Scroll Issue 7 by Ben Graeber

Vol. 80 Issue 7

815 E. 13th St. Des Moines, IA. 50316

Des Moines Independent Community School District

January 27, 2012

East High Scroll “For the Service of Humanity”

Iowa jumpstarts 2012 Iowa Caucus

Early Graduates

Why do students rush to graduate sooner? Taylor Bougher Features Editor

campaign season

Aaron Hosman News Editor

ight votes separated the first place winner, Mitt Romney and second place winner, Rick Santoroum in the 2012 Iowa Caucuses. Starting at seven o’clock pm on January third, over 120,000 Iowans caucused at over 1,700 precincts across the state. Throughout the night votes were counted and they relayed a close race. Voters across the state and reporters from over 30 counties waited hours for the final results to be revealed, at 1:30 am the final counts were tabulated and the record breaking and what seemed to be the longest Iowa Caucus Night ended. “The Iowa caucuses have really put us on the map. Journalists from all over the world traveled around and broadcasted from Iowa for weeks. I found many pundits to be more respectful of Iowa and our first in the nation status this time. I think that is so because of how seriously Iowans take this process,” said US History and Government teacher, Don Heese. The results surprised many, Santorum, who lead a quiet and low budget campaign traveled to all of Iowa’s 99 counties in a pickup truck and won the caucus. Compared to Rick Perry, who spent over four million dollars on campaign ads in Iowa and came in fifth place; only gaining 10.3% of caucus goers’ votes. As the night progressed it was easy to see who would fall short and who would rise to the top. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul stayed in the top three; following far behind was former U.S. Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, former Texas governor Rick Perry, and Minnesota Congress woman, Michele Bachman.

When Bachman was informed on her standing in Iowa she addressed a large crowd at campaign headquarters with a positive and upbeat speech. “…in 2012 there will be another occupant in the White House, who knows, maybe another Michelle,” said Bachman shortly before the caucus closed. The next day Bachman decided to end her campaign. Governor Perry also came close to ending his campaign, during his speech at Perry headquarters he announced he would head back to Texas to reflect and decide if continuing the race would be the right move. But, before Perry traveled to Texas he announced he would move on to campaign in South Carolina. .The Des Moines Register’s final poll in the days leading up to the caucuses were similar to the final caucus results. After four days of pre caucus polling, the DM Register’s data showed Romney leading the pack, with Paul and Santorum trailing. “This year’s contest was especially close which added to the excitement of the horserace journalism that news coverage has become. It is sad however, that most news coverage of candidates are about attacking each other and who is in the lead this week – instead of educating people about a candidates vision and plan for our nation,” said Hesse. Young people played a large role in this year’s caucus; Ron Paul accumulated a lot of support from the younger generations. His less conservative outlined policies on foreign affairs, gay marriage, and marijuana made him a popular candidate for many college students. In fact, Paul received 48% of the votes from

9 4

Final Caucus Results

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Percent of Votes

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What is the next step to raise attendance? Lindsey Smith

*Since the caucus, some counties have released different results giving Santoroum a 34 vote lead over Romney. The state found eight precients from five counties did not originally report their results or their results were lost.

Polk County High Schools 35

people ages 17-29. To better understand the importance of Iowa hosting the first caucuses in the nation, think of it this way: As the first game of a sports season. All of the games or in this case caucuses or primaries lead up to the championship; the presidential election. Just like teams candidates have to do well in the ‘games’ to make it to the election. Iowa sets the tone for the rest of campaign season. From Iowa, candidates make their way to either or both New Hampshire or South Carolina and later Florida. As the campaign season progresses, many candidates will drop out of the race. After all of the states have had their primaries or caucuses, including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, delegates will move on to the GOP Convection where the republican nominee will be decided and run against the democrat, President Barack Obama. The candidates also have the option to run as an Independent, meaning three people will have their eyes on the White House. The presidential election day will be held in November of 2012. If you are interested in voting for our next president there are a few stipulations; you must be 18 years of age on election Day, a U.S. citizen, and be a registered voter.

ou work hard, you get good grades. Your main goal is to graduate high school. Then you realize that you have the opportunity to advance your dreams after high school a lot sooner than most students. Your hard work has paid off. As of January 13, the halls became a little emptier. Forty-four seniors graduated early and are officially finished with high school after they completed their finals. That is roughly the same amount that graduated early last year. They will, however, be back to walk across the stage with their fellow 2012 graduates. Many of the early graduates have different reasons for wanting to graduate this month. From getting a head start, to wanting to graduate so they can work and save up money for college. The students each had a reason as to why they wanted to complete high school this month. “I want to work more and go to college,” Austin Dueling said. Dueling plans on attending a trade school in Indianapolis for Diesel Tech. Many students have fears when it comes to graduating early. Marilyn Potter says that many students may fear “getting out of high school and going out in the real world.” In order for the students to graduate early, they had to make sure they completed their work and paid attention in class. There was no room for slacking off. “Just stay on track, and don’t fail any classes,” Potter says. If you have plans to graduate early, there are different steps you can take. You can talk to your counselor. They can help talk to you further about what you need to do. You also need to make sure you will have enough credits in order to graduate early. There is nothing worse than thinking you have enough credits to graduate and then finding out you are .05 short.

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he fall semester was the beginning of a journey to motivate students and increase the attendance of East High student body. The Get Schooled competition was the main pull for students to come to school with the hopes of being number one in the nation. Although East came in first place for the central region, they earned second place nationally. The attendance was raised by nearly 3% this last semester. Principal Steve Johns still plans on raising attendance even more to get closer to the state average. The plan for this semester is to continue working with Get Schooled and participating in the Spring Challenge, which started Jan. 23

Attendence, continued on page 2

January 27, 2012 / Page Editor : Lindsey Smith

Information

Table of Contents:

The 515 on happenings at East High

Page 1: Caucuses

Fine Arts & Groups:

Page 2: Info / News Page 3: Mission Impossible Page 4: Finals Page 5: NEHS Page 6-7: Marijuana Page 8: Cyber Space Page 9: Year in Review Page 10: Valentine’s Day Page 11: Boys Sports Page 12: N.Y. Resolutions

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National Honor Society: NHS members volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House on Jan. 7. A second group will be volunteering there again this Saturday, Jan. 28. All volunteers included: Seniors Anna Flickenger, and juniors Aaron Hosman, Senior Board: The senior class song “Great Expectations” wasn not cleared through administration so it will be chang ed. Senior Board members remember you need to come to meetings. Other seniors not a member can still come and voice their opinion and join committees. Senior Board will also be putting on East Hish’s first “Mr. East High Pagent” on Feb. 13 at 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Guys from any grade level are able to participate. More information will be available when the event gets closer. Student Government: The blood drive was a success! 62 people registered, 28 individuals donated whole blood, and six people gave double red cells. After separating the blood into its various components, these donors helped save the lives of 120 hospital patients. Drama: Audtions for the spring play took place on Monday, Jan. 23. The play is called “The Good Doctor.” Call backs were yesterday. It will be interesting to see who all performs!

Above is the one of the large groups, choral reading, performs on family night. It was a great rehersal for competition the next day. Left, the group warms up by doing voice and speech drills. This one is “Many mumbling mice, are making midnight music in the moonlight.” Below, the group performing at Barnes & Noble on the upper level.

IHSSA large groups (Readers Theature, Choral Reading, 2 Ensemble Acting, and 2 Musicial Theatre) performed at Barnes & Noble on Jan. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. IHSSSA is also having parent performances on Thurs. Jan. 19 and Fri. Jan. 20 at 6:30 in the auditorium. Students are welcome to come and watch their fellow peers as well. District Large Group is at North High School on Jan. 21 and State Large Group is on Feb. 4 at Ankeny High School. Students interested in starting IHSSA Individuals competition should se Mrs. Johnson in her room 2030M.

Scores from District Competition:

Choral Reading: A Crazy, Wonderful, Mad Dream......................................I Readers Theatre: R Dahl..................................................................................I One Act.............................................................................................................II Mime..................................................................................................................II Improv Group 1...............................................................................................I Improv Group 2...............................................................................................I Improv Group 3...............................................................................................I Musical Theatre: Omigod You Guys............................................................II Musical Theatre: Guys & Dolls.....................................................................II Ensemble Acting: Romeo & Juliet................................................................I Ensemble Acting: Variations on the Death................................................II Ensemble Acting: Exploring & Enjoying...................................................II Radio News: KMAS.......................................................................................II Radio News: DBTC.......................................................................................II

Sports: The sports briefs will now be on page 11, the sports page. Find out about scores, players, and what the teams are doing off the playing field. Dates and times are also listed for the next sporting events to attend.

Attendance, continued from pg. 1 with the first challenge: no unexcused absences from Jan. 23 to Feb. 10 otherwise students will not able to attend the Winter Formal dance. Two tardies are also equal to one unexcused absence. Speaking of tardies, there will be a new tardy policy starting soon. “It will be on a scale of zero to ten tardies. On the forth tardy, they get a note sent to the parents, tenth tardy they

will have three hours of detention during Saturday school and it won’t be an option to make up during lunch. Every tardy after the tenth is another three hours of detention,” said principal Steve Johns. Get Schooled was the tarmac for the launching of this new goal for East High School, along with the arrival of Johns. Coming to East, it was his biggest goal to raise attendance. “I think Get schooled was the catalyst that really started us thinking about attendance, and then students just made the decision, it only takes 40-50 students to make a big difference. I think some of our students became serious about coming to class, teachers got serious about coming to class, and our campus moni-

tors became more serious about getting students to class. And so it’s become a focus and something we do. We’re still behind, but were way behind to start with, getting better, small steps,” said Johns. While East is not quite to the state average, Johns along with the help of the staff, Chris Byam and his team of students, and the school as a whole participating in the Get Schooled Challenge, will hopefully get East High to the level it should be at. “Our general attendance fro the beginning of the school year to has gone up about 1.66 percent, but it’s a latent average, every day that were above 90% we go up,” Johns. “We’re going to continue with some of the contests, pop quiz attendance (popcorn and subway cards), perfect attendance, and continuing along with Get Schools contests.” The bar graph also displays East High School’s attendance compared to the other four Des Moines high schools. The first bar is the attendance from the beginning of the year, the second bar shows the attendance since the holiday break, and the third displays the attendance this week.

Winter Formal: A Black & White Affair

It’s coming up! February 11! Plus it’s only three days before Valentines Day. Flip to page 10 for stories on these two events.

Entertainment

Issue 7 / Page Editors : Hailey Galloway & Brianna Boner

Cruise’s newest mission possibly gives him concussion Hailey Galloway Reporter

uns, fast-speed chases, and slim, model-like women who perform impossible stunts for their size: yes, this is definitely an action movie. However, despite the predictability, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol was an overall decent experience; the fact that it was free certainly helped. Let’s face it: getting into a movie for free definitely peaks your interests for the movie itself. Going into the movie, I was not really expecting much. The trailer did not catch my eye nor did it really make me anticipate the journey I was about to take. I had not seen any of the first three Mission Impossible movies, and after Ghost Protocol, it sort of seemed like I should have. Although the plot did not seem to really rely on its prequels, some of the major plot twists would have been more exciting for a true fan to the series. I don’t know about

you, but I felt nothing for Josh Holloway’s (who played Hanaway) death scene. It did not make me sad or angry, which I suspect is what the movie was leaning toward. Again, maybe if you were a fan, this would be better, but putting a death scene of a main character in the beginning of a movie that is a sequel to a sequel to a sequel is never a good idea. If we look purely on the action parts of this movie, it was everything an action movie needed: Good pacing, beautifully shot, and enough punches thrown to make you feel as though your own face or hand were hurting. As cocky as Cruise may be, he certainly has a reason to be. Cruise never fails to get completely into his character, whether he be a Nazi (Valkyrie), or the funny guy (Tropic Thunder), hopelessly in love (Oprah Show), or international super-spy (Mission Impossible), he hardly ever disappoints. Overall, this movie was a good combination of thrill and adven-

BOOK REVIEW

ture. Although meant to be for true fans, it is still not hard to enjoy the beautifully shot, popular cities and historical landmarks, Mission Impossible will take you on a thrill ride filled with twists and turns and is guaranteed to leave you speechless had you been following the series thus far. However, I do have to knock off some points for the series focusing too much on the old-fan base rather than trying to gain a new following, and for the fact that the movie just seemed to drag on for a bit. A lot of the action was just repeated and there were a few too many chase scenes in the movie for them to be as exciting as they could have been. Mission Impossible 4 gets three out of five stars, and is a fun movie to go see if you’re bored, but I wouldn’t really waste money on it unless you follow the movies. Tom Cruise was truly on a mission on this movie. His objective: entertain us. Mission accomplished, Mr. Cruise.

TALENT REVIEW

Manga: Black Butler Musical talent with two young men Brianna Boner Literacy Ediotor

twelve-year-old boy watches his parents parish in their mansion’s fire. Outraged and humiliated, he strikes a deal with a demon to get revenge on those who murdered his parents. In return the demon gets to eat his soul. Released October 2, 2008 under the original name of Kuroshitsuji in Japan, this magnificent manga came to America as Black Butler in January 31, 2010. Most reviews about Black Butler seem to be purely fan based with a five out of five stars. Earl. Ciel Phantomhive is the protagonist who is very cocky despite his small size and how many times he has gotten kidnapped. Sebastian is the demon butler who is light on his feet and ready to take a bullet for his master, is always the one to save young Ciel. “If Van Helsing had a younger, cuter brother, it would be Sebastian,” wrote X. Vanarsdale “Xan” on Amazon reviews for Black Butler. Black Butler is not what I expected it to be. The art is spectacular, yet it is hard to follow the plot. Ciel wakes in the morning to be dressed then all of a sudden Sebastian is fighting a martial arts master. This confusion had me rereading the first five pages. Yana Toboso is a magnificent artist; however, the writing could have more meaning and explain the plot a lot better. Sebastian is a humorous butler who dresses all in black. He is one to move quickly and gracefully

when in need. Ciel, the head of the Phantomhive family, has the personality of a child. He loves to be amused and torture those who have gone against his family. His right eye is purple with a star, a demon’s mark on him. Sebastian has a similar symbol on his hand. This is the bond between master and servant. I would not have even known the about Ciel and Sebastian’s contract if I did not watch eight episodes of the anime for three chapters of the book. The anime is so much better. The plot is quick and the characters keep me on the edge of my seat. Grell and the Undertaker are my personal favorites of all the characters in Black Butler. There is not much else positive to be said about Black Butler. I hope it will improve as the chapters are brought along as I continue to read it. It is worth reading, but the anime should be watched before, to understand what you are reading. I give Black Butler 3 out of 5 stars.

Natalie Flores Reporter

he sound of a musical melody, a voice flowing with the harmony, the beat leading another voice, lights shine on stage as young musical minds perform their hearts out. The music industry is known to be a rough place but those rumors don’t stop East High school junior fiddler Ben McClure and inspired rapper, sophomore Deanthus Howard to accomplish their musical dreams. McClure has played the violin for nine years. Five of them were dedicated to a specific violinist’s music called fiddling. Fiddling is another name for a string instrument most commonly known as a violin, but it is also a type of music that is normally learned and played by ear or sound. “It comes from the heart. It’s basically whatever emotion you put into the song. It’s just amazing,” said McClure. There are many forms of fiddling and violin music, such as classical to jazz or common folk music. Bluegrass music is a form of American Roots music, most commonly known as Country Music. This may also include some Irish or Scottish sound to it, but in the end it all depends on the musician. “I want to be a professor in bluegrass music. I want to take it to college. It’s (fiddling) a passion that I love and I’ll never give

up,” said McClure. an average rapper. I want to beHoward, another talented come one of the world’s greatest musician, has big dreams for entertainers!” said Howard. himself. Howard is a rapper who McClure and Howard have has begun to take his first steps many obstacles along the way to into his musical future. accomplish their dreams, as for Howard has performed at the now they continue to show the East High talent show, open world their ambition towards mic nights, and even at local their musical passions. bars. This young rapper recently moved from Iowa to Dallas, Texas. “It was definitely positive (moving). Dallas is a big place. It’d be nice to be the first rapper from Iowa,” said Howard. “Music to me is life. Music makes the world go ‘round. I try to write songs that tell a story or songs that can really Junior Ben McClure plays the fiddle and speak to a person. Ba- is also involved with Chamber Choir and sically all I want to do Scarlet Singers. is tell my story. I want people to know what my life is like,” said Howard. According to Wikipedia, pop music is the most popular genre of music. This can only mean more competition for determined Howard. “I can be ready to attack like a wolf, my music name is Xavier ‘DeWolf Howard,” said Howard. Like McClure, Deanthus ‘DeWolf ’ Howard plans to take his rapping career far. “I want to make a career DeAnthus Howard was a sophomore when he left East High this year. He is a truly out of this. I want to bededicated rapper. come a rapper but not just

Opinions

January 27, 2012 / Page Editor : Courtney Custard

STAFF

Co-Editors in Chief

Finals fail to benefit East students

Lindsey Smith Katelyn Worple

their classes should be given the privilege to opt out from the final whether they’ve missed one day or five days. An A is an A. At Southeast Polk High School (SEP), finals are basically non-existent. “As long as you’re not failing and you pass your eight week and 16 week tests and have good attendance, you can opt out of all of your finals,” said SEP junior Casey Stephens. Valley High School has it just as good when it comes to finals. “You can have up to six absences per class and you can opt out of two finals,” senior Cassie Crose said. “For second semester, the seniors can opt out of every final as long they have a B or better in all of their classes.” Requirements for opting out of finals at Carlisle High School are much fairer to their students. Senior Makaila Haase said, “For our second semester finals, you have to have a C or better and show improvements in your ITED grades and then you can opt

Staff Members Riley Bacon Copy Editor

Aaron Hosman News Editor

Brianna Boner Literacy Editor

Courtney Custard Opinions Editor

Opinions Editor

Hailey Galloway A&E Editor

Stephenie Gabriel Community Editor

Taylor Bougher Features Editor

Kara VanDeo Reporter

Natalie Flores Reporter

Caroline Kasper Reporter

PJ Graham Reporter

Principal Steve Johns

Courtney Custard

Adviser Ben Graeber

The Scroll is a public forum for student expression.

LETTER POLICY

The Scroll welcomes letters but reserves the right to edit for space as needed. Outside contributions are subject to the usual restrictions of libel and obscenity and must conform to general paper policy, which is available upon request. Signed commentaries represent personal opinions, not views of the staff. Also, your letter needs to include your full name and grade. Unsigned letters can not be printed. You can deliver your letter to Ben Graeber or Natalie Niemeyer in room 207W. NOTE: All contents are the product of the EHS newspaper production staff. Occasional stories are contributed from the Journalism Intern program.

ADS POLICY

Ads are $4 per column inch and are avilable by calling (515) 242-7729 on school days from 7-3p.m. The Scroll reserves the right to reject ads demmed not in the best interest of East students. The paper is printed every 3 weeks by Wilcox Printing in Madrid, IA.

DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL EQUITY STATEMENT

The Des Moines Public Schools prohibits discrimination in educational and employment programs and activities based on age, race, creed, color, sex, marital status, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. in addition, the District prohibits acts of intolerance or harassment toward employees or students that are not related to the individual’s employment or education.

WE ARE MEMBERS OF THESE GROUPS:

ess than two absences and an A in the class. Those are the requirements to opt out of a final here at East High School. As most people would agree, this rule is absolutely ridiculous. I am not a bad student. I do my work to the best of my ability and I turn it in on time. In most of my classes I have A’s, but I have three absences. Two of these days I was sick, and the other I was on a vacation. These three absences are keeping me from opting out. To me, this makes no sense. A student with A’s in

out of three classes.” After doing this research I became even more upset with our terms of opting out here at dear old EHS. At all these schools, attendance is the least of their requirements. The grade in the class is what matters the most. Imagine all the students who have caught that unfortunate bug we call the flu. The flu can keep kids in bed for a couple days, and then BAM! There goes your chance at opting out of your finals, even though you have an A in all of your classes. I guess matters could be much worse though. “We cannot opt out of finals at all,” said Hoover High School senior Britta Delafield. The same was said by Junior Emily Biondi of Lincoln High School. Although we have the chance to opt out, the requirements are not favorable to much of the student body, and I strongly encourage our administration to rethink their requirements for next year or even next semester.

Finals schedule proves ridiculous What did you think about finals at East High? Finals were pretty easy for me, but my government final was pretty hard because it had a lot of questions. -Senior Mark Juarez Finals were boring like always, and the schedule set up was confusing. -Junior Walter Bernal

Finals were definitely tough, and I thought the classes being intertwined with the finals made it kind of fun. -Sophomore Alexis Delgado

Kara VanDeo Reporter

s we all know, this year finals are similar to last year’s; we have classes in the morning and finals in the afternoon. Is this really a good idea? Having class before finals isn’t really a good idea in my opinion. You’ll be reviewing vigorously for that final and not prepared for the upcoming final that is waiting for you later in the day. As for students who have a short memory span, like me, it will be almost impossible for me to remember every little thing on the final and then fit more information in my brain when there is simply not enough room. Finals this year will be hectic. To add on to the stress of having finals, some teachers even give more work. So, you’ll have finals and then have to turn in homework. And don’t forget: benchmark tests! Many teachers have benchmark tests and finals on the same day. Two tests and an added load of homework? Sounds too crazy for me. Lunch has even turned to a hectic and chaotic mess. With having only two lunches, lines have become longer and the lobby is crowded with students waiting to leave to go out to eat. However, finals are finals and they must be done. But tell me, what would you rather do; take finals and leave or have class, then finals, and leave at 2:35?

Opinions

Issue 7 / Page Editor : Hailey Galloway

Where has the National English Relationship tips for East Honor Society gone this year? High students to live by

Lindsey Smith Co-Editor-in-Chief

ast High rarely has good publicity. Although, if the media actually paid attention to what our school was doing, there would be plenty of positive stories. With not a lot of great press, why would we want to intentionally make ourselves look bad? No one wants that. Aren’t we sort of asking for it though when we lose an academic group because no staff member “has time” or “wants” to keep it going? I’m a student who really defends East High when we are we are trash-talked by the media or just out in the community. I absolutely despise it when people talk badly about East when they’ve never even spent a whole day walking the halls, let alone even stepped through the door. It’s hard to defend though, when we have students and teachers alike, talking bad about the school, not wanting to help with events, or participate in activities, or do things that give us our “reputation.” Just because people, who don’t honestly know what they’re saying, talk bad about us, doesn’t mean we need to act or talk to fit the mold by which they describe us. It’s not just students that act this way, teachers do it as well. Students can talk as bad as they want about East, but that never infuriate me more than teachers are the ones trash talking, not respecting their fellow co-workers, and when they won’t step up to helping at events or be the advisor for a group.

I hate the excuse of “I’m too busy.” Nowadays, who isn’t busy? You don’t think we have lives to, that we have all this free time? Yes I understand that you have families, lives, friends, a job that stresses you out, but guess what, so do a lot of students at East High. Do you realize what all we have going on? You were in our shoes once, don’t you remember? Majority of us take full course loads, work late and still have homework to do after, study, keep our grades up, study for the ACT, apply for scholarships, have practice three to five times a weeks for sports, speech, plays, debate, cheer, etc., and sometimes were in more than one activity. Can someone please step up and help recover the groups we’ve lost or are losing as we speak? We have lost great organizations for various reasons, but even if there isn’t a huge calling for the club or there aren’t tons of students participating, that doesn’t mean they need to stop. One of the reasons for the loss of some of these groups is due to a teacher no longer wanting to and/or having time to be the advisor. This is exactly what has happened to the East High National English Honor Society (NEHS) Chapter. It ended last year sometime. Not even the members really knew what happened, nothing was ever said. If the academic group was still around there would only be about ten members, but without an advisor the members can’t hold meetings, induct new members, or be active as a group. NEHS can’t be advised by just any staff member either. Since it’s an English society, an English teacher needs to be the adviser. It’s hard to believe that no one could step up to the plate and help sponsor this group. It’s something positive and the members are good kids. It’s not like they have to actually teach or deal with students who don’t care to be there. The students that are members sent in an application and know that it’s an honor to be a part of the chapter. We want to have on opportunity to be a member of groups like these and by the lack of motivation these groups are fading.

Extreme Makeover: Southride Mall Version We, the Scroll staff, would like to give a thumbs up to the new plan of renovating Southridge Mall into an indoor athletic complex on the west side of the mall, and an outdoor shopping center on the East side of the mall. This year-round complex is expected to be a fun and exciting place to play soccer, rugby, football, lacrosse, softball, baseball, and other community activities. Jeff Lamberti, the Iowa Barnstormers, and the Iowa Soccer Association are working together to follow through with this huge plan. The outdoor shopping center will consist of these stores: Sears, Younkers, and Target, as well as a few other shops. Also, Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) will be moving into the part of the mall where J.C. Penney’s was once located. We feel that this will be a great change for the Des Moines area, specifically the southside. This new change will also help more people to stay in shape. We can’t wait for this new renovation to come!

Taylor Bougher Features Editor

t’s the twenty-first century. Year 2012. We have seen many changes over the last forty or fifty years. For some people, their views haven’t changed with the times. What I am talking about are relationships. Two people who care about each other. The ideas and the variety of couples have changed over the past few decades, but in my opinion, the relationships still need improving. Why do relationships still have to be judged based on race or gender? It should be just as acceptable to see two white people together, as two people of a different race. The world is changing, yet some people’s views are still stuck in the past. I am a strong believer in the idea that you can’t choose who you fall for, whether it be two guys, two girls, or a guy and a girl. It just happens. So why, after all these years are people still

looking down upon couples who aren’t the same ethnicity or are the same gender as their other half ? I am in a relationship with someone who is a different race than me. It irritates me that it is not accepted by people as a whole still. I know older people who are not accepting of different relationships. They grew up around that, it is understandable. But it isn’t that world anymore. We are all humans. There should be nothing wrong with seeing any two people together no matter how they look. The world is going to be continually changing. It will always be like that. People who try to ignore the change are just blind to the world. It’s unavoidable. Changes happen everywhere in life and all throughout it. People will date who they want whether you choose to accept it or not. So why not just make it easier on yourself and just accept the change? Black, White, Latinos, Asian, straight, gay, bi-sexual, transgender. It doesn’t matter who is together. In the end, we’re all people. We all deserve to be happy with whom we want to be with. Stop the labels and the dirty looks. Get with this generation. Not your grandparents’.

Absence Policy for Winter Formal is Unfair We, the Scroll staff, give the administration a thumbs down on the ridiculous rules to be able to attend Winter Formal. With the new rule in place (no unexcused absences from January 23 until February 10), nobody will be attending the dance. Not only is it unreasonable for a school of our size, but it will also take money away from the Pep-E club who has put so much effort into designing the dance. Due to this new policy, the attendance for Winter Formal will most likely be less than past years. We know that the administration is trying to give students an incentive to get to school, but using the dance as one was not the administration’s best decision.

Addictions

January 27, 2012 / Vol. 80

Drugs: the

Issue 7 / Page Editor s: Stephenie Gabriel & Katelyn Worple

Why do you think teens give in to peer pressure?

dangers to your body

“All their friends do it, so they feel they have to in order to have fun. I hate how people think it makes them look cool.” -Junior Kara Cipperley

Riley Bacon

“They think it makes them cool to be drunk and high at parties with their friends.” -Junior Hanna Hoskins

Copy Editor / Sports Editor

Ge t

tudies conducted by “Above the Influence” show that someone who smokes five “joints” a week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes one pack of cigarettes every day. Marijuana is a green and brown mix of dried flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves that come from hemp plants. The main active chemical in marijuana is THC, which moves quickly throughout the bloodstream and other organs of the body Marijuana, when inhaled, acts as a mild hallucinogen that can cause a long lasting impact on teenagers’ developing brains. As a result of smoking marijuana, teens will begin to obtain weakened verbal and communication skills, lowered learning capabilities, and a shortened attention span. One of the most common misconceptions about marijuana is that it is safer than tobacco smoke. However, marijuana

h t *

contains 50-70% more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke, which can lead to different cancers. Similar to marijuana, tobacco usage at the high school level is evident among students. In both cigarettes and chewing tobacco, the active ingredient is nicotine. Nicotine acts as both a stimulant and a sedative. It is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the United States, because once you’re hooked, it is extremely hard to overcome the addiction. Smoking harms your immune system and affects nearly every organ of your body, while prolonged usage of chewing tobacco can lead to various cancers of the mouth. According to abovetheinfluence.com, from 1964-2004, 12 million deaths were caused by smoking, including 4.1 million deaths from cancer, 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular disease, 1.1 million deaths from respiratory disease, and 94,000 infants related

c a f t s! e www.abovetheinfluence.com

Marijuana

Marijuana can cause long lasting negative impact on teens developing the brain.

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Verbal and communication skils can be damaged by the usage of Marijuana. Marijuana smoke is 50-70% more damaging on the lungs than cigarettes. Research shows that Marijuana is the most common “Gateway Drug.” Marijuana can cause depression for users that heavily use it.

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to the mothers smoking during pregnancy. The most common depressant available to students is alcohol. While it is legal to people ages 21 and over, it is still illegal to minors. Alcohol comes in many varieties, but all alcohol is derived from the natural fermentation of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Alcohol is notorious for being able to “loosen you up and help you relax.” Alcohol can damage part of your brain that controls coordination, memory, judgment, and decision making. It travels through your bloodstream quickly, while damaging your brain, stomach, liver, kidneys, and muscles along the way. The bottom line is, yes, it is legal for people 21 and older, but statistics show that more teens are killed by alcohol than by all illegal drugs combined. All information used is available at abovetheinfluence.com.

Alcohol

Affects memory, coordination, and decision-making. Every year about 5,000 people, under the age of 21, die as a result of drinking too much alcohol.

* * * *

Alcohol in the long-term can effect your physical appearance. Every year 1,900 car accidents are caused by drunk drivers. Can cause a long lasting negative impact on teen’s development of the brain. Drinking as a teenager damages the developing body, affecting the rest of your life.

“For mulitple reasons. It could be fun, but it can be for outlets and they’re escaping things. Alcohol isn’t a big deal to me, but I think smoking is down right disgusting.” -Sophomore Kendrew Panyanouvong

“Teens feel like all the people that do drugs or drink when really they’re not. They don’t realize that its just causing problems for them in the future.” -Freshman Josh Davis

Salvia

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When Salvia is ingested or smoked, it can cause hallucinogenic effects.

Hallucigens, like Salvia, make it nearly impossible to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Abusers of Salvia generally experience episodes, making them lose contact with the world.

Episodes that come with using Salvia, can make everyday tasks fatally dangerous. Ex: Driving, Swimming, etc.

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Salvia is a herb substance. There are many types of Salvia but the most common of all is, Salvia Divinorum.

Salvia is illegal in many US states, as well as other countries around the world.

Features

January 27, 2012 / Page Editor : Kara Van Deo

Love Is In The Air! Valentine’s Day fun facts

The party before the party Eating dinner before the Winter Formal is a traditon: Latin King, Zombie Burger and Now or Later offer choices for EHS students

P.J. Graham Reporter

E • The most awesome gift of love given, is the Taj Mahal in India which was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife. • About 15% of women in the U.S. send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day. • Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day each year! • About 192 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged.

Can you be friends with an ex? F E M A L E

YES

90% 10% YES

60% 40%

yebrows plucked, hair is getting that Snooki action, and people showered themselves with sun tan lotion. This is not an episode of Jersey Shore; this is East High Winter Formal 2012. It’s a tradition to go to a fancy restaurant before going to a high school dance, so you want something that is cheap and has freaky fast service. “I like Latin King because its good, but it’s a little pricey,” said sophomore Rachel Boothroyd. For 60 years of dining, Tursi’s Latin King been a staple in Des Moines dining. As an Italian restaurant, Latin King sells pastas to steaks. The Latin King is like a place you would go to for a blind date that you met on eHarmony. When you walk into Tursi’s Latin King, you get a happy-go-lucky smile from the hostess, great service from the waiters and staff. Like Boothroyd said, it is a little pricey, but the service and food makes up for it. “I’m going to Zombie Burger for Formal. They have good food,” said freshman Mercedes Valdez. A zombie theme restaurant seems outrageous, but Zombie Burger was a smash hit to high school students in Des Moines. There’s no zombies walking around, or serving brains on a platter, it’s really like a normal restaurant with a twist. The set up is different, but in a good way. The first thing you see is a huge panting along the wall of zombies roaming the city. Then when you walk in more and you see a random fence against the window; it feels like you’re trapped in the restaurant. You can hear the burgers smacking the grill, the kitchen staff screaming orders, and laughter of the customers.

A L E

*Fifteen people of each gender were surveyed

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“They have good and fast service, plus it’s cheap,” Valdez said. Zombie Burger isn’t really a restaurant; it is more like an experiment. With fast service, cheap burgers, and a high school hang out, sounds like a good idea for a dinner. “Now or Later has great service and a very cheap place to go to,” said sophomore Maritza Knight-Beery. Now or Later is a comfort food, family dining kind of place. It is like a place you will go with your grandma for a 4 o’ clock dinner. It is a very peaceful place, and feels very home like. It is kind of expensive but has a great atmosphere. They treat the customers with respect and the service is fast and they have great food. “Yeah, I recommend it. It’s very good and happy feel to it,” said Knight-Beery. For some people, knowing what restaurants to go to before a dance is easy as pie, but for others it can be more difficult than rocket science. So a place with fast and good service, great food that is cheap and a place that they can have fun at is the best place for a group of high school dance goers. So watch out owners of Latin King, Zombie Burger, and Now or Later, you got some hungry high school kids coming your way.

“Latin King, it’s a nice place to eat, it’s very formal.” -Senior Cody Pollock “Zombie Burger because it’s different. No one expects to eat there. Other places try to be too formal.” -Junior Jacques Willis

Sports

Issue 7 / Page Editor : Riley Bacon

Bowling teams devouring competition Stephenie Gabriel Community Editor

ne of the most unrecognized sports at East High School is the boys’ bowling team. Doug Davis is in his fourth season as head coach, and the boys are off to an impressive start. Both boys’ varsity and juniorvarsity have had nine meets so far (varsity 5-4, JV 6-3). They have bowled against all of the CIML schools, and are looking forward to the CIML “Metro Meet” in Ottumwa on Thursday, Feb 9. “We just need to keep improving every meet and doing our best at the meets,” said junior captain Mike Roby.

The bowling team’s first victory came in their first meet against Roosevelt at East’s home bowling alley, AMF. Varsity beat Roosevelt by 49 pins, and JV cruised to victory by a final score of 2384-1701. “We could be further than we are, but we are having fun and getting better so it’s all good,” said Roby. Most students have many assumptions about bowling, whether it’s the “lazy sport,” or if it even is a sport. What people don’t know about the East High bowling team is that they practice twice a week, and usually have two meets a week. Meets usually last up to 3 hours, and consist of two individual games, along with five “baker”

games. A baker game is where five bowlers each bowl two frames of a game. “Practice is really important in bowling, there is way more to it than just throwing a ball down the lane. Each practice we do one-step drills, corner pin drills and strike ball drills to improve our game for upcoming meets,” said senior Benjamin Bolten. Tryouts were held in the beginning of November, and Davis had some tough cuts to make. All together, there are about 15 boy bowlers. This season, there is an unusual amount of newcomers, but Davis said that he welcomes anybody. “I never thought I would ever be

on the bowling team, but it is surprisingly enjoyable for it being my first year being a part of the team,” said Bolten. This season, junior Mike Roby, sophomore Luke Fisher, junior Tobias Tyler (pictured to the right), and possibly a few other team members have the potential to make it to the state bowling tournament. Anyone is welcome to come out and support the bowlers. The next meet is February 2 at AMF Lanes against Ottumwa.

Left: Juniors Mike Roby and Tobias Tyler pose before a meet. Right: Senior Donald Mongar and sophomore Scott Williams Jr. hang out before a meet.

Boys’ swim team sinks into hot water Erika Kommavongsa Former Reporter

n Dec. 28, it seemed to be a normal day at practice for the boys’ swim team, until their practice was interrupted by a janitor telling them they needed to hurry and get out because the pools chemical pump had broke. They are not sure how the pump broke, but they figured it

was from regular usage over a period of time. The damage affected their swimming for that day; they didn’t get to finish their yardage. The next day, the boys’ had a dry land practice at the Capitol Hill because the pump was still broken. Up until Jan. 3 when the East High pool re-opened, the boys’ held their practices at North High School, after they lifted weights at East. “North’s pool was very cold

ll a b t e ask

irls’ B

WHO: EHS vs. Ames WHEN: TONIGHT! WHERE: EAST TIP-OFF: 6:15 p.m.

Boys’ and Girls’ Bowling

WHO: EHS vs. Ottumwa WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 2 WHERE: AMF Lanes START TIME: 3:30 p.m.

compared to ours,” said freshman Brian Chang. “Although it was inconvenient to not be able to swim in our home pool, we were very grateful to have another pool to swim in and very thankful to Mr. Powell, our athletic director, and to the people at North for making this work for us,” said head coach Dustin Cassler. The boys’ have had a rough start to the season, going up against some

Come support your Scarlets!

dominant other teams. “Some of us have a chance to go to state,” said senior captain Aubrey Roland. The boys are constantly practicing, starting in the early morning and ending late after school. For the last couple of weeks, the team has been on their “H.I.T.” stage, which stands for “high intense training.” During the “H.I.T.” stage, the boys worked on their abs, upper bodies,

and also did P90X. Currently the team is on their “taper” stage of practices, which is used as a resting stage. “We’re a blue collar attitude team, show up work hard and get the job done,” said Cassler. The boys’ regular season is now complete, but the CIML Conference Meet will be Saturday Jan. 28 at East High School at 12:30 p.m.

Boys’ B

asketb

all

WHO: EHS vs. Ames WHEN: TONIGHT! WHERE: EAST TIP-OFF: 7:45 p.m.

Wrestling

WHO: EHS varsity @ Ames Invitational WHEN: Sat, Jan. 28 WHERE: Ames START: 10 a.m.

January 27, 2012 / Page Editor : Katelyn Worple

resolutions

What’s your New Year’s resoultion?

Feature

January 27, 2012 / Page Editor : Taylor Bougher

witter: @TheLittleBird that is taking over teenager’s lives one tweet at a time

Courtney Custard Opinions Editor

A brief lesson in Twitter lingo and tips for Tweeting success Trending: A word, phrase or topic that is tagged at a greater rate than other tags. Tweet: A message of 140 characters. The definition at first was

t the beginning of 2009, there were around 18 million Twitter users. More recently, Twitter has extended to over 300 million users. There is no doubt that Twitter is the fastest growing social network today. From MySpace to Facebook to Twitter, the pattern of social networking changes is becoming more and more evident. It seems that about every three to five years nations across the world become bored of the current site and move onto bigger and better sites. However, Facebook still holds the title as the most used website, with a projected 1 billion users. In 2012, look for Twitter to start seriously competing with Facebook’s numbers. Twitter allows your average, everyday person to follow their favorite celebrities and subscribe to their “tweets.” By the numbers, there are approximately one billion new tweets posted every week and 450,000 new accounts created every day. 46% of Twitter users are male, which leaves 54% of users being female.

Twitter:

a short burst of inconsequential information. Retweet: Abbreviated as RT, to show you are tweeting content that has been posted by another user. Followers: people who receive your Tweets Reply: If you want to reply to a Tweet that someone else has posted, use an @reply by using the @ symbol followed by the According to sysomos.com, 29% of all tweets produce a reaction. 92.4% of all retweets happen within the first hour of the original tweet being posted.

Need help? Log on to twitter’s help center. support.twitter.com

Do’s and Don’ts

1.) Follow people. It will get more people informed about your own page. 2.) Tweet. Let people know what you are up to. 3.) Be original. Use your own material.

other Twitterer’s username. When you use an @reply, the other Twitterer will see your post, even if he or she does not follow you. Promoted: Ordinary Tweets purchased by advertisers who want

1.) Don’t tweet nonsense. (ex: “I just brushed my teeth.”) 2.) Don’t tell too much. 3.) Don’t tweet what you wouldn’t say on the street.

to reach a wider group of users or to spark engagement from their existing followers (Ex: restaurants promote menu items or current events, like the State of the Union address). Following: People who you receive Tweets from Direct Message: The function of the Twitter service that enables you to send a private message (direct message) to a person you are following.

Are you a fan of social networking? Take a look at these (tumblr)

What?-Asocial networking website that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. W ho?- David K ar p founded Tumblr in 2007. What do you do?- You can make blogs and post pictures of things that interest you for people to see. Facts- 50% of tumblr’s visitors are under the age of 25. On October 21, 2011 tumblr became the first blog website to host President Obama’s blog.

(pinterest) What?- A vision boardstyled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. Who?- Paul Sciar ra, Evan Sharp, Ben Silberman founded Pinterest in 2010. What do you do?- You can create pin-boards of the topics that you want. Facts- On August 6, 2011 Pinterest was named in Time magazine as one of the “50 Best Websites of 2011.” In December 2011, it entered the top ten social networks, according to hitwise.com data

(blogster) W hat?- A blog ging community that features specific-interest blogs. Who?- Tony Colan and Ed Harrison founded Blogster in 2005. What do you do?- You can blog and say what you feel, but it also has a facebook-esque feel. Facts- As of August 2009, the site had 50,000 user s a cco r ding to wikipedia.com.You can incorporate your twitter feed to your blogster account.It offers three privacy levels. Public,, members only, or friends only.

(stumbleupon) What?- Allows users to discover and rate web pages, photos, and videos that are personalized to their tastes and interests using peer-sourcing and socialnetworking principles. Who?- Garrett Camp and Geoff Smith founded Stumbleupon in 2001. What do you do?- You can rate and voice your opinion on graphics on the internet. Facts- You only see articles, posts, and pictures that match your interests.You can add the stumbleupon toolbar to the top of your browser for easier access.

Feature

Issue 7 / Page Editor : Aaron Hosman

Looking back: A year in review Aaron Hosman

For weeks, the trial of Anthony dominated media headlines. Americans expressed their outrage when she was found not guilty; death amed journalist Katie Couric summed threats on Anthony rolled in leaving her to up the year of 2011 as a year of, “revogo in hiding. This trial which ended in May lutions, disillusionment, disappointwas as popular as some of the biggest cases ment, despair, courage, and hope.” in American history. These words are exactly what sanctified “Having covered OJ Simpson… nothing and battered the world. Headlines plastered really shocks me anymore. But this verdict newspapers on topics not only about pop (of Casey Anthony) really surprises me… culture, but about radical government change especially how quickly it came,” said Harvey in the Middle East and natural disasters that Levin of TMZ via Twitter in response to the ruined and reshaped life. outcome “China’s on the of the Anrise, Europe is a People in the room are now thony trial. mess, there is war Speaking and instability in secondary to incoming phone of Twitter, the Middle East, social methe US is involved calls and texts... dia took a in a increasingly -Don Hesse, history teacher turn in the unpopular war, past year high gas prices, as it seemed more students took a liking to and pop stars like Amy Winehouse dying Twitter rather than mega popular Facebook. from substance abuse…Free speech has “[Twitter is just a trend] they (students) get risen to a new level with people able to sick of one site so they go to another,” said communicate instantly – anywhere, anytime. sophomore, Kerry Graves. The knowledge of the entire world is at our “People in the room are now secondary to fingertips. That’s exciting,” said Don Heese, phone calls or texts coming in. Face to face East High US History and Government conversations tend to be interrupted. Not teacher. long ago when two students walked down The year also included change close to the hall they would talk to each other. Now home; East made a 180-degree turn with it is not unusual to see one texting and the the August school bell and welcomed new other with headphones – no conversation at administrators and a new plan on attendance. all,” said Heese. This plan brought the ‘Get Schooled’ chalSocial Media did not only enable high lenge which boosted daily student attendance school students to easily interact during class, by three percent and shined a media spotlight it rapidly spread breaking news, created a on the school. mockery of a U.S. congressman, and ignited As students cruised through the start of the revolution in the Middle East. the year, royalty across the Atlantic planned Anthony Weiner, now former U.S. Cona wedding. The wedding of the year, that is. gressman Tweeted a career ending and risqué Millions of people around the globe tuned in picture to a 21-year-old college student. This to see Prince William of England and what lead Weiner to reveal he interacted with mulsoon would be Princess Catharine Middleton tiple women on Twitter and through email tie the ‘royal’ knot in April. while married to his wife Huma Abedin, a This lavish event also exposed a new star, close aide to U.S. Secretary of State, HillPipa Middleton, Katharine’s sister and bride’s ary Clinton. Society dubbed the scandal as maid whose rear-end made her an overnight “Weinergate,” and he later resigned from sensation. the Congress. After the nation unglued their eyes from Twitter and social media’s role in the revolts the royal wedding they turned their attention throughout the Middle East was very signifimuch to alleged murderer, Casey Anthony. cant. Many rallies were made public by rebels Anthony’s two-year old daughter was unrethrough the use of Facebook, leading to the ported as missing for roughly a month and resignation of Middle Eastern dictators, like later discovered deceased. News Editor

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that of Egypt. Sites similar to Facebook enabled communication while the government closed other form communications. Also in May, the death of world known terrorist and mastermind behind the attacks on 9/11, Osama Bin Laden was killed by American Forces. This was one of the biggest accomplishments for the Obama administration. The team who bombarded Bin Laden’s quarters is known as ‘Seal Team Six,’ and even though their names are kept unknown, they consist of some of the greatest American hero’s 2011 brought us. Bin Laden’s death also exposed the increasing importance social media plays in the world. Sohaib Athar, a Pakastani man inadvertently live tweeted the events leading up to the capture and killing of Bin Laden. @ReallyVirtual: “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)…” read Athar’s first tweet, referring to the helicopter that we would soon learn carried Seal Team Six. When news spread of Bin Laden’s death late in the night, huge crowds gathered at cities around the county to celebrate America. Emotions ran high and some of the biggest crowds formed outside the White House and in Times Square. Another major death in the Middle East was that of Muammar Gadhafi of Libya in late October. After weeks of hiding form rebel forces of his own people, Gadhafi was captured and brutally killed, ending his 40year dictatorship. The world experienced another historic death in October, Steve Jobs, the mastermind of the Apple brand and inventor of the iPod passed away of pancreatic cancer. Jobs changed the world not only in the way we communicate or listen to music, but transformed technology along the way. Just as Couric said, 2011 brought many ups, downs, changes, and revolutions. Social media seemed to be at the forefront of every major event throughout the year. 2011 shaped our futures with copious amounts of events and stories, too many to name. The good ones, the bad ones, and the ugly ones, the year of 2011 will forever mark the history books as one of the biggest years for news and revolution.

TOPS Movies boxofficemojo.com

Songs topsongs2011.net

Above: Just a few of many Time Magazine’s covers during the Middle Eastern revolution.

Tech Scroll staff opinion

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

1. Rihanna, We Found Love

1. iPad

2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

2. Lady GaGa, You and I

2. iPhone 4s

3. LMFAO, Sexy and I Know It

3. Kindle Fire

3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1