Lakota East Spark 2011-2012 Issue 4

: NT 11 ME 20 AIN F RT T O TE ES EN E B TH

Spark Lakota East High School February 9, 2012 $4 Newsstand lakotaeastspark.com

REASSESSING THE BUDGET, STUDENTS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM EAST SENIOR REVEALS LIFE AS TEEN MOTHER ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH

Spark

Contents

10

BE THE DIFFERENCE

This emotional seminar attempted to cultivate respect and help students forge deeper connections, with the overall goal of addressing bullying and harassment issues.

28

HUNGER PANGS

East sophomore Poonam Desai is a devoted Swaminarayan Hindu who only eats one meal per day as part of a 230-day religious fast.

22

GROWING UP TOGETHER

East senior Mimi Dewberry is tackling more than just graduation requirements in her senior year with the newest member of her family, Aiden Stewart.

Volume XX Issue CXXXXI HEAD-TO-HEAD: Jeff Back and Alex Griffin weigh the pros and cons of furthering one’s education beyond high school.

50

THE BEST OF 2011

Spark editors Zach Fulciniti, Dillon Mitchell, Christian Roehm and Arvind Madhavan weigh in on the best sights and sounds from 2011.

66

60

THE SISTERHOOD OF SUCCESS

Follow a slew of über-successful siblings, and the comparisons will be inevitable.

Whitney Wyckoff, the Yale-bound prodigy is nothing if not thankful for the older sister that reveres her.

EDUCATION REFORMATION

ON THE COVER: design devin casey | photos paid permission from mctcampus The cuts, decisions and people that shape Ohio’s education system– from students to the President of the United States.

35..................TOP-DOWN REFORMATION 36.....................TEACHER APPRECIATION 39....................STRAPPED FOR COLLEGE 40.................SOPHOMORIC STANDARDS 42......DEFINING THE HONORS STUDENT

opinion | letter to the editor

Dear Spark, I wanted to share a potential story idea for Spark. Many students will be leaving soon for college, but how many are prepared? This may be the first extended time away from home, and there are several unknowns.

If the staff of the magazine interviewed seniors to delve into their fears about attending college, then the underclassmen could read about this topic and be more prepared themselves. Also, the writers could research answers to the fears that are shared in order to give people resources to make this a smooth transition. Thanks for considering this.

–Melanie Browne, East senior Dear Spark, After subscribing to this magazine for the past three years, I have definitely noticed a trend with many of the issues. In my opinion, many of the stories cover the exact same people, or individuals that are very similar. I would greatly appreciate seeing more issues that reflect the school as a whole, and not just particular groups. I strongly believe this would make each issue not only informative, but also relatable to more of our student population. More students would want to buy subscriptions, and the individuals who already purchase Spark would delight in a variety of story subjects.

–Laura Harsch, East senior Dear Spark, Thanks so much for your article “Buried Treasures.” I discovered many of my own cheap treasures in the thrift stores mentioned in the last issue. What I’ve recently realized is that paying outrageous amounts of money for clothing is unnecessary if you have the

yours. I was especially pleased with this most recent edition, as it provided an in-depth look in a swift reaction time to the decision made

by President Obama.

I actually took you up on your offer and ventured on to the website for the continued coverage. I loved Rachel King’s “From Those Who Have Served” and found the rest of the online war content equally as commendable.

One of the things I would recommend to your young staff is that you add more videos and broadcast coverage of these events! I understand if you do not have the proper equipment, but I have always found the videos on websites for larger papers and other organizations like Yahoo! very informative and easy to keep up with while understanding the facts and news. This would really add to your already top-notch website and writing!

–Mary Hartford, Cincinnati

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

U.S. TROOPS STATIONED IN IRAQ ARE

COMING HOME patience to find some underground gems in your local thrift shops. I’ve also found it to be more fun than shopping in a mall, because you never have any idea what you’re going to find and fall in love with (at a fraction of brand name prices).

–Rachael Eley, Cincinnati Dear Spark, As an avid reader of your magazine and an involved member of the Lakota community, I must say that I am more than thrilled every time that a new issue is produced. The level of maturity and professionalism is translated through your awesome coverage of the Lakota Board of Education and all of the looming cuts we all hope we are prepared for.

I remember my high school magazine and it was not nearly to the caliber or size of

Dear Spark, Even though I am no longer part of the district, I was sad to hear about the levy failing, yet again. Having graduated from East and now going to college, I know how important having a strong education in high school is in order to succeed in college. The most important part of my education was all the fantastic teachers I had while at East.

If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have been so excited to learn about physics, Spanish, or journalism.

I fear that with the levy’s continuing to fail the community is just pushing all the amazing educators that are in the Lakota district away and the students that are left to go through the system won’t receive the same “excellent with distinction” education that I was lucky enough to have.

–Ariadne Souroutzidis, Chicago

Website Commentary www.lakotaeastspark.com Rachel King’s “From Those Who Have Served” This is truly impressive. Many Americans are so insulated from war that it’s hard for us to really know what a soldier’s experience really is. When it comes to matters of foreign policy, the experience soldiers have on the ground, in the line of fire, is absolutely necessary. I get frustrated with politicians who claim to “honor” veterans without actually listening to their stories and heeding their advice. It would do us all some good if we truly honored our veterans. We can do that by letting them share their unique experiences.

—Luke Hall, Liberty Township, Ohio

TEACHER SURVEY: Do you think respect for teachers has declined since you have been in the field?

NO:

10%

CLARIFICATION: In the last issue of Spark, Coming Home, the description of the cover contained an error. The cover was incorrectly labeled a photo and should have been labeled a photo illustration. We sincerely apologize for this mistake.

4 | Spark | February 9, 2012

YES:

90%

GOT SOMETHING

TO SAY?

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. facebook | facebook.com/lehsspark twitter | @LakotaEastSpark email | lehs.spark@gmail.com website | www.lakotaeastspark.com

opinion | letter from the editor

cookies in the cafeteria, the Spark lab or Advanced Placement classes. Instead, it was because Lakota’s preschool program, which I know little about and has never had an impact on my life, is facing some major cuts.

Although I’ve never interacted with the preschool program, having moved to the area after kindergarten, hearing about a section of Lakota’s education system consolidated into a federal Head Start program at the loss of 42 teachers hit very close to home.

I cried for how grateful I am for the education that I have had in this district from the editor and for the realization that students that follow in my footsteps will not have the same opportunities that I have been blessed with. The Lakota a first grader will enter into in the next school year will be very different from the Lakota that I entered as a fresh-faced six-year-old. I cried because the coming cuts will be felt and they will hurt.

Things are starting to get real in Lakota. After three consecutive failed ast Monday, I cried after the Board levies, the message from the community meeting. seems very clear—balance the budget Yes, I cried.

On the way home, I tried to fight the without raising property taxes, which translates into cutting teachers and tears back but I ended up hugging my mom in the kitchen as she patted my back programs. With costs rising for the district and continually reduced revenue and incredulously wondered what could from the state, balancing the budget is an possibly happen at a school board of education meeting to make a high school absolute necessity.

These cuts, which will be introduced kid cry.

It may have been because of a lack of incrementally to the Lakota Board of sleep, or because preschool teachers were Education in the coming months, will crying, and I can’t resist a joining in on a have real and lasting impacts. Everyone in the district and community will feel their good cry, but I doubt it.

It was not even because an item close effects, and the effects will hurt more than having a few extra kids in second to my heart was on the line, like full-fat

TURNING POINT

L

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

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 Photo Editor Amber Jagpal, Maddie McGarvey Business Associate Jill Stelletell Public Relations Associate Cheyenne Blanchette, Samantha Hauck Survey Coordinator Brett Colburn, John Grasty, Ian Smith Multimedia Editor Dean Hume Adviser

period Spanish or no block days.

These are problems that affect not only Lakota, but also school districts, students and communities across the country. The same issues of school funding, teaching to the test and increased pressures are felt across the nation.

In President Obama’s State of the Union Address, he emphasized the importance of education in our nation’s economic future. Education is at a turning point, away from past ways of thinking towards a modernized structure which meets the needs of 21st century students.

This month’s issue of Spark deals directly with these issues facing education.

We look at the changing definition of an honors student, English as a Second Language programs, increased pressure on sophomores, and more. We have compiled a collection of stories relating to and explaining relevant issues facing education in Lakota and across the nation.

Lakota is at a turning point in education as well, and where the district goes from here will determine the quality of education and the appeal of our community for years to come.

Meeting these challenges will require an open dialogue between the community, administration and the Board. Creative solutions are necessary to retain quality education for students in the face of budget cuts and reduced class offerings.

This turning point does not have to lead down a dark road, with tears at board meetings and the loss of excellence—it can be the catalyst for much-needed reform.

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

Scan this QR Code with a smartphone to access more news stories online.

Club members descend upon multicultural foods as the event commences.

East senior Kyle Taylor gives junior Kenzie Walters a twirl at the swing dance.

n School News

East Hosts the Sixth Annual Swing Dance

n School News Clubs Come Together at the Multilingual Madness

East jazz bands host the sixth annual Lakota East Swing Dance to raise money for the band program. Reigning Swing Dance-off champions Natasia Reindhardt and Steve Guard won again.

All four language clubs of East (Latin, Spanish, French and German) hosted the third annual multi-club event in which students tried foods from each of the cultures and played games.

story mansi patel | photo ellen fleetwood

story hannah eads | photo mandi ellsworth

n District News

Superintendent Addresses the First of Seven Phases of Cuts story and photo rachel podnar

Lakota executive director of Student Services Brenda Paget presents the potential solution to the Board and the community.

6 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Lakota Local School District Superintendent Karen Mantia and Treasurer Jenni Logan unveiled the first of their proposals to the Lakota Board of Education at the Board meeting on Monday, Jan. 23 in the process to cut nine million dollars from the District’s budget.

This proposal, which dealt with preschool, is the first of seven regarding cuts in different areas of the District. Changes to secondary education will be presented at the next Board meeting, followed by cuts to elementary school, administration, support staff, business operations and finally extracurricular activities.

The proposed changes to the preschool program focus on modifying the current preschool program and consolidating resources with Butler County Educational Service Center (BCESC), which runs Butler county’s Head Start program, a federally mandated preschool program for economically-disadvantage children. Lakota Executive Director of Student Services Brenda Paget presented the potential solution to the Board and the large crowd of community members.

Currently, Lakota’s preschool program services 288 students, which is 83 percent capacity, at a cost to the District of $3.3 million. Sharing services with BCESC will cut $1.2 million because it will maximize the federal dollars Lakota receives for having a Head Start program and reduces personnel costs.

This partnership will mean that Lakota’s preschool program will be combined with Head Start.

story continued on lakotaeastspark.com

Chinese Correspondence East and Jingmen No. 1 High School students exchange emails after principal Yuan Ye visits East. story elaine laux | photo mandi ellsworth

I

n an effort to join students from opposite sides of the planet, Jingmen No. 1 High School of Hubei, China principal Yuan Ye and East principal Dr. Keith Kline set up an email exchange program between students at their respective schools. The principals established the program hoping that the students will make new connections and learn about cultures different from their own.

Yuan visited East from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 to learn about American school districts.

To share his acquired knowledge with his students, Yuan brought several of their email

Sophomore Angela Ferguson corresponds with her Chinese pen pal.

addresses with him in order for them to become pen pals with East students. During his time at East he met with the top 10 students from each class. They met Yuan and took a simple course in Mandarin.

Because of this program, East sophomore Kerry Iles exchanges emails with a Chinese student of the same age in China.

“I have exchanged about three emails with her,” Iles said. “I thought it was a great idea.

My pen pal and I even want to eventually try to visit each other.”

Many East students, including Iles, who are participating in the email program are finding out that their Chinese pen pals are more similar to them than expected.

“I found out that she is in choir,” Iles said.

“I’m in band so we talked about music and other things we did for fun. She seemed really interested in America.”

Kline said that any time students can broaden their cultural experiences is an enriching opportunity.

“We wanted to set this email system

up to help accustom East students to the international world they are going into,” Kline said. “Our hope is that we can actually send students back and forth.”

East sophomore Angela Ferguson also currently emails with two Chinese students.

This is not a new experience for Ferguson, as her family has hosted international students before, many of whom come from China.

“I think this foreign correspondence idea is great,” Ferguson said. “I speak a little Chinese because my mom is from China, so it was easy to communicate. Their English is a little broken, but I can still understand it.”

According to Kline, East administration advocated for students engaging emails with the Chinese students. Yuan and Kline agree that communicating with people from other parts of the world is important because it brings diversity and culture to the two distinctly different countries.

“I would love to get every student involved in a program like this,” Kline said. “It helps our world get a little smaller.” n

Slashing Shortcuts story ameera khalid | infographic jack dombrowski, lauren fang, irfan ibrahim

A

Spark High School Lakota East n Online Editio

story continued on

lakotaeast spark .com

said he has heard of people almost getting hit in the parking lot.

Local businesses in the Liberty Falls parking lot have been complaining about students and parents speeding through the lot and the lane in front of the lot. In response to the complaints, the company that manages Liberty Falls, CBRE, has resorted to adding speed bumps and hiring a private security company to patrol the area.

The tenants of Mercy Health Network and local business owners filed complaints that the parking lot was unsafe for their clients due to early morning and afternoon traffic, and that clients had almost been hit by cars passing through their lot. *This student’s name was changed in order to protect his or her identity.

Lakota Lane

Mercy Hospital

Lakota East High School

East students have taken an illegal route into the nearby plaza in order to get out of after school traffic faster, so Securita was placed into the blocked-off plaza temporarily.

Speed bumps have also recently been added near Mercy Hospital and plaza. However, use of the route indicated is denied during arrival and dismissal times.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 7

photos ellen fleetwood and michael tedesco

t 7:20 a.m., cars line up from East all the way down to Cox Road. East senior Mark Johnson* and his friend anxiously glance down at the time on the dashboard then back up at the traffic. They do not have 10 minutes to sit in line. They pull into the Liberty Falls parking lot, cut between El Rancho Grande and Mercy Health Networks, and slide into the line in front of East. Johnson and his friend are just another example of the 36 percent of 494 East students surveyed who responded that they cut through the parking lot to get to school.

“We only cut through on occasion when we’re running late,” said Johnson, who said that it can save anywhere between five and 10 minutes, depending on traffic.

Johnson admitted that he has seen kids speeding through the parking lot, even swerving around the speed bumps. He also

news | around the school

Orlando Named an AP Reader

AP teachers and college professors, all led by a Chief Reader.

These exams are created and administered by the College Board, an institution whose goal it is to help students prepare for college.

They achieve this through the AP exam and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which are both widely recognized at universities across the country.

The College Board’s Christopher Davis said the organization is seeking teachers to not only give their perspectives to the grading process, but also to allow teachers to understand the grading process so they can help improve their own future scores. “[The reading process] is a joint learning process [for teachers],” Davis said.

story john grasty | infographic rahul mukherjee, dan turner

A

fter a three-year wait, East Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics teacher Stephen Orlando finally received the news he had been waiting for from the College Board; he was awarded with the position of becoming an AP Statistics exam reader.

According to Orlando, the news of

becoming a reader did not come as much of a shock.

“I knew I had a shot, but it wasn’t guaranteed,” Orlando said.

Orlando will take a week of his summer during the month of June to grade AP Statistics tests with more than 11,000 other

AP Statistics

1

Readers look at the scoring rubric and read pre-scored papers to show all abilities.

2

Spark High School Lakota East Online Edition

Orlando is the first teacher in Lakota history to be selected as an AP reader.

One of approximately 11,000 total AP readers in the nation.

Finish the story on lakotaeastspark.com

Chief Reader creates scoring standards and selects readers.

After the sample tests are looked over and discussed, the readers get another set of pre-scored responses, but the scores are hidden.

Table Leader monitors reliability/ progress of readers.

Question leaders go over free response questions.

Exam leaders supervises subjects with two exams.

3

Readers are then put into groups, who then decide what score should be assigned to the tests.

4

The groups then negotiate on a score, and then it is compared to the group leader’s score.

5

This process is repeated multiple times, with complex answers being reviewed by either Table leaders, Question leaders or the Chief Reader.

East AP Test Scores of 2011

Number of students who took the test 8 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Scores

Passarge Facts: Recognized as 2011 Ohio Outstanding Business Operations Manager of the Year n

As Executive Director of Business Operations, Passarge manages transportation, child nutrition, buildings and grounds, athletics, technology and district budgeting n

Chris Passarge poses with (from left to right) Uranda Cathey, Paula Hale, Veronica Gayotin, Stu Eversole and Gary Haggard.

He came to Lakota in 2007 after leaving a manager position at Chiquita n

Co-founded We Care Lakota, which helps Lakota families that are in crisis situations n

Taking Care of Business Lakota’s Chris Passarge named Business Manager of the Year for 2011.

Secured more than $450,000 in grants for Lakota’s Safe Routes to School program n

story sophia li | photo sierra whitlock

L

akota Local School District’s Executive Director of Business Operations Chris Passarge was recognized as the 2011 Ohio Outstanding Business Operations Manager of the Year by the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. Passarge was chosen based on his contributions to his field, the district and the community. In addition to the recognition, he was given a $500 scholarship from American Fidelity to be awarded to a graduating senior within Lakota.

Passarge attended a ceremony for the award with other 2011 winners back in November and is now deciding how to narrow down choices for the scholarship.

Juggling Lakota’s transportation, child nutrition, buildings and grounds, athletics, technology and district budgeting, Passarge attributes his ability to balance his responsibilities to his “solid” staff.

“Without them it wouldn’t be possible to take on the extra responsibilities,” Passarge said. “I don’t see this award as a personal recognition. I really see it as a recognition of the operations group at Lakota and what a great job that they do.”

With a military background from serving as an officer in the Army for four-and-a-half years and experience in the corporate world, Passarge has applied knowledge from his past to help him lead Lakota in a new direction.

“The experience that I learned about contracts and negotiations in the corporate world [have] changed the way we do business here,” said Passarge, who was a manager at Chiquita before he came to Lakota in 2007.

While Passarge said that he learned a great deal at Chiquita, he made the decision to leave

the corporate world in order to utilize his Masters in Public Administration and enter the public field.

According to Passarge’s executive secretary Veronica Gayotin, Passarge’s unique experiences combined with his kindness are part of what sets him apart from other business managers.

“Based on [Passarge’s] military background, he’s all about his troops, so to speak,” said Gayotin, who has worked under Passarge since his first day at Lakota. “He makes sure everybody is cared for before he cares for himself.”

Passarge did not end his commitment to the community when he began working at Lakota. When, Passarge came to the District, he and Gayotin founded We Care Lakota, a foundation dedicated to helping Lakota families that are in crisis situations. This organization strives to allow students to focus on school instead of their conditions at home. “[We Care Lakota] is not something that’s required of Chris, it’s not something that’s required of me,” Gayotin said. “We just saw a need and we tried to be there for the students, because ultimately our goal is for them to be able to focus on their education as opposed to their situation.”

According to recently retired Lakota assistant superintendent Ron Spurlock, this balance of “the business side and the people side” is just one of the things that make Passarge a great business manager. “[Passarge] has that fun personality, and he’s the kind of guy you just enjoy being around,” Spurlock said. “He does a tremendous job.”

Another way Passarge has helped Lakota is by writing and securing over $450,000 in grants for Lakota’s “Safe Routes to School” Program, which helps provide more options for students to safely walk to school.

As Lakota District Athletic Director Stu Eversole put it, Passarge is “always looking for a solution” no matter how difficult it may be.

“Many people nowadays worry about the challenges and the problems and are quick to throw up their hands and feel that [the problems] are insurmountable,” Eversole said.

“Passarge is a guy that looks for solutions, and he’s not afraid to make a tough decision at the same time.”

Eversole pointed out Passarge’s “instrumental” work with junior high school athletics as an example of his ability to solve problems. Faced with the possibility of cutting junior high athletics altogether, Passarge looked for alternatives and found one with the current $350 pay-to-play fee.

“Mr. Passarge takes his problem solving personally. It’s not just a job,” Eversole said.

“He wants to get it done and he wants to get it done right. He’s doing it for all the right reasons.”

Passarge’s determination has stood out to all his coworkers and seems to be the factor behind his statewide recognition.

“I have met very few people that have the compassion that Chris has and the ability to roll up his sleeves, no matter what the circumstances, to get the job done,” Gayotin said. “The lady who gave Chris the award said herself that what separated him from the other applicants is that he had a heart of gold.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 9

news | student interactions

Being the Difference 200 East freshman, sophomores and juniors participated in the one-day Be the Difference program. This emotional seminar attempted to cultivate respect and help students forge progressively deeper connections, with the overall goal of addressing bullying and harassment issues. story angela ferguson | photos ellen fleetwood

T

he upbeat sounds of Jessie J’s song “Domino” resonated off the gym walls as a select number of East students congregated around a nametag table on Main Street. As the students filed into the gymnasium, teachers and volunteers greeted them on both sides of the stairs with enthusiastic high fives and cheers. Taking a seat in one of the fold-out chairs around the gym’s perimeter, sophomore Ja’Myra Jett had no idea what was going on or what was to come, and in this respect, she was not alone.

In an effort to break down stereotypes and social barriers, 200 East freshmen, sophomores and juniors participated in the one-day Be the Difference seminar in East’s main gym on Jan. 26.

Coordinated by head speaker at Be the Difference and President/Founder of Changepoint Pete Bryant’s company identifies disrespect, stereotyping and bullying as the main negative factors impacting high school students. Changepoint seeks to help students overcome these barriers through activities aimed at fostering relationships on a deeper level.

10 | Spark | February 9, 2012

The activities during Be the Difference attempted to cultivate respect and help students forge progressively deeper connections. Students attempted to get to know one another better by introducing themselves, giving hugs and playing highspirited games. During lunch, students paired up and shared their life stories with each other and afterward, broke up into groups of five under the leadership of a teacher or Changepoint volunteer.

The students then went around and shared one instance when their life was negatively impacted. Tissues were passed around, but most students became more emotional toward the end of the event, when students were lined up on one side of a line dividing the gym in half. Bryant read various statements ranging from “I have been made fun of for the clothes I wear,” to “I have had someone close to me commit suicide,” and students who identified with the statements crossed the line to face their peers on the other side.

Students were able to experience this program through the efforts of East Freshman guidance counselor Michelle Kohler and associate principal Suzanna Davis, as well

President and Founder of Changepoint Pete Bryant speaks to East students during the assembly.

as Main Campus assistant principal Michael Broadwater. Kohler and Davis observed the same seminar at Lebanon High School.

With high hopes for the program’s potential at East, Kohler and Davis collaborated with Broadwater in writing a series of grant proposals. Eventually, these efforts paid off and Kohler secured a grant from the Community Foundation of West Chester and Liberty.

“Here at East, we definitely have bullying and harassment issues that need to be addressed,” Kohler said. “This isn’t oldfashioned bullying anymore. Nowadays, most of the office referrals we get are regarding things that happen over Facebook and Twitter.”

In recent weeks, cyber bullying received attention in the Ohio state legislature with the revision of House Bill 116. Now awaiting Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s signature, the bill mandates that schools broaden bullying policies to include punishment for acts of electronic harassment and intimidation. Titled the “Jessica Logan Act,” the anti-bullying law is named after the 18-year-old Sycamore High School graduate who committed suicide in

Photos from left to right: Edge employee counselor Scott Pagel talks to the students about judging peers and stereotypes students often face, East students share their personal stories with each other, President/Founder of Changepoint Pete Bryant.

2008 after being cyber bullied.

Much like the Ohio legislators attempting to pass the act, Bryant believes in taking preemptive action against bullying.

“There has been an increased problem [of intolerance] because the number of people being hurt and the depth at which they are hurt has been intensified,” Bryant said. “There is a lot more physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Hurt people hurt people. If people are hurt and they don’t heal, they just pass that hurt forward onto others. Our opportunity here is to help kids understand their peers better.”

East special education teacher Jeffrey Combs attended Be the Difference and agreed with Bryant that bullying is a big issue, but argued that it is not truly the heart of the issue. “[The issue of respect] is bigger than bullying,” said Combs, who has been teaching at East for 15 years. “I think if you fix the respect problem, you won’t have a bullying problem. Respect has gotten worse, not just at Lakota East, but in our culture. When I walk down the halls now, it’s a lot different than it was even five years ago. I almost feel like we

have a Jersey Shore lingo down the hallways, from the way people treat each other.”

East principal Dr. Keith Kline sees eyeto-eye with Combs and expressed that the far-reaching effects of bullying have made a profound mark on the students at East.

“People think that they have the same life as everyone else,” Kline said. “But I know that we have students who come from a variety of situations, and they bring baggage to school daily.”

Be the Difference recognized the emotional burdens that everyone has and endeavored to help students deal with their own baggage in positive ways. It seemed to have worked, according to Jett, who called the program “one of the best experiences” she has ever had.

“Some of the students who were also in the program were talking about how it made them look at high school differently,” Jett said.

“They felt bad about how they [previously] judged people, and I felt the same way.”

On the other hand, some students at East expressed sentiments that the changed attitude of those who were in the program will only last a week or a month at most. While Kline

hopes to hold a similar anti-bullying event at least twice per year and involve more of East’s student body, for now East is relying on what junior Mallory Webb described as a “ripple effect.”

“I think this program will have a lasting impact on the students that were there,” said Webb, who also attended the seminar.

“Hopefully, they will teach others how to act toward students. I think that was the point in just I think this program will drawing have a lasting impact on the 200 students that were there. kids: so they can branch out and actually be the difference and teach others to not make fun of other people for how they look or what they wear.”

With so many positive student reactions to the program, Kline and Bryant now hope that those who participated in Be the Difference will apply what they learned every day in the community, so as to actually be the difference. “[From this experience], I want students to take away that there is a story behind every face,” Bryant said. “You should get to know that story before you make a judgment.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 11

news | whiz kids

Kids Helping Kids

Every week East students are impacting the lives of elementary kids through a tutoring program. story laura shrake | photo ellen fleetwood | infographic irfan ibrahim, tommy behan

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Whiz Kid tutorJosh Larson helps Independence Elementary student Spencer Li with his homework.

Reading A to Z 12 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Early Emergent Readers (Levels aa-C)

Begin to learn sound/ symbol relationships

s the afternoon announcements signal the release of the students at Independence Elementary, 27 young readers make their way against the crowd to the cafeteria. After excitedly and chaotically forming a line to sign in on the clipboard on a table just inside the door, they are greeted by equally enthusiastic high school students or adults whom they see every Thursday.

Grabbing a slice of pizza, the students take a seat in the cafeteria to casually converse about what happened at school, or if anything new and exciting is happening in each others’ lives. After the pizza disappears, the students split up into groups and spread out in classrooms around the school.

These elementary and high school students congregate for a volunteer program called Whiz Kids. Founded through City Gospel Mission and with its beginnings in the Cincinnati Public School system, Whiz Kids is a tutoring and mentoring program that strives to help at-risk students (who have fallen below the appropriate reading level) with reading and mathematics. This particular site at Independence Elementary is sponsored by the Edge Teen Center.

“The program provides one-on-one time with a high school student or an adult who gives them immediate feedback on their reading,” Edge’s community service coordinator Molly Hare said. “It also helps their self esteem, gives them time for a

Emergent Readers (Levels D-J)

Develop a better grasp of comprehension and wordattack skills.

person to really listen to them and build a relationship with them that will impact their learning and their life.”

Hare was involved with Whiz Kids for a year before she invited high school students to tutor with the Edge. The teen center started the Whiz Kids program at Independence Elementary two years ago and has grown exponentially since then. Since the start of this site, tutors from East have expanded the program from three tutors, to seven tutors, to 27 tutors for this school year.

Cincinnati Area Director for Whiz Kids Nate Smith applauds Hare for her extensive work with the site at Independence Elementary, and for pioneering a new approach to the program.

“Independence is really unique in how they do everything,” Smith said. “They’ve set up the site so that all the students will be in groups with their tutors. They all start in the same place, but then will go to the library to use books, or go to the computer lab to read online books and play reading games.”

Each week, the groups do something different to avoid the tedious activity of a sit-down tutoring session directly following a full day of school. One group will play games that will help them with their spelling, such as Bananagrams and Word Hangman, and mathbased games that help the students learn how to handle money in the sense of a cashier by making change.

“Play is just such a wonderful way to learn,” Hare said. “I wanted to find different ways for the tutors to interact with the students and make it more fun for everybody, and it’s really worked out beautifully because every week is something different.”

Another group follows the school’s library books to practice their reading skills, while a third group utilizes a national curriculum and the standard for Whiz Kids: Reading A-Z. Throughout the course of a year in the program, a student can progress as many as four or five levels higher in their reading skills, according to Hare and Smith.

The child’s teacher notifies the parents of students who could benefit from the many unique activities Whiz Kids has to offer. Once the application is filed, the student is then given an assessment to determine his or her

Early Fluent Readers (Levels K-P)

Experience a greater variety of text and are able to recognize different styles and genres.

A Whiz Kid tutor and student play a learning game on the computer.

reading level.

“We identify [a student’s] reading level early on,” Hare said. “These kids have fallen below their grade level in reading, and our goal is to help them catch up so they can continue to succeed in school.”

According to Hare, a student’s reading ability and his or her future endeavors are closely connected. Her assessment correlates with statistics from Educational CyberPlayGround that more than 20 percent of adults in the country read at or below the level of a fifth grader.

In addition, 70 percent of prisoners fall into the lowest two levels of reading proficiency, and 85 percent of all juveniles who appear in the court system are functionally illiterate.

In lieu of these statistics, Hare and Smith are determined to continue expanding the program throughout the Cincinnati area and benefit the children of as many communities as possible. Hare and Smith, having worked closely together at this site, agree that the students do not feel as if they are being tutored. They see that the kids are excited to be in the program every week and are upset when it is canceled. Assistant principal of Independence and Union Elementary schools Ben Brown notices similar enthusiasm “Everybody just has fun and the kids love it,” Brown said. “It’s awesome because they are here for an extra hour after school and they’re working, but they’re having fun.”

Fluent Readers (Levels Q-Z)

Develop their reading skills as they encounter more difficult reading materials.

These benefits are noticed most by the parents of the students, such as Tiffany Nabozny, mother of a second grade “whiz kid.”

“My daughter loves coming here,” Nabozny said. “She likes learning from someone who is a teenager and who she thinks is ‘cool.’ I think it’s really improved her reading.”

Nabozny also said that her daughter has a new understanding of the importance of school, and because of Whiz Kids, looks forward to learning. Nabozny appreciates the one on one aspect that the mentoring provides for her daughter, Emily, who enjoys her time at Whiz Kids.

“Reading and playing is a fun way to learn,” Emily said. “I really like my tutor because she’s like a big sister to me.”

Second year high school tutor and East senior Emily Morrell feels the same connection with her own student.

“It’s really cool seeing her work [improve] and knowing that you are the one who helped her along the way.”

Being a tutor for the Whiz Kids program has had a positive impact on Morrell’s life.

Tutoring is something she looks forward to from Tuesday when she wakes up until she walks in the door at Independence on Thursday afternoon.

“I love it,” Morrell said. “I’m not just her tutor anymore. I’ll miss her next year because [she has become] like my little sister.” n

29 percent of 494 East students surveyed are or know someone involved with Whiz kids

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 13

news | new technology

With Edline’s use terminated, a few East teachers have found a new way to communicate with students with an interface comparable Facebook’s. It is time to

Exit Edline: Enter Edmodo

East AP U.S. teacher Jennifer Reid introduces her class to Edmodo, a new social utility created for added connection between teachers and students.

story zach fulciniti | photo mandi ellsworth | infographic lisa cai

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ollowing a professional development day in November, where training was offered to personnel throughout the district, several teachers at East have begun using Edmodo, a free social networking site that features a layout similar to Facebook.

The website can be used for both assignmentbased and discussion-based questions that both students and teachers can respond to.

Another training session was held on Friday, Jan. 20. In this mandatory session, all teachers were instructed how to properly use the website with their students.

Instructional technology specialist Melissa Prohaska, who presented Edmodo to staff members at both training sessions, got the idea for introducing the website to East from Plains Junior High School social studies teacher Andrew Wheatley. Wheatley first learned of the website from a class on literacy and social media he was taking while

I still wanted a virtual classroom to use and HAC wasn’t enough.”

Wheatley said that the website helps him stay in contact with students who might need help but are not in class at the time.

“I have more students this year returning from absence with all of their work complete on the day they come back,” said Wheatley, who has used it to post class notes and materials, discussion questions, assignment due dates, polls and also to answer student questions. “I find it incredibly beneficial.”

Edmodo, which both Prohaska and Wheatley have touted as an alternative to Edline or HAC, features a layout similar to Facebook, where students and teachers can post assignment-based or discussion-based questions in their respective class groups, and teachers and other students can respond to them.

“We are trying to generate a culture of discussion,” said Jennifer Reid, who has been using the website in her It doesn’t feel like homework, it feels Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. history classes for about a month. “I’m trying like joining a conversation. They’ve to encourage students to read each taken to it like a fish to water. other’s posts and respond to each other.”

Reid, who is the head of the Social working toward his master’s degree at Miami Studies department, found that her classes University, and started using it when the enjoy using the website because they do not district made the switch to Home Access see it as just another assignment.

Center (HAC).

“I think at the beginning there was some “We studied a lot of research on literacy grumbling, like, one more assignment,” Reid practices in virtual spaces,” Wheatley said. “I said. “But it doesn’t feel like homework, it started using [Edmodo] when we lost Edline. feels like joining a conversation. They’ve taken

“

14 | Spark | February 9, 2012

”

to it like a fish to water.”

Edmodo has allowed her classes to address issues they otherwise would not be able to, like the recent State of the Union address.

“We never have enough time to discuss politics and current events, so this is a forum where we can discuss these things,” said Reid, who, for example, posted a poll asking her students to pick which Republican presidential candidate they would vote for and offer an explanation as to why. 30 of her 50 students participated in the poll. Reid also offered students the opportunity to post a “personal reflection” to a World War I video her classes watched, and has asked her students to address prompts on issues like American imperialism.

East junior Ian Blomquist, a student in Reid’s AP U.S. history class, found the discussion Edmodo generates to be beneficial to the learning experience.

“I like being able to debate or discuss important topics,” Blomquist said, who responded to posts regarding American involvement in foreign affairs and America’s status as a world power. “[Edmodo] truly expands your knowledge base for you and your classmates.”

Reid has found the website helpful for other reasons as well, such as keeping students updated on assignments through the website’s calendar function and smartphone application.

“I think it’s helpful to see the assignments there in the calendar,” Reid said. “Also, because there’s an app, students can get to the assignments really easily. Kids can carry

around all their assignments in their pocket.

After seeing the success she’s had with her AP classes, Reid has begun introducing it to her 101 U.S. history classes as well.

Unlike Reid, who uses the website for her AP classes only, social studies and economics teacher Amy Florence uses the website for both her AP and 101 classes. Also unlike Reid, Florence does not require her students to use Edmodo, and has experienced far less success with it.

“I hoped that everybody would use it, but so far I’ve only got a few students using it,” Florence said. “I’d like to encourage more, but it just hasn’t quite caught on yet.”

Despite the mixed results from Edmodo’s use so far, Prohaska remains optimistic that it will catch on with teachers and students alike.

“I think it has the potential to take off,” Prohaska said. “It is a safe way for our

have a personal life and you have a social life,” Prohaska said. “Facebook is your social life, and Edmodo is your professional life.”

According to Prohaska, Edmodo can teach students important skills to use in their professional lives that they might not learn otherwise.

“We need to train our students how to handle their professional life, how to comment correctly, and how to use constructive criticism,” she said.

She also thinks that the Facebook-esque layout will help students adjust to using social media for educational purposes. “[Edmodo] looks like Facebook,” she said.

“And that’s what kids are on all the time.” n

East sophomore Nate Anderson accesses Edmodo through his smartphone.

students to communicate on the academic, professional side.”

The website is free to use, and, as Prohaska puts it, will help students adjust to being professional on the internet.

“We have to teach our students that you

Spark

High School Lakota East Online Edition

Check out Tabby Hall’s story on the new Teacher Incentive Policy at lakotaeastspark.com

Accessing Edmodo Teachers and students can use the Facebook-like website to set up a calendar, publish assignments and discuss questions.

When Signed Up

How to Sign Up

The teacher can now update the page, to notify the students of certain activities.

Through Edmodo, the teacher creates a page for a class such as AP chemistry. This creates a code.

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The students use the code to make an account that will connect them to their AP/Honors class.

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AP economics

Uses Edmodo for discussion questions.

AP U.S. history

Uses Edmodo as a calendar.

AP European history

Uses Edmodo to keep track of assignments

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 15

feature | dart

CALL HIM THE

PIANOMAN

HERE: East sophomore Ben Call plays on his piano and sings along to “The Scientist” by Coldplay.

BELOW: Call perfoms with his eyes closed.

After winning Lakota East Freshman Idol in 2011, East sophomore Ben Call continues to pursue his musical interests in the upcoming 2012 competition, Lakota East Idol. story jeff back | photos ellen fleetwood

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he English alternative rock band Coldplay can boast that generosity in front of an audience of 50-60 people. Fellow its music video to the song “The Scientist” won three Freshman Idol competitor and East sophomore Stephen MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. Lead vocalist Chris Ball, who hears Ben sing every day in their fifth period chorus Martin has every right to flaunt the seven Grammy Awards class, did not think that Ben was nervous at all. his band won. But despite the 12 times Coldplay has been “I don’t think [Ben] was nervous at all, because he didn’t certified “platinum” in the United States, and the staggering show it,” Ball says. “He just went with the flow.”

50 million records it has sold worldwide, the band still cannot But while his outward presence and performance may claim the title of inaugural Lakota East Freshman Idol. suggest otherwise, Ben remembers the competition a little East sophomore Ben Call can. differently. He contests that the competition was extremely Following a riveting performance of “The Scientist,” nerve-wracking. in which Call played piano “I was a wreck,” Ben says. “I was obviously nervous, that and sang to the hit single from was natural. But it was funny, because I was more worried Coldplay’s second studio album about messing up the piano part than I was [about the] A Rush of Blood to the Head, he singing, and it was a singing competition.” was announced the victor of the Ben’s junior high chorus teacher at Hopewell Junior 15-singer competition in May School, Jennifer Akers, says that Ben’s musical ability was 2011. After receiving the most highly sophisticated for his age and contributed to his votes out of the roughly 250 Freshman Idol success. text responses the competition “[Ben] has a fantastic ear beyond his years,” Akers says. collected from its American Idol- “He was able to master any style by just listening to it. We like voting system, Call waited sang at an Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) for 15 seconds before raising his professional development conference during his eighth grade arms into the air in triumph. year, and Ben sang the scat (a vocal jazz style) solo. He was “He was kind of embarrassed,” Ben’s mother Tammy able to pick up any style of music and produce what he says. “He’s pretty competitive like [he is] in cross country, so needed to produce.”

I knew he wanted to win. He tried to act bashful and be cool So when Ben tackled Coldplay’s “The Scientist” for the about it, pretending as if it was no big deal, but it was.” competition, it did not surprise anyone. According to his Ben’s familiarity with acting in church musicals and brother Joel, who minors in music at Mount Vernon Nazarene monthly Family Experience skits has contributed to his University, “[Ben] kept to the original song, but at the same collected stage presence. The Family time added plenty of vocal variances Experience, according to Tammy, is a here and there just to mix it up.”

Each issue the Spark staff program in which Ben performs scripted East associate athletic director picks a random East student scenes focused on instilling values such Craig Ulland organized the event, and covers a unique aspect as honesty, creativity, initiative and which stemmed from the singer-heavy of his or her life.

16 | Spark | February 9, 2012

talent shows of past years, with the intent of showcasing the student the piano, but I never heard him play and sing it until the night of the body’s talent. competition.”

About 25 students auditioned in front of five judges for 15 finalist Maybe, however, the secret practicing is just a Call tradition. spots. As Ben was the only competitor to accompany himself on piano, “I’m actually the same way,” Joel says. “I’m not exactly sure what Ulland could not find a word better-suited to describe him than “brave.” it is; a shyness, I guess. [Ben] likes to be musical and express himself, “I’ve been involved in music since I was 15, and I was blown away [by but he doesn’t always like to be the center of attention. He’s not one Ben’s performance],” Ulland says. to go around playing songs for people all the time. Sometimes we want The peculiar part is that Ben almost did not get to even audition to to play in private just for our own benefit and be in the competition. His commitment to another activity, track and therapeutic value.”

Scan this QR code to field, nearly kept him from participating in the competition. Ulland was When Lakota East Idol, a new competition see Call’s Freshman lenient and worked around Ben’s practice schedule, however, in an effort for people in grades nine through 12, comes Idol performance. to include anybody who wanted to participate in the event. around this May, Ben will be performing “I almost didn’t get to audition,” Ben says. “Everyone else auditioned for a packed house. Ulland says that after school one day and I had to [audition] the day after. I guess they left the production will be bigger than one spot open just in case I was good enough to make it.”

Freshman Idol.

But the different audition time didn’t faze Ben. He blew the While Ben is still not sure if he will judging panel away. The commitment to a sport conflicting with other let his parents hear him practice, he is performances and activities was nothing new to him. sure he will enter the competition. And When he is not performing in OMEA conferences, talent shows his parents look forward to helping him and church performances, Ben runs alongside the East varsity boys’ if he asks them to do so. cross country and track teams seven days per week. Ben’s athletic ability Maybe they will pop in the VHS of cannot be overlooked, as he finished as the first Thunderhawk in this him as a rabbit. n year’s Ohio High School Athletic Association Regional Championships, the last race before the state competition. But Ben, who shrugs off Call plans for the accomplishment, would almost like it to be bigger and better overlooked. performances now “Ben is a kid who’s self-made,” his junior that he is at East’s main campus. high cross country and track coach Sean Hart says. “People say, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’ Ben isn’t like that.

You don’t have to give him a lot of knowledge, and he’ll still succeed.”

When Ben and Joel were asked to perform a duet at a family friend’s wedding in 2010, all they had to be given was a song. From there, the boys’ creative instincts took over. But because they put off rehearsing until the last minute, Ben and Joel were left with a mere two nights to prepare the song. Luckily, Joel says, their performance of “Faithful to the End,” by Cory Asbury went off without a hitch.

“They just whipped the song together the night before the rehearsal dinner,” the boys’ father John says. “That was the first time I really saw [Ben] perform like that. He really surprised me.”

The large-scale performance was a new experience for Ben, even though he had performed in small roles throughout his life.

Tammy laughs when she pictures Ben’s first performance 10 years prior. His first play was a production of “Winnie the Pooh” as a kindergartener at Hopewell Elementary School.

“He was horrid,” Tammy says. “He played a rabbit, and he was a really bad rabbit. It was his first play, and we watch [a recording of it] with him today. We think it’s funny now because we can tease him about it.”

But while she could watch the video of Ben as a rabbit on repeat, she could not convince Ben to perform his Freshman Idol song before the big night.

“He would never sing [his idol song] around me,” Tammy says. “I heard him playing it on

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 17

feature | cool places

The Ronald McDonald House Charity located in downtown Cincinnati.

Ronald McDonald House story amber jagpal | photos michael tedesco COOL PLACES: Each issue Spark takes an in-depth look at a unique and worldly place in Cincinnati.

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ome. This is the only word that describes the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati. It is not a home because of the 78 guest rooms, the outdoor playground or the numerous kitchens.

It is a home because of the people inside of it: the families, the volunteers and the staff.

It is a place for sick children to stay while they are receiving treatment from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and for some families, it is the only way they can afford to travel to Cincinnati for medical treatment, such as in the case of 17-year-old Taylor Ayers, who is a guest at the Ronald McDonald House and is accompanied by her mother Missy Ayers.

Taylor has been diagnosed with a multitude of medical disorders, one being Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis, which prohibits her from eating normal foods because she is allergic to

18 | Spark | February 9, 2012

This charity boarding house located in downtown Cincinnati is a place for patients and their families to stay while undergoing treatment at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

the proteins in them.“[Taylor] has several rare diseases that our doctors back home in Georgia don’t really cover. They don’t have the protocol for the treatment, but Cincinnati Children’s hospital does so we had to travel to get that treatment,” Missy says. “We could not afford to stay at a hotel. This place runs on donations and if we can pay, we pay what we can, but we couldn’t afford to be here for the treatment if it wasn’t for the [Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati].”

Taylor traveled to Cincinnati from Warner Robin, GA to receive treatment for what she thought would be five days but actually turned into seven months. The volunteers and families who inhabit the Ronald McDonald House are what have gotten her and her mother Missy Ayers through the seven months. There are children from newborns to 18-year-olds who

stay at the Ronald McDonald House until they have completed their treatment and are ready to go home. The average stay for a family is around one month, but the Ronald McDonald House lets children stay for as long as they are going to the hospital for treatment. The longest stay at this location lasted four-and-a-half years.

Although the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati is the fourth largest out of the 407 in the world, it promotes forming close knit relationships with the other guests who have come from countries all across the world, such as Romania, Italy or Honduras.

Spark

l

High Schoo Lakota East Online Edition

Go online to read Michael Tedesco’s story about another “Cool Place,” The Learning Kitchen, on our website at lakotaeastspark.com

“This place has moral support from other families who know what we’re going through,” Missy says. “Although there isn’t anyone else who is here who has [the same diagnosis] Taylor has, there is one thing we all have in common, even if we’re from different parts of the world.

It is that we have a sick child. That’s the same language no matter where we’re from.”

The Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati is truly unique because of the amount of support it has from the community. Almost every night different groups, from places such as churches or colleges, come in to prepare a free, hot meal for the guests.

There are also over 100 full-time guest services volunteers and thousands of part time volunteers who keep the Ronald McDonald House running.

“Between guest services volunteers and our community groups that come in, the value they bring to our organization as far as labor is $1.2 million,” the director of volunteers Elise Hyder says. “I think what really makes our volunteers special is they are not just volunteers. They’re caregivers. They listen to families who are going through a rough time, and we get a lot of feedback from our guests saying that it feels so good to be here knowing that volunteers are donating their time to support them. It means so much to the families and you can’t really put a value on that, it’s priceless. They are basically the heart of our operation.”

The volunteers complete various tasks, from wiping down handles with disinfectant to planning activities for the kids.

East junior Madi Perry has been volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House for more than two years with Lord of Life Lutheran Church to organize a Bingo night once each month for the guests. She can easily relate to the kids

The Ronald McDonald House hosts ill patients and their families.

there because she was diagnosed with Crohn’s tutors at the Ronald McDonald House, she is disease when she was in seventh grade. able to graduate with her class this year. She “It is rewarding to see a smile on a little kid’s admits that she misses seeing her friends, going face,” Perry says. “They’re going to the Ronald to the mall, and surprisingly she even misses McDonald House because they’re sick, and it’s her Edward Cullen cardboard cutout. Despite so nice that doing a simple task like playing a having surgery at six in the morning, Taylor game with them just makes them so happy and made it a point to see the Breaking Dawn: Part helps them forget for a second that they are One premiere at midnight. going to a hospital. I’m glad I am able to return Something else that is distinctive about the favors that were given to me [while I was the Ronald McDonald House is that after at the hospital to treat my Crohn’s disease] to families receive help as guests, they often feel other little kids” the desire to give back to the organization.

During the winter holidays, the community was generous. According to Missy, people brought in Christmas presents every day “It’s so nice that doing a simple task like and Santa visited the playing a game helps them forget for a Ronald McDonald House a couple second that they are at a hospital.” times. The building –Madi Perry, East junior does not close on Christmas, so many families woke up Christmas morning to find Taylor and Missy have stayed at the Ronald other families celebrating along with them.

McDonald House in Macon, Ga. and say that “If you have to celebrate somewhere other it does not compare to the one in Cincinnati. than your home for Christmas, they say [the It was a smaller, equally beautiful house, but Cincinnati Ronald McDonald House] is the it did not have any volunteers to give it that place to be because the community loves this personal factor. Missy says that she cannot house and the people in it. I feel the love,” says think of anything better than to become the Missy, whose family came in from Georgia for volunteers director at the Ronald McDonald the holiday.

House in Georgia so that she can take the Despite the circumstances of her situation, support she has received here and give it back Taylor has made the best out of her time at to her hometown. the Ronald McDonald House. She came The Cincinnati Ronald McDonald House into the house finishing off work from her guest services manager Barbara Saunders was sophomore year of high school and now, also in a similar situation as Missy. Her child thanks to the school program and volunteer was born with a heart defect, and she stayed at a Ronald McDonald House in Connecticut for one year. When her family moved to Cincinnati, her husband started volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House. Now Saunders works there full time, making sure the guests are properly accommodated. “[We] provide them with a comfortable, beautiful room, their own desk, and meals,” Saunders says. “We give them the chance to be pampered here.”

Walking into the Ronald McDonald House is like walking into a home. It is hard not to smile when you come through the door.

The children at the Ronald McDonald House are there because they are a sick and need a place to stay while receiving treatment but because of their positive attitudes, one could hardly differentiate a sick child from a healthy one.

“When we are over at the hospital, we worry about the testing and procedures,” Missy says.

“That is the time to worry, but when you walk through these doors you can just take those worries off your shoulders because [here] they have everything you need covered.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 19

feature | foreign learning

East Alumna Tricia Kubrin sports a traditional Japanese yukata to wear to an August fireworks festival in Matsue.

For East alumna Tricia Kubrin, teaching English in a Japanese school and learning about the local culture is an exciting and rewarding opportunity that gives her a

Worldly View story jasmine tuazon | photos used with permission from tricia kubrin | infographic ian castro, emily chao

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he shy girls in class pet the 24-yearold’s brown hair and ask her how she got her eyes to be blue.

Passing boys in the hallways shout proclamations of love to her and snicker when she says the word “narwhal” because she jokingly told them it was a bad word in English.

East Alumna Tricia Kubrin (2006), who assists in teaching English in Japan at Higashiizumo Junior High School, laughs as she recalls all the quirky memories.

“My kids are fun, and they do the most ridiculous things to get attention from (as she calls herself) ‘the foreigner,’” Kubrin says. “I’m kind of like the prize in the cereal box.”

Kubrin works as an assistant language teacher (ALT) in Matsue, Shimane through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET)

20 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Programme, a government program which allows Boards of Education in Japan to hire JET members around the world to assist in teaching. She is currently finishing her second contract with the JET Programme and has already signed on for next year.

In 2009, The Ohio State University graduate, who majored in Japanese, decided to apply for the programme in November not only because it would be a stable graduate job with a 3.5 million yen salary ($40,000) per year, but also because the JET executives promised that it would be a “rewarding experience.”

“From there, I knew I wanted to do it after I graduated,” Kubrin says.

Her father, Edward Kubrin, describes Tricia’s April, 2010 JET acceptance as a relief.

“I was one of those old tech-nerd dads who would tell Tricia, ‘What kind of job will you

get with a degree in Japanese?’” Edward says.

“She showed me up, and boy was I proud and happy she did.”

At the end of July 2010, Tricia arrived in Tokyo, jet-lagged and overwhelmed by the sights and commotion. After the JET Programme’s orientation, she went to Shimane, a prefecture of 700,000 people, to meet her rural-area Board of Education supervisor, Mr. Fukumoto, and ALT predecessor, Carole Deveau. “[While we were walking,] the first thing I noticed I had to get used to was that people were looking at me all the time,” Tricia says.

“Kids and adults will pause from whatever they are doing just to see what a young, female foreigner is doing in the middle of the countryside.”

Like many of her first days in Japan, Tricia describes her ALT training as a blur.

“On my first day, all my students were crowding around me like puppies,” Tricia says. “They all wanted to know how old I was, whether I had a boyfriend or husband, or if I could speak Japanese. They would freak out if I knew anything remotely related to Japanese entertainment, culture or history.”

As an English assistant teacher, Tricia helps the teacher plan games and activities, as well as helps students understand vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

“I remember being surprised on how little the students were able to communicate in terms of speaking and listening to me,” Tricia says. “Their reading and writing abilities were quite good, but because their only exposure to a Western foreigner was that one weekly class and sporadic meetings in the hallway, my way of speaking and my accent was a big challenge.

I had to really simplify my spoken English, slow down, and be extra careful with enunciation.”

Beyond adjusting her speaking habits, Tricia was surprised by the schedule, which is planned one week in advance and varies day-to-day as opposed to a typical fixed U.S. schedule.

Another big difference for Tricia was learning to work with trimesters, year-round schooling, and time lost from mandatory tests.

“The United States has its standardized testing, but it’s on a much higher level in Japan,” Tricia says. “I’m amazed at how they take a test all the time. I’m like, ‘You just took a [standardized] test two weeks ago,’ and they just say, ‘Oh, well, it’s another one.’”

To get into universities, Tricia says, students take an exam for each university to which they are applying, rather than taking a national test like the U.S. ACT or SAT. To prepare for these exams, Tricia says that over half of her students attend a juku, or cram school, which is the equivalent to an ACT or SAT preparation class.

Association of Japan Education and Teaching (AJET) national council representative Sarah Blenkhorn, who met Tricia while they

Japan and America’s education systems provide a different experience.

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10 9

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SCHEDULING 9

• Schedule is “always a surprise” • No fixed schedule • Plan weekly schedule a week in advance

• Schedule is fixed • Every week has the same classes • Plan schedule before the school year starts

April

1 7 13 19 25

2 8 14 20 26

3 9 15 21 27

4 10 16 22 28

5 11 17 23 29

6 12 18 24 30

SCHOOL YEAR

• School year begins in April and lasts the whole year • School year is six weeks longer • Short summer vacation breaks–one month

• School year begins in August and lasts until early June • Has three-month summer breaks • Two-term school year instead of Japan’s three

EXTRACURRICULARS • Students are required to be in extracurricular activities • Students help the school by cleaning and serving food • Students are active in community and school activities

• Students may be in extracurricular activities if they choose to • Custodians and cafeteria workers are hired to clean up after and feed students • Few students are active in community or school activities

SCIENCE/MATH • Science and math are taught in concepts • Little to no hands on materials are used • Only six to seven main topics are taught to students

• Science and math are taught in concepts • Calculators, textbooks and computers are used in teaching • 75 main topics are taught to students

information A Comparison of Japanese and American Education Systems by Jackie Cooke, the Oregan Mathematics Teacher, The Teaching Gap by James W. Stigler and James Hiebert

Tricia’s English students use a Halloween version of Battleship to make sentences with coordinates.

class, has observed similar behavior in her students.

“I stamp a card each time a student speaks to me outside of class, volunteers in class, wins a game as part of a team, emails me or writes an outstanding diary,” Blenkhorn says. “At the end of each term, I give a certificate to the best students and a small gift, such as chocolate.

I discovered that students like gifts they can share––they don’t like to feel singled out, even for praise.”

Tricia likes to share stories similar to this with her family when she has the chance to talk to them. To stay in touch, Tricia tries having weekly video chat “talk-fests” with them on her Sunday nights.

“My family has been great while I’ve been away,” Tricia says. “Skype has been an invaluable tool. I know I can call them, but there’s something really comforting about seeing them on video. They’re always interested in whatever stories I have. It’s great that they’re not burnt out over my ‘Well, over in Japan...’ tales.”

Carole sends “care packages” to Tricia every few months, which may include paperwork and foods like coffee, homemade cookies and cans of Skyline Chili.

Tricia loves to reconnect with her family and friends during her yearly visits home––and to indulge at the “finest eating establishments,” Skyline Chili and Taco Bell.

After returning to Japan in January 2012, Tricia learned that she would be relocating in the summer to Kyoto, a much bigger city.

However, from there her future is unclear.

“We’re allowed to re-contract for up to five years within the JET Programme,” Tricia says. “[After that,] I want [a job where I can] use my Japanese-speaking ability. I would love to work for a travel publishing company like Lonely Planet or Frommer’s. Helping Japanese families with limited knowledge of English adjust to living in the U.S. also sounds appealing.”

For now, however, Tricia is happy helping out in her classroom as “the foreigner” and hopes to figure out new ways to teach English in a fun and engaging manner.

Perhaps she can begin by telling them the real meaning of “narwhal.” n

2

were both at the JET orientation, agrees that the emphasis on testing is significant.

“Since [standardized testing] is so important, the system is geared around tests,” Blenkhorn says. “Creativity is not such a valued quality. I’d like to see more creativity in Japanese schools, and students encouraged to find their own individual strengths.”

Blenkhorn also points to the degree to which teachers are expected to take a guidance role and great responsibility for their students in Japan. Tricia has also observed that in her rural school of 478 students, teachers can get time off during the day to visit each student’s home and bond with each family.

“Tricia told us that one student was in a car accident and before the parents called the police they called the teacher,” Tricia’s mother Carole Kubrin says. “The teachers are so highly respected [in Japan]. They are on same level as doctors and lawyers.”

In addition to teaching English, Tricia is actively involved in the JET mission to promote internationalization, or showcasing American culture.

This may include discussing American perspectives, lecturing on life in Ohio, or even giving students peanut butter cookies to taste an American snack.

Outside the classroom, Tricia also runs an eikaiwa, or an English conversation group, at a local Mitsubishi branch where community members have the opportunity to learn about America and talk to a native speaker.

Tricia has also observed parts of Japanese culture that she finds interesting, particularly the ones that reflect Japan’s collectivist culture, or valuing the group over the individual.

“If a teacher asks a student a question [in the U.S.], she would either say the answer or ‘I don’t know,’” Tricia says. “A Japanese student would ask the person next to her and they’ll start working together. It bothers me, because I would know that she knows the answer, but she would refuse to answer unless she could consult with others. Many of my students do it.”

Blenkhorn, who uses an award system to encourage students to talk to her outside of

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 21

feature | student in-depth

East senior Mimi Dewberry did not let pregnancy overwhelm her during her junior year. She did not let being a teen mother for her senior year hold her back. Dewberry and the newest member of her family, Aiden Stewart, have gone through a lot, but the two will spend the rest of their lives

East senior Mimi Dewberry gave birth to Aiden Stewart in the middle of her junior year.

GROWING UP

TOGETHER

story devin casey | photos mandi ellsworth

M

imi Dewberry steps out into the warm spring air in front of TMac’s Salon. She anxiously taps her heel on the sidewalk as she checks for a text from her boyfriend of six months, Dez Stewart.

Although her lunch break from her job as a receptionist is nearly an hour long because she is 15, she grows impatient and begins to dial her boyfriend’s number. Moments later, Stewart arrives in his mother’s sedan. She smiles and pockets her phone.

22 | Spark | February 9, 2012

The young couple heads to Chipotle and dines while Stewart informs his girlfriend that he hopes to become Walnut Hills High School’s starting quarterback as a junior next season. After they have finished eating, Stewart takes Dewberry back to her house and does something he promised her mother he would never do.

A few weeks later, the young sophomore gets invited to prom. The hip beats of FloRida and Rihanna become the anthem of one of Dewberry’s most memorable nights. While dancing with one of her friends, she grabs her

stomach, then her cousin. She looks her in the eye and puffs out her cheeks. The two plow their way to the restroom. Before Dewberry can even reach the bathroom door handle she kneels down and pukes. A night once filled with hip-hop ambiance now wreaked of Maggiano’s fried cheese. After spending 30 minutes scrubbing the floor, Dewberry looks in the mirror and gives her teeth one last cleansing before heading back to the dance floor. Her hope of reviving the night quickly fades. The dance has ended.

Dewberry stands outside of a Macy’s

bathroom in Tri-County Mall, just days later, clutching her eighth pregnancy test—all positive.

“All I could think was, ‘What am I going to tell Dez?’” says Dewberry, who ended her relationship with Stewart days before discovering that she would be a mother. “I deleted his number from my phone, I deleted him on Facebook. I deleted him from my life.”

Dewberry frantically called Stewart and informed him that she was pregnant. He said he had to work, and hung up. Stewart declined to comment on any facet of this story.

Dewberry would later find telling the father of her child that life is growing inside of her the least of her problems. When she informed her mother, Joanne Rutledge, that she would be a grandmother in roughly nine months, she was less than thrilled.

“I was livid, angry, disgusted and, most of all, disappointed,” Rutledge says. “After I calmed down, I realized I couldn’t make her give her child away, but she had to know it would be a big responsibility.”

The mother-to-be knew she did not want to endure nine months of agony only to give her child away for adoption, but, after ample research on abortion, she reached a conclusion that would change her life forever.

“I am pro-choice, but it’s just not my choice,” Dewberry says. “I made a pro-con list, and decided to keep [the baby].”

The hour-long debate Dewberry had with Rutledge about keeping the family’s newest member would be the first of many lengthy conversations the two would have. Like many mother-teenage daughter relationships, the two rarely spoke. But Rutledge found many opportunities to guide Dewberry from adolescence to motherhood.

“We talked a lot more because I wasn’t scared,” Dewberry says. “[After telling her I was pregnant], the only thing that would surprise her or make her mad would be if I was having another. She ended up doing so much for me and was always there when I needed her.”

Having a shoulder to cry on came in handy for Dewberry after she returned to school for her junior year—four months pregnant. While she was not showing as much at the start of the year, Dewberry noticed the stares each day.

Her mother remained set on Dewberry finishing high school with a diploma, no matter what.

“My group of friends has always been the good kids with the good grades, but it was hard being the pregnant girl in the group,” Dewberry says. “I saw the way people looked at me and I know what people said. It’s hurtful, but you can’t change people’s opinions.”

According to Dewberry, the worst experiences came when she tried to be a teenager. At East basketball games she would wobble in and receive looks from people she never met before: freshmen, opposing fans,

“I have 13 tattoos, but the first contraction was the worst pain I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

–Mimi Dewberry, East senior parents. She didn’t want the attention, but her stomach intrigued all. For Dewberry, the last straw was knowing that people were labeling her as just another “stereotypical 17-year-old black girl.”

“It sucked,” Dewberry says. “People looked at me like I belonged on Maury. I don’t belong on Maury. I was upset, but not ashamed.

Pregnancy is death. Pregnancy is annoying.

You’re tired all the time, and you don’t look cute.”

While Dewberry was still receiving unwanted attention for her robust stomach, she refused to purchase maternity clothes, claiming that they are “ugly and for old people.” But buying larger clothes was only one part of her new, pregnant life, which consisted of nights haunted by nightmares of childbirth and mornings spent with her head over the toilet from eight weeks in until birth. Her first period teacher, Kristen Sweat, who no longer teaches at East, understood her painful journey and allowed Dewberry to make daily trips across the hall into the girls’ bathroom.

In an attempt to feel normal, Dewberry kicked off her slippers and put on her dancing shoes for a New Years’ party a little over a month before her due date. For once she was not the only expectant mother at a party.

The other pregnant teen, well into her second trimester, was standing tall in five-inch stilettos.

Dewberry shot her a disapproving glance and continued to socialize and dance. Unlike her sophomore prom night, she knew when she was going to puke.

On Feb. 15, 2011, her mother made the call to East that Dewberry’s months of anxious agony were ending. The future mother was not having contractions and had to be induced.

When she did finally experience contractions, she felt a new kind of pain.

“I have 13 tattoos, but the first contraction was the worst pain I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Dewberry says. “I was really worried because Dez didn’t show up until 20 minutes before I had the baby. I said I felt like I had to poop and he walked in.”

Armed with games, movies, computers and enough food to last for two days, Dewberry gave birth after 10 hours of labor. On Feb. 16, 2011, at 12:43 a.m., Aiden Stewart was born.

She gave Aiden his father’s last name because “Dewberry was just too ugly of a name.”

With a winter birth, Dewberry and Aiden spent two weeks together inside her home.

Rutledge stayed home for a week with her newest family member before she had to return to work. Dewberry herself was employed at Aldo, Hollister and Wet Seal, clocking in 35 hours a week at Aldo alone.

She was awakened most nights by the sound of her crying child at 2 a.m. and would spend hours awake, cuddling her newborn, until she had to go to school. This busy schedule often forced Dewberry to make up for sleepless nights during her fifth period college preparatory algebra II class with Jason Orlando.

“I have had several students leave once they’ve had a baby, but [Dewberry] was the first I’ve seen come back,” says Orlando, who has two kids of his own. “She came back with the attitude that she knew she didn’t have the luxury to goof off and would have to work hard for the rest of the year.”

Although Dewberry admittedly believed her senior year would include early leave and nightly parties, she had to get accustomed to a different schedule. Her senior routine consists of waking to Aiden’s obnoxious laugh at 5:30 a.m., which Dewberry says he gets from his father, watching him play as she made his bottles, dropping him off at KinderCare Child Daycare Centers at 6:30 a.m. and finally heading to a full day of school. The daycare center would not do less expensive half-days for sanitation reasons, therefore Dewberry would pick Aiden up after school, eat dinner at 7:30 p.m., and feed him a bottle or two before heading off to bed at 9 p.m. Dewberry stays up late to attend night school for dental assisting.

“It’s hard having a really early start,” Dewberry says. “I thought my senior year was going to be so easy, but I have no time for anything else. I rarely have enough time to dress myself in the morning.”

Dewberry’s routine also includes working weekends and some weekdays at Aldo, which is her only current employer. She uses the money she earns to pay for Aiden, not shoes or designer clothes.

While she does receive some aid from Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Dewberry pays $300 each week for Aiden’s daycare and spends $40 on each bag of diapers, among various other expenses. Dewberry and her mother split the cost of daycare on a biweekly basis and, according to her mother, the two have had to make changes to make ends meet.

“It’s been a strain financially. You learn to make sacrifices,” Rutledge says. “Instead of

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 23

feature | student in-depth buying a pizza, you learn how to make a pizza.

We’ve adjusted our primary focus to just meeting our needs.”

Together, Dewberry and Rutledge were able to make their financial ends meet. But for Dewberry, her emotional needs were not fully met. Dez Stewart, Aiden’s father, is a freshman receiver for Ohio Dominican University on a football scholarship.

According to Dewberry, Aiden does not get excited when Stewart visits because his visits are sporadic. On top of this, Dewberry has not spoken to her own father since Aiden was born. “[Stewart] is a great dad when he’s here. But his visits are so sparse that it doesn’t count,” says Dewberry, who’s parents separated when she was a toddler. “You just can’t miss milestone stuff. I want Aiden to have a better relationship with his father than I had with mine. [Aiden] can do just fine without his; I just hope he doesn’t have to.”

When Dewberry does find time between school, night school, work and being a single parent, she enjoys mocking episodes of Teen Mom on MTV. Finding fallacies in each episode, she laughs at the fake stories, but gets upset when the show makes being a teen parent look easy. “[Teen Mom] makes everything look too glamorous,” Dewberry says. “Some of the drama is accurate, but some of it is ridiculous.

[The teen mothers] act like they are struggling, but they are getting paid bank to be on that show and the fathers are too.”

According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPUTP), eight out of 10 fathers in cases of teen pregnancy do not marry the mother of their child, and these absent fathers pay less than $800 annually for child support.

Stewart currently does not have to pay child support to Dewberry because he is a college student. Dewberry says that due to the Stewarts’ financial situation, she would not want to collect child support anyway.

Experts agree that the “losers” in these situations are ultimately the mother and the child.

“Teen mothers and their children really lose out in these situations,” Andria Smith from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative says. “The mothers incur hardships that are beyond emotions, financial ailments and [their] futures.”

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy also discovered that one-third of adolescent mothers will earn a high school diploma, and only slightly over one percent of those will earn a college degree before they turn 30.

But Dewberry plans to earn both. She has plans to attend the University of Cincinnati for dentistry, but is also looking for a job in the Clifton area in order to afford the apartment

24 | Spark | February 9, 2012

HERE: Aiden Stewart practices taking his first steps BELOW: Mimi Dewberry kisses her 11-month-old son.

she will share with Aiden during college.

“I don’t have the luxury of just going to school. He’s quite expensive,” Dewberry says.

“We’re stuck together for life. For him, being stuck with me might suck, but for me it’s amazing.”

According to Dewberry, she is now focused

on earning her diploma and planning for Aiden’s first birthday party on Feb. 16. Her next step, however, will be his first steps.

“He is definitely not a burden. I wouldn’t trade him for anything,” she says.

What resulted from that lunch break in May wasn’t a mistake. It was a blessing. n

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lifestyle | photoshoot

From the first date to their anniversary, East juniors Keith Brady and Emily Grzeskowiak have kept romance in the air. As long as they have their undeniable connection, any day they spend together will be

A Date to Remember story tabby hall | photos ellen fleetwood | sidebar lauren barker | models keith brady and emily grzeskowiak | location golden lamb | clothing H&M

E

ast juniors Emily Grzeskowiak and Keith Brady are a picturesque love story. They are a Romeo and Juliet tale minus being starcrossed lovers. They have grown up around each other just realizing their magnetic attraction upon entering high school.

Because they have known each other for years, Grzeskowiak and Brady have a very easy-going relationship.

“He’s very easy to talk to,” Grzeskowiak says. “He’s very trustworthy and loving.”

Among their favorite activities are going to Orange Leaf, eating Soho, “chilling out” and watching movies.

“Just spending time together is the best thing about our relationship,” Grzeskowiak says.

Brady agrees.

“She’s just very comfortable to be around,” Brady says. “Having trust in one another is the most important thing.”

Trusting one’s partner is essential in any relationship. This is particularly true for Grzeskowiak and Brady, who are frequently consumed by their busy schedules.

“We’re lucky that our schedules kind of overlap,” Brady says. “Her gymnastics goes until six and my basketball [also] goes until six.”

“We’re both in J. Kyle Braid (a student leadership program at East),”

26 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Grzeskowiak says. “We usually do the same stuff.”

Grzeskowiak notes that her favorite memory of being with Brady is the day he asked her to date him–Sept. 5, 2010.

“The day he asked me out was really cute,” she says. “It was unexpected because we had been talking for a long time and I was just waiting for him to just ask me out. Then he finally did and I was like, ‘Thank God.’” East junior Anna Starr recalls the moment when Brady asked Grzeskowiak to date him with clarity. “[We were] on the bus [riding home], and Emily sat with Keith, and he asked her to [Homecoming] and to be his girlfriend,” Starr recalls.

“Then [Keith] texted me saying ‘She was so excited she fell asleep smiling.’ It was so cute.”

Having been talking for “a really long time,” Brady notes that he does not know why he waited so long to ask Grzeskowiak out.

“It wasn’t like I didn’t have the guts to do it or anything,” Brady says.

“I have no idea why I waited so long.”

After the long wait, Brady and Grzeskowiak’s relationship blossomed with a strong focus on ‘the little things.’

“Just the texts in the morning and at night are really important [to me],” Grzeskowiak says.

“That makes me feel good,” Brady responds.

On Keith: wool sweater: $26.95 On Emily: gold tint headband: $2.25 linen blouse: &14.99 black skirt: $9.50 patterned tights: $12.50

The Right Atmosphere Finding the right location can set the tone for the night. Be an unforgettable date with these creative ideas.

Artistic Flare Start the evening off at a pottery barn making coffee mugs for each other. After perfecting the mugs, cozy up at a coffee shop to showcase the creations.

Music Junkie Drive down to Northside Cincinnati and explore Shake it Records. Finish up the evening with dinner and a live music show at Northside Tavern.

On Keith: knit cardigan: $24.95 On Emily: red button-down: $14.99 striped knit dress: $12.95 black pendant necklace: $9.95

Working around a busy schedule is feasible with their social circle.

“We have the same group of friends,” Grzeskowiak says. “We all hang out together.”

East junior Alec Razete, Brady’s long-time best friend, elaborates on Grzeskowiak and Brady’s relationship.

“They both have great trust in each other and live down the street [from each other],” Razete says. “[Even though they have busy schedules] it isn’t difficult to see each other and to spend time together.”

Razete notes that what makes Grzeskowiak and Brady’s relationship work is the qualities that each of them bring together.

“I feel like Keith is laid back and really fun to be around,” Razete says.

He always brightens up your mood.”

He believes that Grzeskowiak has several similar qualities.

“Emily is also someone who always will cause you to smile just by seeing her,” Razete says. “I really think they both contribute to their best

For more photos of Emily and Keith, visit lakotaeastspark.com quality; being fun to be around.”

East student Derek Sastav also agrees.

“They make their relationship work through having fun,” Sastav says.

“They are the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

Such an amiable couple is easy to admire. Their ability to hold a connection despite extracurriculars and find time to nurture their relationship is rarely seen in high school couples.

Similarly to how they radiate happiness together, they bring positive energy to every interaction.

“Emily and Keith are fun, good people who make you laugh at any time,” East junior Stedman Lowry says. “They make everything work.” n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 27

lifestyle | student lifestyle feature

Hunger Pangs

East sophomore Poonam Desai only eats one meal a day as part of a 230-day religious fast. story alexa chryssovergis | photos kenzi walters | infographic mandi ellsworth

Poonam sits in front of a portrait of her guru in her home’s religious room.

R

avenous hunger pains thump against her stomach every day when she returns home from school. She sits down with a sigh of relief to eat her one meal of the day, after having gone through seven hours of classes without more than a few grapes to hold her over.

She is not anorexic. She is not psychotic. She is not even a little bit crazy.

She is Hindu–and she is fasting.

She is Swaminarayan, to be exact. East sophomore Poonam Desai is a devoted Swaminarayan Hindu who fasts regularly for her religion.

Currently, she is on the 79th day of an approximately 230-day fast that entails eating only one meal per day, with the exception of fruits and nuts at varying intervals.

“We do the fast for our leader,” Desai says. “His name is Pramukh Swami Mahraj, and I’m doing it for his health because he’s 91 years old, and we want him to live until he is 100.

Pramukh Swami Mahraj is the guru of the worldwide organization of Swaminarayans called Bochasan Akshar Purshotaam Swaminarayan (BAPS). There are more than 500 centers for BAPS around the world, and Pramukh Swami Mahraj is their religious leader.

“The guru is like the [equivalent] of the Pope,” Desai says.

According to Desai, Pramukh Swami Mahraj is currently ill, but his condition is not critical.

“No one’s allowed to go see him [where he is in India] and he’s enclosed so he doesn’t catch any viruses,” Desai says. “He’s not super sick. He’s just at an old age. But he’s my role model, [and] he means a lot to me. I’m doing [the fast] for him.”

This love and respect drives Desai to put her strength and health on the line, even when she finds herself close to caving in to her hunger.

28 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Spark High Lakota East n Online Editio

School

To see more photos of Poonam go to lakotaeastspark.com

“You’re hungry, and people are eating in front of you, and it’s like ‘Oh man, I gotta eat,’” Desai says with a laugh. “But it’s like, ‘Why am I doing it? Okay, it’s for my guru, it’s for Pramukh Swami Mahraj, so I have to do it.’”

In addition to the 230-day fast for her guru, Desai participates in several fasts that occur once or twice a month. The purpose of these fasts is to cleanse and strengthen the body, and to build up a resistance to pain.

“That’s one of the things in Swaminarayan,” Desai says. “You have to be able to bear certain things because we have to realize that we are not this body. We are a soul, and that soul is what we call atma. That’s another big thing: we should also remember that whatever happens to the body, we should be able to bear.”

Purifying and strengthening the body and soul through fasting is just one method a Swaminarayan uses to perfect his or herself so he or she may travel to Akshardham and stay there for all eternity.

“Akshardham is like heaven, but one step ahead,” Desai says. She and other Swaminarayans believe that staying in heaven is not permanent; it is a “resting stop” to stay for 100 years, where a Swaminaryan would pay off his or her debts of sin, until they are reincarnated and attempt to live their next lives closer to the sacred scripture.

Going to Akshardham, or even heaven, however, is not an easy task.

“If you have done bad things, you must be reborn right away,” Poonam’s mother Nita Desai says. “[You can go to] Akshardaham only when you have done everything the [sacred scripture] has told you. If you’ve done that 100 percent, then you can go to Akshardham.”

The sacred scripture is called the “Shikshapatri,” and is the Swaminaryan equivalent of the 10 Commandments.

Long-term fasting, like Poonam’s 230-day fast, can have detrimental effects on the mind and on the body.

Above: A lower intake of calories results in a slower metabolism rate, resulting in a drop in core body temperature.

Above: Lack of nourishment causes a drop in blood pressure, leading to common headaches in long-term fasting

information from American Cancer Society and Teenhealth.org

The Harmful Effects of Fasting

Left: With no source of energy from food, those fasting will likely experience fatigue

“We don’t have a Bible,” Poonam says. “[Shikshapatri contains] all cause severe problems later in life, such as stunted growth, disrupted the rules [and] practices. It’s one of our main scriptures, and it’s what maturation and overall malnutrition. we all follow.”

“There [are] some other [concerns], like malnutrition issues: not Poonam and her parents believe that fasting is giving her the strength getting enough protein [or] not getting enough nutrients to run [the] and discipline she needs in order to live a more spiritual life, a life that body,” Turon-Findley says. will ultimately lead her to Akshardham. Her drive to fast as diligently According to Turon-Findley, an average 16-year-old female should as she does comes from somewhere deep inside, from a place that her get about three to five “feedings” a day, which can include a snack, in mother struggles to understand. order to live the healthiest lifestyle possible.

“She’s very into the religious [aspect of it]. She was born with it,” “You’re going to keep your metabolism pretty moderate [with three Nita says. “When I was her age, my mom had to drag me to the temple. I to five meals per day]. It’s not going to spike, so you’re going to teach would not go. But with [Poonam], I don’t have to push. I even sometimes your body to be on an even keel and use up the calories as it gets them,” have to tell her to give it a break.”

Turon-Findley says. “You’re training your body to be more efficient Poonam, however, will not give it a break. She is too determined and when you eat consistently.” too focused on the task at hand to consider wavering, even when she is Turon-Findley also says that an average 16-year-old female needs at home on the weekends with nothing standing between her and the a base of at least 2,000 calories per day. Someone who participates in fridge full of food. extensive fasting may not be receiving the nutrients he or she needs to “The weekend is hard for her because she’s home all the time,” Nita stay healthy and nourished, like calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12. says. “Sometimes on the weekends, Poonam says, ‘Mom I’m so hungry.’

Poonam’s mother does worry about the potential negative effects of And I tell her, ‘Just give it up today.’ But she will not give it up.” her daughter’s fasting, but she knows that Poonam is strong enough to Poonam will not even allow herself to take vitamins because doing so handle whatever is thrown her way. would be breaking the fast.

“The main thing I know is that God is encouraging her,” Nita says.

“Vitamins are important as well, but she won’t even take her vitamins “[The fast] is giving her more strength. I don’t know how she can do it, because she says it’s not fasting,” Nita says. but she inspires me to [fast] the way she does.”

Although her usual meal does not include Poonam is also an inspiration to her friends, vitamins, it does consist of a “whole table of who sit with her at lunch every day, constantly food,” as Poonam likes to say. inquiring about the details of her fasts.

“My usual meal can include glasses of milk, “I actually think it’s really cool to be that juice, fruit pies, sometimes ice cream, cereal, motivated and to stick with it,” Poonam’s popcorn, granola bars and bagels with cream friend, East sophomore Karrah Jenkins says in cheese. I have to have bagels,” Poonam says admiration. with a laugh.

Poonam appreciates her friend’s support, and Poonam is also required to remain seated as looks forward to the sense of accomplishment. she is consuming this rather massive meal. “[I love] the feeling at the end [of the fast] “Sometimes on the weekends, “This is my one time to eat,” Poonam says. and feeling like I did it for a good reason,” Poonam says, ‘Mom I’m so “If I am constantly getting up over a period Poonam says. of three hours and eating, that’s not one meal.

Nita is extremely proud of her daughter hungry.’ And I tell her, ‘Just That’s not fasting.” and how devoted she is to her god, guru and give it up today.’ But she will According to Mary Pat Turon-Findley, religion. not give it up.” a registered dietician of almost 25 years at “I’m happy to have her as a child,” Nita says.

–Poonam’s Mother, Nita Desai “I’ll tell her, ‘Go. Go out and have life.’” n Children’s Hospital, extended fasting can

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 29

lifestyle | how to

How To: Winterize Your Car When winter hits, the ridiculous cold, snow and ice is characteristic of the fluctuating Ohio weather. Some cars are suited for the frigid winter, but it is a given that the average teen’s Toyota or Honda sedan will need a bit more pampering to get going in the freezing cold.

1

story sean lewis | infographic shivang patel

Maintain Your Battery

A dead battery is a pain to handle. Trying to fix a broken one can be dangerous if not done correctly due to the highly- explosive hydrogen gas the lead-acid battery produces when overcharged. In addition, a new battery can cost around $80 for a dependable brand.

“If you turn that key and the engine is cranking slow,” owner of Academic Automotive Dave Singer says, “that is the yellow warning that you need to go get that battery tested right away.”

Two important attributes to consider when buying a battery are cold cranking amps (CCA) and reserve capacity (RC). CCA refers to the number of amperes a battery can generate for 30 seconds at freezing temperatures until the battery’s voltage drops to an unusable level. RC is the duration in minutes for which a charged battery can deliver 25 volts of charge at normal temperatures and sustain about 1.75 volts per battery cell. In other words, RC is the battery’s ability to reserve power in case the car’s alternator or charging system fails; a high RC could be life-saving

2 3

during winter night drives to sustain minimum power for ignition, heat and headlights.

Car batteries should have an open circuit voltage of 12.6V and will discharge over time. But what makes batteries hate the cold so much?

“The best battery will only be half as good when it’s really cold. It also takes twice as much amperage from the battery to crank over a cold engine,” Singer says. “During the winter, you have an engine that doesn’t want to spin freely combined with a battery that has lost its efficiency.”

While current is being drawn, the chemical reactions occur at slower rates in cold temperatures and thus produce less current. Furthermore, when a battery discharges, sulfuric acid chemically changes into a substance with a relative density close to that of water. If the battery is completely discharged, it freezes when exposed to subzero temperature. To prevent this, maintain the battery so that connections are free of corrosion and cells are filled to the right water levels.

Foster Your Fluids Fluids such as brake fluid and antifreeze are vital to the proper operation of cars, especially during winter.

“Once [antifreeze] is a 50/50 mix, it should never change,” Singer says. “But, if you had a coolant leak during the summer and instead of putting in expensive coolant, you just added water, that pure water is going to freeze at 32 degrees, [which is] going to crack your block in half and do $10,000 worth of damage.”

Oil also needs a bit more attention in the winter months.

Singer stresses that an important maintenance procedure one can perform year-round is simply changing engine oil regularly. With a clean oil change (about every 3,000 miles), all internal components of the engine will float on

Run it Right

The advancements in oil technology that allow for less viscose oils in freezing temperatures have helped auto experts realize that the stigma against cold starting a car was ultimately an unnecessary practice.

“That used to be the general rule: start it up and let the vehicle idle for ten minutes. A lot of what lubricates the inside of the engine is a ‘splash’ [during startup]. If you have oil that is thick as molasses during a cold start, and you’re idling, you’re not throwing oil on all the engine parts because it’s spinning relatively slow,” says Singer. “It’s better for the engine to reach normal operating temperature quicker by gently taking off.”

Gasoline becomes another problem toward the end of winter.

“When the snow is starting to melt, a lot of water can get into gas station’s tanks in the ground,” England

30 | Spark | February 9, 2012

a film of oil and there essentially is no wear and tear. The wrong type of oil viscosity could also spell out numerous problems for the engine.

AutoZone Sales Representative and East alumni Jeremy England adds that, “If the oil is too thick, it can’t travel through the engine and will cause some internal damage.

Then again, if it’s too thin, there’s not going to be enough oil pressure, so you won’t have oil staying in the tolerances that you need.”

It’s hard to generalize what is the best oil to use, according to England, but given the fact that oil thickens in the cold, it may be smart to change from a 10W oil, for instance, to a 5W oil during winter.

says. “Water will get into the fuel and [because] it’s not combustible, your car will run badly.”

There is a variety of fuel additives one can use to amend this problem. All one has to do is pour the additive into the fuel tank. ISO-Heat, for example, absorbs water from gas and acts as a stabilizer, preventing fuel from going bad.

Singer believes that the management of fuel additives, however, is done best at its source: the gas stations.

“If you go to Chevron, they have Techrolene, which is a known additive that prevents carbon deposits from occurring in the combustion chambers and in the back of the intake valve. When you go to Shell, they have Injectorguard, which is basically a fuel-injector cleaner. BP has Iceguard, which is a water remover,” Singer says. “It is absolutely the best idea to go to a different gas station every time, that way we get a little bit of everything.”

It is the cold and ice that make winter driving such a hassle. According to England, the most commonly mentioned car issues include defective windshield wiper blades and of course, dead batteries.

Changing windshield wipers is a quick and usually inexpensive fix, as blades run from about eight dollars for the cheap stuff to about $19 for the luxurious Rain-X Latitudes; it is maintaining them that is a hassle. The problem occurs when heavy snow or ice freezes the rubber blades to the windshield glass, which tears up the wipers and can even destroy the motors that move them if they are activated. England suggests that an easy fix is to stand wipers up every night so they don’t freeze to the glass.

Along with the physical preparation of the vehicle, mental anticipation is needed before hitting the road.

“Take it easy on everything. Don’t slam on the brakes and don’t hit the gas,” East senior and car enthusiast Jared

Adams says. “You want slow acceleration at all times. If anything, it’s better to drive at a nice, steady speed.”

Even the most experienced of drivers are caught by surprise by black ice or a slick sharp turn. Adams encourages teen drivers to get to know their cars so they are aware of winter driving limitations and their ability to control the vehicle.

Car owners should go the extra mile to invest in winter-oriented snow tires for their cars, however, tires are specifically recommended for those who live in hilly areas.

But at the least, Singer advises to regularly check tread wear and ensure tires are not bald. A wise recommendation is to keep an emergency kit onboard, including various tools, a flashlight, food, blankets, flares and a cell phone.

“You never know what can happen,” England says.

“There’s so much stuff that makes a car what it is, anything can go wrong at any time.”

HOW TO:

Jump a Car

+

1 2 3 4 5

2.1v

2.1v

2.1v

2.1v

2.1v

As a driver, it is important to be prepared for any situation. Knowing how to jump a car is vital to this knowledge base.

-

2.1v

4

Prepare for Cold

The six 2.1v cells are connected in series

Start the engines of both cars and keep them in “Park.”

Take one end of the positive jumper cable and put it on the positive part of the live car’s.

Bolt Jumper Cables

Battery

Take the other end of the positive jumper cable and put it on the positive part of the dead car’s.

Take one end of the negative jumper cable and put it on the negative part of the live car’s.

Take the other end of the negative jumper cable and put it on a metal part of the dead car’s engine (such as a bolt).

CAUTION: DO NOT place the negative jumper cable on the negative end of the dead car. The battery will short-circuit, possibly causing a fire or explosion.

Battery Positive Negative

lifestyle | 8 things

For more 8 Things from Spark staffers, check out lakotaeastspark. com

Maroon 5

Sweaters

Adam Levine is my new favorite male vocalist. With their distinct style of music, Maroon 5 captivates my ears with catchy tunes I listen to Hands All Over on the way to and from school every day.

It’s usually cold outside and this winter I am embracing fashion with my new array of sweaters. They are warm and they look great, giving me all that I need to be a confident and comfortable fashion stud.

Fiji AntiPerspirant This past summer I discovered what every man wants and finally gains at some point in his life: his scent. Fiji and I were a match made in heaven.

08

Vic Firth Dave Weckl Signature I got my first pair of these drum sticks three years ago. I quickly realized that they felt like more of an extension of my hands than any other drumsticks I have held, and I am hooked.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

After 53 hours of tricky temples, fantastic battles and cool new gadgets, I finally beat The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. And yes, it is better than Zelda: Twilight Princess.

things of the moment

Fleece Blankets

Before I got them, I would wake up on a Saturday around 10. Now, I’m never going to leave this bed.

Fleece blankets are comfort on steroids. They entice anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies After the return to normalcy earlier this year, I am back to my bad ways: Three cookies at lunch at least three times per week. The soft dough is irresistible to a hungry high school student.

32 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Push-ups

My New Year’s resolution is to do 22,000 push ups this year (about 60 per day).

Thus far, I am way ahead of the mark as I have already reached the 2,000 mark.

Triceps ache, pectorals are on fire, but I will keep going.

CHRISTIAN TOMMY BEHAN ROEHM

story rachel king

B

anners hang from the rafters with lists of East alumni who achieved local, state and national recognition for individual or team accomplishments.

Trophies are displayed in office windows as a testament to sport season championships and band competitions.

Pictures of valedictorians are mounted on the walls, along with the names of National Merit Scholars, students with perfect SAT and ACT scores, and members of National Honor Society.

The walls along Main Street at East tell stories of success, but the high school and district at large are struggling.

For the third straight time, local citizens voted down an operating school levy. Now, students are expected to find their own means of transportation to and from school.

Pay-to-play fees have risen to $550 per athlete per season, with no family cap.

Class sizes are bigger as a result of budget cuts and block-scheduling has been eliminated.

Despite reductions, the Lakota Local School District has, for the 10th year in a row, maintained its “Excellent” report card rating from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).

With 22 schools and more than 17,500 enrolled students, Lakota is the

seventh largest district in the state.

“A lot has changed,” East principal Dr. Keith Kline says. “One of the biggest issues in education is the call for reform and doing things differently.”

With the six levies failing in the past seven years, members of the Lakota Board of Education have had to make several changes due to a lack of funding and support from taxpayers.

“We are having financial problems.

In general, when you have financial problems, people are looking for a solution and they want it to be anywhere except in their pocketbook,” Lakota Board of Education member Joan Powell says.

According to a recent East survey of 27 teachers, 48 percent feel funding is the greatest problem with education.

“Program cost minus state aid equals local need. School [wealth] is determined by property values. The higher the property value, the lower the state aid,” state superintendent of public instruction Stan Heffner says.

“The difference is then made up by local taxpayers.”

The economic conditions put pressure on voters to support tax hikes, and the state deficit restricts what financial aid the ODE can provide for schools.

“With the recession, the state doesn’t have a dollar to give aid, and taxpayers do not want to pay higher

taxes. This puts a squeeze on school boards on where to cut programs,” says Heffner, who has worked for the state since March of 2011. “School boards are faced with very hard choices about how to make reductions to have a balanced budget.”

Members of the ODE applied for and received two federal grants through the Race to the Top program.

The state of Ohio was one of 12 states to receive $400 million over a four-year period to implement common core standards, teacher evaluations and a data tracking system. These changes are scheduled to be put into place by the 2014-15 school year.

Although the state has been awarded two very substantial grants to advance and transform the approach to education, the Lakota district will not benefit from these federal dollars because “Lakota is not one of the Race to the Top schools,” according to Lakota director of secondary curriculum Derek Smith.

The Lakota teacher’s union and administration opted to not apply to receive a portion of up to $240,000 from the Race to the Top grant Ohio received from the federal government.

This reward pales in comparison to Lakota’s $165 million operating budget and the expensive decision it would be to implement programs.

Due to a lack of state financial aid and support from local voters,

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 33

RETHINKING EDUCATION there will continue to be challenges with advancing and maintaining an “Excellence” and “with Distinction” report card rating. Lakota is ready and prepared to face those challenges because there is, according to Smith, an “availability of a wide range of courses that serve the

re “There a that need changes de and to be ma the cusp t we are a them.” g of makin resident p d r a o b E –OD r Debe Terha educational needs and interest of all students.”

The levy failures have forced educators and those working at the district level to find new approaches to education in Lakota. Graduation requirement changes have already been made for the class of 2014 which, for one, will need four years of math as opposed to three.

“The district is taking a new approach to consolidate, streamline and modernize our curriculum in order to make necessary budget reductions,” Smith says. “The challenge and our focus is to find less expensive ways to provide a high level of education to Lakota’s students.”

Considering the drastic changes that are being made in education on both state and local levels, the ODE is considering whether or not to continue with the report card ratings. The idea of also providing some sort of credit to schools who offer many AP classes and post-secondary enrollment options is under discussion as well.

“When you change one thing, it affects something else in return,” ODE board president Debe Terhar says.

“There are changes that need to be made and we are at the cusp of making them. The citizens of Ohio need to realize we [the ODE] know what needs to be done, and [there needs to be] a sense of urgency to get it done.”

According to newly released data from the 2012 national “Quality

34 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Counts” report, Ohio’s education system ranking increased from 11th to 10th best in the country. Each state is ranked differently according to six different weighted categories, which then determine the overall ranking.

Ohio ranked fourth among all states in the “standards, assessments and accountability” category.

On the other hand, Ohio received lower markings in the areas of early childhood education. The ODE hopes that this area can be improved for future evaluations through implementing the $70 million Ohio received from a second Race to the Top grant. This money will be distributed over a four year period and will allow districts to focus a different, more advanced approach toward early childhood education.

Although the overall state ranking improved, the Ohio education grade dropped from a “B-” to a “C+.” This is, however, above average compared to the nation as a whole, which received a “C.” At East, 59 percent of surveyed teachers feel that the American education system is not effective.

A major turning point in the approach toward education came in 2001 when the federal government, under the presidency of George W. Bush, passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This required schools to look at all children by requiring progress and providing schools with the necessary resources.

“For the first time, performance targets were ‘proficient’ for all students, which is essentially ‘good enough,’” Heffner says. “Before, you couldn’t get a district average and this would mask the fact that certain groups of kids weren’t progressing as much as they needed.”

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred, money that was part of NCLB was diverted to the war effort.

When this money was transferred, no amendments were made to the law.

A largely debated education issue, NCLB remains in effect. In an interview with TIME, President George W. Bush spoke on the law that he signed 10 years ago.

“I’m pleased with the progress and concerned about efforts from people in both political parties to weaken it,”

Bush said. “I don’t think you can solve a problem if you can’t diagnose it, and I don’t think it is fair for parents or students not to be informed of how their schools perform relative to other schools and how children perform relative to other children.”

There was overwhelming support from Congress for NCLB, which passed 384 to 45 in the House and 91 to 8 in the Senate. After the law was enacted, schools struggled to accommodate the changes NCLB entailed. More students are given opportunities to learn, but some states, including Utah and Ohio, have refined criteria to shrink the number of low-performing schools in order to decrease the number of schools who fail to meet the law requirements. In the 2010-11 school year, 60 percent of Ohio schools met federal NCLB goals, but half of the districts failed to do so.

In Lakota alone, nine schools failed to meet the project goals.

Whereas 46 percent of surveyed East teachers feel that NCLB has no benefit to education, 46 percent also say that “some of it” benefits the American school system. “[NCLB is] good in that it helped kids who were not getting attention,” Heffner says. “But the focus is now on the least you can do, not the most you can do. Instead of saying that you could challenge all students, we are more interested in getting numbers across the low bar. Districts have to get those numbers in order to get a positive rating from the state.”

There are implications and challenges that come with trying to revamp a system that has been in place for hundreds of years. The fact that education is a top concern among lawmakers, state governments and citizens is promising, as efforts are being made on all levels to further the educational mission and improve the quality of the system.

In his fourth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said that “[in order] to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, [Americans’] commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.” Obama also realizes that “challenges still remain” despite changes to reform education.

Similarly, Lakota is taking small steps and utilizing available resources to challenge students to succeed and maintain the standard of excellence the district has held for so long.

photo michael tedesco

Lakota Board of Education members Joan Powell and Ben Dibble discuss the state of American education.

TOP-DOWN REFORMATION story christian roehm When colleges want to compare every student in the nation, there is a standardized test for that. When the United States wants to compare the success of school districts across the country, there is a test for that. When the country wants to compare teachers based on success, well, there may be merit-based pay for that.

It is all part of the American education system. Ever since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was passed in 2001, testing has never been more important. School districts such as Lakota are now faced with increased pressure from the state and federal government to succeed on the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) and other standardized tests. The district rating issued by the state is based on four measures of performance, all of which are determined by test scores.

“There’s always pressure to look good. And unfortunately in today’s world, what we look at is our excellent rating, which is [based off] testing,” says Ben Dibble, president of the Lakota Board of Education. “[The rating] does not necessarily reflect the excellence of our schools. Our schools excel in many ways that aren’t reflected.

And I’m sure teachers [and principals] are feeling pressure to make sure [students do well on those tests].”

For the past 10 years, Lakota has received either an “Excellent” or “Excellent with Distinction” rating on the state report card. In 2010-11, 352

districts received an “Excellent” or “Excellent with Distinction” ranking.

“We’re pretty far past just the basics of passing the test,” Board member Joan Powell says. “Other than your performance index, [whether students] have a 100 or have a 76 doesn’t matter as far as the state rating. If you have above 75 percent of your pupils pass this test, bingo, you’re good. So we’ve been over that hurdle, for the most part, for a long time.”

The testing criterion that concerns the district the most is meeting the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) demands put in place by NCLB. The AYP determines if academic standards are being met on achievement tests in grades three through eight and on the OGT in the 10th grade. The AYP measures student achievement in both reading and mathematics.

“Where we struggle, and [where] everyone struggles [is with certain AYP subgroups],” Powell says. “Unless No Child Left Behind is changed, the wheels are going to fall off everybody’s cart. It actually angers me a lot, because when [the government] built [NCLB], it was all based on [having] 100 percent of your students in the subgroups performing adequately in 2014. It was a long way away at the time [when NCLB was passed]. When you think about the fact that 100 percent of your special education kids would be doing grade level work by 2014, [there are some difficulties in the situation].”

According to a report by the Center on Education, 43,000 schools, or 48 percent of the nation’s public schools, failed to meet AYP standards. As a district, Lakota met all of the AYP

standards in 2010-11. Not every school within Lakota, however, met the AYP standard in every subgroup. East did not make “adequate yearly progress” in the “students with disabilities” category. As a school, East received an “Excellent” rating rather than an “Excellent with Distinction” rating.

East special education teacher Tim Derickson works with students with many different disabilities, including dyslexia, cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injuries. He says there was a push at the start of the year to get the special education students to pass.

“This last year, with my department in special education, we didn’t meet the requirements for passing the OGT,” Derickson says. “We are responsible [for all subjects]. I don’t blame anybody in this building. It [comes] from above them.”

East counselor Lauri MacNeel thinks that while standardized tests are important for students and their futures, not everything that students learn in the classroom translates to high test results. “[What students learn in the classroom] isn’t quantifiable, and we’re in a difficult position because we can’t [measure] what we do,” MacNeel says.

East English teacher David Honhart agrees that some important skills students learn in class cannot be tested with multiple choice questions.

He says that some things students learn, such as valuable life skills in keyboarding and media classes, are important parts of the educational process that never show up in a standardized test.

Derickson thinks that students are

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 35

RETHINKING EDUCATION

so worked up about passing the test that they lack creativity, inside and outside the classroom.

“The creativity that [students] have [is a lot lower] than when I was in school, Derickson says. “[Students are] nowhere as close to thinking on [their] feet. I was taught to think. I was taught to go forward. Now it’s like, if you don’t have a test, if you don’t have a computer, if you don’t tell me exactly what I need to do, then I can’t do it. Because that to me is the OGT. The OGT is, tell me how to do it, I’ll regurgitate it to you, and see, I know it! We’ve [just] grown to be a society where numbers are what we’re looking for. Quantify it, put a number to it.”

TEACHER APPRECIATION story rachel podnar The West Chester-Liberty Township community passed a levy for the Lakota Local School District in 2000 with the sole intention of raising teacher salaries.

In layman’s terms, the community did not think that teachers were overpaid, but underpaid. According to Lakota Board of Education member Joan Powell, the district was losing teachers to higher-paying schools. To combat this, the community voted to raise teacher salaries.

11 years later, the same community rejected the Nov. 2011 levy, which would have only kept the district financially solvent for a few years.

The levy discussion was marked by conversations on the airwaves, comments at meetings and letters outlining requests that teachers take pay cuts to fix the financial strife caused by their “inflated salaries.”

“10 years ago I made basically what I make now and it was a crying shame how badly teachers were paid,” East English teacher Rich Schmaltz says.

“My salary hasn’t changed and now ‘I make too much.’”

With the current economy and political climate, teachers view themselves as caught in the middle of a perfect storm. They feel held to blame for problems beyond their control.

In a survey of 31 East teachers, 81 percent say they feel ostracized by the community and 90 percent say they think they are targeted as a cause of education’s financial problems. None

36 | Spark | February 9, 2012

felt that they are overpaid. not that big of a deal,” Powell says.

These numbers are not an “Because there are a lot of jobs that isolated issue. The National Center we aren’t acknowledged where people for Education Information (NCEI) don’t necessarily work a 40 hour week. released the report Profiles of The benefits and pension, however, Education in the U.S. 2011, which I think are reasonable concerns. But, detailed data from various aspects that is set in Columbus. We can’t [get of the profession including teacher rid of it].” demographics, education level and Resident Rich Hoffman, head of job satisfaction. The data from job NoLakota group, agrees that teachers’ satisfaction is similar to the data benefits have increased greatly in gathered in the survey of East recent years. teachers. Salary and status of teachers “There is a benefit/compensation in the community were the two lowest- disparity,” Hoffman says. “Before No ranked indicators of job satisfaction, Child Left Behind (NCLB), teachers as judged by teachers taking the NCEI didn’t make that much. They made survey, which showed that only 55 lower $40,000s and people didn’t percent and 60 percent were very or have a problem with that. In the last somewhat satisfied, respectively. decade with NCLB and the Bush and Of the East teachers surveyed, 90 then the Obama administration and percent said that respect for teachers teachers unions, their increases went up has declined since they have been in dramatically in proportion to the rest the field. In the NCEI survey, however, of the country.” teachers’ opinions of their standing He thinks that in the coming in the community has increased to 60 years, a five percent pay cut for all percent satisfaction in 2011 from 42 government employees will be in percent satisfaction in 1990 and 50 order, as state governments struggle percent satisfaction in 1995. to balance their budgets. Although Teachers are criticized by the the school board and union have not community for various reasons initiated a pay cut thus far, he says including teacher pensions, summers the community has voted down tax off, union protection and job security. increases three times and that should “[9/11] was the beginning of serve as a mandate to the District. economic troubles. A lot of jobs were “The community doesn’t want to shed, the relative state of government pay extra taxes and five percent is not employees compared to everybody else that much,” Hoffman says. “We just changed. Everyone want to see them balance the else made a lot more budget As a teacher, do you feel money. Teachers were without ostracized by always poorly paid raising the community? so they got good taxes.” benefits,” Powell says.

East DEFINITELY “Teachers got some principal Dr. : 29% pretty good increases Keith Kline in the early 2000s says that the at the same time benefits of when everyone else educators was seeing their have come NO: 19% increases slowing under fire in down. Pensions, recent years YES: 52% 31 East teac 401k’s; all those in response hers surveyed things have taken to budget a beating. When people outside concerns. government employees look, they go, He feels that the stigma is not only ‘You have benefits better than any affecting teachers, but also all public of us have and a retirement that is employees. unheard of.’ All of those things create “Public officials are becoming pressure.” scapegoats for what has gone wrong,” Powell thinks that some of the Kline says. “Unfortunately, a lot of concerns people have relating to folks in our society decided they want teachers’ benefits are legitimate things for less or for free. You get concerns. what you pay for and if folks aren’t “How many days they work is willing to pay for those services, those

services may not be there. Some of our politicians have used public employees as scapegoats for things that have gone on in Columbus [Ohio] or Washington D.C.” East guidance counselor Lauri MacNeel sees a juxtaposition between the respect she receives from grateful parents and the lack of appreciation feelings from others.

“I find it extremely polarizing,” MacNeel says. “There are many people who are appreciative of what we do.

Then there is a large group of people, I call it ‘scapegoating syndrome,’ [who think] there needs to be a scapegoat. In some ways, the education profession is a very stable profession; that makes it a scapegoat type situation for those who see the world changing around them and don’t like it. It’s not everybody, but the finger does get pointed at us.”

East guidance counselor Jill

Kelechi believes that people do not understand the workload that goes into being a teacher in today’s world.

While employees in the private sector may receive trips or cars and not be obligated to take classes without their company compensation, teachers are required to continue their education with no refund.

“In the groups that I know, [there] is a lack of understanding of what teachers have to do,” Kelechi says. “Nobody takes into account grading papers, going back to school continuing hours for a masters degree. There are a lot of people in this community that make a lot more money than we do with half the education. Right now, Lakota does not refund us. We are required to get the education but we aren’t compensated.”

Before taking a job in Lakota six years ago, McLinden worked in

Illinois where all licensure upgrades, professional development and continuing education were provided by the school district at no cost to the faculty. MacNeel says she paid $32,000 for her master’s degree whereas her sibling who worked at a corporation obtained his master’s degree completely paid for by the company.

“You’re not talking about a $25 fee to renew a license,” MacNeel says.

“The community isn’t aware of that.

[They think], ‘Why would an educator pay for education?’”

Lakota requires teachers to have a master’s degree or be working towards one, a requirement that did not exist 10 years ago.

This is another responsibility that has been added to the plate of educators without an increase in pay.

According to the East teacher survey, 87 percent of teachers feel that teacher

Organized Chaos infographic jack dombrowski

Respective colleges / universities admissions offices, Lakota East High School Guidance Office

With the pressure of college admissions, high school students fill their schedules to gain an advantage on other applicants. Listed below are the requirements as well as recommended requirements for the schools and organizations most commonly applied to.

Admission Requirements 1) 16 Core Credits - 4 English - 3 Math - 3 Science 2) Qualifying SAT/ACT scores 3) Min. 2.7 GPA

s ement Requir s n io s Admis 2.0 GPA . cific to 1) Min quisites spe e r e r 2) P hools tive sc respec

Community Colleges / Vocational Schools

Approx. 42 percent of 2011 seniors now attend...

LAKOTA EAST HIGH SCHOOL

Approx. six percent of 2011 seniors now attend...

Approx. .33 percent of 2011 seniors now attend...

Also, students who take AP or Honors courses will receive extra consideration.

Recommended

Admission Requirements 1) 4 English Credits 4+ Math Credits 4 Foreign Lang. Cred.

Visual/Perf. Art 2) Qualifying SAT/ACT (with writing) scores 3) GPA min. of 3.75

Approx. 31 percent of current East students participate in collegiate athletics.

Eligibil it 1) Hig y Requireme h n 2) Min School Grad ts . 16 Co uate re Cre dits

Eligibility Requirements 3) Min. 2.0 GPA 4) Qualifying SAT/ ACT score

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 37

RETHINKING EDUCATION responsibilities have increased since they have been in the field.

East history teacher and junior varsity basketball coach Clinton Adkins understands the numerous responsibilities many teachers juggle.

He balances teaching Advanced Placement U.S. history and sophomore U.S. history alongside his family life and coaching basketball. “[There is so much] preparation that goes into work,” Adkins says. “In a lot of professions, people leave their job and go home around 4 p.m., but for us, it’s not over. We have to grade essays; a lot of times I stay up till 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. grading and wake up and make sure I am prepared for the next day. Coaching basketball is 10 months a year. It’s a very difficult, time-consuming thing if you are dedicated to it.”

East history teacher Carolyn Smardon thinks that teachers are respected overall but agrees that teachers have more responsibilities than in the past. She cites technology requirements and uploading assignments, things she has never had to deal with in her 35 years of teaching.

Elimination of block scheduling this year has caused additional stress for teachers who, like Smardon, teach classes that require grading essays frequently.

“Technology has increased so much, and we have to keep up with that just to run our systems,” Smardon says. “Everything from grades to

putting assignments online—I never had to do that earlier. [Not having block schedules] has added way more time at night for me to grade essays and that’s not just for me, that’s for many teachers. Block periods really helped a teacher out with that; now it’s all done at home.”

Kline agrees that teacher expectations are constantly rising, but in the current job market, everyone is lucky to have a steady paycheck.

“Teachers have had a rough road and we continue to rack up the expectations and workload,” he says.

“I don’t see salaries going up. I think it goes back to we’re all in charge of our attitude. It sounds minimalistic, but we’re all lucky we’ve got jobs now. We choose everyday to be happy or not.”

Another point of contention directed towards teachers is contract negotiation.

It may seem that teachers are always ‘asking for more money’ and that is why contracts are negotiated so frequently. But, according to Ohio law, school districts can negotiate teacher contracts that last up to three years.

Schmaltz, who is part of the Lakota Education Association and is involved in contract negotiation, thinks the community is uninformed about school funding, concessions teachers make and why things work the way they do.

Due to the law that teacher contracts cannot cover more than three years, if the teacher’s union negotiated

Expecting Extracurriculars story maddie mcgarvey While some students may not be involved in time-consuming sports, others still have little free time because of family commitments, volunteer positions or jobs. East counselor Jill Kelechi explains that once students reach a certain age, they have two new, important opportunities: getting a job and getting their license.

“By the age of 16, priorities shift,” Kelechi says. “It’s a natural transition.”

According to Kelechi, working and growing up is not necessarily a bad thing. It teaches teens a great deal about responsibility and being a responsible young adult.

East principal Dr. Keith Kline stresses the importance of growing as a person during the high school years.

“High school is a great exploratory

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a 10-year contract, it would be illegal.

“People say ‘teachers should do this, teachers should do that’ but it’s not like we have been asked to do a whole lot more than we have already done,” Schmaltz says. “We offered to take a three-year pay freeze, which was more than what we were asked to do, but all we hear about is how we are making too much money.”

East English teacher David Honhart expresses the same frustration with school funding and how difficult it is to communicate it to the population. He believes people have less of an appetite for research than in the past, and it makes issues and stereotypes harder to combat.

“We struggle to explain things to the community as simple as, ‘No, we did not pay for the football field—it was donated.’” Honhart says. “If you can’t explain that, it becomes very difficult to explain a state funding freeze and how that affects us as student enrollment goes up.”

Honhart and MacNeel attribute the disconnect between teachers and the community to a lack of information.

They struggle with whose job is it to provide information that would fix the disconnect.

MacNeel believes that teachers could do their part to educate the community, but do not have time after serving students.

“I can’t speak for all teachers, but the community does need more information from us. [I can’t do

Log on to lakotaeastspark.com to read the rest of Maddie McGarvey’s “Expecting Extracurriculars”

time to find out what you like and what your future may look like,” Kline says.

“You’re not going to get the whole high school experience if you come and sit through seven periods and just go home. There are so many things you can take advantage of [at East].”

East assistant principal Michael Broadwater has been noting all East students’ involvement so far this year.

Using scanners that were purchased earlier this year through a grant, Broadwater is able to keep track of exactly how many students participate in activities and attend events.

[Activities include extracurriculars such as athletics, clubs and band, while events are more specific, such as the homecoming dance and basketball games]. So far this year, 1,576 students

have attended an East event and 1,191 are involved in an extracurricular activity. According to Broadwater, approximately 72 percent of the East student body has been involved in an activity or attended an event.

“We want 100 percent of our students involved in some school related function,” Broadwater says. “[But] 72 percent shows that our students are very involved.”

According to Broadwater’s numbers, the junior class is the most involved, followed by the seniors, sophomores and freshmen.

The numbers are expected to shift dramatically as the year continues because of spring sports, prom and other upcoming events that have yet to be tallied.

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that because] I’m more focused on helping the kids,” MacNeel says. “I want to do it, but by the time I do what [the students] need to have done, I’m already working evenings and weekends. If my choice is between arguing with a community member for an hour over school funding or writing a recommendation letter, I’m writing the letter. It’s educational triage.”

Lakota is at a crossroad. After three failed levies, the district must make $9 million in cuts or face running out of money in 2014. Lakota maintaining its excellent reputation will be determined if the relationship between the community and the district turns around.

Still, Smardon wonders if the information gap can be bridged.

“I’m not sure whether [the disconnect] can be fixed or not,” Smardon says. “People are much happier when all the classes are taught, when teachers aren’t being cut and that disconnect is not as rough. But when [the district] starts making cuts that impacts a child, [people] tend to blame [it on] somebody. In this situation, teachers are being blamed for something we have no control over.”

STRAPPED FOR COLLEGE story natasha rausch He is the student who does every problem of his homework, even when the key is posted online. He is the student that actually spends his time reading the Advanced Placement (AP) Biology textbook late at night, even when the pages are not assigned. He is the student who views extracurricular activities as a competition—the more he has, the better off he is. East senior Tanner Lyons is that student who goes beyond the minimum requirements.

Lyons has expanded his résumé past the typical science and math track to cardiology. He has aimed to be the perfect college applicant: a well-rounded student. His time is chock-full of seven extracurricular activities at East that include the sports leadership group J. Kyle Braid, peer mentoring, peer mediation, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, student government and track and field.

His busy life, challenging classes and sleepless nights are all for the college application. And for Lyons, it is

worth the time.

“Everything that I put work into pays off in the long run,” Lyons says.

“The extracurricular activities are things that I really enjoy being involved in that help other people.”

The pressures of college force high school students such as Lyons to strive for a well-rounded application.

According to the admissions director at The Ohio State University (OSU) for the Cincinnati area, Abby Fittes, colleges like OSU seek individuals who have taken leadership positions outside of school, as well as those who excelled in the classroom.

After following these requirements, last year, eight percent of the 2010-11 graduating class attended OSU. “The extracurricular activities are the portion of the holistic review that we read after the academic portion,” Fittes says. “The academic portion of our review at Ohio State is the most important because we are preparing [students] for an academic degree. The activities are really where students set themselves apart.”

The university was not in Lyons’ college application list because he wanted to go south for college, but

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Money Awarded (In millions of U.S. dollars)

SCRIBBLING

$700 Million

RETHINKING EDUCATION his final three choices—the University of South Carolina, the University of South Florida and Baylor University— all follow a similar structure to OSU’s.

According to Fittes, there are no specific requirements when applying to OSU. Academic classes, volunteering, extracurricular activities and test scores do not have set minimums. The application, rather, is an all-inclusive review of the student’s high school achievements. An East survey showed

“Beyond growth, my activities helped me more define what I wanted to do with my life,” Li says. “These activities helped me get into colleges by helping me grow as a person. At times, the workload was stressful—I’ll be the first person to admit that.

Looking back, however, I realize how important that stress was for my personal growth. After I began to get involved in extracurricular activities, I became motivated to do better both inside and outside of school.”

A variety of extracurricular activities gave Li the edge he “We want students to do needed on his college application, but caused him to face a tough well in what they love. If college decision between OSU band is what you love, and Yale. After enjoying a few of then do that to the best the 36 activities provided at East, Li felt that larger schools, had of your ability.” more opportunities. The 47,000 undergrads spread across OSU –OSU Admissions Director as well as many extracurricular Abby Fittes opportunities made them a large contender even against an Ivy League school. But his visit to Yale just had a certain “je ne sais that 92 percent of honors and AP quoi.” students at East become involved in a “I really liked OSU after visiting, variety of extracurricular activities. and after going to East, I knew that big “We want students to do well in schools just mean more opportunities,” what they love,” Fittes says. “If band Li says. “After coming to [Yale’s] is what you love, then do that to the campus, the people I met and the best of your ability. We see students classes I sat in on were so amazing that who are in marching band and in I felt like if I didn’t come, I would have pit orchestra and a couple of other regretted the decision.” musical experiences, but they also do a Li concedes, however, that an Ivy bit of volunteering on the side.”

League school such as Yale does not East alumnus Kevin Li took on guarantee a better job prospect after a rough schedule as well, in order to graduation. Although Yale takes a make his application stand out to the more in-depth look than OSU at the admissions boards at OSU and Yale extracurricular activities as they relate University. to the student academically, Li says Despite many stressful weeks that an equal number of opportunities during his high school career, he is glad would have been available to him at that he took part in the courses and either school. extracurricular activities.

“I think that students who can The extracurricular activities helped make it in top-tier schools who end up Li, who is now a sophomore at Yale, not matriculating will do just as well by were used as a mechanism to discover utilizing the larger network at schools his likes and dislikes. By getting like OSU,” Li says. involved in a variety of activities Involvement in extracurricular during high school, such as mock trial activities is not only a part of a and volunteering at Bethesda North well-rounded student’s high school Hospital, Li learned that pursuing a career, but is also part of his or her degree in law or medicine would not college career according to Li, who match his personality. He hoped the continues to juggle school work, and activities that filled his application three other extracurricular activities, would make him a top contender at including an officer position in the schools to which he applied, but he Yale’s Association Internationale des found himself gaining more than he Étudiants En Sciences Économiques et expected from his heavy schedule.

Commerciales.

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Tanner Lyons is one of the 1,191 East students involved in an extracurricular activity.

One of the roles of high school extracurricular activities is to prepare a student for college. The college extracurricular activities give an applicant a higher esteem than a regular student. According to the analytical global capability organization section head at Proctor and Gamble (P&G) Ravi Ranatunga, college internships are equivalent to extracurricular activities with which high school students fill their time.

“When Bachelor of Science level students do a couple of summer internships in P&G and perform well in those assignments, [they will have] a huge advantage to getting a permanent offer,” Ranatunga says. “The vast majority of [new hires] we recruited are recent graduates from local schools, as well as a number of other nationally recognized schools such as Cornell, OSU and the University of Michigan.”

These schools offer a variety of internships as well as activities. OSU for example, offers more than 1,000 activities outside the realm of school work.

This allows students to create their own groups with prior approval.

In addition to the challenging classes, the extracurricular activities shape Lyons’ application to make him stand out from the crowd. He is just that person aiming for the ideal wellrounded student.

DEFINING THE HONORS STUDENT story sara rayburn A commercial pops onto the television screen and her eyes immediately glance down to the math assignment on her lap. Just as she begins to solve the problem, the quiet hum of a cell phone stealthily snatches her attention. A few texts are exchanged, a tweet is sent and several photos are updated with a “like” on Facebook. As the high school student lifts her pencil and refocuses her attention on the trigonometry in front of her, the commercials end and the cycle of simultaneously watching the latest show, socializing and studying continues. East junior Katie Schwab claims she is no different than her peers. In fact, working with distraction is just one of many areas in which East teachers, counselors and students have noticed the changing definition of today’s honors and Advanced Placement (AP) level students.

“When it comes to homework, I feel like everyone is a lot more distracted,” Schwab says. “It ends up taking so much longer to do homework because you are not putting your full effort and attention toward it.”

In the classroom setting, East English teacher Melissa Wipperman has seen technology have its own impact on honors and AP students during the past two to three years.

Wipperman says that her teaching techniques have changed as a result.

She says students tend to be more distracted and that she has to address the increased use of Sparknotes and other online resources.

Wipperman says that she does not feel it is more difficult to motivate honors students than before, but she has noticed that increasing the number of cooperative-learning activities and utilizing discussion-based activities keeps students “on track.”

Technology is not the only distraction from honors and AP level schoolwork. With track and field, marching band and choir commitments, Schwab says that she has to carefully balance extracurricular activities with academic goals in AP psychology, honors physics and honors pre-calculus.

“I have to have time to do my

homework because the most important want to have some balance in their thing is my grades,” Schwab says. “If lives.” my extracurriculars are going to affect Within the past few years, the my classes, I cannot do them.” decision-making process for whether Schwab originally was involved or not to take honors and AP courses in extracurricular activities, such as has transformed from school-dictated German Club and Art Club. She tracking to teacher, parent and student decided to refrain from joining these judgment. MacNeel estimates that programs her junior year because of between the past three to five years the the negative impact she felt it would entrance tests have been completely have on her grades. Preparing for removed from the requirements for college and building a solid grade point entering an honors or AP level class. average (GPA) are two of Schwab’s When the exams were eliminated, main motivations, in addition to simply MacNeel has noticed that East striving to do her best academically. counselors and staff saw that the “I know I am capable of doing tests were not as crucial as previously well enough to get an A, so I try my thought for determining which hardest” Schwab says. “I feel like I try students were capable. harder than most people. In my AP “Students still decided to go [into Psych class, a lot of people are behind honors and AP classes] and did fine. It on reading. Even though we are not seemed a waste of time to test to get in going to have a quiz over it, only two when students and parents were pretty or three people including myself will good regulators themselves of who actually do the reading for homework. could try it,” MacNeel says. “To say [My peers] do not put in as much that the test was the end-all-be-all of effort as I think they should.” who was going to be successful simply East was not accurate.” counselor Lauri According to MacNeel agrees MacNeel, teacher Do you think the American that the ability recommendations public school system is of a student to during registration working or failing? complete the are now a WORKING: 40% more rigorous common way workload of an to enroll in an honors or AP honors level of class is what a class. If they will determine disagree with the their success in recommendation, the course. parents and their FAILING: 60% In some student can also 494 East students surveyed cases, the make a direct opposite decision that situation is honors or AP is true; students who are capable of the the correct fit by submitting a letter to academic demands of honors or AP the school. The counselors then look courses choose to not place it at the at the student’s test scores and grades top of their priorities. Even though the to finalize that decision, typically situation occasionally occurs, MacNeel encouraging students with average or says that she has seen students qualify above-average ability and discouraging for honors or AP level courses and those with below-average marks to decide to not take them. The students continue in the process and to schedule in this category may decide to balance differently than teachers recommend. the rigor in their schedule by taking the As a staff, we try to encourage people honors level of one subject but regular to stretch themselves a little bit, pace in another. primarily because our students are “I think students look at their college-bound. Those honors and AP schedule and decide that maybe with classes will really help [students] know sports, activities and jobs they cannot whether they are ready for college and really commit to it,” MacNeel says. know what their skill set is,” MacNeel “It depends on the student’s personal says. “Parents very much want [their reasons, but mostly I see [choosing to children] to take advantage of those not take honors or AP classes] with educational opportunities as well. It is a students who are very booked and dual interest from the adult level.”

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RETHINKING EDUCATION

SOPHOMORIC STANDARDS story bridget lally The failed levies may have closed many doors of opportunity, but some doors have opened.

For sophomores, one of these doors is the option to take Advanced Placement (AP) and new honors classes, such as AP psychology, AP U.S. history (APUSH) and honors chemistry. Freshmen have the option

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of taking newly established honors courses such as honors biology and honors world studies.

Juniors and seniors are looking back at the effect that a weighted class would have had on their high school transcripts. Some students, such as East senior Erin McNally, wish that these changes would have been made prior to entering high school.

“Taking AP classes as a sophomore would have been really helpful,” McNally says. “I think I could have handled some of them at that age.

Plus, the weighted grade in my GPA would have been nice.”

East is now offering underclassmen more course options in the hopes of building a stronger educational foundation.

“I believe that part of our job at Lakota East High School is to challenge students to take the hardest courses that they can and still have an opportunity to be successful,” East principal Dr. Keith Kline says.

“Students are many times more capable than what they pretend to be. If they’re put into a challenging situation where they really have to learn and think, they’ll grow more than they would have if they had been sitting in some other class.”

According to Kline, part of his job is to remove barriers for kids to access higher-level coursework.

“If you look at the program of studies book over the last couple of years, you’ll see fewer and fewer prerequisites. That’s intentional. I want to remove things that exclude kids from having those opportunities,” Kline says. “We used to have a whole lot of barriers to get kids in AP classes.

You used to have to cut off this finger, had to pass that class, had to have eight recommendations and all. We took that away. If the student wants to take on that challenge, then who are we to say ‘No, you can’t?’”

Kline also sees the long-term benefits of challenging classes.

“It’s kind of a long, arduous journey we’re on, but part of what I think we need to do in this school is to continue to increase the academic rigor,” Kline says. “[We want to] give every student the opportunity to access college-level coursework.”

There have already been several changes made in the program of studies book. Five social studies elective courses were eliminated

photo ellen fleetwood

East senior Kate Drummond is currently taking AP Statistics and Honors Anatomy, partially because those subjects are only offered at the more rigorous level. However, she was also in Honors English for her first three years of high school and took AP Government and AP Economics as a junior because of teacher recommendations and personal interest. Between her experiences in these many AP and honors level classes plus the required regular-pace courses for graduation, Drummond came to the conclusion that teaching style, not the level of class, is what makes the difference for whether or not she gains an understanding of the curriculum.

“The teacher probably adjusts to the class that they have [either honors or regular pace],” Drummond says.

“There are more students in the honors classes who really want to try hard. Both groups have people who do not want to try at all, but it seems like they are more obnoxious in the classes that everyone has to take and that do not have levels.”

Drummond says that from her experiences as a student, she believes her peers in honors or AP courses tend to be more focused “because if you do not pay attention, you are not going to get it.” Regardless of the level of a course, she noticed that there seem to be “one or two people in every class who are not really doing their work.”

The ability to complete the assignments for a course, as Drummond noted, are truly what determines the success a student will have in the program, not an entrance exam such as the ones East utilized in previous years. Honors and AP level students bring their own work ethic, motivation and values together to determine what steps they will take in their education.

East junior Katie Schwab multitasks with her homework.

this past year due to budget cuts. In addition, three honors-level courses were created for freshmen and sophomore students.

To create an honors-level course, a college prep course must exist with similar curriculae. For honors biology, bio 91 at the ninth grade level exists and for honors chemistry, chem I at the 11th and 12th grade level exists.

“The actual process of creating a new course is multifaceted,” secondary science curriculum specialist Leanne Staley says. “Original interest in creating such a course was initiated by the teachers of the subject. They wanted a more rigorous course to help students reach their fullest potential.

The weight of an honors course encouraged students to enroll in a class requiring higher cognitive learning.”

After this point, discussions continued with department chairs, principals, curriculum personnel and gifted services. From those conversations, a proposal was sent to the superintendent. Once revisions and planning occurred, the idea was placed before the board of education.

The hope is that Lakota students will continue to reach higher level AP coursework throughout high school.

AP psychology teacher Andrea Bryant knows how teachers in the AP world argue about the types of students that should take AP classes.

“There are some heated debates.

Some teachers are passionate about their scores and [their students] getting 5s,” Bryant says. “Other teachers will say, ‘No, our job is to teach kids and scores don’t matter.’ I go back and forth for kids taking AP Psych. But you have to take into account how many kids we have. This past year alone, I had a few more 1s and 2s than I have had in the past, but I had twice as many kids take it than I’ve ever had.

I did have 22 kids get a 5.”

Bryant attributes the increase in enrollment to the decrease in availability of social studies elective classes. Last year there were seven sections and two teachers to accommodate 180 students in AP Psychology; now there are ten sections and three teachers for 220 students.

Juniors and seniors have priority scheduling for classes. Sophomores can then register if room is available with no need for parental involvement.

“Grade-wise, [sophomores] are actually the same [compared to upperclassmen] because they tend to be higher achieving than juniors and seniors,” Bryant says. “They know they are younger, so they work harder.”

Whether or not a sophomore is too young to take an AP course all depends on the person. Bryant observes that some underclassmen lack the analytical skills necessary for AP classes.

A sophomore’s decision to take an AP class involves the parents’ opinions.

“Some parents want their kids to be the big fish in a little pond,” Bryant says.

Jude Behan, a mother of six, knows what it is like to enroll children for AP classes as sophomores.

Her two eldest daughters took APUSH as sophomores at Mount Notre Dame High School. It was a simple process that involved recommendations from English and social studies teachers. The process to

enroll in Lakota’s APUSH class took a bit more effort.

As a freshman, Jude’s oldest son Michael had a 99 percent in history, was bored, and so she signed him up for AP for the next year.

“This set off a red flag to teachers.

It was difficult,” Jude says. “I talked to teachers; it had never been done.”

When Michael’s guidance counselor Carolyn Hickman contacted his social studies teachers, they were unresponsive. Jude then called Eric Bauman, Michael’s assistant principal, who talked with the former department chair, Jennifer Reid. She advised that Michael go in Advanced U.S. for two months then move to AP, which did not sit well with Jude.

“I said, ‘It’s all or none, it’s a set up to fail. If I wait two months, there’s no way he could do it. If we’re following the Lakota motto, why are you not letting him try?’ Mr. Bauman was quiet after this,” Jude says. “He decided to override the department chair; a decision that never happened before.”

Her third son Gabe, a current sophomore, transitioned from ninth grade advanced world history to AP history through the recommendation of his teacher, Joseph Revelette. This time it was easier because the course is now open to sophomores.

Jude pushes her kids to be in AP classes because she knows they can do it.

“I know they’re capable [of taking AP classes] because their reading capabilities were developing,” Jude says. “When my eldest daughter entered college, she was a sophomore because of her credit hours. I think this is the smartest thing Lakota has done to help kids get credit.”

Social studies teacher Jennifer Reid has three APUSH classes with a total of 48 students, 30 of which are sophomores. Reid’s exposure to

The Deutsch Difference story mohinee mukherjee At the start of her senior year, East student Kshirajaa Ramesh had to familiarize herself with the culture at East once more. She had spent 11 months of her junior year attending the Gymnasium Martinum, an upperlevel school in Emsdetten, Germany.

In addition to having the challenge of learning German and memorizing a

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lowerclassmen in AP classes has shown her both pros and cons.

“I think the biggest thing that most of the sophomores have going for them is their work ethic. They come in and they’re willing and able to work really hard and they’re very bright,” Reid says. “So what they lack in experience and [academic] maturity, I think they can make up for because they’re willing to work so hard for it.”

Reid has no control over the curriculum and pace of the class, which is dictated by the College Board.

However, she has had to make minor adjustments to her teaching styles.

“What I notice is that I have to spend more class time explaining things that are concepts that juniors and seniors have a better grasp of, especially things like economics, so I have to kind of get [the sophomores] up to speed,” Reid says. “And there is some vocab that stymies them, so they don’t understand what certain words mean that I might use or they might see on the test or in the book. But by and large, when I explain it to them, they get it so quickly that it’s fine.”

Another change implemented due to an increase in sophomore enrollment has been the transition to a new textbook. Students use the AMSCO text, a condensed review that helps students prepare for the AP exam. In the past, APUSH students used a more detailed textbook which contained 30-page chapters with “a lot of detail that [students] didn’t need,” according to Reid. With this condensed textbook, Reid is also able to assign more outside readings.

“I had thought about [changing the textbook] for several years,” Reid says.

“When we decided to bring in all the sophomores, it just seemed like a good time to make a transition.”

Reid says that the class discussions are not as deep because sophomores

Log on to lakotaeastspark.com to read the rest of Mohinee Mukherjee’s “The Deutsch Difference.”

schedule that alternates every week, Ramesh had to adjust to an entirely new system. Having come from a high school with more than 2,000 students, a number equivalent to the size of a small town, Ramesh was part of a class of 100 German students in the same educational year as her.

But small class sizes are just one

of the many differences between the German and American educational systems. Germany takes a different approach than the United States when it comes to educating students. While each of the 16 states in Germany has its own distinct school policies, most schools in Germany follow the same educational model.

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RETHINKING EDUCATION

FROM RUSSIA WITH CHARACTER story megan fogel When his family of four moved from Russia to West Chester in Sept.

2010 to reunite with his grandparents, who left Russia 17 years ago, he knew fewer than five words of English. Less than a year and a half later, he studied an 80-plus page script and prepared for his first role on an American stage.

East senior Ruslan Khmelev moved from Russia when he was a junior. He moved from his school of nearly 1,000 students located outside of Moscow to a school nearly twice the size. He moved from his friends and from the amateur theater troupe they had formed. He moved to an area with an estimated Russian population of fewer than 90 people.

He moved to a school where he does not know anyone who speaks his language.

Despite moving away from all these things, he auditioned for and played the role of Mr. Santoro in East’s upcoming performance of Rehearsal for Murder.

Khmelev is one of 58 students at East in grades nine through 12 that receives English as a Second Language (ESL) services. In Ohio, as soon as a parent checks the box indicating that a language other than English is spoken at home, the student is required to take an Ohio Test of English Language Acquisition (OTELA) to determine English proficiency on a scale from

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one through five. If students receive a five on the test, they start school as a mainstream student.

If they score a four, they begin as “trial mainstream” and their grades are monitored by ESL staff. Students that score three or below on the OTELA are identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) and are offered ESL services. The OTELA test is also given each spring for ESL students to retake to determine if ESL services are still needed.

Currently in the entire Lakota district, 922 students have been identified as LEP, but only 795 of those students have opted to receive ESL services.

At East, ESL services are carried out by ESL teacher Jill Dalzell and aide Sally Barker.

Dalzell, who was hired before the 2011-12 school year, works in the ESL classroom teaching level I for sophomores, II for juniors, III for seniors and a mixed fundamentals of language arts class.

These classes not only cover the general English vocabulary but also vocabulary to help them in other school subjects.

“Imagine going to another country and [not being able to speak] the language so not only are you having to learn the language itself,” Barker says, “but [you have to] learn the content that goes along with that in U.S. history, physical science, government, or economics.”

Khmelev says junior English was the hardest class he took in the past two years because of all the literary and historical references to which he had never before been exposed.

To better serve LEP students, the Lakota district adopted the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) method of teaching in 2009.

“We use the SIOP method of teaching, which is very extensive. Every teacher that comes in contact with an ESL child has to go through that training on a regular basis,” Dalzell says. “You teach them vocabulary to build a basis, go very slowly, give reading at their level, explain everything and teach and reteach vocabulary.”

Melissa Wipperman, Khmelev’s English teacher during his junior year, is one of the 14 East teachers that are SIOP-trained.

“I started and completed SIOP training in Oct. 2010,” says

photo ellen fleetwood

“do not know as much history and lack the depth of understanding that juniors and seniors have from taking classes like government, economics or other social studies electives.” But she feels confident that they will do well on the AP test in May. According to Reid, the overall effect of mixing underclassmen with upperclassmen is different. From her perspective, the culture has shifted.

“There is a difference between having a class that has just juniors and seniors in it and having a class that has mostly sophomores in it. There’s a certain academic sophistication that isn’t there,” Reid says. “But it doesn’t mean that [sophomores] are not going to be successful, and they make up for their lack of experience with a willingness to work really hard. And so I think that it balances out.”

East senior Ruslan Khmelev rehearses with junior Matthew Littig.

Wipperman, who teaches ESL students in sophomore English this year. “For the 2011-12 school year, East teachers who are currently teaching ESL classes meet on a monthly basis to review and plan for English language learners.”

Wipperman uses SIOP methods in the majority of her teaching but has to rework her methods to specifically cater to ESL students.

“You have to start with how you use something in a sentence and in context,” Dalzell says. “We start with the basics of capitalization, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.

When they learn more, [teachers] can use more complex sentences [when teaching].”

Students are encouraged to use the language dictionaries available in the ESL classroom as well as hand-held translators. Words are best learned, however, through constant exposure and immersion in the English language, as was the case for Khmelev.

Khmelev was by no means left alone to make his way through the foreign language. He had ESL classes and core classes aided by either Dalzell or Barker to support him and his fellow English learners.

The “sheltered” component of SIOP is Barker’s specialty. As an aide, she follows groups of ESL students to their mainstream classes to explain concepts while the teacher is doing a lesson for the entire class.

“Depending on what class I’m in, I’ll sit next to a group of kids to help,” Barker says. “Most of the time I’m just sitting down beside the students and working with them in groups.”

Both Barker and Dalzell plan each student’s schedule at the beginning of summer. They spend time with the counselors to ensure not only that each student is registered to be in the correct level of ESL class, but also that ESL students are grouped together in other core classes.

While core classes may be limited to a few mainstream options necessary for graduation, most ESL students have room in their schedules to choose one or more elective classes.

For Khmelev, taking an acting class was worth leaving the ESL support system for one class period each day.

“With every single script I have to sit down and translate every word that I don’t know,” Khmelev says. “That way it is easier for me to understand what I am talking about. But I’ve always been good at memorizing.”

There are 39 other students in Khmelev’s Acting I class but he is the only ESL student.

“Ruslan is a very hard worker,” acting and English teacher Kristen Statt says. “As he has participated in a semester’s worth of class projects, and

as he has been rehearsing for Rehearsal for Murder, I have seen his confidence explode.”

As Khmelev’s English improves, he is looking forward to graduating with the friends he has made in the class of 2012. He is working on building up the 21 credits needed to graduate.

“The Ohio Department of Education allows ESL classes to count as an elective or foreign language credit,” ESL liaison Patty Fong says.

“LEP students must have the same number of credits to graduate as any other student. If a student comes to us without any credits from their home country, they are legally permitted to continue to earn credits towards graduation up until the day of their 22nd birthday.”

Khmelev has worked hard in the past year to ensure that the rest of his graduation requirements will be met.

In order to graduate, every student must pass all five Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT), which are typically taken during a student’s sophomore year.

Khmelev was forced to begin the round of testing immediately after

starting as a junior at East.

While mainstream students are accustomed to classes at Lakota and the preparation for the OGTs, ESL students are typically not prepared for American standardized testing.

“OGTs are a lot of stress for them,” Dalzell says. “We have to do this right when they come in, like in [Khmelev’s] case. He came in and all of the sudden here were his OGTs. He needed these to graduate so he didn’t have a whole bunch of time to be able to prepare.”

After his second round of OGTs, Khmelev successfully passed all five and was able to spend more time rehearsing for his small stage appearance in Rehearsal for Murder.

In the play, he portrayed a man working for the moving company who the main character hires. Khmelev imagined his character may be of Hispanic descent but his version of Mr. Santoro had a strong Russian accent.

“I can’t get rid of my accent,” Khmelev says. “I’m proud of it. It makes me more unique.”

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entertainment | album reviews

Album Reviews Common · The Dreamer/The Believer · Warner Bros. Record photo labeled for commercial reuse

Editors’ Choice

Common performs live in concert.

“If we can put a balance back in it, not even a positive vibe, just a real hip-hop vibe… we can get back to what we call hip-hop.”

Hip-hop legend Rakim couldn’t have put it better. What the world needs now is a rapper who can put the hip-hop legacy back on track.

In that case, Lonnie Lynn Jr. deserves our thanks. He’s one of the golden relics of what rap used to be, clad with bandanas, boom boxes and graffiti. However, he represents more than just the pinnacle of hip hop. Lynn is the symbol for the average person with simple pleasures. A man who doesn’t need champagne every night or numerous garages for his Lamborghinis, and who doesn’t need to rap about them either.

Lynn is Common, and he’s fine with that, because he brings out the best in the everyday and ordinary.

To him, it’s all about the music.

The Dreamer/The Believer is the life Lynn has always tried to lead through his music. The main idea of the album being persistence, and the hope that people can escape their struggles through iron optimism to reach your goals.

The first track, “The Believer,” shows Lynn’s natural rapping prowess with a natural jazz beat, declaring “My name is Common, no ID.” The song even ends on a unique, poetic note, as it features famous public speaker, Maya Angelou. Naturally, the album only gets better from the introduction, as it takes the

Kellie Pickler · 100 Proof · BNA Records 100 Proof is an honest portrayal of Kellie Pickler’s life. Songs about love, hate, the future and even bar-hopping all show a very particular side of Pickler, whether it be soft and sensitive or playful and sassy in her red high heels.

The album’s third song, “Stop Cheatin’ on Me” may seem like a simple message, but for someone to say that to a potential player is gutsy. She continues to sing, “Stop cheatin’ on me, or I’ll start cheating on you.” Those words

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that everyone who has ever been cheated on thinks but never says out loud, seem justified when sung over a sappy melody.

The album takes a slower pace with songs like “Long As I Never See You Again,” “Mother’s Day” and “The Letter (to Daddy),” which are all more emotional melodies for the sentimental listener. A more upbeat tune like “Unlock That Honky Tonk” is a perfect hit for a girls night out, as well as “Where’s Tammy Wynette” and “Tough.”

“Turn on the Radio and Dance” is a typical country song, sounding like a mixture of any prior Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts song. The song is pleasant, yet predictable with the story line of a couple riding down an old dirt road in a rusty old truck, ending up by a lake, where

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audience back to the 90s. Back to the golden age.

Tracks like “Ghetto Dreams,” “Gold” and “Lovin I Lost” bring “Commoners” retro beats that audiences were afraid they’d never hear again. Lynn has the gift to match his tone to the beats, like he’s been spitting to them for years. He’s in his own element in every song in the album, blocking everything out but the rhythm. This is not to say that Lynn hasn’t branched out since his DJ Premier days. In songs like “Cloth” and “Blue Sky,” the heavy vocalist presence which is more reticent of what many artists have today is prevalent.

However, “Sweet,” a more aggressive track from The Dreamer/The Believer brings to light one of Rakim’s warnings. With attacking lyrics, some presume aimed at rapper Drake, such as “You ain’t no motherf------ Frank Sinatra.” As angry as Lynn sounds, he has a valid point. It’s hard to focus on the words of a rapper when he’s singing a hook almost simultaneously.

Regardless, the gesture only shows how long Lynn has been in the game, and it’s his word against the new age.

And his word is law in the hip-hop world.

With a great album released, and a future signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. music, Rakim’s prophecy of sorts may be achieved sooner then he thinks.

When it does, it would do well for all rappers to give Common a hearty pat on the back—Irfan Ibrahim

 they dance under the moon to the sound of the crickets singing. The song is a cute “10” on the country cliché scale.

The title track “100 Proof ” is an extended metaphor for an addictive relationship. It’s a song to be sung alone in their car at the top of your lungs or softly in the passenger’s seat. As the chorus ends, she sings, “We’ll wake up in the morning like we always do/Drunk, on the beautiful truth/We got love, 100 proof,” which summarizes the intoxicating love between Kellie and some gorgeous hunk.

Kellie Pickler wasn’t the most imaginative or artistic in writing 100 Proof, but, if nothing else, she taught us all how to confront a cheater.—Maddie McGarvey

The Weeknd Echoes of Silence Self-released

2011 was a good year for Abel Tesfaye a.k.a The Weeknd.

Last March he anonymously posted to Youtube his dark and indulgent debut mixtape, House of Balloons, to critical acclaim. In August he followed up with another equally intricate mixtape, Thursday, and collaborated with Drake on Take Care in November. He keeps this momentum going on his third mixtape, Echoes of Silence.

Much like his previous mixtapes, Echoes of Silence tells a destructive narrative of sex and drugs. Tesfaye delivers it all with an impressive vocal range but his strongest point has always been his production. Each song is distinct and accompanied by a variety of lush industrial beats that give him a unique place in R&B. Thematically, Echoes of Silence is about The Weeknd’s newfound fame. All the angst and insecurity of his earlier work has been replaced by a slightly menacing new confidence. On “Next” he softly croons “Girl, I might be twenty-one, but I got memories to prove/that I’ve seen your kind before/and I know exactly what you want”. On House of Balloons and Thursday, Tesfaye had to seduce women for drugs and money. Now he’ll hook up with whomever he wants.

By the middle of the album, Tesfaye’s persona takes a negative turn. On “XO/ The Host”, he sings a nightmarish tale of drug fueled debauchery. Tesfaye leaves out the details of his adventures, leaving it to the listener’s imagination, adding to his new more predatory persona. Tesfaye’s actions might be on shaky moral ground but his pained falsetto and the song’s echoing percussion give the song a unique allure.

“XO/The Host” eventually slows and fades into the next track “Initiation” which continues the previous narrative. Tesfaye speeds and slows his voice until it’s barely recognizable, creating a hazy atmosphere.

This is the darkest point in the album, where The Weeknd’s vices are most apparent and at their worst. He takes risks on this song but it’s undoubtedly a successful experiment.

The Weeknd’s novelty may have worn off since House of Balloons but by experimenting with his already unique style, he’s still churning out great work.—Daham Marapane

Yo Gotti · Live From the Kitchen · RCA Not much hype has surrounded Yo Gotti’s debut studio album, Live From the Kitchen, and being the epitome of what hardcore gangsta rap has evolved into, he clearly isn’t wowing the audience with this one.

At first glance, Yo Gotti comes off as a street-hardened, lady-getting, haterloving thug. Many rappers before him have adopted this image, and he stresses his unoriginal persona so much that every song is increasingly predictable and repetitive.

This isn’t his first record, as he has released many independent albums and mix tapes, most of which were in a series of seven, entitled Cocaine Muzik. The one aspect that sets Live From the Kitchen apart from the rest is the frequent guest appearances, including Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa and Rick Ross.

Aside from the A-list collaborations, Yo Gotti brings nothing new to the table. The beats in every song are painfully similar to one another, and the lyrics hold very little weight,

if any. This is obvious from the first track, “Testimony.” The music is mind-numbingly typical and the lyrics are meaningless.

Someone needs to tell Yo Gotti that rhyming “pistol” and “pistol” doesn’t count.

“Ok the beat go hard, but I go harder/I can die a drug dealer but I’m smarter.” Well, at least he knows better than to be a drug dealer.

Aside from this refreshing statement, the monotony of Live From the Kitchen’s shoutouts to the haters and claims of “hardness” become tiresome as early as the third track, “Killa.”

In addition to his boasting and bragging, Yo Gotti takes on an attitude of patriotism and nearly unconditional love for the good old United States. On, “Red White and Blue,” he quotes John F. Kennedy, and goes on to say he would do anything for his country, aside from going to war. But Yo Gotti has no shame, because he “ain’t gotta go outta the motherf------ country to shoot them choppers.” What a goon.

What this album lacks is oomph. Thank goodness there are only 11 tracks, because each song is a slightly altered duplicate of the one before. It is, however, ideal for anyone who wants to hear the same song playing over and over again.—Ashley Jencen

Attack Attack! · This Means War · Rise Some people believe that screamo bands preach hate and violence, and therefore, should be avoided. Attack Attack!, however, disproves that stereotype on This Means War. The metalcore group keeps distorted guitar and rumbling drums that make the genre what it is, but adds a dash of techno to create a sound that is unparalleled. Even with the departure of Frank, the clean vocals sound superb. The inaudible, screaming vocals, however, carry the spirit of teenage rebellion. The last song of the album, “The Eradication,” contain lyrics such as “Our time has come we are taking over/We’re done with being patient/No time for second chances” show that the spirit of Kurt Cobain lives on.

Even with the many positives, there are negatives that neutralize them. The transitions between styles of music are terrible most of the time. “The Hopelessness” starts with a tremolo/phaser effect that feels like an electro band such as Gorillaz or Daft Punk.

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Likewise, the piano in the beginning of “The Motivation” starts slow and sweet, but goes into the brash, uneasy sound of metalcore.

But Attack Attack! can only successfully transition between styles on some songs. On “The Wretched,” guitarist Andrew Whiting perfectly transitions from a mellow guitar sound to a hard rock sound, and then to metalcore. Although it’s nice for Attack Attack! to experiment with symphonic metal, they need to focus on what they do best.

There are no extraordinary musicians in the band either. While Whiting may be a good guitarist, he just doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

The only musician who does try to change styles is vocalist Caleb Shomo, who makes efforts to raise his vocal range. But Shomo shares the same fault as his bandmates— unoriginality. The low, harsh sound that was beloved on their 2010 self-titled album is now high-pitched screaming.

Compared to other metalcore bands, there is nothing special about Attack Attack! besides the touch of techno that is misused on many of the songs. To any hardcore fans, this album will be a welcome treat. However, it will come to a “screeching” stop for those who are not acquainted with the genre.—Rahul Mukherjee

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entertainment | best of 2011

Spark Awards: photos provided with paid permission from mctcampus.com or labeled for commercial reuse

Song “Michicant”

Parks & Recreation

Bon Iver’s sophomore album was a gorgeous, experimental mess, combining synthesizers and falsettos in a way previously unheard of. It’s difficult to decide upon a best track, but “Michicant” is one of the most beautiful songs of the year in general, proving that Justin Vernon doesn’t need to banish himself to a cabin to make good music.

Parks & Recreation is the little show that could.

With the third season, it has solidified itself as one of the funniest shows on cable television.

The additions of Rob Lowe as the endlessly optimistic Chris and Adam Scott as the awkwardly out-of-place Ben just help boost the hilarity in each episode. And Aubrey Plaza is still in it, so it gets nerd cred.

Bon Iver

Dillon Mitchell

“Will Do”

Louie

It’s been the best of the year since the day Nine Types of Light, TV on the Radio’s fourth studio album, was released in April. But since the loss of bassist Gerard Butler to lung cancer shortly after its release, the heartfelt groove sounds less like lovesick yearning and more like them pining for one more moment with the departed. At least he went out on top.

Louis C.K. is the funniest comedian alive. His show favors ennui and despair and other awful things, like when he sees a homeless man beheaded in the middle of the street by a semi-truck. It’s a real knee-slapper.

TV on the Radio

Zach Fulciniti

“Hurts Like Heaven” Coldplay

Christian Roehm

“Hurts Like Heaven” may not have received the attention of Mylo Xyloto singles “Paradise” or “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall,” but this song is easily the best of the album.

Unlike other Coldplay songs which tend to be mellow and relaxing, “Hurts Like Heaven” is exuberant.

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Bones I don’t really have time to watch television weekly, but Bones is the only show I find worth watching on a regular basis. Although it can be gruesome at times, I’m fascinated by the medical aspect of the show, although the characters are just as entertaining.

“Under Cover of Darkness”

South Park

“Under Cover of Darkness,” off The Strokes’ Angles, has stuck with me since I first heard it back in January 2011. Since then, it has been a constant part of my ever-selective playlist.

The driving guitars, strong vocals and upbeat tempo keep the listener completely engaged until the very end of the song and leaves me wanting to start the song all over again.

For every person who hates South Park, there are at least three who can’t get enough of it.

This latest season brought more disgusting, obnoxious and downright vile nonsense than ever before. And I couldn’t be happier with the results. The show pushes the boundaries of acceptable broadcasting, while touching on world events in a comical way.

The Strokes

Arvind Madhavan

TV Show

The Best of 2011 The Spark Entertainment editors reflect on the best and worst facets of the entertainment industry in 2011.

Movie

Video Game

Worst

Super 8

Batman: Arkham City

The Walking Dead

Super 8 is a monster-movie fan’s wet dream.

J.J. Abrams and Stephen Spielberg team up to deliver an epic that is equal parts an alien-filled explosion orgy and a touching coming-of-age story about loss. Newcomer Joel Courtney only elevates the film, despite it being his first role.

Batman: Arkham City is the hero of superhero games. Rocksteady Studios perfected the combat and stealth portions of 2009’s Arkham Asylum and transitioned the setting to a small portion of Gotham City. Combine this with comic book writing and iconic villains from the Batman universe, and Arkham City comes out as the best video game of the year.

The Walking Dead is no longer a show about survivors in a zombie apocalypse. Now it’s more of a soap opera in which the characters are more useless than the various Kardashian clan members. Oh, and there are some zombies. Now that original show runner Frank Darabont has been fired, the series can only go downhill from here.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

American Horror Story

I’ve poured 170 hours into Skyrim. That’s a week spent fighting bandits, frost trolls, dragons, lizard people, cat people, various undead, Dwarven Centurions (large robots) and Cave Bears. The game may be buggy, but sometimes I enjoy traversing the unforgiving taiga of northern Tamriel on the back of an invisible horse.

If Lars von Trier had chosen to adapt his dense art-horror flick Antichrist into a terrible television program, it would have closely resembled American Horror Story, a bloodsoaked sex romp that consisted mostly of disconnected subplots, gaping plot holes and numerous characters decidedly unaware of the fact that they were dead.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Long Live the King

I’ve been obsessed with the Legend of Zelda series ever since the Nintendo 64 classic Ocarina of Time (OoT). The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is probably the best Zelda game since that classic. The new Wii Motion Plus controls make the game more realistic and enjoyable. It still isn’t close to OoT as the best Zelda game, but it’s still a Zelda game.

This six song EP by the Decemberists is just bad. I realize this is an “indie” band, but their sound just seems like country music gone bad.

The EP is basically a collection of songs that weren’t good enough for their 2011 album, The King is Dead. Sure, I didn’t listen to every album that was released in 2011, but I don’t see how anything could be much worse.

Saints Row: The Third

Dragon Age II

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two

Nobody ever wants anything to end. That’s why power nerds spend their days writing outlandish fan fiction, because they don’t want it to die. And no one can blame them. Take solace, then, in knowing Harry Potter made a graceful exit.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two

The movie adaptation of the boy wizard we grew up with came to an end in 2011. Potter fans all over the world came to the theater dressed as beloved characters and the film broke a box office record in the U.S. for a midnight premiere, bringing in $43.5 million.

The final showdown between Harry Potter and Voldemort is a thriller.

Captain America: The First Avenger It’s not so much Captain America: The First Avenger that gets the nomination, but rather the couple seconds of teaser for 2012’s Avengers movie. That’s not to say that Captain America wasn’t good. No, it had all the workings of an excellent action movie: fights, chases and Hugo Weaving. A great film in its own, but the Avengers looks to be even better.

For a “forgettable GTA-clone,” Saints Row The Third manages to be incredibly fun. An all-star vocal cast, including Hulk Hogan, adds to the hilarious, over-the-top gameplay and forces people to acknowledge that Saints Row is its own game.

Out of all the games released this year, Dragon Age II (DA2) was by far the worst. After much success with the original, the hype for DA2 was huge. So, instead of great sequel, rabid fans got this: the same dungeons everywhere, awful characters and a terribly simplified story.

Bioware would do well to remember, a little effort goes a long way.

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entertainment | film reviews

Film Reviews Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ·Warner Bros. Pictures · 127 minutes · R photos labeled for commercial reuse

George Smiley (Gary Oldman) conducts interviews in order to uncover a mole in the British Intelligence.

T

inker Tailor Soldier Spy is weird. The beginning is peculiar in its subtlety. It is as hard to follow as the cryptic look on Gary Oldman’s face. It is a cornucopia of puzzled looks on the faces of old men. It is a struggle to understand what was going on as these old men were swimming together in a lake. There’s no James Bond charm expected from a spy movie. It sucks at first but that allows it to reach its polarizing consistency.

This consistency manifests itself in George Smiley (Gary Oldman). He and Control (John Hurt), the head of British Intelligence, are forced to retire in 1973 after a blown operation in Hungary. Later, Smiley is brought out of retirement to find a long-term mole

Editors’ Choice in a senior role in British Intelligence by receiving a tip from agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy). Smiley interviews people who left British Intelligence at around the time that he did and, through his keen deductive reasoning, manages to come to a revelation involving five suspects: “Tinker,” “Tailor,” “Soldier,” “Poorman” and “Beggarman.”

Smiley approaches every situation with a subtle but evident intelligence and mastery that leads him to the truth. The lack of a thrilling atmosphere only adds to the film’s clinical brilliance. The audience knows everything that Smiley knows and it makes him the omniscient storyteller. At the beginning the film is incoherent. It is this

incoherence, however, that leads to ultimate understanding at the end. All character interactions are purposefully toned down to add to the film’s crass nature.

Even romantic affairs are portrayed with this blunt tone. Passionate and strange sex is made to be dull. The only central character that doesn’t look like Larry King is Tarr. The whole film is centered on the nature of the situation rather than the action. Dialogue is important in conveying the richness of the film. The resolution at the end isn’t a character triumph; it’s a revelation of the truth.

The plot is full of flashbacks that, if followed properly, lead to a more layered understanding of the story. Because Smiley interviews to make conclusions, much of the film consists of stories told by the interviewee.

The combination of anecdotes from these interviewees creates a functioning system of logic that adds to the resonance of the film.

The callow feel of the movie is for realism.

Too often are spy movies full of explosions and romance. They milk the perks of the genre with a subpar plot. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy honors the genre by being faithful to the profession. Smiley possesses no extraordinary charm or physique, but triumphs with hard work and intelligence. He overcomes situations by analyzing them, allowing the story to be told with cadence. The movie wins with persistent story-telling through Oldman’s calculated performance.—Onur Eroglu

The Descendants · Fox Searchlight Pictures · 115 Minutes · R There have been a number of films released over the past few years that all follow the similar formula of breaking the Hollywood formula. Instead of consisting of strung-together moments of highoctane drama, the films focus on average people in average situations. Think The Savages or The Squid and the Whale. The director paints the characters with strokes of realism, ditching highly stylized for much simpler, aesthetically

52 | Spark | February 9, 2012

appealing scenes. The Descendants is not only one of the best of these films, but also one of the best movies of the year.

The subject is Matt King (George Clooney), a man who is very good at his business and very bad at being a father and husband. His wife, Elizabeth, is in a coma due to a boating accident, forcing him, for the first time, to not be the “back-up parent” to his two daughters, Scottie and Alex (Amara Miller and Shailene Woodley, respectively), the latter of which informs him of his wife’s affair with another man. On top of that, he’s tasked with the sale of family land that must be sold due to the rule against perpetuities. All in all, he’s just another guy. His life just sucks.

Where The Descendants really succeeds is

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how it takes nothing and makes it entertaining.

It’s similar to Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere in the way that both mostly consist of well-executed dialogue and beautiful cinematography. The former surpasses the latter, however, with the fact that there is at least some conflict between the characters, rather than passive-aggressive glances. This is where the cast truly shines, especially Clooney, who perfectly captures the melancholy and five o’clock shadow.

But the irony of the film is what makes it. Alexander Payne, who also directed 2004’s Sideways, fills the movie with scenes of Hawaii’s lush vegetation, but, in reality, it couldn’t be anything further from heaven.

Matt says it best at the beginning: “Paradise?

Paradise can go f--- itself.”­—Dillon Mitchell

Contraband Universal Pictures 110 Minutes · R

 Director Baltasar Kormákur must have wanted to make some cheap, easy money with Contraband. That must have been all he wanted to do.

The movie, which is based on the 2009 Icelandic film ReykjavíkRotterdam, has A-List actors such as Mark Wahlberg playing Chris Farraday, and Kate Beckinsale as his wife, the appropriately named Kate. Although the talents of these and other actors are superb, it doesn’t make up for the cheesy plot.

The situations in this movie are tacky: Farraday has to go back in the business of smuggling contraband after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), gets into trouble.

Farraday is in danger when time is running out to smuggle the goods back into the United States, which puts his wife and kids on the line. As if people have never seen anything like this before.

The movie begins with a corny police chase where boats, helicopters and numerous cut scenes that have been seen countless times before make an appearance. To sum up the rest of the movie, it consists of chase scenes similar to movies like Rush Hour or The Fast and the Furious, crash scenes and explosions straight out of a Michael Bay movie, and a couple of “shocking” plot twists that have been seen before in numerous other movies.

The side of clichéd gunfire and deaths make this movie duller. Even the romantic scenes aren’t up to par. They’re like Hallmark cards, meant to be nice, but the intention is to make easy money.

Action movies nowadays are like firstperson shooters: low-quality, easy to profit from, and each with a stoned audience to easily manipulate. These situations in movies are so stereotypical. It looks like Universal Pictures just copy and pasted the plot from another action movie, cut out the cast from that movie, and then photoshopped Wahlberg and the rest of the cast members into the film.

The only thing that is actually contraband about this film is the way Universal Pictures is getting dirty money from the public by charging people to see this horrible atrocity.— Rahul Mukherjee

Joyful Noise· Warner Bros · 118 Minutes · PG-13 In a genre that’s been locked in Tyler Perry’s basement by his monopoly on cliché empowerment, Joyful Noise, is able to find its footing as a heartwarming movie against the ungodly Madea and the obnoxious Brown family. But while the film is as endearing as it is funny, it lacks any serious components, and by the final tune ends up expressing about as much genuine feeling as Dolly Parton has in her face.

The film follows Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) and G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton) as they attempt to lead their small-town Georgia church choir to the finals of the Joyful Noise competition, a large gospel competition where all that seems to be at stake is a small trophy. The main focus of the film, however, lies in the love affair between Vi’s pious, straight-edged daughter, Olivia (Kiki Palmer) and G.G.’s big-city grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordon). This age-old tale is retold but its simplistic beauty is muddled by the numerous

arbitrary subplots thrown together.

A woman accidentally killing a man with intense intercourse and a nameless character losing his job at a hardware store are random, if not pointless, and leave the viewer wondering whether they’re even watching a movie. It also flips from character to character so much it’s hard to remember their names.

Character development is another issue.

While there are attempts at making characters well-rounded, none of them really succeed.

Randy is supposed to be a “throw caution to the wind” kind of guy, yet he is the most compassionate character in the movie while Olivia, his supposedly loving counterpart, is about as apathetic as an DMV employee .

But its musical numbers, sentimental moments and hilarious jokes make up for the confusion. Moments such as G.G. crooning a tear-jerking ballad to her deceased husband making an appearance to waltz her for the last time, make the film lovable.

Joyful Noise is a fresh idea in an old mold.

Its lack of storytelling and bland characters is troublesome, but scenes like Randy bonding with Vi’s handicapped son over the piano or Olivia reconnecting with her mother reveal the love and faith that the film’s simplistic presentation translates.—Chris Bowling

Man on a Ledge Summit Entertainment · 102 Minutes · PG-13

Man on a Ledge is about a man, Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), who stands on the ledge of the 25th floor of a New York City skyscraper for a really, really long time. In fact, the majority of the film’s 102 minutes consist of him threatening to jump off this ledge. That’s such a long time to be watching someone on a ledge that, by the end of the movie, viewers almost wish he’d just get on with it already.

But falling to his death isn’t exactly what he has in mind. Cassidy, a former cop turned fugitive, takes on this risky stunt to prove that he was framed for the theft of businessman David Englander’s (Ed Harris) rare diamond.

The man on this ledge grabs the attention of the media and pedestrians down below as everyone waits for a jump. A police negotiator, Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), is sent to talk Cassidy out of it, but little does she know that this is all a ploy by him and his brother, Joey (Jamie Bell), to clear his name. While Nick has





the easy job of waiting around on the ledge, his brother and his girlfriend, Angie (Genesis Rodriguez), try to break into Englander’s vault and help prove his brother’s innocence.

The film’s acting is average for an action thriller. But it is odd that Sam Worthington, who starred in the world’s highest grossing film in the world, Avatar, picked up a role like playing Nick Cassidy. Worthington’s success has earned him the right to be selective. He doesn’t need movies like Man on a Ledge just to keep him busy.

The first 45 minutes on the ledge seems to drag on without much happening as the main character manages to side-step only a few feet during the first half of the movie. There’s a lot of waiting around in this film. Cassidy waiting for his secret plan with his brother to unfold, New Yorkers waiting to see a man fall to his death, and a film audience waiting for a little action.

With all this waiting in the first half of the movie, the climax better be worth the wait.

And for the most part, it is worth the wait.

If the rest of the film was as entertaining as the last 10 minutes, this would be a great movie. But the thing is, a ledge can only keep an audience on the edge of their seat for so long.—Christian Roehm

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 53

sports | feature

Doing it

story hannah lee photos mandi ellsworth infographic natasha rausch

East varsity wrestler Austin Daly may be watching his weight in order to reign supreme in the 113-pound weight class, but he undermines the importance of individual and team-based teamwork as the Thunderhawks quickly rise to the top four in the city.

T

he song “My Time” by Fabulous blasts through his headphones. He paces the hallway outside of the locker room.

He wipes the sweat off his hands onto his black and white singlet as he makes his way to the mat. His eyes follow the floor, his newly-dried hands stay at his side, and his head gear covers his ears to minimize distractions. He is in the zone.

The referee stands back after the competitors shake hands on the mat. The whistle blows and they are at it, pacing in a circle at first, then suddenly, a dive is attempted. The No. 1 varsity East wrestler in the 113 pound weight class, junior Austin Daly, falls to his knees in order to avoid the grab directed at his feet by Fairfield wrestler Greyson Barden. Barden touts a 17-4 record and is one of Daly’s most threatening foes.

Suddenly, Daly unleashes his signature move, a single leg sweep.

The referee signals a takedown for two points. The crowd goes wild.

After what seems like the three longest two-minute rounds, Daly is named victorious with a 7-2 win.

“He is one of my toughest opponents,” says Daly, who holds a 24-7 varsity record. “It was a really big deal for me to beat him.”

Daly’s parents could not have been more proud. His father sprinted down the bleachers to high five his ecstatic son, who was beginning to run in circles in order cool down after his match.

“My parents are the most supportive people in my life,” Daly says.

“They come to every one of my sporting events, even the ones out of town. My brothers, David and Kenneth, are also very supportive.

They ask for constant updates on my matches.”

Not only did Daly reign victorious in his strenuous match against Barden, but the Thunderhawks pulled together as a team to achieve a 33-23 win. Ranked fourth in the city, the East wrestling team has built up its program with strong athletes and supportive fans. The team, 8-2 this season, hopes to rank even higher as the season progresses, according to varsity head coach Jim Lehman.

“At this moment we are fourth in the city, but we definitely have the opportunity [to rank even higher],” Lehman says. “Moeller is clearly number one, but anywhere from two to four is wide open between us, Mason, Loveland and Fairfield.”

Even though every match has its importance, Lehman realizes when the wrestling counts the most. He and his team are preparing for postseason tournaments, rather than next week’s dual match.

“It’s not so much preparing for this match, because this match is no different than any other match,” Lehman says. “Everything is preparing for the end of the year, the districts and state. That is our goal. I train the kids throughout the season purely in preparation for the end of the season and to peak at that time.”

Daly Daly has helped lead his teammates in this preparation with his commitment, accomplishments and positive attitude. His teammates look up to him because of his success and dedication, as he placed third at districts, qualifying for the state tournament. “[Daly] is a great kid. He is committed to wrestling and loves wrestling,” Lehman says. “He wrestles year round and is successful, qualifying for the state tournament as a sophomore. At this moment he is the highest accomplished on our team because of his state qualification.”

In addition to Daly’s commitment and success, his attitude brings the team closer and helps make practice become something more than just training. “[Daly] is fun to be around,” East senior varsity wrestler Jacob Landers says. “He comes in excited to be there and he always goes out there and gives it all he’s got and he normally ends up winning.”

Daly’s dedication and success is not limited to the East team.

He wrestles off season in the Thunderhawk Freestyle Club and the Team Ohio National Freestyle Team in which he has the opportunity to travel for two weeks during the summer, while attending various wrestling tournaments. The team stays at St. Edwards, Cleveland for a week and then travels to the University of Wisconsin. From there they go to Fargo, North Dakota for nationals.

The national team is no walk on. In order to make the Team Ohio National Freestyle Team, one must qualify at the state or regional freestyle tournament. The team has a week-long training camp with some of the best coaches in the nation. Daly gets to wrestle against the top wrestlers in the country, giving him an advanced level of practice, and it calls for an enormous amount of time to be committed.

Because Team Ohio is not a free-for-all team that utilizes allexpense paid trips, Daly’s parents suggested that he pay for part of the fee and they would pay what he could not cover.

“It costs $875 and he has to raise all the money. Of course what he doesn’t raise we pay but he actually worked for donations this year,” Austin’s mom Robin Daly says. “In the summer, we put up signs and the neighbors hire him to mulch and do lawns. It was really nice to see him work for it instead of just asking for donations.”

Because of Austin’s hectic schedule and schoolwork, he has not been able to get a job. Although his parents wish he could work to see the value of a dollar, Austin’s parents understand that wrestling is really his job.

“All my other boys always worked. They didn’t do all of this offside wrestling. I always tell [my husband] David I hope Austin doesn’t get ruined by this, not knowing what a paycheck is,” Robin says. “That is why I came up with the working for donations. It is

East wrestler Austin Daly charges his Lakota West opponent on Jan. 26.

funny because sometimes people pay him more just because they know him. They write him off almost 40 bucks for mowing a lawn because they wanted to help him.”

Austin brings back the experiences he witnesses on his National team and helps make his teammates better. The team he wrestles with at East has been together for quite some time. Wrestling in the East club around the age of six, all the boys grew up wrestling with each other and are fairly close. The No. 4 ranking that the East wrestling program has achieved did not just happen—the boys worked for it.

“What is funny is Lehman has really been teaching [Austin] since he was six years old,” Robin says. “We have known him for years. As a team knowing each other for so many years has made a difference and they trust each other. They have great team bonding.”

During the season, the wrestling team is like Austin’s second family.

He spends a vast amount of time with the boys on and off the mats.

“In wrestling for numerous years, I have made a lot of friends,” says Austin who defeated his Lakota West opponent in a dual match

with a 3-0 decision on Jan. 26, contributing to a 43-20 victory. “My teammates are basically my family during the season. We have team dinners after our matches at Taco Bell, Twin Dragon, Five Guys and other delicious places.”

In wrestling, the team aspect is different than in soccer or basketball. Wrestling is mostly an individual sport, but the team is affected as a whole based on each individual match.

“Wrestling is a mixture of a team sport and an individual sport,” says Austin, who beat his Mason and Moeller opponents during their last Super Tri Match, contributing to the Thunderhawks’ victory on Jan. 28. “When wrestling, wrestlers tend to think of it as more individual. However, in the back of their heads, they [know they] have to try to score more points for the team’s score.”

Austin’s individual accomplishments affect the team just as much as any other team member’s match. When Austin has a match, he has to stay confident and mentally prepared for the match in order to give his team the best chance of winning.

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 55

sports | feature “No one is out there to pass you the ball. When you lose, it is all you,” Robin says. “It is such a mental game. If you go out there thinking you are going to lose, you are going to lose. That is the hardest thing to overcome. You have to be confident and Austin, [being] the youngest of three boys, has the confidence and doesn’t like to lose. He doesn’t give up.”

Because wrestling is also an individual sport, individual players can qualify for state rather than only the team. Only three wrestlers have qualified for state under Lehman: Ryan Miller, Daniel Canfield, and Austin. For Austin, qualifying for state was a huge accomplishment because it had been a family goal for years.

“It has always been a goal for all of us to get one of the boys to state,” Austin’s dad David says. “There was kind of a drought in the East program to go to state so when [Austin] got that last year that was a big deal.”

As for this year, the goal is not only to qualify for state, but place at state. In order to achieve this goal, his family is always there supporting him.

“We come to every single [match], no matter where or when they are,” Robin says. “In fact, we didn’t show up for a scrimmage and one of the boys said, ‘Gosh are your parents sick?’ I thought, ‘Huh, maybe

East varsity wrestler Austin Daly is named the victor in a dual match vs. Lakota West on Jan. 26.

“No one is out there to pass you the ball. When you lose it is all you.”

we do go to too many.’ When we had a senior and a freshman wrestling we were torn two different ways, but with Austin being our last, he is the only one left we have to watch.”

A whistle sounds. Austin’s hand is raised as he stands in the center of the ring on the mat and is ceremonially named victor. He shakes his opponent’s hand as well as the opposing team’s coaches’ and returns to his bench full of congratulations from his teammates.

After a long walk down the line of hands held up for high fives, the sweatshirt slides over his head, and the six minute jogging period begins as Austin starts his cool down routine. n

Positions for the PIN

Inside Leg Standup

While there are dozens of legal and effective wrestling moves available in a successful high school wrestler’s arsenal, Austin Daly has a few moves that are his favorite to use. infographic natasha rausch

Neutral

Single Leg Takedown

Facing each other, the two wrestlers begin three feet apart, and the referee signals with one hand motion to begin the match.

With an opponent on top, it is easy to escape by using this position. Step up with your inside leg in order to take control of the position.

Head and Arm information www.isport.com

This position allows a wrestler to take control of his opponent by grabbing one of his legs.

56 | Spark | February 9, 2012

This position can happen while standing or while on the floor. One of the wrestlers wraps his arm around the other wrestler’s neck.

sports | column

Brett Colburn

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

FORGETTING FEMALES

contact brett at bcolburn@fuse.net

L

ast year’s East vs. Lakota West boys’ basketball game was chaos.

Every section of the bleachers was filled, and people stacked the balconies to the point where breathing became problematic. Fans were literally “hanging from the rafters.” The game itself was a blowout, to say it kindly, as the Hawks decimated the Firebirds 74-34.

Fast forward to this season’s East vs. Princeton girls’ basketball game; the rafters had no purpose for hanging, and breathing was by no means a challenge. With a student section that a pre-schooler would be able to count, the gym was exceptionally quiet. Sophomore point guard Kelsey Mitchell, who is a University of Connecticut full-ride scholarship recipient and No. 1 rated player in her class, lit up the Hawks with 29 points, six more than the 23.3 per game she has averaged this season. And the East girls’ team has the best senior class of any sport that this school has seen in its 15 years of existence.

This was a phenomenal back-andforth game that went down to the wire. East trailed most of the way, but made a tremendous comeback to take a late lead, and the only cheers came from the parents. Princeton ended up taking the game late and winning 7063. Yet, the crowd could have been counted without taking off any shoes.

The lack of respect for the girls’ sports at East, and all around the country, is astonishing. Women’s sports have seemed to have taken a back seat, while the men’s sports always ride shotgun. The Lady Hawks basketball team has been one of the best in the state for the last two seasons, going a combined 29-11.

The crowd size and fan support, however, continues to stay consistently low. The perception of women’s sports around the school is that they simply are not interesting; however, the talent level and games I’ve seen out of the East girls alone is nothing short of impressive.

This same perception is not restricted to just in East, the Greater Miami Conference, or even the state of Ohio. The entire nation has shown that women’s sports are not as important as men’s. In professional sports in particular, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has an average player salary of a whopping $5.15 million, compared to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) having a maximum team salary cap of just $878,000 in 2012. The average attendance for an NBA basketball game for the 2010-11 season was just over 17,000 per game, while the WNBA average per game was less than half of that.

Even the casual sports fans can name men’s professionals and ignore the high school star in their area, but if asked, those same fans most likely would not know the difference between Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi and Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker.

One of the best athletes to ever walk the halls of East was basketball stud James Dews. He was a Nike All-American out of high school and went to the University of Miami (FL) on a basketball scholarship,

then proceeded to play professionally in Israel. Many students fail to remember that Brooke Wyckoff was the East version of three-sport athlete Jim Thorpe. She was a USA Today basketball All-American and set a Lakota record with an outstanding 350 career blocks. The blocks accumulated by other members of the top 10 combined do not exceed the mark that Wyckoff set. She then packed her bags and took her talents to Florida State University on a full-ride basketball scholarship. She went on to set multiple records as a Seminole, and was selected 29th overall by the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle in the 2001 draft.

Dews was indeed a star athlete, but Wyckoff was nothing short of a superstar in high school and beyond. Even today, Wyckoff is making her mark as an assistant coach at her alma mater Florida State.

During a baseball practice last year, I was dripping sweat while running sprints around the top of the gym, when James Dews came onto the floor to shoot hoops with some friends. Students hanging out on Main Street proceeded to come in and sit in the bleachers to watch him chuck three pointers from beyond the volleyball line with ease. They watched him rip the nets from under the banner hanging in the gym in his honor. Brooke Wyckoff, however, was an assistant coach for the girls’ team for the last two seasons, yet the few people who were actually at the game would ask “Who is that?” and “Where did she come from?” She hasn’t received the honor that she deserves, and continues to be known as “that one assistant coach.”

Wyckoff is just as reputable as Dews, if not even more so.

So while Wyckoff played in the WNBA, Dews graced courts overseas.

While the East girls’ varsity cross country team sent two runners to the state meet this past year and the boys were knocked out in the regional round, the improving boys’ team received the recognition. And while the girls’ varsity tennis team repeated as GMC champions and sent the same representative to the state tournament for her third straight year, parents and teammates were the only ones driving to Columbus to watch her.

This just shows the disparity in respect for the men’s game compared to the women’s. The fact that the greatest athlete in East’s history is virtually unknown is nothing less than absurd. The support shown to boys’ games is great and should continue, but the same support should be shown to the girls’ games. Maybe there could be too many students to count, or at least enough to use your toes. n

Women’s sports have seemed to have taken a back seat, while the men’s sports always ride shotgun.

Spark High Lakota East n Online Editio

School

Go online to read what John Grasty thinks about shot clocks in high school basketball and what Brett Colburn thinks about steroids at www.lakotaeastspark.com

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East junior Rob Harpring dribbles past a Princeton defender in the teams’ Jan. 27 contest.

story jenn shafer East sophomore Abdul Bah takes on a Viking. Princeton beat the Hawks 63-39.

story jenn shafer

photo jeff back

23 57 3 1540 8.67 Points by which East wrestling beat Lakota West wrestling on Jan. 26.

Percentage of East students who favor Nike sportswear over other brands.

Freshman starting varsity for the boys’ basketball team.

East junior gymnast Annie Davis attempts a jump during the beam event of the Jan. 28 Lakota East Invitational. story brett colburn

photo nick kanaly

photo nick kanaly

amount of frames bowled by the East bowling team on the year.

East senior Aleth Pashi makes her way to the hoop against the Indians. East won 56-30.

Fewer points per game that the varsity girls’ basketball team scores without Whitney Wyckoff in the line-up.

story whitney whilms

2

East senior Molly Blomer drives past a Fairfield Indians defender in the teams’ Jan. 25 game.

Varsity basketball players the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have lost to ACL tears.

GMC TICKER

photo nick kanaly

NUMBERS

LINES photo nick kanaly

BY THE

OUTSIDE THE

Scan this QR Code with a smartphone to access sports stories and game coverage throughout the winter season on our website: lakotaeastspark.com.

story whitney whilms

l Taylor Alden – Putters athlete of the week

l Jessika Hall – Second in 200 yard I.M.

Outfitting the Thunderhawks As East’s sports teams continue to get new gear, Spark takes a look into what the athletes sport. story kaitlin lange photo nick kanaly

H

is eyes are filled with intense focus as his squeaking shoes harmonize with the melodic thumping of the basketball hitting the gym floor. The crowd cheers loudly as he shuffles to the right past his defender. Sweat gleams on his neck and it drips onto his white Nike uniform.

His shoes show off the Nike swoosh as his feet dance lightly to the left and he catches the ball. He quickly switches directions and pushes past his defender, dribbling his way to the net. Add music and the catchy “Just do it” motto and varsity boys’ basketball player junior Austin Emrick could very well be in a Nike commercial.

In Emrick’s current uniform, he is not held back; his movements can be free without the restraint of a heavy uniform. According to Emrick, the varsity basketball uniforms, currently in their second year of use, are noticeably better than their old uniforms.

“Nike is so much better,” Emrick says. “I like our ones this year so much better than our JV jerseys. They are more comfortable and you can breathe better in them. The ones last year were pretty heavy.”

East athletic director Richard Bryant agrees with Emrick on the quality of the Nike basketball uniforms, but for a different reason.

When using other jerseys, a common problem athletic teams have is that numbers peel off of them. With the basketball team’s Nike uniforms, this shouldn’t be a problem due to the letter being basically embedded into the fabric. Emrick’s and the rest of the team’s jerseys should last longer and be able to withstand more of a beating than other types of jerseys.

The East varsity cross country team also competes in Nike uniforms.

The East boys’ basketball team gets pumped up for their game against Princeton in their new Nike uniforms.

Varsity cross country runner junior Matt Rice feels the Nike cross country uniforms are superior to other brands. Similar to the basketball uniforms, the cross country uniforms are light and make running easier.

“Nike has pretty good quality,” Rice says. “They know what they are doing when it comes to running stuff.”

Nike could not be reached for comment to elaborate on the quality of their products.

Although quality is important, fashion seems to play a key role in why athletes and coaches at East like Nike.

While head cross country coach Adam Thomas does not think his team’s running ability is affected by Nike, he remains a Nike fan because of the brand’s design.

“Nike usually comes out with designs that are totally different than everybody else’s,” Thomas says. “Usually about a year after Nike comes out with it, then everybody else starts coming out with it, so they’re just ahead of the game.”

Spark

High School Lakota East Online Edition

Story continued at www.lakotaeastspark.com

HAWK CULTURE

I A look into the lives of East athletes and coaches infographic sydney aten

Laurel Casteel VARSITY WRESTLING

Jordan Combs BOWLING

Daniel Robbins ACADEMIC QUIZ TEAM

Kendra Thomas VARSITY CHEERLEADING

Sunny Bloomberg VARSITY SWIMMING/DIVING

Wally Vickers MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

My worst habit is...?

PROCRASTINATING

POPPING KNUCKLES

PROCRASTINATING

BEING LATE

PROCRASTINATING

STRESS EATING

Nike or Under Armour?

NIKE

NIKE

UNDER ARMOUR

NIKE

UNDER ARMOUR

NIKE

Tim Tebow is...?

NOT GOOD

BLESSED

DEVOTED

ATHLETIC

INSPIRATIONAL

A WINNING QUARTERBACK

Last movie I saw...?

MUPPETS CHRISTMAS CAROL

CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

COURAGEOUS

AVATAR

FRIGHT NIGHT

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

Valentine’s Day is...?

A WASTE OF MONEY

POINTLESS

LOVELY

SWEET

NOT A REAL HOLIDAY

l Girls’ Basketball – ranked third in the GMC

OVERRATED

l Jacob Landers – second in 120-lb weight class

sports | feature

The

Sisterhood of Success

East senior Whitney Wyckoff averaged 12.5 points per game last season, fifth highest in the Greater Miami Conference.

Follow a slew of uber-successful siblings, and the comparisons will be inevitable. Whitney Wyckoff, the Yalebound prodigy is nothing if not thankful for the older sister that reveres her.

story drew souders | infographics tommy behan and jill monson photos used with the permission of the wyckoff family

W

hen 14-year-old Brooke Wyckoff first learned that her mother was pregnant with her future sister, she did not run up to give her a hug. There was no excited shout of “Congratulations!” or happy laughter that typically accompanies pregnancy announcements.

Brooke cried.

“When my mom got pregnant with Whitney I was a freshman in high school and for some reason I was so embarrassed about it,” Brooke says.

“I felt too old to have a baby sister and I equated more siblings with less things for me and even more chaos in the house.”

Although her developing talent as a basketball player for Lakota High School was already turning heads in the community, Brooke had some serious competition for attention in the household. She already had four younger siblings, Jamie, Jeffrey, Ali and Scott, who had demonstrated their athletic abilities at a young age. But the pregnancy went as planned, and Brooke was forced to adapt to the idea of adding one more member to the family.

“I’ll never forget where I was when I got the news that my mom was in labor with Whitney,” Brooke says. “I had just come home from a weekend away with my best friend’s family and there was a message on her answering machine from my dad. I got to the hospital as soon as I could and we spent all the rest of the day and the night waiting for her arrival, but she was definitely worth the wait. I was the first to hold her and we have had a special bond ever since.”

60 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Before Whitney had the chance to celebrate her fourth birthday, Brooke had already become an accomplished athlete. The six-foot-one post player averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game her senior season, along with four blocks and five assists per game. Her talent earned her recognition as All-Greater Miami Conference (GMC) First Team and Butler County Player of the Year for three consecutive years, as well as two years on the All-Ohio First Team. After her high school season ended, Brooke turned down an offer from Harvard University, who wanted her for her superior academics as well as her athletic abilities, and committed to Florida State University (FSU) on a full-ride athletic scholarship.

But at the time, Whitney knew none of this.

“When she was in college I was four, five and six, so I don’t think I really understood that she was super good and that she got to play for free at college,” Whitney says. “I just knew that she was on a basketball team and that everyone thought it was cute that I was on the basketball team.”

The same year that Whitney played her first competitive basketball game in the local third-grade Thunderbirds league, Brooke made another huge step in her career. Whitney watched from home as her sister, who had earned recognition as All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team during her senior season, was drafted to the Orlando Miracle as the 26th overall selection in the 2001 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) 2001 draft.

In 2003, Whitney graduated from the Thunderbirds and joined her first Amateur Athletic Association (AAU) team, the Eagles, under coach Floyd Brewer. Brooke became one of the first members of the Connecticut Sun, after the Miracle changed names and moved away from Florida. When Brooke was traded to the Chicago Sky in 2006 ,Whitney was starting her first season as a seventh grader for Hopewell Junior School. Just two years after the youngest Wyckoff had earned a spot on the East varsity team as a freshman in 2008, Brooke was on her way out of the WNBA, and came full circle when she decided to take the position of the Lady Hawks’ assistant coach.

The sister’s age difference had once again put them in an unusual situation—Brooke became her younger sibling’s coach after being hired by womens’ basketball varsity head coach Nikki Drew.

While coach-player relationships have been known to cause problems between family members, Whitney says that she actually enjoyed being able to play under her sister during her sophomore and junior year at East.

“I know that when some people’s dads coach them it’s annoying and they don’t want to listen, but I liked it a lot,” Whitney says. “Everyone liked her because she was young and knew what she was talking about. She had been in our shoes, and not only that, but more recently than a normal coach.”

Drew also enjoyed having Brooke as an assistant and a friend. But having Whitney to coach has made Drew’s experience even better.

“You are not going to find better people to surround your self with [than the Wyckoffs],” Drew says. “They are very hard working, humble and good natured. Both of them feel very much like a family to me and I do not know what I will do when [Whitney] leaves me. It was not easy letting go of Brooke.”

East senior and starting point guard Aleth Pashi says that she didn’t see any of the tension between the two sisters that can be expected from family members in that position.

“They’re really close. You can tell that if Whitney had a question she would have no trouble asking, and Brooke had no trouble criticizing Whitney,” says Pashi, who scored ten points in the GMC season opening 74-33 victory over the Fairfield Indians. “Even though she’s her sister, she didn’t treat her just like she’s her sister. She treated her like everyone else.”

After two short seasons with the Lady Hawks, in which Brooke and head coach Nikki Drew led the team to its first state Elite Eight appearance in program history, Brooke was offered an assistant coaching position at her alma mater, FSU.

But while Brooke made the next step in her career, her youngest sister hit a major hitch. During East’s fifth game of the 2011-12 season against Oak Hills, Whitney’s knee buckled as she was coming down with a rebound.

“I was coming down and there were other people around me,” Whitney says. “My knee just kind of collapsed and snapped back out.”

After doing a few quick tests, East trainers initially believed that the Hawks leading scorer had torn her meniscus and would be back on the court in a few weeks. Whitney, however, says that she knew from the beginning that her condition was more serious.

“Usually if you hear or feel a pop you know you tore [your ACL], and I didn’t really hear it. But stuff in my knee was grinding,” she says. “I had an appointment earlier that day just for the doctor to see me, and he was feeling it and testing it and said ‘Well basically how you’re describing how you did it, there’s a pretty good chance that you tore something.’ But he couldn’t tell. I went back to the doctor’s office that same day for my MRI. At that point I was hoping that it wasn’t [my ACL], but I feel like I knew. When the doctor called me I could hear it in his voice.’”

The doctor informed Whitney that she had torn her ACL, and that she would have to sit out the rest of her senior season.

During the only four games the youngest Wyckoff would play in 2012, Whitney put up numbers that could rival her eldest sister’s senior season. At shooting guard she averaged 13.3 points, four rebounds and two assists per game, compared to Brooke’s averages of 14 points and four blocks. Even without their starting guard, the Hawks’ varsity squad features seven seniors on the roster, three of whom have been playing together on the varsity team since their freshman season. With a deep bench and new assistant coach Larry Sikes, who played on the Boston Celtics in 2005-06, the team will look to go even deeper into the state tournament this year. East senior Molly Blomer, who earned her first double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Indians, says that the team has aspirations to win GMC’s and bring home a state championship.

Whitney has been the leading scorer for the Hawks ever since her sophomore year on the varsity team. During the 2010-11 season she started 24 out of 25 games and averaged 12.2 points and five rebounds.

Whitney’s hard work on the court is mirrored in the classroom.

Earning a 4.5 grade point average and ranked as the fourth student in the class of 2012, she has already committed to play at Yale University after graduating from East.

“I think Whitney will have a profound impact on Yale and Yale will have a profound impact on her,” says Yale head coach Chris Gobrecht,

“When I was younger, I just knew that [Brooke] was on a basketball team and that everyone thought it was cute that I was on the basketball team.”

information wyckoff family

Watching the Wyckoffs Whitney 1994

Brooke

1997

2001 2001

sports | feature

A Closer Look

Male

Female

Troublesome Q-angle: - Greater angle in females than in males.

- Causes greater stress on knee, due to torsion.

- Makes quadriceps pull on the patella, encouraging displacement of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

- Causes the feet to be more pointed and flattened decreasing shock absorption

A Womanly Twist -Menstruation increases joint weakness.

-Four to six times more likely to be injured than males.

Quadriceps femoris muscle angle (Q angle)

Articular cartilage

Torn ACL Patella (knee cap) Medial collateral ligament

Medial meniscus

Lateral collateral ligament

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Posterior cruciate ligament

Fibula

Tibia

3 Ways ACL Injury Occurs: Over-extend knee-joint

62 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Get hit hard to side of the knee

Stop suddenly and change direction while running

information orthoinfo.aaos.org and dynamicchiropractic.com

Femur

who was the same coach who recruited Brooke to FSU in 1997. “She is so bright and talented but also very humble and considerate. Whitney will help our team immediately because of her basketball IQ and her commitment to defense.”

According to Whitney, her injury will have no effect on her ability to play in college.

“It was good timing as far as that goes. I’m not getting a scholarship for basketball because they don’t give out those scholarships, so regardless I would be fine,” Whitney says. “But it’s good because I’ll be ready by June.”

Back when she was deciding what she wanted to do after high school, Brooke was put in a similar situation. Despite making a different choice than her younger sister in deciding to turn down an offer to play for an Ivy League School, Harvard, and accepting a scholarship to FSU, Brooke says that she could not be prouder of Whitney’s ability to make the tough decision.

“I felt a particular connection to the decision because I had been through the same thing myself in terms of wanting to go somewhere to play basketball,” Brooke says. “Whitney is so gifted academically, it was extremely important that she go somewhere that fully maximized her potential in that area as well. When Yale came into the picture I was immediately convinced that it would be ideal for her, but [Whitney] was smart and took her time to weigh everything and make sure she made the right decision.”

Despite her sister’s success in the WNBA, Whitney says that her competitive basketball career will end after her four years with the Bulldogs. This being true, she stresses that her decision to move on from basketball will not affect her play while in college.

“In high school I’ve felt the pressure like ‘I’ve got to work hard, I have to get to be able to play college basketball,’” Whitney says. “There’s not going to be that next level but that’s not really going to change how I play or how I feel about basketball.”

Although their two daughters have taken very similar paths in their athletic careers, their parents Blair and Mike Wyckoff say that they have very distinct personalities.

“I just remember Brooke being up in her room and she would be on the phone, the music blasting, laying on the floor just everything a total disastrous mess. She’d still get it done, but didn’t have to put in as much time,” Blair says. “Whitney is usually sitting quietly at her desk, everything’s in order, and she works longer hours.”

Brooke, who played in Spain for eight seasons and now holds the position of assistant coach of one of the top women’s basketball programs in the country, says that she cannot compete.

“Whitney is the star of our family without question,” Brooke says.

“Even though she is the youngest, all of us look up to and admire her.

I’m so thankful that she is my little sister.” n

Brooke Wyckoff grips the rim while holding her herself off the ground as a senior in high school.

Committed to play at Yale on a full-ride.

Tore her ACL, benching her for the rest of her senior season at East 2003

2007 2006

2008

2011 2011

opinion | columns

Laura Shrake STAFF WRITER

CHEATING TO SUCCESS

contact laura at lks2012@gmail.com

C

onversations in East’s hallways are shocking.

As one student complains about the amount of homework she has, another advises her without hesitation to “look up the worksheet online and copy down all the answers.”

I had a glimpse of hope as the girl replies, “Well yeah, but then when the test comes, I’ll fail it!” My vision of hope for students’ ethics was destroyed, however, when the other student replies, “Well then just cheat! I cheat on every test.”

Of 494 East students surveyed, 65 percent have either cheated, or know someone who has cheated and was not caught doing so.

Cheating has become so commonplace with today’s students that society is unable to define the standards for a “successful” person.

Over the past 50 years, the concept of cheating has become a casual, passing conversation in the hallway. Almost anyone can be found guilty of cheating in some way. The word cheating, however, has taken on several definitions. Previously, cheating was loosely defined as copying someone else’s work in a testing situation. Today, it can be interpreted as anything from copying homework, collaborating on an individual assignment, or cheating on a test, to more serious offenses such as plagiarism or fraudulent testing procedures.

According to the Educational Testing Service (ETS), about 20 percent of college students in the 1940s reported having cheated. Today, a staggering 75-98 percent admitted to cheating at some point in their educational career, and 95 percent of those who cheated were not caught.

Granted, it is debatable whether or not someone is a “cheater.” A smart, hardworking student who is taking a difficult AP Calculus test could “cheat” by storing a lengthy, easily forgettable equation in their calculator. On the other end of the extreme, a student could receive a picture of the test from a fellow student who has already taken the examination. Both have technically “cheated,” but on completely different ends of the spectrum.

Heaven

editorial cartoon mandi ellsworth

Maybe we should’ve left the other half!

22 23 ber

Decem

On one end, a student “cheats” even though he or she studied for the test, but didn’t want to risk forgetting the information. On the other end, a student does not study a single minute for the test on which they cheated. Nonetheless, cheating in any sense of the word is still cheating, and is still redefining today’s ideas of success. And more importantly, of students’ morals and ethics.

My definition of success could be questioned based on the current definition of studying. I have resorted to reading a book on SparkNotes and prayed to pass the test the next day. I have copied someone else’s homework in times of desperate need, along with 67 percent of those surveyed in an ETS poll. I have collaborated with friends on homework assignments that were intended to be individual. By these confessions, I am a cheater.

Perhaps students cheat because of the pressure to get a good grade in every class, no matter the level of difficulty. Instead of learning the content for the sake of retention, and later application, students cheat for the sake of the grade.

According to an ETS poll, 80 percent of the country’s best students cheated their way to the top of their class.

With this statistic, America’s standard of a successful person is rapidly changing. The person with the best transcripts and highest grades get into the best universities. The person who graduated from the university held in the highest regard is more likely to get the better, higher paying job.

But success is not about getting into the college of your dreams or getting the job. It is about what you get out of your education and occupation. Success, despite its stipulated definition in today’s society, is having the balance of knowledge and actual understanding of a concept, rather than the grade on a piece of paper to show for our forged work.

Because apparently, the grade on paper is often not that of our own doing. n excerpt from “A Day Far From Tomorrow” A 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean caused a devastating 50-foot tsunami that killed and displaced 150,000 people on Dec. 26, 2004. No one predicted that.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Oct. 23, 2011, with another earthquake of 5.7 magnitude shortly afterward on Nov. 9.

They didn’t appear on the forecast.

But the future Apocalypse has.

On Dec. 21, 2012, the world is going to end. An asteroid will hit or the overdue Yellowstone super volcano will erupt or Planet X will get too close to the earth and mess with the tidal system. For all we know, zombies will rise out of their graves and feed on the brains of billions of human beings. The possibilities are endless.

opinion online

column nugeen aftab

64 | Spark | February 9, 2012

Spark

High School Lakota East Online Edition

lakotaeastspark.com

Tommy Behan WEBMASTER

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

T

contact tommy at tom.behan730@gmail.com

he first time I read The Hobbit was in third grade. I remember losing Education needs to be reformed in Ohio. The state’s current system myself in the depths of Moria, the goblin and balrog stronghold for school funding is flat funding, a process where the state distributes in the Misty Mountains. a set amount of money to school districts, but does not modify it This is when my alter ego began. After finishing The Hobbit and The regardless of the changing size of the district.

Lord of the Rings trilogy for a second time, I began my fanatical streak of It is clearly not working. Yet flat funding continues to function collecting action figures, comic books and even encyclopedias. At the throughout the state, ultimately destroying big districts like Lakota and time I was reluctant to admit it, but I was obsessed. even Mason. Rather than targeting teachers for cuts, everyone needs to So when my eighth grade Language Arts teacher decided we were pitch in and address the problem at a state level by changing funding, so going to read The Hobbit as part of the curriculum, I was ecstatic. When the problem is tackled head-on and the financial burden of Lakota and she passed out the paperback to the class, I could barely contain myself. the community is lessened.

I could not wait to read it, spew information and rattle off statistics Teachers in Lakota have already contributed in a magnanimous way. about various battles in front of the class in an effort to impress my peers By agreeing to teach an extra period each school day this year, without and my teacher. But after day one, I found the experience humbling. My extra pay, educators have once again shown their worth and willingness teacher’s game plan was different than what to compromise for the betterment of students.

I expected. Instead of mere plot summary More credit and faith should be put into teachers we dissected the book through thoughtin the district and across the country because provoking discussion about themes and “STUDENTS, THE FUTURE they are willing to do what it takes to provide a motifs. quality education, even if it means more work When I read The Hobbit again in eighth LEADERS OF AMERICA, WOULD and less money. grade, I got the most out of the book. My NOT BE ABLE TO MATURE Students, the future leaders of America, teacher drastically changed the way I saw would not be able to mature as people without one of my favorite pieces of literature. I AS PEOPLE WITHOUT THE the fine education teachers provide. Education took away an experience to which I can now FINE EDUCATION TEACHERS is the key to success, and we, as a society, attribute a large chunk of my creativity. The should consequently value our teachers more.

Hobbit was such a large part of my life while PROVIDE. EDUCATION IS Considering the major impact teachers have I was growing up and given the fact that my on everyone’s lives, they are really not rolling in THE KEY TO SUCCESS, AND teacher transformed the book into such a dough. Teaching is not a profession one wishes learning experience, I knew she changed the WE, AS A SOCIETY, SHOULD to enter to become rich, but rather a profession way I read literature. one enters to help people grow.

CONSEQUENTLY VALUE OUR The Hobbit was only one of many teacherWhat I have noticed recently as both a student driven learning experiences I encountered TEACHERS MORE.” and a community member is the disconnect throughout my education. Whether it was between the schools and the community. This as seemingly small and insignificant as when schism should not exist.

I was allowed to transfer from trombone The school is not only a part of the to my passion, percussion, to as large and important as when I passed community, but it should also be one of the center pieces. A school Advanced Placement tests earning me college credit, teachers have cannot function without support from the community and the helped make my academic and personal goals attainable. community cannot maintain value without stable schools.

I was shocked after I started to pay attention to local politics and Teachers all throughout my schooling and in particular, high school, noticed that teachers were scapegoats for the district’s financial instability. have created “teachable moments” that have impacted the way I see the I did a lot of researching on my own and even set aside time for school world and have helped me grow as a person. If kids do not want to learn, board meetings. they will not learn.

I talked to teachers along with community members, and I did There are so many distractions now that it is hard to keep kids research about how the district works. I have come to the conclusion focused. Teachers need to be able to connect with students to create that teachers are the most valuable asset a school can have. these moments.

It is understandable that people become frustrated amidst the weak We need teachers that make students want to learn. economy. It is not wise, however, to turn on education as a target for With the help of teachers, I have now stepped out of Bag End. I am spending cuts because education is already at bare bones funding. After well on my way to Rivendell and eventually to the Lonely Mountain. And losing $12 million in revenue from the state, funding for education in for that push out of the quiet, serene Shire and into the real world, I am Lakota is the epitome of a school funding crisis. grateful. n

lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 65

opinion | head-to-head

jeff back

I

“

art lisa cai

College is the time to show a little chutzpah and make it without mommy and daddy leading the way.

66 | Spark | February 9, 2012

t’s no wonder that the debate of whether to go to college rages on stronger than ever before.

Fiercer than the heated rivalry masked by the “Mac vs. PC” commercials. And more fiery than the argument of which social networking site reigns supreme: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Myspace. Apparently it dropped off the map due to Tom Anderson finishing his college education.

The root of the college conundrum, though, is this historically geeky group of techies, the parties responsible for those far-too-addicting websites and the beautiful Macs and less-thanstellar PCs on which people access them.

By now we all know that the Apple architect Steve Jobs and his one-time arch nemesis, Microsoft’s less inspiring Bill Gates, both chose not to finish college. “The Social Network,” however exaggerated it may be, did not fail in correctly noting that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg followed in their footsteps. And the most biographically-inclined computer geeks are aware that the man behind Tumblr, David Karp, and the Twitter threesome of Jack Dorsey, Ev Williams and Biz Stone hang framed photos of beaches and beagles rather than college diplomas on their office walls.

But they are the fortunate ones. “We got lucky—it doesn’t mean we’re a bunch of geniuses,” says Stone, a two-time college dropout. The chance these men had at success, statistically, was abominable. When Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to pursue Facebook, he was probably glad that Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corporation had not yet published its report stating that the failure rate of small businesses had increased by 40 percent between 2007 and 2010. It’d be hard to justify dropping out of Harvard with those odds looming.

College, though, was not the answer for the likes of these billionaire wizkids. They all had developed the skills they needed to succeed by the time they were able to drive a car. While luck did have a great deal to do with it, these men are geniuses, despite Stone’s claim. Michael Dell made $18,000 selling newspapers. Bill Gates was employed by his high school at age 16 to write a program that scheduled students’ classes.

And Jack Dorsey wrote a dispatch program for taxicab companies in 1991 when he was 15; some taxi companies still use his program today.

Put simply, success can be found without a college education. Success can be found without even completing high school. But life isn’t always about success. It isn’t always about the end game; it’s about the journey.

College is a quintessential, once-in-a-lifetime step in that journey.

Sure, college is regarded as the path to making more money as an adult. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, workers 18 and over touting a

Higher bachelor’s degree make an average of $51,206 per year while their degree-less counterparts bring in $27,915 annually. Workers who have squeezed an advanced degree out of academia pull in a yearly haul of $74,602. And if advanced-degree holders are the heavyweights of the workforce, those who don’t complete high school barely sneak in as the flyweights: $18,734. Money isn’t everything, though.

In fact, it isn’t even the most important factor to consider. The College Board says that parents with advanced degrees are three times more likely to read daily to their children than people who haven’t completed high school. Less likely to smoke. More likely to exercise and less likely to be obese or have obese children. And all those are things that happen after college graduation.

While there, the benefits and lessons are even greater. College is where misguided young adults learn how to survive and flourish in any field they wish to enter. But more importantly, college is a chance for them to learn life. It’s a chance to discover the people and culture outside the suppressive confines of an affluent Cincinnati boomburb. A chance to explore the innumerable options life has to offer.

And there’s no better place to do that than with thousands of kids doing the same thing.

People throw out the word “opportunity” a lot. But as people begin to question the effectiveness of the college experience, these opportunities and their meanings need to be cleared up. Sure, college provides the opportunity to make more money. But that’s not why college is a fundamental stop in this game we call Life.

College is the opportunity to become independent. It’s the opportunity to learn to swim, not sink, albeit with the pair of collegetown floaties. The opportunity to mature into adulthood. College is the time to show a little chutzpah and make it without mommy and daddy leading the way. And Americans know this. A Pew Research Center survey found that 53 percent of Americans say that the mission of college is to help a student grow personally and intellectually. It also found that college graduates believe their time in college helped them mature and grow psychologically more than it prepared them for a job or career.

Now, college is by no means a guarantee of success. And forgoing college does not doom a man to failure. Anyone can make billions; anyone can make pennies. I’ve met plenty of people who went to college and are happy. I’ve met plenty who wished they’d made a couple different decisions. Still, I’ve never met anyone who said they regretted the college experience.

Can’t say I’ve rubbed elbows with the likes of Zuckerberg, though.

I probably never will. n

Learning T

he two greatest tech pioneers of our age aren’t valedictorians, or dean’s listers, or adjunct professors.

They’re dropouts.

Combined, the two of them share two-and-ahalf years of college education. And so far they have dominated the technological world for more than 35 years with their prolific contributions and innovations to American society.

The late Steve Jobs only completed one semester at Reed College and was the cofounder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. He previously served as CEO of Pixar Animations Studios and later became a member of the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company.

Bill Gates, a Harvard dropout, is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, chairman of Corbis, CEO of Cascade Investment and also one of the wealthiest people in the world. These dropouts left the party scene of college life early to excel in their own areas, proving to be successful without a college degree. People such as these two are said to be among the few that are the exception to success without a college degree.

Yet anyone can be the exception to society’s standards. I have lived with an exception for 16 years.

My father dropped out of Marquette University before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

As an 11-year veteran, he worked his way up to become a petty officer. Today, he is one of the vice presidents for Expedia. Seeing my own father go against the status quo and develop into a successful businessman without a college degree on his résumé inspired me to broaden my horizon and consider various options outside conforming to the ivory towers.

And according to an extensive research study in the book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, 45 percent of U.S. college students exhibit no significant increases in knowledge after two years of college. The same study found that 70 percent of college graduates wish that they had spent more time preparing for the “real world.”

There are copious amounts of other options for a future beyond high school besides going to college, especially for some desired careers.

Fashion designers or hair stylists don’t necessarily need a textbook or university in order to receive the best education for their field. Instead, it would be beneficial for them to apply for an internship or get a job that will give them actual experience. Some of these jobs require street smarts rather than book smarts.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 25 percent of college graduates have an occupation which did not require them to pay $25,000 per year at the grace of the college quads.

alex griffin

College was originally designed for extended, deeper knowledge. These institutions were made for those who have a passion for learning—the doctors and the scientists of the world.

Yet nowadays, it appears that every teenager is being pushed to go straight to college right out of high school.

In fact, the number of students who believe that college is the best path to success continues to grow in America, with 70 percent of teenagers heading to college after they receive their high school diploma. A study by NPR reports that, since 1978, the cost of college tuition in the U.S. has gone up by more than 900 percent. A college degree is not always worth the tremendous investment and piles of debt under which many students are buried. While America needs educated doctors and engineers, it is not always worth the debt for other careers. And more studies are showing that going to college may not be the smartest decision for some teenagers—or their families.

University students are facing an average of $25,000 of debt every year. The national unemployment percentage reports that college graduates are facing a 9.8 percent unemployment rate, the highest since 1970. According to CNNmoney.com, 85 percent of college graduates move back home after graduation because of their increasing debt, and approximately twothirds of these students leave college in debt.

Richard Vedder, Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and professor of economics at Ohio University, stated that the number of jobs requiring a college degree is less than the number of young adults graduating from universities. According to Vedder, more graduates are filling jobs for which they are overqualified.

Only 36 percent of full-time college students who began college in 2001 received a bachelor’s degree within four years. American colleges are also only graduating 50 percent of their students within a six year period, meaning thousands of these students across the United States are essentially investing an average of $25,000 a year—for a degree.

Most high school students are not sure what career works best for them in three years, or thirty years down the road. According to the 2008 press release from the U.S. Department of Labor, the average person in America changes careers 11 times.

Gates and Jobs were just teenagers too, and they left the thrill of college life to excel in their field of interest. My dad always tells me, “If you do what you love and what you’re good at, you will make it in the world.”

A degree does not determine success or happiness—the person does. n

“

Lacking a college degree no longer hinders a person from having a successful career. lakotaeastspark.com | Spark | 67

opinion | east speaks out

Emily Chao OPINION EDITOR

THE RACE BOX contact emily at elchao96@yahoo.com

I

have been fueled. My eight-gallon gas tank has now been filled to the students tend to score higher on the SAT and that they meet the college brim with the bombardment of fancy envelopes, template letters and admissions standards in such a way that it is out of proportion to the emails that creepily state that “they” are looking for me. total number of people labeled Asian. Espenshade found that an Asian The tank also been filled with SAT books, ACT study guides and student needed to score 100 or more points higher to be considered on Advanced Placement course books. All of these things contain gibberish the same level as a white student or an African-American student.

I pretend to understand so I can be left alone. I sit and nod to my parents In 2005, Espenshade and Chang Y. Chung did a study that found if and say, “Yes, I understand. The score is not high enough.” college admissions preferences were taken away, Asian students would And there’s one more thing that might poke in front of me on that occupy four out of every five seats created by accepting fewer Africantreacherous pathway to college.

American and Hispanic students, equivalent to a jump in acceptance rate The race box. from 18 to 23 percent. Contrary-wise, under these same conditions, the For me, it would be an obvious choice. I am a Chinese American and acceptance rate for whites would only increase 0.5 percent. as far as four generations of family history display, there is no other race As expected, college admissions officers from Yale, Harvard, in my blood. Naturally, I am inclined to check “Asian.”

Princeton and University of Pennsylvania declined comment when AP The Associated Press (AP), however, tells of a different story. To did this report, but former admissions office reader Kara Miller stated get technical, they dedicated five pages to the Asian box. AP reporters that she felt that the Asian demographic is held to a higher standard. went to most of the Ivy League schools and interviewed multi-racial kids But they shouldn’t just look at Asians compared to other Asians. along with Asian kids. In particular, they came across biracial kids who Education reformer and English professor Sir Ken Robinson said that have one parent who is Asian and one parent who is Caucasian. the way schooling works right now, we group people based on their age.

Now, the biracial kids have several things in common. Most of the He asks, “Why is there this assumption that the most important thing AP’s sources had an Asian mother and a Caucasian father. They were kids have in common is how old they are?” very bright kids in high school, with 4.0 grade-point averages and high We can easily change that question to “Why is the most important thing SAT scores. that kids applying to college have in common is what racial background But not all of them checked “Asian” as their race. they have?” Colleges tend to group applicants by demographics. My In my case, it’s inevitable. Colleges will still be able to deduce my future applications, should I choose to check the Asian box, will most background even if I didn’t check that box because my last name gives likely be lumped and thrown in a pile where all of the applications of the it away. But for many others, like those with last names that remain other Asian studying gurus are placed. conceivably non-Asian, they have a slight advantage because their name That system does not work. People have complained about the ease doesn’t spell out their race for them. And that one name also might with which colleges treat a certain group of people and not another. For give them an edge to get into the college of example, college athletes are usually given a more their dreams, while many tiger parents stand relaxed standard than someone who happens disappointed, drowning themselves with tea to “APPLICANTS NEED TO BE to have a perfectly ordinary background.

JUDGED FROM A HOLISTIC Celebrities, children of alumni and children of deal with the shame.

That one box may be why Lanya Olmstead POINT OF VIEW, NOT FROM donors might be given more breaks. Applicants got into Harvard University. She’s a Florida THE SIMILARITIES OF need to be judged from a holistic point of view, native with a Taiwanese mother and an not from the similarities of physicality.

American father. She checked white on her PHYSICALITY.” But the discrimination and the preferences college application to this prestigious university have become unavoidable. Mason sophomore because her mom told her that discrimination against Asians was Jessica Sun believes that although race is not a defining factor, it matters. commonplace. What was more intriguing was that her SAT score was a “It’s not fair, but you can’t avoid it,” she says. “You can’t have a whole 2150, what she considered low for the Asian demographic of students. school filled with Asians.”

Tao Tao Holmes also has a Chinese mother and a white father, hence The desire for colleges to diversify by considering race was seen as the last name being conspicuously non-Asian. She was accepted to Yale a breakthrough from our country’s primitive, bestial prejudice that had despite, as she claimed, her math scores not being “high enough for the haunted the minorities for years. But now it has come to bite America Asian box.” She didn’t check that box. in its butt. There is a limit to how hard people can work just to compete College admissions officers might not want to admit it but there has with one another. There is a stopping point to the ever-growing pyramid been a comprehensive, logistical study done on this very topic. Back when of perfection. the SAT was only scored out of 1600, Princeton sociologist Thomas It’s just one click of the mouse, but it leaves behind a person who Espenshade examined applicants to top colleges and found some can’t show who they are or their college spot might be given to someone surprising statistics. An almost given stereotype has been set that Asian else. n

68 | Spark | February 9, 2012

JOB FAIR

editorial cartoon mandi ellsworth

Megan Connett, senior If you don’t go to college then you don’t get better jobs.

You also get more job opportunities when you get out [of college].

LJ Chappell, junior

Charlotte Jackson, freshman

Yes I think college is necessary because it gives the education and the degrees to get a fabulous job and earn great money for your family.

I don’t think it’s necessary, but I think it’s important to do something well with your life. You have to get really lucky without a college education if you want to go somewhere with your life.

Evan Reed, sophomore

Yes, because it leads up to your future and if you can’t do that to get a normal skill, then you can’t get a good job and you’ll end up working at McDonald’s.

East Speaks Out Is college necessary for success in life?

opinion | finishing touch

christian ROEHM DAILY DISTRACTIONS

I

t took a few words from a 15-year-old Chinese student across the globe for me to realize that something was wrong with my life.

When Chinese principal Yuan Ye visited East in November to observe an American education system, he taught a traditional Chinese lesson with about 50 East students. The editors of Spark were among those invited to the event, and we were lucky enough to skip first period to participate in an enriching cultural experience. After learning 10 arduous phrases in Mandarin, Ye passed around sheet of paper to collect our names and emails.

A few weeks later, I was pleasantly surprised when my phone notified me at 2 a.m. that I had received an email from a student in China. As the week went by, I received emails from four other Chinese high school students. I was always quick to respond to their messages, sometimes replying five or 10 minutes after receiving their late-night emails.

I figured the Chinese students probably wondered why I was so quick to respond. After all, there is a 13-hour time difference. They would send me letters around their lunch break, and I would reply back in the middle of the night. So I wasn’t surprised when Qinyuan responded with, “Are you still doing your homework? It is bad for your health to stay up late.”

And dang it, she’s right.

When I inquired about how much sleep she usually gets, she responded that she always gets six hours of shuteye. That’s me on a good night, and I don’t have many of those. I already knew I had a problem being nocturnal and staying up late, but this only made it that much more evident to me. I was getting less sleep than a Chinese student who goes to school seven days a week and has classes until 10 at night.

Sure, I have Advanced Placement and honors classes that require a great deal of homework and studying. And yes, I spend hours working on Spark on a daily basis. But there’s obviously a bigger problem. A problem that students, and even professionals, are constantly facing. A problem with distractions.

After school, I live on my computer. I use my computer to play music, do homework, and work on Spark. The Facebook tab on my computer is always up, as are Yahoo and Gmail. When I’m at home, I’m always plugged in. When I’m not at home, my smartphone keeps me connected. And don’t even get me started on Words with Friends.

Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China, except for the over half a million uses who get around the Great Firewall of China. When it was exam week for the students I communicate with, I didn’t receive an email from any of them for more than a week. They told me about the anxiety their exams were causing them. When exam week at East rolled around two weeks later, I too was worried about my exam grades. But I was logged on at the same time. I was still sending emails and still making Facebook statuses. Still wasting time.

It makes me feel good to know that, like me, some of the students I’ve been emailing also find math difficult. That they also share my obsession with Harry Potter. And like me, all of them work hard and lose sleep because of school. We may be a world apart, but we’re not that different–except in our ability to focus. If I had the discipline that Qinyuan had, maybe I could overcome the “lure of the login” and actually get over six hours of sleep a night.

Just not on deadline. n

70 | Spark | February 9, 2012