here where the story reveals its true meaning.

The epidemic strips everyone of their basic human dignities, thus exposing their true nature and morals, or in some cases, a lack thereof. The wards begin to turn on one another for food, and one ward in particular, led by a vicious and evil “king,” takes things much too far.

This is where my biggest complaint concerning the

BLINDNESS-THEMOVIE.COM / PHOTO film comes. There are some scenes in “Blindness,” intended to be effective and disturbing that are almost too much to endure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not someone to criticize a film for its violence–I thoroughly enjoyed the “Saw” series–but in order for it to work in a story’s benefit, it has to serve a purpose, and the film has to have heart.

But the violence in this film is sexualized, and while it does indeed benefit the film’s story, it is brutal and cold, and many audience members will feel the need to walk out of the theater during certain scenes. When a film makes you feel uncomfortable, it can be good or bad. It’s a good thing if you feel uncomfortable simply because you care and sympathize with a character and don’t want to watch them go through any pain.

When it’s bad, the film is simply showing you actions or images that you do not want to see. Unfortunately, this film falls more on the latter side, which prevents it

from being better than it is.

However, this film contains some strong and moving performances, particularly by Moore and Mark Ruffalo, who plays the husband, as the fi lm’s main two protagonists, who are never given names to enhance the film’s symbolism. Moore is especially impressive as the doctor’s wife, while giving us a believable take as a heroine leading the blind. Ruffalo is clearly challenging his acting chops in this role and does a great job with his character.

There will be a great deal of moviegoers and critics panning this film, which is understandable. However, this movie is not for ever yone. People with weak stomachs may want to think twice before paying to see it. On the other hand, moviegoers looking for a change of pace from multi-million dollar blockbusters and wanting to be challenged will find something to appreciate in “Blindness.”

Page B4 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Entertainment

Reviews

books. movies. food. music. shopping. Previews.

Storm Front is mindlessly entertaining

By Tracy Sun tsun@hilite.org

Owen Williamson / photo

Beware of the count: Senior Rohan Dharan reads through the script with his co-stars at the rehearsal of the fall production, Ceremony of Blood.

Dharan will play the lead role of Dracula in a play that is full of blood and gore, which has never been done before.

Drama’s Fresh Blood

Fall drama production proves different from plays in years past with new stage work, adaptation of old story

WRAP hosts horror hour This year on Halloween, in addition to the fall production, WRAP will host its annual horror variety hour.

The event has a distinct Halloween theme and has been held for the past few years.

The event takes place in the media center after school until 4:30 p.m. WRAP sponsor Connie Mitchell said decorations with a Halloween theme adorn the media center for the event. Kelsey “Kay” Campbell, WRAP member and junior, said, “It’s always a blast because we always go all out.”

Many activities are scheduled, including a costume contest, a scariest original writing contest and a scariest performance of an excerpt contest.

“A lot of students just bring material that they’ve found or created that’s appropriate, but they can just come and enjoy,” Mitchell said. All students are welcome to come. In order to involve everyone who does not perform, Mitchell said there usually is an activity where everyone tells a part of a scary story. By Afra Hussain

By lexi muir lmuir@hilite.org Senior Rohan Dharan stays after school almost every day. He rehearses over eight hours a week and spends countless hours at home memorizing line after line of script. Dharan is preparing for this year’s fall production, Ceremony of Blood, in which he will play the role of Dracula.

“When I read the script, I knew this would be the best role,” he said.

Drama director Jim Peterson said that Ceremony of Blood was chosen as the fall production this year because the calendar pushed the performance date up to Oct. 30 as opposed to its usual performance dates in early November.

“I’ve had this script for eight years but I’ve never had a chance to do it,” Peterson said. “People don’t want to go see a play like this in November, so the calendar really called for a Halloween theme.”

The play is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

It is a semi-mystery about ordinary people turning into vampires and why. The setting of the play, rather than the novel’s Victorian era, has been changed to the year 1923 to incorporate some psychological developments, Freud’s theories and how they affect Dracula and WWI, which will include anti-war viewpoints and issues.

According to Peterson, the basic plotline of the play begins with Count Dracula’s invasion of England in search of new victims to feed his undying hunger. In doing this, Dracula finds himself only to be outsmarted by a brilliant woman played by senior Katherine “Katie” Teal, and he is eventually thwarted at the end.

There are many differences between previous years’ productions and Ceremony of Blood. The most significant difference is that unlike previous years, the play will be preformed in the studio theater rather than in the auditorium. This way, according to Peterson, the audience is as close as possible to the actors, and they

can be scared easily.

“There will be two stages with an aisle in the middle,” he said. “The actors will walk through the audience to get to the stage and all the audience members will be within 25-30 feet of the stage.”

Dharan said, “This is different from any play I’ve ever done. I’ve never worked with the audience on all sides before.”

Along with being held in a different theater, many new special effects will be added to the production.

These effects include blood, lighting, dry ice, sound ef fects and fog. The amount of “blood” in this production, according to Peterson, is much more than ever before.

“This is my first time working with this amount of blood,” said Peterson. “I don’t usually get into the scary, bloody, gory stories. There are a lot of death scenes so we want it to be bloody. The hardest thing about it is going to be getting the costumes clean for the next night’s production.”

The production will be performed on Oct. 30 and 31 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the bookstore for $7 as well as at ccs.tix.com. The Web site is new this year and anyone can log on to buy tickets for Ceremony of Blood. Peterson said that he hopes the Web site will be used to sell tickets for all future performing arts department productions.

Dharan said he encourages all students to come see the production. He said that the turn out last year was great, and he hopes to make it even better this year. “(The play) is cheap entertainment and it’s very fitting for the time,” he said. “We’re making it so it’s not as family friendly. Plus, the script is amazing.”

Peterson said that his one hope for the production, other than it being a success, is that the audience members will truly be scared. “(The play) is scary because you’re right there in the action,” he said. “With television, you can just turn it off. Here it’s in your face.”

Jim Butcher conjures up a magical recipe in Storm Front with all the ingredients that are supposed to work. With a culmination of wizardry, murder, vampires and a dash of romance, Storm Front contains what is so often targeted at the teenage demographic.

Even though it is not a literary masterpiece, Storm Front provides satisfactory, mindless entertainment.

Storm Front is the first of a continuing series of 10 books in the Dresden Files series. It is narrated by the protagonist Harry Dresden, who is a wizard detective living in modern-day Chicago. The novel begins with a slow two weeks of business for Dresden until Karrin Murphy, director of Special Investigations (SI) for the Chicago police, calls him in for a peculiar case.

As a special consultant for the SI department, he hurries to the crime scene and finds a gr uesome double homicide caused by dark, evil magic. This begins the unraveling of the truth behind the murders, which involves much more than he initially anticipates and eventually the endangerment of his own life. The 322-paged novel convinces the reader to turn the page and is filled with nonstop action and drama.

A big plus to Storm Front is the ease of reading it.

Butcher doesn’t use a lot of complex literary devices that make the book tough to get through. It’s a fairly fast read despite the fact it is over 300 pages; the smaller pages and format make up for the volume.

Butcher makes the characters and stor yline easy to follow as well.

Dresden is a likeable character, complex and deep, but he covers it up with a wise-cracking, best friend sense of humor. The description of each supernatural aspect of the book is described with enough detail (however ridiculous they might be), as is Dresden’s own powers and abilities. As the book reaches its climax, turning the page was simple.

Storm Front isn’t any type of groundbreaking or mind-blowing adventure, but it is enough, which is a good way to describe the book. It isn’t anything special or something a reader hasn’t seen before, but Butcher does keep the reader wondering what happens next. The language and literary value of the book was lacking but expected.

Overall, Storm Front is worth the time to read.

The ease of read and entertainment from the book casts a spell over the negative components of it and is even good enough to be transformed into a SciFi television movie. Literary matters aside, Storm Front successfully immerses the reader into the dangerous and exciting world of Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, at least for a few hours.

Storm Front Page Count: 322 Plot: B+

Quality of Writing: C+

Readability: AOverall: B

Godless explores struggles of questioning faith by erum rizvi erizvi@hilite.org Godless by Pete Hautman is a stimulating novel that portrays how religion and teenagers are a potentially fiery pair. At the age when significant decision-making skills are being formed and teenagers are finding their own identity, whether it may be apart or the same as their rearing, it is shown that the pressure to follow the status quo can cause rebelliousness. In Godless, Hautman shares a humorous representation of a group of teenagers who get over-involved with the expansion of their self-made religion, family and community.

Sixteen-year-old, imaginative Jason Bock is fed up with being pushed into Catholicism by his parents which he finds to be a bland religion.

His religious father puts him in the church’s ‘outreach’ program. On the spur or the moment, he starts his own church, Chutengodianism, whose followers worship the ‘Tenlegged God’ which is their town’s 207-foot water tower. What begins as a joke with Jason Bock and his friends creating rules that he thinks are as

arbitrary as the rules of the Catholic Church such as observing Sabbath on Tuesday, turns out to be taken seriously by some of the followers.

Jason’s best friend, Peter “Shin” Shinner is there from the start. As the religion’s Head Kahuna, Jason names Shin the First Keeper of the Sacred Text. Shin even begins writing Chutengodianism scripture as he gets serious about the religion.

The other subsequent members of the religion are also granted a title.

Jason’s attraction to a fellow member of the church group, Magda, leads him to name her High Priestess.

Henr y Stagg, a bully, becomes known as the High Priest because he knows how to climb to the top of the water tower. As more disciples join his faith, Jason begins to lose control of Chutengodianism and he realizes that, although it may have been easy to create his own religion, it will certainly be difficult for him to control what it has become.

Although this story may seem to be unbelievable, Hautman makes it work throughout most of the novel.

While one could criticize some of the character personalities such as the bully, Henry, who wavers from

bully to friend and how Shin is obsessed with the made up religion, the novel reveals the consequences inbuilt with practically any religion or faith. Godless shows the ease with some people in how they feel better when they fit into a group and how some who go deep can become fanatics. The novel also showed how there are penalties to actions taken on the basis of faith alone.

I thought that this book was wellwritten and stimulating. Hautman presented an interesting and new way to examine faith. Godless was one of the most thought-provoking novels I have ever read especially because it is a story many people can relate to. Those who feel doubts that come with teenage reflection might very well see a way toward greater religious maturity. Readers will meet characters who are spirited and serious in their struggles. They are willing to take risks for the sake of a touch of the divine. The story actually allows anyone to think about faith without promoting any position and is written in a context comparatively unimpeded by the emotions that tend to come along with discussions of faith.

Godless Page count: 198 plot: BQuality of Writing: B+ (not really page turning until the last half of the book) Readability: BOverall: B

Student Section • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Page B5

Odd Ball Injuries

Through the Pages...

While many are more than prepared for “normal” emergencies, few can anticipate unusual incidents

Annie Wu, senior and AP Studio Art student shows a glimpse of her sketchbook

Min Qiao, Ariel Asien / Photo Illustration

“It was the most embarrassing moment of my life.

They pulled out a mini chain saw. They then sawed the desk in half freeing my finger,” Cotherman said. or junior Brandt Cotherman there was nothing Senior Eric Ardaiolo said, “For many people they that could have protected him from when don’t think about the outcome of what they are doing his curiosity took the best of him. “During no matter how stupid it may have been in the first Kindergarten we always had nap time, but place,” he said.

I don’t think I enjoyed it much because I In the situation like Cotherman’s the fire fighters or always became bored,” he said “There was one time I ambulances have to step in. This does become a problem, decided to stick my finger in this hole that was directly for all emergency calls because the preventable mistakes could potentially become a waste of above my head. When I tried to time according to Phoenix.gov. pull my finger back it was stuck.

“Each year false alarms or non The worst part was I couldn’t get emergencies cost all of us millions of it unstuck.” dollars and thousand of wasted man Cotherman’s heart was hours. The Phoenix police department pounding and he became anxious is speaking for all fire departments; so, he screamed for his teacher According to the HiLite student time and money need to be spent on who immediately got the nurse. name list, there were 4,199 significant emergencies and calls. A Tugging on the lodged finger students registered at CHS as false alarm is caused by human error, just wouldn’t do the trick. “They equipment problems, or false crime.” tried everything, gel, ice and even of the first day of school. We Ardaiolo also had an embarrassing soap and my finger just wouldn’t plan to cover some of them moment that landed him in the slide,” Cotherman said. “As a randomly. This week, we feature emergency room. “An incident in kindergartner I was scared that it number pre-school happened to me that was would never come out.” very embarrassing. I was sitting on the When school nurse Carol floor when I found a bean lying there Gelatt heard of Cotherman’s tragic that fell out of my beanie baby. I was kindergarten story she referred to just playing with the bean in my hands it as a “licking-a-frozen-flag-pole when I wondered if it would fit up my case.” While the odd predicament For more information nose. So, I put it up there then inhaled, Cotherman found himself in was on our selection process, causing the bean to jam up higher.” unlike anything she had seen visit www.hilite.org “Who knew that I would stick a before, Gelatt said she has seen bean from a beanie baby up my nose,” other circumstances. Nurses like Ardaiolo said, “Personally, I think Gelatt must be prepared for any there should be a warning label on situation. Gelatt said, “To cause beanie babies saying ‘keep the beans fewer traumas, we nurses have to be creative in our rescue techniques and think outside the away from children’s noses.”

“People do things everyday to protect themselves, box.”

But, the school ended up having to resort to calling making the right choices, staying out of bad situations, the fire department to report that a student’s finger was but one careless thought puts you in an odd situation jammed in a hole and would not budge. Cotherman said that could be hazardous,” Ardaiolo said. “People just that the fire department came marching in dressed in full don’t always think before they act that is why little stupid mistakes turn into hazardous situations.” uniform ready to take on Cotherman’s desk.

F Brandt Cotherman

By Maddi Bourgerie mbourgerie@hilite.org

Everybody has a story

759

Student warns against ‘average Joe’ leaders Guest Columnist Nick Cooper

Throughout the course of this presidential election year, the Republican campaign message has been simple: “Vote for me, because I can relate to you personally, because I am like you, the average American.” I understand that it would be impossible to find this exact dialogue in any sound bite from both Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. However, the Republicans have implied this message through countless tactics.

Early in the campaign, McCain labeled himself as the average candidate, the maverick, the independent minded, especially in his avid use of the town hall format for the majority of his speeches.

His running mate, Palin, took the message even further by referring to herself as a, “PTA Member”, “Hockey Mom”, and who could forget, “Pit-bull with Lipstick”.

This type of rhetoric coming from already charming candidates seems to be the perfect recipe to swoon voters toward the Republican Party. “Forget the economy, forget the war, forget health care and human rights. That candidate is like me, so I’m gonna vote for them.” Well, me being the argumentative person that I am would have to ask that voter, “Do you think you could be president?”

I could receive all types of answers to a question like that. But from my own personal experiences I found that most people do not think that they could be president.

In fact, if given the opportunity, most Americans would likely reject a responsibility of such significance.

And who can blame them? Let’s face it, the President of the United States could possibly be the most difficult position to fill in the world. Not only does the president literally work

many 24 hour days, but also needs to have a wide range of knowledge including but not limited to complex economic theory and PalestinianIsraeli history. Call me an elitist, but I do not believe that the average American can handle that type of work. And I would not want to vote for someone like myself either. A high school senior with about 12 years of grade school and political experience limited to two years of class treasurer is not exactly what our country needs for leadership at this critical hour.

I am going to make a challenge to all the voters out there reading this column. Do not simply choose a candidate because you can relate to him/her, or because you think that candidate is most like you.

Instead, vote for the candidate that is better than you. Vote for the candidate that is more intelligent, more experienced, and more ready to lead this countr y. What the McCain campaign is trying to do to the average American is not only dishonest but also unfair. Enticing voters into choosing familiar comfortable candidates was the same Republican strategy used in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. And based on the current president’s approval ratings, few people would be willing to fall for the same campaign tactic a third time. Take a step outside of your comfort zone and vote for someone more able to accept the presidency than you are. If you make this brave decision and take on this challenge, I guarantee the only thing that may be hurt by this action is your ego.

Compiled by Ellie Seta

Content: “I sometimes write inspirational quotes and ideas for future projects, not always drawings.”

Purpose of Book: “This is my class sketchbook. It has about half class assignments and the other half doodles.”

Paper Pop-Up Assignment: “We were assigned a series project where we had to fit an animal into a shape. I fit a paper bird into a triangle.”

Mini Sketches: “We had to make a list of 15 ideas and make mini sketches that only take a few seconds to draw. (My teacher) gave us topics like nature, buildings and other stuff then we just had to draw whatever first came to mind and draw it quickly.”

Teacher Comments: “My teacher looks at my sketchbook and writes comments about my work. He usually writes things like ‘keep expanding on this thought’ or other things. It is almost like someone reading my diary and making comments about it, it is kind of personal.”

Time: “I usually only take about five minutes on a drawing. I never spend more than 10 minutes on a drawing. I feel bad spending a long time on a drawing because I can’t take it out of my sketchbook since it is a bound book (because the edges of the picture would be ripped).”

Tools Used: “I usually use colored pencils, pastels or just drawing pencils. But I do have a sketchbook for watercolors with thick paper. But the one I use for class is thin (paper).”

Number of Books: “I have around seven other filled sketchbooks at home. They are all different sizes some are small and others are big for paintings.”

Want More?

Favorite Sketch: “I can’t pick one favorite, but my favorite sketches are usually of people. Sometimes they are people close to me and other times just random or made up people. I just like to draw people in general.”

For more information on students getting involved in the elections, see:

Favorite Artists: “My favorite artist is Sargent; he is an American realist painter. He paints portraits that are realistic and soft but still surreal. I also like Gustav Klint; his most famous painting is “The Kiss”. I love his use of color and his passion.”

“Non-Voters get involved in election,” page B1

Inspiration: “I am most inspired by concepts. For one drawing I was inspired by a lecture I heard about globalization. I always try to incorporate humor and irony into my work to draw the viewer in. But for the most part, I am inspired by everything around me. My art is always very personal and comes from within.”

“Sixteen, 17 year-olds, work at polls on election day”, page 3

got voice?

To write your own column and have your voice heard, contact the student section editor at mqiao@hilite.org

To see a photo montage of Wu’s sketchbook, visit www.hilite.org Arjuna Capulong, Min Qiao / photos

Page B6 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Perspectives

s ta f f p e r s p e ct i v e

Contract dispute should not affect students

T

wo weeks ago, the Carmel Clay School Board declared an impasse with new teacher contract negotiations.

Karen Taff, teacher here and member of the Carmel Clay Education Administration’s negotiating team, said disagreement over the financial package was the key conflict.

“In a broad sweep, that would include issues of salary, insurance, that sort of thing,” Taff said.

“The teachers believe that the package that we put forward is something that is based on the ability of the school board to pay.”

The negotiation process will receive a mediator to work out the financial package.

Teachers have been working without a contract since June 30. However, according to school board president Stephen Backer, teachers only need a majority of approval in the parties’ discussion.

For those students who remember TWAC (Teachers Want A Contract) and the last contract battle, the struggle was a prolonged situation that affected many students here. Hopefully, this impasse will be resolved soon so we won’t have to resort to pulling out the signature green and orange TWAC buttons again.

We can recall that last time, teachers without contracts weren’t paid for their overtime – and as a result, some clubs were discontinued and teachers couldn’t offer their students before or after school support.

Taff said that negotiations for the last contract lasted for 18 months; so far, negotiations have been continuing for 5 months. “I think that one of the things that is a marked difference at least on the outset of this negotiation process was there was an emphasis placed on a collaborative bargaining framework, and we did throughout May and June,” Taff said.

Backer also feels that there is less animosity in the current contract debate than the last. “We think a great deal of the teachers and what they do and hope this can be resolved quickly,” Backer said.

If we are to have another TWAC battle, it shouldn’t spill over to the school and affect the students. We should be able to pick up on the lessons of our last conflict and prevent gridlock from affecting learning. Taff said

that the teachers are motivated by the slogan “protect the future of Carmel Clay Schools,” and that they see themselves as contributing to the quality of our education system. It seems that the teachers are aware of the ramifications of entrenched contract battle.

“Teachers are human beings, and the expectation is that they will do what they always have done in this district, which is the very best that they possibly can for students. Period.”

our stand We should not allow the current contract dispute to disrupt the environment of this school as it did last time.

Renny Logan / Art

Drilling in ANWR would delay real decision-making Dancing Thru Life by amy flis

possible Results of ANWR drilling • The price of a barrel of oil could be lowered only up to

$1.44 per barrel.

• Of all the oil the United States consumes, it currently imports

58.2 percent • ANWR drilling would result in an import percentage as low as

46 percent • By 2030, all projections predicted a return to import levels above

50 percent www.eia.doe.gov/ oiaf/servicerpt/ anwr/introduction.html / source

The approaching elections and continued rise in fuel costs have put increasing pressure on politicians to appease American voters by supporting oil drilling in protected environmental areas. The most prominent recent example has been the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska.

Although drilling would temporarily relieve the strain put on American citizens by high oil prices, the United States needs to act now to formulate and execute a long-term solution to end its dependence on oil. More drilling is not the answer.

Many politicians have been optimistic about the results of drilling in ANWR, the largest wilderness in the United States and home to animals such as caribou, polar bears, seals, and birds. In a speech on June 9, 2008, President Bush went so far as to say that drilling would “take the pressure off the price of gasoline.”

However, this is not the case.

In fact, drilling in ANWR will not have a significant impact on world oil prices and only a limited impact on U.S. dependency on foreign oil according to report released in May 2008 by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent statistical agency within the Department of Energy. This report supports the claim that drilling is only a quick fix for the rising gas prices. After those years are up, the United States will find itself in the same position it is in currently.

In addition, the consumption of fossil fuels threatens the health of every organism on this planet, including our own. America’s dependence on oil, whether the oil is foreign or domestically-produced, has harmful effects beyond its economic implications. Burning of fossil fuels is at the root of numerous problems including high levels of pollution in cities, depletion of the ozone layer, and global warming. The occurrence of skin cancer has increased as the amount of protection provided by the ozone layer has decreased, and

countless statues and monuments have been left damaged by acid rain. Then there are the more direct environmental impacts of oil spills, which can be completely devastating to an ecosystem. These are only a few of the ways that consumption of fossil fuels has affected both directly and indirectly the health of a planet.

Experts have warned for decades that an energy crisis was coming, but manageable fuel prices have meant that Americans have had little need to act. Consequently, America’s daily consumption of oil has continued to rise to its current level of over 20 million barrels per day according to the EIA. Now that prices are soaring, Americans must react, and they need to do so in a way that keeps in mind the longterm goals. Drilling for oil now will only mean that the real decisions are left for our children to make.

Despite the possible short-term benefits, opening up ANWR for drilling is just that—a short-term solution that will only lead to more short-term answers to growing energy worries. The larger concern is that these actions could alleviate America’s need to reach the necessary long-term solutions of alternative energy and decreased reliance on oil. This energy crisis is the opportunity America needs to free itself of its dependence on oil, because at the rate we have been going, we may never make that shift.

Voters need to consider how critical the issues of sustainable energy and oil independence are as they look at candidates for the coming elections, and even after the elections, continue to hold politicians accountable for the promises they make now by speaking out and writing letters concerning this critical debate. Clearly this argument is not just about the preservation of pristine wilderness and priceless wildlife but about the preservation of the health of a nation, its economy, and its people. Amy is the editor in chief of the HiLite. Contact her at aflis@hilite.org.

School spirit should come before inter-class competition life’s too short by lexi muir Football games have always been a time to cheer on the team as well as your class. I can’t even count the number of times I heard the seniors chanting “Oh-Eight” last year, and it was always responded to by a loud and competitive “Oh-Nine” from my class. Unlike today, however, cheering for classes took up a small percentage of the overall cheering which was mainly geared toward the football team.

Now, it seems very few people even know what is going on during the game, and even fewer actually care.

In his famous inaugural address, John F. Kennedy said, “Divided, there is little we can do - for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.” In his address, he spoke to America, challenging the countr y to unite. United, Kennedy believed America could be unstoppable, and he made that evident in his speech. Kennedy’s words are wise, and this issue he spoke of still holds true today. Only the country is Carmel High School, and we are divided. On one side, there is the Class of ‘09. On the other, there is the Class of ‘10.

Of course, everybody loves a friendly class competition. There are the Homecoming spirit challenges, the playhouse building, the 5k run/walk and many more “friendly” competitions. Unfortunately, the competition hasn’t stopped there, and it’s gotten markedly more dangerous.

The first time this problem became evident was the first home football game this year: the ESPN game V. Cathedral. Before even entering the gates to the game, the two classes went from chanting against each other to throwing bottles of soda at the other class. It became something similar to a war zone with soda bottle ammunition flying from one class to the other.

After this event I figured it was probably just the

first game jitters and that everyone was just excited and pumped up for the game. I thought wrong.

The next few games had less life-threatening activities but more verbal abuse against each other.

With this came even less cheering for the football team. I can count the number of times on one hand that we, as a school, have chanted something for the actual football team in the last three home games. I continue to ask myself why, if we are at the football game to support the team, we continue to chant “Oh-Nine” and “One-Oh.” How that has anything to do with the Carmel football team playing well and defeating their opponent is beyond me.

Another noticeable aspect of the student body’s cheering is that we pay more attention to the beach ball bouncing around the student section, the people throwing T-shirts and the news crew that comes than we do the actual game. I heard numerous football players mention that the loudest the student body cheered throughout the entire Nor th Central game was when the news crew came and was filming us. And when the beach ball suddenly dropped on the track before the cheerleaders, I am almost positive that every eye in the student section was focused on that ball, and not one person was watching the game.

Maybe it is because out football team is, in fact unstoppable and the student body is bored of the fact that they demolish ever y team on their path to State. Maybe it’s because we feel the team doesn’t need us to cheer them on. They’ll win anyway, right?

Instead of cheering for the defense or the offense or loudly insulting the other team about how bad they are compared to ours, we fill our time with cheering against each other and paying attention to other things. For now, maybe that’s okay. The football team kills the other teams with or without the student body’s encouragement and support.

But I fear for the moment when the football team needs the student body’s encouragement. Maybe that moment will not come and the team will defeat every team by a colossal amount of points until they have yet another state ring on their fingers. But when they are struggling and need that extra boost from their fans, will we be able to come together as a school and help out? Or will we continue to stand divided and fight against each other cheering for our class rather than our school? Lexi Muir is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact her at lmuir@hilite.org.

(Kennedy) spoke to America, challenging the country to unite. Only the country is Carmel High School, and we are divided. On one side, there is the Class of ‘09.

On the other, there is the Class of ‘10.

Perspectives • Friday, October 17, 2008 • Page B7

Partisan bickering will kill us all Oh Yes he did!

Thought for both parties key in upcoming election Kanitra’s korner

By bennett fuson

By Matt Kanitra

Imagine the Carmel football offense and defense decided that they didn’t like how each other played.

Their arguments about strategy led to them losing every game they played. Other teams in Indiana, sparked by Carmel’s actions, also begin feuding, and a great number also began losing streaks. While not necessarily hammering out on the finer details and intricacies, this is what happened out there in the real world.

This wasn’t how things were meant to be. In the early years of American government, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson opposed each other’s viewpoints on anything from states’ rights to a national bank to such a high degree that they gathered followers to support their opposition. George Washington, the president at the time, was bitterly disappointed in the actions of these two men. His belief, echoed famously thr oughout history, was that “a house divided cannot stand.” While Hamilton and Jefferson didn’t know it at the time, their actions would lead to the modern form of political parties in today’s political landscape and, by proximity, the levels of useless bantering and arguments that litter Washington D.C. today.

I haven’t ever really discr edited Washington f o r h i s views, but I think the “divided” concept is one that we as a people should really take to heart.

We s t a n d divided right now while the house crashes down around us.

Regardless of the outcome o f N o v. 4 , our priority should be to rebuild a nation that has fallen by the wayside in the past few years, not mark up a victory for a donkey or elephant.

The last time we as a people have really worked together to strive for a better nation was almost 70 years ago. Back then, America was in a state almost shockingly similar to our own. (For those who haven’t yet figured out that understanding the past can help fix the present, take note). After spending a solid decade in relative economic wealth, a decline in foreign trade, coupled with the collapse of several large financial institutions and banks, caused a recession in economic activity.

Sound familiar yet?

After four years of downward spiraling, Pr esident Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected into a nation torn apart by financial ruin. In his first 100 days Roosevelt put into action more initiatives to restart the nation than any other president in history, regardless of party. What really gets me, though, is that he did it with very little regard to partisan stances; Roosevelt simply did what needed to be done without worrying about the “integrity” of his political affiliations.

This is the course of action we need to take. Unfortunately, these days politicians seem more concerned with the personal repercussions of a statement, rather than working towards bettering the country. If this trend continues, we are almost certainly headed down a road we have already traveled, built roadblocks around, and avoided by all costs.

It’s time to stop wor r ying about how we as individuals will look supporting one motion or another; otherwise, we’ll all end up sitting in shacks again, wondering in between breadlines what could have been if we only had the audacity to act civilized for once.

And that doesn’t look ver y good to me at all. Bennett Fuson is an Entertainment editor for the HiLite. Contact him at bfuson@ hilite.org.

As a conservative living in Carmel, it is weird to feel like I am becoming part of the minority among my peers. While Carmel has historically been a conservative town, my generation has been moving steadily from the right toward more independent or liberal viewpoints.

This is not a complaint, and, in fact, I love that there is such a wide range of beliefs and convictions. What is disturbing, however, is how if you voice an opinion that doesn’t support the left, that opinion is viewed as being obnoxious.

Much of this column is going to center around politics, but the point is not to spew my political beliefs on all those who read it. While some of my beliefs will be apparent, this will be an analysis of facts, not just conjecture on my part. It is a breakdown of double standards and fairness and their place in the 2008 election.

During the primary/caucus season, the majority of the media attention focused around the Democratic race, more specifically, the Clinton and Obama matchup. It was going to be an historic nomination, regardless of who won. In this year’s election, it seems, the Republican Party has become an afterthought, a side note, to the spectacle that is the Democratic Party.

When it became evident that Obama was going to receive the nomination, the media briefly mentioned McCain’s victory. Throughout the race, it would take something like Huckabee’s refusal to admit defeat to make the evening news mention more than just the Republican delegate count. The news networks didn’t spend as much time on it because it wasn’t as exciting as history in the making, but as far as the future of our government goes, it is equally important. Now let’s fast-forward to two months ago when the vice presidential pick came into focus.

Obama announced his decision first and chose Sen. Joseph Biden as his running mate to add some actual political experience to his ticket. Similar to the primaries, Obama received the bulk of the media coverage in the weeks leading up to the conventions and then McCain only got the spotlight for the few days in between the two announcements. McCain selected someone with a fresh viewpoint that would complement his years of experience in the political machine: Gov. Sarah Palin.

Palin is a relatively young politician that has had very little experience in D.C., similar to Obama.

McCain supported his vice presidential choice with logic that was similar to what the entire Obama campaign is based on: a fresh approach that will help the country.

But somehow, while that approach has worked for Obama, it’s viewed as just a political maneuver by McCain to win support by connecting with another demographic.

This is the perfect example of cross-party double standards. With the media’s support, Obama has been made to look like the poster child of youthful leadership that has not been jaded by years in Washington. Palin fits the same description, and has been running a conservative town that stays connected to its beliefs which makes her a logical pick. Is this blatant bias fair to the voters who are simply trying to learn about the candidates?

Why is it so outlandish to have a young vice president when it is fine to have an inexperienced president? It’s OK, somehow, for the Democratic Party and the media to draw attention to McCain’s age and health, implying that there is a chance he could die in office, placing Palin in charge. How can Palin’s inexperience be such a problem when Obama’s works perfectly for him? In fact, Palin has 17 years of official political experience versus Obama’s 12.

Right now, just as it was with the Democratic Primary, history is going to be made regardless of which side wins.

In the past, all the candidates have been white males and the elections have focused mainly on their policies and ability to lead. We have the first woman and first black man on the presidential ticket, but should this really be the most important part of the upcoming election? Matt Kanitra is Graphics editor for the HiLite. Contact him at mkanitra@hilite.org.

g r a p h i c p e r sp e c t i v e

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The last time we as a people have really worked together to strive for a better nation was almost 70 years ago.

Accountant Acumen 15 Minutes of Fame Ads Manager Artist Beats/Calendar Entertainment Feature Front Page Graphics News Perspectives Photography Sports

Renny logan/ art

Style trumps substance in politicians Eye of the Beholder

By Renny Logan Since the first presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon aired on Sept. 26, 1960, television has had an enormous impact on elections as well as history. As a result, politicians have begun to cross the line into the realm of celebrities.

For the first time, U.S. voters were able to watch presidential hopefuls debate head-to-head. The effects were immediate. “Kennedy was composed,” U.S. History teacher Will Ellery said. “Honestly, Kennedy was a better looking guy and charismatic and that came across the television screen.”

Unpr ecedented, the Democratic nominee b e c a m e m o r e t h a n a n a m e i n a n e w s p a p e r, transforming into a living, breathing person on a screen in family rooms across America. Kennedy was elected not only president, but became an instant celebrity in the eyes of the public as well.

Jump forward 48 years after those historic television debates and the politicians are more media-savvy than ever. In light of his charismatic appeal and celebritylike appearance, Democratic candidate Barack Obama has been paralleled with Kennedy. Contrarily, Ellery said he disagrees that the Obama and McCain debates have the same “drama” that could be seen between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960, pointing out that both of today’s candidates show ease in front of the camera.

“McCain’s not inept (on-scr een),” Eller y said. “He’s found a way to use the media also;” Eller y referred to McCain’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live” as well as the Republican candidate’s willingness to poke fun at himself.

Nixon, on the other hand, was not quite as adept.

Watching the 1960 debates, the viewer can easily observe Nixon’s rigidity in front of the camera. According to “The First Debate Over Presidential Debates” by Frank Stanton, who was president of CBS from 1946 to 1973, Nixon had been in the hospital prior to the first debate and “looked like death” but refused makeup.

“Kennedy was bronzed beautifully, wearing a navy suit

and blue shirt,” Stanton writes. “I felt sorry for (Nixon).”

Maybe both candidates know the tricks of the trade, but the fact is that Obama speaks much more fluidly and people react to that. Ellery said he agrees with this statement, but said the difference between today’s candidates and Kennedy and Nixon lies with camera experience. Obama and McCain have dealt greatly with the media, television included.

In a recent article published on msnbc.com, Michael Ventre analyzed the degree to which the candidates have been polished, much like celebrities. “(McCain and Obama) have been prepped and polished from their perfectly manicured follicles to their shiny wing tips.”

He writes. “They have been schooled by their campaign managers…in areas such as posture, voice, hand gestures, facial reactions and, of course, the all-important lapel pin.”

Ventre suggests that, while the content of their speech continues to be important, appearance is what leaves an impression with audiences in the end. “The debates may be a forum for the pointed exchange of ideas,” Ventre writes. “But it’s the overall presentation that resonates with audiences and voters.”

Even more than their appearances, the candidates know how to alter that of their opponent through the media.

Beginning in July of this year, McCain began releasing ads which centered on Obama’s lack of experience. One of those ads compared Obama to the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

“This is kind of a stretch to say that Obama has something in common with Paris Hilton,” Bob Schieffer, host of “Face The Nation” said in a CBS interview.

“There’s a high possibility that all (these ads) could blow up in McCain’s face and backfire.”

Sure enough, Obama soon released his own ads and made his own accusations against McCain that included darkened images, making McCain appear grainy and dark.

While this use of media to undermine the opponent is nothing new, see Lyndon Baines Johnson’s ad in 1964 during his run against Barry Goldwater, Obama has found a new way to manipulate the media to his own benefit.

McCain has charged that, because of Obama’s celebrity appeal, the public hardly knows him. I would argue that we don’t know either one: it’s getting down to the wire and both candidates are saying what they think the public wants to hear and trying to look the part. Me? I’m just trying to decide if there really is substance to either one’s style.Renny Logan is a Writing Coach and reporter for the HiLite. Contact her at rlogan@hilite.org.

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Page B8 • Friday, October 17, 2008 • 15 Minutes of Fame

Carmel’s own

gossip girl JUNIOR MONICA SALLAY

welcome

Me, myself and Blair

October 17, 2008

Junior Monica Sallay uses Blair Waldorf from the TV show “Gossip Girl” as her main inspiration for her daily wardrobe and has articles that Blair wore in actual “Gossip Girl”episodes.

what she’s wearing Henri bendels magenta cardigan

becoming blair For inspiration, check out these new Spring 2009 Collections

marc by marc jacobs black shoes

dresses and skirts:

• • •

Diane von Furstenberg Marc Jacobs Oscar de la Renta

classic, tailored pieces:

• • •

Giorgio Armani Yves Saint Laurent Chanel

pops of color:

• • •

susan daniels magenta headband

Emilio Pucci Etro Badgley Mischka

girly details:

• • •

Lanvin Valentino Giambattista Valli

dressed-up lounge:

• •

Chloé Erin Fetherston

get the look To view pictures of individual clothing items and accessories of all the “Gossip Girl” characters, visit www. gossipgirlfashion.com for more information on the latest trends and how to order your own outfits.

To get the hair style of Blair Waldorf, go to www. collegefashion.net/ fashion-tips/how-to-dresslike-blair-waldorf/ for suggestions.

links www.gossipgirl.net gossipgirl-blog.cwtv.com

www.topgossipgirl.com

gossipgirlonline.net gossipgirlfashion.com gossipgirlinsider.com

kaitlyn lampe / photo

by meher ahmad mahmad@hilite.org

I understand you’re very inspired by “Gossip Girl.” What first drew you in, the books or the show?

The show, definitely the show. I didn’t even read the books before I saw the show. But it’s weird because when I first saw the show, I was at Cathedral, and it was like first starting, and I didn’t really know a lot about it, you know. I thought it was going to be another show that’s like O.C. or something. I decided that I wouldn’t watch it, and then finally over the summer I decided, you know, I needed a new style. I’m going to a new school, and I drew my inspiration from Blair Waldorf, she’s one of the main characters of the show. I thought that she would be a good candidate because she has brown hair, she kind of looks like me and she has great, classic style, kind of Audrey Hepburn, Jackie O. It’s classic, clean and different, most of all, unique.

Do you draw more inspiration from Blair while she’s at school or while she’s at home?

She’s put together always; she never gets un-put together. Like at school she wears a uniform, so it’s kind of different, and I kind of can relate to that, except our uniform was much uglier at Cathedral; it was so disgusting. It was khakis and a cotton shirt, like a knit polo shirt. But at Constance Billiard School for Girls, which is where Blair goes with her friend Serena and her other friends, she dresses in these really chic plaid skirts. They’re short, they’re really high-fashion and any cute white top (they can choose any white top) and a little tie at the neck. It’s very chic and very, very put together.

Before you started watching “Gossip Girl” this summer, what was your style inspiration? ations , n i m o Fame mit n To sub Minutes of odgin H for 15 Stephanie e.org t email odgin@hili at sh

I was kind of like Kate Moss, almost.

I wore jeans a lot, and I was almost like everyone else, but it’s hard to describe what my old style was, you know. I can barely remember it since I’m so different now. But I was just

like everyone else. I wore jeans; I wore t-shirts, but now I’ve kind of evolved my style into something different than everyone else.

Are you inspired by the styles on the show or the show itself?

Both. I love the show so much. It teaches you lessons you’ll never get to learn, I don’t think, unless you want to take the risk. It’s like the sex, the drugs, everything, the drinking; it’s like you don’t want to get into that stuff, so why not just let them teach you? And they have such an over done version of it, like they’re living rich lives and their parents are out of town all the time; they don’t pay attention to anything. They just do what they want anytime they want. They have their lives planned out for them by their parents, but they want to decide how they want to live that life. It’s like a fantasy world, and you want to be them. It’d be so different.

New York City is featured a lot in the show, since it is the backdrop. Is it one of the places you want to visit, or have you ever visited before?

I’ve never visited; I’m actually going over fall break for Teen Vogue Fashion University.

In the future, will you continue to draw inspiration from Blair, or do you see yourself drawing inspiration from something or someone else?

I don’t know. I think I’ll always keep Blair in mind because I just draw inspiration from her. Like you said, and its never going to go away, it’s always going to be there.

Do you order the outfits Blair wears on the show as well?

Yes, I do. I get them from Web sites; I just research it and stuff. One of the websites is gossipgirlfashion.com, and that was only last season. They don’t have anymore this season. Before the episode even airs, they’ll tell you what it is, and it’s really impressive. Like the first day this season airs, I had the dress in my closet, and the day after the premiere was, I wore the dress.

XOXO, Gossip Girl

Plaid highwaisted pleated skirt (target)

navy blue ruffle shirt (target)

TV shows provide escape by celina wu cwu@hilite.org Every Thursday night at 9 p.m., junior Ellie Taff can be found watching her favorite show on television.

Taff regularly sits down each week with her family to watch a new 30-minute segment of “The Office,” a show based on a popular British series with the same name that follows the daily lives of the employees who work at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Taff said that she got hooked on the show after her parents started to watch and got her to start watching as well.

Now, Taff said “The Office” has become somewhat of an obsession of hers.

Taff said, “I’m obsessed with ‘The Office’ because it’s really funny. The situations on the show are hilarious, especially when they’re awkward situations. ‘The Office’ has made my Thursday nights so much better.”

Many students, like Taff, have their pr efer r ed show that they regularly tune into when it airs on television. For some, sitting down to watch television shows in the evenings during weeknights is part of a routine. But according ellie taff to counselor Stephanie Benson, watching television can be a great diversion for students. When students view television programs in more casual manners rather than a fixation, it can be a great way to relax by taking them away from the concerns of their own lives for a short time, she said. Additionally, some shows may even have a positive influence on its viewers.

According to an article from The way kidshealth.org, a Web site created Americans

by The Nemours Foundation’s Center for Children’s Health Media spend their leisure time and supplies doctor-approved health information, the average in minutes child spends approximately 1,023 during an hours a year watching television, average day w h i c h e q u a t e s t o a b o u t f o u r hours of television per day. The in 2006 article mentions that the American Academy of Pediatrics states Watching TV: that one or two hours of quality 156 minutes programming is an adequate amount of time for television each Socializing and day. In terms of all Americans and how much TV they watch, people communicating: in the United States tune in to 46 minutes approximately 2.6 hours of TV a day, or about 2.6 hours worth.

As some students may focus Reading: more on television shows than 22 minutes extracur ricular activities, this article also provides tips for ways to Playing games, improve television viewing habits so that it is more practical and computer: less detrimental. It also includes 19 minutes suggestions on recording shows or saving television time for the Sports, weekends, so that during the recreation, weekdays, there will be more time available to spend on schoolwork, exercise: extracurricular activities or family.

17 minutes With countless shows of diverse genres available that are on the Relaxing and air almost ever y night of the week, students can find a show, thinking: or multiple ones, that are suited 17 minutes to their individual tastes. Some television programs are so popular Other: that they can become a fixation 29 minutes for students. Regarding the reason as to why students find certain www.bls.gov / shows so appealing, Benson said, source “I think it is just like any other extracurricular activity. It gives students an escape from their everyday lives. I think it gives them a fictitious way to relate to life.”

Many television shows also incorporate some more serious issues into their programs by having the characters deal with the situations. Benson said that when a show does this, student viewers can benefit from it. She said, “When shows make conscious efforts, they can grapple with real life situations, such as drugs or eating disorders. When these situations are well done and carefully portrayed in the show, it can reassure students that they are not alone in those issues.”

Junior Amanda Finin is someone who has experienced the inspiration that reality shows can offer audiences. She said that after she watched “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” two shows she said she is obsessed with, she thought it looked interesting, so she took up dance as a real extracurricular activity.

Furthermore, she said, “When it comes to ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ it inspires me. When I watch the show, I know what I have to strive for when I try out for it one day. Also if I’m working on routines or something, and I see a move on the show that I think was interesting, then I usually try and use that.”

Although there is an extreme, most students know to differentiate between their own lives and those of the characters’ in shows. “Most casual viewers just watch television shows for amusement,” Benson said.

“I think for most students, watching these shows is just a release for them during down time, and they know that it is solely for entertainment. Becoming absorbed in a character’s life for a half hour or hour show, the student can have a mental break from the daily stressors of teenage life.”

by the numbers