Omaha Marian High School Nov/Dec 17 Network Student Newspaper

THE NET WORK Marian High School - 7400 Military Avenue Omaha, NE 68134 - www.marianhighschool.net - Volume 62 Issue 4 - December 2017

Christmas concert kicks off holiday season juliahingorani

O

and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by to come back and remember it,” Nikki Christmas Concert wouldn’t be possible,” ne of the best ways to get into the Felciano.

Rhoades ’17 said. junior Olivia Hess said. holiday spirit is by listening to the A crowd favorite traditionally perBoth choirs performed as separate “We spend time listening to different joyful songs that play everywhere during formed last was the Hallelujah Chorus ensembles for this concert. The orchestra arrangements of the music Marian has the month of December. from “The Messiah” by George Frideric and band accompanied the choirs for the purchased in the past. The arrangements On Sunday, Dec. 3, the Concert Choir, Handel, arranged by Bryceson Treharne. final song. However, they had their own turn out to be different every year,” Morthe Select Women’s Choir, orchestra, Marian alums were invited to join the performances directed by instrumental rissey said. handbells and band classes performed an choir and musicians on stage to sing this teacher, Mr. Paul Niedbalski. Niedbalski Musicians and vocalists agreed that array of songs in two separate concerts to classic. This opportunity allowed gradeven arranged one of the songs for the the time and effort given in the classroom celebrate the upcoming Christmas season. uates to remember their time at Marian combined band and orchestra to perform. helped them perfect their performances This annual event was free and open to while singing a holiday favorite.

Music director and choir teacher Ms. for the concert. Assistant to the Principal the public. This musical tradition was the “It just brings back old memories. I Lauren Morrissey conducted the choir Mrs. Michelle Delisi also helped out as a perfect way to get the Marian community knew the Hallelujah Chorus senior year, and pianist Mr. Tim DiBlasi accompanied stage manager to make sure the concert into the holiday spirit.

I just forgot it since then so it was nice the songs. “Without the two of them, the ran smoothly.

The concert was held in the Perform“The students have ing Arts Center been preparing for Kish Auditorium, which also holds the concert since the beginning of Novemevents such as ber,” Morrissey said. the fall musicals This shows the dediand spring plays. cation students have Songs perto making sure the formed included songs are polished.

“Carol of the The seasonal array Bells” by Leof songs performed ontovich, “God provided a celebration Rest You Merry, to launch the ChristGentlemen” Hallelujah Chorus The alums of Marian join the choir, band and orchestra on stage to sing Handel’s masterpiece. Although they have graduated, mas season for many.

by Tchaikovsky alums still remember and enjoy participating in this tradition.

DACA debate: Students think critically about recent government decisions audreyhertel & juliahingorani

A

ccording to the 2016 United States Census Bureau, out of the 323.1 million people residing in the United States, 800,000 of them receive benefits from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. “DACA was developed as a way to allow these people who were brought here under the age of 16 to get deferred action.

So they are not going to deport them. It’s not like they’re legal now, they’re just not going to deport [them],” social studies teacher and Young Politicians Club moderator Jillian Roger said.

The Young Politicians Club held a roundtable debate about DACA on Nov. 21. Junior Cori Johnson, president of the club, said that the DACA debate was very informative for Marian students. “I think that a lot of people left the meeting feeling a lot more informed about what will actually happen to people on both TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and DACA,” Johnson said. The discussion was about whether or not the current Presidential administration’s desires for DACA should happen. Johnson said that the debate was one-sided. “Everyone who participated in the conversation felt that the current administration’s view on all immigration is racist and morally wrong,” Johnson said.

The past Obama administration wanted DACA to remain a government policy and allowed the renewal of the program for individuals.

DACA recipients are subject to renewal every two years, meaning that this program can be short-term if not renewed.

The Trump administration stopped accepting DACA renewals on Oct. 5. President Trump is giving Congress six months

INSIDE

to find a replacement for the program.

If Congress cannot make a decision, hundreds of thousands of people will lose the benefits of DACA and face the possibility of deportation as soon as their DACA license expires. The benefits include the ability to go to school, owning a driver’s license, the ability to have a job, social security and much more.

Deportations and loss of benefits can start occurring as soon as March of 2018.

“The cancellation of the DACA program is reprehensible. It causes unnecessary fear for DACA youth and their families,” The American Council of Catholic Bishops said after receiving the news of the Trump’s announcement to repeal DACA. “Opponents to DACA say that they [undocumented immigrants] broke the law. They shouldn’t be getting special privileges,” Roger said.

The individuals who are in the DACA program are not citizens of the United States. In order to become a citizen of the United States, the individual must have a green card for five years prior to becoming a citizen. Receiving a green card can be very difficult for many individuals.

Even after receiving a green card, it can take up to 25 years for an individual to gain citizenship.

Roger educates students about issues similar to DACA. She also points out that debates on immigration are not necessarily new. “We saw this [debates over immigration] in the 1920s. We saw this again in the 1960s. We go through this every 50 years or so,” Roger said.

In 1924, for example, the Immigration Act prevented all but 2 percent of immigrants from any country to come into the

United States.

In 1965, the Immigration and Naturalization Act reformed the policy and opened the doors to more immigrants.

This sparked a change in the demographic of America that continues today.

Teachers like Roger educate and help culRoger’s remarks American Government teacher Jillian Roger educates her students through an open discussion and debate. Roger is also the moderator of the Young tivate the minds Politicians Club, which held a debate over DACA. of the future of America. In the when making decisions about topics such future, the American youth will take the as DACA, officials need to find a middle place of the leaders of today and will need ground. to have opinions on matters with as much To do so, Saalfeld notes that it is prevalence as DACA. One student who is important to be able to listen to other practicing this now is sophomore Emily opinions. “Everyone has their own voice,” Saalfeld.

Saalfeld said.

“I think it was wrong that [the govAs for the future of finding a middle ernment] allowed these people to come ground, Saalfeld does not see a bright one. in, because they can illegally work then, “Realistically, I’m going to say it will because it’s kind of taking over the jobs probably never happen,” Saalfeld said. that Americans can and should have,” Rutten, on the other hand, said that Saalfeld said. the youth of America is coming closer to When asked about what motivates finding a middle ground due to their level those who defend DACA, senior Megan of involvement in politics.

Rutten said she believes that morality “I’m really happy that a bunch of is at the root of this decision. “The idea teenagers are getting really involved with that you are kicking someone out and not politics because everyone complains that thinking about their lives or anything, it’s teenagers are lazy, and they’re gonna ruin just thinking about yourself. I think it’s the future,” Rutten said. “I think that if morally wrong to kick someone out of the there are more teenagers that are involved country,” Rutten said. in politics than adults, then that means in Saalfeld and Rutten both said that the future, politics might be better.”

News

OPINION

in-depth

sports

prioritizing school safety p.3

The poor connotation of people pleasing p.4

extra extra don’t read all about iT: FAke News p.8-9

golden era of basketball p.12

(2) NEWS

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

Open House fills the house: A successful Marian recruitment event Interview with Recruitment Director, Mrs. Molly Woodman

Q: What is difficult about planning the Open House?

A: It is difficult because there are so many different pieces to it; there are so many different people that I have to correspond with and collaborate with, and just to make sure everyone knows what they’re doing. There are people inside the building and outside of the building: volunteers, vendors and that kind of things, so it’s difficult.

Q: What do you think makes Marian’s Open house different from other Open Houses?

A: The atmosphere. The atmosphere for sure.

It’s lively, there’s balloons, it’s happy, there’s the smell of popcorn in the air, everyone’s excited.

All of our teachers are there, which is different from a lot of different schools, and plus the number of students that participate really sets us apart.

Q: Do you think that the Open House is a deciding factor for girls deciding where they want to go to high school?

A: The Open House is a deciding factor for certain people. For some people it won’t make a difference because either they know they’re going to come here or there are situations where the kid wants to come but the parents don’t, and so I think sometimes they’ll go to Open House to hopefully solidify their reason why they don’t want their kid to go, but we usually end up swaying them. We have been told directly on the survey sheet that we give freshmen, when they register, that when we ask them their specific deciding factor, they have said Open House in the past.

Blue and white balloons began popping up one after another as Recruitment Director Mrs. Molly Woodman prepared for Marian’s annual Open House on Sunday, Nov. 19. With this being Marian’s biggest recruitment event of the year, it required the efforts of a diverse range of people to pull it off.

All of the teachers, counselors and campus ministers were required to be at school, and more than a quarter of the student body volunteered their time to help prepare and run this event. More than 120 recruitment team members were present on Sunday, along with the mime troupe and additional students who showed up to work a booth at the club fair.

When girls and their families first arrived at Marian, they were met by a smiling President Ms. Mary Higgins who was stationed at the entrance door to greet guests. Another smiling face, Principal Mrs. Susie Sullivan, was a few steps behind her to greet them once they came through the doors.

Not only did Marian’s Open House allow for unique interactions with school leadership, but it also allowed prospective students to interact with current students and teachers.

The one-onone tours allowed students more time to give personal accounts of their journey at Marian and gave them the opportunity to provide relevant information according to each individual family.

“I like giving tours because I wanted to go to Marian so bad in eighth grade

“

Art makes the heart grow fonder Lily Blake ‘19 shows a prospective student the art displayed in Mrs. Cisco’s room on Sunday, Nov. 19. The art rooms were a fan favorite when students toured Open House.

“

samanthafabian

year and my parents didn’t want me to.

My tour at Open House in eighth grade helped my parents get an insight on why I thought Marian was wonderful. Every time I give a tour I hope I get a girl that’s trying to decide between Marian and somewhere else because I want to be apart of that decision,” tour guide junior Mia Mixan said.

With three floors of school to cover and 26 spaces/classrooms to visit, there was a flurry of activities happening within Marian.

Prospective students, along with their parents, had the opportunity to experience all of the exciting interactions taking place throughout the building. The science

It’s lively, there’s balloons, it’s happy, there’s the smell of popcorn in the air, everyone’s excited.

-Mrs. Molly Woodman Recruitment Director

Olympic curling trials slide into Baxter Arena in Omaha maggieprosser

said.

Curling is like shuffleboard on ice. A stone, or rock, is slid across ice towards four concentric circles.

The purpose is to get the Competitive Curling One of the three women’s teams compete at Baxter Arena on Nov. 14. Team rock as Roth took the winning spot to participate in the 2018 Winter Olumpics. Photo by Susie Sisson. close to the rom Nov. 12-18, Baxter Arena hosted center circle their biggest event yet: (no, not Mar- as possible. This is how you get points. ian Field Day) The 2018 U.S. Olympic The teams consist of four players. CurlCurling Trials. ing is usually played with eight rocks.

Baxter Arena announced this honor Eight to ten ends (matches) are played. in July 2017 in partnership with the The team with the most points at the end Aksarben Curling Club, USA Curling, wins. the Omaha Sports Commission and the “I was really excited to learn that the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Other curling trials were coming to Omaha. venues that were ruled out in the selecWe’re a city that loves to participate. If a tion include Jacksonville, Fla., Philadel- big sports event comes to town -- even if phia, Pa. and Ogden and Provo, Utah. we don’t know anything about that sport The final site choice was made by The -- we buy tickets and show up to support Olympic Team Trials Selection Panel. the teams. I love that sense of civic pride “Omaha has been the first stop for and participation,” English teacher Ms. many world-class athletes on their way Susie Sisson said. to the Olympic Games, and we are grateThere were 17 matches over the span ful the University of Nebraska Omaha of the week. For the U.S. two teams, one will be a part of that tradition,” Trev Al- women’s and one men’s, curling is a part berts, UNO Vice Chancellor of Athletics of the Winter Olympics that will be held

F

in PyeongChang, South Korea Feb. 9-25, 2018.

“After attending the Olympic swimming trials over the last several years, I was expecting a similar atmosphere, but the curling trials were definitely more subdued and had lower attendance. But the event was still a lot of fun. Seeing Olympic-level athletes in their prime is pretty exciting,” Sisson said.

The two teams that qualified are the men’s team, Team Shuster and the women’s team, Team Roth. The teams are named for their captains John Shuster and Nina Roth.

“We are very excited to host our first winter Olympic Trials, building on the success of the recent 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming,” Wesley Hall, Chief Operating Officer of the Omaha Sports Commission explained.

“We worked closely with University of Nebraska Omaha officials and the Aksarben Curling Club in putting together this bid and believe Baxter Arena will be a great venue for the Olympic Curling Trials.”

“I don’t know anything about curling, so the whole experience was a bit of a mystery to me. I really loved learning about the rituals and nuances of the sport: the special shoes, the brooms and other equipment, the way the team captains yelled at and encouraged their teammates. There’s definitely a lot of strategy involved in this sport,” Sisson said.

teachers let the girls experiment with robots and see chemical reactions involving fire, while the social studies teachers sent the girls on mini scavenger hunts throughout their classroom. Although these activities were aimed at the girls, their parents weren’t left out- they were able to have their questions and concerns answered by the counselors and business office personnel at different times throughout their tour.

With the tours offering something for everyone, the results of this year’s Open House were successful. “I’m very happy with this year’s Open House! The school looked fantastic, the students were magnificent and we had an excellent turnout,” Recruitment Director Mrs. Molly Woodman said. If the school continues to appeal to the potential students, it will welcome many new members into its Class of 2023 and beyond.

Women’s Curling Results at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games

Canada

Sweden

Great Britain Past Prizewinners: The 2014 Winter Olympics were in Sochi, Russia. In Women’s curling, Canada won gold, Sweden won silver and Great Britain won bronze.

Source: olympic.org

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

NEWS (3)

Safety, security of students prioritized by administration maddierobertson

T

he wellbeing of students is always a school’s top priority. Along with their dedication to pushing their students to excel academically, athletically and creatively, it is the school’s responsibility to make sure students feel comfortable and safe in their school environment. School administrations do all that they can in order to assure the safety of their school communities. However, even the most seemingly untouchable locations are prone to crime.

During this school year alone, two instances of car theft and vandalization have occurred. The first of the two victims was

junior Jolie Peal, who had her car stolen during musical practice. Peal, who had left her keys and wallet in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) lobby area originally believed she misplaced her possessions.

But when she checked the PAC parking lot and didn’t see her car, she knew it had been stolen. “Everything was so crazy. It felt unreal and I couldn’t understand how someone could think it was okay to walk into Marian and steal someone’s things. It was so wrong,” Peal said.

Eventually, Peal’s car was found. Half of the vehicle was spray painted white.

However, there was no other significant damage to the car and it was eventually repainted.

Senior Maddie Wiedenfeld’s car was also damaged, only this time with a broken window. “I got a call from a classmate saying that she thought someone might have broken into my car because my window was shattered and there was glass everywhere, so I ran to my car and found it with only three windows,” Wiedenfeld said. Though one of her backseat windows Artistic Attempt Jolie Peal’s ’19 car is left halfwas smashed and the toaster oven she grey half-white after being stolen and vandalized. Peal was able to get her car repainted for purchased as a Christmas present for her mother was taken, Wiedenfeld’s car and free once it was found.

Checking out the new library

all other valuables inside of it were left untouched.

Both cars were parked on Marian grounds when they were broken into, however, that has not wavered Peal and Wiedenfeld’s views of Marian.

“Yes, I feel safe at Marian. I might not be parking in carpool lot again but it won’t change the way I think and feel about Marian,” Wiedenfeld said.

“I love Marian, and if anything, this situation brought me closer to my school and made me realize how much I truly appreciate it,” Peal said.

Indeed, Marian’s atmosphere is much different than that of a traditional high school’s. While safety is still a top concern, the means of achieving it are much different. Parking lots and student spaces are monitored by security men Richard Hutfless and Wayne Downey instead of an official police officer. Though they have the option to, Marian girls do not keep locks on their lockers. Instead, hallway security cameras are utilized when instances of theft occur.

In addition to what is already being done, Marian is taking several other safety precautions to ensure the school’s safety.

shannonmcsweeney

O

ne thing that can be said about Marian: it is never boring. The president and principal stand in the cold in costumes on Halloween, there is a day dedicated to inflatable obstacle courses and cotton candy, and it has a club for just about anything (including ice cream). The same can be said for Marian’s library, and all of the upgrades and changes happening this year.

The library, currently located on the east end of third floor, is run by librarian Mrs. Molly Raabe and para-professional Ms. Laura Evans. This dynamic duo works well together, taking care of books, monitoring study halls and working in the Collaboration Room. They are also always willing to help out a student with book suggestions, hosting the occasional Reader’s Advisory Group meeting in which Marian girls discuss books they’ve recently read.

The library is open to all students from 7 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., which is later than previous years thanks to Ms. Evans. During finals week, the library will be open from 7 a.m.-3p.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 7 a.m.-12 p.m. on Wednesday.

“One of the big things we changed were our hours, because I was noticing that girls were waiting at the door in the morning,” Raabe explained, “So I asked if we could get a para [librarian], so we hired Ms. Evans, and now girls can have access to this space.”

The library is also stocked with AP flash cards to aid studying in the following AP classes: World History, European History, Spanish IV, Calculus, and US Government & Politics.

Among the most important ways in which the library is useful for students are the databases, which can be used for any kind of research.

“I decided to change to Follet Destiny, which is a database and a catalogue system.

It’s super nerdy but awesome because it helps you guys so much,” Raabe said.

Marian switched from an older database,

New Hours

Mandarin, to Follet Destiny during the 20152016 school year. Raabe explained that the new platform is cheaper, easier to manage and stores more information.

The main appeal of the library, of course, is the books. Mrs. Raabe and Ms. Evans are dedicated to making the library a welcoming environment that encourages Marian girls to read, either for a class or just for fun. From displaying Halloween books in October to creating a board about Banned Books Week in the third floor hallway, the librarians are passionate about reading, and they work to spread that passion to the Marian community.

“You can talk a little bit more. I try to feel the vibe in the library. If girls are studying and it’s quiet, I try to shift kids around,” Raabe explained, “If you want to work collaboratively, we send you down to Student Services, not because we don’t love you, but because we try to make everybody happy in this little environment.”

When the library isn’t being used as a quiet space to read, collaborative working is welcomed. Three study rooms with whiteboards and a Collaboration room equipped with flatscreens for presentations are available for student use.

Mrs. Raabe is also excited for the new location of the library as part of the Capital Campaign.

“We’re moving to the center of the building, and that’s the number one thing if you look at future-ready libraries and 21st century learning, to move the library to the hub. It’s just so important,” Raabe says.

No matter where you look in Marian, it is full of special places for different activities and dedicated teachers and staff trying to give students the best high school experience possible. The library is no different, with the new improvements, passionate librarians and of course, lots and lots of books.

Paraprofessional

“We will be increasing the number of cameras on the campus and adding some additional security for evening events.

We will frequently remind students to lock their cars. Also, never prop doors open and the adults in the building will be double checking to see that outside doors are locked,” Principal Mrs. Susie Sullivan said.

Along with wondering what is being done to preventing cars from being damaged or stolen, many students and parents want to know what is being done to keep students from using drugs and bringing them onto the school’s campus.

Rather than drug testing students, the school will be adopting a new curriculum as of the 2018-2019 school year. “Our job at Marian is to educate, so with our new social-emotional curriculum we will be increasing our education about drug and alcohol use. We will cover everything from the harmful effects of using to the emotional damage it can cause,” Sullivan said.

No school can guarantee that outside forces will do students no wrong, but it can certainly guarantee it will do all that it can to prevent it from happening.

Librarians love these novels Mrs. Molly Raabe’s favorites “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder, is a series of books about a family in the Midwestern United States in the late 1800s. The nine-book series is autobiographical and was published from 1932 to 1943. “I read ‘Little House on the Prairie’ to my kids every Christmas, it’s been a tradition ever since they were little.”

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, is a seven-book series about a wizard boy who goes to a school filled with magic, adventures and friendship.

The series is extremely popular, and inspired six movies and a club at Marian, Harry Potter club.

“Harry Potter is one of my favorite book series for obvious reasons. It’s just so amazing,” Raabe said.

Ms. Laura Evans’ favorites “Watership Down” by Richard Adams is some risky rabbits in the English countryside. The community of rabbits bands together to survive. “It’s definitely not just fluffy bunnies frolicking- it’s really a quite harrowing adventure as the rabbits deal with natural foes, weather and the impact of man on their homes and surrounding environment,” Evans said.

“Tell the Wolves I’m Home” by Carol Rifka Brunt is about loss and finding friendship in unlikely places.

A young girl loses her uncle to a harrowing illness.

In her time of need, she finds comfort from someone new. “It’s a beautiful read about love, quite simply, and acceptance of yourself and others. I would reccommend it to anyone,” Evans said.

Laptop Checkout

AP Flashcards

(4) Opinion

T HE NET WORK

(December 2017)

Opinions about opinions: agree to disagree allisonostapowicz

iving in a country where we can openly speak our opinions is a blessing.

But it also comes with a huge responsibility; respecting other’s thoughts and opinions. We all grow up with different experiences that influence our beliefs, some so strong that we can never change them, and we shouldn’t have to change them.

Sharing your opinion out loud takes a lot of courage, especially when it’s the opposite of those around you.

Our society has a huge problem with tearing people down and making fun of others based on their views.

But we as a society have the power to help change this social norm.

One way to help solve this problem is to understand the views of others. Put yourself in their shoes and realize that everyone comes from different backgrounds, cultures and parental influences.

Rather than arguing with someone and tearing them down, make it a conversation. Chat with the person, ask lots of questions. It could turn into a very beneficial conversation, one where you can get your point across without fighting. This

way, you can state your opinion and still walk away with your head high because you kept it civil.

Admit when you’re wrong. If you make a mean comment or tell someone they’re wrong, apologize.

Always make sure you are educated on a topic before you fight to be “correct.”

Another issue with our society is that we read posts on social media and automatically think negatively about something before fact checking. With all the fake news on the media, we have to keep our guard up.

If you argue about something you don’t know anything about (or are misinformed), you end up sounding very uneducated and everything you say goes down the drain.

On the opposite side, if someone is saying incorrect facts while giving their opinion, educate them. Don’t make the facts sound biased, but tell them what they were wrong about in a nice way, then a new conversation can start.

When giving opinions, you have to go

in with an open mind. You cannot have any conversation in this world if you are close-minded. Being open-minded does not mean open to change your entire view,

“

ing someone for what and how they think.

But the most important thing to remember when talking and sharing your opinion is to be nice. There is absolutely no power in being mean. Every single person has the right to their own opinion, and nobody should be torn down or bullied for having a certain mindset.

Nobody deserves to be put down, or be sad for the way they think.

“Respecting other people’s opinions might not mean anything to you, but to the other person, it might mean everything.” Emmanuela Ahianti ’18.

There are so many different thoughts and views in this world, and every one of those makes our world go round. It makes our society unique and diverse; everyone living their life by their views. Our differences are what make us a functioning society in today’s world.

We as a society have the power to change the way we treat others who have different opinions than us. And we as a community should change it.

“

L

Respecting other people’s opinions might not mean anything to you, but to the other person, it might mean everything.

- Emmanuela Ahianti ’18 it simply means understanding the views of others and not completely arguing with what they say.

Nobody benefits or gets anything done when arguing.

Arguing just adds negativity to your life and to the lives of others. The last thing this world needs is more negativity and hateful vibes. There’s no point in hat-

photo illustration by sofyherrera & allisonostapowicz

Laney is on her last nerve delaneystekr

E

The poor connotation of people pleasing sofyherrera

P

icture this: the year is 2017. I am making the same decisions I have been making my whole life. What type of decisions, you may ask... inconveniently good ones. Let me tell you the truth; I spend an obscene amount of time internally debating with myself.

I am an indecisive person. For that reason, I never truly have a sturdy opinion on much. The one thing that I will never change my mind on is that the best way to live your life is to be kind.

Here I am, thinking to myself that I could have lessened this situation. I could have even avoided it altogether.

I could be in my home eating ice cream and watching “Stranger Things”...but no. When asked if I would stay after school, stay a little later at work or give a ride to someone who lives 23 minutes away, I word-vomited the monosyllabic shackle also known as the word “yes” before I had time to say Tyrannosaurus Rex. You might be wondering how I got into this predicament. It all started when I was born. Just kidding, it started in the fourth grade; I was called a “people pleaser” by my classroom table. I came home mortified. Nothing in this world could be worse than being a kind soul.

I decided that the next day I’d be the exact opposite. I’d be mean and say no to everyone (no, you can’t borrow my eraser shaped as a high heel, Karen) and everything. Then I realized, I’d still be a people pleaser because I was pleasing them by not being one.

Let me tell you a secret: contrary to popular and hostile belief, being nice is not a bad thing. Be nice to yourself. Be nice to your locker partner who brings odd smelling food that makes your notebooks smell like fish for the rest of the year. Share that Quizlet. Be nice to your teacher who casually tells you to write 10 essays in approximately two minutes.

Do you want to know why? Because the only thing in life that truly matters is being a good person. Anyone can be funny (Google a few jokes), anyone can be smart (sell your soul to Khan Academy), but being nice... now that’s a constant work in progress.

The connotation of “people pleaser” is completely wrong in my book. It should not be a negative role to play.

You are a person. That being said, as long as you are pleasing yourself while simultaneously being nice to other people, there is not a problem. Yes, it is super annoying to give the girl in your English class your last hair tie that you don’t necessarily need but like the comforting weight that its presence entails, but trust me, it’s worth it.

So, just follow my lead and be nice (I’ll take my own advice even though sometimes I am a hypocrite and say I’m out of gum when I’m not). I’ve discovered that people tend to reciprocate pleasant comments quite well and making someone’s day can also make your own. The only person you should try and be better than is the person you were yesterday.

Buckle up, and be prepared to ask yourself “How did I get into this situation?”

veryone and their mother has a set of pet peeves that drive them up a wall. For my mother, it is that I never ever shut the drawers on my dresser. Sorry, Mom. But if you are a rare soul who cannot be bothered by anything, I envy you and have no clue how you pull that off. I cannot go a single day without encountering one of my pet peeves, but only the worst offenders have made it into this opinion column.

Sometimes when I am walking down the hallway behind someone plodding along, I wonder if I set a tortoise next to them who would get to the end of the hallway first. Tortoise would win every time.

Regardless of whether I am actually in a hurry or not, I just like to get to places in a timely manner. I would also like to take this moment to formally apologize to anyone who has seen me walking down the hall with a not-sopleasant look on my face.

The only explanation I have is that I am on a mission, always.

Another pet peeve that is slightly irrational is the sound that cars make when they lock. I got so fed up with it on my own car that I read a large portion of my car’s manual and figured out how to turn it off. But every time I hear a that “beep beep,” it makes my skin crawl.

These two small irritants are just the start of a seemingly never-ending list of things that just push my buttons. But, apparently I am not alone in this. Pet peeves have been studied, and a lot of people are bothered by inconsequential things. Broadly, there are three categories that scientists break pet peeves into. Social, environmental and interpersonal annoyances exist in daily life.

The violation of social norms, unpleasant sounds and quirky habits of those around us are less than enjoyable. It is much easier to understand the rage you are feeling when you know these distinct categories of pet peeves.

Scientifically, experts have found that there is actually a part of our brain that makes us remember negative events more strongly than positive events; probably the reason that such inconsequential things can vex us so.

Whether these annoyances come from obnoxious people, sounds or just general irritants, they can cause serious stress. With that being said, there are some fairly simple solutions to try to keep yourself from getting too angry. First, take a deep breath.

Inhale, exhale. These annoyances, in all reality, are not going to be important in five years, so why worry about them for five minutes?

That is a completely hypocritical statement for me, but I am really going to try to ~keep calm~ and not let these things bring me down. The holiday season can be very stressful for everyone, but do not let pet peeves bring you down.

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

OPINION (5)

Don’t go with the flow of mainstream music that lacks a message audreyhertel

n the morning, the first thing I do after I fall into my maroon 1991 Buick LeSabre is connect my phone to the bluetooth speaker in my car. I know what you may be thinking, a 1991 car with bluetooth?

No. I literally took the small blue portable speaker I have and put it in my car; it sits on my dashboard flying around every time I take a turn.

The reason I deal with the struggle of almost getting hit by my speaker every day is because I need music. For those of you who are thinking, just turn on the radio, I say to you, how many F.M. stations actually play music at 6:30 in the morning?

That’s what I thought.

And the other times?

Yeah, sure there is music on, but to be honest, it hurts me to listen to the radio sometimes, and no, I’m not one of those “I don’t listen to mainstream music” type of people. To prove this I will tell you a little about my past.

I was a huge One Direction fan as a freshman. Like, huge. For example, I went to my sister sobbing on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 when Zayn left the band, and

to this day, when I hear “The Best Song Ever” I have no other option but to scream at the top of my lungs and dance like I’m possessed like a demon.

After the past few years of consuming music, I have realized that the music I feel most attracted to now isn’t the kind that has five gorgeous dudes audrey singing it, but music that actually makes me hertel feel something.

That’s why I don’t listen to the radio.

The music I hear on the radio is the same type of songs over and over again.

I AM SICK OF IT. I don’t want to hear about what someone is doing in the backseat of their “rover” or what happened last Friday night. Now, I am not saying that songs like these shouldn’t exist. Some of them are pretty groovy, but what I’m trying to say is that I want music that I can connect to, and unfortunately, I can’t connect

Hertel me what?

Thoughts lead to actions, actions affect community

M

arian students have a reputation of being happy. They’re always smiling, always laughing.

A quick trip down the hallway during passing period confirms as much.

But even if everything seems to be sunshine and rainbows, there is often something more beneath the surface.

Though it is not typically addressed openly, some students at Marian, like many other teenagers, struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues. Many students smile on the outside when inside they may be struggling. If you or one of your friends has become a danger to themselves, contact an adult immediately.

You never know what someone is going through.

The girl you sit next to in class could have anxiety, and the girl across the table from you at lunch could be battling addiction. Even if you yourself don’t grapple with such issues, some students do.

For some students, the problems get so bad to the point where they drown themselves in substances or self-harming actions.

Please, if you or a friend is struggling with self-destructive thoughts,

know that you are not alone. Whether you feel ready to reach out for help or not, your community of Marian sisters and staff support you. We care about you. We love you.

Many resources are here for you. You can speak to your friend, your counselor, a staff member or your parent or guardian. Whoever you feel most comfortable telling is who you should discuss the problem with first.

It is okay if you have a problem, but do not feel ready to reach out yet; know that there is a strong and multifaceted support system eager to help you heal whenever you are ready.

For those Marian students who are helping their friend through these same problems, keep supporting them. Encourage your friend to seek professional help if you think they need it. A friend and an adult trained to treat such illnesses give very different kinds of support.

Remember to take care of your own mental health as well, whether or not you too have a mental illness.

with having 14 Mercedes Benz cars.

But the truth is, this music is the majority that is played on the radio, and it is the type that many kids and young adults listen to as well.

If music is constantly being created and listened to, why isn’t the music that actually has substance to it being played 25 times a day on the radio?

In this day and age, there are so many issues occurring, and people tend to forget about the fact that music can connect people. No matter what race, gender or age, music is something that everyone can relate to. Why? Music has the power to impact people in a way that not many other things can.

Because of this, it can be used to positively change society and spark conversations.

For example, Logic’s performance of

k or tw l e N ria The f Edito f Sta

Taking care of someone who is mentally ill is kind but is also often emotionally and physically draining for the caretaker.

Suicidal and self-harming thoughts are real and treatable.

According to a survey of high school students conducted by the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, almost one out of every five teens have considered about suicide.

Each year the counselors of Marian address the subject either through speakers, homeroom activities or academic classes. While it is important to pay attention to these sessions, you don’t have to wait until one of those days in order to start the discussion on your own mental health. Feel free to ask for help and support whenever you have the need to.

Don’t let self-destructive thoughts destroy you.

Reach out.

The Net work Staf f

his song “1-800-273-8255” at the Video Music Awards raised great awareness about suicide and mental health issues. The title of the song is a suicide help hotline and after the performance, it received an immense amount of calls.

Logic used his platform and his art to create discussion among people from all backgrounds. He spoke about a very sensitive topic in a way that was moving for anyone who witnessed it, and it was successful in its intentions.

I think that this instance alone proves that music does have the power to make a change in society.

Many times people are too scared to speak out about issues with the fear of not being heard. Sometimes, it only takes one person, or in this instance, one song, to sound through the ignorance of those not paying attention.

When issues are brought to light through music, more people have the ability to come together, and they lose the fear of speaking out against troubles occurring in society. Speaking out creates awareness and awareness leads to change.

First impressions are first priority delaneystekr S even seconds; long enough to put your hair up in a bun, watch a quick vine (R.I.P.) or if you are Usain Bolt, run a casual 73 yards. Oh, did I mention that is also all the time you get to make a first impression?

In today’s world, a large portion of business is done online and there are no actual face-to-face encounters. But, that does not diminish the importance of making a good first impression.

First impressions can truly make or break you; whether you are interviewing for a job, meeting new teachers or new friends, it is vital to be able to present yourself in the best light possible in those crucial first seven seconds.

You interact with new people almost every day.

Working at your job, new customers come in. It is vital for the success of your business that you make customers feel welcome.

Regardless of the situation, you want the first impression people have of you to dazzle.

Several key components make

The Network is a monthly publication of the journalism students at Marian High School, Nebraska’s only Class A Catholic, North Central Accredited college preparatory school for girls. The Network is a member of N.H.S.P.A. and the N.S.P.A. It is our goal to provide an accurate and informative news source for the student community. Opinions expressed on opinion pages do not necessarily represent those of the entire community.

Students, faculty, and friends are invited to voice their opinion in Letters to the Editors.

All letters must be typed, signed, and sent to this address: The Network, Marian High School, 7400 Military Ave., Omaha, NE 68134 Or emailed to us here: netpaper@omahamarian.org Or call us at 402-571-2618 x 1134 An electronic version of this paper and exclusive content can be found here: mariandigitalnetwork.com

Follow us on Twitter @MHSbeat • Follow us on Instagram @MHSpub •

Friend us on Snapchat @MHSpub

a solid first impression.

One of the most important is eye contact. Eye contact assures the person that you are attentive and interested in what they are saying.

Now, this is not an invitation to aggressively stare at everyone who walks past in hopes of making a good impression. But, calm, interested eye contact can really make the person you are meeting feel like they are important. Stand up tall and smile. Exude that confidence that Marian has tried to instill so strongly in you. Positive energy and a big smile will never do you any harm.

If a handshake presents itself, make sure to give a firm one. Please do not do the handshake where your hand is completely limp.

If you do, everything from there is just awkward and

“

wrong. Don’t rip their hand off either, but find a happy medium between the two.

You can do it; I believe in you.

Now, if this is a big introduction and you need to nail it, take a minute before you are introduced and take a deep breath. Assume the Superwoman pose. Do not joke or laugh about this, it is serious business.

In case you are unaware of this life-altering stance, I’ll break it down for you.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your hands on your hips and if you are really feeling it, you can silently whisper your mantra.

One of my favorites is “Kid, you’ll move mountains!” from Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, The Places You’ll Go.” Although meeting someone for the first time can be nerve-wracking, there really is no reason to stress.

As long as you stay true to your (lovely) self, then you will dazzle everyone you meet.

“

I

Positive energy and a big smile will never do you any harm.

-Delaney Stekr

managing editors: maddierobertson & gracesall copy editor: delaneystekr photo editor: audreyyost graphics editor & online editor: maggieprosser front page editor: allisonostapowicz news editors: juliahingorani & delaneystekr feature editors: hayleygolden, samanthafabian, juliaveik & lilywatkins opinion editors: katherinemartin & abbymclaughlin indepth editor: audreyhertel sports editors: annacook & audreyyost entertainment editors: sofyherrera & shannonmcsweeney photo essay editor: mariadeterman circulation manager, reporter & photographer: hailierydel adviser: marshakalkowski

(6) FEAT URE

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

Haitian Sa Voix mirrors community’s core values maddierobertson

S

a Voix, meaning “Her Voice,” is an organization that gives Haitian women the opportunity to express themselves, learn valuable life skills and provide for their families. The Sa Voix community is made up of nine women who sew, paint and design various products. Their crafts, all handmade, include headbands, keychains, wallets, purses and baskets. Each product has a story, and the story of the Sa Voix community as a whole is one worth telling. On Nov. 5, the Marian community hosted an open house to share that story.

The open house was hosted by head athletic trainer Mrs. Melissa

Brusnahan and her daughter, junior Melanie Brusnahan. The two heard about Sa Voix after Melissa got in contact with her cousin who is friends with the founder, Jessica Drogosz. After speaking with Principal Susie Sullivan and Assistant Principal Rochelle Rohlfs, the two were able to secure the Quad area to host the event.

“We were planning on doing it at our house, but we thought more girls would come at Marian,” Melanie said. Indeed, several students, faculty members and Marian community members attended the open house where they had the opportunity to order

products, read about Sa Voix’s mission and enjoy complimentary snacks.

As guests watched an informational video about Sa Voix and read the stories of various workers, one thing became clear; the values of the Sa Voix community are much closer to those of the Marian community than one may realize.

Two of Marian’s core values, empowerment and community, were crucial during the formation of Sa Voix and are still valued by the company today. Many of the women who are employed by Sa Voix had no prior sewing skills.

With the help of their fellow employees, they quickly acquired the skills and now make an income that allows them to care for their family or send their children to school. Along with empowering one another, Sa Voix stresses the importance of making sure each of their employees feels valued in their community, regardless of their level of education or set of skills. “Sa Voix is empowering them to learn a trade and have a place in their community,” Melissa said. “It really parallels here at Marian.”

True to its mission, Sa Voix Colored impressed Assistant Director of Student Services Mrs. Mary Steiner and Technology Specialist Mrs. Jane Campbell peruse keychains and wallets. Each prompted many visitors to item was handmade by a Sa Voix employee and had a unique color palette. remember the importance of

building up a community. Melanie, for example, wants to follow in Drogosz’s footsteps and work toward bettering underprivileged communities. “This is something I envision myself doing,” Melanie said. Melanie believes this can best be done by offering more service opportunities, especially a potential trip to Haiti, to students in the future.

Melissa would also be interested in hosting a trip to Haiti that would allow Marian girls to serve the community and pursue their passions. “I would like to facilitate a partnership. Girls interested in entrepreneurship can go to Haiti,” Melissa said.

Though no trips have been planned yet, the Marian community is doing all it can to benefit the organization. It is customary for hosts of fairs to receive a free item or a discount from the organization they are promoting.

However, the Brusnahans didn’t profit financially from organizing Sa Voix’s open house.

Instead, they reaped the reward of spreading Sa Voix’s message of empowerment, community and the importance of creativity. “Do we get anything through this? No. But it gets the word out there.

It gets the mission out there,” Melissa said.

Tasteful tote Totes like one above are hand painted. Snag one of these beautiful totes for $128.

Pretty pouch Each bag is individually produced to provide a unique look. Snatch this unique, hand-crafted bag for $42.

Cute clutch The project helps to create a community of support for women. Grab this marbled leather clutch for $46.

Operation Christmas Child embodies the true meaning of Christmas hayleygolden

T

he joy that comes from unwrapping a gift is enthralling. The concealed gifts ignite curiosity, while elation and delight shine forth as they’re opened. Christmas, a holiday celebrated by 92 percent of Americans (pewresearch.org), has a gigantic impact on people all across the nation. Gift unwrapping has become a crucial aspect of Christmas for many celebrators.

For millions of children in developing countries, however, this beloved tradition of unwrapping gifts is a distant dream. Without the resources and economic stability, buying presents can become a major hassle and almost impossible task for parents of children in these countries.

To help with this crisis, Marian’s Faith in Action Team (FIAT)

members organized a fundraiser for Operation Christmas Child and encouraged students, faculty and staff to donate. “Operation Christmas Child is a national organization that sends shoeboxes filled with toys to children in war-torn and third-world countries. Children are invited to a session where they can learn about the Gospel. After hearing about the Gospel, they are given the shoebox and a copy of the Greatest Journey, which explains the New Testament to the children,” senior FIAT core member Lauren Klingemann explained.

“It is important that we help the Operation Christmas Child organization because it provides children in developing countries not only with things that they need, but also things they can enjoy. So not only is it giving them

a Christmas present, but it also provides them with necessities they might not have access to otherwise,” junior FIAT core member Lauren Philips said.

The week long collection accumulated more than double the amount of boxes collected last year.

“Last year, we were able to collect 75 boxes. This year when we counted the boxes, and I found out we had collected 210 boxes, I was ecstatic. I was overjoyed that so many students were inspired to join in and help Wrapping it up Junior Maria Piperis helps wrap gifts with a student from St. Stewith this drive,” Klingephen’s. The boxes included small gifts and necessities for children in third-world and mann said. war-torn countries across the world. Picture by Samantha Fabian.

As soon as the boxes are two of the core values of the to learn even more about Opwere collected, members project and of Marian. Realizing eration Christmas Child. At the of FIAT wrapped the boxes that there is need and doing what meeting, I had the opportunity to with the help of St. Stephen the speak with two people who had Martyr girls. “I found them is in your power to fill it is so important both at Marian and in gone on a delivery last year. It very funny and energetic. was so eye-opening to hear their They were very interesting the world,” Philips said.

Klingemann added that stories and to see pictures of the and loved helping too,” children that had received the sophomore Emma Garriott, service was also a core value represented in the project. “It is shoeboxes filled with gifts. It was who helped with the wrapour duty as Christians to evange- so inspiring to see how much ping, said. lize, and helping with Operation joy a child was filled with after Not only does the projChristmas Child is just one way receiving a simple gift,” Klingeect contribute to the joy of to accomplish that. By packaging mann said. people across the world, boxes, students perform service, Projects like Operation Christbut it also correlates with which is a core value,” Klingemas Child help to spread the true the core values representmann said. meaning of Christmas through ed at Marian. “Operation In addition to making an service and compassion. By Christmas Child ties in impact on children all across donating a simple box filled with with a lot of the core valthe world, Operation Christmas small toys and necessities, Mariues here at Marian. I think Child has also made an impact an students were able to make an that may be why the drive on the students here at Marian. impact on children all across the was so successful.

ComBoxes galore 210 boxes were collected and 92 were wrapped. Picture by Samantha “In October, I went to a meeting globe. passion and community Fabian.

210 Boxes collected

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

FEAT URE (7)

A tale of happily ever after Joey Carollo’s ’19 Pinterest Board titled “one day...”.

Lauren Hart’s ’18 Pinterest Board titled “Dream Wedding”.

Maddie Mitchell’s ’21 Pinterest Board titled “happily ever after”.

Hannah Shaffer’20 (left) and Chloe Eminger’20 (right) at Eminger’s older sister’s wedding.

katherinemartin

S

ome girls dream of their wedding their entire lives.

Others would rather talk about anything else and plan on not getting married. But one thing that girls on both sides of the spectrum have in common is the shared belief that planning Ms. Altman with a wedding sounds stressful.

Movies and TV shows her daughter Lyndsay wedding display wedding planning as a dress shopping. giant mess; magazine cutouts all over the table, the different drafts of the invite list and seating at the reception and lots of crying. Math teacher Ms. Sue Altman says that is not exactly how it is for her daughter.

“We didn’t really have to plan the wedding. She’s having a destination wedding, so all we really had to do was pick out the dress and the bridesmaid’s dresses. When we get there we The Brock and have to make sure we like the Weatherly family venue, but there’s not much at the pair’s to do here,” Altman said. Her wedding. daughter Lyndsay Altman is getting married Aug. 4 in the Dominican Republic.

Science teacher Mrs. Linda Brock’s wedding planning experience was a bit different from the Altman’s.

“Planning a wedding is extremely time consuming, that is something everyone should know. It can get out of control very fast if you let it. As a Mrs. mother I did not do as much as O’Doherty’s son Allison, she was stressing out Michael and his the entire planning process,” wife Staci.

Brock said.

The one thing that bothers Brock the most in TV shows or movies is the search for a wedding dress. “If a bride likes a dress, let her get it. It is her day. If it is truly awful, say something, but if not, just let her have her day and her dress,” Brock said.

Allison Brock Weatherly married her husband on Nov. Mrs. Turnquist 19 of last year. Brock was and her so happy about how it came daughter Taylor together because of how hard at the wedding her daughter had worked for reception. the day. It was an intimate wedding including their closest friends and family. The Brock family hired a few of their family friends for a couple of the graphic by samanthafabian smaller wedding details. The

groom’s father and aunt made all of the cakes and a family friend dealt with the flowers.

Brock wishes her daughter could have enjoyed it more and not have been so stressed, but it was a beautiful wedding.

Business Office Assistant Mrs. Julie O’Doherty’s son, Dr. Michael O’Doherty married his wife Staci in Iowa City, Iowa this past summer. The reception was held in Chicago the next weekend. Her favorite part of the event was seeing how happy the bride and groom were after the ceremony.

When asked if helping to plan a wedding was stressful, “Yes, it is stressful. No matter how big or small your event is planned. There are two families to consider,” O’Doherty said.

O’Doherty’s advice is to have a clear picture of what you want. Also, keep in mind the costs and allow enough time. There are wedding planner books to help with all of the details.

Front Office Manager Mrs. Judy Turnquist is yet another staff member with a recently married child. “My daughter Taylor married a Taylor. It is stressful for the mother of the bride because she is in charge of every detail. I really loved the venue, The Barn in Bennington, and we planned the table decorations. My advice for Marian girls in their future weddings is to start planning early, trust your mom’s instincts, simple is better, enjoy the process,” Turnquist said.

Though not a lot of students at Marian have dealt with the stress of wedding planning, many of them have started planning anyway. Girls at Marian often use Pinterest to plan their extravagant weddings.

Junior Joey Carollo is one of the students who has already begun her wedding plans on Pinterest. “I would want my ideal wedding to be a destination wedding somewhere tropical, with rose gold accents and white flowers. I would love to have a lacy mermaid dress with a long train and an amazing

honeymoon,” Carollo said.

Senior Lauren Hart is another student with a wedding board on Pinterest. “I would love my dream wedding to be a small destination wedding. It is really important to me that it is in Greece or New Zealand or somewhere far away. In my dream wedding only my immediate family, his immediate family and maybe two or three friends would attend. It is also important to me that we have really good food. I think food at a wedding can either make or break it. In a dream wedding my dress would be super light and simple and nothing over the top. For the dress code I would want it to be all white, I think that would look really pretty,” Hart said.

Freshman Maddie Mitchell is already planning her wedding at the age of 14. Her Pinterest board, titled “happily ever after,” shows very family-oriented decorations and embellishments. “I definitely do not have very many exact details of my wedding planned out, given the amount of time I have until I decide to get married, but I know that I want to be married in a church. I know my dream wedding is a summer wedding surrounded by my closest friends and family,” Mitchell said.

Sophomore Chloe Eminger has some experience with wedding planning. “I was in my sister Julie’s wedding on Oct. 28. I was a bridesmaid and my other sister was the maid of honor. My role was choosing the bridesmaid dresses. The dress picking wasn’t that hard because this dress was the only one that really fit her wedding.

It fit her wedding well. I love my brother-in-law, he fits my sister so well. The wedding was the best day of my life. It was very emotional for me to see how grown up my sister is and to be around all of my loved ones.” Eminger said.

Every wedding is unique and takes a lot of time to plan.

It’s a good thing that Marian girls are getting a head start on their dream wedding.

FIAT participates in the National Catholic Youth Conference for the first time samanthafabian

M

arian’s Faith in Action Team (FIAT) core team attended the 2017 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) as an official school group for the first time. From Nov. 16-18 they, along with 25,000 other Catholic youths, packed into downtown Indianapolis for the 3-day convention that was held to help young Catholics from across America connect.

Throughout the convention they were able to listen to speakers such as Chris Stefanick, Sister Miriam Heidland, Jason Evert and Scott M. Anthony talk about topics surrounding the difficulties of being Catholic in the 21st century, celibacy and the greatness of God. They were also

able to watch singers TobyMac and Matt Maher perform, participate in adoration and celebrate Mass.

Because NCYC offered a variety of activities to participate in, each member felt as though there was something for them.

“My favorite part was during adoration when 25,000 people were completely silent and offering up their prayers to God all at once. I could feel God’s presence, and the concentration of prayer was tangible in the stadium,” Hodges said.

The team’s last day in Indianapolis was especially exciting for them, as they were able to celebrate Mass with the other 25,000 youth in attendance, sharing in the liturgy of the Word

and of the Eucharist with the biggest congregation any of them had ever been in.

“Seeing 25,000 people celebrating Mass together and being so proud of their faith was really amazing. The environment was incredible because everyone had this ‘it’s cool to be Catholic’ attitude. It was a really powerful experience,” Cusick said.

The FIAT core team’s time at NCYC was a Christ-filled, eye- opening experience, and each member was thankful that they were given the opportunity to participate. FIAT hopes to bring several of the faith-strengthening lessons they learned in Indianapolis and implement them at Marian.

NCYC extravaganza FIAT core team members (back row, left to right) Morgan Hodges ’18, Samantha Fabian ’18, Jenna Cusick ’19 Lauren Klingemann ’18, Colby Lemkau ’18, (front row, left to right) Caroline Griffin ’19, Lexi Schorg ’19 and Lauren Phillips ’19.

ho bi DE CE A mi PT sl e w R Read all about it ea he Ph de (When it’s fake news) o r bi to as s e AL d mi DECTE sl EP HOW TO SPOT FAKE Ph Re wh ea97 NEWS d b a o e ia to de re DE se sh rFake Ne CE ’ ’ d PT A S ops i L o I T O mi N E urpe sl DE RN ce Re whead CE AT ad er in PT IV er e’ g IO Ph ’s s t He a Noin Yes h o e st t69% f 31% o l quereshoue es ot pp ti yp on e a

EXTRA! EXTRA! DON’T (8- 9) IN-DEPT H

hayleygolden Fake news is circulating all around us, whether we realize it or not. With shocking and often outrageous headlines, readers are often drawn to these fake stories. To make matters worse, many of these articles spread like wildfire, creating a chain reaction of deception and misinformation that can be shared over and over again. Though fake news is nothing new, it has exploded with the increase of social media and easy internet access. This makes fake news easier to find than ever and easier to write than ever. This issue creates an impact not only on media outlets, but also on society as a whole. It challenges the credibility of genuine news sources and has the potential to disrupt the political, economic and social climate. Because of the increasing amount of fake news, it becomes even more important to take caution when looking at news stories.

Furthermore, fact checking can become a useful resource when scouting out these deceitful reports.

Although it has been around since the early days of society, fake news has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Here are tips and questions to help you think critically and avoid the snare of false information.

LOOK AT THE SOURCE

Who is the source, and why are they putting this information out there?

THINK ABOUT MOTIVES

Would the publisher have something to gain—such as stimulating business in buying or selling for a company—by putting out the article in question?

LOOK AT THE HEADLINE

Does the headline have an abundance of capital letters and/or exclamation points?

READ THE STORY, NOT JUST THE HEADLINE

of Marian believe

makes an im on socie

Based on the Network survey respons

Do Marian girls fact check their news sources?

Read the whole article, don’t just glance at the headline. Headlines can be deceiving and content creators have become skilled at misleading people.

LOOK AT DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS

RELIABLE FACT CHECK SOURCES

Staying in a bubble and consuming only media you agree with will narrow your perceptions and make it easier for creators to fool you with things you want to hear.

Washington Post Fact Check factchecker.org snopes.com

Source: Nebraska Federation of Press Women symposium on Fake News, presented by Dr. Eileen Wirth, chair emeritus of Creighton University Department of Journalism.

Based on The Network survey response of 160 students.

de er ot r e’ ’ s o s False media creates concern haveiwe had sot much ia s“Never h n h information at our about representation of religion s o f AL ed e fingertips. p Whether thisl TE bountyswill makepusesmarterue Ctr TID R n u d and bettero informed or more u c t N O E P and narrow-minded r e h ea NCignorant A i c T ? c E will depend on our awareness e d I t P V s er in of this problem and u T E I r our response to it. g O F e r’ e’sAt present,H N A we worry that D s C s e E t democracy is threatened by T a sh in C h S d the ease at which E e f l o disinformation about civic d p lu tr in PTI s issues is allowede to spread p e O u e ER ou nc th s N and flourish.” d r N PT AT ce Pic e ?

7% IO IV s b t d in N FakeENews iaur F g e s ’ews s t He D AC ed s in he adECETS so f l ed lu t75% P u i T r r n I e ce P e u es ic nc t s ON s h b t VE ia ureRe ?

ON FA sed ePs ad DE CT S ho er ad CE S ou to ’s l rc sh in tr in PTI es op flu en ut es ON p c h ed en pe e ? d Pi es P THE NET WORK (December 2017)

audreyhertel

Stanford study of students’ online reasoning ability 2016

girls e

mpact ety

headlines fool

American adults

se of 181students.

of the time.

According to a survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs

“It’s really harmful to society and people are easily deceived.

If something sounds suspicious, fact check.”

Andie Mikuls‘18 gives her opinion on the fake news crisis. She said that she goes to multiple sites and news sources in order to fact check her stories. Her goto site for news is CNN.

lick. Open. Refresh. Home Button. Repeat.

Every single day millions of Americans perform this same routine over and over again. Similarly, every day millions of Americans consume some sort of news whether it be through social media, television or print.

All of these media outlets provide the opportunity for individuals to consume fake news or false information.

Many point to religion as a topic of misrepresentation, including senior Diana Elizalde. Elizalde believes that religion is misrepresented because of a lack of people’s knowledge about false media. “If you don’t realize that [what you’re reading] is a fake news article, then you can believe that,” Elizalde said.

Junior Sarah Gosch agrees that religion is misrepresented due to a lack of understanding. “We don’t know what’s happening, so people make up stories,” Gosch said.

Imam Jamal Daoudi, the sermon leader from the American Muslim Institute in Omaha, said that people’s busy time and lack of interest are “valid factors why people don’t try to verify some of the info provided to them,” Daoudi said.

Theology teacher Deacon Kevin Fuller said that misrepresentation in the media is because of the money a person gets when they write a story. “If you want to sell papers or get people to go to your blog, you’re gonna have to put things out there that you think your readership is going to want to look at,” Fuller said.

Sometimes the readership includes similar-minded people. According to Fuller, these people have the same views about specific religions. “If the motivation of your readership is pretty anti- one group, and you keep fueling that, it builds up a negative image of a group,” Fuller said.

Fuller said that the bias in readership harms the validity of the story. “[Readership] can risk facts. So when that affects Christians, Jews, Muslims, anybody, is when that gets out of whack,” Fuller said.

News stories that target certain religions cause individuals to have certain feelings toward specific religions in general. Elizalde says that she has found her thoughts to be consumed by media biases and representations about Islam.

“I try not to think about it that way. Not every Muslim is like that. Even if you try not to, you think … that’s something we all have,” Elizalde said. Elizalde also said that everyone thinks about stereotypes, but it needs to change. “We also have to realize we have [thoughts of stereotyping], change it and treat them as a person,” Elizalde said.

Daoudi said that the false portrayal of Islam in the media escalated radically after 9/11. “All the Islamophobia that is happening in the United States is because after 9/11, the term of ‘Islamic terrorism’ has been used and circulated,” Daoudi said.

Daoudi said that attaching a religion to an act of violence was wrong. “This was a very big mistake from the beginning, attaching a faith or a religion to certain action. That made people paint [all] Muslims based on some bad guy’s doing,” Daoudi said.

Daoudi said that true media representation can begin when the people share their true experiences with the religion. “People need to go one further step by saying and sharing [their experiences with Islam]. [They can say], ‘We have an experience visiting the center, we know the Imam’,” Daoudi said. He also said that the media plays a part as well. “The media has to be fair,” Daoudi said.

This fairness has not been shown in the media, according to Daoudi. “Muslims or Middle Easterners or others, they will jump right away on it to say ‘Islamic terrorist’,” Daoudi said.

According to Fuller, the rapid spread of false or biased information of religions such as Islam, Judaism or Christianity can be harmful. “That’s really dangerous. We have to stop that and realize that the core of these religions is peace,” Fuller said.

Fuller said that consumers of false news can lead the change. “We can control how we react to things like that. Just double check that with other sources or people. Befriend someone that’s different than you. Take risks of meeting people with different faith traditions than you to really try and learn about what the core of that religion is,” Fuller said.

Daoudi said that change can happen with those willing to allow it.

“We need to reach to those open, free-minded people,” Daoudi said.

(10) FEAT URE

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

Omaha Girls Rock builds confidence in young girls through music juliaveik

T

he Omaha Girls Rock (OGR) camp empowers young women and helps them find self-confidence and their own voice.

The 2017 OGR summer camp took place at The Holland Center for Performing Arts from July 10-14 for the 13 to 16-year-old girls and from July 17-21 for the 10 to 12-year-olds. The camp focused mainly on instrument instruction, workshops, songwriting and band practice, live performances from visiting artists and a showcase concert. The workshops campers

participated in were taught by volunteers who are involved in the music community in Omaha, a list of which is available on the OGR website.

The OGR camp was created by Stefanie Drootin-Senseney and is intended to help girls form strong values, confidence, self-reliance and original thinking.

The current director of OGR, Melissa Wurth, is a Marian alum of the Class of ’97. Wurth wants OGR to be prevalent in the Omaha community by reaching the lives of young women. For Wurth, the best part of her job is seeing the girls take part in the program and then apply what they learn at OGR to their own lives.

“There are young women, former participants in OGR summer camps who are now making a difference in their own schools, volunteering with other local community organizations, becoming leaders,” Wurth said.

For junior Corinne Johnson, OGR was her chance to find her own confidence. She started going to OGR and began playing guitar when she was 10 in the summer of 2011. She participated as an OGR camper for three years. Johnson spent her weeks Girls can change the world A group of girls gathas a camper surrounded by strong ers around a poster on which they each write down women who were a part of the something that troubles them in the world. This exercise Omaha music community. was designed to help them practice thinking big. Photo “It made me so much more courtesy of Corinne Johnson. confident! When I first started the

camp, I was very shy, but by the end of the camp, I was singing and rocking it. Being surrounded by so many inspiring women helps you to feel empowered,” Johnson said.

Another part of the experience as a camper that Johnson enjoyed was forming a band and performing at the end of the week.

“It was so cool to create a song in five days and then be able to sing it at the Slowdown in front of so many people,” Johnson said.

Though she does not play guitar as often, Johnson returned to OGR as a workshop creator and leader. She led a workshop for 10 to 12-year-old girls about empowerment. In her workshop she talked about what it means to be empowered, how to become more empowered, how to build others up and how to make the world a better place.

The girls in her workshop did an exercise called “Mirror, Mirror” designed to make them think about specific features they like about themselves. The girls wrote statements about those features and then discussed if it was hard for them to do the activity and why or why not.

“My favorite part as workshop leader was being able to see the kids react to the activities that we were doing. It was really awesome to see my ideas and work come to life and to see the girls enjoy it,” Johnson said.

Becoming a workshop leader shifted her viewpoint of OGR. Johnson has be-

come the person who is trying to empower the girls who attend OGR. “I just have a completely different outlook on the camp than I did as camper.

As a workshop leader, I am the one who is attempting to to empower these girls while as a camper I was the one being empowered,” Johnson said.

Johnson has recommended taking part in OGR to her friends and would recommend it to any Marian student.

“It’s a really amazing camp that makes young girls feel powerful and evokes so much self-confidence. It’s also really spectacular how many young girls have come out of OGR with their own voice through music,” Johnson said.

Strumming away Corinne Johnson practices the guitar. Music has been an integral part of her life for years. Photo courtesy of Corinne Johnson.

Idle ordinary computers contribute to scientific advancements gracesall

M

ost computers are used for domestic tasks and sit idly when not in use. But various programs can take seemingly unused computers and put them to work in research.

These programs, such as folding. stanford.edu, World Community Grid and boinc.berkeley.edu (BOINC) run simulations on computers in hopes of advancing knowledge of various diseases. Some of these diseases include breast and kidney cancer, the zika and ebola viruses, Hepatitis C, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Other programs like the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) run simulations in search of, you guessed it, extraterrestrial life.

“There are a number of different types of software that are utilizing the ability to allow people around the world to use the processing power of their computers to accomplish something collectively… Folding@ home is focused on using this collective power for researching cancer,” science teacher Mr. Tim Barth said.

About 94 percent of the Marian students that answered said they had no idea what folding was based on the

202 responses to the November Network Survey, but 60 percent said they would be willing to contribute if they knew more information regarding these technological advancements in science.

In previous years, many Marian lab computers contributed to these programs. The SETI program was attached to various computers throughout the building and when unused, “A radio telescope in South America records radio ‘noise’ coming from space. If you listen to A.M. radio and are not on a station, you hear the noise (actually the radio signal translated into sounds). SETI would send us a segment of their recordings and the computer would try to determine if there is any signal buried in the noise,” former physics teacher and Technology Director Bruce Esser explained.

Seth Bryant, former technology advocate at Marian and current Senior Information Security Engineer at First Data used the BOINC system, which studies diseases as well as global warming, to implement Rosetta@home, for protein research. “It was a good use of spare CPU cycles, which are waves that sometimes the computer doesn’t need to use called spare cycles.

BOINC uses spare cycles to run programs,” Bryant explained. These spare cycles are where Rosetta@ home resided.

Financially, registering for these programs does generally increase electrical bills due to the constant running simulations on computers.

However, this software does not access any personal information.

“I would encourage others to look it up so that they can judge the usefulness of it and alleviate reservations about running something like this,” Barth said.

Bryant agreed, “This is all open source, reviewed by a community of peers. It is not setting up a server, but it is downloading a work file and doing it locally. There is no open connection made or maintained,” Bryant said. He also highlighted that these programs have been around for almost 15 years.

Esser and Bryant said they stopped running this software when computers had an OS update and BOINC software no longer worked. However, current Technology Director Billy Deibler believes they could be great for Marian in the future.

“Technology is changing our world and helping improve lives every day. Programs like these are just another way that it can have a positive impact on humankind. It could certainly be beneficial to implement them again into Marian’s lab computers after investigating their compatibility with current equipment and their feasibility,” Deibler said.

Through these programs, ordinary computers meticulously search for major advancements for humanity when they sit unused.

folding. stanford. edu

Member count: 89, 959

boinc. berkeley. edu

Member count: 810, 162 World Community Grid Member count: 3,760,538

seti@home Member count: 1,525,050

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

(11) FEAT URE

Speech MaMas love the drama; a speech team family abbymclaughlin

S

uit? Check. Hair? Done.

Makeup? On fleek.

Speech is more than a tradition at Marian, it’s a family.

Having two speech teams, novice and varsity, allows girls to play to their strengths no matter their skill sets.

Girls can participate in a variety of categories, including oral interpretation of drama, duet acting, serious prose, extemporaneous, humorous prose, informative, poetry, persuasive and entertainment. Each girl can choose which ones she wants to participate in depending on what her interests are.

With 30 close-knit members,

it is easy to see why people would want to join. “We have done a lot of team bonding activities this year compared to last year. We had a sleepover at the beginning of the year, and we went to the pumpkin patch in the fall,” senior Kate Kellen said.

Kellen is also a speech MaMa. A speech MaMa is like a captain.

The term MaMa originated from the first speech captains, whose first names both started with the letters Ma. The teams have many traditions. For example, the team always does warm-ups before their meets start. The warm-ups consist of positive affirmations,

President Senior Diana Elizalde is the president of the speech team. She steps in to guide the team, encourages them and oversees the speech team as a whole. She placed fourth in poetry at the Dec 9th Creighton Prep meet.

Morale Junior Lauren Phillips is the morale MaMa. She plans team bonding events and works to increase the morale of the team. Her main event is informative, which is making informative speeches over a topic.

doing facial exercises and finishing it off with a rendition of M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”.

One member, senior Donna Yang, has a tradition of her own. “I drink a La Croix before my third round for good luck.

Having team and personal traditions is a way to have fun at the meets,” Yang said.

After the tournament the team will also go over highs and lows of the meet.

The best time to see the girls in action is at one of their speech meets. There is a meet Dec. 15 at Lincoln Southeast, this meet is a varsity meet that allows

Public relations Senior Julia Hingorani is the public relations MaMa. She sends out emails and acts as a liaison between the team and the parents of the team. Her main event is oratory, which is like persuasive speaking.

participants to earn national qualifications. If you don’t feel like trekking to Lincoln, both teams will be competing on Jan. 6 at Millard North. All are welcomed to come watch the team in action.

Finally, the Spring Showcase is a free B.O.S.S. point event to attend. Swing by Room 301 Block B to hear varsity and Block D to hear novice perfect their speeches in front of each other and walls.

No matter when and where you go, speech girls are always looking for their Marian sisters to come and cheer them on.

Financial Senior Kate Kellen is the financial MaMa. She helps to set up fundraising for state and makes sure that they have enough money for tournaments. She placed second in persuasive speaking at the Dec 9th Creighton Prep meet.

Marian speech schedule 2017-2018 Dec. 15- Lincoln Southeast (varsity team only) Jan. 6- Millard North Jan. 12- Westside Jan. 19 Fremont Jan. 26- Millard West Feb. 3- Crete Feb. 9- Marian Mar. 3- Norfolk Mar. 21&22- State Speech in Kearney

Social Media Senior Megan Rutten is the social media MaMa. Ruttem helps with planning events for the speech team. She tweets results from the tournaments and makes social relationships with other schools’ speech teams.

Sophomore Emma Johnson tours professionally with ‘A Christmas Carol’ juliaveik

F

rom “The Nutcracker” to “A Christmas Carol,” sophomore Emma Johnson has been involved in theater for a large part of her life. Johnson is a cast member in the traveling show “A Christmas Carol,” which will travel along the general area of the East Coast. The first show of the tour was on Nov. 24 in Columbus, Ohio, and the last show will be on Dec. 23 in Melbourne, Fla. Johnson stars as one of Tiny Tim’s sisters Belinda Cratchit, Scrooge’s sister Fan and one of the street children.

Though she is acting as multiple characters, her favorite is the street child.

“My favorite scene in the entire show is the counting house, that’s where Scrooge works, and we come in, and we’re singing Christmas carols, and he tries to hit us with a yardstick and we’re all screaming and it’s complete chaos, but organized chaos and that’s a lot of fun,” Johnson said.

Johnson started out in ballet at the age of 3 and in her time participating in ballet she performed in “The Nutcracker” for six years, from kindergarten until fifth grade. In fifth grade, a friend told her about an audition for a musical at a local theater and commented that she could sing something as simple as “Happy Birthday.”

“So I went and I sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and my first show was ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the Omaha Community Playhouse,” Johnson said.

Though she did ballet for 11 years, she prefers acting. “I am not the best dancer, I mean,

I pick up choreography pretty show in 2014 and 2015 as well quickly but dance is like you as the main stage version of the have to do it this way or it’s con- show in 2013. She had to get sidered wrong,” Johnson said. permission from her parents and In acting, she is able to become Mrs. Sullivan to go on the tour, the character, consider what that and now that she is on tour, she character would do or how the has to keep up with homework character would react in a given from teachers. situation and adapt the acting to “Keeping up with school fit that. work is a little difficult, but I Johnson has not limited herhave been able to do it so far. self to traveling theater, she took I try to keep up with what is part in the Marian productions of happening in class, and I make “Singin’ in sure to do all the Rain,” of the home“Gone the work, even if Rainbow, it’s optional, Return the outside of Dove” and class. I have “Hello, my teachers Dolly!.” In send my Marian’s chaperoned October test via email. production Then I take of “Hello, them on the Dolly!,” bus and we she played send them Minnie back to my Fay and teachers to took part be graded,” in memoJohnson said rable songs Johnson Priorities Emma Johnson works on home- has missed such as work in the theater at South High in Omaha “Elegance” several weeks during rehearsal. She receives homework and “Moth- and exchanges emails with teachers to of school to erhood keep up with schoolwork. Photo courtesy of be a part of March.” the cast of “A Emma Johnson.

That Christmas Carsame month Johnson got an ol,” partially due to rehearsals email asking if she wanted to colliding with the school day and tour again with “A Christmas partially due to her being on tour Carol.” She didn’t go through the and thus unable to attend school. audition process but was called “A Christmas Carol” rehearsed on because they only had two for two weeks, during which kids audition for three roles, and they learned the whole show. they knew her from her previous Johnson was needed several days years taking part in the touring of the week for multiple hours at

a time to rehearse.

“Rehearsals are generally nine to six, so full work day but I’m not called the entire time.

The first Stage-worthy smiles Emma Johnson (right) smiles with her tour day I was called sisters, Sasha Denenberg (left) and Mackenzie Reidy (center). from nine Johnson went on tour with “A Christmas Carol” starting in November. Photo courtesy of Emma Johnson. to six enjoys the interactions she can with a one hour lunch break in have with the cast. With smallthe middle. For the last five, six er theaters she interacts with a days, I was called maybe nine to compact group of people that she eleven and then I got three hours is constantly on stage with and off to run back to school to get considers herself friends with some homework and get things. everyone in the cast. In a larger Then I’d go back from two to group the size of the cast of “A four,” Johnson said.

Christmas Carol,” everyone is In her previous years touring like giant family.

Johnson celebrated landmark “In the show I’m currently birthdays. This year she will be doing, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ turning 16 while still on tour. we live with each other for six “My birthday lands right in weeks… and we are with each the middle of it. I turn 16 on other almost 24/7 spending Dec. 14. I’ve had a couple mileupwards of eight to 10 hours on stone birthdays on tour. The first a bus every day. You’re in a giant year I toured was when I was in metal tube with these people, so 7th grade, I turned 13 in Somereveryone bonds with each other,” ville, New Jersey. The second Johnson said. year I toured I turned 14 in Red These bonds with fellow cast Bank, New Jersey. This year I’m members help her whenever turning 16 in St. Louis,” Johnson homesickness strikes. said.

“It has been a little difficult to The experience is an overall be away from family, but I know pleasant opportunity for Johnthat if I ever get homesick I have son because of the chance she a lovely cast to be my family for has to bond with her fellow cast the next month,” Johnson said. members. Johnson particularly

(12) SPORTS

THE Net work (December 2017)

Golden era of basketball bounces back, hopes to make a rebound of the coaching staff of the past.

Wright, Miller and Motykowski coached for more than 30 years each, with Schmidt right behind them for 17 years.

“When you work with someone that long, you know the expectations and you’re on the same page. You have the same formulas for a good program,” Motykowski said. The coaches worked as a team so the girls could work as a team.

Another factor that pushed the basketball program 2 to be its best was 200 the lack of popularity of club

sports. There was a transition period between high school sports, club and high school sports and then just club sports. When club sports became popular, girls played high school volleyball during club basketball or soccer season and vice versa. This became a lot to juggle.When club sports started guaranteeing scholarships, girls leaned toward only playing club sports. Right now 2016

1992

N BASKETBAL A I R A L THROUGH THE YEARS

17

M

sport athletes. Multi-sport athletes were popular. It was rare to have a girl who only played basketball.

Girls were less likely to burn out in one sport or get injured.

They had a variety of workouts all year long. Practices weren’t competing with each other either.

Out of this era came outstanding female athletes. Cristen Wuebben ‘92 was named Miss Basketball in 1992 by the state of Nebraska. Renee Saunders ‘95 received Nebraska’s Athlete of the Year in 1995 for playing basketball and volleyball.

This year, Marian’s basketball team is looking up. All four teams have a positive outlook on the coming season.

“There’s a lot of talent within all four teams. With the mindset we have right now, we should be successful,” freshman varsity player Celia Hacker said.

With high hopes for h t the season, the Crusada r McG a i ers hope to be on the

M the ior Jun hes for e team

right path to revitalize n reac und. Th seaso e o h the golden era of t reb ened ng. stro op basketball. graphic by audreyyost

20

Sen Wu ior al l e her bben -state s G hoo Cris r an te ts a oss Wu ttemp oppo abov n ebb n e t e e d ju nt a be n en Bas amed went mp-sh t o k 199 etba Miss n to ot. ll 2.

there are five prominent club basketball teams in Nebraska: All Nebraska Attack, OSA, Team Factory, Midwest Express and Retro. Girls having to balance high school basketball practice at the same time as another club sport reduced the number of multi-sport athletes.

“If you’re an athlete, you just want to play sports,” Motykowski said. That is just what girls from this era did without the stress of club sports.

Most basketball players were two or three 20 17

Mag g puts ie Palle pres s oppo sure en 20’ had nent. Th on her a e nigh great se seniors t des nior Se pite the l ge nio oss. ag ts a r E Th ain ir mm w vi e t st O hi a R ct ea or m ma le s aa y 6 c h ho be 1- laim a N oti 46 e or ng . d th th . e

ses for r. am po The te m picture. M a their te r coached n e ille v Jim M ing se follow for the rs de years. un Sa y ee sk en he t. he t e r R or t ho nio s f p-s ved f th Se che jum ecei te o rea her rs r thle on unde ka A Sa bras 995.

Ne ar 1 Ye

think it’s starting to turn around,” Ms. Ronda Motykowski said. Motykowski explained that all sports teams at Marian have their highs and lows. It’s a continuous cycle of winning and losing spurts.

Marian used to be the “It” school for basketball. Motykowski said the golden years for basketball were from the mid-90s to mid-2000s, although she played at Marian in the early 80s. The teams throughout that era won seven titles including state championships and runner-ups.

That is more than half of all the state championships and runner-ups in Marian basketball history beginning in 1978 after Title IX, creating the dawn of NSAA sports. Marian participated in the first 10 state champions consecutively.

The success of the basketball program during this time was largely due to the longevity of the coaches. Now retired math teacher Mr. Roger Wright, previous Athletic Director Mr. Jim Miller, Dean of Student Affairs Ms. Motykowski and math teacher Mrs. Lisa Schmidt were all part

95

“I

19

maggieprosser

Students have self-motivation, strive for a healthy lifestyle audreyyost

S

taying in shape is hard. To eat healthy, work out consistently and stay actively involved in your community and school can become difficult. The constant groans of “Ugh, I really need to work out” come simultaneously as three Marian cookies are tossed down the throat along with a huge piece of pizza.

For some girls, they don’t have the constant motivation that playing a sport can give. Going to the gym can be daunting.

When sitting in bed watching Netflix while eating an after school snack, going to the gym just “slips the mind” after eight episodes go by.

So, many find exercise in different ways such as yoga, weightlifting or kickboxing.

Senior Annie Sullivan knows this firsthand. Sullivan spends most of her time lifting weights at Lifetime Fitness. “After I was told I couldn’t do gymnastics anymore I didn’t want to lose the

feeling of being strong. I loved being a competitive gymnast and I’d go back in a second if I could, but my body can’t handle it. With lifting I can incorporate gymnastics conditioning within my lifts. I have a lot more flexibility lifting because I can go whenever I want for as long as I want,” Sullivan said.

Freshman Rylee Trojan has a different way of working out.

CrossFit has become the perfect way for her to stay in shape during off season. Trojan swims, but goes to CrossFit during off season. “I like the flexibility with working out this way because although I do play a sport, I can do it afterwards or on days I don’t swim,” Trojan said. She works out with her mom and sometimes her friend, but absolutely loves how CrossFit can help her stay in shape when she isn’t in the pool.

Junior Mary Watson found that the gym close to her house was perfect for her when she

stopped playing sports. But going to the gym is hard. The motivation needed to get there is something Watson has struggled with.

“I think there are positives and negatives with doing it this way.

If you’re motivated enough to get up and go to the gym, this way is awesome, and the flexibility has really worked out well for me,” Watson said.

Not playing a sport can make it extremely difficult to find ways to stay in shape. Being involved in a sport gives athletes the constant fitness sessions and practices to help them stay in shape. For girls who don’t have a required practice or fitness session throughout the week, it is on them to get up and workout. “My motivation is seeing myself improve. There’s no better feeling than when I get a new max and push myself past what I think I can do. It helps me a lot mentally. When school gets stressful, the gym helps me get

my head focused and makes me feel better,” Sullivan said.

Gym memberships are expensive; especially personal trainers and personal classes which are more engaging to some. With many students’ busy schedules, some end up heading to the gym before school. Starting the day at five in the morning also causes the day to become extremely tiresome. For some teenagers, the high metabolisms they once had when they were little begins to fade away and the need to go to the gym can be come a lot more prominent.

Many girls forget that they can utilize the Marian school gym and Mr. Ed Dudley as their personal trainer. Girls can go to Dudley to work out during open study hall blocks and before and after school. Girls can email him or go in during the day to set up a work out time. It is completely free for students to go to Dudley.

Crusaders confident at NSAA Class A Volleyball State Championship

Sometimes it’s hard to get motivation to want to go to the gym, but a lot of Marian girls use music as motivation. “Lately I’ve been listening to Pentatonix Christmas music, an acapella group and the beatboxing using keeps me going semi-quickly when I walk because of my instinctive rhythmic walking,” Watson said.

Music can be very important when it comes to working out.

Everyone has their own motivation. From Sullivan’s jammin’ playlist, with hip hop and rap music, to Watson’s Pentatonix Christmas music, everyone gets pumped up in their own way.

Working out can sometimes be a pain, but for Marian girls, a good playlist and the right mindset can make them more motivated to hit the gym.

graphic by maggieprosser

photos by audreyyost

A Celebration Seniors Sarah Wing, Lauren Isenberg, Lily Heim and Maddie Wiedenfeld are celebrating their lead during the Papio South state game. Marian won the game continuing to the finals against Millard North High School.

Winners The volleyball team runs to the middle of the court to tackle one another after winning the championship game. The team beat Millard North 25-18 in the final set. The final state game was at Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Final Reward The volleyball team is holding the Class A Volleyball State Championship trophy. The team proudly held their trophy while the stands cheered.

Sportsmanship The Marian student section in themed attire is led by the cheerleaders. Marian earned the Class A State Volleyball Sportsmanship trophy. Students cheered loudly with smiles on their faces throughout every game.

The Network (December 2017)

SPORTS (13)

Student-athletes find opportunity, success outside of traditional competitive sports annacook Harry Potter club in the morning, a few quizzes or tests

throughout the day, practice for a sport or fine art after school and then homework. Marian students are known to be heavily involved in extracurriculars that take up the

greater part of their week; whether that be in school or out of school.

Many girls have a wide variety of activities they are involved in and have schedules that some adults can’t even contend with.

Lanoha competes, jumps to new heights R

iding horses is a complex sport that the level of competitiveness varies. Lanoha has been around for centuries. English has spent countless hours traveling and riding is the style that senior Jenny Lanoha competing in different states. This past specializes in, as opposed to Western summer, she spent two weeks in Colorado riding. It requires finesse in both the rider at a horse show to compete. She’s even and the horse. Lanoha started riding at age competed against and beat Kaley Cuoco 3 and has been perfecting the skills needed from the “Big Bang Theory.” to ride ever since.

Placing in a horse show is determined “I enjoy riding… my sister rides horses by three different scoring categories: Eqand my mom uitation, which rode horses is based on the when I was form of the rider; in the womb, Jumpers, in so in reality which judges see I’ve been who can run and riding for jump through the almost my course the fastentire life,” est; and lastly Lanoha said.

Hunters, which Her famiis judged based ly is very on the form of involved in the horse.

Hurdling heights Jenny Lanoha ’18 competes at the Colthe riding Last year, orado Horse Park. She competed in the 1.20 meter Junior world.

Lanoha went Jumpers. Photos by Allison Hartwell courtesy of Jenny Lanoha to Chicago for Lanoha. has eight the Zones 5 horses that she rides for competitions: and Zone 6 Jumper Championships. The Lola, a half Thoroughbred and half Welsh show consisted of teams from each region pony; Cerdi and Winston, Dutch warmcompeting against each other as teams as bloods; Monte, a Hanoverian; Sam and well as individuals. Lanoha’s team placed Omega, Argentinian well and she placed Thoroughbreds; third overall out of 40 Picasso, an American individuals competing. paint; and Quincy, a Her constant dedBrandenburg. ication to riding has With an extremeallowed her to gain ly busy schedule, several awards each Lanoha is familiar year including the High with the student-athPoint Jumper, High lete lifestyle that so Point Equitation, High many Marian girls Point Pony and Stirrup experience throughout Cup Award. Lanoha also high school. Involved placed 11th in Regionals in Marian extracurlast year. riculars including “I keep riding Operation Others and Mid-air champs Lanoha ‘18 jumps over the because it is somePolar Plunge, Lanoha hurdle with Cerdi. They were champions. thing that you learn also juggles in practicto love; you learn to es five hours each day during the week and just love your horse. I honestly can’t see around eight hours on the weekends. myself not doing it,” Lanoha said. Horse Her season to compete starts in Januriding may not be the most popular sport, ary and goes until November, where she but it still requires an intense schedule competes in shows all across the country. and a dedication that sponsored sports or Depending on where the competition is, activities at Marian require.

Girls at Marian are also known to be well-rounded, because on top of all the activities listed that a student may be involved in, several girls are a part of an extracurricular activity outside the walls of Marian.

Bowling: right up Messerschmidt’s alley S

enior Ellie Messerschmidt is in almost West team and on Thursdays she bowls all honors or AP classes, volunteers independently to prepare herself for tourweekly, is involved in Campus Ministry, naments on Saturdays and Sundays. She graciously makes cookies for the entire also participates in leagues outside of the senior class on major holidays with the season that meet three nights a week. help of a few friends, sings in Select Though time-consuming, MesserWomen’s Choir and Show Choir and is on schmidt’s dedication to the sport has paid the Marian Trap team. On top of all that, off. Over the past three years, she has she bowls. competed in the OmaBowling has ha City Tournament been a constant in and has placed in the Messerschmidt’s top three. life since third Two out of the grade when she three years, Messwas asked to be her erschmidt won first friend’s partner in place in singles bowldoubles bowling. ing which allowed her Ever since, she has to receive a scholbeen seriously inarship worth $300 volved in the sport. to $500. Those who Until the third place in the top eight grade, Messare considered the erschmidt had best players of those never really been particular tournaments Watching & waiting Ellie Messerschmidt involved in sports ’18 bowls for the Millard West varsity team. and receive $50.

She competed in the North Bowl High School due to her ligaAlongside her ments being hyper- Invitational. placement in the city extended, making sports like basketball tournament, as well as other high school or volleyball difficult since they are high and league tournaments throughout the impact. After she discovered her fondness season, Messerschmidt plays on the Milof bowling, she started to participate in lard West varsity bowling team. Last year, bowling leagues to keep improving her her team placed first in State. skills.

During the “It’s championship something game, Millard that everyWest had to one can play three extra improve on rounds due to and be good a tie. Her team at,” Messwon by 10 erschmidt pins. said.

MesserShe has schmidt is an continued accomplished Hard right hook Messerschmidt ’18 follows through in the approach. Her team placed first. Photos by Coach to bowl bowler, who Troy Louis courtesy of Ellie Messerschmidt. throughout works hard at her high school career. her sport and is dedicated in the lanes.

The bowling season starts in Septem“I believe that it is worth it because ber and goes until January. During the you get so much more out of the sport season, she bowls in the metro league afthan the money you put into it... you get ter school on Mondays, on Tuesdays she friends and a fun activity you can do for plays in the Marian league, on Wednesthe rest of your life,” Messerschmidt said. days she practices with her Millard

Burke Irish dances, leaps, kicks, slip jigs her way to champion level with head held high

T

he lights dim and the audience is reduced to a static silence as they wait for the show to begin. The dancers make their way to their positions on stage and the traditional Irish music fills the auditorium, captivating the audience, particularly freshman Mary Burke. Burke was 7 when her mother took her to see the world-renowned show “Riverdance.”

“I remember being amazed by the dancers and telling my mom that I wanted to do that too,” Burke said.

After the show, Burke’s mom saw an ad in the paper featuring Marty Dowds’ studio for Irish dancing in Omaha. Burke has been at the Dowds Irish Dance Academy ever since. Along with the daily responsibilities of being a Marian girl, Burke practices five days a week for about two to three hours. In addition, she competes all over country in about 10 feises each year, not including Oireachtas. A feis is a gaelic word meaning “festival” and the name Oireachtas means “gathering.”

Each feis consists of three judges and a total of three rounds. The first round is with a soft shoe, in which Burke dances

the slip jig, a traditional Irish dance that Champion as well as an Open Champiis often considered the ballet of Irish on. This year, Burke placed 51st out of dancing. Fol130 dancers at the lowing the soft Oireachtas over shoe round is the Thanksgiving break heavy shoe round in Chicago. and then the third Burke dances on round, known as a stage with other the “set dance.” girls in her compeOireachtas is tition level, where an annual regionthe scoring for the al championship rounds is based in which Burke upon the traditional competes against requirements of Irish other dancers dancing. from all over the “Just like any Midwest. In this other sport there’s competition, she a lot of technique will have to place that comes with it… in the top half in you have to stay order to move on the tips of your All decked out Mary Burke ’21 poses for a on and compete toes, your arms can’t picture before dancing at a feis. She competed in in National and move and you must Leawood, KS. Photo courtesy of Mary Burke.

World Competidance with your feet tions. out sideways while keeping your legs Along with competing in the Oireachstraight. It’s important to hold yourself up tas, Burke has placed as a Preliminary in the air and not move, toes pointed, head

and posture must be prostrate because you can’t slouch, and most importantly you must have the endurance,” Burke explained. “I think of it like sprinting as fast you can for a minute and 15 seconds, and that’s what feels like for one dance.”

These competitions require not only hours of practicing routines, but also an elaborate preparation for the outfits of the dancers. Since Burke is at the Champion level, she must have a tailor-made dress for her solos as well as wigs and crowns.

Along with crystal dresses and wigs that give an extra foot of height, Burke needs to tan her legs so that they’re more defined on stage. “You’ll know if I have a competition because I’ll come to school with legs that are a completely different color than the rest of me,” Burke said.

Irish dancing is a cherished and culturally-enriching activity that not many girls at Marian are exposed to. “I invest time in Irish dancing because it’s something that can push me to my limits, teach me so many lessons and show my passion to reach and achieve my goals,” Burke said.

(14) ENT ERTAINMENT

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

Unspoken rules of Marian sofyherrera & katherinemartin

R

ules are a part of everyday life.

Whether we acknowledge them or not, they are there. Marian, just like any other high school, has a code of conduct students must follow. It is written clearly in black and white text in the handbook: the “dos and don’ts.” Don’t wear purple socks to school. Wear only black shorts under your skirt. Don’t wall surf. However, freshmen may be shocked when, after a few short weeks, they realize the most prevalent rules to follow are the ones not written: 1. Keep deodorant and lotion in your locker at all times. You never know who is going to need some in the morning or after gym class. Who doesn’t love smelling like men’s Axe deodorant all day long?

2. You do not have to give someone a piece of gum, but people will love you if you do. Money doesn’t buy friendship, but it can buy gum… which always leads to friendship.

3. Do not take the custodians for granted.

Say hi to them in the halls if you see them.

Do NOT give them more work to do.

4. Walk on the right side Network staffers model in the Pretty Little Liars theme song pose. of the in case of a bake sale. You never know The amount of Marian t-shirts you will hallway unless you enjoy being glared at when a teacher will let you out of class for end up with will be abundant. and trampled. There’s nothing cute about a bake sale, and the opportunities (cook13. Always keep extra clothes in your being a left-side walker. ies) are endless. locker in case it is Surprise Day. Trust me, 5. Don’t make up lame excuses when you 9. Don’t talk loudly in the library, girls are you do not want to be wearing tights and are late to class, the teachers won’t appretrying to either study or sleep; you don’t a polo while sliding down an inflatable ciate it. Accept the consequences. obstacle course. You are in it to win it. want to disrupt either of those.

6. Speaking of being late for class, always 14. Follow the Marian Memes twitter.

10.

Say hi to people in the halls, even if get a note from the teacher that was with 15. When in doubt...it is either an A day or you do not know them.

We’re all sisters you or in the same room as you. It is the to Dab Chef G (the Friday schedule). here.

We know it’s cliche, but CHERISH equivalent of a golden ticket.

16. Always have a snack on half days. your time.

7. DUMP YOUR COFFEE OUT BE17. Mo knows.

11.

Keep your locker clean and your backFORE CLASS STARTS! 18. The golden rule: Do. Not. Skip. pack cleaner.

8. Always keep money in your backpack Spots... EVER. 12. Do not buy clothes outside of school.

Mysterious Mandela Effect intrigues Marian students lilywatkins

D

id Nelson Mandela die in prison? Do the Berenstain Bears have an ‘a’ or ‘e’? Does Chickfil-a have a ‘k’ or not?

The Mandela Effect is a strange cultural phenomenon that began in 2009 on the fringes of the internet as people discussed vivid memories of a South African political activist and former president, Nelson Mandela, dying while imprisoned in the 1980s. The Mandela Effect itself is an attempt to explain how many swaths of Earth’s populace share definite, but false memories, such as the death of Mandela.

It came to a more mainstream light in 2013 after the actual death Mandela, and it came into the direct mainstream in 2016 with the Berenstain

Bears controversy. In the controversy people argued over whether the popular children’s book series was spelled “Berenstain” or “Berenstein.” More and more instances of the so-called “Mandela Effect” began popping up everywhere— even during a discussion in senior Kate Bilyeu’s Block A marketing class with Mr. Craig Panning.

Bilyeu believes the theory is true. “Everyone should take time and think about it,” Bilyeu said. “It’s something that people aren’t aware of and it’s all around us.

So people should make themselves aware and well informed.”

Sophomore Daisy Owen is not as convinced.

“It’s not something that

can easily be proven. It relies on human memories which can be influenced, changed or even forgotten. But I do also think that it does have something to do with some loophole in people’s minds and memories,” Owen said.

Freshman Emily Beyer is also a dissenter. “I don’t believe it’s anything more than people remembering incorrectly. I don’t believe it’s real because I don’t believe in the idea of there being multiple universes,” Beyer said.

Dissent is understandable—the reasoning behind the theory includes many lofty ideas and notions that are, as of yet, unprovable. One of the most popular explanations of the Mandela Effect currently is that

multiple universes exist, and that in each universe something is different than in our universe—for example, Nelson Mandela dying in prison in one universe while in the other, ours, he did not die until 2013. Supporters of this theory believe that at some point both universes “crossed over” and people from the universe where Mandela died in prison came to the universe where he did not and vice versa, which results in such vivid and similar memories among large groups of people.

Whether you believe in the “effect” itself or not, it is certainly an influential cultural phenomenon.

mandela effect Chain of events 2009: The term “Mandela Effect” is coined online.

2016: The Berenstain Bears controversy becomes mainstream.

Question to keep you pondering: does Curious George have a tail?

2013: Nelson Mandela, the theory’s namesake, dies.

2017: A journalist wrote this story for the Network.

The grinch who stole Christmas music hailierydel

I

would much rather listen to the entirety of Nickelback’s works before I willingly listen to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” I have an extreme dislike towards Christmas music. I am a self-proclaimed Christmas music grinch.

The vast majority of Christmas music makes me want to rip the messy locks of hair off of my head. I can appreciate the happiness it brings people during the cheery holiday season, but that’s just not my thing. I find it to be very artificial-sounding. I don’t find any substance to it. It all seems to be rather redundant. How many songs could we possibly have that entail good ol’ Saint Nick and hollow cheeriness?

Too many. Every year it’s the same mind-numbing songs playing over and over again.

C’mon guys, for the sake of my ears and sanity, let’s mix it up

a little.

People start playing Christmas music way too early in the year. Any individual who bumps Christmas music before Thanksgiving is committing a grievous sin to all of humanity.

Let the turkey have its day, man. I am also curious as to why anyone has yet to popularize Thanksgiving music. We have Christmas music, Halloween music, why not Thanksgiving music? Everyone is entitled to blast their Christmas music, but us grinches respectfully ask you wait until after Thanksgiving, thanks.

Underneath all the monotony and redundancy, there are a few redeeming Christmas jams.

Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” is a masterpiece that I could listen to all the way through. I can also get down to “Carol of the Bells” by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich. The piece, while it is a true holiday banger, was not originally intended to be a Christmas song, which I find to be fantastic.

It is a well-known fact that if you add electric guitars to anything, it becomes infinitely better. Trans-Siberian Orchestra had this realization and did just that. The entirety of their

hailierydel

record “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” gives spice to otherwise flavorless Christmas tunes.

While very unorthodox and a bit embarrassing, I do enjoy Trap City’s “Christmas Trap” record. It contains several classic Christmas tunes, but with a little extra oomph. Know what I’m sayin’? It is near impossible to listen to that record and not laugh or bang your head a little.

I do not enjoy Christmas music, and it certainly isn’t for a lack of trying either. I have listened to every Christmas music recommendation that has been tossed at me. Sorry Pentatonix, but I’m still just not feeling it. If you do have any suggestions, feel free to shoot me an email at 18rydelh@omahamarian.org, and I would be more than happy to listen (and argue with you). Help a grinch out, everyone.

Hailie’s Holiday Music Christmas Eve/Sarajevo -Trans- Siberian OrchestraChristmas Eve and Other Stories Carol of the Bells -Lindsey Stirling- Warmer in the Winter Jingle Bells Trap -Trap City, Steviie Wonder, KeanuChristmas Trap The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Act I Tableau 1: March - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail PletnevTchaikovsky: The Nutcracker The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Act II TAbleau 3: Variation 2: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail PletnevTchaikovsky: The Nutcracker

ENT ERTAINMENT (15)

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

Don’t worry; you’ll still be learning after school gracesall

I

f you live to the ripe age of 100, you will have only spent about four percent of your life at 7400 Military Ave. Despite the many long hours and late nights at Marian, four percent is about equivalent to the amount of battery you have on your phone after a long day.

Needless to say, you can only learn so much in four percent of a lifetime. Yes, you learn that cookies taste better with ice cream and water bottles must be clear, but there are other things that you can only learn once you leave Marian for the last time.

Mary Kubat graduated in 2017 and attends the University of South Carolina.

She hasn’t regretted her decision to move so far from home. Despite the 17-hour drive, she believes Marian prepared her for this. However, she has had to become more independent since leaving high school.

“Honestly, the real world is amazing, and I’ve loved every second of it,” Kubat said. She said the biggest thing she’s learned since leaving Marian is how unique the Marian community is. “It’s so important that you take in every second and take advantage of all the opportunities and experiences Marian has given you,” Kubat urged. Kubat learned to appreciate the uniqueness of Marian when she left for South Carolina and realized the real world is not, in fact, the same as what resides inside the walls of 7400 Military Ave. Beth Roach Meyers ’04 has not been a student in the halls of Marian for 13 years now. She has since moved on from high school, attending the University of Kansas, University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She now works as a labor and delivery nurse with two children of her own.

For Meyers, she had to learn a lot about the real world after leaving Marian. “I am a strong woman, no doubt in large part due to my time spent at Marian.

Sometimes that strength and conviction does not translate well to the “real world”

where people sometimes don’t know what to do with strong, intelligent women,” Meyers said. However, she added that her high school experience shaped her into the woman she is, and she is grateful for the radical change Marian made in her life.

“It was a bit jarring when the first college class I took was a 1,000 person lecture. I very quickly felt like a very, very small fish in an ocean. It took a little while to re-acclimate to my new surroundings,” Meyers said.

After college, the real world was similar— seemingly uninteresting compared to her community at Marian. The most positive aspect she has taken from Marian has been trust. “It’s okay to not have it all figured out. Sometimes something you thought you wanted turns into something you don’t want anymore. It’s okay to change your mind and figure things out for yourself. Everyone’s path looks a little different,” Meyers said.

Though Kubat and Meyers differ in age and era of their time at Marian High School, they share the idea that Marian is a special place and they have learned that through experiences since leaving and returning. The real world is not always as trustworthy as the halls of Marian.

Marian teaches a multitude of lessons, both textually and metaphorically. But both Kubat and Meyers seem to agree that the real world taught them lessons that they did not know at Marian.

Need a life lesson? Marian is the place for you

mariadeterman

L

ife lesson number one: Don’t judge a book by its cover. Marian lesson number one: Don’t judge a girl by her wrinkled, greasy, messy-bun-topped cover.

The real world is bustling with skimmers, book-judgers and altogether anti-readers. Marian, however, cracks open every book, rips out superfluous pages and writes four of the most adventure-filled chapters of life. With each chapter comes a life lesson—one that will be bookmarked until the pages are faded and old.

In her very first chapter, at Freshman Retreat, sophomore Emma Garriott “learned the best lesson ever.” She discovered that “you don’t know everyone’s background, story or what is happening in their life,” Garriot said. Retreat was the first of many turning points she will experience at Marian. “Once you go to Marian, as a freshman you change so dramatically. If it doesn’t happen freshman year, it’s bound to happen because you are surrounded by so many amazing people,” Garriott said.

Sophomore Sophie Clark has defied the odds. She has accepted that her pages—no matter how tattered or torn—are perfect.

“I’m trying more to be who I want to be than trying to conform to what other people are telling me to be,” Clark said.

“In modern society, it’s difficult to refrain from changing yourself to meet society’s expectations. Marian has taught me that those don’t matter,” Clark said. Since coming to Marian, she is “trying more to be happy than perfect,” Clark said.

Life advice from the halls of Marian to the outside world

How to live a better life: Relaxation methods from around the world shannonmcsweeney

A

s 2017 comes to a close, it’s easy to notice all of the chaos our world brings every day. From freshmen tackling their first high school finals to seniors applying to college, it’s easy to get trapped in the struggle bus every once in a while.

Of course, with the holiday season comes the relief of no school and sleeping in. But what happens after break? Do we go back to the same cycle of stress as last semester?

Heck no, we make a change. We make a reso-

lution to live our best life in 2018. If Vine can rise from the depths, so can we. This year may have been stressful, but with new goals and a positive attitude, next year can be so much better.

If you need more than a can-do attitude for inspiration, check out the ways people from all over the world find their happiness. From a daily coffee break in Bosnia to taking time to immerse yourself in nature to improve your health in Norway, other countries have unique and effective cures for stress.

It*s perfect!

The environment at Marian has ingrained in her the importance of selfworth and transparency. “Everyone is very accepting and loving. It shows you that you don’t need to try to change yourself.

Everyone accepts you for who you are,” Clark said.

For junior Nika Lisko, the values of a Marian education have opened doors she never thought possible. Lisko’s personal growth from freshman to junior year is only one example of the abounding potential that dwells within each Marian student. “I used to be super shy freshman year. Then, sophomore year I focused on being more independent and taking that independent factor and trying to show that to everyone,” Lisko said.

As sophomore year came to a close, Lisko realized that the thought of “I can do this on my own” was fruitless. This was the switch, the plot-twist if you will, as she learned the importance of accepting help, asking questions and placing teachers and classmates in high regard.

Lisko’s story is a testament to the power of Marian’s mission statement. “Marian has shown me how to be myself. Being a confident, independent, thinking leader I’ve taken that seriously. I feel like I can speak out more and put my opinion into my ideas,” Lisko said.

If you feel lost, if your pages are crumbling or story incomplete, look no further than your Marian sisters for the love you deserve. Lisko struggles, like most, to explain the magical environment that this school possesses. Perhaps, she mentioned, it is the lack of boys or the ceaseless smiles in the hallways. Maybe it is the dedicated teachers, or the reliable staff.

But the greatest lesson of her time at Marian thus far boils down to these simple, yet poignant words—you are cared about.

If Lisko will walk across the stage at graduation with any bit of knowledge from her time at Marian, she will be able to walk with confidence, because she just wrote four of the best chapters of her life.

Hawaii, USA Ho’oponopono means “correction” and encourages reconciliation and forgiveness

Norway Friluftsliv translates to “free air life” and means becoming one with nature.

France Apéritif is how the French transition from work to relaxation by going out with friends.

Turkey Keyif is the art of quiet relaxation and living in the moment

Nigeria Ubuntu means showing humanity towards others by putting the community above yourself

Bosnia Kafa means getting coffee with a friend to engage in conversation

shirts

The last one!

You gotta be kidding me

*f l i n g*

comic by shannonmcsweeney & sofyherrera

graphic by shannonmcsweeney

(16)

PHOTO ESSAY

THE NET WORK (December 2017)

A Day in the Life: Miss Motykowski “Okay, ladies. Time to put your iPads away and listen up. Here are the announcements…”

Each day, you hear her voice echoing through the intercom for the daily news. Surely you’ve seen her in the halls and at one time or another asked yourself: What does she go through on a daily basis? Where does her mind wander? To start, Miss Ronda Motykowski had her beginnings at Marian, too. She walked the halls in a plaid skirt, white-collared blouse and letter sweater; she laughed in the halls, got points, was voted prom princess, played volleyball, basketball and ran track. For 21 years she taught gym classes and had an office in the athletic department. She taught women’s health, weight training and everything in between. Today, Miss Mo walks the halls with the same smile and spirit, but a much deeper appreciation for the family she has established at Marian.

Follow Miss Mo on Twitter: @MoKnowsMarian Miss Mo begins her day at 5:15 a.m. with a healthy dose of love from her two dogs, Rocky, a spaniel-pug mix, and India, a cockapoo. “India wakes me up by woofing in my face and standing on my chest,” she said. Together, the three of them follow a routine each morning with greetings, food, then a trip outside.

Once both pups are properly nurtured, her breakfast is often cream of wheat and if she stops for coffee, a breve latte. As Miss Mo rolls her Honda CRV into her reserved spot, you may hear the peppy songs of her jazzercise CD, (courtesy of Mrs. Jennifer Christen, Dean of Student Services, and Ms. Maggie Hinrichs, Digital Media Director) Christmas music or the serenity of silence—a sound she rarely hears once she steps foot into Marian. Her first duty is with front office manager Mrs. Judy Turnquist. Together, they conquer the early morning office dilemmas by dealing with “phone calls, emails, attendance and tardies.”

As the day moves along, Miss Mo tries to get down to the Quad and cafeteria during lunch. She eats hers in Student Services and loves monthly soup days.

However, “Sometimes we actually miss lunch. If we get too busy, sometimes someone will be eating by themselves in there.” If she could, she would spend more time with students. “I’ll go down to the cafeteria and kinda harass the Sisters down there. I like to wander around the Quad once in awhile and harass the seniors,” she said.

If she has a spare minute, she makes her way over to the new digital trophy cases. Along with athletic director and assistant principal Ms. Rochelle Rohlfs, Miss Mo has helped update Marian’s catalogue of athletes, academic achievements, clubs and fine arts. Another way that Miss Mo keeps up with the fast-paced student life is through her Twitter @MoKnowsMarian. Below the serious facade, Miss Mo not only knows, but she also cares. “I hate when a student’s heart is broken. It doesn’t have to necessarily be discipline, it could be something like maybe they didn’t make a team or maybe they want to do well; maybe they are having troubles at home and don’t know where to turn to. That’s hard on me to see kids sad and struggling,” Miss Mo said.

Truly, Miss Mo’s secondary title could be “Dean of Basketball Affairs.” As Assistant Coach of varsity and Head Coach of junior varsity, she scrutinizes their plays, shares her basketball wisdom and runs drills with the team. When practice is finally finished, Miss Mo retreats back to her home. Ask her what she does for fun and likely the answer will sound something like: “I love to jazzercise. I mean I LOVE to jazzercise.” She has been so busy lately that jazzercise has been on the back-burner, but if she has time to relax, she loves watching “‘The Blacklist’ and all that crazy stuff.”

However, quite often Miss Mo brings work home, or goes to other Marian sponsored events. “This is kinda like my family.

Sometimes I’m here too much, and my mom is like ‘what are you still doing up there?’... my job,” Miss Mo said.

As the Dean of Student Affairs, Miss Mo doles out disciplinary points on a daily basis. “On average I issue 4 to 10 points a day,” she said.

While taking a stroll through the Quad during Block A study hall, Miss Mo caught senior Molly Miller on her phone, which is not permitted during study hall. Miss Mo finds this type of illegal action daily and hollers at girls who defy dress code or beverage policies. Though students may disagree, she stands firm in her belief that points are beneficial. “Points are really important for personal responsibility. It teaches students how to be accountable for themselves because in reality, when they go off to college or a job, no one is going to tell them ‘turn this in at this time.’ They are going to miss out on opportunities.”

Photos by Audrey Yost and Maria Determan