The Murmur (Waterford Kettering)

(murmur( the waterford kettering high school October 16, 2009

Volume 7, Issue 2

Student takes a job at one of the scariest haunted houses around- Erebus. Page 8

A NOT-SO

UNEXPECTED

FUTURE Story on Page 4

ssue 4

After years of booming business followed by gradual store loss, the Summit Place Mall closes down for good, leaving behind Macy’s, Sears, and JC Penny’s. Photo By Rachhyata Dhakal

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October 16, 2009

Soaring for the Skies WKHS develops a new class for ambitious students who have an interest in aviation

By Bohden Musiel

“It’s a great idea,” freshman Zack Ewing said. “It’s awesome to see people take advantage of this opportunity.”

Ewing is referring to the new Aviation Aeronautics and Aerospace program, which Ewing declares is pretty cool. For the first time in awhile, the ability to learn about flying has reached public schools, and not JUST public schools, but the Waterford School District.

The WSD chooses the attending students by applications, and if accepted, the students are enrolled in a two year program.

“It’s honestly a good idea. Students can really use this,” freshman Justin Costijan said.

Students will have private instruction if they need it separate from the main class, either year.

Year one will include ground classes and exploration of careers in the aviation field.

That means students will get to see things about piloting, possibly maintenance of craft,

how planes function, as well as many other related subjects.

Their ground classes are going to follow the regulations of normal piloting lessons. Basically, students will get the chance to experience what things will be like when they hit the beginning of a professional level. In the event they need help or elaboration on a topic, private instruction is also provided.

The second year of the program will include plenty more, such as private pilot instruction, continued ground classes, further exploration of careers paths, and a more hands on sort of program. They will get to see far more closely how things operate, along with getting the same help as in the first class.

It is really appealing to a lot of students, seeing as how many people haven’t seen the idea of this coming for quite some time. It is certainly a great start to any aeronautic or aviation related career, and the kicker is that it is open to so many students throughout the Waterford School District, so plenty of people can get in on the action.

(Top) Ready to take off. Oakland International Airport is lit during the night for the approaching planes. Photo by Bohden Musiel (Bottom) Light up the sky. Program instructor Joel Paddas stands proudly next to a training plane. Photo by Betty Buynak

A Long Awaited Compromise As a new school year starts at WKHS, the teachers’ Union and the Board of Education come to an agreement on the teachers’ contract at last

By Casey Miller For the past two years, the Waterford School District has gone without a contract to state an agreement between the teachers’ Union and the Board of Education. On September 16th, the new contract was finalized.

The contract- which settled issues with pay, hours of work, and working conditions- was put off because the teachers and the Union could not agree on the ever problematic topic of health care.

The cause for the disagreement involved the Board of Education cutting healthcare due to its expense. The teachers disagreed

with the Board because many teachers believe that the biggest reason for being an educator is for health care.

Though teaching isn’t the highest paying profession, many people like it because it guarantees health care. The health care benefit guarantee is crucial because the Board doesn’t want teachers becoming sick and missing many days in a row because they can’t afford to see a doctor.

The economy also played a key factor in the absence of the contract. The state of Michigan spends more money than it takes in, which causes a cut back of money spent on schools. This has hugely impacted the con-

tract because Michigan is in deep with money problems and the school district has to suffer because of it.

“This was the best contract we could agree on due to the overwhelming problem of the economy,” history teacher Ken Frenkel said.

When the state cuts down, the school districts are forced to cut down.

“The real problem is the state isn’t providing the things it says it will,” Secretary Representative of Kettering Dirk Zuschlag said.

“This causes the district to cut back as well.”

Many of the issues passed within the contract affect many parents and their children.

“Teachers do a lot of hard work; they stay

way after hours all the time and they should be paid more,” senior Chris Crane said, whose father David Crane is a teacher at WKHS. “The increase in salary makes my dad a little happier; I mean, more money is never a bad thing.”

The contract seems to be a positive influence on the school district, but it only lasts a year. The Union and the Board have to sit down, and re-negotiate all the working conditions again next year. If Michigan’s economy improves, the Union and the Board agree that they will definitely have a better, more efficient contract that everyone can agree on for years to come.

October 16, 2009

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Steppin’ Out for a Good Cause

Students at WKHS who have Diabetes plan for a walk in Royal Oak to raise money for research

By Sydney Hargrave Breast cancer awareness and other types of organizations seem to be becoming more popular as time goes on. The Diabetes Foundation, however, is a little less known. A cure for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes is still being researched.

“Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes” is a walk held by the American Diabetes Association. With support from the community, including sponsors and business teams, this walk raises over $20 million, in hope of finding a cure for Diabetes.

According to Stepout.diabetes.org, over 100,000 people in over 180 cities around the country participated in the walk. The ADA receives a little more than 75 percent of the proceeds earned from the walk, using the

money for future diabetes research.

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases not only in adults, but also in children.

It is shown that 5 to 10 percent of Americans who have diabetes have type 1, with the remaining 90 to 95 percent suffering from type 2.

Type 1 isn’t as common because it appears suddenly. Not as many people are aware that they have it. Diabetes is genetic, so if you have it, a family member probably has or has had it as well.

While a cure has not yet been found, there are a few ways to treat diabetes. Insulin pumps, shots, and glucose meters are a few of the solutions, but watching your glucose level and how many sugars and fatty foods you consume is an important factor.

Having diabetes is a big responsibility, and

Pamper Me Pretty During homecoming week, the students and staff are pampered by students from Paul Mitchell beauty school

By Molly Edson-Parlor Fumes hit the excited students waiting in line during lunch; not one girl could be seen who looked miserable while awaiting their moment to be pampered.

Trims, manicures, and fancy up-dos were on the list of things to receive.

Paul Mitchell: the School had hit WKHS in the wake of homecoming, and every student and staff member was thrilled to see the stream of hair spray coming from the rows of tables.

On Friday October 2, beauty technicians lined up their products and prepared for the mob of teenage girls and guys wanting to get their head start on their homecoming outfits.

Offering a variety of services, all a student

had to do was put in a donation. This tickled the students who didn’t have the money to go to a professional and get their hair done.

“I can’t believe this is happening! I want to get my hair cut, but my mom says it’s too expensive,” sophomore Madison McCafferty said.

Many others have parents who say the same thing; that is why Personal Adjustment teacher Angela Euashka and friend Lynn Crinson, who is the design team and placement leader at Paul Mitchell: the School, have decided to organize another day for the students to indulge.

“They’ll come back,” Euashka said.

There is one thing that students at WKHS are sure of; they’ll be waiting.

individuals with the disease aren’t known for choosing to have it. There are many things a person needs to know, and many strategies they need to learn. These include: how to use their meter and how to tell if their blood sugar level is okay, along with several other things that may happen.

Frequent doctors’ visits and trips to the hospital are also not uncommon. Over a long period of time, it is possible that you could cause damage to things such as eyes, kidneys, nerves, and your heart.

Type 1 diabetes appears suddenly, and increases or progresses quickly. The cause of this, however, is still unclear, which is why they do the walk for diabetes. The walk for diabetes was in Royal Oak on October 10th, and was held to raise money for the continuation of Diabetes research. To learn more, visit:

Do you Know Michael Lively?

Type 1 Diabetes: Results from the bodies failure to produce insulin. 5-10% of Americans who have diabetes have type one.

Type 2 Diabetes: A type of disease where a persons body does not produce and/or properly use insulin.

Diabetes: A type of disease where a persons body does not produce and/or properly use insulin.

Symptoms of diabetes: Excessive thirst, frequent urination, hunger, unusual weight loss, fatigue, irritability, blurry vision.

One of Thirty Senior Michael Lively is chosen for a chance to win a National Merit Scholarship after doing above average on the A.C.T.

By Keara Rowe

Favorite Teacher: Nate Nicholson; physics Favorite Book: Jane Eyre

All dolled up. Students from Kettering High School enjoy being pampered by students of the Paul Mitchell hair salon. They were able to get hair styled or manicures. Photos by Shelby Yeater

Terms to Know about Diabetes:

Ambition: To be accepted to M.I.T.

Age: 17 years old; senior at WKHS Favorite Movie: The Princess Bride

Favorite class: Physics

He studied like everybody else; he took it just like everyone else did, but his score was 18 points above average. Senior Michael Lively got a perfect score on his A.C.T and became one out of 1.5 million kids nationwide with a chance to win a National Merit Scholarship.

“It’s better than most local scholarships,” Lively said.

Being a semi-finalist means his score is near the top rating in the country.

“I’m not super excited like jumping up and down or anything like that,” Lively said, in regards to how happy he was about being a contender for the scholarship.

If Lively wins, he plans on attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T), the top engineering school in the country.

He also applied to Purdue, U of M, and Cal Tech.

“He was one of thirty in the state,” principal Josh Wenning said. “We are celebrating his score and how well he did.”

As of now, all there is to do is wait it out and see what happens for Lively.

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October 16, 2009

Something Lurking in the Dark On September 27, the WKHS marching band and varsity dance team performed in a Cedar Point HalloWeekend parade

By Shelby Yeater On September 27th HalloWeekends at Cedar Point was crawling with more than evil clowns and skeletons.

The Kettering marching band and varsity dance team was asked to perform in one of their annual HalloWeekend parades.

The band performed a version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for the park attendants, junior Jordan Masek danced like the creator of the song. He was dressed up in a red leather suit, a curly black wig, and one white glove on his right hand.

“I got a good reaction from the crowd,” Masek said. “I thought I did my job well.”

The band painted their faces and decorated

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instruments to look more like the “Thriller” video.

“It was Taylor Burnell Mom’s idea for us to paint our faces,” senior band member Kailee Aldred said.

The varsity dance teams also performed to “Thriller.”

“It was different than other dances because it was with a live band,” senior dance member Katie Wallace said.

The invitations came with a free ticket into the park for the students who performed.

“It was really fun,” freshman band member Lucas Bowman said. “We played really good, and I’m really glad we got in for free.”

Although there was much anticipation to perform, some students were more excited about riding the rides.

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“The best part was the rides,” Aldred said. “[My favorite ride is] the Millennium Force because it’s a good combination of length and speed and just plain fun.”

On Sundays the “Fright Zone” is closed but the haunted houses were still available for people to use.

“The haunted houses were really scary because there were these really creepy guys hidden in the walls,” senior dance member Katie Wallace said. “I didn’t know when they would pop out and that really scared me.”

Almost every student was happy with the trip and hope to do it again.

“It was a new experience,” Masek said. “I hope we do it again next year it was a lot of fun.”

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A Scary Sight. 1. Junior Nicole Gloden performs while the band plays “Thriller”. 2. Senior Alex Bowman painted his face to look scary for his performance. 3. The trumpet section plays while the dance team dances around 4. Senior Mike Papciak decorated his instrument with a fake spider web 5. Junior Jordan Masek dressed up as Michael Jackson and danced in front of the band to attract the attention of the crowd. Photos by Shelby Yeater

The End of a Dying Era After 47 years of business, the Summit Place Mall finally closes

By Kristine Howard

Ghost town. The Summit Place Mall has closed down for good, leaving its parking lots empty and deserted.

Photo by Rachhyata Dhakal

You’re driving around on a Saturday, nothing to do. What’s the first thing that pops into your head? That’s right, the mall.

Well, as of September 10, you’ll have to drive a while before finding one. Summit Place Mall closed its doors after 47 years of business. Only three stores remain open: Sears, JC Penny’s, and Macy’s.

What brought all this on? Summit Place Mall has been going under for quite some time. In December of 2005 it was featured on deadmalls.com, a site that specializes in malls

that are going under and slowly disappearing from radar.

What does the future hold in store for Summit Place Mall? The Oakland County Cruisers are having a baseball field constructed land adjacent to the mall, which will hold some of our district’s games. In terms of new stores, both IKEA and Walmart have stated that they will not be taking any part of the mall.

“It sucks. I really liked that mall,” freshman Allison Sanford said.

“I think it’s a good thing because that mall was nothing anymore,” sophomore Amanda Koper said, who also says the closing was something that was a long time in coming.

For some, the mall held sentimental values.

Some had their first jobs there and some went there almost every Saturday. For those people this is a sad thing; for others it was just time.

The mall’s closing is a good thing for Waterford’s economy because it wasn’t bringing in much money anyways. Many students at WKHS hope that with the baseball field going in more money will be coming to Waterford.

The mall has closed and whether you view it as a good or bad thing, it’s too late. Say goodbye to Summit Place Mall, 1963-2009.

October 16, 2009

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Extending a Helping Handful Students and family members are joining the large group who’re going to the Waterford Teen Health Center at Manley

By Hannah Weyer School nurses have become something of an anomaly in today’s school system. Thanks to the wide availability of band-aids, grade schools find little use for them, as do both middle and high schools. So it seemed a little strange when, in October, 2006, Manley opened its Waterford Teen Health Center. But it has become so much more than just a place to get boo-boos checked.

Last year, 400 individuals visited the Health Center during roughly 1600 visits, varying in degree from mild headaches to pregnancy and STD testing. Dottie Rodriguez is the nurse practitioner that runs the medical part of the Health Center.

“We deal a lot in preventative education,” Rodriguez said. “Because the teenage years are generally the healthiest, non-athlete students often go for years without getting a physical.

They come in and say, ‘I need one?’ Yeah, you do.” She teaches patients to give themselves breast and testicular examinations and provides a wide array of literature on everything from quitting smoking to West Nile virus.

Nurse Rodriguez sees roughly 25-35 patients in a week, but many students come in for the Health Center’s psychological counseling.

Dr. Alissa Luskey is the Health Center’s resident psychologist. She sees anywhere between 30 and 50 patients in a week. She can help with most psychological issues for 12-21 year olds, including anger problems, alcohol and substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts.

With Nurse Rodriguez, Dr. Luskey runs a Smoking Cessation therapy group.

“I’d like to get one going for Mott and Kettering as well,” Rodriguez said, “but at this point we don’t have that kind of support.”

The Health Center has become something

of a necessity for families that don’t have the insurance to schedule doctor’s appointments for their children. It provides anyone between the ages of 12 and 21 with all the basic health services, including flu shots and other inoculations, emergency care and advice on many legal issues. The Health Center staff helps parents who can’t afford insurance find a company that can work with them to provide their children with quality health care.

MIChild and Healthy Kids are a particular favorite with Nurse Rodriguez because they’re affordable and provide excellent coverage for minors.

One of the most common reasons for students to come in is drug abuse and other psychological problems. Whether they themselves have had issues or they are reporting a problem for their peers, it’s nice to know that they have someone they can go to for help.

Dates to Remember October 18Charity run in memory of Tim Hayden October 21-

NHS induction, 7 pm

November 6First marking period ends Lending a helping hand. Nurse Rodriguez educates a student on symptoms of the common cold. Nurse Rodriguez treats several patients every week from common colds to pregnancies. Photos by Bohden Musiel.

Another Swine Fluke?

Students and teachers at WKHS wonder whether H1N1 is being too exagerated in the media

By Autumn Mager

Go to the main office, a classroom or two, what do you expect to see? Students, teachers and multiple bottles of hand sanitizer. Girls have it in their purses; teachers have them on the desks.

This has been a familiar sight since last spring when the swine flu, now known as H1N1, appeared. Since then, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and other sanitary items have flown off the store shelves.

It’s fall now and the vaccine was distributed last week. But has all the media coverage

affected people’s decision about getting the vaccine?

“No, we are not getting a swine flu shot,” english teacher Amy Werner said.

“I don’t find it necessary,” freshman Kristle Krupinski said.

The swine flu media frenzy has caused doubt in the general community. The vaccine was rushed due to the spread of the virus. This has caused people to think about the possible side effects and risks against the rewards of the vaccine.

The media coverage was almost immediate. People were in a panic and the media kept feeding the public facts trying to clear

up murky details. Some people automatically brushed it off while others began using precautions.

Krupinski believes that the media hasn’t overreacted. “People have died from the swine flu, but I don’t think people in Michigan should worry yet,” Krupinski said.

Most of the victims of H1N1 had underlying health conditions or were somehow vulnerable to the flu. However, Werner believes that the media has over hyped things.

“More people probably die from other things than the swine flu,” Werner said.

November 7Craft show, 9-4 pm November 9, 10, 11-

Challenge Days

November 19-22The Sound of Music play, 7pm

feature ( ( 6 BumpertoBumper October 16, 2009

75 70

By Katie Wolf

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65 60

Number of Students

55 50

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45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

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drivers walkers bus-riders dropped off bikers Other

Mode of Transportation *This survey was based on 200 WKHS students

Red Light, Green Light .Traffic is hectic in this busy commute. “I’m so mad, it’s very frustrating getting into school everyday,” senior Ryan Zimmerman said.

Almost every student at Kettering has experienced the traffic madness coming in or out of school. Everyday, students are late because of it. We hear the same old announcement everyday, “Please allow late arriving students,” but how bad is it, really?

Senior Taylor Styke is one of the students who feels the traffic pain. “[Traffic] is so annoying, I’m already running late in the morning,” she said.

With traffic being as it is, students are leaving much earlier than necessary in order to get to school on time.

Even if you live three minutes away, you might have to leave fifteen minutes earlier.

“The line was so long, it was back to the library on Tubbs Rd. [and Kettering Dr.]” junior Erica Maniaci said. Traffic is different day to day, and depending on the time. It can make you wait for an eternity.

“I had to wait literally twenty minutes,” senior Ryan Zimmerman said. “And it’s so annoying when people try to cut you off.”

The traffic is forcing people to get to school by any means necessary, like cutting in front of people and speeding through red lights. All driving courtesy is lost in order to get here on time. This is a matter of life, or being late.

Ray McCurdy said that we always had a problem with the traffic. It may not have been as severe in years past.

“The problem will continue if we don’t figure out another way in,” McCurdy said. “It would help if we could open Bender and the back road by Manley, but it would disturb the neighbors.”

According to school records, there are approximately

Outrageous Kettering traffic has caused late arriving students and annoyed commuters

300 parking permits sold.

That is about 300 cars pulling into Kettering drive and entering the parking lot. There are also sixteen bus routes, which is around 820 students taking the bus, according to the department of transportation. Which leaves somewhere around 400500 students getting dropped off. This is due to the spike in enrollment.

It’s hard to find a way around the ever increasing problem. Most students agree that something needs to be done, but we are limited to what we can do.

“We should make the light longer,” Maniaci said.

“We should open Bender,” Styke said.

“We should make two lanes,” Zimmerman said.

What we really can do is left up to the school authority.

Everyday, rain or shine, Rick Helm can be found dead center in the middle of the traffic combustion. He also has an idea how we could make things better. “Open up the back somehow,” Helm said.

He claims that traffic is only a little worse than years before, but nonetheless bad. “People that are distracted are only making the problem worse, whether they’re on the cell phone or fixing the radio,” Helm said. Also the economy is playing a factor in extra students getting dropped off.

“There are students who have a car sitting in the driveway, but can’t afford to drive it, so Mom or Dad or whoever has to bring them,” Helm said.

For now, we just have to deal with it. We have to make adjustments and accommodations to make it on time. Just like everything in life, it takes some getting used to. Usually traffic lessens as the year progresses.

McCurdy is ready to deal with traffic. “All we can do is bear it,” he said.

Stuck in Line Drivers have learned that if you don’t leave early for school, you will be late to class from the mad rush of parents and students. Photos By Shelby Yeater

October 16, 2009

Kettering’s most commonly injured couple share their stories support.

By Sydney Hargrave and Kristen Tomolak

Honey, will you carry my books? Oh never-mind, you’re hurt too.

Some couples share lockers, some couples share friends, and some couples share close to everything.

There’s a few couple’s here at Kettering that do more than that. There are boyfriends and girlfriends that share not only their feelings, but Through Thick and Thin The couple their injuries too. shares a smile to match their shared At Kettering, many injuries. “Sometimes when you’re in pain, it’s good to have someone there for you students play sports, or to help you,” Kirchner said. date someone who does.

Sports injuries are pretty common. From broken fingers to torn ACL’s, the healing process would be difficult without

o comm n sports

With these injuries, it’s hard to even imagine how tough it may be to maintain a strong relationship, but one couple say it can be done.

Senior Jessica Clement and junior Jarrett Kirchner have also helped each other through some difficult injuries. They’ve been together for almost two years, and a lot can happen in that period of time.

Clement has danced for fourteen years, and feels pain almost every time she does. She’s had multiple surgeries and a scope on her knee. Her boyfriend, Jarrett, is an active member on numerous athletic teams, including Lacrosse, Hockey and swimming.

“I’ve been water skiing since I was five.” Kirchner said. He’s only had minor injuries from that love, but his love of dirtbiking has gotten him in more trouble. His recent fall ended up scraping and bruising the whole left side of his body, and temporarily putting him in a wheelchair.

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(feature(7 Jarrett has had more injuries than Jessica, but Jess’s knee injury is long term, unlike the majority of Jarrett’s wounds.

Jarrett and Jessica have been injured at the same time, and have had to take turns taking care of each other, but they added that it’s good to know that the other person is always there for you and will always support you.

Home Away From Home

Imagine you had only six weeks of summer vacation, 12 different classes and 20 minutes for lunch. Well, that’s everyday-life for German students like me.

The American School System isn’t as bad as you might think.

Just like in the United States school starts at the age of six , but you leave elementary school after fourth grade. That’s when your teacher decides what kind of school you will attend next. There is the ‘Hauptschule’, which is a school that teaches you basics and prepares you for a technical career.

You graduate from this school after ninth grade.

However, this school has a very bad reputation and your chances to get a well paid job are small. The second kind of school is the ‘Realschule’, which is not much better than the first one, though you have one year of school more. Certainly, you will have a hard time finding a job, as some companies refuse to employ students that graduated from these kinds of schools. The third kind of school is the so-called ‘Gymnasium’. The only school that prepares you for college or a university. You graduate from this school after thirteenth grade. So basically your grades in fourth grade will determine your future, your status in the society, and even your friends.

I was lucky enough to attend ‘Gymnasium’. A normal day of school consists of 6-8 blocks a day. One

block takes 45 minutes, then you have five minutes to go to your next class, which is enough considering the fact that you don’t have a locker. Instead you carry all of your books with you in your bag. Plus, we don’t have a cafeteria, so you have to bring your own food and eat it outside of the building. I don’t want to make German schools sound too terrible, because of course there are good things, too. For example, school doesn’t start before 8 A.M. Besides, we don’t need a pass to go the counselor or the restroom and nobody will ask you where you are headed. Instead of having a detention after being late for class a couple times, your teacher will call your parents.

Anyway, I’ve got a whole year to experience what it’s like to be a high school student, which is why I decided to come here. Not only because I wanted to learn the language and the cultural differences, but because I will never have the opportunity again to meet so many interesting people and learn things from a different point of view like I will here at Kettering. My parents supported my wish to come here from the very beginning. Even though it was so hard to finally say good bye to each other at the airport and it’s getting more and more difficult to stay in touch, they know it was the right decision.

I’m looking forward to so many things this year, like Homecoming, school spirit, my new classes, … things that were reason enough for me to leave my family and friends and live the life of an American teenager instead.

The All American Way German exchange student Vivian Sper sits with her American host family at the Kettering homecoming football game. “I’ve become a new part of their family,” she said. “I’m the daughter they never had.” Photo by Shelby Yeater

Where in the Wrld? 

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Answers: 1. Germany 2. Thailand 3. Switzerland 4. Cuba 5. Brazil 6. Greece

By Vivian Sper

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October 16, 2009

Remembering the Past

Ken Frenkel compares his high school years to the those he workstoin that sort of thing. Most car

By Rachhyata Dhakal

On a muggy Monday morning, I rush through the halls, I am late. On the way to my locker I over hear conversations, whispers, and murmurs.

Rinnnnnnnng!

Five minute bell rings and I’m running late as usual.

I grab my 2nd hour folder and zigzag my way through the crowd. Suddenly I realize that we don’t have 2nd hour on Mondays anymore and that’s another change I have to comprehend with.

Everything looks the same but yet feels like lot of things are different from last year. It might be a little change or a huge one, but no matter what it is, it still affects us in a way. As far as high school experience goes, just about everyone has a different view about school.

But everyone can relate to stressful nights before exams, getting pumped up for that big game or getting excited for the dances and these are the ups and down of high school.

As I go about my day, I think about how so many things have changed over the years.

Nothing ever stays the same because the truth of the matter is that as we grow older, we change, we learn and develop into the person we were meant to be all along. If you have Mr. Frankel as a teacher, you would

Then

know that he is far from shy, and really far from being quiet. He is exactly the opposite.

“I’m not the same person I was in high school” Mr. Frankel said as he laughs and points to the back of the room. “I used to be that shy, quiet kid sitting in the back of the room.” He attended Henry Ford high school in Detroit from 1963 to 1966. He claims that he developed a sense of self-esteem from his Speech Art Club, that being one of his favorite experiences in high school. High school prepared him for the real world. Mr. Frankel points out that like in most schools today, his school also had cliques; some of them were jocks, drama guys, greaser who wore black leather jackets and greased their

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hair back or the frats who wore white Levis.

High school is not always fun and game but it sure does have its moments. More than half of the student body at Kettering enjoys going to homecoming dance that happens once every year. “My prom date became my 1st wife” Frankel said. He got to go to dances every other week; but they weren’t as expensive and you could casual attire. He admits that he got kicked out of his 12th grade dance because they smelled gin on him. As surprising as that may seem, he begins by telling me that him and his groups of friends weren’t much of a trouble maker, never got into drugs and alcohol. It wasn’t really a big issue back then.

It existed but most students weren’t appealed

Scary Kids Scaring Kids A Kettering student describes his job at the haunted house: Erebus

By David Cox Summer’s over, everyone’s back in school and the weather is rainy and cold.

Thankfully, Halloween is right around the corner. During this season, many people rent horror movies, eat a lot of candy, pull pranks, and most importantly, go to haunted houses. It seems like haunted houses are the main attraction to students during the Halloween season. Out of all the haunted houses that have sprang up in Michigan, there is one that stands out the most, the one place where all the screams and the terrors arise for the whole nation to hear, and that place would be Erebus.

Senior Andrew Baldwin age 17 went to

an audition to work at Erebus and got the job.

“I went to the audition with my friend Joe and my brother who worked there last year,” Baldwin said, “the audition wasn’t really hard, they told us to act like zombies and chew on fake arms and legs.”

On the day of the audition, there were many people lined up to be part of the structure so widely known to scare the nation. Employees receive a paycheck of about $30 on a nice, slow weekday and $50 on a hectic night or usually on the weekend.

“There are people lined up all the way around the building,” Baldwin said. “We always get a lot of people who come by on the weekend. The only problem with

accident, teenage pregnancies, suicide that happens now are all related of drugs and alcohol. It is definitely a growing problem that we have yet to find a solution for. I see lot of students back talk to their teachers or don’t follow the rules, that they never would’ve gotten away with in the 60’s. “Teachers were given much more respect and no one questioned the rules” Frankel said.

Is public high school becoming less demanding for respect or is it becoming less strict? One way or another high school brings people together and gives each and every student an experience they will never forget. I like to end this with a little advice given by a wise man.”The grade isn’t important, the ability to read with comprehension and develop an opinion and state it is what matters the most” The big difference I have found is that back in the days, if you fail high school, you could still get a decent job. That’s not the situation anymore. Do what you need to succeed in high school to succeed in life because its not the 60s anymore, you won’t get a job without an education. You only get 4 years in high school, make it memorable years of your life.

working at Erebus is the hours; we work from 6p.m. till midnight Wednesday through Friday. On the weekend the hours run later, and then instead of midnight the closing time is at 2a.m.”

Baldwin likes his job, and would continue to work there for a long time, but unfortunately, Erebus is only open for the fall season.

“Working at Erebus is a lot of fun,” he said.

The staff sometimes makes up games which usually is just finding something or scaring people for prizes.

“I would really like to work there,” How scary am I? Kettering student Andrew Baldwin freshman Drake Dooley said, “it’s really fun and his brother Anthony Baldwin dress up to scare guests at the Erebus haunted house in Pontiac. Photo all you do is jump out at people.”

by David Cox

October 16, 2009

(feature(9

I’m a BIG Kid... Already

Elementary students have already become part of the cell phone nation

By Molly Edson-Parlor “Put on your big kid pants.”

Parents tell their children this many times when they’re little and when they need to be thrust into an adult situation.

But now, as technology is exceeding people’s expectations, parents may be putting their elementary school children in pants way too big to fill.

With a better cell phone coming out every other month, the cell phone is very popular in the U.S. and is continuously growing more and more popular.

Back in the “old days”, a person would be lucky to have a new cell phone that was ridiculously large. Now, a person can walk down the hallway after the bell rings and see every other student either texting viciously or gluing the phone to their ear with their hand, speaking violently just like a person would who’d just witnessed a natural disaster.

As the years have gone by, cell phones have been so popularized even young children must have cell phones. As a way to suck more money from parent’s pockets, the cell phone industry is making “kid friendly” cell phones.

On the website for fireFly, the pickup line reads: “The mobile phone for mobile kids.” Parents can see how to track their children while giving parents their “peace of mind.”

FireFly offers two different cell phones for young children. The flyPhone is suggested for “tweens”, while the glowPhone is suggested for children under eight. Costing a low $99.99 for a flyPhone and $49.99 for a glowPhone, parents are jumping on this fast-growing train to give their children the responsibility that they’d never known before.

Many students at WKHS have some of those extreme parents who so adamantly put their money on the line regardless of whether their child could lose the phone or not.

Freshman Tommy Federico, whose little sister is a whopping ten years old, said “We were all just switching to a new plan, so she got [a cell phone] in case she wanted to go over to a friend’s house.”

But Federico isn’t the only teenager to have a younger sibling get a cell phone before they’ve even hit puberty. “[My brother] got a fireFly less than a year ago,” freshman Kyle Soncraint said.

“He texts chicks, who’re sometimes my age.”

Soncraint’s brother, who is a mere nine years old, is lucky to have grown up in this time when little kids have cell phones hidden in their back pockets waiting to swiftly pull them out to text.

“He’s too young, I didn’t get mine until sixth grade,” Soncraint said.

Indeed, a nine year old should be happy to receive a 50 to 100 dollar phone.

Whatever happened to using a friend’s phone when over at their house?

Federico and Soncraint both said that their parents just wanted to keep in touch with their younger siblings, they think it may be a good thing to keep a cell phone on them at all times that has a tracking device.

“If you’re a parent who has the money, I can see why you’d have it for close communication,” language arts teacher Sandra Pylvainen said.

But the majority of teens at WKHS disagree. Many think that it is just too much responsibility for someone so young to have a cell phone.

“I don’t know if I could be against it,” Pylvainen said, who is split down the



Can you hear me now? Zach Batistoni, a 5th grader at Cooley Elementary demonstrates having a cell phone while still in elementary school Photo by Molly Edson- Parlor

middle.

The irony is that parents continuously complain about their children growing up too fast, but parents are pushing a lot into the hands of an elementary school student who will soon end up a droid who only cares about texting and calling people.

So the question that it all boils down to is whether or not cell phones will continue to make their way into the fingers of young children who’ve still got baby fat.

For now, the students at WKHS will just have to wait and see if this wildfire trend loses or intensifies its flame.

Flip Flop Fad Gone Way WayBad

A familiar shoe walks with you through all the seasons the mass of people, you bolt for your locker and some jerk this, they cause long-term ankle, hip, and back problems.

By Shelby Netschke

There is a reason you don’t wear flip flops when you drive, or when you’re running a marathon, or when you’re going anywhere important; they aren’t dependable. They are hazardous and unreliable. Yet they are everywhere.

For some reason we overlook the little things about flip flops that are just unacceptable. When shuffling through the hallways at Kettering, feet are bound to be stepped on, toes are bound to be jammed, and flip flops are bound to just disappear in the madness.

Even worse, when you finally catch a break and get out of

steps on your flip flop and rips it in half. Now what? A hunk of rubber and a blister-causing toe-thong should not pass as footwear.

But forget the mental breakdowns in the hallways; flip flops can actually cause some serious damage.

To put it simply, flip flops change the way we walk. Toes are scrunched to keep them on, steps are shorter to keep them on, and feet are shuffled, again, to keep them on. This keeping on of the flip flops seems to be a problem.

The reason they are so hard to keep on, is because they aren’t shoes, they don’t wrap around your feet. So because of

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Flip flops are meant to be casual shoes, not a struggle. They are also supposed to be worn for short periods of time, not as daily footwear.

But students wear them year-round. Rain or shine. Even in snow. It’s basically like walking around barefoot, which is completely unsanitary.

But students don’t seem to care, they just go about their lives hoping the flip flops hold or that they don’t catch on a bump in the sidewalk. The major problems are overlooked by the fact that when you’re in a hurry, flip flops are easier to get on than taking two minutes to tie your shoes.

Photos by Rachhyata Dhakal

fun&games ( ( 10

October 16, 2009

Word Search

abroad animal boys bread brine canola doubt dutiful expand felt fruit grape health heat individual lamb loon machine national nuts pare pear pelt poet price prison quarry receipt sane scorn sneer spice spool stack stars stew taxes tread value visitor welfare wheat wish zinc

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8 5 1

5

1 3

9

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7 2

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3 6

6 8 3 7 4

4 5 1 9 7

1

1

6 5

1

6

3 1 5 4 2

6 8 3

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8 3 4

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4

8 5

Halloween Maze

9 4

2 1 5

Tell us what you’d like to see on this page!

11

Waterford Kettering High Segment 1 class = $305 price includes…

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6 hours of on- the road lessons 2 hours of parking lot instruction and demonstrations icluded Free extra lesson available for slower learners 6 hours of driving observation

Students learn more about the driving experience

Our improved 3 week program gives parents more for their money.

Please send registration slip below to: Excel Driving School, LLC 4620 Dixie Hwy. Waterford, MI 48329 or fax to 248-461-6518.

You may send a personal check or money order along with this registration slip, however, payment is not required for enrollment.

Student Name:__________________________________________________________________________

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Parent signature Select a class to attend:

call 248-673-6799 with any further questions

Segment 1 = $305

Classes meet Monday - Friday _____9/14 – 10/1

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Segment 2 = $40.00 Monday – Wednesday _____9/9, 9/10, 9/11

2:30-4:30

_____10/12, 10/13, 10/14 4:30-6:30 _____11/2, 11/3, 11/4

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_____11/30, 12/1, 12/2

4:30-6:30

$25 off Segment 1 with this flyer.

opinion( ( 14

October 16, 2009

What Students Deserve * *Your experience may vary

By Liz Sawyer Over the years, teenagers have acquired a negative stereotype. Adults have pegged us as lazy individuals who don’t care enough about our future. While there are a select few who match this description, it is in no way a representation of the student body.

I care more about my education than any adult I know, and it’s obvious that the other 34 kids who have taken the ACT in the past month feel the same way.

It seems like a simple process, this ACT test: you show up on a Saturday, you get timed in between sections, and you go home—or so we thought.

Turns out, it isn’t that simple, because I tried to take the test twice, and neither time did I receive a valid score.

The first time I attempted the test, a proctor who has given it before didn’t follow protocol.

A few days later, ACT sent the students an official letter stating that our answer document would not be scored. It said: “an error occurred at the test center and proper testing procedures were not followed during the administration of the exam. Test center staff administered the exam to you with extended time, when you should have taken the test under standard time conditions.”

Those 35 students, including myself, were understandably upset; not only had they wasted a Saturday, but now their college applications would be delayed an extra two weeks. This ultimately hindered their chances of getting scholarships and being admitted to competitive universities.

The test was rescheduled, and students

thought it would be the last time they would have to wake up early, but it only got worse from there.

Upon arrival at Kettering, we were informed that we would not be able to take the exam. Apparently, the box that all the testing supplies were shipped in did not contain the correct scan-trons; ACT had forgotten to include them. We were also told that the proctors were instructed not to open the box until the day of the test, so they didn’t realize there was a problem until just before we had arrived.

At this point, there was no calming the students down. It wasn’t just Kettering kids who were affected: eight students were from Lakeland and a few were from the International Academy. Many left the room screaming in frustration, a few threw their supplies, and I caught a glimpse of some kids kicking garbage cans on their way out. But who can blame them?

This was the second time that there had been a “mishap” and it made Kettering look terrible. I wouldn’t ever want to come back either.

The test was rescheduled yet again, for October 3, the day of all three schools’ Homecoming dances.

ACT Test Administrator Karen Moshier said that ACT was not aware of this conflict, and they were just trying to make up for lost time.

But it wasn’t fair to make the students choose between their senior homecoming and the retake. We had all tried to take the test two times prior to this, and now many of us were frustrated enough to just give up. I for one, decided to opt out of the retake. Not just

LETTERS TO THE

EDITOR

“I was mad that I had to ruin two Friday nights and go to bed early.”

-Joey Kaiser

because I didn’t want to miss my Homecoming, but on principle.

ACT first admitted that they were to blame for the past weeks’ events, but when I asked if there were instructions for the box to remain closed until the day of the test, Moshier said that was incorrect. Moshier also said that the proctors could have opened the box at any time to double check that they had everything.

Principal Josh Wenning said that he was under the impression that the box had been opened.

“Ultimately, this is all ACT company’s fault,” she said. “But if we had known that those materials were not present, we could have overnighted [the scan-trons].”

Kristen Tomolak, Hi this is Alicia Bible, I’m a freshman. I totally agree with you about the dress thing for homecoming, because if you were to wear something you wore before maybe someone thought it was cute and then they decided to get one like that, you would both have the same dress. Also, people would think you have no style, and that could be bad. And guys don’t really care what they look like; they pretty much just care what their date looks like. They just try to have the same color as their date.

-Alicia Bible, 9

The proctor had no comment on the issue.

It’s obvious that the students realize the importance of this test and do take it seriously.

We wouldn’t have shown up time and time again if we didn’t.

I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to attend a school district with the motto “What Students Deserve,” when our expectations are rarely met. Students don’t deserve to show up to the test center three different times before they receive a valid score, and they certainly don’t deserve to be lied to.

People make mistakes, I know that. I’ve made a lot of them myself, but the difference is that I always admit it when I screw up. These students deserve an apology, not an excuse.

Dear Murmur Editor Lady, I have a few questions that if you want, can put in your newspaper. First question: Why do they have the “T” blocked off at lunch?

It’s really stupid; could you write something to maybe get them to open it?

Also, why should the Captain’s Corner be open at lunch when we can’t go anywhere?

Well if you want, there you go. Also, newspapers are really good.

Thank you, Cameron Casacelli, 12

October 16, 2009

By Hannah Weyer

By Mike O'Brien

PRO

Universal health care. Need I say more to elicit a passionate “yea” or “nay” from any American voter? wwBecause creating a universal system of health care has become such a controversial subject, it’s hard to s e e past

A HE

the propaganda to get the facts of the matter.

For example: President Obama does not want to kill your grandmother.

Fact: The President’s plan would put a stop to insurance discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions. People with diabetes or Huntington’s or any other chronic disease would receive the same health care coverage as a perfectly healthy person without paying more.

Fact: Obama’s plan would guarantee choice of doctor or coverage plan.

Fact: Your coverage won’t change if you lose your job or change work places.

In fact, President Obama’s plan has a lot of interesting benefits. Has anyone read the bill? I, for one, believe that protecting families from bankruptcy or dept by a crippling medical bill is a good thing.

Having been there a few times myself, I’d venture that the families of critically sick patients have enough on their mind without worrying about finances. I don’t really think that they need that extra stress piled on top of everything else.

I n

below t h e poverty line (which could include people who make $10,831 a year) could be paying up to $1,500 in penalties. So while President Obama claims this bill will be neutral and not add to the nation’s deficit, the reality is that we will be paying for it.

This bill would require medical screenings on the part of the government to enforce tax penalties. It forces you to give the government detailed personal information. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the government to have anymore info on me than they have to. This would also add significant administrative costs to employers and insurers, and in all likelihood these costs would be again passed down to your parents. These are costs that in these tough economic times simply are not feasible for the majority of the American population.

Currently, Medicaid (a program in which the government pays for medical procedures for the lower class) is a fundsucking monster that the government cannot sustain; it’s over complex and does its job poorly. If this bill is passed, the public once again is expected to pay for another botched government program. It seems ludicrous that a governmen\ t would place greater financial burden on its people in the midst of a depression.

History has shown us that when you change set systems during a recession, or any other financial crisis for that matter, people tend to not want to do things that stimulate the economy. For example, when Franklin Roosevelt changed and set up new systems (like the now broken Social Security program), people viewed this change as unstable

LTH

RE CA

DE

CON

examining the Democratic Health Reform Bill, a lot of people look to Canada for comparison. They cite anecdotal evidence that the Canadians hate their own Medicare system as reason to enough to nix the idea altogether. But a survey by Canadian Doctors for Medicare suggests that around 86% of Canadians are happy with their health care plans.

“We see it as source of amusement and national pride that Americans just don’t get the benefit of our Medicare system,” said Dr. Steven Lewis.

Is that what we really want? Canadians laughing at us? They’re supposed to be the butt of OUR jokes!

“This is the advice I give to Americans,” said Dr. Robert Woollard, Professor of Family Medicine and Vice Chair of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare. “Getting to universal health care incrementally is like trying to cross a canyon in two steps.”

And isn’t the ultimate goal liberty and freedom for all, not just those who can afford it? Right now, there are millions of families without any health care coverage at all.

Everyone tries not to get hit by a truck, but sometimes it happens. And if it happened to someone without insurance, the second they get close to a stable condition, they’d be kicked out onto the street with thousands of dollars of debt. This is un-American.

“In America,” said Nurse Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, “when you check into a hospital, they ask to see your credit card and insurance card first. In Canada, we don’t care about that. We take care of

TE BA

Amidst the howls of indignation from the Republicans, the accusations of socialism and of “euthanasia,” valid arguments from the Conservative side do present themselves.

A majority of people who don’t understand healthcare take one stance or another simply depending on if whether or not they think Obama is “cool.” This is a terrible way to go about things; people must understand legislation before they act.

Not wanting a health care bill to pass shouldn’t be based on whether your mom and dad like him or not. It should be based purely on how you view the actions and policies of your leaders.

Organized healthcare is one of the greatest political battlegrounds of our time and I, for one, will not let it pass without a fight.

The government just tends to screw things up.

Non-financial systems like the post office work great, but once money is involved, our fearless leaders tend to lead us astray. For instance, look at Medicare. Medicare trustees, appointed by President Obama, reported 38 trillion dollars will be needed to pay for Medicare’s shortcomings. In 2011, when all of the baby boomers start to retire there will be over 40 trillion dollars in unpaid liabilities. In other words, Medicare won’t have enough money to continue to be a valid healthcare service and will require taxpayers to bail it out. If the government can’t run this system for a select number of the population correctly, what makes anyone think they could handle running a national healthcare system?

Most proposed healthcare plans have to raise taxes on the middle class. Some even create taxes for us. For instance, the bill Senator Baucus is proposing plans to implement a tax on insurance plans that have above $8000 dollars in coverage (for one person) and above $21000 (for a family).

These costs will ultimately be passed down the purchaser of the healthcare insurance: you and your parents.

Another measure proposed in this bill states that if you make three times what is considered at the poverty line and your insurance doesn’t meet the federal guidelines, your family could be paying up to a $3,500 penalty. And those

(opinion( 15

everyone.”

It’s a sad day when Canadians are more American than us.

which l e d them to not purchase homes and or businesses causing the progression already made by President Roosevelt to stop. Many historians also believe he lengthened the depression. The last thing we need as a country is to slip backward from recession into depression because of this proposed health care plan.

I’m not against all health care reform, I’m against bad timing and poor legislation.

opinion( ( 16 WANTED: murmur( ( Your Body Parts for October 16, 2009

the waterford kettering high school

Our Business

Advertisements Get Personal

By Shelby Yeater Let’s pretend for a minute Abercrombie, Aeropostle, and Hollister never advertised.

Would we see as many girls wearing those brands as we do now? Probably not.

If they didn’t advertise, we might not have as many cliques in high school, or 7th grade girls crying because someone made fun of them for not having a Hollister shirt.

Advertising controls way too much of our lives. Even in ways more serious than a silly over-prized Abercrombie T-shirt.

Techniques for advertising are getting ridiculous.

One of the most popular ways for brands to get their name out there is advertising in teenage fashion magazines: like Seventeen and Allure. But the ways they advertise are deceiving, and misleading. For example, a lot of designers promote their product by having a half naked nation modeling their clothes; like a woman wearing a jacket, with the jacket barely coving the parts were not allowed to see.

How often does a teenage girl look at these ads and then look at herself as ugly or unpleasant?

And we don’t see women in here walking around wearing only a jacket barely covering her breasts. It’s unrealistic advertising.

Most teenage women have been convinced that because of all these advertisements they have to have expensive clothes, the best hair products, and a flawless face. They have to have the right style high-heels and the exact same shade of lip gloss as the most popular female actress. Only then will she be beautiful.

Amen.

There was a time though, that I was caught victim of the half naked girls in the fashion magazines. But now I know I am a beautiful person. I have compromised with my body and accepted my looks and accepted them for what they are. I have accepted that I don’t have the tall and lean shape like every girl in a teenage girl magazine has. I like my curves and my softball muscles and DON’T want to change myself.

I have seen many different types of ads. I have been in Journalism for three years now, where we sell ads to businesses that want to get their products out to students. So I know how ad sales work and the affects of them.

But last year, in my AP language arts class, someone was talking about a website that lets people sell their bodies to businesses by getting “temporary” tattoos to promote a product.

The web site is called leaseyourbody. com, a “new REVOLUTIONARY way of advertising.”

This is a quote from their website: “Our

Sold Out. Shelby Yeater thinks about the future of advertising. “People need to realize when enough is enough’,” she said. “It’s like we don’t even respect our body’s anymore.” Picture by Rachhyata Dhakal Participants agree to wear temporary tattoos (logos) supplied by advertisers. By doing so, YOU (the participant) can earn BIG $$$$$.

In exchange, Advertisers, (companies) can gain novel exposure for their business.”

The website also has a link to a story from CNET news. “For rent: your forehead: $5,000” $5,000 to walk around a mall or some other place where people gather with a freaking Dolly’s Pizza tattoo on our flipping forehead.

The website was made up by Alex Fisher.

It was his idea to hook up businesses with, “good-looking people willing to rent out space on their bodies with advertisers in search of a way to get some attention.”

That’s the catch. You have to be goodlooking so people will look at you.

Fisher said to CNET news that he got the idea after seeing the media attention one woman got when she auctioned off on eBay the right to buy space for a real tattoo on her forehead.

Any company can advertise on leaseyourbody.com. All a company has to do is sign up on the site. Then people interested in making money through leaseyourbody.com can sign-up and pick which products they want to advertise on their body.

This might be exciting and new at first, but

it’s going to hurt us in the long run.

How stupid for someone to selling their bodies to advertising. It’s just like whoring out on the street. If they can make someone do that, they can make them do anything. Do we not have any respect anymore? Do we not respect the sanctity of our body?

The human body is supposed to be a beautiful thing. It inspired Romans to make all those statues of naked bodies. But I don’t think the human body is so beautiful when there’s a tattoo across a person’s forehead, arm, stomach or anywhere.

Be your own person, not a slave to advertisement.

Pretty soon the average housewife won’t be able to go for a jog without seeing every one else out on the street with tattoos on their stomachs and foreheads for various different products.

If everyone in society is too busy convincing people to spend their money on products that are tattoos across all different parts of a persons body just for five grand, how are we suppose to focus on the things in life that really matter?

For example, when my boyfriend proposes to me on a big romantic hill where the sun is setting and he’s wearing my favorite shirt of his, he better NOT wear a McDonalds tattoo across his forehead.

October 16, 2009

I’m a Big Kid Now

(opinion(17

You Gonna Report This?

rule seems confusing, and who knows how long this anarchy will last? I don’t Oh great, the yellow gates are up. This know about you but, I feel much more means we are limited to the cafeteria for comfortable when I can CHOOSE where the extent of our very short lunch hour. I sit. The fact that I’m directed by staff So what’s the purpose of these barricaded where I can and can’t eat only encourages my inner-rebellion to boycott eating here hallways again? altogether. The “Captains Café” was not fit To put it simply, garbage.

The only time the T is open to everybody to seat 1700 students in 3 different lunch is on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. shifts. It’s just not going to happen.

And on a side-note, that new mural isn’t Translation: “You can eat 3 days out of the week in the hallway, but only if you’re really fooling anyone. We know we’re not healthy; super careful, and don’t spill anything, and we’re not going to stop and consider what’s make sure you clean up after yourself like a on our Styrofoam trays and make sure that all 5 food groups are accounted for. Just big kid would!” sayin’.

I need help getting into my highchair.

Here’s what we do: we must redeem our Please.

Anywhere that students go, the mess circle of trust. No more French fry wars will follow. Last I checked, the cafeteria with passerbys. No leaving trays on the is like a giant garbage disposal. Mixtures radiators. No spilling. No throwing butter of French fries, chocolate milk, ketchup, packets at the ceiling.

Blah blah blah. Where’s the fun, right? and half sub sandwiches cover the cafeteria So let’s behave, ladies and gentlemen. floor like tile. The hallways do not have a shield to protect themselves from messes Let’s be rewarded with the freedom of option. It all comes down to people’s like these.

You can thank the less responsible choice; if on a Monday, I would like to eat students here at Kettering for making us in the cafeteria, then that’s where I’ll be. suffer the arctic chill in a crowded cafeteria But if on a Thursday I decide to eat in the two days out of the week when we could hallway, then darn it, I will.

The T gets so much action during the be enjoying our lunch in more “appealing” areas around campus. Because 5 days a day, and lunch is a part of that action. So week of roaming around the school during let’s make it happen. We’ll turn that yellow lunch breaks would ultimately be 5 days gate into a yellow arch! Because beyond it, there is a different world in our school. A too many.

This “you’re not allowed to eat lunch in world with possibilities… not to mention the hallway on Tuesdays and Thursdays” space.

By Betty Buynak

By Brigette Shefferly

Government conspiracies, scandals, fraud, embezzlement, Bill Clinton. Since the beginning of time, journalism cover-ups keep us from getting too rowdy. The last thing the government wants is for us to do something about them. They want to keep us under control, and to keep our trust at the same time. This is nothing new.

Neither are biased news channels. It seems that the mainstream media have been America’s source for current events - until now. It seems to me that the people who care about what’s happening behind their backs have turned to alternative sources like A.M. radio and legitimate political websites and, more recently, college students.

Journalism student James O’Keefe and his college friend Hannah Giles released the first of many video tapes revealing the corruption of the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, better known as ACORN. ACORN became involved in politics more than welfare assistance, which was its goal in the first place. Since the 1990s they have received over $53 billion in U.S. tax payers’ money- and most recently $8.5 billion in stimulus money, and $10 million just last year.

Oddly enough, the CEO and CFO were indicted on charges of embezzlement. The amount of money stolen is thought to be around $6 million… But who knew?

Fox News was the only channel on television that reported the story from the beginning. Where was CNN, ABC, or NBC? What has reporting turned into?

There were numerous video tapes released, all in

different locations with different employees.

O’Keefe and Giles introduced themselves as a pimp and prostitute to every one of the ACORN workers they encountered, attempting to invest in a house for themselves – a house that would be used to run a prostitution ring of illegal immigrant girls under age 16. Instead of the calling the authorities, the employees embraced the situation, instructing O’Keefe and Giles on how to lie on tax forms, keep the girls in the home, and keep the neighbors, police, and government, from asking questions.

The entire situation was practically ignored. Why was mainstream media so irresponsible about reporting it?

The road ACORN decided to take was to fire employees, many of whom were tried and convicted in court. Some even claimed they were instructed by higher ranking ACORN representatives to do what they did. ACORN is denying claims that they are corrupt as a whole, stating instead that it was just the few ‘rogue employees’.

Rogue employees? The Presidents of ACORN were embezzling money. This was not an isolated incident. ACORN is rotten from the roots up.

How many other government organizations are committing fraud and not getting media coverage?

ACORN supported the Obama campaign and with his support they were able to gain momentum.

As a community organizer, he helped build what it has come to be- a greedy, guilty, outrageous mess.

More than ever the time has come to be aware of what is going on around us. If we can’t rely on honesty in the news, we’re going to have to uncover

WORD VOMIT

(murmur) the waterford kettering high school October­ 13, 2009

STAFF

Editor-In-Chief: Liz Sawyer Design Editor: Betty Buynak Front Page Editor: Liz Sawyer and Betty Buynak News Editor: Molly Edson-Parlor Opinion Editor: Hannah Weyer Media Editor: Shelby Netschke Indepth Editor: Betty Buynak Feature Editor: Brigette Shefferly Sports Editor: Jamie Monville Backpage Editor: Shelby Yeater

Staff Writers: Brianna Bredow, Max Caldwall, David Cox, Rachhyata Dhakal, Wanda Krotzer, Autumn Mager, Casey Miller, Bohden Musiel, Kelsey Roche, Keara Rowe, Justin Santana, Karley Sherwood, Sydney Hargrave, Sarah Stinson, Vivian Sper, Kristen Tomolak, Katie Wolf.

Advisers: Brian Wilson and Jesse McLean

Waterford Kettering High School 2800 Kettering Dr. Waterford, MI 48329 Phone 248-673-6287

Volume 7, Issue 1

The Murmur is printed monthly, and completely put together by the students in the Journalism class at Waterford Kettering High School. The Murmur serves as an open forum for student expression, and opinions printed are not those of the administration.

Letters to the editor: Letters from readers are encouraged. Letters may be delivered to room 501 or can be sent to the newspaper’s email address, WKHSmurmur@yahoo.com. All letters are subject to editing of grammatical or punctuation errors. Letters must be submitted with a signature. Letters with libel or slander towards another person will not be considered

You Said It Letters to the Editor

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for publication. Letters must be limited to 250 words.

Advertising: Advertisements do not reflect the views of the staff. Potential advertisers can contact the staff at the number below. The Murmur editorial board has the right to refuse and inappropriate advertising.

Columns: Columns or editorials represent the opinion of the writer. Thoughts or views which are expressed are not those of the entire staff or administration.

Staff Editorials: Staff editorials are written by the staff and include the combined opinion of the full staff.

You have a voice! Let it be heard.

The Murmur is an open forum for student expression. Letters to the Editor are encouraged. Bring them to room 501 or email them ot WKHSmurmur@yahoo.com

media( ( 18

October 16, 2009

Ren Fest

By Kelsey Roche The Renaissance Festival comes around once a year in different states across the country. It’s a place where all the medieval junkies or anyone looking for a good time can come and enjoy the many shows and events.

The experience starts from the moment you walk through the archway, from the beginning you are met with smells such as dragon’s breath, sandal wood, and Egyptian “Wow, it looks real’ junior Caitlin Perry said.

As you enter into the festival you hear things that are not exactly common nowadays; music: lyres, bagpipes & a large assortment of musical instruments that were used in the medieval time period and some that are still used today. There are people screaming and shouting, laughter from men, women, and children enjoying the many shows, acts and other recreations presented at the Renaissance Festival.

“They do a pretty good job depicting what life was like back then.” Senior Erika Bammel said.

Among the many things to do at the festival is watch the Zucchini brothers danger theatre. Here the juggling duo, known as Ripe Zucchini and his brother Green Zucchini, perform many impressive shows and show off their amazing juggling skills that keep the audience coming back for more, year after year.

Another show that intrigues many spectators is the washing wenches.

“I thought it was pretty funny and entertaining” Bammel said.

In this show, the washing wenches have men order drinks then provoke them on stage to do many different acts that keep the audience clutching their stomachs until the very end.

The infamous Renaissance jail is one of the things many people look forward to when they come to the festival. All you need to do is pay $3 to people who work there and they take any person you choose off to jail, people are forced to face bystanders who gawk and laugh at them for 15-20 minutes.

The food is another thing that people don’t forget. Jousting is another very popular event people get to see, it consists of men on horses galloping towards one another with large wooden poles, “most people go because they like to watch it, I just like the hot jousting men” freshman Britlyn Drinkard said. They have a large array of food such as bread bowls,

Photos By: Molly EdsonParlor Charming The Crowd: A snake charmer demonstrates her talent at the ren. fest.

cheese cake on a stick, mutton, hot dog on a stick, ice cream cookies, infamous large pickles, nuts, etc.

“The food was pretty good” Senior Guy Costigan said. Many people eat at the festival just because of the unique foods. “I like the big pickles in the bread bowls” freshman Courtney Losey said.

The atmosphere at the festival is very light and playful; it makes you laugh and keeps you smiling. Seeing the wide variety of people there dressed up for the event is what a lot of people enjoy, it’s a place that gives you an excuse to act crazy. People enjoy dressing up in many exotic costumes.

“I like all the different unique & creative styles they have” freshman Saya Perez said.

Guy Costigan worked there this summer changing making change for customers.

“I worked there raising money for the all night party” Costigan said.

The Renaissance Festival is something you may want to consider on a boring weekend.

“It’s different and there’s a lot of fun stuff to do.” Caitlin Perry said.

The Show Must Go On Harness steps up to fill director position

By Jamie Monville There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the music suite as the time ticks away before the curtains open for the Sound of Music. For awhile though, there was nothing.

And an announcement was sent out saying that auditions were canceled until further notice.

“I almost cried cause it was my senior year and I was really looking forward to the Sound of Music,” senior Amanda Pattillo said.

During that week Principal Josh Wenning and choir teacher Michelle Harness worked out as much as possible so auditions could be held the following week. “[I stepped up] because we wanted it to happen and I’m involved anyway,” Harness said.

With the Theatre Director position open, Harness took on extra responsibilities.

“I was always the musical director,” Harness said. “Now I’m still the musical director, but I’ve taken on a more organizational part.”

Many of the actors and actresses are pleased with this.

“I love Mrs. Harness,” senior Bobby Clemence said. “She’s really nice and someone I can talk to. You can’t do that with all your teachers.”

Harness will be the main person for the vocal aspect of the play while helping with blocking and acting on the side.

“I used to be able to do my thing and leave, and I can’t do that anymore,” Harness said.

But things are definitely different than last year.

“Sadly it’s not as organized, but that’s not their fault,” Clemence said. “It’s just the fact that it’s so sudden. It’s more stressful.”

Donna Ellis founder and director of the Clarkston Village Players, a community children’s theatre, is helping Harness with the production by directing most of the acting.

“Her name came up via the kids playing the VonTrapp children first and then their parents recommended her,” Harness said.

A lot of kids were worried that the Sound of Music would’ve been cut, and there are still many actors and actresses who fear about future productions this year.

“Our plan is that the plays will continue,” Harness said. “They’re still on the calendar.

It would be just like if the football team didn’t have a coach, they wouldn’t cancel the games.”

Because of all the chaos, a lot of students have stepped up.

“Kids come up to me and say ‘Mrs. Harness whatever you need us to do we’ll help’.”

Harness said. “It’s really something you’d want the Waterford community to do.”

But in the end it’s all for the students.

“The bottom line is that the teachers down here value the kids and want the kids to be involved,” Harness said. “So you pull together and hopefully you cover each others weaknesses and you do the thing you never thought you could do before. Bottom line you do what’s best for the kids.”

Sing-A-Long: Director Michelle Harness and Donna Ellis teach Erica Keith and Jordan Masek their lines and notes for “The Sound Of Music.” Photos By Jamie Monville

October 16, 2009

Blast from the Past With today’s fashion it seems like the 80’s are right in our backyards

(media( 19 All About Steve

Poor Steve, he never knew he had it coming

By Karley Sherwood

By Wanda Krotzer Leggings, skinny jeans, neon colors, classic rock band tees, teased hair, ah you got to love the 80’s. Hair was bigger, pants were tighter, and everything was flashier. Walking through the halls of Kettering these days is like stepping back into our parent’s high school yearbooks.

Girls are rocking the big shoulder shirts and spandex, and guys the ever classic Metallica tee and tight jeans. Almost every old movie you can think of is being remade, revamped and exposed to our generation. Yes, the eighties are definitely coming back.

Fashion has been a big part of the 80’s trends coming around once again. There’s nothing like skin tight spandex to show off curves, and something as simple as leggings and a shirt can look great. Next, skinny jeans, but that goes without saying. This is a trend that both guys and girls have taken an active roll in. Blue, black, red, purple, blue, pink and every other color you can think of, you name it and they make it. Band tees’ are also a must, simple but classic.

The 80’s did have its fashion emergencies though, lets just say that exercise and jogging outfits are better left in the gym, or better yet stuffed in a box at the back of your closet. Leg warmers are most definitely a cry for help, unless you are planning on landing a walk on role in a Flashdance remake. And let’s just hope Glam doesn’t make a comeback, please

guys, let’s leave the makeup to the girls.

When you think of past decades you can’t forget the movies, the cult classics that teens have thrived on for generations. Ghostbusters, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Nightmare on Elm Street, Sixteen Candles, and of course Friday the 13th, are movies that we continue to watch today.

Lately more and more of the classics are being remade and eaten up by a new generation of teen fans. Last House on the Left, Hairspray, Fame (set to come out this October), and Friday the 13th are just a few of these titles. Other movie remakes in the works are films such as Teen Wolf, Red Dawn and possibly a third Dirty Dancing remake for 2010.

And how can you talk about the eighties without remembering the music. Whether you like listening to Loverboy and Devo or Black Sabbath and ACDC, the music has withstood the test of time. For instance with the tragic loss of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, a whole new world of music was opened up to the younger generation of fans who may not have listened to it before.

Trends come and go, one year something is in, and just as fast it’s out. This year it’s all things eighties. So for now we’ll don our acid washed jeans, tease our choppy layered hair and roll with it. What will the next fad be?

Well, I can’t say for sure, let us just hope it’s not parachute pants.

80’s Flashback

Most popular bands from Metallica the 80’s:

Run DMC Guns N Roses Ac/Dc

80’s movie that should be Breakfast remade: Club

Favorite 80’s fashion trends: lEGGINGS AND sKINNY jEANS Best 80’s movie remake: Halloween

In this hilarious comedy, Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock), an eccentric red boot wearing crossword puzzle constructor who never gets out, is set up on a blind date by her parents, launching her into an adventure of a lifetime. After one date Mary is convinced her and Steve (Bradley Cooper), are soul mates, and starts following him around the country in order to be close to him.

Steve, a handsome cable news camera man, in turn thinks Mary, is stalking him!

In this movie you feel like you know Mary.

She’s one of those characters you don’t forget, partially because she can’t be quiet for more then 30 seconds. With her bubbly personality, and positive attitude, she wins the hearts of everyone she meets.

Steve on the other hand, is nice, but not as open minded and sweet as his ‘stalker’.

He wants nothing to do with her, and is not afraid to let her know either. His friend and co-worker, Hartman Hughes (Thomas Haden Church), doesn’t help the matter. He encourages Mary that Steve is in love with her; he eggs her on, completely ignoring Steve’s request not to.

Mary is so willing to follow Steve were ever he goes, and trust me she does, she doesn’t

s t o p to think about the big picture.

By throwing herself at him, she puts herself in danger, danger that could quite possibly mean risking her life.

All in all this was a laugh out loud, charming movie. I give it a thumbs up.

So grab a bunch of friends, or your family, and get a ticket to All About Steve. It’s definitely worth your money, and time.

Maybe Mary and her funky red boots will win over your heart too.

A Fresh Reform Forgotten bands unite once more

By Justin Santana Creed, the smash hit Christian Rock band from 2000, now back again for a return tour with one of the most well known Christian Rock lead singers, Scott Stepp.

“It’s awesome that they are coming back, they’re a well respected group and I’ve been hoping for new songs by them for a while now,” Sophomore Ryan Decovich said.

“This is a good edge for a band like Creed; especially after all they’ve been through as a Christian Band,” Sophomore Addison Martin said.

“One thing I really like about Creed us that Scott Stepp has such a distinct voice, Its was really different but new,” Teacher Mrs. Keebaugh said.

Also another Band that is back again for a Return Concert is Motley Crue. With widely known singer Vince Neil, and one of the most famous drummers ever Tommy Lee. “I went this year to Crue Fest for my birthday; it was one of the craziest concerts I’ve ever been to,” Sophomore Josh Cody said. Unfortunately Creed and Motley Crue already passed by this year but thankfully you can still download their music.

sports( ( 20

October 16, 2009

V lley for a Cause

Kettering and Mott face off for a cause colored pink

Ahhh Kill! Kill! Kill! Sophomore Jordan Brisson spikes the ball back at Mott’s defense. “I’m really happy with my team,” Brisson said Photo by Elisabeth Robinson

By Sarah Stinson Waterford Kettering’s varsity volleyball team had just won their first match 25 – 15 against rival team Waterford Mott.

The crowd was going wild, the coaches were screaming and the players were tense.

It seemed like a typical rivalry game between Mott and Kettering, with bragging rights and school pride on the line.

But this game had a special meaning, a significance the other games didn’t. This game was for a cause, a cause colored pink.

On September 15, the volleyball teams hosted a fundraiser for breast cancer research. The Athletic Director Rick Dorn and Waterford volleyball coaches planned the event.

“It felt good to play for a cause,” Sophomore Maddie McCafferty said. “It was Mott so we played hard.”

The fundraiser raised over $2000 through

Seniors

Dig it. Senior Lauren Meadows bends down to receive a spike while sophomore Kim Jason observes. “I thought it was a good cause,” Jason said. “It was fun.” Photo by Sarah Griffin

admission tickets, raffles and pink t-shirt sales. But it wasn’t all about the money. For some it held a special meaning.

“My wife is a radiation therapist,” Principal Josh Wenning said. “She works with cancer patients and is very active in fundraisers for cancer, so I do whatever I can to help support cancer and her” The game had special meaning to others as well.

“I’ve had someone in the family die from cancer, so I like to support the cause,” Senior Danny Herron said.

Wenning said the event was successful; it raised money and had almost the whole crowd wearing pink. But the Kettering volleyball players didn’t have much time to prepare.

“The Mott players had (pink) jerseys made,” senior Lauren Meadows said. “We didn’t find out about it till three days before (the game), so it kind of made us look bad

for not having pink on.”

But even on such short notice, Kettering still managed to pull something together.

“We made pink tie dye shirts at my house (which were worn as warm up jerseys before the game),” McCafferty said “I thought they turned out good,” Although the games were for a cause, Kettering dominated their rival and won three out of four games. Mott won the second game, which was a deuce 30-28.

“The second best thing is that we beat them,” Wenning said. “The girls bounced right back after their loss in the second game, and showed great composure through the next two games.”

Not just a rival game, but a game for a cause gives competition meaning. The Waterford girl’s volleyball teams stepped up for a cause colored pink and added another purpose to their favorite sport.

Setting up for success. Junior Shea Manley plays her part in defeating Mott and helping a great cause Photo by Sarah Griffin

Ways to support

Breast cancer Donate money to breast cancer research funds.

-text KOMEN to 90999 and tell them how much money you would like to donate, and confirm.

-Or go to http://ww5.komen.org/donate/donateon line.html Go to festivities that fundraise for breast cancer -The Mott vs Kettering hockey game fundraiser (TBA) Join the 60 mile breast cancer walk -April 25, 2010, in detroit Wearing pink even shows others that you care, and will raise awarness in them Have your own fundraiser for breast cancer -Go to www://raiseawarness/breastcancer/.org for ideas

October 16, 2009

Captain

Of The

Captains

Featuring

Senior Katie Wallace Each month, one of our captains will be featured so that you can understand the hard work they put in every day

Photo by Jami Dodman

By Jamie Monville For some it’s a dream come true when they become captain. It’s something they’ve longed for, and pined away at for as long as they can remember. It’s their time to finally be recognized for the hard work that they do. And for some people, like senior Katie Wallace, it’s a pleasant surprise.

“It’s not something I’ve always thought about,” Wallace said. “But now that I am one, it’s kind of cool that I’m someone people look up to.”

Wallace is one of the three captains on the varsity dance team, with seniors Taylor Styke and Kelsie Breit. These three were hand picked by their coach at the end of last year’s banquet because of their dedication and love for the sport.

Wallace said there are many responsibilities as a captain, most importantly, “Being a good role model and making sure our team is productive and growing as one.”

But being a captain isn’t always a shining moment.

“It’s good for the most part, but everyone is always watching you, so if I mess up it’s all on me,” Wallace said.

While being a captain is hard work Wallace says she really enjoys it.

“It’s like a getaway from everything in life and I like the adrenaline you get when performing in front of a big group,” she said.

Wallace danced at the Dance Place for six years, starting in 2nd grade and ending in 7th, picking up dance again in her freshmen year.

“I wanted to be involved in school and I missed dancing so that seemed like a good way to get involved,” Wallace said.

And to think now she’s captain, and not only captain but was the go to girl for the boys’ powder-puff halftime dance.

Wallace and fellow dance team seniors got together with willing senior boys, almost 30 of them, to help choreograph this comic relief from the game.

“We volunteered to do it,” Wallace said.

“It’s like a tradition and we wanted to do something fun.”

With the guys being completely new to the sport, it’s inevitable that coaching them would be a totally different experience.

“The guys are more enthusiastic and they want to learn new stuff,” Wallace said. “Where with the dance team it’s kind of a given that we know how to do the moves.”

But that doesn’t mean that hard work isn’t involved. The captains have to take on a bigger role than they normally would in practice for the girls team and actually coach the boys.

“With the guys, it’s our responsibility to make them look good on the field” Wallace said. “Otherwise people will be like what happened to them?”

All around though, it can also be seen as just another opportunity to prove that dancing is a sport.

“Now the guys know what it’s about to be a part of the dance team,” Wallace said. “A lot of them think it’s really easy, but now they know its takes a lot of hard work and stamina,”

(sports(21

The Return of Legends

Star alumni Allison Sartorius returns to Kettering courts as Varsity co-coach with Scott Woodhull

By Liz Sawyer It’s not unusual to see sports teams practicing after school, but if you walk past the north gymnasium at 2:30 p.m. you might see something strange.

There’s bound to be a woman clasping her belly as she addresses the red-faced basketball players across from her. Sometimes you’ll see the woman shooting around with them, or demonstrating a new drill, but she’s careful not to do anything too strenuous because she has a child on the way.

Allison Sartorius has made her mark on Kettering. In her day, she was a star basketball player, making varsity as just a sophomore. And now, over ten years later, her name remains on the wall outside the gym, engraved in 99’ for the Most Outstanding Female Athlete of her graduating class. It seems fitting that she decided to come back and coach.

Three years ago, Sartorius took the freshman girls’ coaching position and was promoted to JV the very next year. Now, shes landed the job she’s always dreamed of.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of the girls’ varsity basketball program here,” she said, “just because it meant so much to me.”

But Sartorius won’t be the only one filling the position; she will be co-coaching with a man she has looked up to since her teen years.

A man that taught her a lot about the game, and watched her mature as a player and a person.

Scott Woodhull coached varsity girls’ basketball for 16 years and became somewhat of a local legend in Waterford. People were amazed at his team’s athleticism and prided him on his attention to detail, but Woodhull took a break from the girls six years ago.

“My wife passed away and I felt like I needed to spend some more time with the boys,” he said. “I felt like at that time, I wasn’t as sharp as the girls deserved. The time that coaches are

expected to put in to create successful teams was a big factor for me as well.”

In those six years, Woodhull coached golf, and JV boys’ basketball, but has finally decided to return to the girls.

“Last year I went over to Our Lady of the Lakes and voluntarily assistant coached,” he said. “I realized that girls are fun to coach; they work hard and give you all they can.”

Both Woodhull and Sartorius agree that there will be no problem getting along this year. Which comes as no surprise, since they have stayed in contact long after Sartorius graduated.

“The best thing is we have a lot of the same beliefs about basketball, and expectations of players,” Woodhull said. “She has a real passion for coaching.”

While she is excited about her first child, Sartorius said the pregnancy makes things difficult.

“I like being active in practice and I can’t,” she said. “That’s the hardest part. I can shoot and demonstrate, but I can’t do all the physical stuff like run with the team like I used to.”

But in January, Sartorius will have to take a three month maternity leave because baby Savannah is due. At this point, Woodhull will be taking over a lot of the coaching. The team has no reason to worry though, because Woodhull does his homework.

“If I can get a video of a team, I know I can breakdown what they like to do and what they don’t do well, and figure out how to take advantage of it,” he said.

This is just what the girls’ basketball program needs: a set of coaches who have real experience with the game. The combination of Woodhull, a veteran in the sport, and Sartorius, a star athlete, should be the push that the girls need to be more successful than ever before.

sports( ( 22 Got Beef?

October 16, 2009

Mott Does, But We Take The Cake

By Kristen Tomolak As Enrique Robinson II washed down his last bite of meat with a huge gulp of water, Kettering students and alumni bowed their heads in defeat. They lost the Beef Bowl for the second year in a row.

Senior Brandon Clingan and junior Chet Sadowski, our eaters, walked over to congratulate their competitors with a disappointed look on their face. With a full stomach and heavy heart, they trotted back to their teammates.

“I was let down big time,” senior Brandon Clingan said. “I’d do it again, but I should’ve had a whole different game plan. [If I could do it again I would] dip the beef in water so it would go down easier.”

Teammate Josh Blowers agreed that the boys needed a new strategy. “They shouldn’t have eaten at all beforehand. The boys weren’t prepared,” he said.

The owners of the Lions Den, Mike and Beth Chires have been kind enough to keep this friendly competition going for ten years.

Although Kettering hasn’t won every year, everybody always has a good time.

“I like competing at the Beef Bowl because it is a tradition for the game and a lot of fun,” Mott senior, Darren Goodman said. “Plus its good food and I always like to eat.”

Later that night, Kettering managed to salvage some dignity by dominating the cake eating contest. The four seniors from the cheer team and four from poms showed no mercy while devouring the chocolaty, heavily frosted sheet cake. Barely stopping to breathe, and never stopping to pick up the waters they knocked over, the senior girls chewed their way to a sweet victory. Making the record a tie of five wins our way, and the same for Mott.

“We were all really excited and determined to win,” senior Alyssa Alfonso said. “It was awesome when we actually did.

Right about now I’m going to need all my Kettering Captains to put your hands in the air.

Come on Captains lets go, do it for your school green and white lets get hype and hustle, hard work, and effort.

Come Captains you can do it lets go.

Let’s go green, lets go white, lets get hype, fight, fight, fight, lets go Captains. (Repeat 3x) Come on Captains win, make it happen, use those muscles; do a little bit of hustle. Team work is dream work, so we work as a team, one dream and that’s to win. Do it again and again.

From the seniors to the freshman this is the anthem. All Captains chants staying in action pack attack on their toes and looking alive.

Cause knows how it goes. In the last minute with the captains in it.

Come Captains you can do it, let’s go Captains lets roll.

All my freshmen (freshmen) put your hands in the air.

Sophomores (sophomores) put your hands in the air.

All my juniors (aye) put your hands in the air.

Seniors (aye) put your hands in the air.

ring Fight Song WaterfordByKette Ben Traynor

Eating it up. Seniors Ally McKeever, Jenny Ingweiller, and Taylor Styke get the cake in their mouths as fast as they can to beat Mott. “It was exhilarating” Styke said.

Photo by Jami Dodman

Out With the Old Senior Ben Traynor redefines the words fight song

By Justin Santana Stand up and cheer for Kettering High, for us the limit is the sky. We will fight to win and win again.

Do those lyrics sound familiar? If not, that is because those lyrics are hardly heard, and hardly played. Those are the lyrics to the old Kettering fight song. Senior athlete Ben Traynor has stepped up on the track to redefine the words fight song.

“What makes this so much more unique than most pump up songs, is that it’s for the school and all about it,” Traynor said. “It’s things I would say in the huddle to keep my team going.”

Traynor is getting ready to go on to college, and says music is something he would like to pursue, but he has other plans, and if they work out, than music would just be something he would like to do on the side.

Ben, having only heard the old fight song once his freshman year, says he finds his catchier, something with rhythm, and something that people will remember. After hearing Ben’s fight song there are plans for it to be played

at all the home games. Traynor hopes his song will get all Kettering athletes to work longer and harder.

“It will inspire players to play harder knowing that there’s a song behind them and their school to motivate them.” Junior Nick Murphy said.

Senior Alex Katona also believes this is the kind of motivation this school needs.

“It gives Ben and the school character,” sophomore Will Perry said.

Ben is a passionate person with everything he does.

“I don’t know all the why’s and what’s,” he said. “I don’t know every problem, nor do I have a solution to all of them. I don’t know what I’m going to be famous for, but I do know I will be famous.”

This is all the pride that Kettering needs. In every school there’s spirit; for us it’s pride, pride that is well represented

by Ben Traynor.

So whether you’re up by twenty, or down by one in the fourth quarter, you always fight, fight to win. It’s your ambition to strive for the best, to beat the best, and be the best. You can’t beat what you can’t catch.

October 16, 2009

(sports(23

Ma, Pa, and Coach Lay it on Thick Does the pressure push the player just a bit too far, or is it simply an athletes desire?

By Brianna Bredow “Get your head in the game kid, we’re counting on you, you’re the teams last hope…My last hope,” coach shouts from the sidelines. Sending in the distressed star football player is his only thought. There are three minutes left in the last quarter, and we’re losing by a point. This is their chance. Hit or miss, we haven’t had a win all season.

Try carrying that around on your shoulders. Some athletes have many pressures, including juggling school and a social life. Getting decent grades, staying up late, long practices, National Honors Society, Student Council and working, are all difficult to handle.

Take junior Mitchell Kellogg, a member of the swim team.

“I put in a lot of effort to get good results,” Kellogg said.

“Coach Palmer is not very nice to say the least. He puts a lot of pressure on us, yelling and screaming, giving us extra work.

I think it is to my benefit though.”

Senior Ben Traynor, a varsity soccer player, said that he doesn’t feel pressure from his parents except when they’re watching.

“When my parents are at the game, I feel like I need to do something special,” Traynor said. “Coach Dickerson has high expectations for me, but I’ve learned that if I play with my whole heart and give it a hundred percent, then he should be satisfied. I feel I play better when I’m getting constructive criticism, than when I’m just getting yelled at. Because of my injury, I feel like I’m letting my team down.”

But walking the difficult line between constructive criticism and yelling isn’t all the coach has to worry about.

“As a team, we set goals and I make grades an importance,” wrestling coach Brett Hannah said. “It isn’t all about winning.

I feel like I make students comfortable enough to talk with me if they have an issue, although I do hold very high expectations

of them.”

Sometimes these expectations can make someone feel overwhelmed, other times it makes them better.

“When I play football, I don’t feel pressured,” senior Tyler Bedgood said.

“I just feel anxious to get out and play on the field.

Coaches walk us through it, and tell us what to do. My parents have always been extremely encouraging. I don’t Looking Back. Senior Adam Lotz looks at the football scoreboard and reflects really feel pressured on his season. Photo by Shelby Yeater during track season, except for when “They were disappointed that I quit because I felt I’m in a big meet.

Wrestling is hard because there’s nobody to blame but myself a lot of pressure for not getting to play, and for losing my if I screw up. Coaches have us prepare and do things on position. I don’t think it is Topie’s fault, just my feelings on our own. They just push us to succeed. Last year, I quit the the situation.”

Sometimes the pressure can just be too much. wrestling team on more than one occasion. I wanted a break, “I think you have to approach each kid a different way. Some and my dad expects a lot. I could even say he lives a little put a lot of pressure on themselves,” Varsity Football Coach through my high school athletic career. He pushed me to the Matt Topie said. “Others, you can’t. They react negatively. point where I didn’t want to do it anymore, but I plan to As a coach, you have to motivate each kid differently. Some wrestle again this year.” kids handle getting yelled at where others need face to face He isn’t the only athlete to recently quit a sport. Senior calmness.

Coaches don’t always do that right. Football is Adam Lotz says he felt a lot of pressure from his parents for intense and emotional, and not for the weak-hearted.” quitting the varsity football team.

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(backpage( October 16, 2009

A Perfect ‘10 Battle

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By Shelby Yeater On Wednesday September 30, the seniors dominated this year’s Powderpuff game with their 26-15 win over the juniors. The seniors’ three touchdowns were scored by Quarterback Heather Miller, and wide-receivers Caitlin Kovary and Julie Porter. Miller also scored the seniors’ first field-goal ever. The only interception of the game was scored by senior Billie Gorman. The juniors trailed behind with touch-downs from tight-end Kelsey Duggan, who had a 90 yard run, and running back Emily Roth.

1. Hot Pink Blood. Juniors Emily Roth and Taylor Hendricks lead the team around the track for a warm-up lap. Photo by Melinda White 2. You Wish you were a Sen10r. Members of the senior team shout, jump, and sing the “War Chant Song,” after they score a touch down. Photo by Jami Dodman 3. Tunnel Vision. Junior Shannon McFadden sprints down the field hoping that the seniors won’t catch her. Photo by Melinda White 4. Congratulations are in Order. Senior Chad Piotrovsky hugs his girlfriend Heather Miller after the seniors win the game. Photo

by Hayley Hungerford 5. Hike! Senior Lindsey Crawford recieves the football from her center. Photo

by Jami Dodman 6. Pop, Lock, and Drop It. Senior Ryan Dingman leads the guys’ dance team during a half-time performance for the crowd. Photo by Melinda White 7. Team Spirit. Senior Tyler Elton danced and painted numbers on his chest to sup-

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port the senior girls. All the male cheerleaders had numbers painted across their chest. Photo by Melinda White

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