The Chronicle, 12.6

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February 20, 2015

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Volume 12, Issue 6

Despite popular opinion...

S he ’ s not a W eather F orecaster

Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline consults data to make school cancellation decisions, not her own predictions. [see page 8] Photo by Madison Krell, graphic by Gabrielle Stichweh

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news

T rending N ow View these and other stories and galleries on thecspn.com

C Boys basketball vs.

Lakota East

The Comets are taking on the Thunderhawks tonight at 7:30 p.m. in their last regular season game.

Check thecspn.com for coverage.

Photo by Madison Krell

Senior Cameron Arminio defends against Kings on January 20.

C Gymnastics City

Darts & Donations NHS Nerf Madness to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Duncan MacKenzie | Staff Writer

Nerf is no longer child’s play.

On February 21, adults and Mason High School students alike will pack into the Mason Intermediate 45 gym to engage in an epic battle, but not necessarily one of life and death.

The first annual Nerf Madness, an event organized by National Honor Society, will bring teams brandishing Nerf “blasters” together to compete in a friendly tournament. Each team will pay an entrance fee of $50, and all proceeds will go to the Pasta for Pennies campaign, a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Mason High School has ranked among the top high schools around the country for total Pasta for Pennies donations, but senior NHS member and Nerf Madness cofounder Jackson Brown isn’t satisfied until they’ve reached the top.

“The last two years, out of all the schools in the nation, Mason has been the third highest donor through the Pasta for Pennies campaign,” Brown said. “We’re doing pretty well and we’re hoping that we can jump up to the first or second highest spot this year, which is why we added in this new event.”

Despite Nerf Madness being in its introductory year, senior Nerf Madness cofounder Carver Nabb remains very hopeful in its success. Nabb said the idea is truly original, as it combines aspects of both dodgeball and Nerf.

“We knew Nerf Wars was a popular thing with a lot of MHS students, but that wasn’t really school approved,” Nabb said. “We took the whole Nerf idea and we kind of wanted to do something along the lines of that, but we weren’t quite sure what. We got in contact with another group of students that was pitching a

dodgeball idea to the NHS administrators, and it became a combination of the two.”

Although the event serves a charitable purpose, Nabb said he thinks the stakes will remain high. The teams will be competing for gift baskets dawning Cincinnati-themed gift cards, tickets to local sports games, and Cincinnati sports memorabilia. According to Nabb, the tournament will be set up competitively; the darts may be foam, but the fight will be real.

“We ended up creating a pool play where teams will play two or three games in a roundrobin style and that will determine everyone’s seating,” Nabb said. “After the pool play is over, we will format a bracket, similar to the March Madness bracket, and at that point it becomes a single elimination tournament.”

According to Nabb, another similarity March Madness and Nerf Madness share is that they take a lot logistically to put into action. The founders of Nerf Madness have had to work with administration to get the event approved, and many rules have been created for safety.

For example, competitors will have to refrain from painting Nerf guns to look real, and special modifications have been banned. The use of PVC pipes as weapons has also been disallowed because of the serious health threats they pose. Nabb, Brown and the rest of the NHS members will do what they can to keep the event fun, memorable, and safe for everyone.

“We reserved the right to monitor and limit what guns go in and out,” Nabb said. “If we see that someone’s gun is a little too powerful for the event, we would just politely ask them to not use that one and then we’ll get them another one to use.”

Championships

The Mason gymnastics team will be competing in the City Championships tomorrow. Visit thecspn.com on Monday for a wrap-up of the competition.

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Nerf Madness

Tomorrow from noon to 4 p.m., the Mason Intermediate 45 gym will become a Nerf war zone in support of NHS’ Pasta for Pennies. Check thecspn.com for pictures. compiled by Gina Deaton

Photo by Erin McElhenny

Seniors Jackson Brown, Sam Wendell and Carver Nabb cofounded NHS’ next event, Nerf Madness.

february 20, 2015

Big Loser

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Governor Kasich’s funding proposal cuts Mason City Schools budget by $5.2 million

Photo by Sheila Raghavendran

Mason City Schools Treasurer Ronda Johnson reviews budgeting paperwork at her desk. In August, Johnson replaced treasurer Richard Gardner who retired in July.

Sheila Raghavendran | Editor-in-Chief

Mason City Schools is the second biggest loser in Ohio.

Early this month, Governor John Kasich spelled out his two-year state budget, including a proposal scheduled to reallocate state funding for wealthier districts to struggling districts. Through this plan, 307 out of the 610 Ohio public school districts would see a cut in their budget, including MCS at $5.2 million, just behind Lakota Schools at $5.9 million.

According to MCS treasurer Ronda Johnson, Kasich’s proposal is in its early stages. It has been introduced in the General Assembly and hearings are beginning in the House of Representatives’ committees.

“Debate will continue in the House through subcommittees until a substitute bill is introduced and possibly amended--ending with a full vote on the House floor,” Johnson said. “We expect this to happen around mid-

April.”

The Senate follows the same process after the bill is passed in the House, and Johnson said she expects the Senate to take a full vote in early June.

“Traditionally, the House and Senate version are not the same and the bill is sent to a Conference Committee,” Johnson said. “The Conference Committee works to balance both versions to end up with something agreeable to both the House and Senate. The final version is then sent to the Governor for his final signature and this is required to be completed

by June 30, 2015.”

According to Johnson, this budget cut would scrape off five percent of MCS’ operating revenue.

“A reduction in state funding of this magnitude would result in the need for additional local revenue or a reduction in programming,” Johnson said. “As we are early in the budget process, we have not identified any programming reductions but rather

are working to impact the budget process resulting in a more favorable result for our school community.”

Johnson said MCS is looking to lobbying efforts to influence a change in the plan and curb the loss.

“Our work right now is focused on working with our local legislators and our lobbying groups to impact the budget process,” Johnson said.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Kasich has suggested that schools losing large amounts of money should compensate through cost-cutting plans and higher property taxes. Johnson said that if Kasich’s plan is passed as proposed, MCS would require a $4 million levy to make up for the cut.

“Somehow it doesn’t feel quite right for districts like Mason to increase their local property tax burden simply to recoup state funds sent to other districts across the state,” Johnson said.

According to Cleveland.com, Kasich said this plan is not a redistribution of wealth, but simply “a formula

for driving resources to kids”. Johnson, however, said the plan does not show a concern for students’ academic performance.

“The proposed formula does not focus on the needs of students--but simply on a yet-to-be-defined measure of local capacity that simply shifts funding from one district to another,” Johnson said. “It may drive resources to some kids--but those kids are not in Mason.”

Though the plan hurts more than helps, Johnson said she has full confidence that MCS will continue to uphold its academic excellence.

“I have no doubt that even a loss of this magnitude will not impact the academic achievement of our students,” Johnson said. “If the Governor’s proposal was implemented, it could impact tax rates, staffing levels, and or instructional programming--but I do not believe it would impact the rigor of our instruction and the level at which our students achieve success.”

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Opinion

The Chronicle’s Policy The Chronicle is the official student newspaper of William Mason High School.

The Chronicle promises to report the truth and adhere to the journalistic code of ethics through online and print mediums.

The Chronicle is produced by students enrolled in Journalism I, II and III. Editorials reflect the staff ’s opinion but do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school administration or the Mason City School District.

The Chronicle is published monthly. Call 398-5025 ext. 33103 for information regarding advertising in The Chronicle. The Chronicle reserves the right to refuse advertising it deems inappropriate for a high school publication.

As an open forum for students, letters to the editor are welcome, but are subject to be edited for length, libel, obscenity, clarity and poor taste.

Letters to the editor may be dropped off in room C103 and must be signed.

The Chronicle is a member of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association, The National Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association.

Tweets

to the editor

Contact Information The Chronicle William Mason High School 6100 S. Mason Montgomery Rd. Mason, Ohio 45040 (513) 398-5025 The Chronicle Staff Editor-in-Chief Sheila Raghavendran Managing Editor Erin Brush Associate Editor Rashika Jaipuriar Layout and Design Editor Gabrielle Stichweh Online Editor Gina Deaton Business Manager Emily Culberson Photo Editor Madison Krell Staff Writers Arnav Damodhar Juliana Discher Ariel Jones Madison Krell Charlie MacKenzie Duncan MacKenzie Abbey Marshall Matthew Marvar Kylie McCalmont Erin McElhenny Eric Miller Zane Miller Ashton Nichols Kelly Noriega Meghan Pottle Sonia Rayka Jessica Sommerville Adviser Dale Conner

Staff Editorial Tweets to Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline tarnish student body’s reputation Despite popular opinion, Superintendent Gail KistKline is not a terrorist nor a “cover name for the Taliban.”

Before Dr. Kist-Kline created her Twitter account, many of us didn’t know her name, let alone what she looked like. But now, we all recognize @DocGKK, we’re on a first-name basis with her and we insult her in 140 characters when we would never dare do so to her face.

The safety behind our computer screens has caused us to develop nerve and forget that those 140 characters are permanent--the language and abuse fired KistKline’s way would warrant a suspension if verbally aimed at another student. But many of us think that writing about a school official on a public domain is harmless. It gains us those precious favorites and retweets, so it’s worth the risk of disciplinary action that rarely occurs.

Though Kist-Kline may dismiss the Twitter mania as an occupational hazard, we wonder where the line is drawn: a tweet associating her with the “Taliban” gets

taken down, but her face photoshopped on to Elsa with the caption, “The cold never bothered me anyway,” gets laughs (understandably).

Each tweet, innocuous or not, received numerous retweets and favorites, making us guilty by association. We have tied our name to mockery and in doing so, parade our support. It’s not surprising that highschoolers are depicted as immature punks--we act that way. We throw fits when we attend school with an inch of snow or it’s simply too cold, ignoring our own refusal to don any jacket other than a hoodie.

That snarky tweet we send during the Pledge won’t release us like the bell, only shatter our already tarnished reputation. As we drop Twitter bombs, the same Kist-Kline we attack is testifying in Columbus to minimize the influx of standardized testing--but because these actions don’t make for snide commentary, we let them pass by, unnoticed.

And instead of watching our mouths on social media or respecting our superintendent, we choose to take the sarcastic route, and gibe #ThanksGail.

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Opinion

Editorial Cartoon

Super Bored XLIX Abbey Marshall | Staff Writer

Cinema Psycho Madison Krell | Staff Writer

Every Thursday night, at 10/9 central, I watch as innocent people are followed into their condos, or their cars or even their work places.

As I am watching, the pitch black sky is thrashing against the window, the wind is making an eerie melody with the haunting music whistling out of the television set in front of me, all while a few sets of dark eyes are staring directly at me. A chill crawls up my spine. It’s only five minutes in, but I still feel disturbed by the grotesque images of people being burned alive and viewing the psychopaths dressed up as demonic clowns chasing people down the street.

It’s Thursday night, and the newest episode of Stalker has me creeping to the edge of my seat, wide-eyed and anticipating their next victim.

There are a great range of horror movies and TV shows out there; some, like The Exorsist, claim they are based off of “true paranormal” events, others, like Eaten

Alive, are based off of actual murderers, and then you have the ones like The Human Centipede, where the story was created from the mind of the writer. For those who are unfamiliar with the plot of The Human Centipede, it is a very graphic, grotesque, and disturbing movie about a man who kidnaps people, and then sews them together to make, well, a human centipede.

I know that the likelihood of this happening to me is slim to none. I know these are just movies. But watching these movies makes you wonder about the sanity of the writer. Yes. They are just movies, mostly fictional. But someone made them up.

Someone took the time to plan these murders seemingly perfectly in order to film them. Someone came up with the idea for the movie. Someone researched different ways to realistically kill someone; they researched ways to torture, slaughter, burn, stalk, kidnap, abuse…

Horror movies don’t scare me.

Their writers do.

Game day: a day of endless screaming and cheering and jeering and eating and shouting and overall obnoxious behavior.

I grew up in a house with a dad and brother that practically have footballs as extra appendages. My Sunday afternoons, which I normally spend lethargically napping, consist of deep bellowing shouts that flood the house during football season. From every touchdown victory to every bad call, I always find myself yawning in contrast to the flurry of emotions that my family expresses. It’s not too hard to see that I never have been interested in sports. Sitting in front of a television screen to witness grown men attacking each other for a ball isn’t exactly my idea of fun; it’s an activity I attempt to evade by holing up in my room to read or work on something productive.

Unfortunately, the love of football that engulfs every inch of my house is unavoidable; to my dismay I have been dragged to high school and college games, I have been taught nearly everything there is to know about the sport and I have consumed my fair share of stadium snacks.

Naturally, you could see how being forced to watch the Super Bowl would make me consider moving out of a country to a nation where football doesn’t exist. The impending doom I feel on game day is unreal as I savor each free moment I can before kick off. The moment that cleat touches the pigskin, I am trapped in a world of referees and yellow flags and time outs and first downs. I shove my nose in a book, attempting to drone out the torture, but the howls of my family always snap me back into the painful reality.

What I learned to do this year, however, is to set down my own distractions and look--not at the television screen or the athletes running up and down the turf--but really look at my family. Watching them get hyped makes me smile (after all, who doesn’t like to see their civil family turn savage for a few hours?). It must be nice to find a passion in something like that, the way I do in my own activities.

Perhaps I am just lucky to have a family that wants to spend time with me enough to involve me in their love of sports. Perhaps then I am not shackled to the couch during a football game the way I think I am. Perhaps I stay to watch them even though I could drive away--even if that does mean I have to endure game after game.

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Feature

Roaring

in the

New Year

Students celebrate Chinese culture with traditional lion dance Abbey Marshall | Staff Writer

You’re going to hear them roar.

For most students, February consists of heart-shaped candies and roses, but some students like junior Andrew Zhan are celebrating their heritage in a traditional Chinese lion dance to ring in the New Year.

According to the Chinese school principal Jim Lee, the team was created over 10 years ago at a Chinese school in the Kenwood area with only students who graduated from the school, but they have since expanded to contain any students interested in participating.

The group now contains seven Mason students, as well as a group of students from Sycamore, and they are taught the routines and dances by lion dance alumni who are now in college.

“The style of the dance (is interesting),” Zhan said. “Lion dance (is a tradition) you don’t see very often in America…It connects to our Chinese and Taiwanese culture that we don’t really get in America as much.”

Zhan said that learning this art is an arduous task at first with so much going on during a performance, especially when you throw in a lion costume.

“Learning was difficult because it’s something that we never did before,” Zhan said. “I remember the first couple practices were really rough because we had to practice without the suit and then we had to practice in the suit, and it’s a lot harder when you’re in a 90-degree lion costume. It was pretty difficult at first, but it’s a lot of fun performing, in my opinion.”

There’s a variety of things occurring on the stage at once to create a visually pleasing performance, according to Zhan.

“We have two (lions) and they kind of interact with each other during the performance through

their moves,” Zhan said. “There’s two people in the lions…There’s also two people called fatheads-that’s the literal translation. So there’s two lions and two people and you wear a giant mask and (the fatheads) will play around with the lions and guide them and hit them.”

All the effort pays off during the performance, Zhan said. In October, the group performed at the Chinese school that sponsors them and paid for the lion costume.

“The best experience is definitely seeing the kids,” Zhan said.

“We throw candy at them from the mouth of the lion so they really enjoy that...They all love watching and it makes them happy, so that’s nice.”

According to Lee, the appeal of the lion derives from the connotation associated with this majestic animal in Chinese culture.

“The lion is the symbol of success and the king of the jungle,” Lee said. “We always perform during the New Year and hopefully people will get the symbol of the new coming year and that everything will be successful. People would like to see this, particularly the Chinese people, at restaurants.

They want to have their business to become successful in the near future. They want to have someone or something, like the lion, to cheer up their customers, and this is really a traditional symbol for success in our culture.”

Lee said he hopes to expand his performing around the entire Cincinnati area because of its attraction to audiences of all kinds.

“We like to introduce this kind of traditional culture to the Cincinnati area, particularly for people who have never seen this kind of performance before,” Lee said.

“I trust that everyone who has seen this before will like to see it again.”

Scan this QR code with your smartphone to watch a video on thecspn.com.

Photo by Madison Krell

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Final Call

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Despite Twitter lobbying, superintendent bases school cancellations on facts Matthew Marvar | Staff Writer

can say it in a modest way, then I think it’s funny.”

Kist-Kline, who signed up on Twitter in NoWhen the weather forecast predicts snow, Suvember, agreed. She said that it’s important to perintendent Gail Kist-Kline doesn’t do a snow maintain a level of professionalism but also to dance, flush ice cubes down the toilet or wear her enjoy everything that her new communication pajamas inside out. Instead, she sets her alarm tool offers. for 4:00 a.m. to see for herself if the weather “When we get something that’s tweeted to us, plays out as planned.

I try to respond, but always thinking about re“Whether (the weather) actually comes or not, sponding respectfully and professionally,” KistI still get up at 4:00 and I track the apps on my Kline said. “(We) love to insert our personality phone, I listen to what’s on the news, I go outand be funny, and we can all appreciate humor.” side and I drive the roads,” Kist-Kline said. “I But because tweets can be misinterpreted, Kistalso check in with our maintenance person to Kline said that it’s easy to cross the line of what is make sure our sidewalks and parking lots and appropriate to display online. the school buildings are all okay, check with our “But humor doesn’t always translate,” Kisttransportation person--what’s their feedback on Kline said. “…We are all creating a digital footthe buses…and then I just recently started checkprint--when we put something out, it doesn’t reing in with Mason Police as well.” ally go away.”

But senior Keefer Kaneshiro said he isn’t satisThough the line between sarcasm and disrefied. He said that because there are many young, spect is blurred, Kist-Kline said she takes the inexperienced motorists that drive to school, tweets lightheartedly. the snow day circumstances should compensate “It’s hard for me to say what that line is--there even more in the name of safety. are times when you absolutely know when some“Some people have had their license for less one is crossing the line, and you know when than two or three months and they’re driving,” someone is tiptoeing up to it,” Kist-Kline said. “I, Kaneshiro said. “They’re going to be less apt to like anyone else, appreciate someone who is clevdrive on these roads.” er and witty--love that--(someone) who is pleadThe snow day talk doesn’t just end there, ing, perhaps, and I can read that and smile, and though. Twitter has become a popular way to exthink that it may not influence my decision, but press thoughts on snow days or I can certainly appreciate that.” the lack thereof--and junior Kaneshiro, however, strives to maintain his soBaylee Scott said that she cial media presence behind that line. According does it for the fun. to Kaneshiro, it’s okay to express frustration in a “I just like to make tweet as long as it’s not directed right at somepeople laugh,” Scott one. said. “Twitter is fun “I don’t do anything personally attacking because people anyone because that’s where I draw the line, will say what most and that’s where I think people take it too far,” people are thinkKaneshiro said. “I worry about some tweets, but ing but don’t when it comes to snow days, I think that it’s sort have the guts to of unfair if they don’t cancel school--especially say. And if you when I crashed my car. I feel like I have a right to be a little outraged about that.”

But in the end, the number-one priority for Kist-Kline is safety.

Last year, even when Mason City Schools exceeded the five-day limit, it didn’t matter--if the weather was bad, school would be cancelled.

“If it’s not safe and we’ve exceeded the number of hours, we still need the day off,” KistKline said. “We were there last year. We only had five days-we used all five. And so we ventured into those online days. That wasn’t (about) how many days we’ve used or not used…it’s not safe. That’s the principle decision.”

Photo by Madison Krell Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline uses her Twitter account, @DocGKK, to update Mason City Schools students and families about school cancellations and district news.

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Gaga For Google

MHS sacrifices privacy in switch from Microsoft to convenient Google technology Jessica Sommerville | Staff Writer

If sophomore Alexander Shearer logged on to Google Chrome at 5:56 p.m. on Monday, February 23, Google would know about it.

As Mason City Schools transitions to Google-based technology for its convenience and collaborative capabilities, the corporation collects data without user consent. This poses a threat to privacy unrivaled by social media, Shearer said.

“If you post something on Facebook or other social media, you give some sort of permission, although you might not be fully aware of the consequences of your post,” Shearer said. “If Google just tracks what you do, it’s never directly stated that they’re going to track

everything you do. (With) social media, you have to choose what you put online, but Google just sort of invades your privacy.”

Google’s knowledge of student online activity is bolstered through its links to other electronic services, according to Shearer.

“They want you for a service; you apply for this account (then) you start to do more,” Shearer said. “You might have a YouTube account then move on to Google Plus, but then they can track what you do on Google Plus. And Chrome is owned by Google, so they can track what you search.”

Despite Google’s monitoring of search history, Shearer said he prefers Chrome as a web browser and does not mind that advertisements are tai-

lored to him. According to Digital Image Design teacher Aaron Roberts, however, advertisements will not be a problem in the upcoming Mason Ohio Schools Gmail accounts generated for the student body.

“Google does not sell ads to your education accounts,” Roberts said. “When you go into your home Gmail, you always have those ads on there...that’s Google’s business; it’s how they make money…but when they created these apps for education, they said, ‘No, we’re not going to do that here.’”

Roberts said the new accounts will ease communication between students and teachers--documents can be transmitted without flash drives or storage constraints.

“As a teacher, you can then share (a)

document over to me,” Roberts said.

“Now I can highlight and comment on everything right back to you, so you can then make changes to a draft. As far as the feedback between teacher and student, it is huge.”

AP Physics teacher Brian Thomas also uses Google for collaborative purposes. Groups submit lab reports via Google Drive, and Thomas uses the technology to account for each member’s share.

“That revision history for that particular person actually shows up in a different color font,” Thomas said. “It also gives the time stamp of every single revision they make. I can tell who’s been on there and how long they’ve been on, then if I click on their name, then that color that’s assigned to them will actu-

[

ally show in the original document, so I can actually see what revisions they made as well.”

While those at Google can also monitor student activity, Thomas said the data transmitted from school assignments is small compared to students’ personal activity. While Shearer prefers his personal account, he said he is happy to see Mason integrating new technology.

“I’m kind of glad they’re embracing the technology, but I’m also worried that the standardization of all the accounts can lead to sort of less creative things,” Shearer said. “It’s more rigid, and I liked it when we were using Google accounts, but it was our own accounts and not enforced by the school.”

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“I think as a business, it’s important to track what the consumer is doing on the site and what they could improve on because it’s being utilized a lot. They can focus on making it better, but it’s kind of creepy...the whole thing has a balance at some point.”

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— Morgan Schaffer, senior

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“I think that the benefits definitely outweigh the costs...it makes information more accessible to everyone, anyone can learn anything about different people, but if you have nothing to hide, then I really don’t think that’s much of a problem.”

Google going

— Michael Crawshaw, senior

Design by Gabrielle Stichweh

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CHECK OUT OUR UNIQUE PERSONALITIES ON MBC 2.0

february 20, 2015

Foreign Exchange

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Students weigh decision to return to native country for college Meghan Pottle | Staff Writer

Foreign policy may be cheaper than you think.

Many high school students have moved to the United States from foreign countries, forcing them to adjust to American education and lifestyle. These students now have the option to return to their native country or stay in the United States for college.

Sophomore Emil Henningsen moved to the United States from Denmark a month ago because his mother got married. According to Henningsen, there are benefits of living in Denmark. “[College] is free,” Henningsen said. “Healthcare and welfare are as well, everybody gets welfare, but we pay 70% tax.”

Henningsen is now undecided on where he wants to go to college. But after 10 years, he will lose his citizenship in Denmark and won’t be able to receive the benefits of free college, healthcare, and welfare anymore.

Junior Ri Moodie moved to the United States from England seven years ago.

According to Moodie, there are many differences between colleges in England and the United States.

“Here, the average college is about forty-five grand a year,” Moodie said. “In England, you cap out at about 10,000 pounds a year, which is about 16,000 dollars here.

You can only pay a set amount for college because it is so education focused

that you don’t have to pay for extra stuff like housing, sports, and that kind of stuff.”

Moodie is applying to multiple colleges both in the United States and the United Kingdom. At this point, she is undecided on where she wants to go to college.

“I’m thinking about going back because it’s a lot cheaper, I have my family there, and there are a lot more programs that I’m going into,”

Moodie said. “I’m going into theatre and there is a lot more stuff I can do there with more connections and that kind of stuff. All of my family is [in England]. If I moved there, I would have free housing all the time” According to Moodie, she is probably going to college in England, but still hasn’t made a decision.

“There are also some benefits here,” Moodie said.

“Like I’ve done my whole entire high school career in

Denmark: No debt for the Danish Exchange students studying in Denmark or citizens of countries in the European Union or the European Economic Area are exempted from Danish university and college tuition fees.

Information from studyineurope.eu

the States so that would be easier to get in. It just depends how I feel at the time.”

Junior Nicole Garcia-Salas has lived in six different countries and moved to the United States about six months ago from Singapore.

“I don’t know how much the colleges were in Singapore,” Garcia-Salas said.

“Typically, people go to college in England and the main colleges that they look at are Cambridge and Oxford, but those are all really expensive.”

Although Garcia-Salas could go to England for college, she plans on attending college in the United States.

“Personally, I didn’t want to go in England because I had been so surrounded by English people my entire life, so I kind of felt like I needed a break,” GarciaSalas said. “My family was always planning to move to America, so I thought it would be great if I lived closer and I just wanted to have a new experience of living.”

USA:

England: Not my cup of tea

The average cost of tuition per year is approximately £6,000 which is equivalent to 9,217.50 US dollars.

Information from studying-in-england.org

Land of the free

Public four-year in-state tuition is on average $8655 per year and public four-year out-ofstate tuition is on average $21,706 per year.

Information from bigfuture.collegeboard.org Illustration by Madison Krell

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Sports

Balancing Act Gymnastics team takes fresh faces and new coaching staff in stride, aims for postseason success

Senior Crystal Kratzer performs her Senior Night beam routine at Gym-Nation.

Erin McElhenny | Staff Writer

Competitive gymnastics is quite a balancing act.

The Mason gymnastics team has competed in five events this season and has brought home five championships. The girls were crowned champions at Flip Fest, Oak Hills, Northmont, Centerville, and the Indian Cup. The team has qualified for state the past four years and was the Cincinnati City Champions as well as district runner-ups last year.

Denise DeLotell is a first-year head coach for the Comets, and has been an assistant coach for the last six years. According to DeLotell, having past experience coaching the team has helped her transition into the head coach position.

“The head coach I was under, Kelly Wooten, was just awesome and she was a great coach and that’s why we got to state as many times as we did,” DeLotell said. “I paid attention.”

Lauren Brune, a 2011 Mason graduate, assists DeLotell. Brune was a captain of the gymnastics team and specialized in floor and vault. According to DeLotell, the age and experience of Brune strengthens the coaching staff while providing a young aspect to the team.

“She brings big advantages in that she is closer to the age of the gymnasts, so she can relate to them differently and I’m more like their mother, or their grandmother in some cases,” DeLotell said. “The fact that she was just a gymnast within the last five years is huge so she can explain how she did things and how it is supposed to feel. She has just been a huge asset.”

Many new faces have made their way into this year’s varsity rotation. Freshmen Donna Soltis, Lauren Brucher, Jessie Clark, and Jenn Kyselica have added depth crucial to their lineup. Although senior Mandie Shumate and sophomore Jasmine Bacchus are new to the team this year, they still contribute to the squad’s success. According to senior captain and 2014 City Champion, Gabby Sora, the young team will set higher standards in the future.

“I think with how young they are with the potential that they have now they can definitely grow as the years go on,” Sora said.

According to DeLotell, this young team has had its struggles throughout the season, but the leadership of upperclassman has guided them in the right direction. “(The young team) has been a struggle, but I think because of the seniors they’ve been able to see what’s expected of them down the road,” DeLotell said. “I know they can handle it, it’s just if they have the desire. You can’t coach desire.”

According to DeLotell, the team needs to simply work on their confidence to find success at the district and state competition.

“The main thing they need to work on is confidence and showing off their routines,” DeLotell said.

“They can work on the skills but you have to sell it.

You have to sell what you are doing.”

Photo by Erin McElhenny

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Wake-Up Call

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february 20, 2015

Early morning workouts highlight athletes’ dedication to sport Eric Miller | Staff Writer

The clock strikes 5:00 a.m.

Most students are sleeping, but not Mason’s athletes as they are preparing to start their day with a morning workout rather than a cup of coffee.

Varsity baseball coach, Curt Bly, said one of the reasons his baseball program works out before school is due to the sheer size of the athletic program.

“The amount of sports and teams that we have at the high school makes it difficult if you have large numbers of students to have them (workout) after school,” Bly said.

According to Bly, the morning workouts are more than just time to workout, they show who’s dedicated to the program and who’s not.

“Another big reason is I think it does demonstrate a commitment,” Bly said. “It’s not easy getting up and getting in to do that.”

For junior swimmer Jordan Decker the most difficult part of the morning workout is not the early wake-up call but the first moments in the natatorium pool.

“Just diving in the water (is the worst) because it’s really cold in the morning,” Decker said.

Although some athletes find these workouts annoying and inconvenient, senior Tyler Krabbe said that although he has to wake up earlier, the early start doesn’t have a huge impact on him after.

“You’re tired throughout the day,” Krabbe said. “But it’s not too bad, you can still focus and get through your day.”

Decker echoed Krabbe’s thoughts, she said the early start helps her attack her day.

“I feel like morning practices wake me up for the rest of the school day,” Decker said. “You can also get more training in and it makes it all worth it in the end.”

Head coach of the boys crosscountry team, Thomas Rapp, said it’s the responsibility of the student athlete to lessen the blow of the earlier wake-up time.

“(Athletes are only tired) if they haven’t been responsible enough to go to bed earlier the night before,” Rapp said. “That’s something that I push hard with my runners. If you go to bed earlier the night before, it’s not a very big deal.”

Rapp also said he doesn’t require freshmen to attend the morning practice to help them become acquainted with high school. “(Morning practices are) only for our top sophomores, juniors and seniors,” Rapp said. “I want freshmen to adjust to life as a high school student.”

Bly said his team follows a tightly structured workout program for these early morning training sessions.

“We have a three-phase workout program that we do,” Bly said. “One is initial strength development, we move into heavier lifting and core development and then in-season lift. There’s certainly a science behind it, there’s research behind it, we’re not just in there running around.”

Bly also said that his team’s commitment to the early morning training has paid off with success on the field.

“I’ve seen in our program over the years that we’ve been committed to an off-season lift program, the last seven years, I think it’s a contributing factor to the success (of) our program,” Bly said.

The numbers back up Bly’s claim. Over the last seven years the Mason baseball team has gone 135-62. This includes a record of 51-6 over the past two seasons. According to Bly the morning workouts also serve as a lesson for his team.

“The commitment that’s required to be part of those morning workouts is a lesson that young people will have to learn at some point,” Bly said. “Sometimes you don’t feel like it. The difference between your feelings and your discipline to your commitment are often different.”

Photo by Madison Krell

Junior Justin Koehler and sophomores Tony Rabe and Peyton Krell run during morning practice.

February 20, 2015

The Next Level

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Wrestlers fall short in Elite Eight dual Kylie McCalmont | Staff Writer

Despite the hard work, Mason’s countdown to the championship title stopped at eight.

After earning a spot in the Elite Eight for two consecutive years, the Mason High School wrestling team fought hard in the OHSAA State Wrestling Dual Team Tournament but failed to advance on in the competition as they were defeated by Elyria 36-24 in the quarterfinals. Although they didn’t claim first, it was overall a very successful season for not just varsity, but all of Mason’s wrestling program, according to head coach Craig Murnan.

“It’s been an outstanding year…We had so much success at all levels,” Murnan said.

“I think the freshman team has won every event that they’ve been in, our JV team had finished second very early in the season and has won everything since, our Varsity B team has won three varsity level tournaments…

The success hasn’t just been to our varsity but it’s been for all 65 kids in the program.”

According to Murnan, the team’s overall success could be accredited to two factors; the first being the high intensity and fierce competition exhibited by the Comets at competitions as well as every day practices.

“I think having a competitive practice room has really made our program elevated across the board,” Murnan said. “I think a lot of our success has been just been because... those kids are every day battling for positions and spots.”

According to senior Jordan Collins, the second factor that contributed to Mason’s success was the tough out-of-state schedule.

“We’ve been going out-of-state a lot this year, just so we can get the better competition,” Collins said. “We went to West Virginia, and we had a lot of good duals there. We went over to Indianapolis and Chicago for Dvorak, that was one of our hardest tournaments of the year but those are the kind of things that get us better.”

Mason won the dual in West Virginia 3029, beating Indiana Cathedral, the defending state champions in Indiana, and they placed third at Dvorak. Collins said these matches helped elevate his team’s performance against teams in Ohio and in the Greater Miami Conference.

“We just make less mistakes,” Collins said.

When we do wrestle guys in the GMC, we are able to capitalize on theirs and we don’t make as many of our own and it just makes it a lot easier to wrestle in-state.”

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The girls bowling team won their second GMC championship, tying with Oak Hills and Middletown for the title. The girls finished with a 16-1 overall record, 7-1 conference record.

311

Junior Lauren Van Kleunen leads the girls basketball team in scoring with a season total of 311 points, followed by junior Jailyn Mason with 217.

455.75 Senior diver Aubrey Rose finished first at Sectionals last weekend, with 455.75 points. Sophomore diver Allen Feng finished third on the boys side.

1:42.23

Senior swimmer Justin Hove was champion of the 200-yard freestyle at sectionals with a time of 1:42.23. Hove will advance and compete at the dsitrict meet this weekend.

Results as of February 16.

The Chronicle Sports

MVP: Julia Volpenhein

Photo by Erin Brush

Sport: Swimming Class: 2015 Claim to Fame: Committed to the University of Virginia on a rowing scholarship Best thing about swimming: Tapering Worst thing about swimming: Morning practices and Christmas break Toughest Opponents: Upper Arlington, Ursuline, Saint Ursula Motto: Don’t count the laps, make the laps count Celebrity Crush: Zac Efron Embarrassing Moment: False starting and getting disqualified from relays Netflix Addiction: One Tree Hill

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February 20, 2015

The Mason competition cheerleaders compete in JAMfest Cheer Super Nationals in Indianapolis.

Fighting

for

Photos contributed by Michael Asher

Flawless

Competition cheerleaders push for perfection in complex routines Erin McElhenny | Staff Writer Mason cheerleaders are used to being under the Friday night lights, but when it comes time for competition season, they’re practically under a microscope.

According to junior cheerleader Monica Touby, the components of a competition cheer routine are more complex than rallying the crowd.

“Sideline is basically us cheering for the team,” Touby said. “We are doing chants and rarely do we go out to perform in front of the crowd unless we’re doing a simple dance. Basically it’s just to get the crowd involved, we’re working with the black hole and just trying to get the team pumped up. Competition is more about our team; the overall goal is to work really hard at all of our competitions and qualify for state.”

A typical competition involves arriving early to stretching and warming up before they begin their two and a half minute routine. Though it’s only a short

time on the floor, the routine is scored on several specific components, according to Touby.

“With comp there is the intro (with) all our tumbling skills, kind of to show off what we can do athletically,” Touby said. “Then it moves into our cheer. We get scored on our crowd involvement, which means how much is the crowd yelling back with us, and if the cheer was easy to follow. Then the third part is the dance and it’s supposed to be entertaining and fun and the music has to be good. When the judges score they give an overall score and then scores on jumps, tumbling, how involved the crowd got, and how sharp the motions were.”

The team is awarded points for each mark that they hit, but the judges won’t hesitate to deduct for sloppiness.

“You have to have the three components: the tumbling, your cheer, and the dance,” Touby said. “You aren’t allowed

to stunt. You have to compete in your division, so if you are 15 girls or less you’re in the small division and if you have 16 or more you’re in the large division. You can do dive rolls. You can have boys on your team. You can get deducted if you have nail polish on. You can’t do a double full, you can only do one time around. You can get deductions if you fall in your tumbling, if your dance is sloppy, if the motions in your cheer are sloppy, if it’s not easy to follow.”

According to sophomore Sophia Boden, participating in both comp and sideline gives her the best of both worlds.

“For me, competing is completely different than a game on a sideline,” Boden said. “Competing is so much more of a push and it challenges you so much more. I really felt like I wanted that extra cheer; that one more cheer. It’s kind of like a whole different cheer from sideline, so it’s almost like doing two differ-

ent sports just connected into one and I felt like I wanted that bigger push and to still compete as well as cheer on the sidelines. Competition is a lot of hard work, (coaches) push us a lot and there are a lot of practices. The whole dynamic with competition and sideline is a big load to carry but it’s worth it.”

Although competition is a different atmosphere from the sideline season, the girls on the team are required to participate in sideline to compete. All grades perform together and, according to Boden, it is one of the main reasons she enjoys the competition team so much.

“I actually love it, it’s one of the reasons comp is so different,” Boden said.

“On sideline you’re still separated a lot, but on comp you come together so much more. I know when I was a freshman coming into a huge school it was so scary and so weird and being on the comp team felt like a mini family.”

february 20, 2015

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