Hillside Hotwire
The
05.07
For and by the students of Foothill High School since 1999
Volume 8 Issue 6
Teens tackle marriage See pages 8-9
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 2
Hotwire takes home awards
FHS newspaper cleans up at ninth annual Class! Magazine awards Rachel Alger Assistant Editor
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n April 26, the Hillside Hotwire news staff accepted ten awards at the ninth annual Class! Magazine High School Journalism Awards. “I was really impressed by how many we won,” said editor-in-chief Emma Dewees. The awards accepted by the news staff included: 1st place non-sports photography, Catalina Burns, 2nd place non-sports photography, Marcus Nolasco, 1st place Art/Illustration, Christina Carpenter, 1st place editorial cartooning, Shyanne Tino, 2nd place sports news writing, Brendt Hulsey, 3rd place sports news writing, Lexie Stone, 2nd place sports photography, Christina Atha, 2nd place photo illustration, Rachel Alger, honorable mention feature writing, Rachel Alger and most valuable staffer, Emma Dewees.
NEWS
Every 15 minutes aftermath Students recount the events surrounding the simulation
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Amber Briscoe Copy Editor
n April 12, Foothill mimicked a horrific car accident on Heather St. right beside the school for it’s Every 15 Minutes program. In this accident, there was a drunk driver played by Travis Gossage and a critically injured passenger played by Amanda Powell. Marshall Armstrong played the passenger who died on the scene, and Marie Ballance played the paraplegic, who was also the only survivor. On April 13, a funeral/memorial was held for the victims of the crash and to also remember others who have died before. These four people went through the long series of steps that would have really happened if the accident had been real. Gossage really spent the night in jail. Powell and Ballance really went to the hospital and Armstrong really went to the morgue. “Going to jail really opened my eyes a lot,” said Gossage. “They weren’t rude to me because they knew it wasn’t real, but I could just imagine how bad it could be. They fingerprinted me, and I saw other people come in who really were criminals, and I thought, wow. This happens every day.” To really experience the severity of the issue, the school had to make sure that everyone experienced some kind of loss or helped a
Hillside Highlights Dance concert Final orchestra plans to be specconcert pertacular formed May 21
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his year’s spring dance concert was held May 15 and 16 in the theatre at 7 p.m. The Broadway-themed performance included songs from “Hairspray,” “Sweet Charity,” “Grease,” “Wicked,” etc. “The concert came up really fast, and we had a lot of things to do at the last minute,” says Haili Anderson. “But we pulled it off, and the concert looked really good.” The dancers now must prepare for their final exam dances in June.
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oothill’s orchestra held its final concert May 21 at seven o’clock in the school’s theatre. The theme of the songs was Disney movies, such as ‘I’ve Got My Eye On You’ from Pirates of the Caribbean, ‘Colors of the Wind’ from Pocahontas, ‘Under the Sea’ from The Little Mermaid and ‘When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2.’ The concert songs were directed by orchestra advisor John Riley and seniors throughout the class. Brittany Rowland conducted
friend deal with a loss, so they pulled out more than four people. Every 15 minutes, a junior or senior was pulled out of their class by the grim reaper, who then took them to be one of the living dead. “I was one of the living dead,” said Nita Jones. “At first it was pretty exciting when they took me to get my makeup put on, but when we actually got out by the accident and couldn’t talk to anyone, it got really scary.” Everyone had a part during this two-day experience. Even though most were not involved in the accident, it still affected everyone sitting in the stands of the auditorium. Students either cried or were preoccupied in helping someone else deal with the pain of what it was like to lose a friend. “I took part in this because I figured it would be a good experience overall,” said Powell. I was a victim in critical condition, so they took me away in the helicopter. It had to be the longest three minutes of my life.” Powell wasn’t the only one who died in the accident. Armstrong died on the scene. “It was really crazy,” said Armstrong. “I heard my mom crying, and I felt really bad that I couldn’t talk to her, but it was all part of it, so I couldn’t.” Later, students started to feel better about the whole process until they tried to call their friends and could not reach them.
“It was really hard to not try to call people. I missed my friends, and I wanted to tell them I was safe. This whole experience has impacted my judgment so much, it’s unreal,” said Ballance. Out of this entire experience, many lessons were learned and a new appreciation developed between some students and their parents. “I think me and my parents do have a better connection now because of the speech I gave,” said Gossage. “I wanted to show how much I would really miss them and how much I care. I think it’s important to let the people you love know that you care before it’s too late.”
Pirates, Nicole Hollister, Phantom of the Opera, Geni Bennallack, Colors of the Wind, Erick Lovell, Mozatante, Kallie Wickle, Conquistador, Alara Vincent, When She Loved Me, Ashley Phillips, Little Mermaid and Vivaldi conducted by soloists Erik Lovell and Andrew Travers.
hasn’t touched a ball since last season gets a chance to catch up.” Varsity and JV participants will soon start practicing every day and start to get new teams together. “It’s cool to see how much a player can improve from the end of the school year to the end of summer before tryouts,” said Lasko. “Someone who looks like they’d be JV sometimes ends up being on varisty.”
Boys soccer begins 2007-2008 tryouts
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he boys’ soccer team has kicked off their pre-season routine. Practicing three times a week, they’ve started to work where they left off. “It’s good to get in shape,” said Logan Lasko. “I’m glad we start this early, because everyone who
The
Hillside Hotwire
STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Emma DeWees
STAFF REPORTERS: Brendt Hulsey
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Cat Burns,
ADVISER: Bill Tobler
Rachel Alger
PRINCIPAL: Gretchen Crehan
SPORTS EDITOR: Lexie Stone FEATURE EDITOR: Cheslyne Snowden COPY EDITORS: Amber Brisoe, Cait Belcher
05.07
HELPING HANDS Fire department personnel and paramedics try and save Amanda Powell after she was hit by a drunk driver. RachelAlger/TheHotwire
DEAD ON SCENE (below) Marshall Armstrong plays a ‘dead’ car accident victim. RachelAlger/TheHotwire
Computer graphics students win first for video game
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he team of Jason Sylvester, Chris Lofton, Max Berger, Ollie McKeag, Brian Flaven and
Kyle Cribbs won first place in the inaugural Future Game Designer Challenge. They created a 3-D math game for middle-schoolers called Chimera: Numerical Bliss, where players rescue a prisoner held captive in the lost city of Atlantis. Players solve puzzles, equations and math problems all while playing a fun game. “They did an outstanding job…of creating a 3-D video game that makes learning math fun,” said computer and animations teacher Maureen Clark of the team.
Hotwire goof
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n our last issue, the story titled, “The Swim Team Flies Off the Block,” was written by Lexie Stone. We accidentally put Bendt Hulsey’s byline there instead. Sorry Lex!
POLICY The opinions expressed in the Hillside Hotwire are the author’s and do not represent the opinions of the administration, faculty, staff or students of Foothill High School. Letters to the editor should be signed and sent to: The Hillside Hotwire, 800 College Drive, Henderson, NV 89015 Letters may also be dropped off at the Hillside Hotwire office in room 741. Home Delivery of the Hillside Hotwire is available at a prepaid cost of $20 per year. Issues are mailed monthly upon publication. The staff reserves the right to reject any advertisement deemed inappropriate. Letters to the editor may be edited for content and brevity.
05.07
NEWS
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 3
The last original Hill admin leaves
Crehan leaves the CCSD after 31 years to care for her sick mother
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Cat Burns Assistant Editor
s most everyone knows, Principal Gretchen Crehan has retired after 31 years of working for the Clark County School District. Her mother has been very sick with a prolonged illness and needs to have her daughter there with her, which is one reason why Ms. Crehan has decided to retire. Although Ms. Crehan has been in a position at our school that most students don’t regard highly, she still has been a very influential part in making The Hill one of the best schools in the district. Most of you reading this don’t even have a clue what Ms. Crehan has done for both our school and its students, and also for the Clark County School District. Contrary to what most believe, Ms. Crehan has not always been an administrator. She actually started her career as an English teacher and stayed in that position for eight years. After teaching, she decided that she wanted to be a high school counselor for ten years. As a teacher and a counselor, she “loved being part of the learning experience for students and watching them complete high school and move into the next realm of their lives.” Ms. Crehan enjoyed watching her students grow in knowledge, as human beings an succeeding in life once they entered the real world. Ms. Crehan became an administrator in 1994 and has
spent seven of the eight years-since Foothill opened in 1999-with Foothill and has been instrumental in getting our school to its high achieving status. She left us for one year, from February 2003 through February 2004 to serve as the principal at Schofield M i d d l e School but soon returned because she missed the family feel that Foothill is famous for having. As one of our administrators, Ms. Crehan “enjoyed visiting classes and observing the great things both teachers and students were doing.” In helping open Foothill as the assistant principal overseeing curriculum, Ms. Crehan took a vital role by hiring a “cohesive staff that would be ready to start new traditions and make Foothill High School
a premier institution. Students were also coming to The Hill from established high schools, and we wanted to make them feel welcome and a part of the opening
of a brand new school,” said Crehan. Ms. Crehan, unlike a lot of administrators at other schools, loved her job and loved to help and watch the growth of students
in school and in our communities. One of the main reasons she stayed at Foothill for so long was because she felt that we have the best teachers and students in the district, and it felt like a second home to her because of our closeness. She was one of many to lead Foothill into the next century. She “loved watching our school blossom into an institution w h e r e students, staff and parents w o r k e d together toward a c o m m o n goal,” said Crehan. “I have always loved the atmosphere at Foothill, and I am grateful to have spent the last years of my career at such a wonderful place.” Ms. Crehan wants to wish everyone at the Hill a great future and hopes that everyone at the
school continues to carry on the special traditions that have been instrumental in making our school the best high school in the district. She also wants to thank everyone for being so supportive of her over the years. She will sincerely miss everyone at Foothill and will remember all the memories created here. Ms. Crehan’s now dark office, which was once filled with pictures, papers and people, is the only visible memories we have left, but all the changes she helped put into practice and the great environment she created at our school will always be remembered by everyone who ever came in contact with her. And even those who won’t get to meet Ms. Crehan will see how she made our school a better place for learning. She will be earnestly missed by not only those who attend and work at Foothill, but also the rest of the Clark County School District. Current Boulder City principal Jeanne Donadio was chosen by the school board to fill the open principal position. Donadio will start July 2. TIME TO SAY GOODBYE After 31 years working for the Clark County School District, working as principal at Schofield and as Foothill’s leading lady, Principal Gretchen Crehan retires. Bernhard&Williams/TheHotwire
CCSD suffers from mass student enrollment
With over 100,000 new students enrolled, teachers begin to question the CCSD’s old policies Brendt Hulsey Staff reporter
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n the past four years, Clark County’s population has risen by nearly 200,000. The official Clark County School District enrollment in 2006 was 302,763 students. As a result, ten new schools were opened in August 2006. Stretching from North Las Vegas to Laughlin, the CCSD currently operates 326 schools and employs 17,125 teachers. The school district is currently the fifth largest in the United States. Clark County’s increasing population and escalation of enrollment rates are creating problems. Not only are more tax dollars being appropriated for building new schools, but the growth itself is causing teachers to rethink current district policies. Many teachers are contemplating the effectiveness of the district’s current division into the five different regions, as well as the distribution of the funds. “The Clark County School District needs to be divided further,” said elementary school teacher Lindsey
Mediate. “The Southeast Region should be divided into different sects. The problem with our current situation is that power needs to be put back into the hands of the community. We need a board for each community. One for Henderson, one for Green Valley, one for Pahrump and so on.” The Clark County School District currently operates 41 high schools, 55 middle schools, and 199 elementary schools. In addition, the district also operates senior high schools and special needs schools. “If a separate board is created for each community,” Mediate added, “then they will be able
to make decisions specifically for their caliber of students. This is the most logical step if we want more of our students going on to college.”
“The volume is unfeasible,” said Roger Harris of Foothill. “Schools pushing block schedules or early start times are trying to meet the demands of volume and not education. As a result, funds are allocated based on blanket decisions. Foothill’s problems are not Rancho’s
problems.” “There is a correlation between money and enrollment size,” Harris added. “It’s
Other teachers suggest making entirely different districts.
h a r d to decide which causes the other, like a chicken and the egg. Districts need
to be composed of about two to three high schools and their feeder schools. With my class sizes right now, I’m teaching the masses, so I can’t focus on the individual, which would improve standardized and proficiency test scores. You can see the difference in discpline and academic performance in a class with thirty kids and a class with twelve kids.” The general consensus of Clark County educators is that the size of their district makes it impossible to manage. Smaller divisions would lead to more social and cultural specifications fitting a given community, smaller class sizes, independent distribution of funds, and higher test scores, or anything else that would help a school meet the regulations of No Child Left Behind Act more efficiently. DISTRICT DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF When Henderson tried to break away from Clark County School District in 2003, the district was divided into separate regions to cope with dissension. CCSD/ TheHotwire
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 4
FEATURE
05.07
AACN added to new car systems
Advanced Automatic Crash Notification said to help car crash victims Amber Briscoe Copy Editor
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vehicle crash occurs every 10 seconds in the country. Every twelve minutes, someone dies in a traffic related-accident, and every fifteen minutes someone dies in an alcohol-related accident. Many of these crashes cause severe injuries or can even be fatal and cause much grief to families and friends. But what if there was something that could be done to increase a victim’s chance of living by 25
percent? What if these victims could be saved? General Motors is trying to make this possible. GM will begin adding advanced automatic crash notification (AACN) systems to vehicles equipped with OnStar, an embedded in-vehicle safety and communications system. When a crash occurs, and the airbag is deployed, the system sends all the information of the crash, including the direction of impact, whether the car rolled or not, and the speed, to OnStar call centers who relay the information to
911 dispatchers, helping them to quickly determine what kind of medical help and hospital they need. “With the new technology of this enhanced GM crash notification system, we have a tremendous opportunity to save more lives,” said Robert C. Lange, the GM executive director of vehicle safety on www. gwhospital.com/p7704.html. “AACN will assist emergency personnel in determining crash severity in those precious minutes following a crash and help get the right people to the scene faster.” General Motors plans to put this system on about two million 2007 models and ramp up to three million vehicles for 2008. The AACN system works by using new and existing sensors in alliance with advanced intelligence
to transmit key crash data. When the system is triggered by the deployed airbag, an emergency voice/data connection will be established with an OnStar call center. The operator will use the voice channel to communicate with the victims in the car and at the same time contact a 911 dispatcher to provide specific detail about the crash. The 911 dispatcher can then inform emergency responders of the data. In the future, GM plans to have the data electronically transmitted to 911 centers and emergency responders. Eventually, the system may be able to tell how many people are in the car, whether they are using seatbelts and other information that would help to know the severity of the crash. “I think people should be grateful to have an opportunity to have something like this in their car,” said Ashley Phillips. The only drawback to this system is the fear of others getting ahold of your private information. People fear that after information is used for the better, the information will then be used for the worst, which includes telling insurance companies about the speed you maintain, if you are driving
recklessly or not, and if seatbelts were worn. This would raise insurance rates for some drivers. “I personally don’t care what other people think. If they don’t like it, then they don’t have to buy a car that has AACN, and personally, if you’re speeding and you crash, then I think you deserve to get caught,” said Danielle Neumiller. For better or for worse, the pros to the system seem to be better than the cons. “I wish I could have the opportunity to have a car with that kind of safety,” said Britany Akre. “I would personally rather pay for speeding than die.” General Motors has already made millions off of this new technology, and more car companies plan to invest in it for upcoming years. This system could be one of the most lifechanging computer applications to be built in the last 20 years. SCHOOL GROUNDS With the growing population of drivers, traffic sees more accidents daily. With the help of AACN, victims in accidents could be helped faster to increase their chances of living. RachelAlger/TheHotwire
The stress of the ultimate story book prom
For most it was a night to remember, for others it was an experience never again wanted Lexie Stone Sports Editor
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nce upon a time,” there was a very beautiful girl who couldn’t wait to get to her senior prom. Hair all done up, nails painted in shimmer polish, she had done everything she had wanted to accomplish. As her date walked to the door, she put her finishing touches on her pretty face; this would be a night she wanted to embrace. Out the door she went, arm around her date. Ok, enough with the fairytale. We all don’t have a perfect prom. For some, it was the worst day ever. “It was awful,” said Susie Que (Name has been changed). “I’m never going again. My date drove me home afterwards going at least 120 mph so he could go hook up with some girl. I was a second hand date, and I was continually asked by his friends why I was still there.” For some, the party didn’t start until afterwards. “It was lame, but the after party at my friend’s was fun!” said Karli Farris. Happily ever after wasn’t reality for some, but may have been pretty close to a few others. “I had a pretty good time,” said Autumn Wilkins. “It would have been nice to have won prom queen,
but I’m not mad. It was nice seeing everyone all dressed up.” “It wasn’t bad,” said Barrett Ver Planck. “My date was fun, and the group I went with made it that much more enjoyable. From start to end was nonstop laughing and fun. There isn’t a lot I would have changed about that night.” Besides friends, some of the activities made the night unforgettable. “We rode in the Gondola’s at the Venetian,” said Franz McClure. “It was a great night, better than I expected, although it was kind of expensive.” “We rode around in a party bus all night,” said Kristin Lyon. “We ate at a really nice restaurant and danced all night. It was really fun, especially because I spent
it with my good friends and my boyfriend. It was definitely better than homecoming.” Other groups and couples went to shows on the strip such as Cirque De Soile, The Blue Man Group, or “O” at the Bellagio. Restaurants ranged from fine Italian food at Panevino to Wendy’s. “We went to Wendy’s,” said Farris. “We ate Frosties and fries, and we danced around to Jimmy Soul. It was a lot of fun.” Not everyone went for the most expensive activity or dinner; some people just went to hang out with their friends. “It was nice because I didn’t pay for much,” said Farris. “My dress was free. All I paid for was the ticket and my Frosty.” No matter what the night entailed, the
night will always be remembered. Shaking her head, the princess wakes up the morning after prom. If only it really was like a fairytale, but the reality of it was drama. A stain on her new dress and hair so teased she can’t get a comb through it, was how her night ended. Prom, for most, was a majestic night that they won’t soon forget, filled with wonderful memories of friends and the perfect date, who treated them well and who made their night magical. For others, it was hectic and ended up leaving them with
a frustrating hole in their pocket. SOUL SISTAS (left) Seniors Gwen Ellis and best friend Carly Brescia pose for a quick snapshot. ChristinaAtha/ Peregrine
PARTY OVER THERE (below) Nick Kersey and Julie Welden pass through the dance while mugging for the camera. ChristinaAtha/Peregrine
05.07
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 5
COMMENTARY
Teen fashion trends create cliques
With ‘must have’ trends, students lose their identies within their clothes Cait Belcher
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Copy Editor
n a world where acceptance in society is based on your style, class is a must, and fashion means everything, I agree it’s hard to keep up. Whether your style includes long black metal band t-shirts or Hollister ‘destroyed’ and faded jeans, it’s clear that different fashion cliques don’t mix very well. High school alone holds almost every style known to man. Mix any two trends together, and it’s in your best interest to bring a paper bag to cover your face for the next few weeks as you will be known as a low-life poser. To avoid these terrifying and embarrassing months of your life, here’s a quick “how-to-dress-to-meet-society’shigh-standards” self-help article. So you want to dress like a prep rollin’ in Daddy’s Escalade? Run to your nearest Hollister or Abercrombie and buy the most expensive pair of pants you can find. It doesn’t matter if it looks like they’ve been run through a cheese grater; the more holes they have, the cooler you’ll look walking around in over-priced pants that only cover half your legs. Next, grab a brightly-colored polo or two along the way, making sure the undershirt matches the color of the bird located on the left side of your polo. Purchase a pair of neon-colored flip flops and face-eating sunglasses, preferably Chanel or Dior, to accessorize.
Poof your dyed-platinum blonde hair, and hit up the tanning salon for a “fake and bake” sun-kissed look. Complete these expensive tasks, and congratulations, you’ve successfully transformed into a superficial prep. If dark and gloomy is more your style, gothic is right for you. Throw on a tattered, long, black metal band t-shirt, over-sized black pants, millions of black wristbands, and black Converse, even if it is 120 degrees outside. Make your face as pale as possible, while adding black eyeliner that smears halfway down your cheeks, creating that “artistic and originality” vibe. Dye your straightened hair black and become a social outcast. Sit in corners and vent about how the world has conformed to every other stereotypical label. Follow all these, and you’re well on your way to becoming a gothic groupie. Maybe supporting $5,000 “bling-bling” is more your thing. If you want to be a gangster, find a solid color South-Pole shirt that hangs past your knees. Sag your bagging pants to around your knees since your shirt will cover what your pants don’t. Tilt your flattened-brim hat to the left or the right and walk with a limp while grabbing your crotch and nodding to all your homies. When you can throw out the infamous handshake, that’s when you can call yourself a thug, brotha! Still haven’t found your style yet? Feel like crying because no
one understands how frustrating it is? Try going for the emo look by wearing your favorite band’s shirt, like Hawthorne Heights or Good Charlotte. Sweep threequarters of your hair over one eye, and never let anyone see all your face. Squeeze your twig legs into a skinny pair of chick pants and a pair of slip-on Vans, even though you’re too cool to skate. If you can cry to songs about being dumped by your girlfriend and sit in the corner at a gregarious party, you’re already halfway to becoming an emo-tional teenager. Dream of fitting in when everyone on the court yells “ballin!” If you can match your clothes with your shoes every day of the year, you’ve got the jock idea down. Basketball shorts will be your attire for the rest of your life, so it’s best to buy one in every shade and color. Order at least 365 pairs of Nikes and yell at everyone who stumbles over your new kicks. Try waddling so you don’t diminish the value of your shoes by creasing them. When you can successfully n a m e
every football or basketball player and their strengths and weaknesses in a game, you can pat yourself on the back as you receive the label of jock. Have a fetish of using too many products on your face and hair? Scene is right for you. Layer your polka-dotted, striped shirts with blazers as you wear your leggings under your skirt. Tease your dyed black and blonde hair using so much hairspray that your hair defies gravity while looking like a rat’s nest. Bobby pin your bangs back as you shovel on pounds of eyeliner in unnatural patterns as you use a whole stick daily. Use words like “electric” when talking about topics such as robots and dinosaurs. Change your Myspace name to ‘Mandy Massacre” or “Suicide Simon” as
you take pictures with your skilled “angles.” When you make friends that look like an exact clone of yourself at the local show, you can celebrate your acceptance in the “scene” of Vegas. This is in no way supposed to be taken in the context of an insult. It’s simply a suggestion, a way of trying to help out any student attending any high school lost in the world of fashion. Take it or leave it, the choice is up to you. But the next time you’re forced to buy a set of paper bags to cover your face, don’t come crying to me.
LOST IDENTITY, students struggle to meet society’s standards in the complicated world of fashion. CaitBelcher/ TheHotwire
Overprocessed reality shows take over T.V.
Ratings continue to break records with overdone plots and eccentric casts of characters
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Rachel Alger Assistant Editor
ver since the premiere of Survivor in May of 2001, America has been sucked into the phenomenon that is reality T.V. It started out innocently enough, a game show that portrayed people isolated on an island, trying to beat out opponents and natural elements in order to win $1 million and other amazing prizes; plus each contestant got their 15 minutes of fame, with some remaining infamous for claiming grandma died in order to gain sympathy from other contestants or stripping down to bare skin just to eat Oreos and a jar of peanut butter. But then it spawned into this evil era of corrupt entertainment programming, creating this ludicrous cosmos of mindless television shows that center around the rejects from The Flavor of Love participating in a mock up charm school hosted by none other than Mo ‘Nique, the woman who brought us such theatrical masterpieces as Soul Plane and Phat Girlz.
And that is only touching the tip of this monstrous iceberg. We’ve seen the mindless, the daft and the obscene all within the sanctity of our living rooms. We’ve witnessed the wondrous world of vain plain Jane’s experiencing Miss America plastic surgeries on FOX’s The Swan. We’ve watched the bewilderment of Ozzy Osborne’s foul-mouthed family throwing ham in their loud neighbor’s yard. And we’ve observed the preposterous world of man-skanks battling it out for an irritating celebrity wannabe who can’t even open her eyes fully for more than ten seconds on I Love New York. It’s as if we can’t get enough of these monotonous shows, which any person with an ounce of dignity would never audition for. This year MTV is airing its 20th season of its reality baby, The Real World. Since 1992, viewers have been let into a mammoth sized mansion to witness the mindless mutterings of twenty-somethings moaning about how they hate their house mate because they refuse to get grossly intoxicated every night of the week along with the rest of
the overexposed cast. Why is it people have been so brainwashed by these shows? Is it because we like watching the stupidity of others on a wider scale? Probably, but that’s not the only reason nor the main cause of reality fever. According to the mass majority of Real World watchers, it’s the eye candy and the real drama that goes on in peoples’ lives. Yes, yes. The world of television has been corrupted by talentless nobodies because of their chiseled abs, streaky orange tans and the ability to call out someone on some meaningless remark to start a brawl that couldn’t be more staged if it was on Broadway. Oh the wondrous places television has gone since the days of I Love Lucy. It is ridiculous to think that what goes on in these so-called reality shows is actually what goes on in real life. How many times have you run around your house stark naked only to get punched in the face by your roommate who cries everyday. Odds are probably never. The only thing real about these shows is that the producers are REALy
enjoying the fatty paycheck they receive from massive ratings. The televised world as we know it is slowly deteriorating. In the last year, numerous reality television shows have aired, taking over the top spot in the ratings. American Idol has been one of the highly rated shows to dominate the airwaves in the last five years, boosting Kelly Clarkson’s career to mega-stardom, but she’s pretty much the only one to do so out of the various winners of the show, who have almost all received lackluster album sales and reviews…and this years’ season is the least talented so far. And all I have to say is one word, Sanjaya. I think there have been more water cooler debates over the young Indian singer than any other topic in television show history. But I must say I’m glad for the young guy’s presence; he finally showed us all that Idol is not about finding the best singer in the nation. It’s about finding one who looks good on T.V., and everything else will follow. This is basically the premise for all other reality shows; good T.V. No real substance needed.
I hate to admit it, but I watch reality T.V. all the time. I watch America’s Next Top Model religiously (not so much for the feuding contestants, more so for the fantastic photography, but I watch it nonetheless) and always find myself watching some over-publicized show that VH1 manages to release and captivate my interest, and then about halfway through The Surreal Life or Charm School, I think to myself, “What has gotten into me? Why am I sitting here watching MiniMe urinate on the floor of this mansion?” And the truth is, I have no answer, but I keep watching. It’s like a bad car accident. You know looking makes you a hypocrite, because you hate those people who slow down traffic just to see some bloodied up car, but you can’t help but look, and then once you’ve looked, you can’t look away. You’ve been sucked into this black hole that you’ll never be able to escape, especially when it involves one of Flavor Flav’s trashy wannabe love interests relieving herself on the floor of his mansion...and he even lets her stay afterward.
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 6
OPINION
05.07
Pro/Con: Teaching Bible in school Should the Bible be taught in high school classrooms, or is it a mistake? Cait Belcher Copy Editor
Pro:
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n March 2004, atheist Michael Newdow filed a lawsuit against the Supreme Court, asking them to remove “Under God” from the pledge, 50 years after it had been added in by Congress. In November of that year, Michael Newdow filed another lawsuit to remove “In God We Trust” from all U.S. currency after his first request was dismissed. People have always said there’s a fine line between church and state. But schools across the nation are adding a Bible-literacy class to their list of electives, most of them effective and receiving positive feedback. So why is there such a huge controversy if the class isn’t a requirement but a student’s choice? Colleges across the U.S. offer Bible literacy and study classes, such as UNLV and TAMU. Private, religious colleges even ask you to take religious course and adhere to their code of conduct, like BYU and Notre Dame. If it’s acceptable in college, there’s no reason to oppose it if high schools want to start offering Bible classes like those in colleges. High schools feel that if they speak of any religion, some snotty-nosed kid will run home and complain to their parents, creating an unnecessary lawsuit against the school. So they censor out religious speak from their daily teachings, hoping to not offend anyone. But they’re filtering religious conversations for those few who are atheist. Schools believe no set religion is better than any. But what about those whose beliefs are censored daily? They’re not protected from those ideas of an atheist. And if you want to get philosophical, atheism could be considered a religion that believes in no religion at all. It’s a group who believe in the same nothingness. If humanity teaches you to stand up for what you believe is right, why are they forcing religious people to sit down? Why censor religion when you can offer a class to those who want to take it? The Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust are, yes, considered to be hateful barbarities; however, it’s proven that religion is a large part of history. Removing all religious concepts would leave nothing in history, considering people used faith and religion to explain the past. The Sunni and Shiites and the Crusades should all be taken in the context of a historical event, not an attempt to convert you. You need the Bible to make sense of the ideas and thoughts that drove the world’s history and diverse cultures. According to Time, even if
you’re not a very religious person, the Bible is the most influential book ever written. Compare the works you’ve read in high school by Shakespeare with the Bible. Shakespeare might have more beauty in his language and words, by a nose hair, but the Bible has changed the course of history. The Bible has caused more people to be martyred and has had many wars attributed to it, but the Bible has also provided solace and hope to millions while also having more depth of subject-matter. And Shakespeare would have most likely agreed. According to one estimate, he refers to Scripture some 1,300 times. And for the rest of the literature, while reading The Old man and the Sea, wouldn’t it be more satisfying to recognize the references to Christ’s passion--the bleeding of the old man’s palms, his stumbles while carrying his mast over his shoulder--on your own, rather than have someone dictate it to you? Based on David Van Biema’s observations, Jennifer Kendrick is a committed Bible Literacy teacher at New Braunsfels High School. She teaches using The Bible and It’s Influence, claiming “it brings up Catholicism and Ghandi, but you can’t tell it’s written by a Protestant Christian teaching Protestant Christians.” In fact, she’s a conservative Protestant, but her students don’t know that, and nothing in her class suggests it. During a lesson she manages to include the Crusades while avoiding faith acknowledgements. She treats the Bible as a document to analyze and evaluate rather than something to instinctively consider. Although not all Bible classes are guaranteed to flow this smoothly, Kendricks proves it is possible to teach a Bible course that is constitutional. And according to polls, 60 percent of Americans favor non-secular teaching in schools, suggesting that Kendricks’s class may be available soon to your school. To make it more politically correct and less controversial, the class would be taught as an elective, not a required, ‘believe-this-or-fail’ type course. Without the Bible and secular sources, we face a “numbing horizontality” in our culture. “The world is flat, sure, but Scripture is one of only a few ways to make it deep.”
Rachel Alger Assistant Editor
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was raised in a religious family; my mother Christian, my grandparents devout Catholics. I know the stories of the resurrection of Christ, Cain and Able and even of Noah and the Ark, but I also know the stories of the Sunnis and Shiites, the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust, all of which are products of religious extremists and wrongful persecution through religious views, and to teach the Bible within school walls will not eliminate the issue of religious ignorance, but only create a bigger gap. The United States is a constantly growing nation; every year the population grows by an average of 2.5 million, one million of whom are immigrants. One million people who have different backgrounds, social customs and religions that American citizens
are not formerly accustomed to, and in some (but not all) cases, the American public is completely ignorant to anything foreign or different from their own mindset and refuse to let a new idea pop into their minds, religion being one of the most impossible for most to handle. When it comes to religion, most are raised from birth to believe a certain way, and rarely stray away from that religion. They are raised to believe in a central idea that makes up their religious identity and taught to always have that main idea implanted in the back of their minds whenever they feel themselves begin to question themselves or their religion. According to adherent.com, over 85 percent in the United States believe in the Christian version of God, and with a percentage that big, what is the point of teaching something most are already
aware of? If 85 percent claim to be of Christian persuasion, why not focus on something that more people aren’t aware of. School is a place where students are meant to learn about things we’ve never heard. If 85 percent already know, we’re just reproducing recycled material that anyone can access through a nice session at church or a Google search. It is also one-sided to only teach the Bible in schools. What about the other religions? If we’re to teach Christianity, there needs to be equal education in Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. to give each religion equal time in the light. For that matter, if a religious course is needed, why not make it a class on religious history or religions of the world instead of only focusing on a single one, as there is not enough funding to have a single class on every religion equally. In today’s world of current Middle Eastern warfare, the Qur’an is becoming more of a dominant voice in America, not because a vast majority of people are beginning to take up Islam, but because of Middle Eastern terrorism and the ongoing Iraq war. Muslims are expected to give themselves fully to Allah, obey Him and only Him, for if they go by any other guidance, it is considered worshiping them as well as Allah, which is forbidden. For most, their religion spills into everyday life. Muslims pray at least five times a day, with some devout followers developing what is known as a prayer bump on their forehead due to rubbing it against the ground during long, ritual prayer sessions. Learning why the Islamic people are so devout in things like their prayer and beliefs may finally explain to some why Jihad is so frequently invoked in these nations (and occasionally in our own), and give us a better idea of what America is actually fighting against. Unbeknownst to most Americans, the Muslim people fight to protect their religion and are not afraid to die for it. It explains this idea in the Qur‘an in Shakir 4:74; “Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world’s life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward.” Muslims are not afraid of death in the name of Allah; they embrace it. Dying for Allah’s sake is the greatest reward, which explains the many instances of Middle Eastern terrorism. If we were taught this major cultural difference, not only do we become more accepting of
these people, but also become more understanding of why they believe the way they do, so we’re actually learning something more about religion, and we’re not stuck relearning what over 85 percent of the country is already aware of. There is also the huge, huge possibility of preaching going on within school walls, which is forbidden by the constitution. Teachers have no right, by law, to try and convert others into thinking the way they do about religion. Not everyone in America believes in Christianity and should not have to be subjected to scrutiny inside a classroom (kids are mean and have no problem passing judgment on those who are different), and the major problem with teaching Christianity in schools, is that the Evangelicals are really pushing it to be taught, and these are people who want to create “God’s Army” and have “America’s youth take back America for Christ.” (*) Up until November of 2006, one of the most powerful voices in Evangelical ideas and its role in politics was Pastor Ted Haggard, who used to speak with President George W. Bush and advise him on political affairs and the “needed” Evangelical necessities in politics. This is a man who preaches to the world that evangelicals are the only ones who know the way of the Lord, and he also was a strong anti-homosexual figure. Ironically enough, he was caught in a scandal involving a three-year relationship with a gay prostitute and found guilty of meth usage.(#) Really sounds like a guy that I want to put in charge of what I learn at school. When people like Haggard are the ones pushing “Bible school,” it is hard to think that we won’t be subjected to, “Believe in my God or perish in a fiery pit in hell when you breathe your last breath.” The stories in the Bible are not necessarily fact; unless you totally believe in them, and if you’re to ask your teacher in Bible 101, “How did Jesus walk on water?” the natural response from a tried-and-true Christian is to, “Just believe.” This is offensive to those who choose to not believe. It’s almost forcing you to believe. If you’ve enrolled in this class, you’ve enrolled in it to learn, not to hear that your ideas are wrong, and there’s no way to constantly monitor what goes on and whether or not someone is proselyting in class. It’s a class that will be built upon student and teacher trust, and thinking back on all the religious instances that have caused war and death, there is no reason to take the risk of trusting the wrong person who may turn our classrooms into a disturbing Evangelical scene from Jesus Camp. Sources: *=Jesus Camp #=CNN.com
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Engaged
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ooking down the aisles of the crowded venue, everything looks like a normal wedding scene; there’s a priest at the end of the aisle awaiting a blushing bride’s entrance, numerous guests are seated in uncomfortable pews and dozens of flowers and candles are scattered around the room, creating a delicate setting within the walls…but there’s something different about this day of wedded bliss. The bride, Tanya Torix, has just barely graduated from high school. “I’m aware I’m young to be getting married,” said Torix, who plans to wed her fiancé of six months, Brian Meredith, 19, in two years after he completes his ROTC training, “But I believe we’re soul mates, and there’s really no other way to put it.” Unlike Torix, the concept of marriage
is one that most students never really think about while still in school. To the average teen, their final days in high school are usually filled with completing college applications and planning for prom, but for a growing number of teens, marriage seems to be the thought that is filling their minds before they take that walk across the stage on graduation day. In the early 2000s, there were approximately 891,000 marriages of couples between the ages of 1519 in the United States, a steady rise from 598,000 in the 1990s. Over 60 percent will likely fail within five years or less of their wedding date due to immaturity, and the simple fact that marriage is the largest compromise that a couple will ever make together. “When you’re that young, you have
no idea what you want out of a marriage,” said Angela Sullivan, who married longtime boyfriend Shane Sullivan only a few years shy of graduating from Green Valley High School in 1997. “Even if you think you know what you want out of it, you really don’t. I changed a lot between high school and adulthood, and sadly, by the time I figured out what I wanted out of a marriage, I had already said, “I do.” I’m still married, and do not want to get a divorce, but some days or even months for that matter, making it work is really hard.”
Cover & Photo by Rachel Alger
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Underage Rachel Alger
Assistant Editor
Not all teen marriages (or even adult marriages for that matter) are destined for failure or heartbreak. Some actually go the distance. In 1956, Jack and Betty Jeffrey wed when he was 18 and she was only 16 and had not yet graduated. “I’ve never once regretted who I married,” claimed Mrs. Jeffrey. “There are times that I do wish I would have waited a little bit longer; I never got a proper education; it took me twenty years to receive my high school diploma because I was too busy raising three young children. I
never had a senior prom or graduation, and although my marriage turned out for the best, I would not suggest getting married young in this day and age. There are too many opportunities for young people today, and my advice is to go for all of them while you can.” In early 2007, Blake Whiteside, 17, gave his girlfriend of one year, Christina Saure,17, a ring—but instead of an engagement ring, he opted for a promise ring, a ring that is a symbol of love and monogamous commitment, but not necessarily a marriage to-be. “I plan on marrying her after college,” admitted Whiteside. “I would love to marry her the moment we graduated, but we honestly can’t afford a wedding and all the other things that go along with marriage right now. Hopefully we’ll be ready when we’re
around 22, but as of now, things are just right between us, and I hope to be with her the rest of my life.” Not all students have the same sunny outlook on marriage as Whiteside. “I think getting married right out of high school is an overall terrible idea,” explained John Barnhurst. “Most kids just out of high school don’t even have enough funds to support themselves outside of their parents’ homes, and parents are not likely going to let the newly-married couple live in their home. Plus, with the high divorce rate in this country, they’re just setting themselves up for failure.” But engaged couples look at the possibility of divorce differently. “I’ve known him since I was 14,” said Torix. “We know how to communicate and trust each other. If you have those two things, then you have everything.”
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 10
OPINION
05.07
Every 15 min creates tears and jeers
Though most took the accident seriously, others mock the participants Cheslyne Snowden Feature Editor
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alking out into the street, I notice that the day is gloomy and has an eerie vibe. I start joking around with my friends to shake off the chills running through my body, until I see it. There are two cars in front of me, one with a boy on the hood, blood gushing from his head, the other smashed up against the front. It’s a mock car crash scene, but as I see some of my classmates in the car, dead or injured; it begins to feel real. This scene of a drunken driving accident is anything but a joke. April 12 and 13, the Every 15 Minute’s drunken driving campaign invaded Foothill with a vengeance. Every 15 minutes, a teen dies in an alcohol-related car crash. Throughout the first day, the grim reaper pulled kids from classes “killing” them. Following this, a cop read their obituary to the class. With every death, an obituary was added to the cafeteria window, and a tombstone was added to the mock
grave yard. During fourth period, seniors and juniors watched the crash aftermath out on Heather Ave. The presentation was a simulation, and I was disgusted that so many didn’t take it seriously. The mood is lighthearted at first because everyone is happy that they’ve gotten out of class. As the line in front of me continues to move forward, the laughs die down and everyone takes in the scene. Two cars, one gray the other white, look as if they swerved into each other. Both cars are hammered. The big difference is that the white car’s windshield is nonexistent; a boy is sprawled on top of the hood, his lower body on the dashboard, blood gushing from his head. A girl is in the backseat, unconscious and bloody. As the ambulance and fire fighters arrive, I start to take notice of the cops narrating and all of my classmates “dead” on the sidelines. I watch my friends’ reactions to the scene; some are crying and others are staring agape at the scene in front of us. As the scene unfolds in front of me, I can’t help but feel disgust toward some of my classmate’s
jeers. Some are actually making fun of the mock crash; I understand that it is a fake crash, but this could really happen. The crash is cleaned up, and the “dead” victims are taken away. My friends and I go back to class. Over the next few hours, I notice how empty it feels in class without all of the familiar people there. I won’t see them for the rest of the day, can’t call them, I won’t see them the next day, and it really is as if they were dead. As I wake up on the second day of the campaign, my feelings are indescribable. I wade through my first two classes, and then I shuffle down to the gym third period. Finding a good seat on the first few bleachers I observe the changes in the gym. It is set up like a funeral. A podium is behind the gray casket, two rows of chairs diagonally in front of the casket are left empty, and behind those chairs are a few rows of chairs occupied by parents. As the presentation starts, I’m smacked in the face with the reality that this could’ve really happened. A woman begins to speak and I hear her voice break
as she talks about her deceased son, and I know that tears are inevitable. As the tears stream down my face, the next speaker is called up to the podium. It’s Travis Gossage. As he lifts the paper up to read, he chokes out a wobbly “Dear mom and dad,” and stops for a moment to get a hold of himself. As he continues to read his goodbye letter, he begins to cry, I look around me, and there isn’t a dry eye in the room. Then two parents get up and read their letter to their “dead” son, and they begin to cry from the intensity of the moment. The tears didn’t stop flowing until the assembly was over. It was a real wake up call. This could really happen; I could have really been at a friend’s funeral. Accidents affect everyone. After this assembly, it’s hard not to feel as if you’ve been changed. Sure there were some kids
goofing off and being disrespectful, but that’s only because they were uncomfortable with the emotions that this awakening released. TERRIBLE SIGHT Mrs. Sue Armstrong bursts into tears at the sight of her “dead” son, Marshall Armstrong. RachelAlger/TheHotwire
Virginia Tech killings leave effect on students
After the worst school shooting in American history, some are more affected than others
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Lexie Stone Sports Editor
remember walking into fourth hour and seeing the news on, which I got all excited about because I figured we were watching a movie. It was now time to catch up on my much needed sleep. I remember seeing Logan Lasko already with his head down. But, suddenly in a brief moment, I caught wind of what was going on. “VA Tech shooting; 22 killed and the number is climbing.” Just recently moving from that area this year, I thought of all my friends who had graduated and were enrolled there. I ran to my brother’s classroom, and we started calling everyone we knew. No answer. I called home, and my mom had logged onto my Myspace trying to get some answers. All throughout the day, I was hearing students make fun of it, saying comments regarding the shootings. I find that offensive and disrespectful. I got a hold of one of my friends who said, “I was so scared. My friend’s friend was in the dorm where he was shooting people and she could hear it,” said Cheryl. (Name has been changed) “I remember sitting in class and hearing all these bangs, and I had no idea what it was,” said a VA Tech student. “As soon as I heard screams, everyone knew what was going on. It was the scariest thing I had ever witnessed.”
The worst part of all of this was that the students couldn’t leave their dorms. They were on lock down. “Yeah, the lockdown was really scary. I remember doing it in middle school for that sniper shooting, but nothing like this. I’m a college kid. I have no food in my dorms, and I was starving.” She’s right; this is nothing to what happened during the sniper shooting. I do remember that. Sitting in my seventh
building, one breaking his ankle. This is the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. Cho Seung-Hui was said to be a quiet kid who didn’t say much. He had been taken out of his creative writing class due to the graphic and crude papers he had been writing. Listening to a local Virginia news station, I recall hearing a girl say, “I woke up late and decided to not go to my class that morning. If I would have gone, I would not
have to do this. I could have left. But no, I will no longer run. It’s not for me. I did it for them.” He adds, “You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today. But you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off. When the time came, I did it. I had to.” People killed, lives
grade English class and hearing the principal’s voice over the microphone announcing a code red. I had no idea what that meant. The sniper was 30 miles away though. I couldn’t imagine sitting in my dorm room, knowing that my classmates were being killed. During the gunman’s shooting spree in Norris Hall building, he left four students to tell their story out of 25. Students panicked and jumped out of a two-story
be talking to you right now.” How scary is that? I think everyone can relate to this story in some way. During 9-11, I remember my dad not getting onto his flight that morning because he woke up late. It amazes me that fate can jump in at the right time for some people. For some, the experience they went through that day will be unforgettable. In a video tape Cho Seung-Hui sent to NBC he said, “I didn’t
ruined, and VA Tech aches with grief. When will it get better? Echoing Nikki Giovanni, Cheryl adds, “We are the Hokies. We will prevail. I believe that. It will be hard to go to class and not be afraid, but we need to live our lives to the fullest for those who can no longer continue on in this world.” Finally getting a hold of all of my former classmates, I was relieved that no one I knew was hurt. But, being from that area, it hurts to
know that one man could kill and ruin so many people’s lives. What happens after? “I know that a lot of students are going to put off going to class, I don’t blame them. Their scared and so am I,” said Cheryl. Life for the Hokies is at a stand-still. What can be done to change schools so that they are safe? “Look at Columbine. They weren’t safe either.” When will school be safe? Is it fair that students go to school scared? Why do these killers do it? Bullying? Being picked on? No one really knows. As I hung up from talking to my friend, I thought of what my life would be like if I had lost someone I loved to a shooting. Recently, just watching “Every 15 Minutes,” it hit me. Life is precious, and you can be taken out of this world very quickly. Cherish what you have and everything around you. It might not always be there the next time you need it. I give my love and support to everyone who was involved with the VA Tech shootings. We are all Hokies in spirit.
DEADLY MASSACRE Police save victims from the Virginia Tech campus on April 16, 2006. After bullets stopped firing in the second shooting, 15 people were left wounded, 32 dead, including the gunman, 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui. CourtesyPhoto/ TheHotwire
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HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 12
REVIEWS
A double creature feature Brilliant directors raise up a dead genre in Grindhouse Rachel Alger Assistant Editor
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eave it to Quentin Tarentino (Pulp Fiction) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) to bring back exploitation films to the mass audiences of America… and hold nothing back in doing so. Consisting of two 90 minute films, Tarentino’s Death Proof and Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, and five fake trailers, directed by Rob Zombie and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) amongst others, Grindhouse brings back the dead genre of exploitation films, popularized in the 1960s due to their ability to be cheaply made and quickly placed into theatres, plus their usual dosage of gory violence and no lack of female nudity. Grindhouse kicks off with Planet Terror, a zombie flick centered around Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), a stripper with dreams of stand-up comedy, which will become a useful career switch due to the fact that one of her legs becomes gnawed off by a zombie and replaced with a machine gun after a crazed Bruce Willis and his government officials spread a deadly disease all over town turning it’s inhabitants into zombie-like creatures. Naturally, chaos ensues. As in most of his films, Rodriguez does most of the film’s grunt-work himself, acting as editor, composer and cinematographer amongst any other posi-
tion he can get his hands on, so it gets almost comical to see how he tries to top his gore segments in every scene, while still making it watchable, yet witty and humorous. If this were any other horror flick, the gratuitous violence would be unmatchable and stomach turning, but somehow, he
turns the gore and violence into a neatly-wrapped package worthy of being held up to preeminent zombie films like Dawn of the Dead and my personal favorite, Night of the Living Dead. Although Planet Terror puts up an amazingly good show and is easily able to keep an audi-
ence’s eyes locked on the screen, it’s Tarentino’s Death Proof that truly dominates the double feature. Tarentino can do no wrong. This is the man who brought us cinematic perfection and bliss in the Kill Bill franchise, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, and his Death Proof only proves even further that he is one of the greatest writer/directors of all time, especially since his entire car chase scene was filmed with NO digital imaging. Death Proof follows a group of co-eds, including Rosario Dawson and The Devil Wears Prada’s Tracie Thoms, who go looking for a good time and wind up in a game of cat and mouse with a serial killer named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), whose idea of fun is to hunt down vulnerable young women on deserted back roads. But unlike most of Mike’s hopeless victims, these girls aren’t going down without a fight, or a good car chase scene. Tarentino takes time to develop the essence behind each of his characters, turning them into more than one dimensional eye candy. It pays off as he has been a major Hollywood player since the early ’90s, and with Death Proof, he only further proves that. RODRIGUEZ & TARENTINO PRESENT their 1960s flashback piece, Grindhouse.
Ferrell creates Glorious amusement Figure skating comedy creates laughs for audiences Amber Briscoe Copy Editor
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hazz: “Night is a very dark time for me. Jimmy: It’s dark for everyone, idiot! Chazz: Not for people who live in Alaska. Or people with night-vision goggles.” This is the kind of blissful stupid humor you hear in Blades of Glory, starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder and Will Arnett. Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy Mac Elroy (Heder) play two figure skaters who compete in men’s single skating competitions. At the end of the finals, while being awarded their medals at the world championships, the two suddenly break out into a hilarious fight where they humiliate the figure-skating genre and themselves. After a court confrontation, the judge declares the two banned from men’s single skating competitions for life. (Darren MacElroy: “Wow! That’s a long time”). The two desperately try to find jobs
but find that their once famous lifestyles have been shattered. Now that they are not on the ice, they have no respect. After Jimmy has a confrontation with his stalker Hector, (Hector: “I just wanna cut off your skin and wear it to my
birthday”), he finds that there is a loophole to their problem. The answer is partner figure skating. Darren Mac Elroy, a figure skating coach, soon gathers the
two so they may put aside their differences and have a chance to win the gold. In the mean time, the champions of partner figure skating, Fairchild Van Waldenberg and Stranz Van Waldenberg, (who are actually married in
real life) soon become aware of their new competition and start to plot against them. Using guilt to bribe their little sister Katie to spy on the pair, she soon becomes
caught up in the unlikely pair’s life, finding a better family with them than with her own. With lots of sexual references, a twist of romance, an ending that will leave you saying “eww”and great performances, the film will surely keep you mocking and repeating q u o t e s . Although the film does not keep you bent over and crying from constant laughter, Ferrell’s corny jokes (most including profanity) will keep everyone laughing, and the costumes will keep a goofy smile on everyone’s face the entire movie. Grade: BFIRE AND ICE Will Ferrell and John Heder skate their way to Olympic gold as the first men’s skating pair in Blades of Glory
05.07
Girl band lacks Life
Tired lyrics and radio Disney fan base kill Everlife Cheslyne Snowden Feature Editor
T
he Spice Girls are broken up; The Donnas are phased out, so why are girl bands still trying to make it? Does pop/rock take a “new” form with girl band Everlife? Not really, with pop vocals, old guitar riffs and average lyrics, it’s hard to notice them through the haze of bands just like them. Sorry, but if you get your “big break” on radio Disney, it’s hard to say if you’ll have staying power. The only artists who succeeded with that tactic are Hilary Duff, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Everlife, is a girl band comprised of three sisters. They had a slow start in 2004 in the Christian rock circuit. The only difference between their music then and now is that they aren’t singing religious based music. It sounds like early Avril, but not catchy, cool or Canadian. Having your start on Disney does not promise you success. Lyrics like “Don’t let anybody tell you who you are. It’s okay to let go, you’re that shooting star. Remember all you wished for. Believe it will be true. You will never find yourself anywhere else, find yourself in you,” from “Find Yourself in You” definitely appeal to the preteen crowd who thought High School Musical was hardcore. What girl at the age of sixteen wants to hear
FEMME FATAL Wannabe punk rockers Everlife leave much to be desired on their sophomore disc, Everlife . CourtesyPhoto/TheHotwire
that she’s a “shooting star?” Exactly. Everlife should stick to kid channels because MTV and VH1 will laugh at their sorry attempt to make music. If you LOVED the movie High School Musical, Jump In or recognize any of those names, you’ll LOVE this wannabe punk girl band Everlife! If not, then don’t waste your time or money on their newest flop. Walk away from the store and pretend that they never existed. Grade: D
05.07
REVIEWS
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 13
Indie act Brand New plays at HOB With stellar presence, Jesse Lacey’s band leaves no disappointment Cait Belcher Copy Editor
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veryone’s familiar with the handful of bands that they’re embarrassed to admit they obsessed over while they were in junior high. But I admit with confidence and pride that yes, I was obsessed with Brand New at that age. I can boldly announce that, even now, I still am. I have no problem saying I was the one who threw a fit in Albertsons when I found out their show was cancelled in October, or that I was the one who danced with excitement as I found out they were playing this April. And I can say I was the one who couldn’t stop talking about them for months, anticipating their arrival. It was word vomit, and everyone around me was getting sick of hearing their name. Formed in Long Island, NY, Brand New appeared in the punkpop scene in 2000. Consisting of lead vocalist/guitarist Jesse Lacey, drummer Brian lane, backup vocals/guitarist Vin Accardi, and bassist Garret Tierney, the band began making a name for itself on the local scene with a selfreleased four-song demo and playing at local shows. In 2001, they issued their first record, Your Favorite Weapon. Lacey’s clever and cutting lyrics sprinkled the album, selling records left and right. They soon began touring with bands such as Taking Back Sunday and Finch. Proving to be more than just another punk-pop band, the group made a stylistic leap with Deja Entendu, a more mature follow-up record released
in summer 2003. Their third album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, was released in the US this past November. It took three long months of waiting, and I finally awoke on April 5 in an anxious and excited mood. Later I found myself standing in yet another entrance line at the House of Blues with my brother Chris and two friends Haili and Heather. Fifteen minutes before the doors opened, I glanced at the swarm of bodies around me. I realized that this time there weren’t nearly half as many ‘scene’ kids, but twice as many “hardcore girls,” with their 6-inch stilettos, laced corsets and short mini skirts. We approached the door, and I could feel the flutter of butterflies in my stomach intensify as the thought of not knowing what to expect overwhelmed me; these four guys were my favorite musicians, and the last thing I wanted was to be disappointed. The Manchester Orchestra opened up the show with a bang— literally—as their drummer Jeremiah Edmond and guitarist Robert McDowell carried out the beat in “Wolves at Night.” It was then I decided indie lead singer Andy Hull had a smidge of Bright Eyes Conor Oberst’s voice and style. After the cheering died out, Hull introduced the accompanying guitarists (and tour mates) Kevin Devine and Brand New’s Jesse Lacey. The band seemed really into their music; however, distractions became a regular thing throughout the set. I encountered the infamous tech lady from Shiny Toy Guns, with the same view and same pink rhinestone heart thong. But piano
player Chris Freeman would rock as if he was coming off of some drug. Even in Manchester’s grand finale, Freeman and Lacey managed to end up on the floor while exchanging instruments in the process. After an amazing closure, Hull thanked the crowd and introduced Brooklyn’s Kevin Devine and his “back-up” band. Only Kevin Devine stumbled out on stage, giving me the impression he was a one-man, acoustic guitar type band. Devine’s band appeared during his second song, along with some groupie. Her tight leather mini skirt, constant hair flipping, and cheesy tambourine shaking gave off the impression she wasn’t accepted into the band for her musical talent. Devine set up the mood for his next song, “Trouble,” as he introduced the song as his opinion on the war. He also claimed it’s impossible to “feel romantic” when there’s always an Iraqi boy whose arms and legs were blown off from land mines plastered on the news every time you turn on the television. Devine swore more than one would expect, but he had an unusual and hilarious sense of humor. “Trouble” wasn’t bad at all. In fact, the music caused a bizarre sense of happiness to stir inside me for such a melancholy song. I was so anxious about Brand New performing that I soon stopped caring about Kevin Devine and the “back-up” band. However, I do recall an amazing ending to the second act as the Manchester Orchestra and Brand New joined in the finale with Jesse Lacey playing the trombone, Chris Freeman playing a huge bass drum, and
other members on trumpets, tambourines and maracas. The set change took an entire life time. Finally, the lights dimmed after a long, forty-minute break, and four talented guys walked out on stage. The crowd lost it, cheering and screaming as the band picked up their instruments. Covering up to 15, they opened up their segment of the show with “Welcome to Bangkok,” with their newest hit “Sewing Season” following right after. Lacey conceitedly mumbled “I am heaven sent,” and the crowd quickly joined in with him as the guitars strummed “Okay, I Believe You but My Tommy Gun Don’t.” It was hard to hear Jesse over the crowd’s singing; however, it was the most crowd-involved song and without a doubt gave off the most energy. The ending of “The No Seatbelt Song” evolved into the “Tautou” interlude. The drums and guitar carried out the sharp, catchy beat as Jesse Lacey’s heartmelting voice whispered into the microphone. Haili’s face lit up as the familiar cymbal and crash on the snare drum brought out her favorite song “Sic Transit Gloria …Glory Fades.” The somewhat sexual lyrics echoed throughout the House of Blues as my brother
BRAND NEW consists of (from left) Garrett Tierney, Jesse Lacey, Brian Lane and Vinnie Acardi. CourtesyPhoto/ TheHotwire
Chris shot a glare of disapproval. A quick set change brought out Jesse’s acoustic guitar. The quiet strumming began “Play Crack the Sky,” this time bringing out the smile on Heather’s face. After an hour and a half of waiting, God had answered my prayer. “Jesus Christ” rang out after “Limousine,” and my heart jumped. Goosebumps covered my arms and a smile grew rapidly across my face. The guitar covered up Jesse’s voice in the beginning but was quickly fixed and everything mixed into a wonderful mess as they played my favorite song. The grand finale was even more intense than Devine’s as “You Won’t Know” gave off an unusual feeling. I’ve never seen Lacey so into his singing as he ended up on the floor screaming. His attitude grew as he picked himself up, mumbled “you won’t know” one last time, slammed the mic down and stormed off stage. Brand New was amazing-incredible, wonderful, by far the best. Haili, Heather, Chris, and I ran to the car screaming and jumping, laughing and joking as the concert gave us a temporary relief of boredom and normalcy; but unless you weren’t there to experience it, you won’t know.
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 14
SPORTS
05.07
Baseball team learns how to slide As the season ends, the boys take to the plastic for one last grin Cat Burns Assistant Editor
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s the baseball team stands in line waiting with bits of grass on their chests and soaked with water, their last practice of the season went a little differently than most of their previous practices. Jesse Garcia got a running start and slid all the way across the 120 ft. long slipn-slide with ease. The entire practice was dedicated to having fun and not worrying about their past season. “Our coaches decided that it would be fun for us to not have an actual practice and instead just have fun as a team,” says Dylan Jeffers, “we decided that it would be pointless to go through another daunting practice and instead do something that we could all remember.” Instead of leaving practice sweaty and tired, they left practice wet and tired from running and
trying to get as far as they possibly could on the gigantic slip-n-slide. The baseball team’s season did not pan out exactly how they hoped it would. They had a lot of tough competition this year with teams that were older and who had more experience together as players. “Most of the teams had played together for all four years of high school, and have
RUNNING SCARED Aaron Whitaker makes an easy run to homeplate.
BernhardandWilliams/TheHotwire
even had played on legions teams together over the summer and in the off season,” says Garcia. The boys still got the experience they needed and can carry it on into the rest of their high school career, and for most of the team, into the collegiate and major league level. “I think all the players got better individually,” said coach Iglitz, “We really tried to focus on the player’s skills and preparing them for their futures with baseball.” Although the team had a few hard losses, most of the players
still felt they improved overall. “I think that this year really helped me become a better and more well- rounded baseball player, but also I became a leader on the field to my teammates,” said Jeffers. The team never had any sort of bickering because they all were trying to work together to have a good season and become better “ball” players. While the team suffered some defeats, they still finished their season with their heads held high and always stuck together as a team. “I think that we could have easily ended our
YOU’RE OUT Dylan Jeffers and Kevin Wibiral tag out a player from Canyon Springs. BillTobler/ TheHotwire
season on a bad note,” said coach Iglitz, “but instead, the team had a fun time together and showed what team unity really is.” The baseball team has an evident bond that will hopefully in years to come, bind them not only as friends but also as a successful baseball team and get many victories. As the team cleans up the remains of their slip-n-slide, they look back on all the good times they’ve had together on that field, and for those few seniors, the last good times they will have on that field. Coach Iglitz closes the gate behind them and all the grass covered, wet boys in swim trunks make their way to the parking lot before the sun sets. Their voices fill the air with jokes and laughter as they walk and shiver, the sun almost behind the mountains. Jeffers takes one last glance at the field behind him and knows that he, and others, will lead their team to a winning season next year and to playoffs.
Boys and girls track dominate over competition
Harder and longer training regimens lead to at least second place wins in over four meets Brendt Hulsey Staff Writer
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clangor of a starting pistol echoes throughout the field. Lindsey Marvosh leaves her starting position and immediately takes the lead with another distance runner from Green Valley. While winning the majority of their meets, the girls’ and boys’ track teams are in second place overall in the Southwest Region. They view any district meet as a means to improve their team standings, but the weekend
invitational meets are key for individual improvement and individual ranking. “We’ve been focusing mainly on our weekend invitationals,” said Marvosh. “All meets are important individually,” said junior Samantha Conrad, “But the varsity meets like the Las Vegas Track Classic and the Palo Verde Relays are the meets where the team as a whole has a chance to prove itself to the other teams throughout the district.” Undeniably, the teams’ strength lies in their distance runners. “We excel most prominently in the 800m, mile, two mile, and
800m relay,” said junior sprinter Jordan Paldi. “Our amazing distance runners get us most of our points,” said Conrad. “The long and triple jumpers are also pretty talented and help us win the majority of our meets.” “Gabe Rivera, Heather Holmstrom, Melissa Ogden, and Leah Leedy really help us in the distance events,” said coach Natalie Thomas. “Our girls 4x8 team made it to state last year, so I have to state as a team, but this year I qualified as an indivdual,” said Ogden. “It is alot more exciting and scary knowing I only have
myself to rely on this year.” One often forgets the complexity of a team with events based on individual talents, however. “Our biggest rivals in distance are Green Valley and Cimarron Memorial,” said Marvosh. “For me and the rest of the girl throwers, we’re intimidated by Silverado,” added Conrad. “Those girls are beasts!” “We have some pretty talented jumpers too,” said coach Kevin Soares. “Denicia Rush, Courtni Low, Darrell Trotter and Terry Harris are all assets in the triple and long jump events.” While coming in second or better in over four of their meets, both the boys’ and girls’ track teams have trained harder and taken advantage of extra weekend meets to compensate for seniors lost due to graduation.
Marvosh runs the curve. Two hundred meters left. Her lungs feel crushed and her veins are pumping battery acid. One hundred meters left. She surpasses the Green Valley runner with whom she has been tied since the beginning. One meter left. She comes in first and secures her place at regionals. BURNING LUNGS (bottom) Eric Lovell sprints toward the finish line of his distance event, beating opponents from Green Valley and Coronado JakeHarames/ Peregrine
SKY HIGH (bottom) Kenneth Gardner clears the bar, earning Foothill valuable points. JakeHarames/Peregrine
05.07
SPORTS
HillsideHotwire. www.foothillnv.org. Page 15
Volleyball barely misses playoffs
Loss of four key players severely disables volleyball team in the end Lexie Stone Sports Editor
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rossing his fingers, he waits for his test to come back. It feels like years have gone by. The teacher starts walking toward him with that “you-could-have-done-better” look on her face. She lays it face down. As he turns it over, he frets about having to tell coach he’s ineligible for tonight’s big game against Silverado. It’s an F. Not only will he not be able to play in the big game, but he’s let all his family, friends, coaches and himself down. The boys’ volleyball team worked hard to continue as a good team, but they struggled near the end. Maintaining good grades is very important to an athlete. Succeeding in both athleticism and education is a great accomplishment, but for all athletes, keeping their head above water is sometimes too much of a challenge. It seems as though there’s always a player who is ineligible because of poor grades. “We never got to show the talent we had,” said Shane Whisenant. “We finished off the season respectively, but we could have done a lot better.” Head down, a player walks out of class toward his coach. He knows his coach will be very
upset, and he knows that he’s let everyone down. With several of his teammates already ineligible, he knows it will be difficult to take out Basic in three games. He prepares for the worst and hopes for the best. Hopefully, he will be able to bring them up before the next season and prove to everyone that he deserves to play on this team. Aside from playing really good teams, losing players seemed to be a problem this year. “Losing four players, especially the setters in the same week really hurt us,” said Shane. “Everyone on our team is a big asset, so if we lose someone we get hurt.” Even though the guys were short-handed, they carried on and still ended with a pretty good record. “I had a pretty good season,” said Whisenant. “There were some ups and downs, but with all the problems faced, I think our team and coaches did a great job pulling through and working well with what we had.” The season ended with a loss to Silverado, which was the deciding match on who went to playoffs. “It was disappointing not going to playoffs,” said Desmon Muaava. “We could have made it to playoffs, but we focused too much on the things that didn’t matter. My advice to next year’s team is to try to stay out of trouble, keep your grades up, and just
have fun.” Whisenant adds, “Bring home a championship! Show the other schools what Foothill volleyball can do!” FLYING HIGH (Right) During an intense game against Silverado, Marc Zamora makes an amazing leap into midair to score a point for his team. BernhardWilliams/Peregrine
GET LOW, GET LOW (Below) Westin Milne crouches low to the ground, keeping the opposite team from scoring a point on them. BernhardWilliams/Peregrine
Swim comes to an end with near perfect scores Putting swim practice before anything else leads to very few losses and an impressive season Lexie Stone Sports Editor
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traightening his goggles, Tommy Burns steps onto the platform. His stomach turns with nervousness as he looks around at his opponents. Waiting for the horn, he takes a deep breath. All sounds fade as the horn sounds. He dives. With each stroke executed, he gets closer to winning. Looking up as he does a stroke, he sees someone ahead of him. Picking up the pace, he sprints to the finish. “You usually don’t know that you’ve won until they post your times because the races are so close,” said Tommy Burns. “When you do win though, it’s a great feeling. I’m always real proud of myself. It’s a huge accomplishment.” A key part to winning a race is being mentally prepared, along with being physically ready. “If you’re swimming and your neck-and-neck with someone, that’s where the mental part of swimming kicks in,” said Burns. “At that point, it’s up to you how hard you can push yourself and make yourself go faster than the person next to you.”
With races being so long, swimmers must also have the physical physique to perform at their best. “I’m swimming the mile in the next meet,” said Zac Stone. “I’m pretty excited. Lately, I’ve been eating and drinking right. I also sleep a good amount of hours. Preparing for this race takes a lot of dedication.” Swimming is physically demanding. “I know after a hard practice or meet, I’m exhausted,”
said Stone. “It takes so much for me to even finish my homework. If I’m tired when I get home, I know I performed well.” It could take a toll on one’s grades and social life. “I’m very dedicated to my sport. When I have time for friends, I will hang out with them, but swimming comes first. I make it my priority to be successful in swimming and in school. Swimming is not an excuse for bad grades, and I make sure I do both 100%.” As the season comes to an end,
with very few losses, the swim team finishes with high standards. “The guy’s team has only lost to Coronado,” said Burns. “We didn’t let that get us down though. We plan to go strong and continue to do well. I’ve had a great season, and so has everyone on the team.” Hitting the wall, the clock stops as the judges record his time. As he rips his goggles off, he notices he’s the first to finish. Shaking his opponent’s hands, he smiles in triumph. Impressed with his time, he grabs a towel and listens for the meet results. His team has won. Contributing to the team’s overall win, he’s
happy with his performance and hopes to continue to do well. STRIVING FOR PERFECTION (Left) Trent Hall pushes to the finish line. Hoping to beat his last time and beat all of his opponents, he picks up the pace. BernhardWilliams/ Peregrine
IN IT TO WIN IT (Below) Moira Bradley freestyles her way to the end. With only a few meets left, she wants to end with a successful season.. BernhardWilliams/Peregrine