Bear Facts Student Media March 2015

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MADNESS bear facts student media @LZBearFacts | marchhigh 2015 school lake zurich march 2015

bear facts

letter from the editor

print editor-in-chief: lexi fye

Dear Readers, Between the craziness of planning Spring Break, this week’s tip off of March Madness, and the impending end of third quarter, to say the month of March is chaotic is an understatement. Reflecting the month’s madness, our cover should drive your brain bonkers. Although these optical illusions are a simple way to twist your thoughts, it highlights the idea that even something as simple as shapes on a piece of paper can set your mind in motion - especially in a month as maddening as March.

We invite you to read about the emotions of everyday life, from the new parking lot rules that drive us crazy to the angry-sounding music that make hearts pound. We present movies that grossed millions - even though they simply grossed us out - and we have an inside peek into teachers’ pet peeves.

So whether it be parents who push the limits of sportmanship or students who are angry over AP testing changes, this month offers plenty of reasons to live up to the label of March Madness. We hope that in the spirit of this theme, you find what makes your head spin.

print managing editors: genna danial meagan bens

web editor-in-chief: lexi miranda

web managing editor: emmy schwerdt

staff writers: hannah bostrom michael gallagher madison hart julia ketcham jemma kim stephanie pavin amanda pflaumer brianne saab jenny steinberg katie szarkowicz danna tabachnik natalie ullman

Sincerely, Your Editor-in-Chief, Sin

adviser: carolyn wagner Lexi Fye

Bear Facts Student Media Lake Zurich High School 300 Church Street Lake Zurich, IL 60047 TopWeb Printing 5450 N Northwest Highway Chicago, IL 60630

cover art by lexi fye and madison hart

About Us All decisions are made by the Bear Facts staff. The advisor is responsible for making recommendations based on school rules, applicable laws, ethical journalism, and other concerns. However, final authority rests with the staff.

Bear Facts staff and writers strive to inform, entertain, and showcase high quality work to our readers on a monthly basis. We always seek to uphold standards of journalistic integrity, acceptable ethics, and truth.

Website Bear Facts is also published online at http:// www.LZBearFacts.com. Online materials report daily news occasionally related to our print publication.

Advertising To advertise in Bear Facts, please contact our editorial board at bear_facts@lz95.org.

Prices vary on size and placement of the advertisement.

Letters to the Editor Students are invited to submit articles or letters to the editor. Students submitting can contact any Bear Facts staff member at bear_facts@lz95.org. Staff reserves the right to edit any material submitted while retaining intent.

Special thanks to our sponsor: Offbeat Music Store

For a complete editorial policy, please see our website.

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What’s inside?

5 Parking dispute Learn about the new parking system and how others have been reacting.

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second 60 story

Intensely irritating, awfully annoying

Take a look at the pet peeves of teachers around LZHS.

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“Pushing” APUSH away

Read about the frustration rooting from states planning to revamp APUSH.

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Mad for metal

Learn about people who have the passion for mad music.

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Madness marches in

Read to learn more about LZHS’ involvement in March Madness.

for 15 Ready red cards See a staff member’s view about parent participation at sporting events.

camera, 16 Lights, CUT See how Bear Facts reviews some movies that just make you mad.

photo used with permission of allie donaldson

A crazy commitment: a senior’s dedication for riding “I’m not one of those crazy horse girls who always wears horse shirts or gets a horse tattoo. There’s no way I’m ever going to do that. I’m not that crazy,” said Allie Donaldson, senior. On the other hand, she does admit to being crazy about one thing: riding horses.

Donaldson’s insane dedication to equestrianism started when she began riding lessons since the age of eight, but when she was in eighth grade, she started competing and did not stop.

“I’m at the barn six days a week at 1:30pm, because I have 7th, 8th, and th 9 open,” Donaldson said. “I ride two to four horses a day. It’s good practice to ride different types of horses. After school I go home to change and go straight to the barn. I usually ride from 2pm-4pm and get home around 5:30. Friday [is] my one day off.”

Donaldson currently rides in the A Circuit in the Illinois Hunter Jumper Association, the highest level possible. Hunter/jumper, according to Medal Maclay’s website, is “a specific equestrian discipline (style of riding) where horses are ridden English style and jump over a series of fences or jumps.”

Besides spending countless hours practicing at the barn, Donaldson must sacrifice certain aspects of her life to prove her commitment. “[It’s crazy] how much time I’ve put into it,” Donaldson said. “I’m not as involved in school this year because I don’t have free time. On weekends, I’ll be at the barn for 12 or more hours and ride at least six different horses. Like for two and a half weeks last summer, I had a competition in Lexington, Kentucky, and I also spent three weeks in June at a different show. It’s a lot of time spent away from my family, and it really shows the sacrifices I’ve made.”

Although Donaldson is not joining a team in college, she hopes to continue riding later in life and plans to come back to ride on school breaks, especially since she has made so much progress in the last four years. bf

by genna danial @LZBearFacts | march 2015

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“I get mad at myself when I’m doing math.”

-Johari Williams, fr.

“I get mad at myself when I had something to say or do, but forgot what it was.”

-Emily Murguia, soph.

mad

when do you get

at yourself?

“I get mad at myself when I burn my toast.”

-Thomas Miller, jr.

“I get mad at myself for my laziness.”

-Katie Carpenter, sr. photos by michael gallagher

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Parking dispute: new parking lot rule leaves students angry, staff pleased

by genna danial then it’s super backed up, so I have to w h e t h e r exiting after dropleave earlier and beat the traffic.”

However, according to Ryan Ru- ping somebody off or enterbenstein, assistant principal of stu- ing towards the student lot,” Rudent activities and facilities, this new benstein said. “Buses were being cut traffic policy is a necessary precau- off, putting other students in danger.

Kids were walking in front of buses, tion to ensure safety.

“I think it has [helped],” Ru- putting themselves in danger. We benstein said. “We haven’t had an also had a near miss last year with a incident yet to have us relook at the teacher getting hit in the parking lot procedure. We’ve had feedback from by a car that was driving by. We’ve parents and some students that we’re also had other accidents back there messing up traffic on Midlothian by with other teachers and parents that doing what we’re doing, and truth- aren’t obeying signs.”

The new parking lot restrictions fully that might have been a consequence to this, but at the same time are set to continue for the rest of we feel that the safety of the people the year, as well as next year. Even in our parking lot is of the utmost though the administration’s solution may be less than ideal, they say they importance.”

The issues with safety extended have their hands tied.

“We don’t have too much leeway beyond fender-benders in the parking lot. Parents and students were when it comes to that kind of stuff,” constantly at risk, whether they were Rubenstein said. “I would love to see something in the plans of different driving or walking around school.

“There were safety directions of [exits] here, whether it concerns with students be go to the east into the business Timing the Drive and parents traveling park or something like that, so …

Bear Facts timed how long it takes to through [the PAC] lot, there’s another way out of here.” bf arrive at the stop sign by the senior doors from the light at Main and Church From Main Street to Stop Sign Streets [A] or from Old McHenry and with traffic: 4:10.10 [dashed line] Midlothian Roads [B]. without traffic: 1:30.04 [solid line]

Change usually does not occur without backlash. When administration instituted a new policy, prohibiting traffic through the west drive of the parking lots by the PAC, teachers and staff members cheered, but students jeered.

A metal chain now closes off the west drive, which connects the PAC parking lot to the student lot, from 7am to 8am and 3pm to 4pm to reduce accidents. As a result of only having one entrance to the school for students and parents, traffic has increased on Church Street.

“It takes an extra twenty minutes to get to school,” Hayley Johnson, senior, said. “We only have one entrance, and Church Street is always crowded to begin with, and now everyone who went through the PAC lot is also trying to get into that one entrance as well. I live by the Y, but if I leave at 7:30 like I normally did, by

From Old McHenry Road to Stop Sign with traffic: 6:33.26 [dashed line] without traffic: 2:43.62 [solid line]

A B @LZBearFacts | march 2015

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Intensely irritating, awfully annoying

Teachers reveal their biggest pet peeves by genna danial and lexi fye

Michael Bale

all photos by genna danial and lexi fye

art teacher “Making out in the hallway.

Gross.�

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Julie Bryniczka

David Harmon drama teacher

math teacher

“When someone wearing Uggs drags their feet across the floor!

Move with purpose, people!”

“Rocking your chair.

They break and then I get replacement chairs that don’t match, which bothers me more than the actual rocking.”

Christopher Bennett Ch history and economics teacher his

“ drives me nuts when I “It walk through the cafeteria w after the lunch periods. All af the trash on the floors. So th annoying.” annoyin

Peter Kupfer science teacher

“My pet peeve is when students ask me how many centimeters are in a meter.”

Bob Knuth social studies teacher

“Students who wear hoods in the building. Aside from being against the rules, it’s disrespectful.”

Find out more!

Go to our website to find out more pet peeves of teachers around LZHS.

@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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“Pushing” APUSH away by lexi fye

AP U.S. History, or APUSH, teaches about every piece of history of the U.S.? What a concept! But it is that curriculum that has states “pushing” APUSH out the door.

States like Georgia and Oklahoma are in the midst of altering or banning the current APUSH class, creating proposals for new curriculum next year. Although both states are miles away, the reasoning behind the controversy has left some LZHS people discontent.

“I wrote an open letter and posted it on Facebook,” Logan Ejupi, senior and previous APUSH student, said. “I was trying to portray my frustration that they were trying to ban this class because it meant a lot to me. I enjoyed the class a lot, and I believe their accusations of lack of patriotism were false. I was more frustrated than anything.”

Although Ejupi has already taken this junior-year class, and any future changes will not affect him, banning this class or altering it to only teaching events that make America look good does not satisfy him. Ejupi’s irritation comes from the argument that those

states are making to justify their issues with the curriculum.

“One of the reasons they talked about was the emphasis on unpatriotic events and the overall light which it casts on the history of the country,” Ejupi said. “They want to push under the rug the negative parts of history. I think that we need to acknowledge the parts of history that are good and the parts that are bad because if we pretend the parts that are bad never happened, we won’t learn from them. It’s important to acknowledge mistakes that we made so we don’t make them again.”

One of the events targeted usually studied by the class is the Civil War, which separated the States. Others include the Trail of Tears and the interment of the Japanese-Americans during WWII. Since these show the darker side of American history, educators see the class as unpatriotic.

“The states that are having problems with [the College Board’s changes] don’t like the changes that have been implemented to the curnine-year riculum,” David Voss, nine APUSH teacher, said. “They feel f it American exceptionremoves ‘‘American excep alism’ out oof the class.

From what I read, they feel the class focus is more on negative American history as opposed to American ‘exceptionalism.’ I disagree. I think the new curriculum makes it more flexible for teachers to use whatever they want to use in history, and yes, there are negative parts to our history. It makes it more accurate and realistic for our students to really understand who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’ve come from, to fully understand the pros and cons. We learn from our cons to make sure we don’t make mistakes again.”

Voss does not believe Southern states will create enough push in Illinois to make a change here because it is mainly political, according to him. But without teaching the other half of history, Voss feels as if his teaching is untrue and lacking.

“A lot of the content is similar to other history, it just differs in the depth we go into,” Voss said. “If it were changed to how Oklahoma and Georgia are looking at, I would be teaching an inaccurate or incomplete version of history than what I feel is appropriate. If there was a push to change it, I would be resistant to the proposed changes. I would rather keep it where it is today.” bf

Find out more!

The recent cold weather days are putting pressure on AP teachers. Read to learn why.

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by julia ketcham

photo used with permission of mike bliss

for

Mike Bliss, 2013 gradute, is the lead vocalist/ screamer in The Levitated. He formed the band in college after leaving Asgard in Flames, another metal band that he sang in during high school.

“A big part of life is expanding outside of your comfort zone, and I can happily admit that I know I’ve pushed people past their boundary after seeing one of my performances,” Mike Bliss, 2013 graduate, said.

Bliss finds enjoyment in exposing people to the metal genre, something they usually stay away from due to all the “preconceived notions” about it. According to Bliss, most people assume heavy metal is “demonic” or “just a bunch of noise.”

“Really that’s because they haven’t taken the time to step out of their comfort zone and actually listen with an honest pair of ears,” Bliss said. “In a live setting, at a place like Battle of the Bands, these peo-

ple have no choice but to exit their comfort zone for the duration of my performance. I’ve always been doing something different, and while a lot of people aren’t into it, it’s respected.”

Whether he is performing in front of two people or two hundred, his main goal is to give people a show to remember.

“Some people may walk away with a new perception, others may be unchanged, but I at least know that I was able to challenge people’s minds,” Bliss said. “That’s awesome and all I can really ask for. To me, is successful in itself.”

Bliss, now a sophomore at Harper College in Palatine, started listening to metal bands like Underoath

and Killswitch Engage when he was in fifth grade.

“Metal is the main genre that I like to perform because it is the easiest for me to express my feelings. I find it to be the most fun as well. It is energetic, intense, and it just really gets my blood flowing. And I love that,” Bliss said. “I’ve come across no better feeling than being up on stage and giving it my all for the audience.

When I listen to this music, I feel many different ways, depending on the song or band I’m listening to.

It is also a good way for me to cope with negative emotions and feeelings, especially through performing.”

One of the negatives of performing such loud, aggressive music, Bliss

@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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says, is that people judge him based on his choice of music.

“But that’s completely alright because I know that a lot of people are not used to seeing or hearing the music at all.”

Not all musicians share the same expierences and feelings of being judged. Michael Krupp, junior and lead guitarist in Asgard in Flames, named after the powers of Thor, started the band in October 2014 with a few of friends and reacts to judgement diffferently than Bliss.

“People judge us because we are different,” Krupp said. “If you look at it, it is just a different way of life.

monika cachro, freshman

miranda bacon, sophomore

kayla kosatka, junior

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The music that you listen to immediately reflects on the kind of person you are. For example, if you are a cheerleader, you probably listen to pop and you might attend a lot of parties.”

While judging others on stereotypes goes both ways, Bliss says that music should unify people.

“We all experience things like betrayal, heartbreak, loss, anger, and so on,” Bliss said. “As a musician, you can convey those emotions or situations in so many different ways.

Whether it be singing or screaming, as a vocalist you can choose how you’d like to present yourself based

on what you’re feelings or how the song makes you feel.”

Feelings are at the basis of everything, according to Bliss. When Bliss is combining the vocals with the instruments, the “overall heaviness” in the musical choice is created to demonstrate the emotion the band is performing.

“I consider ‘heavy’ to be a loose term,” Bliss said. “I say this because I consider songs heavy, based on aggressive instrumentation and vocals, but I also think acoustic songs with a strong lyrical message or even just a haunting melody can also be heavy, which again can both be found

Cachro listens to songs all across the board.

“There’s not one genre that I like. I listen to a lot of classic songs like “Hotel California” by The Eagles and many songs by Led Zeppelin, and who could forget The Beatles.”

According to Cachro, she listens to

Lana Del Rey because she has amazing songs that create that retro atmosphere. She enjoys listening to Cage the Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, and The Neighbourhood.

“I love Florence and the Machine, Etta James, [...] and Ed Sheeran. There are just so many artists out there.”

Bacon enjoys listening to the band Hollywood Undead.

“I drew the band logo as well as a city skyline on my converse, due to the fact that it kind of matches part of the album art cover for their first album Swan Songs. I just love to make things that have to do with them,” Bacon said.

Bacon is an avid fan and has mixed

her own creativity with their music.

“I have a mural painted on my wall as well as an Instagram dedicated to them,” Bacon said, “When I first started the account, I was originally going to use it to post pictures I found of them that I liked, but then I started creating things. I would draw pictures of them or make lyric edits.”

Kosatka enjoys listening to jazz from the 1920s to the late 1950s.

“It’s not that I don’t like modern music, I listen to the top forty just as much as anybody, but I just prefer the romantic sound that jazz has in that era. And I fricking love Louis Arm-

strong and Frank Sinatra.”

No matter what music Kosatka is listening to, she always feels something.

“Music can make me feel a lot of things, though I [prefer] sad ballads and slow songs.”

photo by julia ketcham Asgard in Flames, formally led by Mike Bliss, 2013 graduate, consists of: Michael Krupp, junior guitarist; Collin Beaver, junior bassist; Cooper Kleinke, junior guitarist; and Erol Hasanof, junior drummer. The band has been together since October 2014.

within something like metal.”

Bliss finds performing this musical genre to be fun and exciting.

“It’s energetic, intense, and it just really gets my blood flowing,” Bliss said. “I absolutely love that. I have not come across any better feeling than being up on stage and giving it my all for the audience.”

Both Krupp and Bliss, get that “blood flowing” feeling when they listen or perform music. However, when Krupp is practicing in his basement, his mom is not accepting.

“My mom hates my music, and I find it hilarious,” Krupp said. “I’ll

be playing a song on my guitar and I will go upstairs and be like, ‘What’s going on?’ and she will tell me how much she hates my music and that she has made other lyrics to them, because mine are bad. It’s not that she doesn’t approve of my kind of music, she would just rather not listen to it herself.”

While Krupp’s mother is listening to “mom music”, Bliss’ parents approve and accept his choice in his musical style.

“My parents are very supportive of what I do,” Bliss said. “Whether it be the metal music I play or the soft

rock, they believe in me. They know I am very passionate about music, and my parents actually enjoy a few metal bands I listen to, so they’re pretty acquainted with the sound and what the genre can bring to the table. Although it isn’t their favorite genre, they will always be two of my biggest fans.” bf

Find out more!

Read about why having open ears and an open mind is important when listening to music.

@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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Madness Marches In the NCAA basketball tournament tips off The first four games of the March Madness tournament kick off tomorrow, and students and faculty are crazy with excitement. Though the closest tournament site is miles away, the hype can be so contagious that you would think the games were going on in the field house. by madison hart

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“Everybody is talking about their bracket and the games going on that day. It’s especially awesome when a big upset happens during the day and you can hear everyone talking about it and freaking out about their brackets being messed up because of it,” Kunal Kothari, senior basketball player, said. “I just think it is a really cool way and interesting way to interact with people over something everybody is pretty crazy about.”

All throughout the month of March, students and adults alike are constantly watching games, discussing brackets, and deciding what teams have the best chances of winning the pool, according to Ryan Eder, junior and self professed March Madness fanatic.

“I would say people who don’t follow sports still get involved in pools just because it’s fun and everyone else is doing it too,” Christopher Bennett, girls’ varsity basketball coach, said. “I teach mostly juniors and seniors, and I’d argue that about half my students are in a pool.”

“Most of the people in my friend group get really into March Madness, and I do not usually win due to the fact I try and get too analytical with who I pick to move on. So in a way, I really mess myself up by taking it too seriously,” Eder said.

Eder is not alone in taking March Madness seriously. Students like Michael Bens, sophomore basketball player, spend countless hours researching what teams they feel will come out on top.

“Throughout the year I watch a lot of college basketball,” Bens said.

“When the actual bracket comes out, I take a lot of time and really research who certain teams have beat, who’ve they lost to, where they’ll be playing, etcetera. For me, the bracket is a lot more than just a five minute process, and most of the time it takes days to finish it.”

While March Madness may be one of the best times of the year for students who are college basketball fanatics, some teachers join in on the fun as well, which allows more parts

of the school to get more involved according to Bennett.

“I let kids watch March Madness in my room during passing periods or if we have down time in class and a game is on, but we never just blatantly sit down and watch it,” Bennett said. “But I do think it’s cool that it’s on in the cafeteria and the library so kids do have the opportunity to watch the games during the day.”

While Bennett is one of the teachers who allows March Madness during down time in class, some other teachers allow students to watch if they stay on task.

“During my sophomore year in Foods, a sub let my kitchen set up four phones that were all playing different March Madness games, so we were able to watch as well as work in class,” Kothari said.

illu photo

i ex l y nb o a str

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@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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Kothari has experimented with many different methods and says that people need to find what works the best for them.

“Last year I used a different strategy and really researched the teams, but usually I have a pretty good grasp of which teams are going to do well in the tournament because of all the in-season college basketball,” Kothari said, “so I normally just go with my gut.”

Though Bens and Kothari spend some time looking at the overall teams, Bennett focuses on the leadership of the teams and the timing of the games during the tournament.

kunal kothari senior

“If you pay attention to March Madness, you already know that there are normally twelve versus five upsets,” Bennett said. “My personal strategy to predict the upsets is to pick good coaches in the second round and the fourth round because they only have one day to prepare their teams for the next game, so the better coaches will have a better team ready to play in the game.”

While the common goal of most people in a March Madness pool is to win, Kothari believes that there are more benefits to the tournament than money and bragging rights.

“Throughout the school day or on

ryan eder junior

the weekends, everybody is talking about their bracket and the games going on that day. It’s especially awesome when a big upset happens during the day and you can hear everyone talking about it and freaking out,” Kothari said. “I just feel like March Madness is a way that, at least for a few weeks, everyone can have something in common.” bf

Find out more!

Read about how math may be able to help you pick the winning brackets.

michael bens sophomore

Q: What are the weirdest ways people pick brackets?

Q: Who do you think is going to make the Final Four?

Q: Who do you think is going to win this year?

A: “I’ve heard of people basing their picks off of which team has the cooler mascot, flipping coins, and other weird stuff.”

A: “I think my Final Four for this year would be Virginia, Kentucky, Duke, and Arizona. Those four are powerhouse basketball schools, it doesn’t seem like any could be beaten unless they are beaten by each other.”

A: “I think Duke is going to win this year. They have a really good team that could make it to championships.”

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Ready for red cards: parents need to stop coaching from the bleachers

by michael gallagher Parents who shout from the bleachers during high school sporting events should be put in the penalty box. They make remarks about bad plays, question coaching staff, or harass referees over calls. It’s time to take a stand and keep parents where they belong: the bleachers.

These spectators are killing the fun of athletics and taking the spotlight off the sport.

Gillian Teichman, freshman, experienced an incident that occurred at her horseback riding competition, turning a mistake to misfortune.

“One time I was riding a horse and a parent was screaming at me because I was doing something wrong,” Teichman said. “It spooked my horse and I ended up falling and breaking my rib.”

The spectator who yelled at Teichman was a teammate’s parent. The parent happened to have a bright flappy umbrella her hands when she yelled, which contributed to the spooking. This experience changed

how Teichman, who said she felt mad and embarrassed, feels about fans during playing time.

Teens experience teamwork, winning, and losing while playing sports, all of which help them grow. When parents coach from the stands, they remove the positive experience for students, damaging rather than helping the team.

Assistant coach for varsity girls’ basketball and softball Michael Kaufman said that parents can upset their student athletes.

“If it gets to that point [in the game] where it becomes a nuisance, that parent is asked to stop,” Kaufman said.

According to Kaufman, when aggressive parents are asked to leave the venue, it can hurt the athlete.

LZHS athletes, spectators, and staff all must abide by the rules and policies of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). One being that “IHSA believes sportsmanship is a core value and its promotion and

practice are essential.”

Kaufman says he does not interact with disruptive parents before, during, or after the game. “[Coaches] ignore them during the games, ” Kaufman said. “We have more important things to do, like coach their children.”

Kaufman believes fans should be allowed to express their thoughts within reason.

“You’re allowed to disagree and voice your opinion, that’s part of being a fan,” Kaufman said. “There’s definitely a line, then you take away from sportsmanship.”

So parents, please take a stand against the troubling trend of overcoaching your kids and stay where you belong: the stands. bf

Find out more!

Read about how extracurricular activities can be beneficial for the community.

@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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Lights,Camera,CUT Some movies make you happy, some movies make you want to fall in love, but other movies want to make you throw your chair through a window and scream at the top of your lungs.

Even though your furniture may disagree, not all good movies need to have a happy ending, according to avid movie watcher Kyle Humrichouser, junior.

“When movies leave a more openended ending where I have to interpret it myself, I like it because it makes me think and want to watch the movie

again,” Humrichouser said. “If the audience is angry at the ending of a movie, it’s not really a good sign because it shows how the film did not really succeed in telling the audience whatever it wanted to tell. But if a movie that doesn’t have a happy ending has a reason behind it and if the audience can understand that reason, then that could be a very good thing.”

What is not necessary, however, is sloppiness on behalf of either the writers,, actors,, or directors,, which can make a movie seem unfulfilling, according to John Cotter, junior who is starting a cinema club at LZHS. “An aggravating film can have sloppy or lazy directing, with no real consideration for what the intent of the film is to be: a bad screenplay, with underdeveloped characters and an uninteresting concept, and so much more,” Cotter said. “But one of the main things that makes a film bad or aggravating is just

being able to tell that the directors and/ or writers had no drive in them to make a good movie. This can be done by making blatant and obnoxious themes, or even lacking of a theme, no point of the film, or just plain lacking of creativity.”

A creative decision that can come off as lack in ambition is leaving the ending ambiguous, but this is not always the case, just as in not having a happy ending, according to Nicole Hu, senior.

“I understand how it’s aggravating when directors leave you own y to your y choice [at the end] because you just want to know what happens,” Hu said.

“But then I also feel like it’s better to have your own imagination about [the ending] because then your own imagination can actually better than what would have really happened.”

Whether or not directors have an open-ended movie, a bad movie is just that: a bad movie. Here are a few that will irritate viewers to no end. bbf

by han na hb

d Fin ut o ore! m

Transformers: Age of Extinction Some say the more the merrier, but those people have never seen the latest installment in the Transformers series.

In this fourth installment, Mark Wahlberg plays Cade Yeager, an inventor who nicole hu, stumbles upon the remains of Optimus senior Prime, leader of the Autobots a.k.a. the good aliens. The government catches wind of this and comes to destroy Optimus Prime in their attempt to exterminate all transformers from planet Earth.

The plan to exterminate Autobots and their evil counterparts, the Decepticons, stems from the work of KSI, a company who is working to build transformers of their own for military use. This, however, backfires when all of the prototypes are taken over by Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons.

To help keep the audience from leaving mid-movie, the directors use a really unique strategy: a plot filled with car

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os tro m

Visit our website to restore your faith in Hollywood!

chases, explosions, fights, explosions, and oh, did I mention explosions? The overworked plot is matched by the overbearing noise. It gets so old that it becomes tempting to turn the movie on mute, Hu said.

“I really liked the first two because Shia Labeouf was funny, but the fourth one was just a bunch of noise; it was just so dumb,” Hu said. “I think they made it just to make more money. Half the movie was just the robots fighting and there wasn’t a plot. If there was, it was the same as the other movies.”

The inability to be creative and come up with a different plot continues on with the government being pegged as the bad guys who are so misinformed that their actions are almost laughable, like striking a deal with a space assassin in exchange for a bomb that can wipe out mankind and keep it on Earth because that’s exactly where you want to keep the bomb.

After watching three hours of this movie, you’ll wish the bomb is real to stop production on another installment.

Gross movies

White House Down If you are looking for a movie with deafening explosions, unbelievable extremist groups, and an unrealistic plot to take john cotter, over the government, junior then this is the one-of- a-kind movie for you.

This mostly unoriginal plot features Channing Tatum as John Cale, a slacker who handles security detail for the Speaker of the House. But on one fateful day, Cale and his daughter, Emily, go to the White House and in a case of wrong place wrong time, an extremist group bombs the Capitol and infiltrates the White House and easily kills off all of the security.

Guess who comes and saves the President, the hostages, and the day?

Get ready for it: John Cale. Shocker.

But not after a series of shootings, bombings, missile launches, and a car chase, offering a predictable and overexhausted ending, according to Cotter.

“It’s bland, generic, patriotic in the worst way possible,” Cotter said.

“White House Down is the epitome of awful American cinema. It’s like mixing every bad condiment that have been sitting out for years and shoving in your face. It’s just that bad.”

Regardless how predictable the entire movie is, you still find yourself intrigued by the relationship between Cale and President Sawyer, played by Jamie Foxx. The banter between these two, such as Sawyer shooting a rocket launcher from the backseat of a car and his refusal to follow Cale by jumping across an elevator shaft, adds some originality and comic relief.

Overall, White House Down is just another movie where the plot to overthrow the government is stopped by a single man. If you have an extra two hours and want to see a movie where a five year old can predict the outcome, here is the movie for you.

Despite horrible reviews, somehow these films grossed an obscene amount of money. But before curiosity gets the better of you, just remember you’ve been warned...

1. Avatar $760,000,000 2. Tansformers: Revenge of the Fallen $402,000,000 3. Spider-Man 3 $336,000,000 4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides $241,000,000 5. The ‘Star Wars’ Prequels $1,164,000,000 source: screencrush.com

After Earth If you are looking for a good post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie to watch, you should keep searching because you’ll want to leave Earth after watching After Earth.

Will Smith plays Cypher, a human kyle militia leader on the planet Nova Prime humrichouser, who follows the strict protocol of the junior force. His real-life son, Jaden, plays Katai, who is trying to follow in his father’s monumental footsteps and become a leader of his own accord, but his insubordination prevents Katai from officially being on the task force.

In an attempt to reconnect, Cypher invites Katai along on a training mission on another planet, but during the travel, the spaceship hits an asteroid storm and crash lands on the abandoned planet Earth. Katai is forced to travel across the land to retrieve a distress signal so he and his father, who was injured in the crash, can be rescued.

Throughout the adventure, the more prevalent aspect of the movie is Katai’s terrible accent. It seems to be some combination of Australian and Scottish, but regardless of what it

is, it was hard to focus on any other part of the plot, acc according to Humrichouser. h “The shots were really cool, but everything about it was so cliché and didn’t feel unique in any way,” Humrichouser said. “But mainly Jaden Smith did such a bad job pulling off his accent that it was just laughable and completely took me out of the movie. Sometimes it’s little things that can just make or break a movie for me.”

Another aspect that takes a person out of this movie are Katai’s random encounters with the dangerous animals that inhabit the planet. He gets chased by what seems like rabid monkeys, scooped out of the sky by a giant bird, and attacked by a tiger-type animal in the giant bird’s nest. Each scene of which lasts only a few minutes, so the audience barely has time to react to what is going on in each horrible scene.

Those snappy scenes carry all the way through to the ending, which is so abrupt and predictable that for about five minutes into the credits, you wonder what just happened, not only in the last minute but also the whole hour and 40 minutes of your life you just wasted watching it. @LZBearFacts | march 2015

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Athlete of the Month

clarifications In last month’s issue, Bledian Ajroja’s name was spelled wrong.

bf

Due to the scheduling of spring sports and our publication date, Athlete of the Month nominees could not be included within this issue. This feature will return next month!

Looking for more Bear Facts Facts??

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GAMES PLAYED ON WEEKENDS AND A FEW EVENINGS UNDER THE LIGHTS. GAMES DO NOT CONFLICT WITH HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAMS. OPEN TO ALL. WHETHER YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON THE HIGHSCHOOL BASEBALL TEAM OR JUST WANT TO CONTINUE PLAYING BASEBALL, EVERYONE IS WELCOME. WE ATTEMPT TO HONOR ALL PLAYER REQUESTS TO PLAY TOGETHER. First come, first served.

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SIGN UP NOW! Register now at www.lzbsa.org to insure your spot on a team. Please direct any questions to glenn@lzbsa.org

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What’s your biggest pet peeve about your sport?

“When players on the opposite team m roll their shorts up p too high.”

carley peldiak freshman soccer “When you have a shot to win the game, and you miss it.”

ryan kim tennis

sophomore

“When we have to do sprints. I’m more of a long distance person.”

katie thorne softball

junior

“When someone takes a shot every time they get the ball.”

ryan obsuszt lacrosse

senior

@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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The boys’ track and field team expects to make their mark at collective upcoming meets, building up to a win at Conference. Rather than excelling as individual athletes, the team is focusing on coming together to result in success.

“At frosh-soph Conference champions the past two years, our team got super close to getting first, so this year we’re all hoping we can improve on our scores,” Dan Marshalla, junior and varsity hurdler, said.

Like Marshalla, all athletes on the team expect better times and scores from last year. The team is excited to come back and win Conference to redeem themselves back from a loss from the previous season.

Along with improving times, goals also include becoming more flexible throughout events, and competing well through all varieties of events, Marshalla said. This helps Randal Dunbar, boys’ track coach, to make the best possible rosters for meets until the perfect combination helps finalize a win for a meet.

With the combination of passion and flexibility that the track team has, the boys are enthusiastic toward a great season. But the boys struggle to come together as a team instead of individual athletes, Nick Mandal,

boys’ lacrosse 20

march 2015 | LZBearFacts.com

boys’ track senior and varstiy mid distance runner, said.

“I feel that our team’s strengths lie in our top individuals and their performances,” Mandal said. “Our weakness is coming together and working as a team.”

At the first meet at Maine South on February 19, however, the team had their first chance to address strengths and weaknesses while scoping our their competition.

“Our individuals performed really well. For instance, Brian Griffith, sophomore and Mark Spatz, senior, ran well in the 800, Kyle Griffith, sophomore, and Patrick Burns, freshman, ran well in the 1600, and Alec Rowell, junior, and Jake Stevens, sophomore, performed well in the pole vault,” Mandal said. “Our weaknesses were exposed. We did not beat Maine South and narrowly defeated Elk Grove.”

Recent success of past teams may put a lot of pressure on an upcoming season, but boy’s lacrosse is up to the challenge.

“I think [the recent success] is helpful to the teams growth because everyone on the team wants to take the next step forward,” Brad Silverstein, senior goalie, said.

In order to continue to accumulate wins, the remaining team members have to step up their game to overcome the loss of last year’s starters, according to Silverstein. This should not be a problem with the majority of the team working on

their game throughout the off season to stay as alert as possible.

Silverstein has personally been participating in offseason tournaments and clinics to be as prepared as possible to help his teammates to success. This success is challenged by rivals, such as Stevenson, but the lively home crowd should help propel the team to a win, according to Silverstein.

“I’m looking forward to playing in front of a roaring student section,” Silverstein said. “Hopefully [we will beat] Stevenson because I know a lot of them personally.”

boys’ lacrosse photo used with permission of kole keller, all other photos taken by bear facts staff members

sports highlights

for sports coverage, follow @lz_scorecenter on twitter

boys’ baseball

Although spring has not sprung, baseball has already had open-gyms, practices, and try-outs to prepare for the upcoming season.

With the help of more coaches and the goal to be more positive during the season, the team is excited to start, according to Sam Zoibi, senior baseball player.

“We’ve added more people to our coaching staff that I think can make a real positive impact on everyone’s performance in games,” Zoibi said.

Despite the beneficial additions to the baseball team, the team wants

to correct the mistakes made last season, Zoibi said.

“This season we are really focusing on cleaning up some of the mistakes that cost us games last year,” Zoibi said.

Zoibi has goals for himself and as a team both mentally and physically to set a bar for this season.

“My goal as a player is to play every pitch at a hundred percent no matter what the score, situation, or team,” Zoibi said. “As a team, I would like us to get closer and really create some good chemistry [on] the field.”

girls’ track As the outdoor season approaches for the girls’ track team, girls are improving their own personal training to come together as a unified team, Becca Dorfman, senior captain, said. As a group of individual sports, the team has a challenge to work together to maintain the team atmosphere.

“The team is putting a bigger emphasis on working together and being a family, which I think will help all of us [become more] successful,” Dorfman said.

The team’s quote to remember last year was ‘Ohana means fam-

ily, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten...unless you miss the bus.’

At the first meet of the season, against Maine South and St. Viator at Maine South on February 17, Dorfman said she was impressed by how well the meet was run by Maine South and how well their new members came together and pushed each other on as a family.

“We really did pull together as a team and show that we are [a family]. Everyone was cheering for one another and looking out for each other,” Dorfman said.

Another goal the team emphasizes is staying healthy throughout the season. David Antczak, girls’ track and field coach, pushes the girls to focus more on bigger meets towards the end of the season to guarantee a great performance for everyone at Sectionals and qualifying for State, often reminding them to do the little things right, Dorfman said.

“Obviously we train hard and do our best or every meet,” Dorfman said. “But Antczak uses all of our meets as practice to gear us up for the last four: County, Conference, Sectionals, and State.” @LZBearFacts | march 2015

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girls’ lacrosse The girls’ lacrosse team is in the process of setting goals and planning how to become as successful this season as they were last year. Despite skilled seniors graduating last year, Casey McGinnis, senior midfielder, feels as though the team still has an edge on their competitors.

“We have a strong attack and a lot of players who can put the ball in the back of the net, as well as a strong defense that will be difficult for other teams to get through,” McGinnis said. “I can’t wait to start winning games. We are going to be pretty good this year, so hopefully we’ll be able to knock off some good teams.”

While the team has a lot of strong points, they are going to put in a lot of hard work at practice in order to reach those goals, McGinnis said.

The team usually stays as focused as possible as they work towards their objectives, according to Abigail Coolidge, sophomore midfielder, but certain things can get on the teams’ nerves.

“It’s annoying if someone forgets basic equipment like their goggles, or when people know you’re doing something wrong and don’t make an effort to help,” Coolidge said. “It’s also bad when someone brings outside drama to the field, or if someone is ineligible because of grades and doesn’t try and fix it.”

In comparison to last year, Coolidge feels the team will be able to step up their game and continue to play at a high level, as well as become closer friends.

“When you spend that much time with a team, you all become a big family and really work together to win and help each other,” Coolidge said. “Last season, we had great captains who helped us a lot, and this year we have great leading seniors who will do the same.”

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march 2015 | LZBearFacts.com

As the new season rolls around, boys’ volleyball already has expectations to fulfill right away and tough matches ahead.

“We expect to be the best this year and go the farthest,” Austin Keller, senior middle hitter, said. “It will definitely be a challenge, but our team is closer knit.

Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove are our biggest rivals, but we are evenly matched with them now compared to in the past. We have a group of seniors who have been together since freshmen year and have developed together.”

Along with the team’s expectations, the seniors on the team have their own responsibilities to fulfill.

“The seniors are close, but like any other team, you have to rebuild that cohesion during a match,” Paul Lee, senior setter, said. “We have figure out the way we play without players from last year. Our year is definitely the most motivated in terms of playing and going far. As for me personally, I want to play my best year because I am not sure if I will continue to play club volleyball in college.”

With a solid group of seniors, the team will have to work with incorporating the underclassmen.

“We have six seniors who have been playing since freshman year. Then there are three to four juniors and a couple sophomores,” Keller said. “We will have to help the underclassmen develop this year as well because we want the program to continue improving when we leave.”

Along with the challenges ahead, the team wants to avoid the amount of injuries they had last year.

“Last year we had a ton of injuries,” Lee said. “It was from the constant, fast, repetitive motions in the game. Players hurt their backs, hands, and wrists. Although the injuries weren’t that drastic, this year we want to do anything to have a healthier team.”

photos used with permission of: greg viche, girls’ lacrosse; christopher steibel, boys’ volleyball; brian hart, girls’ soccer; brittney pettinger, girls’ softball

boys’ volleyball

for sports coverage, follow @lz_scorecenter on twitter

boys’ tennis photo by VIP

The girls’ soccer team is trying to stay focused on team goals, even though certain habits or rituals other players do can drive even the most focused person crazy.

With the season kicking off against New Trier tonight, the team is focusing on starting the season on the right foot, according to Blair Coughenour, senior defender, but the cold temperatures of the early season cause some of the player’s pet peeves to flare up.

“The girls who pull their shorts way too high really bother me, and when people wear leggings under their shorts is something [the team] normally laughs about when we see it,” Nicole Rasiarmos, senior forward, said.

While some irritations come from how other players dress, others go farther than just the uniform.

“My biggest pet peeves are when girls do a really bad job at faking injuries, and wear the captain’s badge strapped on their arm to let everyone know they’re the captain,” Coughenour said.

Though other players habits can be distracting, the team does their best to move past those distractions and continue on towards their goals, according to Coughenour.

boys’ tennis

girls’ soccer

Even though the weather may be gloomy, the boys’ tennis team is expecting to return with a bright season this year.

With the number of returning and new players, Joaquin Ganoza, junior, is confident that the team will be strong. “[I believe] the team this year should be pretty solid with a lot of well-balanced players that will have good chemistry with each other,” Ganoza said.

Ganoza, who has been on varsity since his freshman year, has been practicing with LZHS tennis alumni and opposing schools’ players to stay in top shape and to get a sense of what the competition is going to be like this year. He has also done this in the past years as well.

“Being one of the few upperclassmen on the team [this year], I feel like it is my job now to help build the new incoming players so then when season comes around, they will have experience on how the tough the competition will be depending on their position in the team,” Ganoza said. “Being a new leader is a big responsibility. My job is not only to focus on myself and how I perform, but also to help others succeed and become future leaders.”

The softball team lost more than half of last year’s starting players, who all were seniors.

“This year it is especially important to build the younger girls’ skills and to come together as a team since we lost so many [seniors],” Brittney Pettinger, senior softball player, said. “There’s only five returning.”

The team faces a crazy situation this season with so many new players, so Pettinger thinks it is imperative the team makes an effort to work together.

“Since we lost so many, we will have to work harder to win. I’m not saying we didn’t work hard last year, but we will have to work more as a team since we don’t have a team that played together for so long,” Pettinger said. “The team last year played together almost all four years of high school.”

girls’ softball

@LZBearFacts | march 2015

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we love your tweets 2/25 Bear Facts @LZBearFacts Tweet us a pic of your biggest pet peeve at school!

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3/4 Ashley @AshleyHP71896 how people park in the senior lot in the winter

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