IHACA RELAYS
PROM MANIA pg. 4
SENIOR SUPPLEMENT pg. 9
pg. 16
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
page 6
June 9, 2011 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 119 • No.8• Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com • Ithaca High School, 1401 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY, 14850 • FREE
New Gym
Construction Underway By ARYEH ZAX
SHOUT OUT to the IHS Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team for an amazing season. Let’s go Little Red!
By SIENA SCHICKEL
PHOTO/PROVIDED
Based on the towering behemoth made of large concrete blocks, the loud noise and large signs of construction crews, and the detours through the main IHS parking lots, all IHS students should know about the new gym-building project. The building, constructed on what was once Deebs Field, is projected to be finished during the fall. However, by the looks of it, the building will most likely be completed during December of the upcoming school year. The gym will have three main parts: a spacious, regular gym area (which will be a little smaller than the current gym), a five thousand square foot workout room, and an interactive section featuring such continued on p. 5
Mississippi Flood Wreaks Havoc By PAUL STOVER
Over the past month, Mississippi has experienced some of the worst flooding in over a century. Two large storms have poured massive amounts of rain into the Mississippi River, causing extreme flooding. Snow
Budget Cuts Déjà Vu
that melted from North Dakota and South Dakota has streamed down into the Mississippi River, adding to the floods. These effects have caused five states to be affected by the flood: Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois and Louisiana. The flood has had detrimental ef-
PHOTO/PROVIDED
fects on the states it has hit, resulting in billions of dollars needed to repair the damage. Due to farmland being damaged the most, many crop prices, such as corn, have risen dramatically. The flood has also left thousands homeless; citizens had to leave their homes to seek shelter in others areas that were not affected by the flood. Rural areas have received the largest amount of damage because The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) believed rural areas would face less dramatic damages than cities, like New Orleans. Consequently, the USACE has been controlling flooding in many rural areas by means of floodgates. Residents of these rural areas were informed that their town would be flooded slightly, giving the residents time to pack up their belongings and seek shelter elsewhere. In panic, some residents built a large ring of dirt around their house so that their homes wouldn’t be flooded and destroyed. The residents reasoned that the cost to build the barrier around their house would continued on p. 5
Last year, the proposed budget cuts hit IHS hard, threatening to cut back on pretty much everything: music, sports, and classes. No student would’ve escaped the effects of the new proposed budget, and nearly everyone was upset about one thing or another. Most of the proposed cuts were saved because of the financial help from frustrated parents. Many modified sports teams were cut, but luckily the Varsity teams were spared. Music groups like Jazz Band, Madrigals, and Pit Orchestra were saved by generous donations. This year, the budget has tiptoed around the music and sports programs, only threatening programs for smaller groups. Proposed cuts include combining jobs within the district to create a smaller number of them, utilizing technology and more efficient systems to have one or two people doing more than what three or four people would’ve done. Cuts also affect English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers, librarians, and security staff, among others. It’s debatable whether or not transferring the cuts to areas where angry parents are less likely to send a barrage of emails is ethical, but nevertheless, this was the strategy that has proven to bring up fewer complaints. There has been far less publicity about the budget cuts this year compared to last year. Last year, middle school and high school students attended one of the board meetings to protest the budget’s effects on the music programs. It was so crowded in York Lecture Hall that many people were sitting on the floor or steps, and there were continued on p. 5