Lakota East Spark 2011-2012 Issue 3

Spark Lakota East High School January 3, 2012 $4 Newsstand lakotaeastspark.com

U.S. TROOPS STATIONED IN IRAQ ARE

COMING HOME

Spark

Volume XX Issue CXXXX

Contents

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Dillon Mitchell and Christina Wilkerson debate the implications of tracking children via GPS services.

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SPECIAL REPORT: THE MILITARY

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LUNCHTIME REDUX

In light of Ohio Senate Bill 210, which limits access to unhealthy foods and beverages in school by setting nutrition guidelines, the Lakota Local School district is calling for change.

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KNOW THEATRE OF CINCINNATI

Know Theatre of Cincinnati, located in Over-the-Rhine strives to provide audiences with performances they will not be able see anywhere else.

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NEW RECRUITS

Among several other Lakota students, East seniors Andrew Ferris, Ethan Slageter and Elliot Ludlow have made the choice to join the Marines.

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BATTLE OF THE CLOUDS

Google Music is the most recent cloud service to be launched, joining Apple’s “iCloud” and Amazon’s “Cloud Drive” among the top cloud services available.

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SPRINGING FORWARD

After devastating injuries as an elite gymnast, Abby McConnell has gotten back on her feet and has sprung to new heights as an elite diver for East and UC teams.

Spark Lakota East High School December 20, 2011 $4 Newsstand lakotaeastspark.com

ON THE COVER: photo sierra whitlock | design devin casey Dressed in his fatigues, a soldier returns home after serving in Iraq as a result of President Obama’s order, effective Dec. 31.

U.S. TROOPS STATIONED IN IRAQ ARE

COMING HOME

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 3

opinion | letter to the editor

Dear Spark, For the past four years I have been a subscriber and I can honestly say that I am mesmerized with all of the topics that Spark has covered so far this year! Even though it has only been two issues, I am really impressed with all of the stories both in print and online. Because I am unable to see the issues immediately when they come out, it has been really convenient for me to be able to look at all of the stories that have been posted online.

This has allowed me to keep up to date with what has been going on in the school district.

I thought that the second issue of Spark did an excellent job covering the Occupy Cincinnati movements in addition to the ramifications that will ensue because of the levy failure. My favorite story from this past issue was “Returning Revitalized” by Jasmine Tuazon. I remember hearing about Mr. Fornash’s accident after it happened and it was great to see how he has been able to recover.

I thought the graphic that accompanied the story was very informative and aesthetically pleasing. I felt that all of the sections of the paper really stepped up the amount of graphics they included. These additional graphics really help boost the paper’s overall appearance in addition to providing solid information.

Overall, Spark never ceases to amaze me when I receive the new issue, and I cannot wait to see what else they are able to produce this year.

–Jill Boutas, Cincinnati Dear Spark, I just wanted to congratulate the Spark editorial board and the rest of the staff on the awards they won this year at the NSPA National Convention in Minneapolis. Winning

Spark

LEVY FAILS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT TIME

Lakota East High School $4 Newsstand lakotaeastspark.com

DEFENDING

THE MAJORITY THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT SWEEPS THE NATION AND HITS THE STREETS OF CINCINNATI

SPARK INTERVIEWS MEMBERS OF THE MAINE

THUNDERHAWKS TAKING OVER GMC

EAST CUSTODIAN MAKES MIRACULOUS RECOVERY

Best of Show in both the Newsmagazine and Newsmagazine Special Edition is a fantastic accomplishment! I know the competition grows each and every year due to the fact that other papers look to the Spark for inspiration and you guys are were able to raise the bar even higher this year.

The fact that Spark was also able to take home fourth place in the website category is phenomenal since this is the first year that website has been up and running. Keep up the fantastic work!

–Sarah Wilkinson, Liberty Township, OH Dear Spark, On April 15, 2011, the words of a treacherous youth appeared in the sixth issue of the Spark publication. The youth had written a letter to the editor, a letter detailing his remarkably poor attendance record and

Website Commentary www.lakotaeastspark.com

Great article! I love that my fellow citizens of Cincinnati are finally standing up for what they believe in! This is a truly inspirational representation what America is all about!

—Catherine Kursk, Cincinnati

TO SAY?

4 | Spark | January 3, 2012

WEB RESULTS: Do you support the Occupy Movement in America?

YES

40% NO

60%

Dear Spark, As 2011 comes to a close, I look back at the trials and tribulations the failed levy has caused the Lakota Local School District. It is so easy to slip into the habit of dwelling on the disappointment we faced. However, this discontent provides us as members of this district with a challenge to maintain a positive attitude and to continue valiant efforts toward maintaining our excellent schools. Yes, things are going to change, but we can make the best of this less-than-ideal situation. As a student, I want to personally thank all of those who have contributed their time and effort to the levy and to let you know that all you have done is greatly appreciated. The work you do for Lakota means the world to us and we look forward to standing beside you next election.

–Taylor McClain, East junior

GOT SOMETHING

Kaitlin Lange’s “Occupy Cincinnati” I do not agree with the protestors occupying Wall Street. While I support all of their rights to protest and speak out against oppression, I do not believe that their intent is the center of our problems. Good article, though.

—Nick Bickel, Cincinnati

chiding his dishonorable actions. Disgraced, the selfish fool vowed to change; he declared that he would channel his inner Malcolm X and reform himself for the better by having perfect attendance from that point forward.

His peers skeptically ridiculed his outlandish goal, promptly dismissing his abilities to pull the proverbial 180, stating that the rotational inertia of his situation was simply far too high. I have been keeping track of this youth since his cathartic shift in ideology and behavior. He has had perfect attendance. He’s doing well. I’m certain that he will have quite the bright future; greener pastures lie in his destiny. In the jovial spirit of the fast-approaching holidays, I would like to personally thank this youth’s teachers, family and comrades for helping him turn things around in his life through their acts of torsion.

–Dwight Hu, East senior

The Spark, which provides an open forum for students, faculty, subscribers and community members, encourages letters to the editor. Letters can be sent to the publication at the address on the following page, dropped off in the journalism classroom (room 118), comments on our online stories and tweets to our account listed below.

Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar, invasion or privacy, obscenity or potential libel. The opinion editors will contact letter writers for conformation. twitter | @LakotaEastSpark website | www.lakotaeastspark.com email | lehs.spark@gmail.com

opinion | letter from the editor

from the editor

DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM Just as we need doctors to heal the sick and lawyers to defend the accused, our country needs soldiers to defend our freedom. But even though Americans typically support their troops, sometimes the need for young soldiers gets lost around the college buzz.

The importance of a college education is stressed by parents, teachers and schools from an early age. Students are taught that the reason they work so hard in grades K-12 is to prepare them for higher education. They are taught that the path to success, the way of the “American Dream,” is a college degree. All their lives, kids are encouraged to chase after

Spark

c/o Lakota East High School 6840 Lakota Lane Liberty Township, OH 45044 Phone: (513) 759-8615 ext 15118 Email: lehs.spark@gmail.com

Devin Casey, Rachel Podnar, Christian Roehm Editor-in-Chief Victoria Reick-Mitrisin Broadcast Manager Devon Lakes Business Manager Shivang Patel Graphics Manager Megan Fogel, Sean Lewis Managing Editor Sierra Whitlock Photo Manager Tommy Behan Webmaster Zach Armstrong, Christina Wilkerson Copy Director Rachel Knock Public Relations Director Zach Fulciniti, Dillon Mitchell Entertainment Editor Michael Tedesco, Jasmine Tuazon Feature Editor Tabbatha Hall, Bridget Lally Lifestyle Editor Alex Griffin, Kaitlin Lange, Mohinee Mukherjee News Editor

this degree by doing well in school so that they can become lawyers, scientists and doctors. But at least four percent of East’s seniors have a different American Dream in mind. A dream to serve their country in the military.

Garrett Hawkins is an East sophomore who has already started to train for the U.S. Coast Guard. He has been interested in the military since he was three, although he has switched his branch of interest several times.

Something about the military has always attracted him in a way that a typical college degree cannot. He lives to serve, and he serves to live. Being a rescue swimmer and saving lives is a dream job for Garrett. He cannot see himself doing anything else.

East senior Andrew Ferris feel the same way about going into the Marines.

He was inspired by his cousin to go into the Marines and has already gone through interviews and physical strength tests.

East alumn Christian Decker is currently enlisted as a Private First Class in the Marines. He decided to challenge himself physically as a Marine rather because he did not feel ready for the the academic challenges in college. People like these strive to be part of the Few and the Proud.

This dream is heard by many parents, and although the parents of these East students were all proud, many had mixed feelings about their son’s decision to serve. The possible dangers that come with the military are hard to ignore.

Going into the armed forces might mean going into war. It might mean a soldier is unable to talk with his or her

Dean Hume Adviser Raika Casey, Emily Chao Opinion Editor Nugeen Aftab, Rachel King, Sophia Li, Drew Souders Package Editor Jeff Back, Hannah Lee, Natasha Rausch Sports Editor Lauren Barker, Lisa Cai, Ian Castro, Irfan Ibrahim, Arvind Madhavan Art Editor Ellen Fleetwood, Kali Martin Photo Editor Amber Jagpal, Maddie McGarvey Business Associate Jill Stelletell Public Relations Associate Cheyenne Blanchette, Samantha Hauck Survey Coordinator Hannah Berling Multimedia Associate Brett Colburn, John Grasty, Ian Smith Multimedia Editor

family for an extended period of time. It might mean injury. It might even mean death. Going off to college might mean studying. It might mean partying on the weekends. Parents have a hard enough time sending their kids off to college to further their education.

Going into the military means risking their lives, and that will always be hard to accept. College is nothing in comparison. But our country needs the next generation of soldiers to step up and accept the call of duty. Society sets a college degree at such a high standard, but sometimes we forget the reason why we have the freedom to go to college in the first place.

Happy Christmas. The war is over.

Well, one of them. After nearly nine years and 4,500 lost American lives, Operation Iraqi Freedom has finally come to an end and troops serving overseas in Iraq were able to come home in time to celebrate the holidays with their families.

In this issue, Spark takes a look at the war and connects it to East and its community. East students like Hawkins and Ferris share how they became interested in the military. Spark also looks into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that some soldiers may be forced to deal with when they come home from Iraq. Our coverage concludes with the tragic story of two two fathers who lost their sons in the war We need to make sure that we remember to support these men and women who are willing to put their lives at risk to protect our country.

Because it’s their dream to keep our “American Dream” alive.

Spark is a publication that is produced at Lakota East High School. The magazine is completely studentgenerated through the efforts of the Journalism I, Journalism II and Journalism III-Honors classes. The publication material may not always reflect the views of the Lakota Local School District or the publication as a whole. Content is controlled and edited by the staff editors. The staff will publish only legally protected speech adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasions of privacy.

The publication is produced every five weeks on recycled paper. Production costs are covered through advertising, subscription sales and fundraisers.

Advertising information is available by writing to the address below or at sparkbusiness@gmail.com.

The purpose of Spark is to inform the students, faculty, subscribers and community members of news, information and issues that may influence or affect them.

Spark accepts news releases, guest columns and sports information releases.

Spark, a Gold Crown, Pacemaker and Gallup winner, is a member of the Ohio Scholastic Media Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Journalism Education Association, Quill and Scroll and a Hall-of-Fame member of the National Scholastic Press Association.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 5

news | stay connected

Stay Connected www.lakotaeastspark.com @LakotaEastSpark Lakota East Spark

The Taft Museum of Art is located in downtown Cincinnati.

East students pose on “Frat Boy Friday.”

n School News

n School News

Through the Taft Museum of Art’s Artists Reaching Classrooms program, East Advanced Placement Art students drove into the heart of Over-the-Rhine on a field trip.

East students participated in a social media-induced spirit day called “Frat Boy Friday,” in which students wore collared shirts and Sperry shoes, and carried around red Solo cups.

story lisa cai | photo daham marapane

story elaine laux | photo used with permission from larissa runge

Beauty Over-the-Rhine

n District News

Lakota’s New Voice of Hope

story elaine laux | photo ellen fleetwood

Newly-elected Lakota Board of Education member Julie Shaffer will start her four-year term in Jan. 2012.

6 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Revenge of the Frat Boys

Aspiring to be the new voice of hope for Lakota’s financial woes, recently elected school board member Julie Shaffer is working to help soothe the wondering minds of numerous parents after the third consecutive failed levy. The West Chester resident and mother of three won the seat on Nov. 4, the same day the Lakota Local School levy failed by a seven percent margin. A $9 million spending cut now faces the district, but Shaffer hopes her financial background will help provide insight to Lakota.

Shaffer brings a different perspective to the school board. A graduate from Colby College in Maine with a degree in economics, she has the financial understanding to reign in the spending of Lakota. Shaffer had a 22-year career in employee benefits and finance, which has led her to believe she has the skills to be an effective board member.

“I think I can bring value to the board,” Shaffer said. “My thought processes are very logical and sequential because of the financial piece in my life.”

Shaffer started her involvement with Lakota two years after she moved to West Chester by joining the District Parent Council. She was then invited by former Lakota superintendent Mike Taylor to Columbus for a forum on school funding.

“I believe I was invited to help show the different perspectives of parent involvement,” Shaffer said.

story continued on lakotaeastspark.com

Improving Hawk Culture After failing its Annual Yearly Progress standards, East was given goals that have to be met in literacy, math, modern learning and culture. story ian smith | photo ellen fleetwood

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s East students filed into the building after Thanksgiving break, they noticed a change in the halls and classrooms.

New signs reminding students of behavioral expectations were hung throughout the building.

The plans for creating the signs began over a year ago as part of the Ohio Improvement Process, an Ohio Department of Education (ODE) mandate. After failing its Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) Standards on the state report card, East was given four goals to meet: literacy, numeracy (math), culture, and 21st Century or STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). The purpose of the signs is to fulfill the cultural goal by improving behavior in the school, according to East assistant principal Stacy Millburg, who is one of the team members in charge of implementing the signs.

“I think [East Culture] is very positive now,” Millburg said. “I just think having reminders will help [students] keep it in mind.”

With budgetary concerns in the

community, the committee in charge of the cultural goal was as frugal as possible. The large posters were printed at Lakota Central Office to keep costs down. Paid for by East principal Dr. Keith Kline’s building budget, 22 frames were installed at the main campus and eight at the freshmen campus. The committee choose to print the classroom signs for each classroom on laminated printer paper to minimize costs.

Teachers are hopeful that the signs will improve students’ behavior.

“I think the posters are a good reminder for students who may not have strongly developed social skills.” East teacher Crissy Lauterbach said. “Sometimes maturity prevents them from behaving appropriately in public. In high school, we should all know how to properly behave in a hallway or a bathroom, but we have a growing need for these reminders at East.”

Not everyone is convinced that these signs are beneficial. Many East students, including East junior Taylor Marguerat spoke out

Security Supervises Student Shortcut story ameera khalid | photo ellen fleetwood

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private security firm, hired by C.B. Richard Ellis, which is the company that manages Liberty Falls, which is right in front of East, began work blocking off parking lots belonging to local businesses, on Monday, Dec. 3.

After busing was cut at the start of the second semester last year, traffic in the Liberty Falls area increased significantly during school pick-up and drop-off hours. In order to avoid the long lines, students, parents, and even a

few Lakota East staff members began driving through neighboring businesses’ parking lots and even leaving their car in the lots.

Although a few cars going through the parking lot does not cause a problem, some offenders were speeding and driving irresponsibly, endangering the businesses’ clients, including restaurant patrons and hospital patients.

After receiving several complaints from the local businesses, East Principal Dr. Keith

Signs were hung up throughout East while students were on Thanksgiving Break

against the signs.

“I think its ridiculous because the rules are common sense. It is a waste of money,” she said.

Regardless of the way people view the signs, the signs will remain in the hallway as a reminder to students on how they should behave. n

C.B. Richard Ellis’s hired security guard blocks the entrance to Liberty Falls.

Kline and Lakota Reserve Officer Deputy Doug Hale began sending out information and warnings about traffic regulations, via the T-Hawk news, the morning and afternoon announcements and e-mails to the staff.” n

NEXT ISSUE: Full story on the blockade of Liberty Falls by Grub Ellis Management lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 7

news | food

In light of Ohio Senate Bill 210, which limits access to unhealthy foods and beverages in school by setting guidelines, the Lakota Local School district is calling for a

Lunchtime

Redux

East senior Serwah Ofori-Attah buys her lunch on Dec. 16.

story alex griffin | photo ellen fleetwood | infographic dan turner and irfan ibrahim

This issue is the first piece in Spark’s series of nutrition-based coverage.

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8 | Spark | January 3, 2012

calorie count.

Although SB210 set this mandate for the 2012-13 school year, the milk vender for Lakota, Dean Dairy, chose to switch the milked served one year earlier.

Lakota saw a 21 percent decrease in milk sales district wide.

While the transition to healthier milk has met much disagreement and a significant decrease in sales, Lakota does not have the option to return to previous products. Dean

Breaking Apart the Milk and Cookies Senate Bill 210 Repealed

Standard cookies were in direct violation of SB 210.

They had a higher dose of sodium and sugar.

The regulations for SB 10 on drinks in the vending machines are exempt from juices, milks, water or lower calorie options. Only 50 percent of the decision made on drinks is based on milk and juice.

Senate Bill 210 Passes

The wheat cookies have less sodium and less sugar. They stopped using the cookies after many complaints from students. They have less than 200 calories, two grams of fiber and five grams of protein.

Sparkade

informationprovided by chris burkhardt

hen the members of the Child Nutrition staff for the Lakota Local School District sit down every summer to formulate various menus for the upcoming school year, they begin the drawing board with chicken nugget Tuesday. ‘‘Creating a menu for the students starts with the tradition in Lakota,” director of the Child Nutrition staff Chris Burkhardt said.

“To be honest, that is where we start planning with chicken nuggets. We know every Tuesday is going to be chicken nugget day, and then we kind of just go from there with everything else we do in Lakota.”

Breaking away from the tradition of serving chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers, Lakota is attempting to increase healthy menu options because of the mandates from Ohio Senate Bill 210 (SB210).

The goal of the bill, which was instated on July 1, 2011, is to limit access to unhealthy foods and beverages in school by setting nutrition guidelines.

The first areas the Child Nutrition staff looked to changed were the menu items in direct violation of SB210, such as the pizza, milk and cookies.

Burkhardt says the sodium levels in pizza served in Lakota were high for the guidelines in SB210, which states that a product may have no more than 230 mg of sodium.

“We have a lot of products that our venders are trying to reduce in sodium, like

pizza,” Burkhardt said. “But when we try that pizza, it may be met with some opposition from students because it has lower sodium and it doesn’t have the same taste. We’re constantly going back and forth looking at different products.”

Another change Lakota students have noticed in the lunch room is the elimination of certain types of milk, such as the AJ Trauth Milk. Lakota has begun to serve only fat-free milk in smaller cartoons due to mandates on

Dairy no longer produces 1% milk.The Child Her input on ways to make kids across Nutrition staff attempted using Meyer’s 1% America healthier by offering kids more access milk at a couple different Lakota schools and to healthy, balanced and nutritious school saw a further decline in sales. lunches led to the creation of the Healthy “What this shows me is that students Hunger-Free Kids Act. liked the original [Dean Dairy] 1% milk. It “By increasing the number of students is going to stay at low-fat milk unless they eligible to enroll in school meal programs overturn these laws, which is always possible,” and improving the quality of food served, Burkhardt said. “I would rather transition back this [Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act] to the old 1% milk because now kids aren’t simultaneously tackles both hunger and even drinking any milk. I’d like to see them the obesity levels currently affecting too drinking fattier milk versus none at all.” many communities across this nation,” U.S. The change that has created the most Secretary of Health and Human Services uproar is the introduction of whole-wheat Kathleen Sebelius said in a press release. cookies, containing less sodium and less sugar Due to stricter mandates on nutrition than the previous cookies. because of this act and SB210, changing the According to SB210 and the federal cafeteria cookies to a healthier and wholeHealthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, the regular grain option may only be the start for Lakota. cookies baked for the students throughout This means that the Child Nutrition staff Lakota did not meet the nutrition guidelines. must constantly formulate products for the “I enjoy working with the kids, and I students that are healthy and tasteful. When understand their frustration. But as far as the sitting down to design menus for the levels of whole-grain cookies, it didn’t make our job any schools, the staff considers the costs of food harder. They were just packaged and shipped to the district, because they receive no money to us,” East cafeteria worker Kris Debevec from the Lakota general fund in district and said. “I understand the changes and why they are self-operating. did it—so we met When mandates the guidelines.” on healthier cookies of 284 East According to change their plans, students disagree Burkhardt, the Child the Child Nutrition with East’s changes staff sees increased Nutrition staff made PERCENT to school lunches an official decision costs and must redo to transfer back to their budget and the original cookies because of complaints pricing for different products. received throughout the entire district, If an act, such as the Healthy Hunger Kids stemming students, parents and even staff.

Act, is implemented in the schools mandating While many students and staff disliked more whole-grain products, the process can the change, some students recognized the be very costly. importance of healthy options in the schools.

“What may be a simple dinner roll in the “I liked the whole wheat cookies because past, costing us about five cents, may now they just filled you up and actually tasted like be about eight cents. That three cents is what cookies should instead of the junk they significant when you are serving 1.4 million were,” East junior Brandon Reed said. “I’m a meals,” Burkhardt said. “So what happens healthy person, but didn’t notice any changes there trickles down into the first question in the cafeteria, food-wise, until they changed which is ‘What do we need to cut now?’ and the cookies. I would like more things in school how we can be more efficient to make up for lunches to be healthier.” this and what things do we bump up in prices Kelly Burrows, who packs her lunch to offset the costs” instead of buying food in the cafeteria, agrees It is a big puzzle to piece together to make with Reed that the schools should offer more sure the nutrition staff is not increasing the health options to the students. cost to the students, but with these mandates “It’s more convienent to pack a lunch than on food and drink products, Burkhardt stated having to wait in line to buy food. I like to be it is hard not to increase prices through other able to go into the cafeteria, sit down and start food items to offset the cost. eating with my friends right away,” East junior “The policies change a little bit because and track runner Kelly Burrows said. “If I did they have to get the feedback from the actual buy, I probably wouldn’t make the healthiest child nutrition officers in the school district choice possible. I’d be getting burgers and to see what will work and what will not work. fries rather than the sandwiches that I bring A lot of times what sounds ideal on paper is from home. And with running, its better for hard to implement in the schools,” Board Vice me to make sure I eat healthy.”

President and overseer of the Lakota Wellness Cafeteria workers and students joke about and Nutrition Policy Committee Ben Dibble the changes suggested by First Lady Michelle said. “A great example of this the whole wheat Obama and her platform to decrease obesity cookies, that in theory was a good idea, but in America. people didn’t seem to like them.” n

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Across the Country: Hopkins Public School story rachel podnar

Some districts, like Hopkins Public Schools in Minneapolis are adhering to a higher standard for cafeteria food.

Hopkins Public School’s Nutrition and Wellness coordinator Laura Metzger said Hopkins also serves all whole grains and makes between 65 to 70 percent of the cafeteria food, including pizza, pasta and burritos from scratch.

The school has also made a commitment to giving students the experience of eating locally grown plants and meat from local farms. According to Metzger, “local” is anywhere within 200 miles of the school.

Hopkins’ students enjoy fresh wild rice, grass-fed hotdogs and chicken drumsticks right off the bone.

Hopkins High School senior Ryan Levi said the healthy options are not always wellreceived by the students.

“I don’t think the food is awful but it’s not great and it has certainly lost flavor as they have tried to go healthier,” he said.

Levi said he does not enjoy the whole-wheat chocolate chip cookies and he misses french fries and fried chicken, which used to be offered during his sophomore year.

Metzger said that sometimes it takes a bit of coaching for the students to accept the district’s food.

“High school students are more set in their ways but we don’t lose hope that we can change their taste buds,” Metzger said, regarding how her students react to the unique cuisine. “I know it takes about seven to 14 days for their taste buds to change. Everyone a little bit of a positive demeanor when it comes to food.”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 9

news | principal exchange

East Meets Far East East welcomes Chinese principal Yuan Ye as part of an intiave to bring global understanding and learning opportunities to students and educators of both nations. story mohinee mukherjee | photo ellen fleetwood | infographics lisa cai, shivang patel

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Yuan and his translator, Jennifer White address East staff and students.

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Kao” which requires a deep understanding of a variety of topics, including memorizing formulas and dates from 12 years of schooling. The eight-hour test, spread over two days, determines where students will go to college and, according to Yuan, the exam is one of the reasons why the competition is so fierce in China.

Yuan also described that students in China are “envious” of American students because Chinese students cannot pursue their individual interests. Jingmen No. 1 High School focuses mainly on fine art and academics and not on sports and

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The school year is from September to Chinese New Year. School year resumes in late February or early March, and lasts until July.

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Jingmen No. 1 Student High School Schedule

“We learn more about being a global school so our kids can face global experiences,” Kline said. “Down the road, we hope to send some staff and students to China.”

Yuan conveyed the same thoughts when he addressed the faculty and students for the first time.

“I come to Lakota East for friendship,” Yuan said to the attendees. “I hope one day you will come to China and my school.”

Throughout the ceremony, Yuan personally met the other guests. He described the educational system in China during his talk with the students, which included the National Honor Society president and vice president, Mu Alpha Theta president and president-elect, the Spark’s editors-in-chief and the top 10 students of the senior class.

“The learning environment is difficult.”

Yuan said to the students, as translated

by Catherine. “Kids are very focused on education.”

Yuan went on to say that for Chinese students, formal education ends in 9th grade.

From there, students can pursue a vocational school, a job or further education. In order to enter into the high school, students must pass an examination in 9th grade.

A school day lasts from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. and half the students, whose families live far from the school, live on campus, as does Yuan and his family.

The school has approximately 3,000 students and six assistant principals. For all Chinese students wishing to go to college, they must pass an exam called the “Gao

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azz and Christmas music from the Eastside Company filled the room as part of the East faculty and student body entered the East media center. Fruit, scones and coffee were served to the guests while they mingled amongst themselves and waited for the welcome ceremony to begin. All were awaiting the arrival of the guest of honor.

As part of the Chinese Exchange Initiative program, Jingmen No. 1 High School principal Yuan Ye, from Hubei, China, visited East for a week in November to observe the educational practices in an American school district. According to the Chinese Exchange Initiative’s website, the purpose of the program is “to build and support educational exchange programs between schools in the United States and schools in China at the pre-college level.” This is accomplished through their flagship program, the U.S.China Administrator Shadowing Project. As a participant in the program, Yuan stayed with East principal Dr. Keith Kline between his arrival on Nov. 11 and his departure on Nov. 17.

On the Monday following his arrival in Cincinnati, Yuan was greeted by a selection of students. Among the guests at the ceremony were Ohio Senator Bill Coley (R), Liberty Twp. Trustee Christine Matacic and her daughter Catherine, a class of 2000 East and Ohio State University graduate who studied abroad in Taiwan and China. During Kline’s opening speech welcoming Yuan, he expressed the challenges students in the U.S. face in the world and hopes that Yuan’s visit will provide more information and positive experiences.

Classes begin

10-minute exercise break in between classes

extracurricular activities. While East students are required follow the dress code, students who attend Jingmen No. 1 High School must wear uniforms. “[The Chinese educational system] has to loosen up a little bit and let kids be kids.” Yuan said.

“I hope the system will change in China and become more American.”

Yuan’s explanation brought an understanding of different educational models to both staff and students.

Mu Alpha Theta president and senior class valedictorian Shachi Shah said she was intrigued to learn about the way school runs differently in China.

“I thought it was an interesting experience,” Shah said. “It shows that we’re taking more steps toward globalization and connecting with other cultures.”

During one of his visits at East, Yuan conducted a traditional Chinese classroom lesson for a select number of students. When Yuan walked into the class, the students were expected to rise from their seats, say “Good morning” and wait for him to let them sit.

Then, the lesson in Chinese began. The students were taught phrases in Mandarin such as “hello,” “thank you” and “I am American.”

Yuan taught the class the phrases by having the students repeat them multiple times to him and practice conversing in Mandarin with each other. Students who volunteered to teach the phrases to the entire class were given the prize of a Chinese wristband. Students, like Shah, found the session to be a unique learning experience.

“Their teaching style is different than what we’re used to in the classroom,” Shah said.

“There was a very high level of respect for the

Simple Phrases in Mandarin:

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information provided by yuan ye

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what he was talking about.”

Davis found the visit from Yuan to be educational and learned about the similarities between the two educational models.

“It definitely gave me chance to think about how we could do some things but at the end of the day, it also opened my eyes to say that we’re not comparing apples to apples,” Davis said. “The two models of education are not the same because [in the United States] we are educating all students. I think that’s the beauty of a public education in the United States—any child can be educated.”

Kline, Davis and Yuan are interested in exchanging educators and students between East and Jingmen No. 1 High School. In the meantime, Kline will go to China this upcoming April to visit Yuan’s high school and see their methodologies of teaching.

“I’ve learned a little bit about the culture and the surrounding areas close to where Mr. Yuan lives in China,” Kline said. “When I go over, I will have an opportunity to visit classrooms much like Mr. Yuan did here. I’ll have a much better handle of what works well and what doesn’t. At that point we can bring some things back to talk about.” 

9

11

teacher. It seems that the students in China have a stronger work ethic and higher level of obedience based on the way class was taught.”

When he was not observing classrooms at the main and freshman campuses, Yuan visited the Lakota East Craft Show, a basketball practice, a play rehearsal and a jazz concert.

Yuan also made a trip to Miami University to observe classrooms, William Mason High School to see a classroom teaching Mandarin, the University of Cincinnati (UC) vs. West Virginia game at Paul Brown Stadium, the UC Economic Center for a “Cincinnati History, Geography and Economy tour,” the Monroe Outlet Mall and Kenwood Towne Center.

“Mr. Yuan bought two iPhone 4S’ and two iPads and a lot of Coach stuff. We made the Coach store really happy,” Kline said.

Reflecting on the visit from Yuan, both Kline and East Freshman campus associate principal Suzanna Davis did not have any communication problems despite the difference in languages.

“He actually spoke English well and knows a lot more English than I know Chinese,” Kline said. “Every once in a while, we had to put a word into translator so we would know

news | levy

Levy Defeat Leaves District

PICKING UP THE PIECES

East students on both sides of the issue share their post-levy tribulations while the Board of Education weighs its options.

Sophomore Jennifer Llyn Siedl shares her experience as a student against the levy.

story rachel podnar photo ellen fleetwood infographic emily chao and luke kilps

S

he sits in her United States history class on Nov. 9—the day after the levy failure—listening to her classmates lament the loss, making snide remarks about the 53 percent of voters that checked “No” on their ballot for Issue 5—the Lakota Local Schools operating levy. Like her classmates, she fears that her education will be negatively impacted but she also has silent gratitude that her father will still be able to afford his taxes, allowing her to stay in the district.

East sophomore Jennifer Llyn Seidl is a student who does not support the levy. Not because she hates education or longs to see her district fail but because she understands her single-parent family’s money concerns.

“I would be all for the levy if my family had two stable incomes, but that’s not how it is—that is not a reality,” Seidl said. “A lot of families are like that. They are working two jobs, and their hours are getting cut. Money is really tight now, especially in the recession.”

As a student against the levy, Seidl remembers defending her opinion in history class the day after the failure, feeling like her peers do not understand others’ situations.

Siedl said that she got particularly upset when a “privileged” classmate commented that levy

taxes are ultimately paid for by parents, which in her opinion does not affect the students.

Seidl strongly disagreed with her classmate’s viewpoint.

“She said something about the levy [that taxes are paid with] your parents money, it is not yours, which ticked me off,” she said. “It irritates me when people have this outlook of West Chester. People do not know what their parents are going through. It’s different when you grow up in a stable household and you have white picket fence family, and you don’t worry so much about money.”

The Nov. 8 levy failure stirred various reactions throughout the district. Now Lakota is faced with the task of meeting the challenge set by the levy failure.

According to Lakota treasurer Jenni Logan, in order to eliminate the spending deficit, Lakota must enter the 2012-13 school year with nine million dollars in cuts already made, in addition to significant cuts every year beyond that, if there is no new revenue.

“It could be something less than nine million but less than nine means additional revenue,” Logan said. “Nine million is ugly.”

Ugly as it may be, cuts are necessary for the district. At this point, a concrete plan of

Levy Facts Levy failed by 7 percent margin: 53 percent no to 47 percent yes

Amount to be cut: 9 million by the 2012-13 school year

Planned cuts as of Next elections: now: none Jun. 12 and Nov. 6 12 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Surveys

of 284 East students surveyed

64 percent

supported the levy

47 percent

do not think education is a priority to the community

13 percent

expected the levy to pass

action from the Lakota Board of Education has not been outlined. At the Nov. 21 special session Board meeting, the Board of Education and Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia decided not to move forward with planning concrete cuts until a dialogue with the community has been established.

According to Board vice president Ben Dibble, there is no set plan for what that community engagement will look like.

Its format and dates will most likely be determined in the upcoming calendar year.

“It is a dialogue about options,” Mantia said. “[We are] reflecting on three failures, finding out where we go from here to ask our community about what kind of school district it wants to have. This is a laborious and very delicate task.”

There are two chances in the 2012 calendar year for a Lakota levy to go back on the ballot.

The Board chose not to go on the ballot in March, but according to Logan, the Jun. 12 and Nov. 6 ballots are still on the list of options. To place an issue on the June ballot, the Board will have to pass a resolution by Mar. 14.

Logan said that even if the district passes a levy in 2012, the financial problems will be far from over because Lakota will not be able to collect on that levy until 2013—when the tax revenue is collected in January.

If a levy passes in 2012 and Lakota collects revenue in 2013, Lakota will collect only six million dollars, versus the $18 million it would have collected in fiscal year 2013 had the Nov. levy passed.

The impending nature of nine million dollars in cuts leaves East sophomore Stephen Rickie with apprehensive thoughts in regards to Lakota’s future.

Other students may only be concerned about one program that relates directly to them, Rickie, a varsity soccer player and

member of the track team, is concerned not mainly about his rising athletic fees, but rather for the state of the Lakota district as a whole.

“I have lived to go to this school,” Rickie said. “The district means a lot to me. There are so many things that Lakota has that other schools don’t offer. If the levies do not pass we don’t get the funding to provide for activities, like we have particularly good art students and music people [that need those activities.] When a levy does not pass it makes us less special.”

Rickie worries about the education that his neighbor, who he describes as a little brother to him, will receive from Lakota. “[The cuts] won’t affect me as much as they will other people,” he said. “I live next door to a kid in seventh grade and he’s like my younger brother. I am really worried [for the education he will get.] I get [out] when the levy is not passing and [the district] is in a downward spiral and now he’s getting that.”

He understands cases like Siedl’s, where a family would vote against the levy for economic reasons, but he does not believe that is why most people voted “no.”

To Rickie, spending money on taxes to fund schools is an investment in the future of the community and an investment in the future of the youth in the community.

“There are cases where there are people that are not making enough money to pay [taxes], I understand their cause and their reasoning,” Rickie said. “But other people just say ‘Oh, I don’t want to pay taxes.’ I would want to understand their reason for not voting for it. It is not even a significant amount for most people. Why wouldn’t [they] want to pay just a little bit more to give kids a better education? It does not make sense to me.”

Like Rickie’s understanding of situations like Siedl’s, Siedl shares Rickie’s concerns about the future of education in Lakota.

She planned to take mental health this school year because she plans to be a psychiatrist someday, but the class was cut.

Next year, Siedl plans to take Advanced Placement (AP) European History and hopes that AP classes are not cut, but recognizes that if the money does not exist to pay for them, they cannot be offered.

“We want to take these classes but if there is no money for it, it cannot happen,” Siedl said. “I worry about [the quality of education]; my dad moved here because he wanted me to have a better education. As it’s deteriorating, you have that worry that things will not be the same as [they were] five years ago.”

High school students in Lakota like Siedl and Rickie will experience first-hand the uncertainty surrounding the levy failure as they register for classes in the new year.

Without concrete cuts in place, students will be registering and planning their futures around classes that may not even be offered in

the next school year.

East Principal Dr. Keith Kline said there is a chance students will face frustrations similar to last year, when teacher contract negotiations kept the number of class periods in limbo until the end of the school year.

“All of our lives are going to be wrapped up in December and January and February trying to figure out what an education is going to look like in Lakota, given what the taxpayers have to say about a levy,” he said.

Kline said that curently, he has no definitive answers to that question.

“We have to, at this point, with what the

community has said, go back and turn over every rock and see what makes sense, what will have the least negative impact on the students as possible and how we are going to proceed through what is going to be a challenging six months,” Kline said.

Rickie said it scares him to imagine what Lakota could look like in the future.

“If levies keep failing, we’re going to go to state minimums and I honestly don’t want to think about it,” he said. “It’s not going to be the Lakota it’s supposed to be. It’s just going to be another school. It’s not going to be as special as Lakota is right now.” n

Levy Results Dissected

70-79.99%

On Nov. 8, voters all over Butler County voted on Issue 5, the Lakota Local Schools operating levy, which asked for 4.75 mills. 35,510 votes later, the levy failed by an overall 53.54 to 46.46 percent margin. This map shows the precincts of Butler County, which are divided by street along with the general percentage of who voted yes and who voted no.

60-69.99% 50-59.99% W - West Chester Township L - Liberty Township M - Monroe Township

Libery Twp 3

Polling Place: Cherokee Elementary School Number of Registered Voters: 660 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 391 Percent voted No: 70.59

L3

L12

L25

M6

L26 L5

L11

L20

L18

L2

L21

L1

L9

L15

L17 L7

L13 W25

W29

W46

West Chester 20

L4

L16 L6

Polling Place: Van Gordon Elementary School Number of Registered Voters: 790 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 461 Percent voted Yes: 56.83

L23

L10

L24

W42

W43 W12

W4

W28 W27 W13 W33

W45

W47

W48

L14

W1

W35

W19

W39 W3

W21

W7 W40 W17

W30

W10

W37 W24

W11

W22 W38 W2

information provided by the butler county board of elections, lakotalevy2011.com

Polling Place: Hopewell Junior School Number of Registered Voters: 763 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 449 Percent voted No: 71.71

W15

W14 W8

W32 W9

W44

West Chester 24

Polling Place: Freedom Elementary School Number of Registered Voters: 857 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 449 Percent voted Yes: 58.13

West Chester Township 8 W41

W36

W34

L22

W18

W16

W20

W31 W26

L8

L19

Liberty Township 13

Polling Place: West Chester Twp. Hall Number of Registered Voters: 946 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 550 Percent voted Yes: 57.09

W5 W6 W23

West Chester 36

Polling Place: Freedom Elementary School Number of Registered Voters: 788 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 364 Percent voted Yes: 57.14

West Chester Township 6 Polling Place: Shawnee Early Childhood School Number of Registered Voters: 793 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 458 Percent voted No: 70.09

West Chester Township 11

Polling Place: Adena Elementary School Number of Registered Voters: 849 Number of Voters voting on Issue 5: 489 Percent voted No: 73.42

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 13

news | millburg

story kaitlin lange

photos ellen fleetwood

Millburg poses with her symbolic broom decoration.

A Nairobi tapestry that hangs in Millburg’s office.

Millburg explains a collage from her trip to Africa.

OUT OF AFRICA

New East Assistant Principal Dr. Stacy Millburg brings her unique experiences in Africa to her job helping students as she works to improve Alternative Placement Programing. story kaitlin lange | photos kali martin

D

r. Stacy Millburg is not afraid of much. She entrusted her life to a cord while bungee jumping, zip-lined in Hocking Hills, shaved her head for cancer awareness without fear of harassment and spent a summer roughing it in Africa. On top of that, she also deals with teenagers.

Hired in July as an East assistant principal for students whose last name starts with letters A through He, Millburg has used her unique past experiences and fresh insight to affect East. Originally, becoming an East administrator was not part of her work plans.

Millburg graduated with an undergraduate degree in biology from Arizona State and then went to work in a research center. Unfufilled, Millburg went back to school to get her masters degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Cincinnati (UC). After taking on a substitute teaching position at Winton Woods City Schools for one year, Millburg taught science in the Lockland School District at Arlington Heights, an alternative school, for four years. During this time she earned her doctorate from UC and

14 | Spark | January 3, 2012

then became a principal at Arlington Heights for three years before coming to East.

Although Millburg is no longer a principal, she does not consider being an assistant principal at East a downgrade.

“I was looking for a new opportunity,” Millburg said. “I wanted to learn about bigger schools. Where I came from, there were only about 80 students, so I was looking for a bigger school to learn how they function.”

Millburg wasted no time getting settled in at East and decorating her new office.

Tapestries from Nairobi hang on her office walls, thick photo albums lay on her desk and African elephant bookends hold her literature together on a shelf. Her love of Africa is apparent throughout the entire office prompting visitors to ask about her travels.

Millburg’s first visit to Africa in 2006 lasted two and a half weeks and focused on cheetah conservation. Because of Millburg’s positive experience during her first trip, she and her friend decided to save up to go back for the entire summer in 2009. Traveling to eight different countries, Millburg spent half the

trip sleeping in tents, driving on dirt roads, not showering and dreaming about eating Chipotle every night.

This trip explored two different faces of Africa. During the first leg of her trip, she visited populated and semi-upscale areas in Africa while staying in hotels every night.

Afterwards Millburg stayed in the wild and poorer areas of Africa. Millburg described the second part of the trip as a surprise to her.

“A lot of [the people with us] had done these types of trips before so they knew what to expect, where as my friend and I had no clue what we were getting ourselves into,” Millburg said. “It was a bit of a shock. We did not have the first clue how to set up a tent.”

Despite her original bewilderment about how to survive in the wild, Millburg still wants to go back. She enjoyed the trip and saw it as a positive experience.

“It is the most gorgeous place I have ever been in my entire life,” Millburg said. “The people are so kind and so generous and willing to do anything for you. If you asked for anything, the answer was ‘no problem’. Even

if they couldn’t do it, the answer would be ‘no problem.’”

Because of her love of Africa, she has dreams beyond making a difference at East.

She someday hopes to teach of Africa.

Millburg, however, is realistic that this would be a hard goal to achieve.

Although she may not be currently impacting the people in Africa, Millburg is influencing both students and staff at East.

Dr. Keith Kline is pleased with the fresh perspective Millburg brings.

“She has posted questions and asked about some of the things we have traditionally done,” Kline said. “[She] made us really reflect on ‘is that really the best we can do or is there other ways we can enhance what’s going on here at East?’”.

Terri Bennett, the Alternative Placement Program (APP) coordinator at both East and Lakota West, also interacts with Millburg.

“It is a tremendous positive that we have her in our district,” Bennett said.

Millburg has worked with Bennett on countless occasions due to Millburg’s main focus on intervention programs at East such as the APP and after school detentions.

She has revolutionized the intervention system, making changes across the board.

One adjustment she has implemented is the addition of APP behavior assignments during the students’ suspension days. These assignments help the students evaluate their behavior and make changes in the future.

Another change in intervention programs is the way administration handles students

Working With APP and ISS n Specializes in: Alternative Placement Program (APP) and In-school Suspension (ISS). n APP: 7:30-10:30 n ISS: 10:30- 2:39 n Before, if a student were to skip Friday school, they would receive two Friday schools. Now the student would receive APP and ISS instead of the second Friday school n Now APP, ISS for 1 day n Now APP includes behavioral assessment. n Now approximately six students skip Friday school each week, compared to 25 students last year

who skip Friday schools. In the past, if a student missed a detention, he or she would receive two Friday schools. Now, as a result of Millburg’s changes, students receive an APP in addition to their Friday school.

“I think it’s becoming effective because it forces students to take a look at their choices and try to come up with solutions to make better choices in the future,” Millburg said.

According to Millburg, the amount of students who skip Friday schools has decreased since the changes were implemented. With the old method, close to 25 students skipped each week. Now, around 6 people skip weekly.

Bennett considers Millburg unique in the way she handled the intervention program.

She is grateful for all Millburg has done for the program.

“She is the first administrator [I’ve met while working in APP] who has actually come up with some new ideas and solutions,” Bennett said.

Because of Millburg’s involvement with intervention programs and her job handing out detention slips, some students may not appreciate her. Still, she is credited for her superb treatment of students according to Stacea Mckeever, a five year science teacher at Millburg’s previous school. Along with having Millburg as a principal during her time as a teacher, Mckeever also worked with Millburg for one year when Millburg was a science teacher.

“She is mostly remembered for being fair and willing to listen to the students’ side of

things,” Mckeever said. “She is very up-beat.

She has a lot of energy.”

This energy is shown through Milburg’s interactions with members of East. Her laugh is never absent from a casual conversation.

She smiles easily and is always ready to tell people about her interesting life experiences.

Students such as East senior Melissa Gomez say only postive things to say.

“She has helped me with a lot of curves in the road that I have ran into,” Gomez said. “I feel like she really cares about her students and the well-being of the school.”

Likewise, Millburg holds the students and staff at east in high esteem.

“I love this job,” Millburg said. “East is a phenomenal school with its great academics and great kids. I would not hesitate to send my own [future] kids here any day.”

Millburg believes that having a hardworking and unified staff at East is the best way to help students. To remind herself of this principle, she keeps a broom on her wall that she received from an Arlighton Heights student’s mother when that student graduated after struggling through high school. This broom is odd to some, but to Millburg it has clear signifigance. The meaning of the broom is described in an anonymous poem Millburg received with the broom: “We, individually are like one bristle on the broom. We can’t do much on our own or accomplish much individually, but when we work together....When we become unified, all working in the same direction–then we accomplish a lot.” n

A cheetah figurine from Millburg’s desk.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 15

news | GPS tracking

Tracking Teens New GPS technology allows parents to locate of their child’s whereabouts through their cellphones and tracking software Maddie, who has a tracking system on her phone, sits with her parents.

story jenn shafer photos ellen fleetwood infographic rahul mukherjee

I

t is a teenager’s worst nightmare. At any point during the day, a parent can look up where their son or daughter is with the click of a mouse.

Due to new technological advances, teenagers can no longer lie to parents about their whereabouts. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are now not only used to direct someone to a certain location, but can also be used to track the car or phone to which the GPS tracking system is attached.

Several East students have these tracking systems, and it has become easy for parents to go online and check up on their kids, one of the main reasons parents use this system.

A little over a year ago, East senior Maddie Eroskey got a tracking system on her phone through Sprint after police found her somewhere other than where she told her parents she would be.

“One of our children was in a location they were not supposed to be and we were unaware,” Maddie’s father Steve Eroskey said.

“The police let us know that that person was not in the right place and after that event we decided it was necessary to put tracking on [our children’s phones] for [our] peace of mind and the safety of our children.”

According to Sprint Store Manager John Carroll, the Sprint Family Locator system uses triangulation to find the position of the person. This system is the most accurate because it finds the distance between the person and each Sprint tower nearby, and from there, it can calculate exactly where that person is in respect to those tower locations.

“It’s most popular with parents and teenagers,” Carroll said. “Parents use it if they don’t trust their kids or if there is a new driver, the parents can make sure they got to

their location safely.”

This system is available on most modern phones for an extra five dollars per month to keep track of up to four phones. Finding the location is simple: someone can log in through the internet using the main number and then choose any number connected through the Family Locator to find that phone’s position at any time.

Most major cell phone carriers also have a GPS tracking system. T-Mobile and AT&T are known for having the largest coverage while Sprint/Nextel has flexible communication, and Verizon has a similar system as well.

East junior Emily Orr also has a GPS tracking system in her phone as well as in her car. Through iTunes, Emily’s parents bought the application “Mobile Me” for her phone and installed BirdsEye Satellite Imagery for her car. Because of her parents’ ability to track

Methods of Tracking

By Car

By Logger

Pros: Tracks speed and direction, gives GPS coordinates and can give real-time location.

Cons: Can only be used on teensthat can drive, teens can purposely move a car to a specific location and real-time GPS’s are pricey.

Price: $100 to $300, some with monthy fees about $30.

Pros: Small, portable, userfriendly.

Cons: Pricey, Not Real Time, Pricey.

Price: $100-200

16 | Spark | January 3, 2012

By Phone Pros: Most widely used, most powerful.

Cons: Cell phone service might not be available Price: Free (applications), $5 per month (phone carrier services).

weak signal, like in basements, the GPS system has trouble locating the phone, which can cause problems. The system is not perfect and there have been mistakes in the past.

“It made me mad one time because [my dad] told me he used the GPS system and it said I was in the wrong spot,” Whaley said.

“It said I was in Monroe but I was never in Monroe so I don’t know what happened.”

Teenagers can also find loopholes around this technology, by driving other cars or leaving their phone somewhere. There have also been misunderstandings due to the tracking system.

I feel “One time I was at a friend’s house and her phone died,” like my Maddie said. “She had to go pick parents up another friend so I let her should use my phone in case we had to get a hold of her or something trust me happened. Well, my dad just more happened to check that night because and when he saw that my phone was not at my friend’s house, he this started calling my phone and my makes friend had to explain the situation to him.” it seem Despite the imperfections like they within the system, Steve still are very thinks “the benefits far outweigh the issues” that they have strict. encountered.

The many GPS tracking systems now on the market have revolutionized ways for parents to track their children, whether it is for trust or safety concerns.

“We’re not going to be looking at it every minute of every day; we usually don’t check it everyday,” Steve says. “It’s just nice knowing where Maddie is and being assured she is in the right place and knowing she is safe.” n

“

Maddie said. “[But I] really do feel more secure because I always have my phone on me and charged for the most part so if I do get in an accident or taken then they know where I am.”

Although the system can be inconvenient for teenagers, Orr agrees that the safety factor is the first priority for parents.

“I think it was more of a safety reason so that if they truly needed me they could find me,” Orr said. “I don’t think it was all about being nosy. It’s more for if I’m not answering my phone they would be concerned about me because I could have got in a car crash or something and with the GPS tracking they would know where I was. But just because it tracks where you are the idea is always there and distracting.”

Teenagers are not the only ones who are tracked through this system. Steve can also check where his wife is on her commute home from work or for other reasons as well.

“We use it to see where Jen [Erosky] is on her way home from work now,” Steve said.

“Rather than calling Jen and have her answer the phone while driving, I can just look and see where her phone is. It is the same with Maddie; if she is supposed to be on her way home I may check to see where the car is to see if she is driving or still in the location she was supposed to be or someplace else.”

Lost phones can also be located through this service, taking the stress away from wondering where the phone could have been left or if it was stolen.

“The phone GPS has come in handy before,” Orr said. “One time I lost my phone and I was able to find it with the GPS system.

It was helpful because I knew it was there and someone didn’t take it.”

If the phone is off or broken, however, then the phone cannot be found. In areas of

”

her, Orr is more hesitant to go places without her parents knowing.

“They use it more on the weekends, like when I say I’m going to my friend’s house for a sleepover,” Orr said. “The one time it actually affected me was after homecoming.

My friends and I were going to go to Waffle House but my mom said we weren’t allowed to go out after we got to my friend’s house because it was already midnight. We wanted to go but we didn’t want to get caught so if we went out we couldn’t take my car.”

With the Sprint system, there is also a setting that allows parents to check where a child is at a certain time on a daily basis.

“They have a setting like a curfew marker,” Maddie’s mother Jen Eroskey said. “So let’s say every night at 10:00, it can tell you that the phone was or was not located at a certain place that it was supposed to be for that set time.”

Not only can parents use this feature to check if a teenager’s curfew was met, but also to check to make sure younger children are back home from school every day. This way the parents do not have to be home to make sure their elementary-or-middle-school-aged child has gotten home safely.

For the parents, this system is convenient and gives them peace of mind knowing where their children are. In the kids’ point of view, however, having the system makes it seem like the trust has been taken out of the relationship.

“I would probably rather not have it,” Orr said. “I feel like my parents should trust me more because this makes it seem like they are very strict. They are not usually that strict so I don’t really know why we have it because I thought we had enough trust with each other.”

Other students, such as East senior Chad Whaley, also feel that the system makes it seem that their parents do not trust them because they feel the need to verify their location.

“It could work for trust in both ways,” Whaley said. “If I say I’m going somewhere and then I go there then it proves [my honesty]. But if I say I’m going somewhere and I don’t go there, then it’s bad. [Having the system] shows my dad doesn’t completely trust me because he feels he has to keep tabs on me.”

Though the system may seem invasive to teenagers, the parent’s main concern is safety.

“Of course there is the safety issue, like if [Maddie] is not home at a certain time,” Jen said. “So if she is on a highway and I’m worried because she should be home by now, we can check to make sure.”

Even the students admit that in certain situations the tracking system serves as a security blanket, knowing that in case of an emergency their parents can find them.

“At first I thought it was very intrusive,”

Steve Eroskey uses locates his daughter on his latpop.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 17

February 3, 2012.

off

$40.00 coupon!

5900 West Chester Road, Suite K West Chester, OH 45069 (513) 754-8652 with this

For class schedules and

Registration Visit: www.Jacksdrivingschool.com Students must begin by 12/21/2011. Students must complete the entire course in 60 days.

feature | teacher profile

music takes

flight story laura shrake photos ellen fleetwood

Master of both the trumpet and the throttle of an airplane, assistant director of East Bands Rob Tanis has grown passionate about his music career and his hobby as an aviator.

“H

East Associate band director Rob Tanis stands in front of one of three planes his family owns.

awai’i 5-0! I love that show! Let’s play its theme song!” exclaims the ecstatic band director with a fist pump into the air at a Friday night pep band rehearsal. “Band, horns up!...One, two, one, two, ready, go!”

As the band room is overwhelmed with the theme song of the hit show, assistant director of East Bands Rob Tanis breaks into a little jig next to the podium. He sings along with the band’s rendition of “Hawai’i 5-0,” proving that his musical talents far exceed his dance skills.

Tanis, who has been at East for 16 years, is a man of many interests, but first and foremost, he is the assistant director of the Lakota East Band program. In this position, Tanis directs the two East Freshman Campus concert bands and assists with the three main campus concert bands: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Symphonic Winds.

Tanis also works with the East Marching Thunderhawks each marching season, which runs from Aug. through Oct. For 16 years, the marching band has received an over-all superior rating, the highest rating, at every contest throughout their two-month competition season.

Every winter, Tanis directs three Pep Bands, each of which includes members of all the main campus concert bands. These pep bands perform popular, modern music at the girls’ and boys’ home basketball games.

Additionally, Tanis organizes and directs the Pit Orchestra which

accompanies almost all of East’s Theater Department spring musicals.

Needless to say, Tanis does much more than the title of assistant director implies. Tanis and East’s Head Band Director Bill Thomas work closely together to succeed in all aspects of their work. “[Mr. Thomas and I] have been working together for so long that we know what needs to get done and we do it,” Tanis says. “We both have our niche. I’d always rather be [directing], but 90 percent of being a high school band director is being an administrator.”

Because the East Band Program is so large, Tanis and Thomas must work in tandem to keep tabs on the inventory of school-owned instruments and uniforms, stock of the music library from which they choose the pieces that each band plays and medical forms for those who travel with the band and or marching band. “[Think about] an English teacher, who, for example, teaches the same lesson plan to four different English 101 classes,” Tanis says. “Well, [between the Freshman and Main Campuses,] we have four different concert bands, and every single band plays different music that we have to choose and prepare for.”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 19

feature | teacher profile

Tanis attended one of the highest ranked schools of music in the world, which prepared him for his career path. Tanis graduated in 1995 from the University of Rochester in New York. He was accepted among 100 applicants to fill one of four available spots for trumpet students at Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. “[At] Eastman, it isn’t just about being a good musician,” says Tanis. “[It’s also about] embodyingthe characteristics of someone who is going to be the face of music for our world.”

Tanis chose to pursue two paths during his time at Eastman and graduated with two majors: music education and trumpet performance, qualifying him to teach every level of music, as well as perform professionally.

“I think he brings to the table not only talent, but a sense of humor and a very friendly personality,” says Phil Collins, former principal trumpet player of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Tanis’ private lesson teacher in high school. “[He] works well with people and is kind and dedicated to a high standard of playing and musicianship.”

Thomas agrees that working with Tanis is a unique experience that has lead to a close relationship.

“He’s a great musician and talented trumpet player,” says Thomas.

“We’ve been working together for 16 years, minus the one when he left to get his master’s degree. We can finish each other’s sentences. We know each other’s likes and dislikes; He is a colleague, but we’re pretty much like brothers.”

After five years of teaching at East, Tanis decided to pursue his Master’s Degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Conducting.

He stepped off the podium at East for one year and onto the podium at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Georgia.

20 | Spark | January 3, 2012

The Master’s Degree program at Columbus State takes the average student two years to complete. Tanis, however, completed all the requirements in the course of one calendar year.

“It was a lot of work, but it was worth it,” Tanis says.

Since returning to East, Tanis approaches teaching music with a new perspective and style. He strives to help his students understand every aspect of a piece. His quirky sense of humor and personality strikes a chord with his students. Former trumpet player and 2011 East graduate Melissa Lower recalls how his personality influences his teaching style and how it helped her appreciate music. “[My favorite thing about Mr. Tanis is] how blunt he is. This is great in his teaching because he gives honest feedback and it just makes him plain hilarious,” Lower says.

He keeps the class alive with his unique sense of one-liner humor that, despite its oddity, helps his students comprehend what it is they need to do in a specific section of the music. With a lighthearted smile and laugh, Tanis describes one of his favorite lines to use while teaching a difficult section of music.

“You’re the only one who cares if it’s hard,” says Tanis. “As a listener, I don’t care; I just want it to sound good so I can enjoy it!”

Although his favorite statement is straightforward, and at first appears a little insensitive, Tanis has the best of intentions for his young musicians. He helps his students not only succeed in playing the music perfectly, but also to understand why they are playing in one way versus another, such as why they are playing one note flat or sharp to balance the chord, or why one section of instruments needs to be louder than another.

“I really like [Mr. Tanis] because he’s fun to work with,” East senior

Left: Tanis has been licensed to fly since July 2011, pursuing a passion he shares with his father.

Above: Tanis pursued music studies at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and at Columbus State in Georgia.

and trumpet player Aaron Todahl says. “It’s really obvious that he really loves to make music and has an enthusiasm and passion when he’s directing.”

According to Todahl, who is in East’s top band, Symphonic Winds, Tanis teaches his students how to put themselves in the worst case scenario in order to prepare for a performance.

“He’ll tell us to go run up and down the stairs five times, play the piece, and if you can play it perfectly after that, you’ll probably be fine for the performance,” Todahl says.

Tanis’ father, Bob Tanis, commends him on his ability to connect with his students through the music.

“Not every instructor wants [to explain the music] like he does,” Bob says. “[Some] are looking for a sound and they’re not really sure how to get it. Robert can explain the mechanisms to produce that kind of sound and explain why you want to do it that way.”

Not only did Bob support Rob’s interest in music as a former trumpet player himself, but he also introduced Rob to what is now a second passion in his life: aviation. Before Rob was born, Bob was in the Navy for six years, stationed in San Diego. His post in the Navy was in Anti-Submarine Warfare. After his years in the Navy, Bob still has the passion for flying which he later shared with his son.

“I enjoy flying a tremendous amount and want to share that with as many people as I can,” says Bob. “I’m just fortunate that [Robert] liked his flying lessons! It wasn’t until he was teaching at Lakota that I could really share flying with him. It’s been since we’ve been in Cincinnati that he’s grown to like aviation as well.”

As of July 2011, Rob is licensed to fly. He began the licensure process in 2009. The plane in which he spends most of his time is a small, four-

“

You’re the only one who cares if it’s hard. As a listener, I don’t care; I just want it to sound good so I can enjoy it.

seater plane called the Cessna 182. With a visible passion for aviation, the father and son have a very close-knit relationship. Rob has learned much of what he knows about aviation at his father’s side, and Bob is dedicated to sharing the joys of flying with his son. After only having his pilot’s license for a short amount of time, Rob has already begun thinking about what is next on his flight path.

“The next step is to get instrument rated (flying solely by reliance on instruments without visual reference) so I can fly anywhere anytime,” Rob says. “I won’t do that in [the Cessna 182]. I’ll do that in the plane that just left,” he says as he points to a plane in the air just above the runway, which is similar to the one he flies now, only more technologically savvy.

This plane to which he points is also owned by the Tanis family. “[That plane] has a completely digital cockpit,” says Rob with a smirk.

“It’s like it has iPads all over it. So I’m basically in heaven,” he laughs as he admits to being an electronic guru as well, never leaving home without an “iDevice” in hand.

Apparently not busy enough with two time-consuming interests, Rob is also an avid skier and baker.

“I love skiing!” Rob says with a child-like expression and grin. “Skiing, baking and flying are my three things that I love to do. I went skiing with [my sister and her family] one February, and [when we went up on the mountain,] I completely fell in love. I just love the scenery, I love being there, and I love the atmosphere.”

Rob is so much more than what is seen on the surface. At school, he is a band director. But take a minute to get to know Rob, and he becomes a fascinating person with a passion for music, aviation, “iDevices,” skiing, baking, the Minnesota Vikings, and, according to the stories from that one time at band camp, blueberry donuts. n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 21

feature | cool places

KNOW

THEATRE OF CINCINNATI

Know Theatre of Cincinnati, located in Over-the-Rhine strives to provide audiences with performances they will not be able see anywhere else. Its originality and cutting-edge productions make it one of the only alternative theater experiences in the Queen City.

Each issue the Spark staff picks an interesting, eclectic place to feature.

story michael tedesco | photos ellen fleetwood | infographic megan fogel

T

he illuminated coquelicot sign that reads “Theatre” glows through the light rain and reflects onto the pavement, glistening in the puddles that cover Jackson Street. After walking through the glass door, I am greeted by a calming darkness, for the hallway is lit by only a small stylish lamp and staggered upturned televisions, carefully placed on the floor, all playing different video clips. A man at the front desk greets me and I purchase my ticket for the show before continuing down the hallway and turning into what I assume to be the theater. The room is fairly large but the stage is small, tucked into one of the corners on the opposite side of the room from the bar and seating area. My fellow playgoers had arrived early and were communing at the bar, obviously not novices to the alternative theatre experience. I, however, was an undeniable rookie, for what I thought to be the theatre was actually just a waiting room of sorts, the small stage used for the occasional musical performance. This was made clear to me when the group of playgoers, were ushered up a flight of metal stairs and into the actual theatre on the second floor of the building, to take their seats and let the performance begin.

The readers of Cincinnati CityBeat voted it in second place for the

22 | Spark | January 3, 2012

2011 “Best of Cincinnati” under the category “Best Live Theatre.”

Know Theatre of Cincinnati, located in Over-the-Rhine is currently in it’s 14th season and has been pleasing audiences with its unique charm and 99-seat theatre for 14 years.

“We’re different, we’re alternative, we do work that no on else in the city is doing,” Know Theatre Managing Director Alex Kesman says. “We have success because people who come here feel a part of the place.

People enjoy [Know’s] atmosphere, the intimacy of the theatre space, and the quality of the work we produce.”

Kesman started out at Know in 2005 and was hired full time as the theatre’s Development Associate in 2008 before transitioning to the Marketing and Public Relations Manager and becoming the Managing Director in 2011. As Know’s Managing Director, Kesman oversees the theatre’s finances, human resources, marketing, development, customer service and company operations. She describes the theatre company itself as very small, but with a large local following.

“We have a great big community of friends without whom what we do would not be possible,” Kesman says. “It’s very satisfying to know that so many people support us and come to see [the work] we do. We’re very

lucky to be in a community like Cincinnati [specifically], Opposite Page: The exterior of Know Theatre, located on Jackson Street in Over-the-Rhine.”

Over-the-Rhine.

Unlike most local theatres Here: A wall inside Know, featuring and playhouses, Know Fringe Festival posters from past years. provides its audiences with more than just the expected mainstage productions.

“On average [Know will] do around to six mainstage productions a year,” Kesman explains. “[Each year we’ll also do] around 35 productions for the Fringe Festival, and then a national tour of Calculus: The Musical.”

According to its website, the Fringe Festival, produced

by Know Theatre, is a 12day arts festival that occurs annually, during which performances take place in theatres, bars and storefronts, all in the Over-the-Rhine area of downtown Cincinnati.

“We typically sell around 6,000 [tickets] for the mainstage season [each year],” Kesman says. “Around 7,500 [tickets are sold] for the Fringe Festival, and Calculus: The Musical usually performs for around 17,000 students across the country annually.”

From Oct. 8 to Nov. 5, Know presented its most recent mainstage play, Gruesome Playground Injuries, a two person performance following the lives of misfits Doug and Kayleen portrayed by Jens Rasmussen and Beth Harris, respectively. The actors play Doug and Kayleen from ages 8 to 38, changing only their costumes and makeup to distinguish between ages. Rather than rushing backstage between scenes, all changes took place onstage, the actors changing their own costumes and makeup, for the entire audience to see. On the actor’s makeup table, was a video camera which projected onto a blank wall, allowing the audience to see every detail of their between-scene changes.

“Before the show, I didn’t really have an idea of what to expect,” East junior Meghan Must says. “[Gruesome Playground Injuries] wasn’t like any other play I had seen, it was so interesting to see the costume and makeup changes happen onstage. No other theatre that I have ever been to has done anything like that.”

Know’s work is consistently described by critics and audience members unpredictable, which Gruesome Playground Injuries certainly was. The theatre is currently presenting the peculiarly titled, Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party which is set to run until Dec. 23.

“We often do shows that have had only one or two productions offBroadway,” Kesman says. “We occasionally do world premieres such

Performing Arts Careers

PERCENT

$

Average Hourly Wages (2010) musicians producers and directors and singers $34.08 $35.09

Employment (2010) musicians and singers 29,090

producers and directors 8,900

information bureau of labor statistics

13

of 349 East students surveyed are pursuing a career in performing arts

as last year’s The Dragon, which was a collaboration with Madcap Puppets.”

Know’s originality is not lost on audience members like Rebecca Wrightson and Patrick Carnes, friends who live next door to the theatre and frequently attend plays at Know.

“The staging [of the theatre] always changes.

There isn’t a permanence of the structure,” Wrightson says. “What I like about the staging is that you never know what you’re going to walk into. [A performance at Know] is always a unique experience. It’s not predictable at all.”

As a local onstage actor, Carnes says that he generally performs in more plays than he attends, but whenever he does get the chance to watch a performance, he chooses Know.

“The way the space morphs with every production creates a certain intimacy that other venues just don’t have,” Carnes adds. “It’s like walking into a completely different theatre [with every production].”

Beth Harris, who starred as Kayleen in Gruesome Playground Injuries also values the theatre’s innovation and their desire to stand out.

“Know is more cutting edge than any other theatre in town,” Harris says. “They’re extremely brave with their work, which I appreciate. You never know what to expect, even if its not the best play you’ve ever seen, [Know] will always be extremely unique in the way they approach everything.”

According to Harris, Know’s selection of plays is not limited by what their audience is expecting, because of their history and reputation of providing the unexpected. “[Other local theatres] are stuck in doing things that they don’t necessary want to do, but have to do to keep their audience. In my opinion, [those theatres] aren’t broadening themselves, they’ve stuck themselves in a corner. Know isn’t stuck in one genre, they can go anywhere.”

As the Managing Director of the theatre, Kesman can attest to Harris’ statement.

“What we do on our stage, you won’t see anywhere else in the region,” Kesman says. “We are dedicated to producing the best contemporary American theatre with world premieres, regional premieres, and works that will make [the audience] think.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 23

lifestyle | photoshoot

SAVVY SAVANNAH East senior Savannah Fulmer has overcome challenges to focus on her artistic and musical passions. story elaine laux | photos ellen fleetwood

Each issue the Spark staff picks a random East student and covers a unique aspect of his or her life.

24 | Spark | January 3, 2012

around the football field, Savannah can be found in one of her three art classes–Advanced Placement (AP) Art, Advanced Ceramics and 3D Art. “I love my art classes,” Fulmer says. “I even gave up my senior year early leave privileges for it. I hope these classes can really put me ahead for my future career.”

Hoping to get into the Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) program at the University of Cincinnati, Savannah has taken a total of six art classes throughout her high school career. She wants to become a graphic illustrator, following in the footsteps of her three grandparents who were also very dedicated artists.

“When I was little my grandparents would always let me draw at their house,” Fulmer says.

“My grandma paints for a living and I really enjoy watching her do that.”

Savannah’s mother, Stephanie Fulmer, believes that art and music have both been the most important parts in her daughter’s life. She believes that Savannah has developed a better work ethic, leadership skills and hs become more inquisitive through these programs at East.

“She has always had a love for the arts,” Stephanie says. “I have watched her become more confident in all areas of life [through the arts.]”

Life as a musician and artist was interrupted in 2006, when Savannah complained of an achy wrist on her twelfth birthday. This simple achy wrist turned into a 6-week journey of her body starting to fall apart joint-by-joint. Savannah was taken to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where she was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. One week later, Savannah woke up in a panic with a strange rash on her face. She was again rushed to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital. Ultimately, Savannah was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erathamatosis (Lupus, as it is more commonly known) after one week’s stay in the hospital.

Lupus is a disease in which one’s immune system becomes confused and begins attacking healthy tissue as if it is a foreign body, such as bacteria. Lupus can attack organs and tissues needed for life processes, so it can become quite serious when vital organs are involved.

Savannah’s Lupus is currently in remission,

Savannah poses with her French Horn

meaning that she has not had an outbreak recently, but still can be brought out at any time by two of her biggest triggers: stress and sun exposure. This affects Savannah’s participation in marching band because most practices, games and contests occur outside. While she is still able to partake, she must be extremely careful in the sun. Savannah must wear longsleeve shirts and hats during outdoor practices and at band camp and must reapply strong dosages of sunscreen every few hours.

“I would never give up band just because I have Lupus,” Savannah says. “I don’t want people to treat me any different because of it.”

Because of Lupus, Savannah had to drop the often stressful AP Calculus class during

“

R

oom 185 is where she belongs. It is familiar. It is fun. It is musical. It is her. As she is greeted with open arms by a fellow musician upon entering the band room, East senior Savannah Fulmer is finally home. Groups of friendly instrumentalists gather around, chirping about the upcoming band concert. Some play foosball in the corner, some shine their prized brass instruments in the back hallway. Fulmer is among these young artists. She plays the French horn and has been in band since the sixth grade.

“My aunt played French horn, and when I was younger she would have me play on her instrument,” Fulmer says. “I had always liked music, so when the opportunity arose to take a band class in school, I thought it would be the best.”

Fulmer plays the French horn in Symphonic Band, and the mellophone in the Lakota East Marching Thunderhawks.

“When I first started [in marching band in sophomore year] I was a timid little sophomore who was scared of everything,” Fulmer says. “I was scared of how people would think if I did something wrong. Somehow marching band changed all of that because I was forced to talk to people and to make friends. I’ve overcome my fear of everything.”

Fulmer confidently marched through the years and became part of the mellophone section’s leadership team her senior year. Once named a member of the band’s leadership team, Fuulmer felt as if she had finally defeated her introverted personality.

“I used to be really scared of talking to people,” Fulmer says. “Now if somebody came up to me I would be okay with that.”

East senior and mellophone section leader Michael Dudley has also seen the growth Savannah has seen in herself.

“Savannah often gives inspirational speeches in front of our mellophone section, and that in itself shows her confidence,” Dudley says. “She is truly one of the nicest, most hard-working people I have ever met.”

When she is not marching her mellophone

Savannah often gives inspirational speeches in front of our mellophone section, and that in itself shows her confidence.

her senior year so that she would not risk her health. Although it usually stays in remission, Lupus could attack at any moment.

East senior, fellow band member, and Savannah’s best friend Alexandra Wilson believes that having Lupus has made Savannah a stronger person. She feels that Savannah’s performance in both her band and art classes has improved due to her self-confidence, no matter what illness Savannah might have.

“Her passion for music and art just helps that courage and confidence peek its little head out from the dark, secret spot it was hiding in her mind,” Wilson says. n

lifestyle | freshman 15

BEATING THE

FRESHMAN

15

According to a recent study, the mythical “Freshman 15” can be overcome by taking advantage of college health facilities and making healthy lifestyle choices. story sara rayburn | infographic devon lakes

S

he is a mythbuster. She works out, she eats less and she makes healthy choices. She can make people envy her motivation, freedom and consistency to make such positive decisions regarding her well

being.

She is a college freshman.

Despite the stereotypical threat of gaining the “Freshman 15,” which is the 15 pounds that college freshmen supposedly gain during their first semester, East Alumna and Bowling Green State University freshman Ashley Wolsefer is a perfect example of the typical American college student. Each day in the United States, students must choose whether or not to live a healthy lifestyle and to be physically fit.

At the college level, students appear to be on the right track. In a recent study conducted by Ohio State University researcher Dr. Jay Zagorsky, only 10 percent of all college freshmen actually gain the “freshman 15.”

“It is a myth,” Zagorsky says. “There are a lot of things to worry about during your freshman year, but weight gain is not one of them for the typical student.”

In reality, one-fourth of all students lose weight rather than gain extra weight during their freshman year of college. The other three-fourths

Debunkify the Myth

information center for human research at the ohio state university

25 percent of all college freshman lose weight The typical college freshman gains 3.25 pounds Less than 10 percent of all people going to college gains 15 pounds freshman year

were found to add, on average, three pounds to their weight for women and three-and-a-half pounds for men.

Studies show that the heavy drinking of alcoholic beverages appeared to be the greatest cause of weight gain. According to Zagorsky, students who consume six drinks at least four times per month gain about a pound more than their non-drinking peers.

“If you are really concerned about weight gain, the research provides some clear advice,” Zagorsky says. “Do not drink heavily.”

As a college student, Wolsefer says she has noticed the weight gain is directly linked to how young adults react to their newfound freedom.

Without parents making dinner each night, it is up to students to decide what they will eat and if they will exercise.

“Just like everything else, each person is accountable for their health and wellness, and will inevitably choose for his or herself whether or not health and wellness is a priority,” Wolsefer says.

She has taken advantage of dining hall options and exercise facilities, which University of Cincinnati Associate Professor Dr. Keith Kenter believes make a difference in overall health and likelihood for injury.

“Many college and university campuses now have beautiful recreation centers and healthy food courts for their students,” Kenter says. “These are now big recruiting tools and should be looked at closely. Physical fitness is as important as mental fitness while in college.”

Kenter, who has been a doctor since 1990, says that although in today’s world “more [exercise] is better,” many people do too much too quickly. He has noticed a significant number of youth patients with overuse injuries, such as sports injuries.

He also said that according to The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association 2007 guidelines, any adult under age 65 should do either 30 minutes of moderate cardio five days per week or 20 minutes of intense cardio three times per week.

Those in this age group are also recommended to complete strength exercises two to three times per week in order to balance their training.

Based on the age range of these guidelines, students in college should fall within those amounts of exercise to be safe yet productive in becoming healthier or maintaining their fitness.

East senior Claire Feyche follows these guidlines and gives precedence to exercising regularly, but focuses more on using it as a way to relieve stress. She says that her typical workout routine is simple–run for 35 to 60 minutes each day.

“My motivation is how it makes me feel,” Feyche says. “When I do not work out, I cannot release any stress that’s built up over the day and then I am just mean to everyone around me.”

Xavier University freshman and East alumna Megan Berter joined Weight Watchers, which has also helped her to exercise closer to the recommended level and to eat more nutritious food.

“I begin the morning at seven in the morning, working out at the gym with my friend. We do cardio, weights, abs, legs and anything we feel we need to work on,” Berter says. “[Exercising] wakes us up and we feel great about how we are starting to look. Instead of gaining the “Freshman 15” our goal is to lose 15 pounds by the end of the semester.”

Through prioritizing their health and wellness, young adults can improve their well-being. Like Wolsefer and Berter, college students can take advantage of college health facilities and make positive changes in their diets to avoid weight gain–even the mythical “Freshman 15.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 25

lifestyle | photoshoot

Fashion Revolution Although it has evolved into a staple of the fashion industry, military chic style holds its roots as a patriotic tribute to the troops. story bridget lally | photos sierra whitlock models andrew ferris and christina wilkerson clothing provided by H&M

faux fur hat: $17.95 knit scarf: $7.95

M

ilitary-inspired fashion is nothing new. Fashion trends follow current events in society, and military chic style adapts with the changing wars. Military styles among civilians have always been popular, but in the 1960’s there was an increase in the popularity of the trend due to Vietnam War protestors. During the time of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Americans felt proud of their military again and thus military fashion reappeared.

United States Navy veteran Dave Strickland of West Chester served in the Navy from 1969 to 1979. He attended the Naval Academy and served on the East Coast Destroyer.

Strickland taught at the Naval Academy and was a member of the Navy Reserves from 1979 to 2000. As a military member, he has observed changes in military fashion.

“Ronald Reagan had a correlation with [the trend] in the early 1980’s. That time brought back pride in the military,” Strickland says.

In contrast, Strickland explains this clothing style was disrespectful to the military during the Vietnam War, when people mocked the military by burning uniforms and flags.

Through good times and bad, many aspects of military uniforms have been incorporated into civilian wardrobe.

An article in the New York Daily Herald Lifestyle Section from March 14, 2003 states that in the February 2003 fashion show, designers such as Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier,

26 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Tommy Hilfiger and Madonna loaded their shows with military clothes such as bomber jackets and army coats.

“Wearing military clothes is fine in an honorable way if it is not strange or goofy. It is totally ridiculous when someone is decked out in a lot of awards like Michael Jackson. Wearing a lot of ribbons is disrespectful,” Strickland says. “Michael Jackson would wear this General Napoleon costume. It was really ridiculous. I don’t like when people wear epaulets. They are supposed to show rank and need to be reserved for the officers. But wearing camo pants or a shirt is fine.”

Brand consultant Cindy Wilkerson who has a degree in Fashion Merchandising from The Ohio State University, says that military chic is about taking basics like a jacket or blazer and adding military element to traditional military uniform.

According to Wilkerson, accessories that match this look are canvas fabrics (on hats, messenger bags or backpacks), leather bracelets and jackets. Colors of this style are army green, navy and gold accents (as buttons on jackets).

“Military is all about simplicity. Pair jeans and boots with a jacket and scarf and you’re done. [Avoid] crazy layering,” Wilkerson says.

East senior Rachel Jencen, voted Best Dressed senior superlative, styles this look by adding feminine clothing to military clothes. “[Because] cargo pants are boyish, I wear a girly shirt with

military jacket: $24.97 beige thermal: $17.95

it so I don’t look like a man because I already feel like they’re baggy and not very flattering,” Jencen says. “But if you wear them with a floral top or something that shows off your lady curves a bit, it dresses it up more.”

Jencen has military inspired clothes from Ralph Lauren, the ArmyNavy store in Youngstown, Ohio and American Eagle.

Her favorite military piece is a pair of Ralph Lauren boots.

“I call them my work boots. I try not to wear them at the same time as my cargo pants. I love those boots so much, I wear them all the time,” Jencen says. “They’re not combat boots, but they have the same feel. I try to wear them with something girly too.”

Jencen is not the only student walking around East wearing military inspired clothing. Out of 282 East students surveyed in a recent survey, 39.5 percent of students have worn military-influenced clothing. The senior tradition at East is wearing grey, black and white camouflage “senior pants” to East football and basketball games. It is a privilege reserved for seniors.

The East camouflage pants have had a long history that began at the original Lakota High School. Former East principal Ruth Barber says that the “senior pants” trend started at Lakota High School.

“There was a pep squad, mostly guys, who wanted to go to games and be a cheering section, with a uniform and a name,” Barber says. “They came up with the ‘Bombsquad.’ They had a bomb icon on their khaki or olive drab tee-shirts. The icon was a round thing with a fuse, a typical bomb image. They wanted the military look. The kids would shop at the Army Navy store in Fairfield to get the real army pants. They were

military style dress: $34.95 sergeant coat: $39.95 corduroy pants: $19.95

only available in military colors: green, brown, the traditional camouflage colors.”

Barber says when East was opened in the 1997-98 school year, East seniors wanted to continue the tradition with something that identified them as seniors making their own mark and attire. It was an unspoken rule that underclassmen could not wear the pants “Over the years camo became popular as a function of fashion. As the fashion industry sold color camouflage in stores such as Kohl’s, Macy’s and Old Navy, people wore pink, red or grey camouflage,” Barber says. “When the high school split in 1997-98, East and West designed their own uniforms for athletics. East originally chose black and white with a red trim and West chose black and red with a white trim.”

Former East athletic director Jim Rouff decided substitute East’s red trim with silver. West soon eliminated the black trims. Now that West was red and white, they designed the ‘W’ icon like the University of Wisconsin Badgers because they liked that font.”

Whether it is wearing the signature East camo pants to athletic games or military pieces such as cargo pants and military jackets as part of the everyday wardrobe, military fashion is present in Lakota as well as in the fashion scene.

“Military fashion is taking something that’s very ingrained and putting a twist on it. You can wear it in everyday life,” Wilkerson says. “Fashion is an expression of who a person is. The people who wear military clothes do so because they love to. It can serve as paying homage to the people who are fighting for and serving our country.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 27

lifestyle | student style

hairdevils Sporting hairstyles not commonly seen in suburbia, East seniors Jordan Brassil and Annie Hart do not mind sticking out from the crowd. story lauren barker | photos sierra whitlock

S

he sat on the kitchen stool in her best friend’s home, scared but reminding herself that she wanted this. With one chop, a chunk of her luscious locks was gone.

East seniors and best friends Jordan Brassil and Annie Hart know no boundaries when it comes to trying new hairstyles.

This spirit of adventure is how Hart came to allow Brassil to shave off half her hair.

“We saw people on the internet who had their heads shaved, and we liked that,” Hart explains.

“Then one day, I was just like, ‘Let’s do it.’ It was a sad day, but also a good day.”

As expected, Hart experienced mixed reactions to her drastic do.

“Some people hate it and some people love it. Some people think that I’m really crazy,” Hart says. “It depends on where I’m at. When I’m at school everybody’s like ‘Ew’, but when I’m in Cincinnati at concerts everybody loves it.”

Hart does not mind the attention, neither positive nor negative she receives, because she does her hair for herself, not for her peers. Hart sees it as a way to make a statement that she is her own unique person.

This is not the first venture Hart has taken into different hairstyles. In the past, she has dyed it red, purple and even rainbow colors. Hart’s list seems quite small compared to Brassil’s, who’s myriad of hair colors includes purple, blue, bleach blonde, brown with blonde highlights, black, black with blonde highlights, black with two streaks of blonde, fire engine red and even a mixture of purple, black and red.

“I dye my hair probably once every month,” Brassil says. “It’s fun. I get bored with my hair.”

28 | Spark | January 3, 2012

There are a few health issues that arise from such frequent dying. According to Pump Salon director and lead stylist at the Mitchell’s Salon and Day Spa Tylersville location Kyle McCann, image from hair coloring can be caused when bleach is used to lighten hair. The dying process can leave hair brittle and damaged due to over processing if it is not executed properly.

These hair care concerns do not faze Brassil. She claims that if her hair was going to fall out, then it would have already done so. The health of her hair is not important to her, but rather how well it expresses her personality.

Brassil and Hart are not the only ones who express personality through hair. At Pump Salon, clients craving edgy style are easy to find.

“I believe many people come to Pump because we are often associated with trendy, edgy hair cuts,” McCann says. “If I style 30 clients in a week, maybe four or five want something out of the box or over-the-top. It always depends on what the current trends are, the age of the clients and the client’s personal style.”

Whether it is a new hair color every month or a partially shaved head, an edgy hairdo is a noticeable forms of self expression.

“Everyone here has almost the same exact hair style. It’s like a uniform in a way,” Brassil says.

“But if you’re not afraid to take the uniform off, then you can create a style that shows who you are.

If you can change things [about your appearance] and not really mind the ‘what the f***’ factor, then clearly you are comfortable in your own skin. You don’t need everyone’s approval. You can just be who you are.” n

Top: Brassil works her latest hair color.

Bottom: Hart shows off her partially shaven head.

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THE

WAR story sean lewis | art ellen fleetwood

As my dad and I wedged ourselves into the window seat for our Delta flight to Salt Lake City, we caught sight of a young man garbed in his distinct Army fatigues sitting in the first-class seat right in front of us. Before we could get the chance to speak to him and thank him for the service he has done for our country, a very old man with wiry gray hair found his seat alongside the soldier. After some small talk, the old man solemnly looked into the eyes of the soldier and asked him, “Sir, are you coming or going?”

The soldier’s response: “Going.”

The old man asked if the soldier, not more than twice my age at the time, had a family back home, for which the soldier replied, “Yes, sir; a wife and a baby. I don’t know when or if I will see them again.”

Since Operation Iraqi Freedom, the second longest major war in which the U.S. has been involved, was initiated in 2003, the U.S. military has sustained 4,483 fatalities. After nearly nine years, President Obama has finally announced an end to this long and bloody war as the remaining 40,000 U.S. troops will come home by the end of 2011. After the troops exit the Iraqi warzone to await their process of re-entry in Kuwait, a group of 150 marines will be left behind to ensure stability in Iraq.

Whether it is persevering through the terror that envelops a soldier when he’s suddenly caught in the middle of Taliban gunfire or knowing what to do when an enemy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonates on the roadway, soldiers make the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Such dangerous encounters were commonplace to CH (CPT) Carl Subler, Chaplain of the 58th Transportation Battalion of the U.S. Army, who served a four-month-long deployment in Iraq from May to September of 2008 and a year-long deployment in Kandahar, Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.

“Afghanistan was the tougher fight because we were brand new in that area,” Subler says. “There were more frequent IEDs that would try and blow up our vehicles. We encountered a lot of those—out of the 300 vehicles we brought to Afghanistan, about 100 of them were hit by roadside bombs.”

66 percent of casualties are caused by roadside bombings just like the ones Subler encountered. What sets the U.S. military apart from the enemy is the fact that the Taliban are not nearly as well-trained. Subler

30 | Spark | January 3, 2012

“

I STARTED TO GET A LITTLE TEARY-EYED. ALL THE DOCTORS WERE GATHERING AROUND THE OPERATING TABLE...YOU DO THE BEST YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU’VE GOT. YOU’RE NOT IN CONTROL OF LIFE AND DEATH. is grateful that soldiers can hit the deck immediately when the gunfire is heard; taking advantage of the intense muzzle-rise of AK-47s that send the bullets up high.

Regardless of how well soldiers are trained, few things can prepare them for the hardships involved with the costs of war and losing fellow soldiers. As an Army Chaplain, Subler carries no weapon but is instead equipped with a mass kit containing a chalice, a little bottle of wine, and other holy articles.

“I spent a lot of time in the morgue. When they would bring the bodies in their body bags, I’d bless them because I’m a Catholic priest,” Subler says. “I also spent a lot of time in the hospital where I’d see soldiers come in with their legs missing and other wounds.”

Aside from helping soldiers deal with their losses and working on foot patrols, Subler frequently traveled in the Stryker armored vehicles to visit various outposts to hold Mass. It is his faith that often provides the most powerful haven amidst the turmoil of war.

“I have a tremendous faith in Christ and the resurrection,” Subler says as he explains how he deals with the pains and losses he has endured in war. “I just chalked it up to ‘this is how life is’ and I hope He has mercy.”

According to a Pew Research study released on Dec. 8, 2011, faith not only helps soldiers in the battle, but it has been shown to significantly help veterans have a smoother time coming back home.

The study, which surveyed 1,853 veterans, shows that a soldier who attends religious services at least once a week will have a 67 percent chance of having an easy transition back into civilian life. For those who never attend services, the statistic drops down to 43 percent.

Analysts include that faith ultimately provides a more worldly view for the soldiers, providing them with a system of morality and thus a more collective view of the scene around them, allowing a more stable means of coping with suffering.

As a chaplain, we have to bring [faith] to the soldiers,” Subler says.

“My job is to minister to everybody, whether or not they are a Catholic, a Methodist, a Lutheran, or even a Buddhist.”

Though sometimes, dealing with the cruelty of war takes a toll on soldiers. When faced with the moment of death, the only thing keeping one from breaking down is one’s religion and own personal strength.

“One time, I was in the operating room and the doctors had spent four hours working on this big, husky soldier who stepped right on a landmine. It went straight through him and really messed up his chest,” Subler says. “The doctors had his chest wide open. Trying to keep him alive, they would pour a quart of blood in and a quart would run out on the floor. He was bleeding from everywhere. I remember when I anointed him with the oil of the sick—and then he was gone.”

And it is not only the pain involved with losing someone that can be hard to endure; there’s also the frustration involved with the operation at stake. With estimates of the Taliban’s size existing in the thousands, U.S. soldiers have to always be on alert.

“We’d go through villages and sometimes you just knew some villagers were Taliban. They just smile at you and watch you walk on.

They’re farmers who don’t have a weapon, so you can’t engage them in combat or arrest them,” Subler says. “Fifteen minutes later, you’re taking bullets from them.”

In terms of a different perspective, First Lieutenant Nathaniel Corbridge, an Executive Officer of the U.S. Army and a 2003 East graduate, explains how his job during his 12-month deployment in Iraq was made possible by working directly with the Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters and allies of the U.S.-led coalition who ensure the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq) and the Iraqi army.

“My primary job was disruption of smuggling routes from Syria as well as training local Iraqi police and army units,” Corbridge says. “[The Iraqi people] were grateful. Whenever we were giving grants to shop owners, they were very polite. But when we have security issues like, ‘We have some mortars moving into this area, do you know anything about that?’ because of the nature of it, [the Iraqis] tend to clam up.”

The contrast has much to do with the opinion that Iraq’s infrastructure is far more stable than the tribal culture of Afghanistan.

Some point out that another large distinction between the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is the general morale of U.S. soldiers. Subler, however, suggests that the morale of soldiers as a group is very hard to gauge because of the diverse amount of situations in which a soldier may be placed.

When a soldier has given the war effort everything he has to offer, the greatest feeling one can possibly receive is knowing that one has successfully completed his or her deployment and is being sent home to U.S. soil.

“When I landed in the U.S., I was never happier to be a resident of the United States of America. I appreciated America one-hundred times more when I landed,” Subler says. “Talk about having it rough. I don’t know anyone in the United States that has it rough compared to these people in Southern Afghanistan.”

Throughout the time he spent while deployed in Afghanistan, one of Subler’s most intriguing memories is the children. During times of rest between foot patrols, the Afghan children would frequently and eagerly talk with the soldiers.

“It was neat interacting with the children,” Subler says. “They were so innocent; they didn’t have war on their minds. Yeah, they knew what it was, but all they wanted to do was have fun, just like any other kids.”

According to an Afghanistan Rights Monitor report, one of the biggest groups victimized by the war is the Afghan children.

The report includes that in 2009, an average of three children were killed daily in war-related incidents. The devastating loss of more than Afghan 1,050 children in 2009 was not significantly caused by mere military accidents or faults on the U.S. side. Rather, the culprit is the Taliban, who is said to have been responsible for at least 64 percent of these deaths.

The War in Afghanistan began with the hope of eliminating alQaeda terrorist activity, but goals slowly shifted toward facilitating a humanitarian aspect. Much like the building operations that Corbidge led, the U.S. coalition worked to help build schools, clinics and government buildings in hopes of bringing stability to the area and instilling confidence within the local people.

Just like any other struggle for freedom, the costs are enormous.

Death is a possibility that soldiers must accept the moment they fly into the country in which they will serve their deployment. Subler leads an example of how to persevere through the struggle and hold the gift of faith close to endure and triumph over the situation.

“The doctors and the nurses were crying because they spent four hours trying to keep this guy alive,” Subler says, referring to the soldier who suffered a fatal chest wound caused by a landmine explosion. “I started to get a little teary-eyed. All the doctors were gathering around the operating table—and this soldier just died minutes ago after they spent four hours on him. You do the best you can with what you’ve got. You’re not in control of life and death.”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 31

BIG AIR

LEFT: Senior Alex Green sports her sister, Erin’s, jacket.

TOP: The swords one earns after he or she has gone through the academy.

HERE: The plane that Alex’s grandfather made.

While some graduating seniors are thinking about universities, East senior Alex Green has her sights set on the sky and looks to follow in her brother’s footsteps and earn her wings in the Air Force Academy. story jasmine tuazon | photos sierra whitlock

w

ithin the mountains of Colorado Springs stood the legendary United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). It was “Parents Weekend,” a brief period after 8-10 weeks of basic training during which the cadets could invite their families to experience life at the Academy.

After she passed through security at the main gate, 8-year-old Alex Green looked through the crowd of cadets with their families. Then, at the top of the grand ramp at the front of the campus, she spotted her brother Jack. He stood in his blue service uniform with his shaved head, polished shoes and rank on his shoulders.

Now a 17-year-old East senior preparing for her college education, Green still remembers her first trip to the Academy.

“Seeing my brother in his uniform for the first time [in three months] was really inspirational for me,” Green says. “He looked good and carried himself a little differently. He seemed older to me.”

For Green, her experience at the USAFA had such a strong emotional meaning to her that it motivated her to try to join the Air Force.

“Ever since I first visited the Air Force Academy, it’s been the only

32 | Spark | January 3, 2012

thing I’ve ever aimed for,” Green says. “It’s never changed since then, and I can’t imagine that I would ever do something different.”

During her USAFA visit, she saw the cadets’ close relationships with each other, as well as their professionalism when marching in parades or making presentations.

Green’s first exposure to the Air Force, however, was not when she visited her brother at the USAFA; her relatives and immediate family have a long history of involvement in this military branch. Alex’s father, John, graduated from the Academy and served in the Air Force for 10 years. Her mother, Jaime, often moved around the country when she was a child because of Alex’s grandfather, who also served in the Air Force.

Two of Alex’s siblings, Jack and her older sister Erin, have both graduated from the USAFA and are now working on their piloting careers. Despite growing up with such a great military influence, Alex says that she has never been pushed to join the service.

“My siblings and I didn’t have any pressure to go to the Air Force Academy,” Alex says. “It’s strictly a personal choice for all of us. We could tell our parents that we wanted to be a hairstylist, and all they

“

would say is, ‘Just be the best one.’”

Having been in the Air Force Academy and having the prior knowledge of how stressful the Academy can be, John says he has always made sure that each of his children truly want to go into the Air Force.

Whatever his children decide, he hopes that they make their career choices because it is what they want to do.

“I’ve checked with Jack, Erin and Alex about their decisions to join the Air Force Academy,” John says. “I’ve always said that you’ll quit in two weeks if you go to a U.S. military academy just because your dad or friend did it. I wanted to make sure that they were making the decision for themselves.”

Alex affirms that her decision to go to the Academy stems from her own personal desire not only to serve her country, but also in order to be part of the Air Force Academy. She says that much of her inspiration came from her family, specifically Jack and Erin.

“You hear a lot of people say things like, ‘I can’t stand my little brother,’ but that’s not how my siblings and I are,” Alex says. “We were taught that family is really important, and that’s really kept us together. Erin and my other sister Jaime sing together and share clothes, and Jack and I play sports together all the time. I was the little girl who thought, ‘Man, I wish I was like my older sister,’ and, “Gosh, my brother is the coolest person I’ve ever met in my life.’”

While they were in the Academy, Jack and Erin stayed connected with their family through letters, emails and phone calls and always shared their anxieties and experiences.

“The Air Force Academy was certainly no easy place,” Jack says.

“You go through the normal college experience of academics and on top of that, there is the rigid military structure and physical training, like running up a mountain with a rifle. You sacrifice a lot of personal freedoms, but it gives you a pretty cool sense of patriotism.”

Having family support has helped Jack and Erin get through the physical and mental challenges of the Academy.

“My family wrote me letters during basic training. My family also sent me care packages as a freshman and talked with me on the phone as an upperclassman,” Erin says. “They provided their love and an ear for me to vent. Luckily, my family had an understanding of what I was going through and could provide their advice and guidance when I needed it.”

In talking with her siblings and parents about their Academy experiences and careers in the Air Force, Alex is aware of the responsibilities that come with being in the Academy. She hopes to become a flight surgeon, which is a medical aviation personnel and flight hours.

[AFTER] MY FIRST VISIT TO THE ACADEMY, I SAID, ‘I’M GOING TO GET INTO THE AIR FORCE.’ IT’S NEVER REALLY CHANGED SINCE THEN, AND I CAN’T IMAGINE THAT I WOULD EVER DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

“It is just like a 4-year college, so you have to keep up with your academics to make sure you don’t get kicked out,” Alex says. “You have an athletic responsibility to be in some sort of sport or intramural, and you have military obligations [like marching in parades and staying organized for room and uniform inspections]. After you leave the Academy, you have an eight-year commitment to be an officer in the Air Force. It’s a very difficult lifestyle, but it leads to a very admirable career.”

Alex’s family situation is not typical for most applicants.

“Believe it or not, it’s extremely rare for people who go into the Air Force Academy to have family members who have also been in the military,” John says. “In Erin’s graduating class, there were only 47 out of about 1300 cadets that had any sort of attachment through their families, so many [cadets] didn’t know exactly what they were getting into.”

Because it is so uncommon for several people in a single family to go to the Academy, local 7-year USAFA Admissions Liaison Officer Lieutenant Colonel Matt Tramonte knows the Green family and has worked with Alex and her siblings.

In a year he works with 10-15 students in the northern Greater Cincinnati area and guides them through the process of getting accepted into the USAFA. “Only 7.8 percent of the United Staes Air Force Academy class of 2015 are sons or daughters of service academy graduates,” Tramonte says. “However, if a cadet is at the USAFA for any other reason than their own deep desire to be a cadet and a future officer in the U.S. Air Force, then they find themselves constantly questioning their own motivation and will find it easy to quit. Many describe the USAFA experience as ‘drinking through a fire hose’ because it presents new cadets with so many school, military and athletic challenges at one time.”

For those hoping to attend the USAFA, Tramonte says that high school students need to work hard and build their resume early.

“To be a competitive applicant for the service academies, you must have a solid academic transcript, which you start at the very beginning of your high school career,” Tramonte says. “Leadership experience and potential is essential, and those who have been accepted demonstrate a history of accomplishment and make a difference in the areas they get involved.”

Tramonte’s advice, Alex’s own research, and the Green family’s precautions have given Alex an advantage, allowing her to present a competitive application.

“When I decided that I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy, I set most of my activities towards accomplishing that goal,” Alex says.

“I made sure I was always in Honors and Advanced Placement courses and earned good grades. I stay in physical shape by playing a lot of sports like volleyball, softball and track and working out by myself on a consistent basis.”

Just as it has taken Alex a long time to build her resume, she has also dedicated a great deal of time to completing the application process.

She has applied to numerous government officials for a nomination, or approval to be a considered USAFA applicant.

After being interviewed by several senators and congressmen, Alex received a nomination from Speaker of the House John Boehner on Dec. 3, 2011. She is working to complete the official application for the USAFA, which includes passing a Pulmonary Function Test and a medical exam.

After that is finished, all she will be waiting for is to get an appointment, or acceptance, into the academy, which she expects to receive sometime between April and May of 2012.

“It’s nerve-wracking being ‘almost-there,’” Alex says. “It’s so big for me. When I was eight, I had the pleasure of being able to watch the experience up close through people who were important to me, but getting into the USAFA seemed so far away. Now it’s here. All I have to do is wait.”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 33

RIDING THE COAST

East sophomore Garrett Hawkins holds his grandfather’s hat in front of the duplex that he has been living in since his honesty was destroyed by a tornado in May 2011.

East sophomore Garrett Hawkins has already begun training for the U.S. Coast Guard. This past May, Garrett helped his family during a tornado that damaged his house, and his helpful nature and sense of community is one of the driving forces behind why he wants to enter the ranks of the Coast Guard. story christian roehm | photo sierra whitlock | infographic arvind madhavan

G

arrett Hawkins woke up to the sound of his sister’s scream.

Tornado sirens were blaring throughout the night. Peeking out of the basement window, Hawkins checked to see what was going on, but all he could see was black. The wall that once held the roof over his second-story room now covered the basement window.

Hawkins ran up the stairs and around the corner into the hall.

Insulation was falling like snow and began to pile up on the stairs. The roof of the house was gone, sucked up by the passing tornado.

Without even knowing it, Hawkins had gone from taking a 10-minute nap in the basement to being sucked right into an experience that will be very similar to the ones he will find himself in later in life.

“I am going [into the Coast Guard] when I turn 17,” East sophomore Garrett Hawkins says. “I’m going to go through basic training before I graduate, so once I graduate, I can go straight in.”

According to his parents, Hawkins has been interested in the military since he was three. His grandfather had been in the Navy and was a soldier on the USS Yorktown. Because of Hawkins’ interest, his grandfather gave him a hat that he wore while he was part of the USS Yorktown crew. The hat quickly became one of Hawkins’ most prized possessions after his grandfather passed away when Hawkins was only six years old.

34 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Shortly after his grandfather died, Hawkins became close with Ray Hignite, a family friend who is in the Army. Despite the 12-year age difference, the two soon became close friends.

“I met [Hignite] when I was about six years old,” Hawkins says.

“Ever since then I [have been] talking to him about [the military]. He calls and talks about all his stories up at camp.”

Hignite recognized Hawkins’ interest in the military early on and has given him gifts to support that interest throughout the years. He gave Hawkins medals that he earned from his first war in Afghanistan and even made him a personalized uniform with his name and rank. “[Hawkins] was just totally blown away by [my] uniform, what I do and what I’ve done,” Hignite says. “I think I became a mentor to him. He really looked at me like a role model to help him get through his schooling and [help him reach his] ultimate goal of being in the military.”

When the tornado hit Hawkins’ house at 12:30 a.m. on May 26, he stepped up and took action, just as he will have to do in the Coast Guard.

“I guess you could say I was the only sane person,” Hawkins says. “I was the person that called 911 and got everyone downstairs. I wouldn’t let my mom go back upstairs.”

After making sure his family was safe, Hawkins called Hignite

to tell him the news of the disaster that just took place. Hignite was impressed that Hawkins handled the situation so well.

“He called me in the middle of the night,” Hignite says. “I couldn’t believe [that this had happened]. But without regard to his own safety, he was worried about getting his family out of the house. That will stick with him, and he’ll face that situation again [in the Coast Guard].

It probably won’t be his family, but he’s going to be facing the same kind of pressure and environment, and he’s already [proven that he can handle it].”

Hawkins has always known that he wanted to go into the military, but he considered other branches before settling on the Coast Guard.

“He has changed his mind so many times,” Garrett’s sister Hannah says. “First he started with the Army [because of Hignite], then he changed over to the Navy because of [our grandfather’s experience in that branch], and then he changed to the Coast Guard.”

In order to get a head start with his preparation, Garrett attended a Coast Guard training camp in Chicago for a week and a half in 2010, the summer before his freshman year. “[The training] helps you with your mental ability, [and] knowing what you’re getting yourself into,” he says. “It helps you [discover] what you actually want to do and if you want that job or not. It helps train your body to actually deal with the kinds of circumstances [you will have to face].”

One of the reasons Garrett has chosen to go into the Coast Guard rather than another branch of the military is because of the sense of community.

“The whole military helps people out, but I like the Coast Guard because it actually helps people around you and your community, and all around the United States,” Garrett says. “Even though when you’re in the war and, it’s helping the United States, you don’t get to see the people like you would [when you are in the Coast Guard]. If I saw someone I saved, I could come up to them and ask how they’re doing.”

As of right now, Garrett says he wants to make rescue swimming

“

YOU’RE GOING TO BE HURTING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, BUT IT’S WORTH IT. IT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO.

in the Coast Guard his career. He is already an active swimmer and he swam on the East swim team during his freshman year.

“I’ve known rescue swimmers and they’ve said it’s a really hard job,” Garrett says. “You’re going to be hurting the rest of your life, but it’s worth it. It’s what I want to do.”

Even though rescue swimming can be a dangerous job, his parents support his decision to go into the Coast Guard.

“I have mixed feelings about [him joining the Coast Guard],” Garrett’s mother Cindy says. “I know that this is really what he’s chosen to [do], and I support him. It wouldn’t be my first choice for him, but if that’s what he wants to do, I’ll be there [for him].”

Although his family is supportive, many of Garrett’s friends worry about the possible dangers of this career. “[Most of my friends] are scared for me. They don’t want me to do it,” Garrett says. “They think that once I’m in [the Coast Guard], I’m not going to like it or I’m going to get killed. But it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. And like I tell everyone, if I die doing what I like to do and I’m saving people doing it, then it’s all right.”

As a rescue swimmer, Garrett says that the majority of his time would be spent doing search and rescue missions. These missions range from rescuing people in accidents at sea to helping victims of natural disasters.

That means Garrett will get to save people from natural disasters very similar to the one he went through when his house was destroyed by a tornado.

“Once I saw that everyone came together and helped [my family], I knew that could be me one day, helping other people in a different situation,” Garrett says. “It made me want to [be in the Coast Guard] more. After going through that storm, I [feel that I] can help people [that are in] a bigger storm, like a hurricane, tsunami or an earthquake. I want to help people in those situations. I want to help get them out of their situation and put them in a better place.”

When the tornado blew the roof off of Garrett’s house, it took many of his possessions along with it, including the medals that Hignite had given him as well as his grandfather’s Navy hat.

But in the days following the event, a little miracle happened.

Garrett’s father was responding to a call at a local residency for his job at Cincinnati Bell when he discovered a pile of debris left over from the storm. On top of the resident’s lawn mower was Garrett’s missing Navy hat—the hat that Garrett’s grandfather proudly wore on the USS Yorktown when he was 17. The hat that had survived the storm. “[It is] really weird [that we found the hat], because I was really close to my grandpa when I was younger,” Hawkins says. He gave it back to us I guess.”

Enlistment Rates By Division Per Fiscal Year 80, 000 70, 000 60, 000 50, 000 40, 000 30, 000 20, 000 10, 000 2000

2001 Army Goal

2002 Army Actual

2003 Navy Goal

2004 Navy Actual

2005 Marines Goal

2006 Marines Actual

2007 Air Force Goal

2008 Air Force Actual

2009

(number of personnel)

180,000

Army 3,823 Air Force 19,309 Marine Corps 318 Navy 366

Active Personnel By Branch From Ohio

Key

0

The United States are home to over 1.4 million military personnel, and 1.2 million of those are stationed within the country. Texas and California lead the nation in military personnel at 179,605 and 179,171, respectively.

Active Military Personnel By Home State

United States Marine Corps Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer of Kentucky received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on Sept. 8, 2009. He personally killed eight members of the Taliban, evacuated 12 friendly Afghan forces, and provided cover for an additional 24 Marines and U.S. military while they escaped.

Wounded in Action

Killed by Non-Hostiles

Killed by Hostiles

Operation Iraqi Freedom

151 34 1,262

Operation Enduring Freedom

49 21 556

Ohio Casualties of War

infographic jeff back and irfan ibrahim | information statistical information analysis division of the department of defense, msnbc. msn.com, federation of american scientists, and the rand corporation

HOMECOMING

OPERATION:

Each soldier is issued tan combat boots. The boots are made heavy for maximum durability. A pair can be bought for $30 to $300.

The M16A2 and M16A4 are the models of gun that every soldier is given. It weighs 8.79 pounds and costs $586 for a soldier to replace.

Standard issue helmets are made of Kevlar. A Kevlar helmet cover costs between $200 and $300.

Gloves that are issued to soldiers are fire resistant and protect from sharp debris. A pair costs $90 to $100.

Soldiers wear knee pads to combat discomfort cause by impact, pressure, or debris.

Approximately $15 to $35.

Optical equipment such as night vision, infrared and thermal goggles are worn to complete specific missions. Prices range from $500 to over $15,000.

Currently, the cost to outfit a combat soldier is roughly $17,500. The commercial prices of various equipment is shown below.

Outfitting a Soldier

Following President Obama’s order to have all troops stationed in Iraq leave by Dec. 31 to Kuwait and, for most troops, return to American soil, there is time to reflect on the distribution of those troops.

Several aspects of America’s war efforts have remained untapped, such as the anatomy of a soldier’s uniform and the war’s casualties.

information usmilitary.about.com, uscav.com

100 Soldiers

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

1,000 Soldiers

Afghanistan

5,000 Soldiers 25,000 Soldiers

--

Iraq none

Through the past 10 fiscal years, the average number of soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan and Irag has flucuated greatly.

Tallying Troops

Key

5,000 (number of soldiers)

5,000

120,000

symptoms of Post Traumatic Stree Disorder (PTSD.)

20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003– 300,000 total Americans–experience Nearly

1

A Home Away From Home Of the United States’ 1.4 million military personnel stationed around the globe, 207,674 can be found in foreign countries.

As of June 30, Afghanistan and Iraq held the most US military strength with 111,700 and 91,700 troops, respectively.

Countries not shaded do not have a US military presence.

NEW RECRUITS

Left to Right: Ethan Slageter, Elliot Ludlow and Andrew Ferris.

East seniors Ethan Slageter, Elliot Ludlow and Andrew Ferris have made the choice to join the Marines. story natasha rausch | photos sierra whitlock

T

he date is set. June 18 is fast approaching. The 13 weeks of rigorous training are impending.

And the boys are more ready than ever to leave their homes in Ohio to take on the challenges that await them in Parris Island, South Carolina.

Shortly after graduating from high school, East seniors Andrew Ferris, Ethan Slageter and Elliot Ludlow will be heading to the Marine Corps boot camp. The arduous recruiting process to reach this requires involves several key steps. For the 75 students recruited each year from the Butler and Hamilton areas, the process allows for a successful transition into the Marines.

The first of these steps involves taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, which requires a minimum score of 31 out of 99 total points for each recruit.

The four percent of East seniors that intend to join the U.S. military are required to pass the minimum scoring level respective to the branch in which they want to enlist.

“The ASVAB is basically the ACT for the Marines,” Ferris says. “It is just there to make sure that you are smart enough to enlist.”

After taking the ASVAB, the three recruits held an interview with Marines from the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in Hamilton, OH. The interviews are conducted in order to discuss enlisting, establish priorities and plan what the recruits hope to accomplish.

“We [as recruiters] will find someone we might like or potential enlisters might come to us,” Hamilton Marine Recruiting Office

38 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Gunnery Sergeant Frank says. “We sit down with the recruits and their parents and discuss what their interests are and what they would like to accomplish in the next four years.

Then we discuss how those things could be accomplished in the Marines.”

The decision to enlist, however, has not just affected Slageter, Ferris and Ludlow.

Through interviews and paper signing, their families have followed the enlistment process every step of the way. “[My family] is torn up about my enlistment,” Slageter says. “But my parents tell me that if it is what I want to do, then they will support me no matter what. It really wasn’t hard to convince them.”

For Ferris, whose main inspiration to enlist was his cousin Private First Class Scott Ferris who is currently serving in Afghanistan; the process was not so easy. But when it came time for his interview with Sgt. Ryan Nikzad, Andrew’s mother Ronda Ferris tried to keep herself from crying. As the sergeant entered the door, Ronda broke into tears, while his little brothers looked up in awe at the Marine standing in the doorway, looking like thier brother would.

Tod Ferris, Andrew’s father, was there to make sure that his son was committed before he rushed into signing the papers. But once Andrew’s conversations were filled with Marine Corps hopes, Tod knew that Andrew’s ambitions were set in stone. “ [Andrew] wasn’t going to care whether I said yes or no,” Tod says. “He was committed.

[Joining the Marines] is all that he has talked about for over a year now and I know that he

is serious about it.”

After realizing Andrew was ready, his parents signed the papers and “proud” was the only word that could describe their feelings.

Elliot’s parents felt the same way. It would be an “excellent chance for Elliot to grow” according to his father Don Ludlowp; they were not difficult to convince that the Marine Corps was a good choice.

“Elliot thrives in a structured environment,” his mother Robin Ludlow says.

“He has always been interested in the military.

I think [the Marine Corps] will be a positive influence and he will change for the better.”

Once they made thier decision, the recruits progressed to physical testing, also known as the Initial Strength Test (IST).

Although it does not give an accurate perception of the rigor of boot camp, the IST determined whether the recruits met the minimum standards that involve strength and cardiovascular endurance. Eye exams and blood tests are a few of the procedures performed were followed by a thorough background check. After this examination was passed, the recruits were swore into the Marine Corps.

Then, they moved on to the next step, Delayed Entry Program (DEP).

“DEP is like [pulling back] the curtain [in] the Wizard of Oz,” Gunnery Sgt. Frank says.

“It helps future Marines [prepare] for the rigors of boot camp, and gives them an idea of what it will be like.”

Depending on which side of the Mississippi River male recruits are located, they will attend boot camp at one of two

places: San Diego, California or Parris Island, South Carolina. DEP prepares these future Marines for boot camp by teaching necessary basics such as how to address a drill instructor and how to perform certain drills correctly.

Once a week until boot camp the boys check in with the recruiting office and the recruiters to confirm that they are on track with grades and graduation.

“The Marines will give you the biggest challenge,” Ethan says. “If you want quality and the best guys protecting you when you are out in combat, then you go to the Marines.

When you go through the Marine Corps, you see a 100 percent different person afterwards.

[Marines] are always addressing you as ‘yes ma’am, no ma’am,’ looking you in the eye confident [in] with everything that they do.”

So far, Andrew, Ethan and Elliot have not experienced any pre-boot camp jitters. But according to them, they will be “shaking in their boots” a week before they are bused to South Carolina. The yellow foot prints that line the sidewalk where the recruits first step off the bus, mark the drill instructor territory and will greet them into their new lives.

East Senior Natalie Leahy, whose brother Nick Leahy has already met the yellow footprints of boot camp, is excited that her boyfriend Ethan will be turning over a new leaf in the Marine Corps.

“I think that boot camp changes everybody differently,” Natalie says. “I am not [worried] about [Ethan] joining. It is what he wants to do and he has wanted for a long time.”

After 13 weeks of rugged training, the new marines will return home for a week.

Then they will be shipped back to North Carolina for Infantry Training Battalion (ITB), a 52 day program that will mold them into infantrymen. Andrew and Elliot will be training for their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), known as Salt Infantry 0351, while Ethan will be training for his MOS known as Mortar Crew 0341.

Once ITB is completed, the three students will be in the reserves and heading off to college, alleviating the parental worries that often accompany military enlistment.

“Any parent has fears when their children are going to be put in harm’s way, whether they are military servicemen, police officers or firemen,” Ethan’s father Gene Slageter says. “But at the same time, that is when you have to be a parent and back away because it is something that they want to do. I think he has an obligation to try to protect people that can’t protect themselves. For Ethan, I really think that this is his calling.”

June 18 is just the beginning for the three recruits and their families. The recruiting process has given Andrew, Ethan and Elliot the opportunities that they have been craving.

The boys are ready to leave Ohio for their new lives, to become the few and the proud.

To become Marines.

BRANCHING OUT THE MILITARY The U.S. military is divided into five branches. This division strenghtens the military as a whole by having each branch specialize in a particular field. infographic ian castro

Navy 1. Established in 1775 2. Conducts majority of missions at sea 3. Main supporter of the Air Force 4. Has no reserve component

Marine Corps 1. Established in 1775 2. Second smallest military branch 3. Originally part of the Navy; became separate in 1796 4. Works closely with Navy and Army Coast Guard 1. Established in 1790 2. Smallest military branch 3. Originally part of the Department of Treasury 4. Now falls under Department of National Security Air Force 1. Military’s most recent branch 2. Established in 1947 3. Contains Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves 4. Main supporter of military ground troops

Army 1. Established in 1775 2. Largest and oldest military branch 3. Consists of Army Reserves and Army National Guard 4. Works primarily with Air Force

information todaysmilitary.com

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 39

SEMPER FI

Christian Dekker (left) smiles with a fellow member of the Marine Corps during boot camp.

After years of dedication, Christian Dekker has matured into a stout Private First Class in the Marines. story tommy behan | photo used with permission from dekker | infographic emily chao

E

ast graduate and Private First Class (PFC) Christian Dekker is enlisted, but never make the mistake of calling him a soldier. He is not enlisted as a soldier. He is enlisted as a marine—a marine in Mvoc4-12 bravo team’s unit.

The military was always his dream. Even as a child, Dekker was determined to serve his country by joining the Marine Corps.

“I have always wanted to join the military and I decided [that I wanted] to join the Marine Corps in eighth grade,” Dekker says. “It is just something I have always wanted to do.”

And he did just that. Dekker signed on with the Marine Corps in his junior year of high school as an early entree. Since he was not yet 18 years old, Dekker’s parents had to co-sign, approving his enlistment.

While his parents did support their son’s decision, they were worried.

“I was not very happy when he told us. I was hoping he would change his mind but I had to be supportive because it is something he wanted to do,” says Christian Dekker’s mother Becky Bekker.

After he signed up to join the Marine Corps, Christian was assigned to Sergeant Ryan Nikzad, a recruiter who helped him prepare for boot camp. Nikzad, who served in the military with security forces in the infantry (the Marine Corps equivalent of a SWAT team), built Christian up for boot camp with intense physical routines including running, push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups.

“Christian is an eager marine: strong-willed, with a lot of potential to become a good leader,” Nikzad says. “He is dedicated to a bigger cause. He understands the meaning of service and sacrifice.”

March 19, 2003 President George W. Bush officially launches the invasion on Iraq and the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

September 11, 2001 Terrorists hijack three planes and crash them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, killing 2,977 Americans.

Christian’s father, Stuart Dekker, was fairly prepared for the military adjustment by the time Christian was ready and able to leave for the military. According to Stuart, the fact that Christian joined the Marine Corps showed a lot of maturity on his part because he realized he was not ready for the rigorous academics in college. Instead, he wanted to take on the physical challenge of the Marines.

“We are extremely proud. But there is that fear that he will be called into combat,” Stuart says.

If the call comes, however, Christian will be ready.

“I remember basic training getting fun, and then drill sergeants would just f--- us up,” Christian says. “It is more of a head game than anything; much more mental than physical.”

In boot camp, Christian became close friends with 22-year-old PFC Cody Copeland. A native to Cullman, Alabama, Copeland joined the Marine Corps because he wanted the feeling of giving what he had to his country. Now serving in the Military Police within the Marine Corps, Copeland, who endured basic training with Christian, really connected with him after they were put in the same unit for MCT. “I remember when we were put in the field for three days once and it rained on us all night. Christian came over to me and hopped in my tarp,” Copeland says. “I asked him what he was doing and he said ‘I’m freezing to death.’ So we shared a tarp that night.”

According to Copeland, he became closer to Christian more so than to many of his friends back home. [story continued on page 47]

May 1, 2003 Bush proclaims that major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

Iraq

Dec. 14, 2003 24-year dictator Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops.

June 28, 2004 Iraq is declared a sovereign nation.

Jan. 12, 2005 U.S. inspectors declare their search for weapons of mass destruction over, citing that the intelligence they received was “erroneous,” according to CNN.

FRONT

LINES

Until Sept. 20 of this year, Catie Mitchell was forced to keep her relationship with her fiancé hidden in order to remain on active duty. story drew souders

C

aitie Mitchell was in a tough place. She had just graduated with a major in elementary education but because of the down economy, no schools were hiring. With no job came no steady flow of income, and she could not find a way to continue to pay the lease on her small apartment in Lexington, Kentucky. Worst of all, the person that seemed to make everything OK was in Iraq, helping to resolve conflicts that were bigger than Mitchell’s problems back home. She was exhausted, beaten and lonely.

But she could not tell a soul.

Due to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT),” the federal law that banned openly gay citizens from serving in the military put into effect on Dec. 21, 1993, Mitchell was not permitted to disclose her relationship with her fiancé Whitney Bundy for fear of risking Bundy’s discharge from the Army.

According to Mitchell, this was one of the hardest parts of Bundy’s initial deployment.

“When we went to her going-away ceremony it was big and elaborate. There were boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives and everyone was hugging and kissing,” Mitchell says. “I was there with her family and I had to be ‘that friend.’ You know, the person who’s hugging you, but not hugging you too tightly. It was awkward.”

Since they first met through a mutual friend in the army over a year and a half ago, Mitchell and Bundy knew that they were working on a schedule. The couple had known about Bundy’s deployment in June 2011 from day one of the relationship, so they had some time to Aug. 21, 2006 President Bush says that the United States “had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th.”

Nov. 5, 2006 Saddam Hussein is convicted of the 1982 killings of 148 Iraqi Shi’ites and sentenced to death by hanging.

Dec. 30, 2006 Saddam Hussein is executed.

March 2007 The troop surge in Iraq begins.

May 1, 2011 A Navy Seal team bombards Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani hideout and kills the leader.

July 22, 2008 The troop surge is declared over.

Dec. 31, 2011 President Barack Obama declares that all troops will be withdrawn from Iraq due to the expiration of the security agreement enacted under the Bush administration.

photos used with paid permission from mctcampus or labeled for commercial reuse information provided by cbs news, the washington post, thinkprogress.org, the new york times, understandingwar.org, the telegraph

BONDING ON THE

make decisions about whether to arrange important events before the deployment or to wait for Bundy’s return.

On Christmas day in 2010, Mitchell opened her last present to reveal a ring tied onto a newspaper with string. She screamed out “yes” before she even noticed that Bundy had purchased an advertisement in the restricted section outlining everything that Bundy loved about Mitchell, or that she had highlighted “will you marry me” on the top of the page.

“I got the newspaper and everything prepared and wrapped it up and counted down the presents she opened until she got to that one,” Bundy says. “I laughed a little when I had to basically spell it out for her. It took her a few seconds to catch on but it was great. My hands were still shaking when I put the ring on her finger.”

Despite being an excited, newly-engaged couple, the two women made the decision to push off the wedding until after Bundy came home from Iraq. Mitchell says that she did not want to be “one of those wives who spends the first few months of marriage away from her soldier,” and figured that if their relationship could hold strong while Bundy was on the other side of the world, then there should be no doubt that they would be ready for marriage.

The wait, however, proved to be harder than she expected. As soon as Bundy headed off to Fort Atterbury in Edinburgh, Indiana to begin mobilization, Mitchell moved in with her mother, Karen Day, whose husband had also been deployed to Iraq. The two women relied on each other heavily for support over the course of their partners’ 10-month deployments.

“You’re so used to having your partner there to talk to about that shitty day you had at work or how obnoxious your boss is, but then it becomes ‘Well they’re not there anymore, but hey, here’s this awesome person that I’ve know all my life who’s in the same situation,’” Mitchell says. “[My mom and I would be like ‘Oh my gosh, my boss is driving me crazy.’ [My mom would say] ‘My boss is driving me crazy too! Let’s go get pizza.’ I think we’ve discovered a brand new relationship that we didn’t have before.”

Even though they were going through similar experiences, Karen and her daughter had distinct ways of dealing with their loneliness.

Karen became severely depressed while Mitchell branched out and took a more active role in dealing with her grief.

“I met the woman who owns Inspired Floral Design because I wanted her to do flowers for our wedding,” Mitchell says. “It didn’t work out that way, but I got into [being a florist] and found out I loved it. I work as a private nanny as well. Between the two jobs I was literally going to work from nine until nine every day, and that was six days a week. I kind of numbed myself to what was happening.”

Due to DADT, the fact that Mitchell had a same-sex partner excluded her from any army-wives support groups. The law, however, would not be a factor anymore.

“I think a lot of what made it so much easier was there was always that hope,” says Catie’s younger brother, East junior Dillon Mitchell. “[Obama made the announcement that] in 60 or 90 days DADT is going to be repealed. [Caitie and Whitney] were like, ‘We only have to keep it secret for this long, so we might as well not slip up or just be lazy about it. If we work a little harder for a little longer, we can just make it official and no one gets hurt.’”

On Sept. 20 the couple finally got its wish. Active at 12:01 a.m., DADT was repealed and they no longer had to hide their relationship.

“I was tired of hiding who I am or pretending to be someone I’m not,” Bundy says. “The day of the repeal, I made it ‘Facebook official’ so to speak. I identified myself as a lesbian and identified Caitie as my fiancé. I can now walk through the mall or grocery store and hold her hand without worrying if I’ll bump into a soldier I know. I am very proud to have Caitie for a partner, and now I don’t have to hide that I’m with her.”

Throughout Bundy’s deployment, both partners made the extra effort to communicate as much as possible. Caitie had to work around Bundy’s strict military schedule and an eight-hour time difference to organize daily phone calls and Skype dates.

“Whit really made the extra effort to make sure that we chatted at least once a day, even if it was just a ‘Hey I love you’ kind of thing,” Caitie says. “She actually bought a Hodgie phone. It’s a cell phone but it’s run through some sort of Iraqi cell phone service. We had that, email and Skype. Up until about the last week-and-a-half that she was in Iraq, we talked every single day.”

Soon, the couple will not have to worry about inconsistent internet

SOCIAL SOLDIERS

connection or huge phone bills resulting from long-distance calls.

Bundy and her unit traveled from Iraq to Kuwait earlier this month and are scheduled to arrive home before Christmas.

When Bundy gets back, the first order of business will be ironing out the final details of the wedding, which is scheduled for June 6 at the Newport Aquarium.

“Our guest list is sitting at around 250 people, and it’s just amazing to see the outpouring of support. [The repeal of] DADT made a huge difference. Easily a hundred of the people that are invited are people that we’ve worked with, so if [the repeal] hadn’t happened we’d have a much smaller ceremony,” Caitie says. “I think it’s really going to be a beautiful, simple, summer ceremony that reflects who we are as a couple and how far we’ve come during this entire [experience].”

Ultimately, the couple says it just wants things to go back to the way they were.

“Sometimes Whitney and I joke that we are the straightest gay couple out there,” Caitie says. “We want what everyone else wants; a family, a house and a white picket fence.”

Spark

l

High Schoo Lakota East Online Edition

Go online to read to read more about the Mitchell family and its controversy and struggle on our .com lakotaeastspark.com website at lakotaeastspark

story christina wilkerson

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here are 663 million registered Skype users worldwide. Some use it for business conferences. Some use it to hear about their spouse’s day while on a trip. Some use it to chat with a friend from school on a Friday night. But for Connie Halloran, Skype is much more than just an internet video calling system. It’s the one thing that gives her the chance to see her son from 611 miles away from home.

While Connie is not the most technologically skilled, her daughter, East senior Amanda Long, helps her use Skype so that she can see and talk to her 35-year-old son Chuck Long, who is currently stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.

Chuck, a Navy Seal of 15 years, has previously been stationed in Jacksonville, Florida and San Diego, California. But no matter where he is, Halloran and Amanda know that he is never more than a click away.

“I talk to Chuck almost daily right now, because he is land-based for three years,” Connie says. “I pretty much know everything [that happens] there every day.”

With modern technology, it is easier for Chuck to share his life with Amanda and Connie back at home.

“We text and talk almost daily,” Connie says. “He sends videos through email and Facebook to keep me informed of everything there, especially of my granddaughter, Olivia.”

Connie faces a different situation with her 19-year-old Michael Long, who is currently in boot camp training to become a Navy Seal as well. Halloran and Amanda have no way of communicating with him other than regular mail.

“Writing letters is difficult and time consuming, but [Michael] is worth the effort,” Connie says. “[Writing] helps build his morale and keep him connected to home.”

Although writing letters seems to be outdated, Halloran and Amanda still value the old-fashioned emotional comfort it provides.

“Reading personal letters from Michael sort of lets us know more of what’s going on in his world and in his head,” Amanda says. “[Chuck’s] photos are awesome, but reading Michael’s letters has provided some comfort. It’s like hearing things he’d just say around the house.”

But Amanda believes that technology such as Skype is significant in its own way, as well.

“I’ve heard of soldiers watching their children being born, live on

42 | Spark | January 3, 2012

webcam,” she says. “I think that’s insane. Being able to see someone keeps them real to you.”

For Cheree Gallant, the mother of 2010 East graduate Evan Gallant, Skype has allowed her to reconnect her with her son after his boot camp training for the U.S. Coast Guard.

“In a Skype session you can interact in real time and see where [your child is]. It is really the next best thing to being there,” Cheree says. “Once you finish a Skype session, you feel like you had a visit [with him] and you feel much more connected. Having gone 14 weeks without seeing him, it was so great to get to see and hear him live.”

For eight of those 14 weeks, the only form of communication that Cheree was able to have with Evan was letter writing, which she believes is extremely difficult.

“It is very stressful not knowing how difficult things are for your son or daughter as they begin this process,” she says. “You wonder all day whether they are keeping up with the expectations, how are they handling the intensity of the company commanders, and whether they are happy with the choice they made to enter the military.”

But even though this method was a struggle for her, Cheree is grateful that she was even able to hear from Evan despite the amount of time it took.

“Resorting to the basic communication tool of writing letters was difficult because we had to wait for delivery both ways,” she says. “But it was a welcomed format compared to nothing at all.”

Like Halloran, Cheree believes that modern technology like Skype has positively impacted the relationships between soldiers and their families.

“For the soldiers serving very long periods of time, Skype is a true gift for the families of these men and women who are far away,” she says, “and especially for the children of the soldiers who are serving.

The positive impact [that Skype] has [on people] really cannot be measured. It is amazing.”

Technology has enabled people like Halloran and Cheree to delete some of the distance between them and their sons. But in the end, any form of communication is a gift that they do not take for granted.

“I love to hear my sons’ voices, to see their faces or to just get a written letter,” Halloran says. “I want to connect in any way that I can.

It helps me feel their love and it helps them to feel mine.”

THE WAR AFTER THE

WAR

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been affecting soldiers returning home from battle for ages, but only until recently has light been shed on this growing epidemic. story and infographic shivang patel

I

t has been known about for more than 100 years. In the American Civil War it was called “soldier’s heart.” In World War I it was called “shell shock.” In World War II it was called “battle fatigue.” In the Vietnam War it was called “post-Vietnam syndrome.” Now it is a medical term known as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

When soldiers are fighting in combat or are in a warzone, they are forced to be very alert. When threats of combat are no longer present, the strong reactions decrease. However, this does not occur for some soldiers, causing them to develop PTSD, which is a psychological ailment in which the solider fails to adapt to civilian life.

Deputy Director for Education at the National Center for PTSD Dr. Jessica Hamblen said that it is adaptive for humans to have strong reactions when their lives are threatened. Often times, these reactions can lead to PTSD. Although PTSD can happen to anyone, soldiers are more prone to trauma.

When soldiers return to United States after the end of the nine-year, long Operation Iraqi Freedom on Dec. 31, 2011, some will develop PTSD. So far, 13.4 percent of military members that have served in Iraq have developed PTSD. Rates tend to be higher among military members.

According to the National Comorbidity Survey, approximately 61 percent of men and 51 percent of women have reported experiencing some sort of trauma in their lifetime. Trauma in itself is relatively common. There are many factors that may contribute to the onset of PTSD such as age, stress threshold, genetics and past traumatic experiences. Different types of trauma that can cause PTSD are childhood, personal assault, victimization, etc.

“It is important to recognize that the majority of individuals who experienced traumatic events actually don’t go on to develop PTSD,” Psychologist

“

WE’VE KNOWN ABOUT PTSD THROUGHOUT ALMOST ALL THE WAR ERAS. IT’S ALWAYS JUST BEEN CALLED SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

and the Cincinnati Veterans’ Affairs (VA) PTSD Clinic Assistant Director Dr. Ryan Faulkner says. “There are lots of things that could cause PTSD, but only minorities actually develop significant symptoms of PTSD that become problematic on a long-term basis.”

Heightened awareness is common for returning soldiers, but it alone is not enough to diagnose a person with PTSD. Clinical social worker at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center Kelly Warden works with a team of two psychologists and a psychiatrist when helping veterans. As a social worker, she helps veterans with psychosocial needs, such as housing and transportation difficulties.

Warden says that veterans must meet three of four criteria in order to be eligible for the PTSD therapy programs at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The first criteria for PTSD is that the person has to have experienced, witnessed or heard about a traumatic event.

The second criterion is that the traumatic experiences are consistently revisited through intrusive thoughts, distressing memories or nightmares. Warden says that the veterans who she works with feel like they are experiencing the events all over again.

Persistent avoidance of stimuli that are associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness is the third criterion. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Illnesses (DSM), which is a standard for analyzing mental illnesses, the numbing is caused by the fear of one or more of the following: no efforts to make thoughts or feelings in conversation associated with the trauma, avoiding activities, places or people associated with the trauma, inability to recall important aspects of the trauma, having a diminished interest in participation or activities, feeling detached from people or having a restrained range of emotions.

The fourth and final criterion is hyper arousal, a condition identified by entails insomnia, hyper-vigilance and difficulty concentrating.

Symptoms must also have to be present for more than one month.

As with any mental health disorder, the disturbance causes significant distress or impairment in people’s ability to function socially.

“We’ve known about PTSD throughout almost all the war eras.

It’s always just been called something different,” Warden said. “When people described shell shock, really those symptoms resembled PTSD. [Doctors] just didn’t have a name for it or treatment.

The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study says that of the 2.1 million soldiers who served in the Vietnam War, 31 percent of men and 26 percent of women were found to have PTSD. Although the percentages of soldiers with PTSD are different for all wars in which Americans have served, the symptoms are relatively the same.

“The main difference between newer veterans and older veterans is just the length of time they have been dealing with the symptoms,” Faulkner says. “There’s no real distinction in terms of symptoms folks are experiencing from PTSD in Iraq or Afghanistan. They are similar to those who have PTSD from the Vietnam War and Korean War.” At the Cincinnati VA PTSD clinic and throughout the country, several types of therapies are used to help veterans treat PTSD. The two psychotherapies primarily used are cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure.

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is once per week for individuals for an hour over a 12-week period, while prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is once per week for 90 minutes over a 10-week period. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ website, CPT involves the veteran learning about PTSD symptoms, becoming aware of thoughts and feels, learning skills to help cope and understanding how to live in the world after trauma. PE helps educate veterans, gives them skills to relax, allows for them practice real-world situations related to the trauma and assists them getting control of their thoughts and emotions by talking about the traumatic memory.

Both therapies are heavily structured and have veterans complete assignments in between the sessions in order to help them develop skills and strategies to effectively reduce the symptoms of PTSD they are experiencing. An individual’s adherence to their assignments

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 43

is an indicator of their success in either of the two psychotherapies.

According to Faulkner, seven out of ten individuals who complete the treatments no longer face significant symptoms of PTSD. “The more motivated the person is and the more they are willing to do those assignments, the more beneficial the therapy will be,” Faulkner says. “Therapy is not something a therapist gives to the individual, it is more about helping them to develop those skills [so they can manage their condition on] their own. Ideally, [we want veterans] to be in a situation [in which] they don’t need ongoing mental health treatment.”

In addition to psychotherapy, some veterans are given psychiatric medication such as Prozac, a prescription drug which is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It works by increasing the amount of serotonin. There is growing evidence, however, that the anti-anxiety medications can exacerbate symptoms of PTSD. “Unfortunately, the vast majority of psychiatric medications are prescribed by primary care physicians, who often don’t have a lot of first-hand experience with mental health conditions, “ Faulkner says.

“The reality is that anxiety medicines [such as] Valium and Xanax don’t actually treat the core cause of anxiety and PTSD.” Although anti-anxiety medications help with the anxiety induced by PTSD, the core cause of the disorder is still debated. Research suggests that the amygdala, one of the permanent emotional centers of the brain, important in regulating emotions and responses, is hijacked. In the brain of someone suffering from PTSD, the amygdala’s neurons are sporadically firing. Therapy is thought to help reengage more of the higher cortical functions such as privatization, organization and judgment, which involve the amygdala.

“Because PTSD typically involves a life threat or threat of serious physical [injury], what happens is that the person’s physiological reaction of fight or flight fires up, making the person’s heart race, the person sweat and feel on edge,” Faulkner says. “This is triggered over

Pathology of PTSD

and over again by the stimuli that are associated with the trauma or events. This may be a particular time of day or the site [of the events], a sound or a smell causing that same fight or flight response again.”

PTSD can create two spectrums of emotions. One end of the spectrum is apathy and the other end is hypersensitivity. According to Warden, both ends of the spectrum can cause social and familial problems, possibly leading to divorces and difficulties with children. “[On one end of the spectrum], people are so apathetic that they can’t access feelings for loved ones,” Warden said. “[At the other end of the spectrum] people are so overwhelmed with emotions because trauma affects them to the point at which they cannot control their emotions and that can cause a lot of problems.”

In order to help veterans and their families with social problems, the Cincinnati VA PTSD clinic has couple’s therapy, and according to Faulkner, these programs are effective.

In addition to the couples’ therapy programs, there are also education groups. Veterans receiving treatment can bring family members with them to the education group and the VA medical center teaches about PTSD and the types of impact it has. In addition, families are given more information regarding common reactions that often go along with certain types of stressors.

“We try to involve families and help educate them on what their loved ones are going through, but often times veterans don’t want their families to know,” Warden says. “It may be more accepted than a lot of the other mental health disorders, but there is still a lot of stigma [surrounding] it and people don’t like to believe that it is a real thing.”

While soldiers in different wars and even the same war have varied experiences, PTSD is and has been a possible condition that results from traumatic events. Although it has been only 30 years since the creation of the term, extensive psychiatric research has led to medicines and therapy that helps veterans cope with PTSD.

Anterior ingulate circuit produces motivation, and supports wakefulness and arousal.

Orbiofrontal circuit mediates socially appropriate behavior, impulse control and empathy.

Dorsolateral circuit mediates functions such as organization, planning and attention.

How Anti-anxiety medication works: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Serotonin

Cerebrum Synapse Neurons

Vesicles

Cerebellum Normally, when sertonin is released, it acts on the receiving neuron and then return back to the original neuron. When the dorsal raphe nucleus is damaged, very little seotonin is sythesized. Then when serotonin returns to the neuron, the amount at the synapse is very low.

This can cause the deregulation of mood, appetite and sleep; as well as the deregulation of some cognitive functions.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors which are in anti-anxiety medications such as Prozac block serotonin from going back into the original neuron, so there is a concentrated amount of dopamine, however, since the brain is injured causing lower than normal levels of serotonin, the “concentrated” amount is actually a normal amount of serotonin at the synapse.

information: dr. robin hurley, u.s. national library of medicine

Brain Stem Dorsal Raphe Nucleus This is where the neurotransmitter serotonin is synthesized, before it sent throughout the brain via axons of neurons.

The brain stem has more axons of neurons than the bodies of neurons, and vice versa for the celrebrum.

The axons are more dense than the bodies, so the conjunction of the brain stem and the cerebrum is more susceptible to physical trauma.

FATHERS OF THE FALLEN Two fathers remember the lives and service of their sons, who were killed while fighting overseas. Even through the heartache, healing and hope prevail. story rachel king | photo provided by Prazynski family

J

osh Dickson needed a hero. He needed someone to stand up for him, because he couldn’t stand up on his own. Josh has Spina Bifida, which restricts him from being able to walk or stand. While the wheelchair and leg braces may have helped with his disability, they did nothing to cure his loneliness.

In hopes of finding Josh a friend, a Fairfield High School teacher asked senior Taylor Prazynski to volunteer as a teacher aid in the Developmentally Handicapped (DH) classroom.

It was the beginning of a short-lived companionship unfortunately cut off by tragedy, but nevertheless, it was the beginning of an everlasting memory.

Taylor spent countless hours with Josh in the DH classroom. In time, Josh’s loneliness began to fade. And slowly–very slowly–Josh learned how to stand.

But that wasn’t good enough. Taylor was determined to teach Josh how to walk. One day, it would happen. And one day, it did.

Together, they overcame the impossible. Josh finally found the friend he had always hoped for and the hero he had always needed. He was not going to let anything get in the way of taking from him what he had waited so long to find.

But less than two years later, in the second year of his four-year military commitment, Lance Corporal Taylor Prazynski was killed while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Karmah, Iraq.

When he heard the news, Josh couldn’t believe that his hero, the person who taught him how to stand, had fallen.

Josh made sure that he was not going to be wheeled into Taylor’s visitation, which was held in the gymnasium at Fairfield High School. “[Josh] came in, stood up out of his wheelchair and walked across the gym floor to pay his respects at Taylor’s casket,” Taylor’s father John Prazynski says. “It was a memorable moment, one of those things where you just see the impact my son had in someone’s life.”

The last time John saw Taylor alive was Jan. 1, 2005. Later that month, Taylor was deployed to Iraq.

“We stood in the foyer with [Taylor] and one of his friends, joined hands and prayed for his safety,” John remembers about that night.

On May 9, 2005, John’s world stopped.

“It was fifteen minutes after midnight,” he remembers. “My wife and I were in bed and, with it being a nice spring day, the windows were open. I heard a car pull up outside and a voice saying, ‘Call me back on my Marine corps Nextel number, my cell phone doesn’t have good reception.’ Our neighbor’s son was deployed to Afghanistan at the time, so we thought, ‘Oh, Alec is home to visit his mom and dad!’”

Then, the doorbell rang.

“My first thought was, ‘No, no, this really can’t be happening,’” John continued. “I got up, ran downstairs, turned on the porch lights and saw the two green uniforms through the door’s frosted glass. When I opened the door, the one Marine leaned in and asked if I was John Prazynski, the father of Lance Corporal Taylor Prazynski. I said ‘Yes,’ and he responded, ‘We regret to inform you—’, but I cut him off and told him he didn’t need to say another word. At that point, I knew.”

When the Marines were asked to deliver the news to the Prazynski family, only six hours had passed since Taylor was killed.

“They looked as scared as we did. That’s really what the reality was,” John recalls. “There were more questions than there were answers. It

Folds of Meaning infographic megan fogel

For every U.S. military burial, the following “13-Fold” Ceremony is performed by two servicemen using a flag of 10-feet by 19-feet proportions. Each fold in the process has a unique and important meaning.

was just numbness Symbol of life and a sleepless night, until the point of exhaustion.”

The Prazynksis’ Symbol of belief door was the first in eternal life one in the area the Symbol of honor Marines knocked and remembrance on after the War on of the departing Terror started. veteran “[The Marines] Represents knew the regulations reliance on God and guidelines, but they didn’t have any A tribute to love for real experience,” the country John says. “We were all learning as we Where hearts lie and the went. Since it took so allegiance is pledged long for his body to come back, we had Tribute to armed forces within the time to prepare.” country or overseas When a soldier For those who entered dies, it is procedure into the valley of the for the body to shadow of death be sent to the Tribute to womanhood military mortuary and contributions to in Dover, Delaware, the country where it is then Tribute to father for prepared for burial giving children up to after an autopsy serve the country is performed. 10 Represents the lower days passed before portion of the seal of King Taylor’s body finally David and King Solomon came home.

Emblem of eternity and “I wanted to be the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost at the airport when [Taylor] got there.

Fully folded flag reminding us of the He came home in information the american legion national motto the cargo hold of a Delta,” John says. “I can’t fly out of Cincinnati without looking out at the terminal thinking the Delta aircraft is going to spit out his casket. I feel a pit in my gut.”

In John’s basement, piles of Taylor’s belongings evoke a similar response.

“All his stuff is sitting on my basement floor, and every time I go down there to try and organize it or figure out what to do with it all, it’s too emotional and I throw it back in a pile and walk away,” John says.

But he began missing his son long before Taylor’s death.

“Truthfully, I believe my grieving process started the day I dropped Taylor off at the recruiter’s office. I told him I loved him, that I was proud of him, and that he was my hero,” John says. “I was active in his life every day, and then he was gone for 13 weeks.”

Every day that Taylor was gone at boot camp, John, who served in the Air Force for nine years, wrote to him words of encouragement

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 45

and “whatever could help him, because I knew what Taylor was going through wasn’t easy.”

Taylor had so much mail that he did not have time to open it all.

“I missed that kid,” John says. “I understand if he got a letter from mom or grandma or a girlfriend that that was his priority, but that didn’t keep me from writing every day,” John says.

Taylor “hated to write,” according to his father, so the primary communication he had with his family was via telephone, calling a couple times a week. During one conversation, the phone line went dead and Taylor followed up with a short email. It was the only one he ever sent to his father while serving in Iraq. The message was simple: Sorry we got cut off. Just wanted you to know I love you.

Following his death, stacks and stacks of unopened letters written to Taylor were returned to his father and, to this day, remain sealed.

Although he will not read the letters, John sometimes wears his son’s clothing because it “makes [Taylor] feel close.”

While Taylor’s belongings bear memories that connect with the heart of those who love him, John finds his hope in God’s promises.

“If you have no hope, you have nothing. We choose faith, we choose hope and walk in it every day,” John says. “We know where Taylor is. He’s in Heaven waiting for us. When we look at it from that perspective, my hope is in God’s promise that we will see him again.”

As hard as it is to lose a son, John says that having a full dependency on divine providence and an understanding of the power of prayer provides him with an overwhelming peace and makes this difficult journey “possible.”

“I believe it was God who, for whatever reason, chose Taylor on that day. Our prayer the night they knocked on our door was, ‘Okay, God, you have to show up because there is no way we will get through this without you. We know you have a plan and a reason. You’re really going to have to be here for us,’” John recites. “He was, and still is.”

There are approximately 65 families in the Greater Cincinnati area that have had a family member’s life taken by the war. John has met some families who have “lost all hope,” and feels as though it is his job and responsibility to bring them hope by sharing Taylor’s story with them and the role that faith has had in his family’s healing process.

“God’s promise is that everything is going to be okay, and that means maybe not what we think is okay. It’s not okay to me that Taylor’s gone, but it wasn’t my plan,” John says. “I guess Taylor was loaned to me. I hope I did the best I could with what I had to work with in the years I had him.”

Every year in the fall, there is a Taylor Prazynski Memorial 5K. The money raised provides college scholarships for Fairfield High School students. Any student is allowed to apply and must write an essay about his or her perspective on freedom and patriotism. So far, 28 scholarships valued at $2,500 have been rewarded.

“

I GUESS TAYLOR WAS LOANED TO ME. I HOPE I DID THE BEST I COULD WITH WHAT I HAD TO WORK WITH IN THE YEARS I HAD HIM.

46 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Even now, six-and-a-half years after his death, Taylor is still making a difference. The person Taylor was and the things he fought for will always be remembered and celebrated.

“My son fought for freedom. He didn’t choose to die standing idly behind,” John says. “The memories will fade unless we tell his story.”

Taylor’s body rests in the most hallowed burial ground: Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. He is one of 300,000 fallen soldiers in the 324-acre setting. Section 60, where his grave is located, is the most visited section in all of Arlington and is primarily dedicated to fallen soldiers of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War on Terror.

A few rows down from Taylor’s tombstone rests another brave soldier, Lance Corporal Timothy “Timmy” Michael Bell, Jr., who graduated from East in 2003.

Like Taylor, Timmy was a Marine who gave up his life for his country. He was killed from an explosion outside of Hadithah, Iraq, just three months after Taylor’s death and one month before he would have been the best man in his brother’s wedding.

Timmy went straight into the service following graduation. After finishing basic training with Lima Company at Marine Corps Base “Camp Pendleton” in California, Timmy was deployed to Iraq.

The night before Timmy was shipped off to Camp Pendleton was the last time his family saw him alive.

“We stayed at a hotel in Columbus near where [Timmy] was being stationed at the time,” Timmy’s father Tim Bell recalls. “We just talked and talked, knowing that at some point we were going to have to say ‘goodbye’ and we didn’t want to do that.”

Eventually, late into the night, the moment for farewells had come.

“Timmy and I hugged and held each other very tightly,” Tim says. “I still remember his whiskers rubbing on my face.”

Tim eventually left his son to his room, but he did not get too far down the hallway before Timmy opened the door and hollered from behind, “Come back.”

“He gave me his most prized possession—his Marine ring—to wear until he came home,” Tim remembers. “I haven’t taken it off since.”

While serving in Iraq, Timmy talked to his father over the phone once or twice a week. Every morning when Tim woke up, he checked online to see what was going on in the area Timmy was stationed.

“I would read online that three Marines were killed and their families were waiting to be notified, but no names were disclosed,” Tim says. “I’d wait for a phone call and would be so thankful when one didn’t come.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005, Tim happened to be off of work. His son’s scheduled homecoming was in 17 days.

When Tim’s phone rang, he answered not expecting the tragic news that was about to be delivered. The call was from his daughter, who, along with Tim’s wife, was visiting family in Kansas City.

“I was having a hard time understanding what [my daughter] was trying to say,” Tim says. “She was hysterical.”

It was the first of many phone calls that followed on that heartbreaking day. As word spread quickly, friends, family and even President George W. Bush himself, who knew of the Bell family, called to give their condolences.

Besides a few details, the day is “very much a blur” in Tim’s mind.

“I truly don’t remember that much. There was a lot of commotion, a lot of phone calls and a lot of press,” Tim says.

CBS News was one of the main media sources covering the story as it unraveled.

“I couldn’t believe how kind [the media] was to me and my family.

It was just great, no one was too overbearing,” Tim says. “They allowed me to say what I wanted to about Timmy, and they aired everything I said. They didn’t hold back.”

It took some time before Timmy’s body finally came home, and when it did, a visitation was held at East. The line of people who had come to pay their respects stretched outside of the front doors and winded around the building. The funeral procession started on the west

side of town and cars were lined up on the highway all the way from For the longest time, psychologists thought that the grief cycle I-275 to I-75. included five phases: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and “I couldn’t believe there were so many people that cared,” Tim says. acceptance. According to psychologist Jane S. Allemang, Ph.D., “When you see something like that, it really changes your attitude. The however, “it doesn’t appear that that is necessarily true anymore.” support was overwhelming.”

Allemang, who has independently practiced for 10 years, says that In memory of Timmy and as a “thank you” to East for greatly “each person grieves a certain way, and people go through periods of impacting Timmy’s life, the Bell family offers a scholarship each year different emotions with no order in which they come.” to a student nominated by a teacher or counselor who fights their way Reaching a point of acceptance does not mean memories disappear. through being an underdog.

“Healing is something the grieving “Timmy always loved the underdog, and process moves toward. Feelings will the scholarship is just another way for him not always go away, but there is a point to stay alive at Lakota East High School,” where they don’t take over your life,” Tim says.

Allemang says. “You can choose to Even though their time together was visit the gravesite of someone you limited, Tim appreciates the fact that he love knowing that is going to bring up made the most of his role as a father. feelings, but you are choosing to do it.”

“I’ve never said to myself, ‘I wish I For some, tragedy serves as a would have told [Timmy] I loved him motivator to do good works and bring one more time,’” Tim says. “One of the about change specific to encountered nice things about my family is that we are experiences. not afraid to tell each other we love them “When grieving, you’re focused on whenever we can.” thinking about the person you lost, The tremendous support system within missing them and the things they cannot An article printed in the family helps with the healing process, do for the future,” he says. “But when the Cincinnati Enquirer along with the knowledge that Timmy died you decide to do something to honor a after Taylor and Timmy were killed. fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a death, it turns you around and suddenly Marine. you are thinking of the future–not just “Timmy was only 22 years old when he was killed, but it is a you and your feelings, but the feelings [of your lost loved one].” great thing to know that he died doing exactly what he wanted to do.

While the grieving processes of both John and Tim began with Knowing that makes it easier,” Tim says. “Not all of us are able to do the loss of a son, the road to healing has been unique for each of the what we want with our lives.” fathers. Such is a journey that no father ever hopes to travel but must Timmy lived the life of a hero. The war may have taken his life, but learn to endure if life, for whatever reason, forces them to do so. his father still holds on to the memories.

In the cases of Taylor Prazynski and Timmy Bell, “once a Marine, “There’s not a day, probably not an hour, that goes by without me always a Marine.” As for the cases of John Prazynski and Tim Bell, thinking of him,” Tim says. “In a way, he’s still here.” once the father of a hero, always the father of a hero.

SEMPER FI

[...continued from page 40] “We haven’t been to Iraq or Afghanistan, but the shit we have been through brings us together,” Copeland says. “I would do anything to get his ass home. If it came to it, I would step in front of that bullet for the boy. We’ve only known each other six months but I would do that in a heartbeat.”

During basic training, the only form of contact with the outside world that Marines were allowed to have was through letters. No texting, tweeting, Facebook or even phone calls were permitted.

“My family misses me and I miss them; that’s what sucks,” Christian says. “That was the thing that I never though about before we signed the dotted lines. They tell me they miss me all the time. I just thank God I’m not in Afganistan because I would only get five minutes to talk to them twice in a period of seven months.”

Becky took advantage of what she could with the letter communication, and remembers the weekly ritual of checking for Christian’s letters on Tuesday afternoon, the day most of Christian’s letters were delivered since he often wrote home on Sundays.

“Christian is not a very emotional person but we saw a side of him that would not have come out except for in those letters,” Becky says.

Letters were Christian’s only way of keeping his real parents for the 13 weeks of boot camp. Currently stationed in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Christian is learning how to become a basic motor-T operator. The vehicles classified in this job range from operating Humvees to driving seven-ton trucks. This, however, does not necessarily mean that he will be operating vehicles all the time. According to Christian, there is a chance he could end up in

Afghanistan on top of a Humvee with a 50-caliber machine gun if he is deployed there.

“I’m not 100 percent sure what is going on. I’m not going to say ‘Hand me my rifle, let’s go.’ I’m only 18, but I would go if I was told to do so,” Christian says.

Another part of Christian’s life that he prepared for the before he left for boot camp was his relationship with East 2011 graduate and Wright State college student Katelyn Lange. The couple decided that they would continue their relationship after high school, even through the difficulties of the military. Lasting through boot camp and now approaching 10 months of their relationship, Lange says that distance is definitely the hardest part of Christian being in the Marine Corps.

“If he did not go through boot camp we probably would not be together. I am the only girl who has that connection because we lasted went through camp together,” Lange says. “Trust is a huge part of it because we have to trust each other. I feel honored to be his girlfriend.”

With improved forms of communication, Christian is able to keep in touch daily with his family and friends while he is staying at Fort Leonard Wood. Christian is considering a career of the military, but from his experiences he has had to step back and re-assess the situation.

“No matter what, you miss everybody,” Christian says. “That is what is holding me back from deciding right now whether I will serve 20 years or more.”

Even with improved and daily communication, Christian still bears the burden of missing his family, friends and home.

“I would do anything to be back in West Chester,” he says.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 47

entertainment | album reviews

Album Reviews The Black Keys · El Camino · Nonesuch Records photos labeled for commercial reuse

Editors’ Choice

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Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys performs at the Rothbury music festival in Michigan

D

an Auerbach is a poor, heartbroken man. He can be pretty blunt about it.

It’s not really his fault. Judging from his lyrics, he’s met the worst women on Earth, and then he’s dated them. These are the girls who make you fall in love with them, and then steal your wallet, your friends, and your dog.

These are the soul suckers, the heartless, the shrews. He must have met them all, because heartbreak is all he knows to sing about.

In his defense, The Black Keys are playing the blues. It’s a naturally down-trodden genre to begin with, and then Auerbach and his drummer, Patrick Carney, douse it in dirty garage-rock. Living in Akron, Ohio their entire lives probably doesn’t help either. The

two men of The Black Keys must also be very confused. They put a beat up Chrysler Town & Country on the cover, but they named this album after the Chevrolet El Camino, the manliest car ever made. What they end up getting is the aural equivalent of a hybrid of both cars: the 100 miles per hour roar of the El Camino combined with the slow churn of the Town & Country.

It starts with the lead single, “Lonely Boy,” which is more or less a better version of “Tighten Up,” the lead single of off their last release, Brothers. Where “Tighten Up” was covered in glitz and glam, “Lonely Boy” is a hard-charging powerhouse of American made rock and roll—sledgehammer guitar, murky

vocals and simple lyrics. “Your momma kept you, but your daddy left you/And I should’ve done you just the same.” Auerbach’s answer to a girl breaking his heart? Talk about her father abandoning her. Sounds perfectly reasonable.

El Camino itself is, more or less, a better version of Brothers. Auerbach and Carney recruited Danger Mouse this time around, and he’s finally balanced out between his last two jobs with the Keys, 2008’s Attack & Release and the aforementioned “Tighten Up,” the former being minimalist in effect and the latter being doused with them. El Camino is a perfect mix, using thefuzz and added instruments to compliment Auerbach and Carney’s music, rather than take the spotlight.

Good thing, too, because El Camino is The Black Keys’ best album, and has some of their best songs on it, specifically “Little Black Submarines.” It begins in an acoustic style reminiscent of Attack & Release as Auerbach croons “That a broken heart is blind,” but it ends in a distorted and gorgeous crash of a guitar solo. And then there’s “Hell of a Season,” which balances Carney’s beating drums with Auerbach’s high, soulful voice.

El Camino sounds like a blues band injected with steroids. It’s a bit like a high-caliber machinegun, firing out hit after hit. But it’s really more of a sports car, thundering down the highway, showing off its raw power. It’s a blessing that The Black Keys finally captured that.—Dillon Mitchell

Javier Colon · Come Through For You · Universal Republlic Records If Mark Burnett had known Javier Colon would be the man to win The Voice in its season last summer, the show’s executive producer would have changed the show’s poorly chosen title.

The Voice is not enough.

After the release of Colon’s third studio album Come Through For You, the first following his reality television show victory, it is clear that Javier is much more than a man with an angelic voice. He’s a performer. He’s a

48 | Spark | January 3, 2012

star. Where two previous albums released

by Colon through Capitol Records failed to catch fire, Come Through For You ignites. From the first glance at Javier’s pearly white smile and signature hat on the album cover to the last lines of the albums closing track “1,000 Lights,” Colon’s uplifting Bublè-Mayer-Mraz voice is only outdone by the presence with which Javier fills the album.

In a musical world where artists strive to embed themselves within their music, Colon reigns as king in the tracks “Echo” and “Life is Getting Better.” “And when you open your eyes and see what I am seeing/another sunrise/and we’re still here breathing,” he serenades in the former. The acoustic-soul genre where Javier’s voice crosses between a

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sweetly tuned tenor and a cool croon is a perfect match for the up-and-coming artist.

Following in the footsteps of his Voice mentor Adam Levine, Javier has found a niche. Intertwining the radio track “Stand Up,” which features Levine, and deeper songs such as “OK, Here’s the Truth” and “Raise Your Hand,” Colon shows that he knows how to make a great record.

The title Come Through For You almost seems too fitting. After receiving a second chance in music via The Voice, Javier makes a promise in the album’s title track. “You’ve lost all your trust now you don’t expect much/from me but I’m gonna prove this to you/oh that I’m gonna come through for you.”—Jeff Back

KORN The Path of Totality Roadrunner Records

 Many bands have expanded their musical capabilities by experimenting with new types of sounds.

Green Day, a punk rock band filled with teenage angst, tried out rock operas with American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown which both later won Grammy’s. The Beatles changed their style from a Beat group with albums like the folky Rubber Soul to the psychedelic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, both of which have had an enormous impact in music. Korn is walking down the same road as these groups by trying out dubstep in their new album. With this new experiment, Korn has most definitely finished the “Path Of Totality.”

The musical group, which is famous for its unorthodox nu-metal sound, has an indie vibe with a pinch of dubstep in The Path Of Totality.

It maintains the classic nu-metal feel with Jonathan Davis’ anger vocals and the funky bass stylings of Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu. But it is degraded by the addition of instruments such as a piano on “Bleeding Out” or the drum machine in the intro of “Chaos Lives in Everything.”

Even with the addition of artificial sounds, the amount of dubstep in the album is just right for many of the songs. For example, tracks such as “Get Up!” And “Fuels the Comedy” perfectly mix the sound of Davis’ vocals with the beat of the dubstep, and the sound of James “Munky” Shafer’s guitar blend in perfectly.

Even so, the band hasn’t lost touch with its original audience; lyrics like “Everything is wrong every time/Pushing on, I can’t escape,” display the emotion and power Korn’s lyrics will always have.

However, they put an excessive amount of dubstep on certain tracks such as “My Wall,” where the melodic guitar sound and the fresh bass tracks are overshadowed by the blaring, fuzzy digital madness. Fans may think that Korn has lost touch with its fan base by abandoning their sound, but the center of the group hasn’t changed, and the dubstep will only bring them a wider audience to this group. With the group still paying homage to their roots, they are still the “Freaks on a Leash.”—Rahul Mukherjee

David Nail · The Sound of a Million Dreams MCA Nashville

David Nail is not a cliché country singer.

His voice holds a southern spice, yet his lyrics and melodies are more romantic and mature than most. The Sound of a Million Dreams is Nail’s second album, and a stepping stone to a more emotionally inspiring sort of country.

The leading single off the album, “Let it Rain” is a ballad that will make anyone stop and think about their decisions, like being faithful. The song is about making one huge mistake, and then feeling the aftermath of it as it pours down from the sky.

“The Sound of a Million Dreams,” the title track of the album, is a powerful and moving piece that would never be expected from a country boy. With inspiration from Elton John and Michael Buble, the enchanting rhyme and rhythm of the song just clicks. The lyrics are about the impact a certain song can have on someone, and all the emotions that are attached to the tune. Nail talks about certain songs that influenced certain times of his life,

and through his voice and music on the piano, he hopes he can give that same experience to someone else.

Originally from Missouri, Nail knows a thing or two about southern charm.

“Grandpa’s Farm” is the first song on Nail’s new album, and tells the story of him and his summer love wasting time on grandpa’s farm.

This light and airy hit is a contrast to deep and powerful songs like “Let it Rain.”

“That’s How I’ll Remember You” is about those memories, good or bad, that are impossible to forget, like the first time riding a plane or hearing goodbye from a lover.

Nail explains that it’s about choosing how to remember someone, no matter how they remember you.

Nail surely knows a thing or two about music. His songs are not necessarily just catchy choruses, but his lyrics say a lot about his knowledge about life.

Nail has a way of writing music that allows anyone to be able to listen to a song about his life and relate it back to their own with their own life experiences. The Sound of a Million Dreams isn’t just a twang-filled country record, this album is great for anyone that appreciates music with an earnest emotional meaning.— Maddie McGarvey

Lupe Fiasco· Friend of the People· Mixtape

The pioneers of hip hop used to have a message.

Common spoke out for the middle class. Will Smith stressed the importance of a father. Even Tupac Shakur rapped about his inspirational mother. And Lupe Fiasco, as Donald Glover would put it, is the last of this dying breed. A dying breed of influential rappers who voice their opinions, not their desires.

Lupe has never lost sight of what it means to be an influential rapper. He’s rapped about an alternate reality where there is no racism and Bill O’ Reilly cried reading the Qu’ran.

He’s rapped about how a man should treat a woman. He’s even subliminally rapped about how rappers should expand their vocabulary to more than just “b----s” and “h--s”.

However, unless carried through an effective catalyst of well-versed and genuine rhymes and beats, the message of any rap song will be overlooked and forgotten. Then the audience is left with nothing but a speech podcast. Fortunately, Friend of the People

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does not meet that same fate, as it not only captures the feelings and views of the Occupy movement and the tragedy that is the middle class, but also presents it in the same fashion a traditional Lupe song would.

The tracks almost take one on a journey through the protests, and even take peak into the lives of middle-class. “Lupe Back,” the opening track, uses dubstep beats and a thundering synthesizer to describe how violent the protests are, taking the casual listener to the University of California Davis campus during the riots. Then there are tracks like “WWJD He’d Prolly LOL Like WTF” with beats reminiscent Lupe’s past work where he raps , where he raps about the ways and injustices of the world, including how sweat shops work. “Lightwork” is yet another example of how Lupe does not sacrifice meaningful lyrics for a catchy tune.

He speaks of rap as an interpretive art, not a compromise.

Something many artists fail to do when expressing their views in a song is stick to their roots. Lupe embraces his strengths and weaknesses and gives the audience his best, not what they necessarily want. It may even be what they need. If that’s the case, Lupe Fiasco may be hip hop’s dark knight.—Irfan Ibrahim

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 49

entertainment | film reviews

Film Reviews Happy Feet 2 ·Warner Bros. Pictures · 117 minutes · PG  photos labeled for commercial reuse

Editors’ Choice

Erik (Ava Acres) finds himself surrounded by a flock of Skua birds.

M

umbles, voiced by Elijah Wood, was a visionary. An innovator. The penguin who refused to abide by the status quo. Where others sang, he danced. Happy Feet told his story how he didn’t have the voice of an angel like the other penguins. Yet he still had the beat inside of him, only in his feet instead.

His son, Erik, voiced by Ava Acres, is the protagonist of Happy Feet 2, and unfortunately does not have the beat in his feet. Mumbles hoped to pass down his dancing dream to Erik, but when trying to show Erik that he can do whatever he wishes and that nothing bad will happen, Erik slips and falls down a slope and lands head first in the snow, peeing himself in front of everyone.

After this embarrassing encounter, Erik follows Robert, another older penguin, to another colony that worships Sven, a magical flying penguin. It is not long before Erik’s big blue eyes view Sven as a God. Like the first movie, Happy Feet 2 incorporates numerous pop songs performed by the penguins including “Do Your Thing”

by P!nk, and “Under Pressure” by Queen.

However, this movie isn’t all about the penguins.

There are also a couple of krill (voiced

by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon) that have disengaged from the rest of their krill colony in an attempt to find what lurks beyond their colony. This side-story, while funny, does little to connect with the central plot. This

Like Crazy· Paramount Vintage· 90 Minutes · PG-13 Drake Doremus is a master of emotional manipulation. He’s merciless about it. He tortures an audience, choke-holds their feelings. It’s a good hurt though.

Witnessing his films is a fortune upon anyone’s life. Like Crazy is Doremus’ masterpiece, a captivating portrayal of love.

It’s about a boy and a girl. It’s about that boy, and that girl, that couple that makes everyone vomit from their cuteness. The boy

50 | Spark | January 3, 2012

is Jacob (Antoine Yelchin), and the girl is Anna (Felicity Jones). Jacob and Anna meet in college. They go on a predictably awkward first date, they fall in love over the next few months, and, like most couples, they have a montage or two celebrating it all. It’s really perfect, except for the fact that Anna is on a student visa from the United Kingdom.

Being in love, she overstays her visa, and upon attempting to re-enter the United States, is declined.

Within the first thirty minutes, Doremus makes the audience love these characters and their relationship. And then he takes it all away.

The rest of the film focuses on their struggle to maintain a relationship, and their

lapse in connection makes the story confusing for adults who are trying to piece together the film, but young children will still be mesmerized by the amazing and gorgeous animation.

The search for finding the movie with the most diverse dialect of penguins is over. Happy Feet 2 has penguins with British accents. That’s right, British accents. The small touches in this film make the movie unique, and people will leave the theatre with life lessons attained from watching penguins on a screen. Once the credits flash, signifying the end of the movie, the viewer will feel as though they have just made some great new penguin pals. This movie is just that amazing at developing the characters.

Both of the movies in the Happy Feet saga seem to subliminally stress the importance of conserving our enviroment. They also ultimately make the human race out to be evil in a way, which is great to put in a children’s movie. But this big theme of the movie is easily over-shadowed by the cute penguins.

While penguins dancing and singing is adorable, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. It seems as though Happy Feet 2 was trying to cram as many pop songs as possible into the film to keep the younger audiences entertained. However, Happy Feet 2 is still a joy to watch. It is a journey of self-discovery that, along the way, emphasizes the importance of family, friends, and good music.—Raika Casey

 fight to gain Anna entry into the states. Like Crazy’s best segments involve Jacob and Anna attempting other relationships. Again, Doremus twists emotions. The audience wants these two people together, and from this grows a disdain for their new significant others. At the same time, the new couples are cute and happy. There’s a natural inclination towards loving these new people.

Like Crazy ends in a sort of emotional shock. It’s The Graduate for this generation, both doused in emotional ambiguity and heartbreak. It’s pure romance, not that 500 Days of Summer kind of hip romantic comedy.

Jacob and Anna have a pure-bred romance.

They aren’t doused in irony and indie music.

And they don’t need to be. —Dillon Mitchell

Breaking Dawn

The Muppets · Walt Disney Pictures· 98 Minutes · PG

Summit Entertainment 117 Minutes · PG-13

The Muppets have been dragged through the mud.

Since the death of their creator, Jim Henson, in 1990, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and all the other beloved characters that have charmed audiences since the 70’s have been sold out. Forced to star in flops that violated their high caliber of entertaining wit and affection and hand fans garbage such as The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz and Muppets from Space. Hollywood was a vampire, sucking the Muppets dry until someone, somewhere, decided they’d seen enough.

It was time to do a Muppets movie and do it right.

Directed by James Bobin of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, The Muppets stars puppet Walter (voiced by Peter Linz), a Muppet super-fan who, along with his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), venture from Smalltown, USA to Hollywood in hopes of Walter meeting his childhood heroes, the Muppets. However,

 Breaking Dawn is the final book in the Twilight saga, and Breaking Dawn Part One is the first half of that book’s film adaptation. This means that only one film remains before no one has to hear about Twilight ever again.

Part One opens with a striking sequence: upon receiving an invitation to the wedding of that waifish apparition who just learned to act ten minutes ago (Kristen Stewart), and Cedric Diggory’s ghost (Robert Pattinson), Jacob Black, aka Sharkboy (Taylor Lautner) bursts out of his house in anger and immediately rips his shirt off, because he’s still in love with that lifeless twig and it’s much easier to cope without a shirt on. He runs so fast he explodes into a werewolf.

If the rest of the movie had continued like this, it probably would have been stomachable. But following this hilarious opening scene, the film descends into madness. The apparition, or Bella, marries that guy who doesn’t wash his hair with “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” playing in the background, and while it’s a great song, it isn’t fitting. A vampire marrying a human isn’t exactly cause for sappy tears of joy. It’s quite scary, actually, because there exists the possibility that this vampire might somehow inseminate this human, which would likely have horrifying repercussions. That’s exactly what happens.

Yes, Edward impregnates Bella on their honeymoon, presumably because he’s as curious as the rest of us about what exactly a vampire-demon-baby hybrid would look like. And while the infamous birth scene would probably be traumatizing to the average middle-aged mother, it is in fact tame.

The birth of a vampire hybrid, even in an overstylized pulp-fest like Twilight, should be nightmare-inducing. But it was quite similar to the birth of a normal human baby, which is nine kinds of disappointing.

It’s understandable, of course. They could have made a good movie, but those middleaged mothers and their fangirl daughters wouldn’t have enjoyed it. So long as they get a few shots of those Abs and Jodie Foster’s daughter from Panic Room struggling to read lines as monotone as possible, they’ll be happy.—Zach Fulciniti

Hugo Paramount Pictures · 127 Minutes · PG

One year after releasing his highest grossing film, Shutter Island, director and screenwriter Martin Scorsese has given the world Hugo, which is adapted from Brian Selznick’s New York Times best seller, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

As he did with Shutter Island, Scorsese brilliantly captivates the viewer into the film, but unlike that movie, Hugo is aimed for both adults and children. It is set in Paris in the early 1930’s at a railway station. The titular character, played by Asa Butterfield, is the son of a master clockmaker (Jude Law) who takes him to see the films of Georges Méliès. His father dies in a museum fire and therefore he is taken in by his uncle. After being abandoned at a railway station by his adoptive uncle, Hugo manages to survive by living in between the walls of the train station. Hugo’s daily schedule consists of a multitude of tasks: fixing clocks, stealing food and trying to fix the automaton, a robot that his father tried to



after touring the rundown Muppets’ Studios and overhearing a greedy oil baron’s (Chris Cooper) plans to tear the place down, Walter realizes that things are less than perfect for his felt friends.

The solution to this dilemma is a two-hour telethon to raise the $10 million necessary to buy back Muppets’ Studios. It’s up to Walter, Gary, Mary and Kermit The Frog to round up the old gang and put the rag-tag team of characters back on top, and even sing a song or two along the way.

The set up to the flick is ridiculous, hokey and completely absurd. But it wouldn’t be a Muppet’s movie if it wasn’t and that’s why fans love it.

The Muppets brings pride back to everyone’s favorite singing and dancing puppets. The catchy musical numbers composed by Bret Mackenzie of Flight of the Conchords that are sure to raise academy attention this February along with the 1960’s style props and wardrobe, just makes everything feel right.

Fans can once again laugh at zingers fired off by the time honored characters who always seem more real than their human counterparts, and fall in love with the sheer magic of The Muppets.—Chris Bowling

 repair before he actually died.

While trying to steal parts from the train station, Hugo gets caught by a toy store owner (Ben Kingsley). The man takes away the automaton’s blueprints, and Hugo learns that he needs a heart-shaped key in order to complete the robot. After going through perilous adventures with the toy store owner’s goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz), Hugo finds out that Isabelle in fact has the key to the automaton.

Although Butterfield and Moretz are child actors, they perform the more intense and dark aspects of the film relatively well. In the end, Hugo and Isabelle discover one of Méliès’s films within the robot. In addition, the pair discover that Méliès is actually Isabelle’s godfather, who fell in and out of fame.

Unlike many 3-D movies which use the technology just for the sake of the 3-D effect, the use of the technology is artistic in Hugo. Although this is Scorsese’s first 3-D movie, Hugo’s spectacular cinematography is magnified by the use of the technology.

This film may not be as mind-boggling and intellectually stimulating as Shutter Island, Hugo is definitely on par with Scorsese’s previous films.—Shivang Patel

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 51

entertainment | cloud storage

Battle of the Clouds

A cloud service is essentially a large server for personal and public use. They work by connecting devices like computers and smart phones to provide instant streaming of music and videos. Google Music, released on November 16, is the most recent cloud service to be launched, joining Apple’s iCloud, Amazon’s Cloud Drive, Spotify and Groovshark, the top cloud services on the market. infographic jack dombrowski

Max. Bit Rate (live streaming speeds) Google Music - 320 Kb per second Amazon MP3 - 256 Kb per second iCloud - 256 KB per second Spotify - 160 Kb per second Grooveshark - 128 Kb per second

20 million

Music Library Size (number of available songs)

18 million

16 million

14 million

12 million

0-10 million

S

Google Music 13 Million Songs

Apple Inc. (Public, NASDAQ: AAPL) 379.50

Grooveshark 15 Million Songs

Spotify 15 Million Songs

Amazon MP3 18 Million Songs

Google Inc. (Public, NASDAQ: GOOG) 619.54 [Values from Dec. 15, 2011 at closing bell]

iTunes 20 Million Songs

Amazon.com, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ: AMZN) 181.27

Costs of Use

iCloud - Store 20,000 songs for $25 per year Amazon Cloud Drive - Unlimited storage for $20 per year Google Music - Store 20,000 songs for free Spotify - Unlimited Storage for $9.99 per month

BlackBerry iPhone Windows Phone Android

Nokia

10 million users as of July 2011 35 million users as of May 2011

statistics not yet released by company

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lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 53

Information www.Apple.com, www.Amazon.com, www.google.com/Music, www.google.com/finance, www.spotify.com, www.grooveshark.com

Grooveshark - Unlimited Storage for $9 per month

sports | player spotlight

SPRINGING FORWARD After devastating injuries as an elite gymnast, Abby McConnell has gotten back on her feet and has sprung to new heights as an elite diver for East and UC teams. story natasha rausch infographic devon lakes photos kali martin

A

bby’s eyelashes flicker as she debates getting out of bed for school. Her eyes begin to open more and more as she notices the sunlight shining across her sheets.

At the bottom of her bed, her right leg is in a formless frozen mass from the surgery wrappings. And sitting across the room is the folded wheel chair that rests softly against the long white dresser. The trepidations that accompany the first day of school—the eighth grade at Hopewell Junior High— flood her still-sleepy mind at the sight of the chair, and her daydreams turn to nightmares at the thought of returning to HJS for another year in a wheelchair.

The summer had meandered by. Instead of filling her time with regular vacation activities, Abby was homebound. Gymnastics surrounded her thoughts during the long hours that she staggered around the house.

She counted the days until she could finally go to the gym. But that time was not spent working on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam or floor. With an incapacitated leg slowing her down, and being confined to a wheelchair, those four hours could only be spent conditioning her back, arms and abdomen, and praying from the sideline for a miraculous recovery.

Before getting her new set of wheels, Abby hobbled around on crutches at home and at the gym because her leg was in a cast. The doctors predicted that resting her foot and keeping it in one position would prevent her heel from excessively rubbing against her Achilles tendon—an injury caused by the wear and tear of gymnastics. But after having worn a cast for a couple of months, Abby still had to have a surgery that would entail removing parts of her heel bone in order to prevent damage to her Achilles tendon.

After Abby was forced to wheel through her first day of eighth

54 | Spark | January 3, 2012

Sophomore Abby McConnell flips off the diving board.

grade, on Oct. 27 she underwent the same surgery for her left foot, and the recovery process for each foot lasted several months. The only thing more difficult was the decision that followed.

After spending 12 years of her life on the mats, Abby made the toughest decision thus far in her life—to quit.

“I knew that I couldn’t make the decision for her because she would never forgive me if I made her quit [gymnastics],” Abby’s mother Carol McConnell says. “I really think it was the bravest choice that Abby ever made. She had cried every night for a week. And I think it was more so because of the loss of those relationships and the loss of the sport. She loved the sport; she just didn’t like what it did to her body [after the injury]. [The physical conditioning] was tough. And I was really proud of her to be able to make that change.”

Abby’s days in the gym were finished. And she was unsure where to turn.

Until diving.

Front flips and back flips were second nature to Abby because of her gymnastic abilities. As a seven-year-old, Abby was successfully performing flips off of the diving boards at Hycrest Swim Club. Her talent did not go unnoticed. Cathy Prebbles, the Hycrest Swim Club coach, saw Abby’s obvious abilities and persuaded her to join the Hycrest summer dive team.

“My first impression when I first saw her go off of the boards was, ‘Wow, this is a gem,’” says Prebbles who also coaches the East diving team. “It wasn’t so much the dive that she did; it was her presence. That is something that you really can’t coach. But if somebody has it, you know when you see it.”

As a seven-year-old, at her first dive practice, Abby was challenged

by Prebbles to do a one-and-a-half or double flip, since she had clearly mastered the single. Abby was too afraid to dive head first, as the oneand-a-half requires, so she said she would just go for the double.

Determination and fear gripped Abby as she stared at the clear blue water one meter below the board. She was almost in tears. The mental game that diving plays began overshadowing any hopes of her completing the new challenge.

But then she did it. At her first diving practice she achieved a double flip, before she was even old enough to write cursive.

“She was really nervous about it and kind of close to tears, but you could see that she [was determined], and she wanted to do it and that she knew she could do it,” Prebbles says. “At the exact same time she is scared to death of doing it. And when she did it, it was phenomenal. That was the start of where I really felt that she could do and go anywhere with diving.”

Abby had a knack for flipping off of the boards. But going head first, however, was not as simple. She was terrified of front dives. According to Prebbles, it is because of Abby’s gymnastics. Gymnasts are notorious for just wanting to land on their feet. Abby’s early attempts at dives were scarce because she thought it hurt her head when she tried to break through the water head first. But her fear was nothing that a Milky Way could not fix.

“You can’t talk about challenges and the pay off when [athletes] are little,” Prebbles says. “They don’t grasp those ideas. You give them things

IT WASN’T SO MUCH THE DIVE THAT SHE DID; IT WAS HER PRESENCE. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU REALLY CAN’T COACH.

Sophomore Abby McConnell looks to qualify for the Olympic trials.

that are attainable to them. If you dive head first then you get a candy bar. They understand the candy bar.”

Abby’s hard work, even as a young kid, was obvious. And Paul Glassman, a 30 year gymnastics coach and currently a diving coach at the University of Cincinnati (UC), could clearly see it. Each summer he attended dive meets in order to distribute information about the Tristate elite club team at UC. “[Paul] saw me at one of my summer meets,” Abby says. “He really wanted me to dive for him at UC, but my mom just told him that I was doing gymnastics so I didn’t have time.”

Abby still signed up routinely for the Hycrest dive team each summer, until her gymnastics injury forced her to miss a season. In November of 2009 she quit the mats, and three months later Glassman convinced her to dive competitively. This opportunity would ease up on the stress to her body and would rocket her as a fifteen-year-old to the last step before the Olympic trials.

“I like how I get pushed to do better [in diving],” Abby says. “But it’s not in a harmful way. Here the coaches care about me and the gymnastics has definitely helped me to become a better diver.”

Abby who hopes to attend Auburn University in 2014 to join the dive team, has met with many successes by pursuing diving. Besides taking first place in several Hycrest dive meets, she finished in eighth place as a freshman at East at the Southwest Ohio meet. She also qualified for the state meet, where she finished in 13th out of 30 female divers. But this past summer, Abby beat her expectations and Glassman’s during the two qualifying meets before the national competition. Because it was Abby’s first year at a competitive meet, Glassman told her not to hold high hopes for Nationals.

“Paul told me before the first meet to just go hard and to do what I know how to do,” says Abby. “He didn’t want me to expect too much out of myself, but of course I expected it. I wanted to prove him wrong.”

Abby qualified for Nationals.

Nationals, however, were much more intimidating than the qualifying meets. They took place in Knoxville, at the University of Tennessee. The trip was longer, the pool was bigger and the competition was tougher.

The nerve-wracking event was overwhelming.

Then she met Greg Louganis.

The Olympiad, who made U.S. Olympic diving famous, gave Abby an autograph that told her to believe in herself. It was inspiring for Abby,

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 55

sports | player spotlight and it stuck with her.

According to Prebbles Abby possesses the cool combination of the grace and strength of Louganis. With that talent at her first National meet, Abby placed 16th out of 32—just ten away from qualifying for the Olympic trials.

The Olympics are a clear goal for Abby, but she says they are far in the future. Right now she is just focusing on improving her skills by diving for her UC and East team.

“At UC we work hard to help youngsters achieve their potential,” Glassman says. “It is the job of any good coach to help an athlete achieve it. I know that Abby will [fulfill her] potential and will be a successful collegiate athlete.”

Producing 43 Olympic athletes in its history, Auburn University is in Abby’s sight. But for now, she just focuses on the boards. Winning the first East meet of her sophomore season by 43 points, Abby attained a 253.6 score from the combined difficulty and execution ratings.

“This year will be really exciting,” Prebbles says. “[Abby] is getting to

the top of her game and that is a good start. I think the season is going to be phenomenal for her.”

Abby has already posed a challenge to her teammates in her second year of high school diving. East junior diver and swimmer, Sunny Bloomberg enjoys competing with Abby and observing her “crazy abilities.”

“I have always enjoyed having her as a teammate,” Bloomberg says.

“We have been diving together at Hycrest and East for five years now and have been continually improving. We even learned how to do different kinds of flips [at the same time].”

Her teammates have helped make the transition from balance beams to the boards easier. Although she misses the fresh scent of a new leotard, the chlorinated, wet spandex that clings to her body as she spins and flips through the air off diving boards has had a greater effect. Even after her gymnastics setback in 2009, Abby has gotten back on her feet from surgery and has diligently climbed the ladder to the platform of success. n

Going in with a Splash Each time Abby hops off the board she performs a series of complex twists and turns, and her score is determined before she even surfaces.

information abby mcconnell

1.

ACTION

Jump Phase: First the diver jumps or bounces to gain maximum height

JUDGING CRITERIA

The take off needs proper balance and control, while maintaining a safe distance from the springboard.

The diver then must leave the springboard from both feet

Scoring diving with a five-judge panel 1. Take all five judges scores (scores are in increments of .5) 5.5, 6.5, 6.5, 7.0, 6.0 2. Drop the high score (7.0) and low score (5.5) 3. Add up the raw score = 19 (6.0,6.5,6.5) 4.Raw score (19) X the degree of difficulty (2.0) 5. Total score of the dive (38) 56 | Spark | January 3, 2012

2.

ACTION

Dive Phase: This is where the diver performs the appropriate spins and twists of the dive routine

JUDGING CRITERIA

At no point should the diver touch the springboard. During the dive, the body should be in either a tuck,pike, straight, or free position. Different positions have varying degree of difficulty

3.

ACTION

Entry Phase: The diver then finishes the move with as minimal of a splash as possible.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The diver’s body should be straight, legs together,and the toes pointed. The arms must be extended over the head and in-line with the body.

8

sports | eight things

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GETTING THE PIN

story eric sullivan east varsity wrestling (as told to tommy behan) photo sierra whitlock

Be Patient “Take as much time as you need once you start a move. As long as time is left in the period, take your sweet time in securing the pin.”

Stay in Position “Coaches scream ‘chest on chest’ and ‘perpendicular’ all day because that is how pins are going to occur.

Position wins.”

Set It Up “Do not telegraph your pinning move. Distract and occupy your opponent until an opening to pin him pops up. The more confused the opponent is, the better.

Squeeze “The less the opponent can breathe, the more they will want to be pinned.

Head Up “Do not look at the mat, look straight forward. It straightens the back and causes more pressure to be put on the opponent.”

Punch It Hard “When beginning a pinning combination or move, hit with intensity and purpose. The outcome is never ideal unless it is done with nothing less than 100 percent effort.”

Go The Extra Inch “Minute details like grabbing a wrist, studding a cradle or hooking a leg will make getting the pin so much easier.”

Wait “Once the opponent is on his back, just keep him in bounds, do the seven steps above and wait. The opponent’s willpower will falter and he will be pinned.”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 57

sports | inside east

Coming off of a season marked by a Greater Miami Conference tournament victory, nine academically stimulated East students are playing

MIND GAMES story zach fulciniti | photo kali martin | additional reporting amanda weisbrod

T

“Team A, Henry James, 1881, Isabel Archer.”

BEEP. “Portrait of a Lady. Team B, Theodore Dreiser, 1925, Clyde Griffiths.”

BEEP. “An American Tragedy.”

As I sit in the back of room 107, listening intently to these notably obscure questions regarding classic literature, a Tuba begins to blare somewhere off in the distance. I couldn’t recognize the piece being played, but I found it strangely cinematic, a fittingly melancholic tune; like the idiot cousin of Willy Loman’s flute. There are roughly nine people in this predominantly beige classroom, each one’s attention devoted solely to the next question.

A curious experience for my first time at an Academic Quiz Team (AQT) practice.

“Our weakness is always literature,” says East social studies teacher Heather Schoell-Schroeder, the team’s coach and adviser. “People just don’t read for fun anymore.”

“Toss up: 1906, Jurgis Rudkus, Upton Sinclair.”

“The Jungle,” says team captain and senior Daniel Robbins. He’s right, of course.

Regarding the team’s aforementioned small size, which has dropped from roughly 15 to seven players, Daniel tells me that it’s primarily due to the change in pay-to-play price, which has increased from $110 to $350 this year.

“We had a very low turnout this year mainly due to economics,” he says. “We’re charging three times as much as we did last year.”

“Team B, evaluate the cosine of negative Pi over six.”

“Negative root three over three,” says senior Dwight Hu. Along with Robbins, he’s one of only two returning players from last year.

I notice Dwight’s wearing a rather snazzy pair of what are presumably leather gloves.

“He’s wearing gloves because his fingers are so fast he might burn himself,” Schoell-Schroeder says.

While the gloves may just be there for dramatic effect, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that he is an integral part of the team.

“Dwight’s mind is like a computer,” says Schoell-Schroeder. “Anything math or science, he knows it.”

“Team A, what part of the United Nations is composed of representatives of all the member nations?”

For this particular practice, Team A consists

58 | Spark | January 3, 2012

of Robbins, senior Zach Armstrong and junior Noah Cagle. Team B is Hu, senior Emma Lipscomb, junior Lance Weber and sophomore Lauren Fang. Daniel signals to Team B that they need not concern themselves with this question, as his team has already divined the answer.

“General Assembly,” says Zach, who’s seen by the team as a sort of quasi-historian.

“He’s an expert in history and mythology, and he scores well in almost every category,” Dan says.

By “categories,” he’s referring specifically to matches: each match is broken into three rounds, a category round, in which questions are divided into separate categories, an alphabet round, in which each answer begins with a certain letter of the alphabet, and the third and final “lightning” round. During the lightning round, questions are rattled off and either team can buzz in an answer, rather than being addressed to one team or the other. Each correctly answered question earns the team a point.

During last off season, the GMC switched from Sue Sakora’s questions, a woman from northern Ohio who ran many tournaments at both college and high school levels in that area of the state, to Rote academic services when Sakora went out of business.

“The businesses are pretty similar in the composition of their questions, but Rote doesn’t rate their questions from 0-9 in difficulty like the previous business did,” explains Daniel Robins, captain of Academic quiz team at East. “[But] in all honesty, it doesn’t matter how difficult the rounds are, just as long as the difficulty of the questions are evenly distributed between teams.”

At this point, the team has yet to play their first match. Last year, however, the team fared well in the regular season.

“I think we won 70% of our matches last year,” she says. She’s fairly close, the team went 11-7, or as she would say, won roughly 64 percent of their regular season games.

“One of the problems we run into is a lot of the kids who do quiz team do other things as well, so we have certain days where we’re not playing our best team,” she says. “If we would’ve played our best team at every single match last year, I think we would’ve won every single match.”

“Team A, what part of the United Nations has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace?

This part consists of representatives of 15 nations.”

East seniors Zach Armstrong and Emma Lipscomb focus on the next question during an Academic Quiz Team practice.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 59

sports | inside east “UN Security Council,” Zach says. Correct.

“What part of the UN is the principal judicial organ? 15 members are elected for nine year terms.”

“Bluuuuurgh,” a rough approximation of the guttural noise Zach makes upon not knowing the answer. The tuba melody, domineering, flares up again.

While the team achieved moderate success during the regular season last year, their greatest triumph came in winning the GMC tournament, defeating four-time regular season champs Sycamore High School.

“The day that we played the tournament, [Sycamore High School]’s best player was gone,” Schoell-Schroeder admits. “I think had their best player been there, we might have won, but not as easily as we did.”

I contacted Sycamore’s Quiz Team coach, Rosemary Ennis, in the hopes that she could elaborate on the situation surrounding this “best player,” but I never received a response.

The tuba, the ironic instrument that served as the soundtrack the first two rounds, is nowhere to be found. All that remains is a “BUZZ,” which signals that the match has entered its final phase, the “lightning” round.

“What is the term for a snake shedding its skin?”

“Moulting,” Lance says.

Lance is, of course, new to the team. He’s yet to participate in a match. But the other team members seem to be confident in his potential.

“I think he’s figured out the game,” Daniel says. “If he chooses to stick around, he’ll be

one of the stars next year.”

Considering the situation the team is facing, however, that might not be an option. The increase in pay-to-play price has already hurt the team, but if it were to continue to rise, there may not be a next year for AQT. “What American author was born in Boston in 1805 to traveling actors?”

“Edgar Allan Poe,” Zach says.

The more pressing issue, however, is not next season, but this season’s JV team. Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams must have four players each. Right now, it looks like the team will have either seven or eight players. If they have only seven, they’ll be forced to forfeit each JV match. But if they do end up with eight, they might forfeit JV anyway.

“We can’t play anybody in the JV match that we play in the Varsity match, so forfeiting the JV matches could actually give us a better team,” Schoell-Schroeder says. “At this point, not having choices isn’t a good place to be.”

The team covers several more topics, ranging from cell structure and sports to one particularly amusing category, the world’s deserts, of which Zach says there are far too many. And then they disband, following comments by Daniel regarding the team’s first match, which will be held the following Monday. They will be playing Lakota West.

Dwight, for one, is convincingly optimistic about the team’s chances.

“I think we’ll be alright,” he says.

And he has good reason to think so, the team finished off the regular season last year with two decisive victories against West’s team.

But pay-to-play has had quite an impact, and, as Dwight acknowledges, this year’s team is not last year’s team.

“Our team has changed significantly,” he says. “We are in rebuilding phases right now.”

East played West that following Monday, winning one match and losing the other. In the end, they had no choice but to forfeit the JV match, not having enough players, and they will have to do so for the rest of the year. But the Varsity matches are what matter the most, so they’re not worried. If anything, it does away with the stress of having to choose who to play on one team and who to play on the other. But it is a sign of struggle. And that’s where the team is.

Few people are willing to sign up for a sport that costs $350 but receives very little recognition, even upon winning the GMC tournament. For a team of only seven people, their strength is certainly not in numbers. But they do not need it.

Dwight is, of course, “a computer.” Zach’s a historian. Lance is a rising star. And Daniel is the devoted team captain that holds the team together. What they lack in numbers, they make up where it matters most.

“The kids on quiz team are some of the smartest at East,” Schoell-Schroeder says.

Their magnificent seven will do just fine. n

Rounds inforgraphic hannah lee | information heather schoell-schroeder

Dollars

Making the

Due to multiple levy failures, the pay-to-play fee has increased dramatically in order to cover the coach’s salery and the costs of questions used in duel matches, listed in the proper categories below.

FIRST ROUND:

CATEGORY n n n n n n n n n

American Literature British Literature Fine Arts United States History World History Physical Science Life Science Mathematics Geography

SECOND ROUND:

ALPHABET

n Questions asked in this round are picked from categories that range from geography to sports n Each answer in the round begins with the same pre-determined letter of the alphabet

350 300 250 200

Pay-to-play Fees

150 100 50 09-10

10-11 Year

THIRD ROUND:

LIGHTNING

n This round consists of 20 questions n The teams are given three seconds to buzz in an answer n Questions can be from any category that has already been used n Both teams may answer

11-12

sports | column

Hannah Lee

SPORTS EDITOR

SPORTS OF ALL SORTS

contact hannah at hml.lee16@yahoo.com

W

hen I was young, I didn’t just do gymnastics. I didn’t just play soccer. I didn’t just play basketball. I did all three at once.

When I got older, my thirst for healthy competition couldn’t be quenched by a few more sports; I tacked on four—volleyball, softball, cheerleading and golf.

Playing multiple sports as a child was spectacular, and I couldn’t miss it more. In a world where young athletes face more and more pressure to commit to a single sport, however, the passion that fuels the heat of competition is exhausted.

There is no longer a place in the sporting world for a high-flying and fly-ball-catching Michael Jordan. There is no vacancy for a basestealing and football-snagging “Neon Deion” Sanders. Today, Jordan and Sanders wouldn’t stand a chance if they didn’t spend hours upon hours shooting free throws and doing up-downs, respectively.

Now, to succeed in athletics, players must dedicate themselves to a single sport. High school athletes must make a choice: to start varsity for one team or ride the bench for three. My father played lacrosse in high school and soccer and wrestling to boot. But my father’s three-sport schedule didn’t hinder his ability to continue lacrosse as a Seawolf at Stony Brook University in New York.

Today, if I don’t play a single sport year-round, I won’t have the opportunities my dad had as a multi-sport athlete.

Not only do young athletes have to choose a sport before developing a passion, but they are making essential life choices based on the activities they are involved in as adolescents. Kids not only have trouble finding time to spend on multiple sports and homework, but they also have to find the money. As a result of the levy failure, the continual increase of pay-to-play fees is not making multi-sport athletes’ lives any easier. Having been raised from 140 to 300 dollars and then 300 to 550 dollars over the past three years, pay-to-play has forced multiple sport athletes to pay at least 1,100 dollars to participate. For some athletic families, especially with more than one child, paying this large sum is not a financially possible because the family cap has been eliminated, resulting in the athletes dropping sports.

Young athletes want a choice. They want to be able to go outside while the sun is shining, pick up a golf club and hit a couple balls or work on left handed lay-ups before next Friday’s game. But it’s not that simple anymore.

It’s one or none.

The East football team religiously practices off-season, taking away time players may be able to put toward another sport. Benching 20 reps of 200 pounds four days a week isn’t as easy as passing a football. Instead of breaking their necks in order to condition for multiple sports, athletes

decide to limit their athletic desires to one and leave others in the dust.

But in this generation, to pick a favorite sport after playing so many at a young age is mentally draining.

The problem is that playing isn’t fun anymore—it’s a chore. Shooting free-throws after a two-hour basketball practice, a grueling seven-hour day of school and returning home to do another four hours of homework is no longer a passion; it’s a sacrifice. The overburdening weight is so strenuous that athletes lose their passion for their preferred sport.

Coaches don’t want to see talented multi-sport athletes; they see them as an undedicated player with the opportunity of heating up the bench.

Although many parents and coaches would defend the statement that kids need to focus on one particular sport in order to be the best of the best or even get a chance to play in college, it is not beneficial to be a single sport athlete. With today’s economic strife, scholarships are now more vital than ever, but the competition of receiving a scholarship has also risen. JD Whetsel, the football and baseball prodigy of East, who graduated last year, earned a scholarship to Cornell University for only one of his athletic talents.

If the problem of jeopardizing an athlete’s ability to receive a scholarship or become a professional athlete is in question, then it is not worth the discontent of quitting one of his or her pride and joys.

Young athletes “burn out” too quickly and start treating their chosen sport like Cinderella’s list of chores before they even get the chance to explore high school and college opportunities.

I miss the sports I cherished as a kid. I miss playing candy league soccer where my dad took up a coaching position. I miss gymnastics at Union Elementary on Wednesdays with Mr. Losh.

I made connections with the people on each of my teams. But as I got older, life moved on and I had to give up the fun aspects in order to become more adult. Now, instead of enjoying a multi-sport atmosphere, I have been pressured to give up softball, basketball, cheer, and many others in order to concentrate on golf. Focusing solely on the links is great, but it is not the same as being a versatile athlete.

In this fast-paced generation young athletes are left with difficult choices. No one wants to give up something they love, but when the pressures of commitment and pay-to-play prices force one to choose, it doesn’t allow much time to contemplate the options or consequences of the decision.

In attempt to reestablish the passion of athletics that burns inside young athletes, the pressures of pay-to-play and commitment need to be diminished. Kids are only kids for so long; they should be free to live while they’re young. n

“HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES MUST MAKE A CHOICE: TO START VARSITY FOR ONE TEAM OR BECOME BENCH WARMERS FOR THREE.”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 61

sports | hawk culture

Swim Team Waves to

New Leadership The East swim team introduces some new faces for this upcoming season in the water for the first time in half a decade.

The several step process of adding rotating coaches can be an arduous process involving interviews and recommendations.

BY THE

NUMBERS

story claire middleton

C

256

High game bowled by East Varsity senior bowler Christian Smith.

31.1 280 710.9 64 3 Percent of East students that play the same sport as their siblings.

Number of points by which Baylor University’s Robert Griffen III won the Heisman trophy.

The most points ever recorded in Olympic platform diving history achieved by Greg Louganis.

Percent of games the Academic Quiz Team won last year.

The number of new Winter coaches that East has this year.

GMC TICKER: 62 | Spark | January 3, 2012

l

oaching has always impacted athletes.

Whether it is the decisions they help athletes choose, or simply pushing them to work their hardest, coaches are an important part of what makes a team work.

The East Swim team starts off the 2011 season with some new faces including a new addition to the coaching staff, assistant coach Hilary Dattilo.

After finishing last season, two of the team’s assistant coaches decided to resign to be with their families.

“Even though there has been turnover in our coaching staff, the coaches that left were here for five or six years,” 15 year head coach Dennis Beck said. “They stayed a long time and its time for them to go do things with their own family.

But if they’re busy spending time with a lot of athletes and they have their own kids who are in activities or events, they need time to be a parent for them.”

According to Beck, the process of hiring a new coach involves several steps. First, the word was put out through the Cincinnati Enquirer and Lakota Online.

Beck then sent out an email to possible candidates and conducted a few interviews. Based on the interviews, he made a recommendation to East athletic director Richard Bryant, who then approved or denied the request.

During the interview process, coaches often have requirements of their own for the new coach.

“I look for someone that has some

swimming experience,” Beck said. “If we can find someone with coaching experience we try to find that as well, even if they haven’t coached swimming. It could also be fitness training, or experience working with athletes of some type.

I look for people whose philosophy is in line with ours: working toward improvement and pushing all the swimmers toward their goals regardless of what level they are at.”

Dattilo, who last coached as head junior varsity and assistant varsity volleyball coach at Purcell Marian high school, joined the 2011 swim team coaching staff this winter.

According to Dattilo, during the summer she helps coach the swim team at the Blue Ash recreational center “whenever they need extra hands.”

Whether it’s coaching volleyball or helping out a summer swim team, Dattilo knows what it means to be a versatile coach.

By playing various sports in college such as volleyball, track, swimming and diving, she is able to take things from one sport and apply it to others.

According to East junior swimmer Tyler Phillips, Dattilo simply makes them work harder. In dry-land workouts, where swimmers perform exercises such as running, weightlifting, push-ups, sit-ups and squats outside of the pool after practice for 45 minutes.

“During dry-land whenever we are slacking or not doing an exercise right, she’ll always point out what we are doing wrong and help us fix it,” Phillips said.

Like any coach, Dattilo expects a lot out of her athletes and wants them to do their best.

“I have really high expectations for all of my athletes,” Dattilo said. “I push people to do their best and practice as hard as they can, as long as they are happy and making goals for themselves.”

Hoping to get to know her new team, Dattilo wants to help the swimmers set goals and help each person strive toward reaching them.

“I want to actually get to know the swimmers,” Datillo said, “to see what their goals are and help them reach them, and build upon that in years to come.” n

Dwight Hu – Putters athlete of the week

l

I push people to do their best and practice as hard as they can, as long as they are happy and making goals for themselves.

Stedman Lowry – first in points per game

College Bound East athletes commit to continue their passions at the college level. story john grasty photo kali martin

I

t’s all about the perfect match. It’s about finding the right partner, the right personality, the right fit.

East senior Jessika Hall has found hers. Next year, she will swim at the Michigan State University (MSU) on a full scholarship. Hall was first in the Greater Miami Conference (GMC) in the 200-yard Individual Medley last Senior Alyssa Grevenkamp year. She is one of 10 Thunderhawks looks for the open woman who have “indicated they are receiving to pass the ball. financial aid to play their sport at the collegiate level,” according to East sports information director Dan Hillen.

Others include Zach Mueck, who plans to play tennis at Xavier; Ali Lake, Hannah Sigala and Hannah Berling who intend to play volleyball at Ohio University (OU), Morehead State and Tusculum College respectively. Tazzie Shaw, Whitney Wyckoff and Alyssa Grevenkamp are going to play basketball at Marshall University, Yale University and the University of Findlay; respectively. Michael Conrad and Alex Corna will play baseball at The University of Cincinnati (UC) and OU respectively.

Hall’s relationship with the school began when she filled out a questionnaire on MSU’s athletic website. According to MSU assistant swim coach and recruiting coordinator Tim Loeffler, this practice is fairly common—and valuable.

“It is very useful [and] not just for getting information,” Loeffler said.

“It shows the college that [the prospects] have interest in the school.”

Hall said she filled out 12 questionnaires to schools such as North

Carolina State, the University of Illinois and MSU, and nearly all of them resulted in a phone call from the school. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules, however, these calls cannot take place until July 1 before the athlete’s senior year of high school. This regulation causes the first day of July to be quite chaotic.

According to Loeffler, the MSU staff makes 50-60 calls on that day, 30 of which he makes personally.

UC recruiting coordinator J.D. Heilman also says he makes more than 50 calls on July 1. One of his calls this year was to Conrad.

According to Conrad, once calls started, they came faster than his 91-mile-per-hour-fastball. Several of the 13 Division I schools in Ohio, including big names like The Ohio State University and the University of Toledo, attempted to court Michael.

Because of his familiarity with the facilities and relationship with 2011 East graduate and current UC pitcher Evan Hills, Conrad decided to accept a half-ride to UC, valued at $13,000 per year. Receiving a full scholarship, however, is extremely rare for baseball players.

Vandalia-Butler High School senior pitcher Taylore Cherry, who is projected to be the third Cincinnati area high school player ever to be a first round MLB draft pick, has received a 75 percent scholarship offer to the University of North Carolina. Cherry, who has been clocked as high as 96 miles per hour on his fastball, was also a former teammate of Conrad on the Cincinnati Flames club baseball team.

According to Heilman, club baseball is as important as high school baseball in terms of recruitment.

“I saw him first in high school and then followed him in the Flames.

Both [high school and club baseball] are huge,” Heilman said.

Recruitment for basketball puts emphasis on club play, as well, most notably in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

East varsity girls’ basketball player senior Alyssa Grevenkamp played on the Cincinnati’s Finest AAU team for four years and has now committed to play basketball at the University of Findlay (UF) for free.

Her experience with AAU assisted in her recruitment and she said that her team placed emphasis on fundamentals.

Playing with the Hawks, however, was the biggest factor that contributed to her college recruitment.

“I sent film to Findlay of me playing for East,” said the guard Grevenkamp, who is averaging 33 percent on her three point shots this year. “It’s just a big part of recruiting.”

Regardless of how it plays out, all parties are happy when the date is finally set and they have found their perfect match. n

HAWK CULTURE A look into the lives of East athletes and coaches infographic alex griffin

Jeff Amlung VARSITY BOWLING

Pam Wood VARSITY SWIMMING

Austin Schoeffler VARSITY WRESTLING

Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move?

KINECT

KINECT

XBOX KINECT

XBOX KINECT

KINECT

XBOX

For christmas I want...?

IPAD 2

NEW PHONE

LAPTOP

ANOTHER PUPPY

CAR

JORDAN’S

Favorite smoothie flavor?

NONE

STRAWBERRY BANANA

STRAWBERRY

STRAWBERRY BANANA

STRAWBERRY BANANA

BLUEBERRY

Are you traveling over break?

NO

YES

NO

NO

NO

GQ’s Sexiest man alive, Bradley Cooper is...?

HILARIOUS!

NO IDEA

GOOD LOOKING

ALRIGHT

HOT, BUT NOT HOT ENOUGH

l

YES DON’T KNOW HIM

Ashley Evans – first team All-Ohio volleyball

l

Megan Connett VARSITY CHEERLEADING

China Palmore VARISTY BASKETBALL

Nikki Drew WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 63 Austin Daly – first in 113-pound weight class

opinion | column

Jeff Back

SPORTS EDITOR

A MILE IN HER SHOES

contact jeff at j.a.back2@gmail.com

E

ast junior Tyesha Stevens lives for fashion. She can often be having to change shoes when she gets to school because, “no one is spotted around East donning her favorites clothes from Rue going to walk 25 minutes in heels.”

21, Hollister and Forever 21. Before going to school, she mixes Cars are scary, though; she knows because one almost hit her. and matches assorted vestments until her outfit is just right. It’s easy to Tyesha was walking to school a couple weeks ago in the dark morning, see why Tyesha pays such close attention to the smallest details of her and approached the intersection of Cincinnati-Dayton (Cin-Day) and ensemble; she wants to work in fashion either as a stylist for fashion Yankee Roads. At the intersection, which consists of six lanes across shows or as a commercial buyer.

Cin-Day and five across Yankee, Tyesha waited for the lights to change One garment that Tyesha is never spotted without, however, is her both ways so that she could cross the sans-crosswalk road. She has those white DKNY winter coat. Though it’s not only for style. Tyesha wears traffic signals down to a science. this coat because it protects her. It keeps her warm and safe. Before But what she does not have any influence over are the drivers of the Tyesha got the coat, it was hard to spot her wearing a jet-black jacket in thousands of cars that drive through the intersection every morning. As the dark morning hours before school. she entered the roadway, Tyesha was unable to control the driver, who After moving into Lakota earlier this year, Tyesha learned that she was on his cell phone at the time, turning right on red from Cin-Day would no longer be provided busing. She attended Lakota West as a onto Yankee. Had Tyesha not stepped out of the way, the car could have freshman when Lakota still provided the service, but moved to Trenton, easily hit her. Now her mother requires that Tyesha text her when she Ohio her sophomore year to be closer to family. That year, Edgewood leaves and when she arrives at any destination. The car could have struck High School provided her busing. At the beginning of this year, however, her as easily as a car knocked a backpack off a friend’s shoulder.

Tyesha’s mother decided to move to Lakota Pointe in Liberty Township Tyesha coolly explains that one afternoon her and a friend were so that she would be closer to her job. crossing the entrance to the East drop-off zone. Her friend had a When Tyesha started class at East on Oct. 3, the lack of busing was backpack slung over her right shoulder, and as the girls exited the news to her. And because her mother goes to crosswalk, a van hit the backpack right off the work at a Macy’s Call Center in Mason, Ohio girl’s shoulder. at 5 a.m. and works until 4:30 p.m. every day, “It can happen just like that,” Tyesha says.

“TYESHA DOESN’T Tyesha has been left without transportation.

But Tyesha doesn’t dwell on it. If she did, SIMPLY HAVE TO WALK making the effort to walk the 1.2 miles from More importantly, because the Lakota community fails to see the effects of refusing TO SCHOOL; SHE HAS her house every day to spend seven hours in to pass an operating levy, transportation for classrooms might seem too much to be worth TO PUT HER LIFE AT Tyesha has become an impossibility. it. She doesn’t want that to happen. She realizes RISK EVERY MORNING” that if she skips school solely because she She has tried various ways to get to school.

Sometimes, another parent in Lakota Pointe doesn’t want to walk, it could very easily have will drive a carload of kids, but not everyone adverse effects on her ability to get into college. can fit. Another day, Tyesha woke up at 4:30 a.m. so that her mother So Tyesha doesn’t complain. What good would it do, she asks. She’s would drive her. However this meant Tyesha had to spend over two just doing what she has to in order to get an education. Tyesha says she hours in the morning at the Kroger Marketplace near East. None of won’t skip school just because she doesn’t have busing, but kids in her these approaches have proven to be both reliable and practical. neighborhood routinely do.

So she walks.

The Lakota community apparently doesn’t see it. Lakota “no” voters Every morning Tyesha zips up her new white coat, slides on her new do not see that cutting busing wasn’t any form of a “scare tactic.” It walking boots, and begins her trek to school. The walk normally takes 25 wasn’t an effort to gain votes based on the annoyance of having to drop minutes, she says. She tries to leave at 6:20 a.m. to avoid the traffic, but a student off at school. It was a real consequence of a financial crisis. it’s hard to always meet the early departure time. But she leaves when she Tyesha doesn’t simply have to walk to school; she has to put her can. She raises her hood, put in her headphones, and sets out down the life at risk every morning and afternoon amidst thousands of cars sidewalk-free Dutchland Parkway. that never realize that she and roughly 30 additional students from her One morning, Tyesha says, she was walking to school without her neighborhood alone are walking in order to receive the education that coat and it “just started raining out of nowhere.” By the time she reached Lakota and its members covet so highly. But she isn’t mad. She isn’t school, her shirt was soaked, her pants were sopping wet, and her shoes angry that the cliché of “walking uphill a mile to school both ways” is were waterlogged. She says that she couldn’t even go to class. now a reality. She just sees it as life.

“The nurse had to give me a whole new set of clothes and a pair of “I understand people not wanting to pay taxes,” says Tyesha, “but shoes,” Tyesha says. “It was horrible.” But the rain doesn’t scare Tyesha; they don’t look at it from our perspective. It’s dangerous out there. There it only makes her uncomfortable. It only makes life that much harder, are cars everywhere.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 65

GPS

opinion | head-to-head

dillon mitchell

T

“

art lisa cai

It’s difficult putting into words just what is so wrong with the idea that our government has the ability to track one of its citizen’s movements without permission. It seems like a no-brainer.

66 | Spark | January 3, 2012

”

here’s something about a good old fashioned dystopia that fascinates people.

They’re evident across all forms of entertainment. In film, there’s The Matrix and Soylent Green. In video games, there’s Bioshock and Half-Life 2. And in literature, there’s George Orwell’s 1984, one of the most iconic imaginations of a dystopian society, in which the government is constantly watching everything you do or say, no matter where you are. It’s a world in which privacy is a completely foreign concept.

It’s a horrifying thought, the idea that the government monitors everything its citizens do and punishes what it sees as illegal. But that’s what makes it fascinating. The surrealism of it all is what draws the reader into Orwell’s dystopia.

Its appeal comes completely from the assumed impossibility of such a society. In reality, no one really wants such a government. People seem to like having freedoms and privacy. It’s just one of those things that everyone enjoys. Apparently the United States government has forgotten this.

Poor Antoine Jones. He was just a hapless night club owner in Washington D.C., except for maybe the whole drug kingpin part of his life. He was just keeping to himself, managing his night club and his drug business when, out of nowhere, he was arrested and convicted to life in prison for “conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and 50 or more grams of cocaine base.” His conviction should have been the end of the case, crime prevailing and the criminal scum getting what he deserved.

But that wasn’t the case. The D.C. Court of Appeals scrapped the decision and retracted Jones’ convictions.

See, the FBI had placed a GPS on the bottom of Jones’ Jeep and tracked his movements for a month, which is essentially how they came to discover where he was hiding the drug kingpin part of his life. That’s fine, says the Fourth Amendment, as long as they had a warrant to do so. The FBI did actually have a warrant to place a GPS on Jones’ car, they just didn’t do so until a day after the warrant expired, effectively making all evidence received from the GPS device illegally acquired, and thus null and void.

According to Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben, however, placing a GPS on the bottom of someone’s car without a warrant is perfectly legal—as long as that person is driving on public roads.

As Americans, people are guaranteed the right to protection from unreasonable search

and seizure without a warrant or probable cause under the Fourth Amendment. In the case of Antoine Jones, there was most likely probable cause for placing a GPS on the bottom of his car. After all, he was already suspected of his involvement in the drug business. But the entire precedent is that the government can place a GPS tracker on the bottom of anyone’s car without a warrant or probable cause.

Take the case of Yasir Afifi. He was just a college student in California, but last year he blew up the internet when he posted pictures of a GPS tracking device found on his car during an oil change. A few days later the FBI showed up at his house and demanded the equipment back.

Afifi isn’t a terrorist. He’s just a prime suspect here in America: A Muslim man in his twenties who frequently took trips to the Middle East to visit his family. He isn’t a criminal, yet the FBI found it appropriate to plant a tracking device on his car. Warrant or no warrant, it was a blatant invasion of privacy, and the act foreshadows the severity of injustices to come through the use of these devices.

Some argue that placing a GPS on someone’s car isn’t included in search or seizure. However, the data collected from these devices is used as evidence just like anything found in a search or seizure of property, therefore putting them into the same group.

It’s difficult putting into words just what is so wrong with the idea that our government has the ability to track one of its citizen’s movements without permission. It seems like a no-brainer.

In doing so, the government is violating personal rights guaranteed to us as citizens of the United States of America and as human beings. We have a right to privacy, and this mentality will destroy that right. And the government isn’t stopping at GPS systems on cars.

CNET News reported on the FBI’s use of a “roving bug” to acquire evidence against a New York crime family. This technique involves activating a phone’s microphone remotely, and using it to record any conversations that might be happening nearby. USA Today wrote about the National Security Agency being provided the phone records of millions of Americans by telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon.

If the government continues on its current path, the “telescreens” of 1984 that perpetually monitor our every move won’t be such an absurd idea. The possibility of our government ending all privacy is completely possible, albeit a bit radical. n

Tracking I

christina wilkerson

f worst comes to worst, Big Brother will be watching. But for now, George Orwell hasn’t made any accurate predictions. 1984 is much more extreme than this.

Authorities attached a Global Positioning System (GPS) to nightclub owner Antoine Jones’ Jeep in 2005 because they were suspicious. It was this GPS that led the authorities to a house stashed with money and drugs in a Maryland suburb. It was this GPS that helped them prove Jones’ conviction for a drug conspiracy.

If the authorities had not secretly attached the GPS and traced every one of Jones’ skeptical destinations through the public routes on which he traveled, they might not have been able to catch him before he became involved in any more dangerous activity.

Now, the Supreme Court is addressing United States vs. Jones, debating whether the whole fiasco was a violation of Jones’ Fourth Amendment rights—whether placing that GPS on his Jeep was unreasonable search or seizure.

For whatever reason, legality always seems to become much more complicated than it needs to be. The truth of the matter is that it’s quite simple. People have the right to privacy. The Fourth Amendment protects this right.

The catch, however, is the actual concept of privacy. In a world ruled by social networking, people’s expectations of privacy have drastically changed. According to Facebook, the site itself has more than 800 million active users worldwide, and more than 350 million currently access Facebook through a mobile device. That’s 350 million people who can share their location with their hundreds of friends. And if the average user has 130 friends, there really is no room for privacy. People are practically given the option to reduce their privacy—and they have.

If invasion of privacy is such a concern, society should establish an expectation— especially when people are putting their every location, activity and movement out into the open for such a large audience to see.

While social networking users have the choice to display certain information to the public, GPS tracking is a different story. But it’s not a bad one.

Jones didn’t know the authorities placed the GPS on his Jeep. He didn’t know they were monitoring the routes he was driving for 28 days.

And that’s why it was believed to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. But search warrant issues aside, the police used the GPS to follow a suspicious person—the equivalent of sending a team of police officers to do the same job.

It’s the equivalent because the GPS does

not reveal any information about the specific location, such as the suburban drug house or the inside of the vehicle. It traces the public roads that were traveled. Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben couldn’t have made the purpose any clearer to the Supreme Court justices.

“What a person seeks to preserve as private in the enclave of his own home or in a private letter or inside of his vehicle when he is traveling is a subject of Fourth Amendment protection,” he said. “But what he reveals to the world, such as his movements in a car on a public roadway, are not.”

The court ruled in the case United States vs.

Knotts that “a person traveling in an automobile on public thoroughfares has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another.” In this case, police used a beeper device to follow a man suspected of being in a drug conspiracy. Technology has changed, but the concept has not.

A police officer may follow someone who they believe to be suspicious without that person’s knowledge, and the situation is no different if a police officer uses a GPS. Technology does not make a public action turn into a private one. A police officer doesn’t normally violate anyone’s privacy, and neither does the GPS. If anything, technological advancements are increasing efficiency and safety. For example, security cameras occupy every street corner in London. Known as the Closed Circuit Television system, this seemed like a step toward a Big Brother society. But this past summer, British police were able to identify and arrest the criminals who instigated riots.

In the grand scheme of things, the fear of the government taking away privacy rights is a legitimate one. And a line must be drawn that defines how the police can do their job without violating any citizen’s rights. People are justified in their fear of allowing the government to use GPS tracking without their knowledge.

But if law enforcement agencies are using them to do what they normally do in a more efficient manner, then ordinary citizens shouldn’t be worried if they have nothing to hide.

After all, United States vs. Jones really does not concern innocent individuals. It doesn’t involve any potential monitoring of every citizen in the United States. It’s about a man who was strongly suspected to be a drug dealer.

There’s no need for panic. Big Brother isn’t watching anyone. Technology is simply changing the meaning of privacy—if society even knows what that is. n

“

A police officer may follow someone who they believe to be suspicious without that person’s knowledge, and the situation is no different if a police officer uses a GPS.

”

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 67

opinion | east speaks out

Emily Chao OPINION EDITOR

SEPARATING THE FACE

contact emily at elchao96@yahoo.com

W

alt Disney was truly a man before his time. And I’m not just of 284 East students surveyed have said that they were involved in a talking from the point of a view of a quasi-sociopath who cyberbullying or other negative incident on Facebook. This can be either spends the Saturday after Black Friday writing this column a face-to-face confrontation or a string of angry chat messages. and happens to be listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame songs.

So many people put all their information out there for all to see No, Walt Disney was a man before his time. and due to the lack of privacy, this harmful string of friendships can Everyone probably knows the song “It’s a Small World After All.” destroy the concept of “private information.” The more connected we Well, in the days of true hand-drawn animation and black and white are, the more liable we are to virtual dangers. Most people would call me chick flicks, the song was kind of a strange themed melody. Back then, paranoid for setting my Facebook privacy settings to the point where people didn’t have the technology to be able to communicate with my information is virtually in a lock and chained box and can only be others on a constant basis. At best they had a telephone and maybe an accessed by friends. It may be extreme, but 15 percent of Americans outing with some friends at the theaters, but once inside the home, it’s have never bothered to check the privacy settings on the social media site all privacy with a little wooden porch. they use, according to a study done by McAfee and the National Cyber But nowadays, the telephone is more than a hefty contraption with a Security Alliance. I just don’t want a friend of a friend of a friend of a bunch of numbers to dial. The computer came along and now we have friend to be able to stalk me and gather information about me. That’s all. things like tablets and touch-screens. Everybody we need to contact can In fact, Facebook’s privacy settings have been under scrutiny from be reached by the touch of a button or the tap of a screen. So much for authorities lately. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently letters. accused Facebook of engaging in “unfair and deceptive” business Surrounded by all of this technology, we can stay in touch with practices, as reported by The New York Times. These included allowing everyone we meet along the way. Facebook, the brain child of Mark advertisers to be able to see some of users’ information even though Zuckerberg, who set up a mushroom cloud of data much like Einstein’s those users checked the box saying they did not want that to happen. atomic bomb, has helped make that connection Videos and pictures of some people were also possible. still accessible even though their account had Granted, Facebook is a wonderful medium “PRIVACY IS DYING been deleted. that has its merits. I can keep in touch with The fact is most people don’t realize the people I haven’t seen since seventh grade AS THE INTERNET permanence of the data that is released by them science camp as well prod numerous friends SWALLOWS IT UP. AND on these websites. I, like many other people online for homework clarifications.

I’m sure, have said things that I didn’t mean WE’RE THE VICTIMS OF But to really put it in perspective, according to say on Facebook. In an attempt to delete to a CNN study, I am connected to everyone in ITS REGURGITATION. ” it, many people will still have seen it. Even if the world with a Facebook by just 4.74 degrees I deleted it, that comment, that little snippet of separation. In other words, if I had to send of HTML or PHP is stored somewhere in the a message to someone on Facebook that I don’t know using only my vast networks of Internet providers. contacts, I can most likely accomplish that through about five clicks.

The activity isn’t going to stop anytime soon. People will still put Fascinating. And a little scary. out whatever little fact about their lives onto that social media site.

Out of Facebook’s ever-growing 800 million active users, the degree Privacy is dying as the Internet swallows it up and we’re the victims of of separation for those in the United States is a mere 4.37 degrees. To its regurgitation. have a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend be able to reach me in It’s nice to be able to see grandparents’ faces on the computer screen. a few seconds of clicking is like reducing Earth’s size by a factor of 10.

Social networking sites are wonderful for that reason. Cautions, however, We have potential contact with so many people that the concept of need to be taken on how much information a person puts onto the web. privacy is really now quite simple: there is none. The effects of this lack Walt Disney, besides being a magical animator whose characters we of privacy are virtually astounding and can be quite dangerous. all love, was right after all. It’s a small world after all and it’s getting Having this indirect connection with so many people leaves ripe smaller every day. But the smaller we let it get, the more privacy we’ll room for cyber bullies to target people. Over the past year, according to lose. n Consumer Reports, over one million children were harassed or subjected to cyber bullying. Yet according to Pew Research Center, 69 percent of Go online to see editorial cartoons and read teens who use social media believe that peers are kind to each other. stories about the Lakota Local Schools’ levy I’m not one for clichés, but they always say to keep your friends close .com lakotaeastspark.com defeat at lakotaeastspark but your enemies closer. Facebook has aroused fights and 35.3 percent

Spark

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High Schoo Lakota East Online Edition

68 | Spark | January 3, 2012

editorial cartoon chris bowling

Carlin Marsh, sophomore The fact that anyone can be talking to you even though it says that one person is.

It could be anyone.

They could hack other peoples’ [accounts] and say things to you that that person didn’t really say.

Evan Korson, junior

That people can get hurt pretty easily by rude people saying bad things to them.

Taylor Hennessy, junior

All the information that people put on it.

Nobody’s really careful about what they say.

Like where you’re located and where you’re from, stuff like that. Like your phone number or your address.

Alexa Brownfield, senior

Bullying. [For example,] if you have your phone number on Facebook, people can randomly text you who you don’t know. I just got one of those and it said, “Hey we’re Facebook friends! I don’t know you, but…let’s talk!” And it’s kind of creepy.

East Speaks Out What is the most dangerous aspect of Facebook?

opinion | finishing touch

devinCASEY

SOPHISTICATED IGNORANCE

M

ost Americans can recall where they were the morning of September 11, 2001. My father was in downtown Cincinnati, and gathered with coworkers around a television to watch the horrific news unfold. My friend says he was in McDonald’s, sipping raspberry mochas with his mother as the announcement that our sense of security was destroyed forever was made over the intercom.

I found out in between classes in second grade with a sucker-punch to the gut from a fourth grader. I was not aware of the reasoning behind this assault, as my only explanation given from the enraged perpetrator was “thanks, terrorist.”

I am 50 percent Indian, 50 percent Caucasian and zero percent terrorist. I eat my hamburgers with curry on the side—not bombs. For the rest of the year I wore my skin with shame as I received dirty looks from anyone that was different. I envied the days when my mildly-dark skin only warranted comments like “monkey-boy.”

According to my mother, who is an Indian-American, it reminded her of the awkward hours she spent near the punch bowl at high school dances as boys feared that they would get dirty dancing with a girl that has muddy skin. She took the reclusive route, and never dated a man until she found my father after college. In order to temporarily combat the ignorance I was exposed to, I took the comedic route and joined my oppressors in playful self-deprecation until the hate subsided.

Today, blatant acts of racial profiling are not socially acceptable. No longer does society allow people of color to be ridiculed for their skin’s hue, and no longer does society put people like me down for violent acts committed by a specific group of people within a certain demographic.

In society, however, racism still exists. Ignorance is sophisticated. The target of hateful fists is no longer guts or groins, but hearts and minds.

People use words and jokes to distances themselves from those that are different, without causing a scene in the hallways of an elementary school. No culture is safe from this new form of prejudice, as jokes about religions and races become part of everyday life in high school.

While working on a research project for Advanced Placement English Literature, I was called over by classmates for assistance on their project.

30 years ago, we would be seated at opposite ends of the classroom.

10 years ago they would simply besiege my project as if I was a nation facing the unfortunate end of colonization.

Today, they happily invite me over to help with their computer problems. As I pushed my chair in and began to walk toward them, my heart sank. Their request for assistance of “Devin, can you help us?” was followed by “yeah, you’re brown so you’re good with computers.”

While the stereotype was flattering, it left a whole I my stomach about the size of a fourth grader’s fist. This playful display of intolerance is not an indication of progress, but of innovation in the field of racism.

I was disappointed, but not surprised.

Society has always needed its separation from those that are different, whether its Protestants and Catholics of the 17th century, or Advanced Placement students and alleged “tech guys” of today.

I immediately turned and sat down in my chair, no longer fighting fire with comedy that burns nothing but my soul. I simply told my classmates to “Google it,” the school-appropriate version of “shove it.”

Ignorance and racism have made strides from their former ostentatious nature to racial undertones as they amble their way to equality.

But in the grand scheme of acceptance, it’s only baby steps. n

70 | Spark | January 3, 2012