The Chronicle, 4.3

WILLIAM MASON HIGH SCHOOL

Coaches take on Grinch persona during holiday break In SPORTS, page 17 > > PLUS: A conversation with a world champion gift giver and avid sports fan. Find out what his NFL Fantasy line up looks like.

Volume 4 Issue 3

DECEMBER 21, 2006 WHAT’S

inside

NHS Blood Drive collects more than 80 pounds of blood Story on page 3 > >

STYLE

What’s up with Pink sweats?

Story on page 23 > > S W E E T T OOTH

Candy store looks to satisfy our sweet tooth Story on page 20 > >

Corporate Santas confess what Santa’s favorites are and who the real Santa is, See Page 9 > >

Tis the season Politically Correct

to be

TH E CH A N G IN G N AT U R E OF S E A S ON’S GR E E T INGS

ings t e e ’s Gr n o s Sea Holiday travel proves difficult and dangerous Story on page 3 > >

center

Wishing you a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa

SPREAD

T’was the day before break

Aww heck, just have a good one!

A portrayal of the average student’s anticipation for end of the day prior to break story on page 12 > >

The Chronicle The official student newspaper of William Mason High School 6100 S. Mason-Montgomery Road Mason, Ohio 45040

From our family to yours,

In recent years it has become a trend for people to replace the word Christmas with Happy Holidays to appease people of different religions during the holiday season.

Schools are required by law not to promote one religion above another, which means students and staff must perform a tricky balancing act in their celebrations. But with over 159 million Americans identifying themselves as Christians, some people find that the majority rules.

Story on page 2> >

check IT OUT

8

The average age MHS students stopped believing in Santa Claus.

Story on page 9 > >

In SPORTS: Holiday Basketball Tournament Preview

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December 21, 2006

chroniclenews

Tis the season to be ...

confused

Bodhi Day (December 8) This Buddhist holiday recognizes the day the Buddha received "Enlightenment." Traditions around the holiday are different for each branch of Buddhism. It is also known as Rohatsu.

Hanukkah (December 16 to 23) This "festival of lights" commemorates a miracle when one day's ration of oil burned for eight days in a Jewish temple. Followers of Judaism celebrate by lighting the candles of a menorah for each of the nights of the celebration and also by exchanging gifts.

Winter Solstice (December 21) Not only is this the first day of winter, but it is also the shortest day of the year. Some Chinese people recognize this by making balls of rice called Tangyuan. The solstice also is one of eight important dates in the pagan religion and is celebrated with festivals.

Eid al Adha (December 31 to January 2) For observers of Islam there are two meanings of this celebration. For one, it recognizes the willingness of Ibrahim, a prophet, to sacrifice his son for Allah. It also marks the end of the Hajj, a pilgrimage of Muslims to the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Christmas Day (December 25) December 25 is the day Christians recognize the birth of Christ, although he was actually born in an earlier part of the year. Families celebrate by exchanging gifts on Christmas morning and attending special sessions of church.

Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1) This celebration of African heritage was started in 1966 by activist Ron Karenga. One of seven principles is recognized: Unity, SelfDetermination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.

St. Nicholas Day (December 6) December sixth is the feast day of the original St. Nick, whose life was the inspiration for the several of the Santa Claus stories. Parents in one Wisconsin city celebrate by filling the stockings of their children the night of December 5th. As usual, good children can expect candy in their stockings while bad children will get coal.

Posadas Navidenas (December 16 to 25) On each of night of this Mexican celebration people form a procession and knock on the doors of their neighbors, asking if there is any room.

Staff struggles to be politically correct during holidays District teachers balance holiday festivities with law

By STEPHANIE VISSCHER Associate Editor

When the students of Western Row get ready to go on winter break this year, they will not be allowed to have a Christmas party. Their class might have a celebration with cupcakes and games, but instead of using the word "Christmas" in the title, the festivities will fall under the heading of a "Holiday Party."

Junior Courtney Ramsey's younger sister's kindergarten class will be calling their party before break a "holiday party."

"My little sister can't have a Christmas Party and I think it's sad because when we were little we had them," Ramsey said. "They have to do a book exchange and [the books] can't mention religion."

School functions reflect turmoil in national campaigns The re-titling of parties at schools is just part of a trend of people becoming more aware of what is more politically correct to say around the holidays.

Although most companies try to reach middle ground with their customers of different backgrounds by saying "Happy Holidays," Wal-Mart made headlines when it announced a return to using Merry Christmas in its ad campaigns.

The change was due in part to the backlash the chain received last year when it's winter slogan was "Home for the Holidays."

According to junior Alaina Herman, whether people say Merry Christams or Happy Holidays is "not such a big deal."

"It's not like people are saying mean things about other religions, they just aren't including it when they talk about it," Herman said. "I think as long as people aren't saying it's wrong to be Jewish or any other religion then it's not too big of a deal."

When it comes to the holiday greeting choice of teachers, they are not instructed which one to use, according to Principal Dave Allen. While he said the school wants to celebrate differences, he also said it's important that students do not feel "isolated."

"Students when they walk into this high school should feel comfortable and they shouldn't worry about isolation about their religions," Allen said. "It's okay to learn about all holidays but it's important for us to stay neutral."

School spirit store must monitor decorations School spirit store the Comet Zone had to keep "neutral" in mind when developing an advertising campaign for the holidays, where certain rules apply.

According to business teacher Debbie Gentene, if the store promotes one holiday it must also promote other holidays students might celebrate. This has raised some difficulties in the store's marketing plan.

"It's been challenging because in the retail world most businesses bring in the majority of their revenue during the Christmas season," Gentene said.

Despite the rules about promoting holidays, the Comet Zone staff has still found ways to decorate their store for the holiday season. A large sign hangs in the store greeting customers with "Happy

Holidays," a string of lights lines the store's window, and behind the cash register stockings with each staff member's name are displayed. However, Gentene described these decorations as "festive" and not favoring any particular holiday.

"The stockings are probably the only thing that can be interpreted for Christmas, but we see the lights as festive," Gentene said, adding that the store uses the lights as decoration year round.

Although stockings are symbols of Christmas, the ones displayed in the store are not meant to offend, according to senior Ewa Cabaj.

"We just wanted something to unify the team," Cabaj said.

Gentene emphasized that the Comet Zone's focus is on spirit wear, not promoting any one particular holiday.

"We try to promote spirit, not Christmas," Gentene said. "We recognize that we have students who shop in the Comet Zone who do not celebrate Christmas."

Local businesses tend to focus on traditional holiday themes in window displays

Roy's Tattoo Parlor went beyond secular Christmas decorations and also has hung a portrait of Jesus and a painting of an angel in its window. The paintings hang above a pair of Santa and Mrs. Claus figurines.

Choral Department music selection must be balanced The Mason Choral Department also makes an effort to include students who do not celebrate Christmas. When it puts on its annual "Elegant Holiday" program this year, it will include music from a variety of backgrounds not to be politically correct, but out of respect for cultural differences.

"We are sensitive to all traditions, and that's not a matter of being politically correct, it's a matter of being respectful," chorus teacher Elaine Santos said.

"That's why we do not say 'Welcome to our Christmas Program,' we say 'Welcome to our Holiday Program. That's all encompassing."

According to Santos, the choral department tries to make sure the program is "balanced."

"It's nearly impossible to cover all traditions but we do the best we can in one concert."

The various Mason choruses will perform several Hanukkah pieces as well as songs from Nigeria and Ukraine. And yes, there will be Christmas songs.

"Because we represent all traditions, we do sing songs that have Christmas in them," Santos said, adding that there will also be songs not specific to one culture.

"We're singing traditional, secular songs that have no religious base to them at all, just fun."

Santos said that while she has had to justify certain pieces because of their religious nature (and always has been able to do so successfully), she has not been given a specific rule on what the chorus can and cannot sing. Over all, Santos said the public seems to be satisfied with the content of "Elegant Holiday."

"We've been doing this a lot of years and I think the patrons have been pleased," she said.

When it came to spread some holiday cheer to her store this year, owner Sally Gasior hired a decorator. Every room has been decorated including the stair banister.

"Everyone talks about how beautiful everything is," employee Penny Goff said.

"Our customers at this time of year are celebrating whatever holidays they keep and they like things to be festive and different to mark this time of year."

School message stays constant According to Allen, it seems that there is more of a focus right now on how schools handle their diverse populations.

Despite this, Mason's goal remains simple: "All we're trying to do as a school system is follow school law and be equal and fair to all students," Allen said.

According to Busken's Bakery manager Becky Smith, the store decided to go with a Christmas theme in part because of Christmas in Mason. In one window a fully decorated Christmas tree is displayed and in the other, a large dancing Santa.

"I brought him from home," Smith said.

"This is his debut Christmas."

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English schools offer travel incentives for kids to stay in school

High school expects heavy absences prior to break

Almost 2500 school days are missed each year by students in Kingston High School in England, and each day can be attributed to holiday vacations. This is three times the number of days missed due to other forms of truancy.

For this reason, the council made arrangements for three local travel firms to offer discounts to families who agree to wait until holiday break to leave.

In addition to such incentives, the school has also threatened to take legal action against those parents who continue to take students out of school.

"We get a lot of requests from parents who say they can't afford to take holidays at any other time, especially if they have several children," said Carol Campbell, headmaster at Coombe Girls' School, in an article published for BBC News in 2005. "We understand that-but we don't want children to miss out on any of their education."

December 22 is a day of rejoicing for many MHS students. But not all students are sitting in their seats anticipating the end of the school day. Among these few are those who have already emptied their lockers and sped swiftly from their parking spots to a holiday vacation, and have skipped the notorious day before break.

"I don't feel bad about skipping," said sophomore Justine Thomas in reference to leaving school early for Destin, Florida last year. "It doesn't really make any difference in my school work."

The increase in absence of students on days leading up to break is not a new trend, according to Attendance Officer Rick Huff. December 21, the day before holiday break in 2005, had a total of 309 excused absences or tardies and 18 early dismissals from class. December 20 had 301 missing students, showcasing that relatively the same amount of students were missing during the days leading up to break.

By OLGA BORODULIN Editor

"I don't feel bad about skipping. It doesn't really make any difference in my school work."

Justine Thomas "I wasn't really worried about the material presented before break. I don't think it's that hard because the teachers know we're going to forget it all," Thomas said.

Despite the difficulty of material in class, MHS' standard vacation policy requires students to fill out a vacation request form with parent signatures and to consult their teachers on any assignments that will be missed.

According to Thomas, most students lack the will to properly inform the school of their intentions and simply have their parents blame their absence on a sickness.

What most students may not realize, however, is that leaving school for out-of-town excursions is counted as an excused absence according to Huff.

"If they give us a signed note saying they'll

be out of town, we'll allow them to leave.

Usually, as long as they don't have many attendance problems we trust students," Huff said.

In situations where students and parents have failed to inform the school of the student's absence due to vacation, truancy charges may be, and have been, filed against parents.

In order to cut down on early family vacations cutting into school time, East Sussex County hoped to entice parents to wait till holiday break starts to take students on vacations through holiday discounts through travel agencies. Efforts such as these, however, have reportedly done little to change attendance.

Huff estimates a similar amount of absences this year. The amount of students on the day prior to Thanksgiving break this year was a recorded 211. Huff, however, is not concerned with students leaving early for vacations.

"Most of the time the students who are missing class right before holiday break are good kids. They're not the 'truant types.' As long as they don't miss too much school and don't have previous attendance problems, they'll be fine," Huff said.

NHS Blood Drive hopes to alleviate blood bank shortage

By OLGA BORODULIN Editor

photo by Olga Borodulin

Senior Ashley Ostendorf donates blood on Friday, December 15 for Hoxworth Blood Center.

MHS School Nurse Laura Giesel (left) is seen attempting to ease Ostendorf’s anxiety. NHS was able to collect over 80 units of blood for the entire day.

National Honor Society hosted its second blood drive this year on December 15 in hopes of attaining a larger turnout of students and staff. While it would seem that the holiday spirit of giving would make this period of time more likely for donations, the December and January months are generally regarded to as the times during which the least amount of donations are made among the general public. This doesn't seem so shocking considering only 47 people donated blood during last year's holiday blood drive.

The lessened amount of people donating isn't something new for Shannon Warmoth, a blood donor recruiter for Hoxworth Blood Center.

"Typically, during the holiday season and winter months in general, blood donations drop off," Warmoth said. "People get busy with holiday functions and tend to stay inside more. So, in turn, blood donations sometime tend to drop off people's radar screens."

While the average student is busy, the students at Amelia High school seem to make time for their blood drives-as 78.03 percent of all eligible donors donate. Mason, on the other hand, has only an 18.46 percentage of participation. This pales in comparison to the overall percentage of people who are donating in the U.S.-with 60 percent of the population being eligible and only 5 percent actually donating.

"Students are just as busy or busier than most adults," Warmoth said. "We would love for blood donation to become a way of life for high schools students. You are eligible to donate every 8 weeks. In a perfect world, if everyone who is eligible to donate did, we would have an overabundance of blood."

This year, NHS advisor Barb Shuba, hopes to inspire more students to donate through certain incentives. These comprise of a drawing in which each high school donor is entered and the winner receives three free pizzas during lunch, or one student may win a 32 inch television. The overall blood drive began at 7 a.m. and ended around 2:30 p.m.

The most common reasons for student dismissal from the drive including not meeting weight requirements, being iron deficient and being sick.

While the overall amount of people donating blood during the holidays is lessened, the amount of high school students donating each year increases, according to Warmoth.

"Blood donations from high schools students has been on the rise for years," Warmoth said. "We collected almost 10,000 units of blood from HS students last year. We expect to reach if not exceed that goal this year."

The overall importance of high school students in the blood drive process is immenseespecially in citywide hospitals.

"Thirteen percent of the Cincinnati area blood supply comes from high school students," Warmoth said. "Without high school blood donors, there would not be enough blood to supply to area hospitals."

Interstate holiday travel proves dangerous and difficult

By SHEA DAVIDSON Staff Writer Thirty eight million Americans are expected to travel 50 or more miles this holiday season according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). This is a million more people than last year. Not only will more people be traveling this year, but the prices of airline tickets, hotels, and gas are expected to rise as well making traveling especially difficult for those families seeking to spend the holidays together.

According to AAA, most holiday traveling this year will occur on the roads with close to 32 million people traveling by car. Another 5 million people are expected to travel by plane.

Junior Justin Raymundo can easily relate to this problem, as he is traveling approximately 858 miles this holiday season.

"I am going to Kansas City and St. Louis. All my family meets up at my aunt's, but I'm staying with my best friend," Raymundo said.

Raymundo is flying to both destinations and bought plane tickets in advance to avoid the

stress of buying tickets at the last minute.

"I got my tickets in November to make sure I got one," Raymundo said.

Susan Willis, an experienced adult holiday traveler, suggests buying tickets at least a month ahead of time and going through a ticket agent since tickets can be fairly expensive.

The Air Transportation Association predicts that the per-mile amount paid to fly rose about 10 percent on domestic flights for the holidays.

Raymundo usually travels during the holiday season, but is concerned about the new rules and regulations that airlines have put in place.

"I'm worried because I heard they're cracking down and getting stricter. It's never been a problem before, although I'm interested in how things are going to change," Raymundo said.

Since September 11, airlines have increased airport security. One change, whose effect was seen nationally over world news programs, is in the airlines' security policies involving liquids.

The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) announced that a three-one-one rule is going to be put in place.

"Three-one-one stands for three ounces or smaller containers," said Amy Kudwa, of TSA. "A 1-quart plastic zip top bag. One bag per passenger divested and placed in a security checkpoint bin."

Kristen Yawit, a MHS junior who is not traveling for the holidays, thinks that traveling causes stress during the holiday season, especially when traveling by plane. "[People] have to be at the airport two hours before, they have to worry about packing everything, delays, all of the travel arrangements, and getting to the airport on time," Yawit said.

Willis recalls her experience of flying from South Carolina to Chicago as being very stressful and aggravating.

"It took around an hour to finally get baggage checked and go through the metal detectors, and this was already after waiting three hours due to the plane getting delayed because of storms," Willis said.

Her advice to anyone traveling by plane this year is to pack lightly and bring something to

occupy yourself at the airport.

"Take as little as you can and try not to check any bags at the airport. Bring snacks since food is expensive and bring a book," said Willis.

The 32 million people expected to travel by car don't have it quite as bad this year.

AAA predicts that gas prices will be rising for the holidays this year, with the average gas price being 2.235 dollars. This is only up 0.6 percent from last year.

Willis recommends to those traveling by car to plan out stops ahead of time and be prepared.

"Plan it so you an make bathroom and meal stops. Bring plenty of snacks and a portable DVD player and wear comfortable clothes.

Make sure that you have plenty of gas and don't wait to get it until the last minute," Willis said.

This holiday season, whether you are traveling by car or by plane, Willis urges people to stay calm.

"If you start out stressed, then it's not going to get any better. Take it one step at a time," Willis said.

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December 21, 2006

For some the holidays are far from happy Holiday season can be very depressing for some

By RACHEL SLEZAK Staff Writer When junior Monica Wagner thinks about the holidays, she thinks about "family, being happy, and no school." However, for some, the holidays do not have such pleasant connotations. Because of the season and holidays' unique pressures, depression becomes more common during December and surrounding months.

There is a widespread belief that suicide rates increase during the holidays. However, a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota's Olmsted County during a 35-year period did not find an increased number of suicides near Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's or the Fourth of July holidays.

School psychologist Jeff Schlaeger says that this misconception may be so widespread because of media exposure of holiday-related suicides.

"Suicide rates are a constant thing, but when they occur over the holidays it become a more newsworthy item because people can relate to it," Schlaeger said.

While incidents of suicide do not increase over the holidays, according to the Boston Globe, a Danish study has revealed that just after Christmas, there were approximately 40 percent more suicide attempts than expected. According to the Boston Globe, these suicide attempts are best described as "cries for help," such as minor overdoses in the presence of family.

Because the number of attempted suicides increases just after the holidays, the Boston Globe presents the hypothesis that many people get depressed because they were disappointed by the realities of the holiday in comparison to their high expectations.

Though depression does rise after the holidays, there are also several people who are depressed during the holidays. Because family is so important to her celebration of the holidays, Wagner offers several family-related reasons for depression.

"People may get depressed during the holidays if they can't see their family, don't have enough money to buy them presents, or don't like their family," Wagner said.

Because people don't have to go to school or work over the holidays, Wagner says they may spend their time in more sinister ways.

"The holidays provide a lot more free time that people might use to do drugs or drink," Wagner said.

According to the Boston Globe, in addition to heavy alcohol consumption, heart attacks are a leading cause of death during the holidays as discovered by Dr. David Philips and colleagues. It has been speculated that this is due to the increased stress of the season or because treatment is delayed in the interest of continuing celebration.

Schlaeger provides a different possible explanation for depression during the winter holidays with Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. "Seasonal Affective Disorder is when depression correlates with time.

It most commonly presents itself during the fall and winter," Schlaeger

said.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is so common in the winter because the sun is out for a shorter amount of time.

"The winter has shorter days which affects levels of serotonin, which helps regulate mood," Schlaeger said.

According to Andrea Rogers, Supervisor for Intensive Outpatient Programs in the Department of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai, melatonin, which is a product of serotonin that can cause symptoms of depression, is produced at increased levels in the dark. This begins affecting people when daylight savings time ends.

According to Rogers, the changing of the season also shifts people's circadian rhythm, or biological clock.

Although winter and the holidays are interrelated, Schlaeger says it is important to make a distinction between the two causes of depression.

"If depression is due to the holidays, once it's New Year's Day, its better, while Seasonal Affective Disorder lasts until February," Schlaeger said.

In addition to the season, depression results from vacations from work or school. Schlaeger says that increased amounts of free time over break can lead to hypersomnia, or oversleeping, which causes depression.

Breaks are also a disruption of routine.

"For a lot of people structure is important, and over the break they don't have it," Schlaeger said.

The season affects different kinds of people differently.

"This kind of depression is more common in younger people because adults are more in their routine," Schlaeger said.

The holidays themselves contribute to stress and depression more among women.

"About 67 percent to 90 percent, according to different studies, of sufferers are women because of the pressures placed on them during the holidays," Schlaeger said.

Women are also more susceptible to issues about their weight, a common problem during the holidays.

"Overeating, weight gain, or a craving for carbs are common during the holidays because there are constantly candy, cake, breads and cookies being offered," Schlaeger said.

Much of the depression resulting from the holidays is suffered by people who already consider themselves depressed.

"The holidays heighten existing problems because having to put on happy face for longer exacerbates depression," Schlaeger said.

To prevent depression during the holidays, Wagner recommends that people find a replacement for their family.

"Go to church or find other people to celebrate with," Wagner said.

Schlaeger agrees that sufferers of depression should find things to do, emphasizing the importance of being active.

"It is important to stay healthy and not just be sitting around the TV. When it is very cold out it is necessary to find creative releases, even if it is something as simple as walking around a mall," Schlaeger said.

Mason residents give back to community during the holiday season

By AMANDA MILLER Staff Writer Mason 8th grader Daniel Marchese can be found at Cedar Village, a retirement home located off of Cedar Village Drive, on most Wednesdays. But unlike most volunteers, he'll also be there Christmas day. Marchese began volunteering at the retirement home in Septembers of last year through a program entitled Currrent Events. His duty through this program is to entertain the residents, often reading newspapers to them.

"I don't celebrate Christmas. I celebrate Hanukkah. There are so many volunteers who can't make it that day because they are home with their families, so I'm going in because that doesn't affect my day in regards to how I celebrate," Marchese said. "They also have what they call Mitz Zah day, which in Hebrew translates to commandment, to do a good deed. I'm doing a good deed."

Lakota High School junior Mary Reynolds is also a volunteer at Cedar Village. Reynolds began her volunteering as community service, but has decided to continue volunteering, even though her community service requirement is fulfilled. Reynolds also plans to work at Cedar Village as a server, and volunteer there on her nights off. Reynolds will also be spending Christmas eve at the retirement home, but unlike Marchese, she avidly celebrates Christmas.

"I'm going to go for a couple of hours, then I'll be with my family. It's an equal amount, making time for everybody. I'm volunteering on the holiday to help them, and it's out of respect," Reynolds said.

Many area schools, churches, and residents are also holding food drives and are working at soup kitchens over the holiday break. One is the Food for Fines Program, held by the Springdale Police department.

Traffic violators have an opportunity to pay for most of their traffic fines by bringing in 10 canned goods and paying the required state fee.

“This is their most valued project of the year.

Homecoming is fun, but this really means something to them. They pour themselves into it, and really take it on. “ Maria Mueller STUGO advisor Along with food drives are holiday gift drives. Mason High School's student government has hosted Kids Count for eight years, and is still continuing this tradition this year. Each homeroom has been assigned a certain family, and will raise money for gifts for the family. The representative of each classroom will then go on to purchase gifts for the child, and the gifts will be delivered to the parents prior to Christmas day.

“It has a huge impact on the kids in student government,” STUGO advisor Maria Mueller said. “I mean; this is their most valued project of the year. Homecoming is fun, but this really means something to them. They pour themselves into it, and

really take it on. The nurses too, help us to see the families. Many families write thank-you notes and pictures of the kids with presents. You know, we lose a couple kids over time, and even a few from last year, but it still give them the chance to have a break. These kids are always around hospitals and their illness. They put all their time, and money and energy in this thing, and it gives them just that small little bit of relief.”

Another area resident is also making her effort to help those less fortunate. Trudy Sexton of Hyde Park runs the Holiday Outreach Canned Food Project, which is going into its ninth year this season.

Beginning after the flood that filled Hyde Park, the director was first told that there was nobody in need.

Items collected included canned food, gloves, hats, toys and other necessary items for survival. The distribution of the items typically takes place the week before Christmas, while a few are done on Christmas Eve. The families helped are from the Anderson area, extending as far as Hyde Park. Some residents come to the organization for help, while others have been found.

"I have lived here for 40 years," Sexton said. "You get to know the people and where people are, and who needs the help. There are some residents that we do help every year, that ask. Then we have those two to three families every year that are just too proud to ask. That's when we wait until Christmas Eve, and just leave them a package on their doorstep. The next morning they see the package, and realize that somebody does know and care."

It’s not too late...

Brecon United Methodist church is seeking food donations to support 27 families who live nearby.

Bring food to church 9:30 a.m. to noon, Monday through Saturday. The last drop-off day is Dec. 22.

Information: 513-791-8063.

FreestoreFoodbank in Over-The-Rhine is collecting cans. Donations encouraged by Jan. 31.

Information: www.freestorefoodbank.org or 513-271-7222.

St. Vincent de Paul Food "From the Heart" holiday drive is collecting food at all Kroger stores, and needs volunteers to help packadge. Bring cans in any day and drop in specially marked bins. Last day: Dec. 31. Call 513-562-8841, option 9, ext. 26 for information.

Bring canned food and/or nonperishable food items to any county or local government administration building from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Last day: Jan. 31.

Call 513-695-1250 for information.

Partners for Community Living is seeking Christmas carolers. Visit resident group homes now through Christmas. All ages welcome.Contact United Way's Volunteer Connection at (937) 225-3039 for more information.

Stillwater Center needs volunteers to wrap Christmas gifts and distribute gifts on Christmas Day. Must be 16-years-old. Available daily. Contact United Way's Volunteer Connection at (937) 225-3039 for more information.

December 21, 2006

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Hubley Driving School

STUDENT OF THE MONTH

Rachel Wein Class: Senior In-School accomplishments: GPA: 3.0 Senior class officer Rotary International Nominee Homecoming Court Member Active Student Government Member Senior Sib Active Hope Club Member Wrestling Team Manager Active Senior Activities Club Member Member of colorguard for 2 years Out of school accomplishments: Graeter’s employee Accomplished over 100 hours of community service Volunteer at Thanksgiving Food Drive Involved in Make a Wish Foundation

5606 Tylersville Road Mason, Ohio 754-8652

Personal Quote: “Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life."

-Anonymous Favorite Classes: Statistics Independent Living and Wellness Sports Medicine Future plans/Goal: Attend either University of Cincinnati or Ohio State University and specialize in pediatric nursing Teacher Quote: “Rachel is bubbly, enthusiastic and very caring about others. She works hard and gives of herself and her time and helps every person feel very special.”

-Spanish teacher Deborah Sicking

Hubley Driving School

5606 Tylersville Road Mason, Ohio 754-8652

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December 21, 2006

STAFF POLICY The Chronicle is the official student newspaper of William Mason High School. The Chronicle is produced by students enrolled in Journalism I, II, and III. Editorials reflect the staff’s opinion but do not neccesarily reflect the opinions of the school administration or the Mason City School District.

The Chronicle is published monthly.

Call 398-5025 ext. 33110 for information regarding advertising in The Chronicle.

The Chronicle reserves the right to refuse advertising we deem 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, obscentiy, clarity, and poor taste. Letters to the editor may be dropped off in room C110 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 Journalism Association for Ohio Schools.

CONTACT INFORMATION The Chronicle William Mason High School 6100 S. Mason Montgomery Rd. Mason, Ohio 45040 398-5025 THE CHRONICLE STAFF Editor Olga Borodulin Associate Editor Stephanie Visscher Editorial Cartoonist Peter Springsteen Distribution/Circulation Manager Michelle Rotbart Business Manager Caroline Johnson Staff Photographers Michelle Rotbart Shea Davidson Technical and Graphic Assistants Peter Springsteen Beth Lipton Staff Writers Drew Allen Shea Davidson Stephanie Denzel Beth Lipton Kirsten McCafferty Amanda Miller Caroline Johnson Candice Philpot Jeremy Powers Coleman Sanders Rachel Slezak Peter Springsteen Jeff Stephens Sharon Stewart Morrison Tracy Danielle Williams Spencer Webb Tricia Wolford Adviser Mr. Dale Conner

staff editorial

Don’t let the stress of the holiday season get you down We may not agree on whether to say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or Happy Hanukkah, or whether displaying a Christmas tree in the lobby is really pushing the line. But there does seem to be one thing everyone acknowledges: while it may or may not be the season to be jolly, it certainly is the season to be doing a whole lot. There's school pageants to attend, annual Church outings, and of course (dun dun dunnn!) gift shopping that needs to be completed. It seems many need a break to recuperate from the numerous going-ons of Winter Break.

Holiday shopping alone can stock up quite a few points on the stress-ometer. First you have to decide who you're going to get a gift: Besides the obvious immediate family and best friend, will you also extend your wallet to your teachers? Co-workers? Or what about your second cousin?

You don't know him that well, but he's going to be at your grandparents this Christmas, and you did get something for his parents. After deciding who you'll be giving something to, you have to actually go out and get it.

And if your luck is like ours, the store's you need to go to are nowhere close to the same vicinity (why, oh why can't there be a Disney store in Kenwood?).

And once our wallets have been successfully emptied (remember your fund for a new iPod? Yeah, we'll miss ours too) there's always the second level of stress that we only get to enjoy during the holidays: scheduling.

First of all, you'll probably be working to earn money for gifts, so that

takes out roughly 2.5 days of your schedule every week. Then you have to make sure that you've requested off the evening of your little sister's holiday recital. Oh, and your younger brother's holiday pageant at his school. Then there's the 10 page paper you won't possibly be able to complete over break that you'll have to complete whenever you have some free time (if you're one of those few with that luxury).

Is your head spinning yet? We can relate.

It's often in the stressful rush to get everything done that we lose sight of why, after all these years, we still hold the holiday season dear to our hearts. The next time your about to freak out because the eighth Target you've visited doesn't have the copy of High School Musical you need for your sister, try to remember the way her face lighted up when she opened last year's present, which of course also took you weeks to track down. Or when your about to set fire to your copy of Romeo and Juliet, just focus on how the time you'll be able to spend with family over break with your homework done. Year after year the holidays always promise to bring hassles, but also small moments that you'll remember the rest of your life.

No matter what holiday you celebrate, we hope you won't let the stress of preparation ruin it's message. And whether we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, we do all agree that everyone deserves to have a happy holiday season.

letter to the editor

Influence those around you to be appropriate at school dances Some of the coolest teachers in the school don't like chaperoning Mason dances. No names need be mentioned. Each of you knows of much-beloved, talented teachers who seem so in tune with the student population in every way- but then routinely refuse to spend a few hours just relaxing at a dance with those very same students. It seems to be a paradox, but many of these teachers have their motives for being out of town every year the night of the Homecoming dance or the Crystal Ball.

Simply put, these teachers hate to see the sweet students they see on a day-to-day basisperhaps you, but certainly many of your peerstransformed into gyrating, hormone-driven strangers under the strobe lights of a dance.

Are they the adults usually "freaked out" about the new or cutting edge? Are they the ones attempting to "stipulate expression" in their students?

Generally…no. They're the ones pushing their students to discover within themselves new frontiers of creative expression. They're the ones challenging their students with new ideas, eliciting many a complaint of brain pain or of never-before-encountered academic rigor. Many of them will be remembered by their students as life-changing because they dared to take risks and explore new methods of getting old points across.

They're the ones we hate at times for forcing us to be our best when we would rather be like everyone else. They're the ones we resent for

mercilessly shattering the excuses we have to not do what is right, no matter the circumstances.

Just maybe they're on to something. Just maybe the bumping and grinding today is a little bit different from the hip-waggling of Elvis' day in the sense that with Elvis' dancing, it was always possible to ask "what next?" and receive an answer that wouldn't cause too much obvious harm. But when the occupants of the MHS Arena are more or less simulating sex without the naked part…

The answer to "what next?" is the very occurrence of STDs and teen pregnancy that this supposedly "good outlet" is not causing.

Granted, imitating the dancers on MTV doesn't mean having sex. The majority of MHS students remain abstinent. But that doesn't mean that what teens who choose to dirty dance are beacons of purity, only engaging in a little harmless self-expression-as if the reason the average teenager picks for bumping and grinding are so elevated and artistic. It does not seem too much of a leap to assume that even you, the most intellectual of MHS students-if you do dirty dance-don't do so to produce thought-provoking art.

There's a reason pornography is regulated but nude paintings aren't. It's all about the motives.

It's one thing to artistically portray the human body-if you're really all about that, perhaps a visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum may be a more appropriate and comfortable destination

than a hot, sweaty gym. It's entirely something else to have no sense of the way the human body can be used to do what isn't moral and what is, at best, a mockery of all the beauty that sex between a married couple should be.

Our cool teachers don't want to see us as immoral strangers. They prefer us as we appear in their classes-in control of our bodies, civilized, aware of our surroundings. They would rather not remember us as faceless members of a crowd pursuing whatever feels good, but as mature young men and women who habitually break the mould.

As for breaking that mold and instituting change? So maybe altering the music list is not a viable option. Maybe rigid enforcement of the rules by a handful of administrators won't do much for a student body pushing a quarter of a thousand. But sometimes the greatest changes don't happen from without-they happen from within. Perhaps you may be risking your reputations, risking humiliation, risking rejection or failure.

"To be great is to be misunderstood," as Ralph Waldo Emerson would say. Why hoard moral greatness for yourselves? Why fear to leader others to the ethical higher ground you occupy? Why be afraid? You owe it to your mentors, those you lead, and to yourselves. The next dance is only a couple of months away.

-Lily Liu Junior

December 21, 2006

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Publishing a holiday edition of the paper was not my idea I hate this issue. I am a blunt person and therefore shall say: I hate this issue.

But, please, before anyone jumps to any conclusions, let me remind my readers that while I hate this issue, I do not hate The Chronicle.

Having been on the

By CANDICE PHILPOT staff for two years Staff Writer now, I am loyal to this newspaper and its staff members. I just do not support its decision to make this issue “Holiday” themed.

For years, the controversy surrounding religion’s role in public schools has remained constant.

Even in a community such as Mason, opinions pertaining to how religion acts in public education are strong, and especially heated disagreements have been made well-known as of recently.

With these controversies surrounding religion facing our community, hopefully, at their climax, as a public school newspaper, we should

be more sensitive now to religious material than ever. However, for some reason, we have taken the complete opposite approach.

Many may have just read these last couple of sentences and wondered what religious controversies have to do with holidays. Let’s just say it’s a ten letter word called: EVERYTHING. In today’s society, winter holidays, especially Christmas, have been in many ways stripped of their religious affiliations, when in reality, popular winter holidays have their bases in religion. By publishing a newspaper whose stories, design layouts and graphics are centered on holidays, we are completely disregarding the standard that religion is supposed to be nonexistent in public schools. The bottom line is that we have produced a newspaper about religion; under the guise of the different winter holidays.

There are those people, however, that still stand by the idea that some greetings are more about giving a welcoming message as opposed to being intolerant. But even if there are those people who aren’t offended by being told Merry Christmas, there are always those people who might be, a consideration we all must make.

Having accepted the fact that this newspaper

has already been printed, with the holiday theme intact, I still have to recognize the imbalanced emphasis on the individual religions.

While many of the stories in this newspaper are on the general concept of holidays or celebrations; Christmas, as always, is much more prevalent than Kwanzaa, The Ramadan or even Hanukkah. It is understandable that Christmas, the most celebrated of winter holidays, is going to be more included than others, but by leaving the others out, this newspaper is completely slanted toward Christmas, and its religious affiliation:Christianity. All this issue is, is Christmas. By including so much content based on Christianity, we are being the most intolerable to religion as we could possibly be, which, while this was never our intention, is once again complete opposite of how we should be behaving in a time of religious controversy within our community. However, this will most likely go unnoticed due to the fact that the majority of The Chronicle readers are Christians, and will likely not even recognize this inequality.

In the end, I guess the only thing I can do is make readers aware of this contrasting viewpoint and...complain. So in case I didn’t get my point across: I hate this issue.

This holiday season, don’t bother being politically correct This year marks retailers' return to the phrase "Merry Christmas" after last year's failed experiment with "Happy Holidays."

Though some might see it as a resurgence of closed-mindedness not seen since the

By RACHEL SLEZAK 1950s, it is just fine Staff Writer with me.

Last year when stores decided to market with "Happy Holidays," their intent was to acknowledge those who celebrate any one of several December holidays, including Christmas.

Because of controversies over issues more widely-regarded as important, such as abortion and gay marriage, 2005 was a big year for conservative commentators and the religious right.

Therefore, this small gesture of acceptance was not ignored. The ever-reasonable Bill O'Reilly went so far as to decry what he saw to be a fullfledged War on Christmas. Once the national media began criticizing stores that said "Happy Holidays," boycotts and other protests were launched.

When they earned the disapproval of a large group of Christians, the majority of Americans, retailers lost a lot of money, so this year, many have returned to the "Merry Christmas" of old.

Clearly, "Merry Christmas" has a greater capacity for selling things than other marketing campaigns. The fact that stores' motivations appear

to be economic rather than spiritual makes it less offensive that they would choose to focus on only the holiday of the majority. By being so blatantly concerned with sales, they are playing their role as retailers. Ironically, by greeting customers with "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays" they are leaving the entire question of spirituality up to the buyer by so blatantly catering to the consumer.

Media campaigns this year are operating on the fact that the majority of Americans do celebrate Christmas. It's not necessarily that they are no longer acknowledging those who celebrate other holidays; they are simply weighing the costs of offending a small group of people with the benefits of catering to a large group of people. The outcome was clear - "Merry Christmas" is more effective than things like "Happy Holidays.” Though this does alienate those who don't celebrate Christmas, the choice was based entirely on popularity and in no way should be taken personally.

All the same, it is extremely sad that people are so incapable of accepting differences. Last year, as soon as they were met with a greeting that was not perfectly tailor-made to fit them, they felt victimized. Because everyone no longer said "Merry Christmas" last year, many Christians felt they were being discouraged from using the phrase themselves. Of course this would have been ridiculous. It has always been and will always be completely acceptable to say "Merry Christmas" to others who celebrate that holiday. It is also acceptable to say "Merry Christmas" on December 25 when it is

literally Christmas day. Most of the restrictions placed on "Merry Christmas" came not from the retailers marketing with "Happy Holidays" but from the minds of Christians feeling victimized.

Because most of the people Christians know are other Christians, especially in a community like Mason where diversity is hard to come by, many are unaccustomed to saying anything other than "Merry Christmas." When these Christians say "Happy Holidays" it is with an annoyed sneer, or underlying insincerity. If it is that hard to say, don't do the rest of us any favors by trying. Don't even bother deviating from "Merry Christmas" if it is going to sound condescending. It is so much worse to complain about having to stop saying "Merry Christmas" than it is to simply say it. While those who don't celebrate it acknowledge the existence of Christmas, they would rather not acknowledge the fact that in not celebrating Christmas they are disturbing others' holidays.

Though discussion of the use of "Christmas" seems to rouse strong feelings on both sides, any controversy over the greetings people use is pointless. It doesn't really matter what greeting people use as long as they are making an attempt to reach out to others, whether they celebrate Christmas or not. While this is a time of year associated with commercialism, it also even stronger connotations of family togetherness, giving and warmth. Rather than focusing on something this superficial, people should get past "Merry Christmas" and share the season peacefully.

One less day of summer is worth one more day of winter break Christmas Break is almost here. Two weeks off school to relax and enjoy the holidays.

But, it's not quite two weeks. Our school system is only giving us seven short days off

By TRICIA WOLFORD school, not including Staff Writer weekends. Altogether it's 11 days.

Even the surrounding schools are only getting between seven to nine days off school. Mason, Lebanon, and Kings are receiving seven days off school, Moeller is receiving eight, and Lakota and St. Ursula are receiving nine full days. Not to mention, we are getting out of school the day before Christmas, and Hanukkah will already be underway.

Mason has grown at such a fast rate, that many new schools have been built to accommodate our expanding community. We have not gotten two weeks off school for almost two years because of the new schools being built; our high school being one of them. But why

does this matter?

If a school needs extra time to be built, why not start and end school later, but keep the same amount of days off during a break? I still don't understand why they can't extend our break by two more days? It's only two days more.

Schools around us are getting nine days off, so why can't we?

The answer is simple: they would have to extend the school year by two days. It's a sacrifice. But who gets to choose whether to extend the school year, or shorten our break? I would personally pick having a longer break. This way, it makes the rush for holiday travel less stressful, and it makes it easier to leave and to come back. It gives us more time for holiday shopping, transportation, and of course, two more days of sleeping in.

Speaking of transportation, have you ever heard of Christmas Eve travel? I have. In fact, I have been in it. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, angry drivers, time crunches, last minute shopping, snow, ice, and police officers patroling highways for people speeding to their destinations. It is the ideal start to any break.

I would much rather be at my grandmothers' house sipping hot chocolate. But this year we

will not be able to avoid holiday maniacs.

This year we are let out of school on December 22, only two days before Christmas Eve. My family and I have always left at least three or four days in advance in order to beat the holiday traffic. We would like to be able to spend the whole Christmas Eve day together, but this year our goal seems impossible to achieve.

But I can't continue to rag on the school district, especially since next year's break will not disappoint. Next year we will receive ten full days off school. This means that next year our break will be 16 long, relaxing days. That's over two weeks to be able to eat pie, sleep in, give gifts, and unwind in the company of our friends and family.

My only point in this is that I take my holiday break seriously--it's an important time for me and my family. A time that surpasses the importance of classes, extracurriculars, and sports. The holiday break means more to students than just a time to relax. We may miss classes, sporting events, assignments, and even lectures. But these may be repeated in the future. After all, Christmas only happens once a year.

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feedback Do you think its important to be politically correct around the holidays?

"If you want to say 'Merry Christmas' you should be able to because that's your religion.

It's freedom of speech."

Sam Allen Sophomore

"It's not offensive; people of other religions say 'Merry Christmas' and put up lights. It’s tradition."

Kelsey Loftus Junior

"It's important "I don't think because you people should should be take offense respectful of because no other people's one is trying religions. How to offend would you feel others." if you were in Jennifer Wolf their shoes?"

Senior Katie Morris Freshman

"Let people say what they want. It's their religion."

Dan Evans Senior

"I don't find it offensive. I'm proud to celebrate Christmas."

Carli Mangus Junior

"If you want to say 'Merry Christmas' you should be able to because that's your religion. It's freedom of speech."

Sam Allen Sophomore compiled by Michelle Rotbart

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THE MASON CONNECTION FOR TUXEDOS AND SUITS, DEERFIELD TOWNE CENTER

December 21, 2006

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Confessions of a Corporate Santa With kids waiting to whisper their request to Santa, The Chronicle reporter Sharon Stewart caught up with Jolly Ole Saint Nick at the Kenwood Towne Center & PetSmart Who’s the reindeer who doesn’t get enough credit?

Vixon; of course everybody knows Rudolph.

What is your boot size?

11 ½ …wide.

Which country is the best one to deliver to?

Each one's a little different. It's easier to land in northern climates where the sleigh works better than in southern climates like in South Africa.

What are your bad kid experiences?

There was one beautiful little girl standing in line a few years ago. I picked her up, set her down on my lap ready to give her a big hug, and she looks up and says.. [“I peed!”] and I smile knowingly and say, "Santa knows."

How do you really feel about the color red?

I like it because it stands out! I make darn certain that someone doesn't mistake me for an incoming missile.

How many kids have tried to pull off your beard?

Just a few to see if it's real, but the babies are always in awe.

Do you deal with Santa competition from other malls?

Competition isn't a big deal really; All I have got to worry about is the kid sitting on my lap. The parents and the other merchants: they don't matter--it's all about making the kid smile.

Secret of Santa no longer a mystery

By STEPHANIE DENZEL Staff Writer The secret of Santa is no longer a mystery for many high school students. The majority of students found out about the myth of Santa around the age of eight, according to a poll conducted by The Chronicle on Dec. 6.

However, the reasons surrounding how each student found out are different. While most students find out from their parents or siblings, these students discovered the truth of the myth very differently.

MHS freshman Sneha Kolli and her family traveled to India in order to celebrate Christmas with her extended family. Kolli decided to bring along home movies to show her family.

"The one we were watching was from Christmas Eve. My aunt asked for a pen to sign ‘Santa’ on the presents!" Kolli said.

"My mom, who was in the room at the time, stood still and finally told me the truth."

Freshman Sara Ditzel's experience starts on the morning of Christmas. She and her older brother, Eric, were opening presents.

"My brother got a stereo from Santa," Ditzel said. "Then my mom said she got it for a good price."

Freshman Ashley Chiu's story begins like many. Chiu woke up in the middle of the Christmas night to find her father eating cookies left for Santa and laying out the presents under the tall Christmas tree. Chiu's father cleared up the myth for Chiu.

"The next day, I went in and told my kindergarten class that Santa wasn't real," Chiu said. "The whole class started to cry and my teacher pulled me out of the classroom. She told me it was okay to lie to your friends sometimes."

After this, Chiu's kindergarten teacher gave her detention. On top of this, Chiu almost got suspended, but instead she changed classrooms.

While some stories involve blatant evidence that Santa does not exist, others require investigative behavior. Freshman Danielle Paulson became a detective to find the truth about Santa.

"My mom's handwriting looked like Santa's," Paulson said. "I asked my brother and he told me."

MHS students solved the mystery of Santa many years ago, and now they must rely on other things to make the season special.

Do you have a favorite cookie and percentage of milk?

Chocolate chip, mostly followed by applesauce nut. It's all good with milk.

What is your natural hair color?

Kris Kringle is a redhead!

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Santa Baby. cooked What is your favorite home-c meal of Mrs. Claus?

Of course, you know there's the milk and cookies but I do get to hoping there's a nice bowl of vegetable soup.

Where is your hometown?

Born & raised in the North Pole.

photo by Sharon Stewart

Santa takes time out to talk with Chronicle reporter Sharon Stewart during a break at Kenwood Towne Center. Santa admitted that he may get just a little more than the recommended daily allowance of cookies and milk.

What is the best gift you’ve ever given?

Santa's come to because you have to have a special gift. There's no greater reward than wrapping a kid up in your arms and they smile, and you know that's the moment of joy in their day.

What about the kids who don't think you're real?

They have to believe. If they don't, there's nothing I can do. And that goes for children of all ages.

How many elves are there and how does recruiting work?

You know there are thousands of elves; there's no process of acquisition, but they all have special skills that come in handy… kind of like how the glow of Rudolph's nose was needed one winter night. Some work in woodworking and some in mechanics.

How does Santa drink his coffee?

Santa loves his coffee in the form of Starbucks. Eggnog Latte is the pick of the moment, so at Starbucks it really is the best time of the year.

What do the reindeer eat for energy?

Oatmeal! And carrots are the special treat… kind of like Santa's donuts.

If you could be any animal, what would you be?

I'd be a penguin because I like their happy little feet, and I'm jealous of the way they swim. This Santa cannot swim.

Do you have a workout regime?

Surprisingly, I maintain this stunning physique just from cookies. Rudolph complains about the weight, though, so the Mrs. makes me cut down.

Were you born Santa or does Santa run in the family?

I just appeared! I popped! There I was! It was A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

How do you handle unreasonable present requests?

Santa's been asked for lots of petsespecially horses this year. I don't say no, I just I make sure the tykes already have a stable and won't try to make the horse live in the house with Kitty.

Is judging naughty or nice a moral dilemma for you?

Funny thing is, when you get a kid up on your lap, they always claim, 'I've been nice, Santa!' I think the kids know if they've been naughty or nice in the back of their head. When I'm talking to them and they won't get up on my lap, I think they believe they haven't been good.

How is global warming affecting life at the North Pole?

We still get a ton of snow up there, so it's not too bad yet, but I hear it may be different next year. You know Santa's philosophy though, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Ho ho ho!

How did you meet Mrs. Claus?

She was waiting up to give me milk and cookies one night in Bavaria, Germany.

Thoughts on car pollution?

I definitely wish more cars would adopt the sleigh's sense of efficiency. Santa cares about the earth and its inhabitants-mainly the NICE children!

Does the sleigh have a weight capacity?

Thank gingerbread, no! Santa likes to eat!

Do you ever have had any bird collisions?

That's why the Dodo bird is now extinct. New technology has made it possible for most collisions to be avoided now, though, thanks to the glow of Rudolph's nose.

What are your summer plans?

Santa throws a fabulous tiki party every July. The Claus family, elves, and Peter Pan are all invited. The elves always want to run around in their bikinis, but Santa can't allow that!

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

A Christmas Story -I like Schwartz "getting his."

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T ’ was the day before break...

A Politically Correct Parody of the Holiday Season

T

’was the day before break [holiday break to be politically correct] when all through the school Not a student was learning, or following a rule The stockings were hung by our useless [decorative] chimney with care In full knowledge that St. Nicholas could never get there

When

The

A

students were all nestled, asleep at their

seats While teachers kept gabbing and assigning worksheets When out in the parking lot, there arose such a clatter The faculty went running to see what was the matter

Amidst

the wreckage on the asphalt top Stood a student sobbing before our Mason cop And what was the cause of this unfortunate crash?

She had glanced at her cellphone when she saw it flash "Another text message!" She'd exclaimed with a grin For everyone knows, girl drivers are far worse than men [facetious reference to popular stereotype]

Amidst

what to my wondering eyes should come into view But an amiable administrator and his educationinclined crew "Now Coates, Now Huelsman. Now Keeton and McCarty!

On Frank, on Hans, on Affatato and Delahanty!

From the front office to the D-Wing Hall Fire Drill! Fire Drill! Fire Drill All!" stampede of students thundered down the corridor Ebbing and flowing from each and every door They stumbled upon the frozen concrete Shivering and cold from their heads to their feet These extreme arctic conditions were not so odd Temperature strangely reminiscent of the C-Pod

Dave

Allen strolled out with charismatic flair Power suit, power tie and neatly gelled hair A keen eye for dissonance as he traverses our institution Squandering insurgence, bringing order, with judicious resolution Prepared for anything, cell phone holstered at his hip Ready to bust a student for giving him lip [no implications of austere, merely integration of "hip" lingo] Thirty minutes transpired before allowed back inside Hans led the charge with a sense of great pride

the conflict the wind began to blow And from the sky came a cascade of snow This livened the ambiance of despair As the second bell's resonance broke upon the air Overjoyed to find warmth we all caught our breath Holiday exchanges could be heard in the hall Merry Christmas [insert alternative holiday here] Thankful for reprieve from an icy death The lunch bell was the next sound heard there was the most common idiom of all One is considered lucky to find a chair I stood in an endless line waiting to purchase But for every student who uttered this expresfood sion Pondering about the sides that I would include It would have to be voiced with great discretion To pay tribute to a single holiday A young scholar there stood, rather awe-stricken Would be met with a gasp of certain dismay After being beaten severely over the last spicySo Mr. Geotz found himself in great peril chicken [allusion to the spicy chicken sandwiches When he had neglected to display any Kwanzaa that are rather sparse by C Lunch] apparel Finally reaching the register I was ready to pay Twenty-four dollars was my total that day [sarcasm from the poverty-stricken adolescent popula-

G

E

N

E

R

I

tion]

A

burger and two sides were all I had acquired Hardly the meal I had originally desired But I, rather thankful for this freshly cooked meal Tore through the beef patty with vivacity and zeal

Beaming

ear to ear while hovered over my Lunch was clearly my favorite subject of Stomach no longer empty and lips freshly Waiting for the moment that our populace released

tray the day greased was

I

stopped by my locker to gather some possessions For going to class unprepared was the most serious of transgressions Spinning the dial with the flick of my wrist But my locker only continued to resist

So

I gave it a kick, perhaps three When out tumbled six textbooks and Cleaning this mess would just have My first priority was to make sure

of four papers galore to wait I'm not late

Bell

about to ring I dove through the door I made quite a thud as I slid across the floor Looking around my classmates looked dismayed But the teacher was impressed with the effort I'd displayed

Class

went slowly, I was plagued with anticipation The bell finally rang to signal our liberation I sprinted to my parking space and started the car An hour later I still hadn't gotten very far

Traffic

was at a standstill in this gridlocked lot Now forty feet away from my parking spot Eventually as I left I can clearly recall Shouting "Merry Chrismahannakwanzakah to all!"

-By PETER SPRINGSTEEN Staff Writer

C

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f i . . . ? r a e y t x e n t u o b a g n i k n . i t r h a T t s r e t t e b u o y , t ’ you aren

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It’s never too soon to start thinking about next year.

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Popovich steps down as head football coach

By COLEMAN SANDERS Staff writer While many schools go through head football coaches like the Bengals go through defense attorneys, Mason has had the benefit of staPopovich bility with their program's leader.

It is unbelievable that there have been only three head coaches in the history of Comet football, and two of them were brothers.

It was an end of an era when coach Gary Popovich announced this month his resignation as head football coach. Popovich's teams compiled a winning record over a six year period, and won or shared the FAVC league crown the last four years.

It is because of Popovich's work that Mason was given the opportunity to join the likes of an elite athletic conference such as the GMC. While some may say that the year before entrance into such a league may be the most inopportune time for a resignation, crucial and important factors played a part in his decision.

"I stepped down because of some philosophical differences and that I would like to spend some more time with my children," Popovich said.

Both players and assistant coaches were caught unexpected by the announcement.

"Coach Popovich called a meeting in his room and told us," said senior Matt White. "I was shocked. But I'm happy that I was able to have him for my four years here. He was a guy you believed in and trusted. He had our backs."

Comets under Popovich 2001 4-6 2002 5-5 2003 9-2 x y 2004 8-3 x y 2005 7-3 x 2006 5-5 x x = FAVC champs, y = playoff appearance

Offensive coordinator Randy Hubbard feels the same way.

"We [assistant coaches] were all surprised and concerned when we heard. It was unexpected," he said.

The word is out now though, and the search for just the fourth varsity football coach ever at Mason High School is underway. Rumors have been circulating that potential candidates include Steve Specht of St. Xavier and Doug Ramsey of Elder.

Athletic Director Scott Stemple remained mum on naming names, however.

"We plan to bring in 10-15 candidates we like and proceed from there.

We hope to have a decision by March 1," Stemple said.

Many agree that whoever takes the job will have to live up to the high standards set by coach Popovich. "[Popovich] is a great guy who's concerned with his family, his job, and the kids on the team. Hopefully the guy who comes in will have those same qualities," said Hubbard.

Even though he is stepping down, Popovich does not plan to move away from his passion for football.

"I'm going to watch kids that I've coached in the past play in college.

I'll enjoy the game in kind of a different way," he said.

photo by Drew Allen

Bengal players and coaches prepare to board the bus for another road trip. The Bengals play against the Denver Broncos in Denver on Christmas Eve. The following week the Bengals play at home on New Year’s Eve against the Steelers.

Bengal players and coaches adjust to spending holidays away from home and family

By DREW ALLEN Staff Writer Few fans, if any, are aware of what happens behind the scenes of a profootball team. They're fully aware of the pageantry, the pride and the tradition that each team represents to every NFL city. Some partially know about the long, hard hours of drilling, the strict fitness regimens, and the body-breaking full pad drills in the hot August sun. (At least, those who go to training camp are.) But what almost all fans fail to realize is how long each and every player and coach is separated from their family.

Practice every day but Tuesday. There are the games on Sunday, which are usually an all-day affair. However, it is during the holidays when the separation from family becomes magnified for the players and coaches.

"The holidays are a very important family time," Mason resident and Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons said. "To not know year to year, based on the schedule, what you are going to be doing [on Thanksgiving and Christmas] can be difficult."

With high profile games on and leading up to the holidays, teams are forced to practice as their families wait at home for them. Simmons has had to coach on both Christmas and Thanksgiving every year he has been in the profession.

"It is not the best or most convenient, but it is our line or work," Simmons said. "It is one of downfalls of this profession."

With the hassles presented by being away from family, teams attempt to make strides so players and coaches alike can be at home as much possible to celebrate and have fellowship.

"This year‌, I got home at about five pm for Thanksgiving," Simmons said. "Depending on the team you are with, for Christmas, you might get to spend part of the morning home so the kids can open gifts, or you can to work early in the morning then get to go home earlier, usually somewhere in the early afternoon."

However, while it is inconvenient and troublesome for all involved to practice on these days, it is necessary to practice to keep up intensity and focus. These practices may be especially indispensable for the Bengals, as they are contending for a possible playoff spot late in the season.

"We are all creatures of habit so we try to keep things as normal as possible on a holiday week as far as our preparation is concerned,"

Simmons said. "We try not to change anything and just shorten things up a little bit, so people have more time at home with their families."

As families are home celebrating, players minds may often wander as they anticipate going home and relaxing.

"Sometimes it is difficult to always maintain the players full attention on some holidays, especially Christmas," Simmons said. "They usually seem preoccupied with what will going on later when they get home, but most of the players are very good. They understand that it is still a workday for us, and they have to come in to work, so they might as well work hard while they are there to get better."

The strain of the holiday competition is especially felt by the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, who play on both Christmas day and Thanksgiving.

"That would be difficult for them," Simmons said. "I am sure their families will have to adjust around it and have to do their Christmas probably after the game or maybe the next day."

With players being forced to be away from home nearly all day, it is anyone's guess as to why the NFL permits games to be played on an important holiday, and at a time when people are meant to gather together. However, a closer look at television ratings for football games played on Christmas and Thanksgiving reveals more of the picture. Last Thanksgiving, according to USA Today, all CBS shows that evening received a major ratings boost after they aired an NFL game. On Christmas Day, CBS also earned a boost in their network ratings due to an overrun in the playing of an NFL game.

"From the NFL's standpoint, I'm sure the TV ratings are very good," Simmons said. "Television knows that in the middle of the afternoon, after everyone is done opening all their gifts, they have nothing else to do but watch TV, so they decide to put on an NFL game on their for them to watch. TV knows they have a great deal of potential viewers [on Christmas]."

Television ratings aside, it is still apparent that teams continue sacrificing and working through days that the average fan spends relaxing and with family. Perhaps now we can learn to appreciate the Bengals and all other teams as the coaches and players take the field every week to represent their respective cities.

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chroniclesports

Conversation A CONVERSATION WITH...

Kris Kringle also know as Santa Claus

What is your Alma mater?

I received an athletic scholarship to Arizona State University for Wrestling, but after my first year I decided the climate was to hot, so I transferred to the University of AlaskaAnchorage to ski for the Seawolves.

Have you ever caught any professional athletes wandering through their house on Christmas Eve? I've never caught a professional athlete before, but one Christmas I caught John Madden and Al Michaels eating my cookies and drinking my milk.

December 21, 2006

Girls,boys holiday tournament compete one last time

By MORRISON TRACY Staff Writer Comet basketball fans have enjoyed the benefits of hosting the Mason Holiday Tournament, an event which features some of the top prep basketball programs in the area.

However, this year is the tournament’s last.

MHS Athletic Director Scott Stemple is moving away from the tournament next season.

"We're going away from the holiday tournament because it's difficult to get teams to come in," Stemple said. "We would need to compensate them or providethem with residence."

St. Xavier, Princeton and Dover High Schools will be participating in this year's boys tournament. Mason head coach Greg Richards expects this to be the most competitive tournament in its brief history.

"The competition is good all around," Richards said. "St. Xavier and Princeton are highly respectable programs and Dover can compete with anybody. Match-ups in this tournament are going to be interesting."

The teams are selected prior to the seasons start due to schedule constraints and a home and away game balance required by the Ohio

Comet Country vs. Chronicle Sports Staff

Well, I enjoy the NHL, so I always root for my team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. I also like watching the NBA. My favorite team is the Denver Nuggets, but my reindeer's root for the Milwaukee Bucks.

My QB is my man Drew a.k.a. "cold" Brees.

One of my RB's is LenDale White "as snow".

My WR is Laveraneus "be nice or get" Coles.

My TE is New York's very own, Doug "have a" Jolley "Christmas".

My K is John "deck the" Hall.

Have you ever been benched with injuries from sliding down the chimney?

Yes, in fact, one time my boot got caught in a stocking that was firmly nailed to wall, resulting in my meniscus tearing in seven different places.

Who's holding your town's Super Bowl party this year?

Frosty the Snowman just bought a new HD plasma widescreen and it is to my knowledge that the whole North Pole will be gathering at his Chateau to watch the game.

Florida or Ohio State?

Ever since I saw Chubbs’ hand get bit off by an aligator in the movie Happy Gilmore, I’ve had a strong phobia of Gators; that’s why I am going to have to go with the Buckeyes.

Have you ever failed to finish delivering your presents?

Chronicle Sports Staff

Chronicle Sports Staff

Mo Tracy

I would have to say the Montana State University Northern Lights have been the most spirited this season. The whole football team volunteered to help our town put up Christmas lights on all of our homes.

-Compiled by Jeremy Powers

VS.

compiled by Jeremy Powers and Jeff Stephens

BCS Title Game Florida vs.

OSU

Nokia Sugar Bowl LSU vs.

Notre Dame

OSU

LSU

Drew Allen

OSU

Fed-Ex Orange Bowl Wake Forest vs.

Louisville

LOUISVILLE

Rose Bowl Michigan vs.

USC

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Boise State vs.

Oklahoma

MICHIGAN

OKLAHOMA

LSU

LOUISVILLE

USC

BOISE STATE

“Michigan’s front 7 will kick some Booty” Coleman Sanders

OSU

LSU

LOUISVILLE

MICHIGAN

BOISE STATE

“The Cardinals will fly to victory” Kirsten McCafferty

OSU

ND

LOUISVILLE

USC

OKLAHOMA

USC

BOISE STATE

“Notre Dame... welcome to the Bayou” Jeremy Powers

FLORIDA

Well Mrs. Kringle cooks a mean gingerbread casserole, but I usually just roast some chestnuts over an open fire.

What team has the most holiday spirit?

Comet Country

“Troy Smith is too much for the Gators to handle”

Unfortunately, yes. In 88' I stopped to watch a late night rerun of Hoosiers on Fox. I failed to deliver to the Philippine Islands that night.

What dish do you cook during a big game?

Traditionally, the holidays are a time for family and relaxation, but when there is a trophy on the line, there is no letdown in hard work and preparation.

"We set goals in the beginning of the season and one of them was to win the tournaments we play in," Richards said. "We have already won the Lebanon Shootout and next on our list is our own tournament. We want to win."

The Lady Comets will also be hosting their own holiday tournament the same week as the boys.

"Both our boys and girls tournaments are made up of very good teams," Stemple said.

"With this being the last year for an event like this, it would be nice to end on winning note."

Despite Stemple's comment on the discontinuation of the tournament, he addressed the fact that the holiday tournament is still not out of the question in years to come.

"The idea is not dead by any means," Stemple said. "We may entertain it down the road but for next year we would like a single game over break and more downtime for our coaches and our athletes."

The Mason Holiday Tournament tips off at 7:45 PM on Wednesday, December 27.

BCS Bowl Picks

What professional teams do you follow?

Give me the stars on your NFL fantasy starting line-up?

High School Athletic Association.

"We make a lot of calls to teams all over the state," Stemple said. "We are very fortunate this year because of the efforts of my predecessor Rod Russell. These are three very high caliber teams coming in."

Not only does hosting the tournament bring a sold-out arena with fans from a variety of locations, but also, according to Stemple, hosting the holiday tournament has brought a certain amount of respect from schools all over the area.

"By coming to our tournament, these teams show a certain amount of respect for us because they take time out of their schedule to come to our arena over the winter break,” Stemple said. “It's a great class of competition."

Richards believes Mason competing in the tournament will better their chances for success in conference play and later in the state tournament.

"If we compete and win during that stretch of our schedule, there is no doubt that we will be better prepared for down the road," Richard said. "We need to play hard and defend better than we have so far this season in order to win this our tournament."

LSU

LOUISVILLE

“Adrian Peterson will run over the Broncos” Jeff Stephens

Comet Country Picks 100 students/staff surveyed

FLORIDA

LSU

WAKE

MICHIGAN

OKLAHOMA

OSU 71%

LSU 54%

Michigan 78%

Louisville 70%

Oklahoma 55%

Florida 29%

Notre Dame 46%

USC 22%

Wake Forest 30%

Boise State 45%

December 21, 2006

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Athletes don’t get much of a break during holidays Holiday Break

By KIRSTEN MCCAFFERTY Staff Writer While some students may look forward to waking up at noon on December 23, not all are able to revel in the glory of the first day of holiday break. The other Student athletes must awake at around five o'clock in the morning and speed to the one place they hoped they could avoid during holiday break: school. What makes this task all the more arduous is that they know a morning of running, lifting and brutal scrimmages is in store.

"I know it's not fun, but I think it's a good thing because we want to win our tournament and practice will help us win," sophomore Zach Brown said.

Coaches such as Varsity Wrestling coach Craig Murnan, Girls Basketball coach Rob Matula, Boys Basketball coach Greg Richards and Swimming coach Mark Sullivan require all of their athletes to commit time and effort during the holiday break to their sports.

Both the girls' and boys' teams must practice tirelessly during break in order to prepare for their holiday tournaments, which starts on December 27, and will feature teams such as Dover, St. X and Princeton.

Girls' basketball has a harsh rule for missing practice: for every practice you miss; you sit out one quarter of a game.

"Practicing during Christmas is unethical," sophomore basketball player Lizzy Grimm said. "Christmas is for being with your family."

Swimmers have nicknamed their head coach Mark Sullivan the Grinch for his hard and rigorous practices. Swimmers practice all through break excluding Christmas Eve and the day of Christmas.

"I am honored for the nickname the Grinch" Sullivan said. "It shows my athletes are working hard and they're seeing the results."

The swimmers have one of their major meets just days after the holiday break.

For some athletes, practices over break

The Comet Culture Grid How do the Comets fit in?

Best Bond ever?

Favorite snow activity?

Worst gift ever?

All I want for Christmas is...

The locker room smells like...

Ohio State or Florida?

affected their decision to be involved at all.

Senior Alex Harden was one athlete who left the swimming program solely because of complications with her holiday break.

Harden quit the swim team because of lack of sleep and the lack of time to celebrate during her favorite season.

"It wasn't a break for us. We had to get up early, swim our hearts out, go home and sleep, and then come back and do it again," Harden said.

"I have nothing against Sullivan," Harden said. "I just didn't have any time for myself."

Two-a-day practices and intense schedules make it difficult for athletes to see friends and family.

"Your sport becomes your life," Harden said.

However, those who do commit to these practices have reason to do so.

"Even though it's hard work and getting up early, I know that our coaches mean well and it'll all be worth it in the end," Grimm said.

competitions

Boys basketball Dec. 23 vs. Milford Dec. 27 vs. Dover Dec. 28 vs. St. X / Princeton Girls Basketball Dec. 23 @ Anderson Dec. 27 @ Hughes Dec. 29/30 Holiday Classic Wrestling Dec. 22/23 Coaches Classic Dec. 28/29 Georgia Duals Gymnastics Dec. 27 Lakota East Invitational

Comet teams head into holiday break on a winning note

By MORRISON TRACY Staff Writer

MATT KOMAN Sr., Basketball

CARA WERNER Jr., Basketball

The first one, duh!

I haven’t seen any

Burrowing

Throwing Sledding snowballs Snowball fights Sledding Sledding at people

Board games. I hate board games

A pinstripe suit

Doodoo

Ohio State

KRISTEN LAMOTTE Sr., Basketball

I don’t know

Socks An ugly purse

A lot of clothes

Nice and fresh

Ohio State

A new Vera Bradley bag

Sweat and perfume

Florida

JOSH KLINE Jr., Wrestling

Golden eye

An Ohio State tie

MARY WUNDERLE SO., Swimming

I don’t watch James Bond movies

Ugly clothes

MR. GREG RICHARDS Basketball Coach

Goldfinger

George Foreman Grill

For my family to be safe A Junior and National To go to happy Time Cut State

My brother Chad’s feet

Ohio State

Mildew and Chlorine

Ohio State

Better than the football locker room

Ohio State Hands Down

The Mason Comets boys basketball team is once again atop of the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. The Comets have gotten off to another quick start standing at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in conference. Senior forward Matt Koman currently leads the team in scoring with just under 14 points per game good for top 10 in the FAVC. "We are excited about being 4-0 on the road," Koman said. "With the departure of Travis Brown, I felt I had to step up on the offensive end and so did my teammates."

Koman has also shot an impressive 52.5 percent from the field and posted a team leading 2.5 steals per game.

"In practice we focus on being tenacious and flying to the ball," Koman said.

"Our hard work in practice translates to the game and I think that's the biggest reason we are shutting teams down."

Since the arrival of head coach Greg Richards in 1994, the Comets have prided themselves on being best on the defensive side of the ball. With a league best 37.3 points against per game, the Comets defense has suffocated its opponents. The 37.3 points against is just under 10 points lower than the second best in the FAVC, Winton Woods.

"Coach Richards's main focus is always defense and it will probably be as long as he coaches," Koman said. "Offense will always come second because defense wins championships."

The scoring has been balanced for Mason since the season began. Senior guard Chase Conn has put up a respectable 9.8 points per game and sophomore guard Zach Brown has averaged 9.0 points per game.

"We're still searching for our offensive identity," Koman said. "When we lost Brown, we didn't know who would take over the scoring load and so far it has been the whole team. We all are within striking distances for team leader in scoring which is never a bad thing."

The Lady Comets basketball team has shot out of the gate to an impressive 3-2 overall record and a 2-1 conference record good for a number 7 rank in the city. Both of the Lady Comets losses were to top teams in the city, Princeton who is ranked number 4 and Winton Woods who currently sits in the number 5 spot. Senior forward Emma Miller has led Mason in scoring through their first five games.

"Losing to [Princeton and Winton Woods] really hit us hard," Miller said.

"We wanted both of those games badly and for us to fall short just motivates us

that much more to play better as the season goes on."

Senior guard Kristen Lamotte has contributed to the Comets success putting up seven points per game. The offensive balance between Lamotte and Miller has made them one of the toughest duos in the FAVC. "Lamotte was a big offensive weapon last season and she is just carrying over where she left off last season," Miller said. "Our whole team has been really balanced this year and a lot of that can be attributed to the unselfish play of our seniors."

The Lady Comets have a brutal schedule which features seven teams ranked in the top 11 in the city rankings. According to Miller, the tough regular season schedule will help prepare them for the state tournament.

"Playing those top teams only makes us that much tougher," Miller said. "When the state competition comes around, we will know what to expect and how to play in order to win those big games."

Mason Wrestling is looking recapture their form from the 04-05 season where the Comets were FAVC champions. Losing four first team All-FAVC starters from last years squad, Mason is looking to not only rebuild but reload. Returning first team All-FAVC member senior Bryan Hyland, currently holds a 3-2 overall record while recording two pins on the season.

"We're on the right track so far, especially because we lost so much with the seniors leaving," Hyland said. "We have a very young team and in our most recent win against Oak Hills, it gives us a big boost in moral."

Junior Josh Kline in the 275 weight class has started off with a phenomenal 50 record with four pins. Kline is a returning second team All-FAVC member from last years squad.

"Kline has worked really hard and has come a long way from the beginning of last season," Hyland said. "He is a huge asset to the team and as of right now, he is a man among boys in that 275 weight class."

Freshmen Robert Shepard is currently undefeated at 4-0 and Andy Porter sits at 4-1. The Comets young talent has stepped up according the Hyland.

"Sheppard, Porter, and Brendan Flannery are all stepping up big time for us," Hyland said. "They have put in a lot of time in getting better and improving fundamentals. They have done well so far and hopefully that continues throughout the rest of the season."

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December 21, 2006

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

Matt Ko m a n

13.5 Points Per Game 52.5 Field Goal % 7/11 for 19 points in win over Glen Este ***************************ECRLOT**C-086

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Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm Sunday 12pm-9pm

7/14 for 19 points in win over Harrison Led Comets to a #8 ranking in the cit y

December 21, 2006

The Chronicle’s Top Ten Holiday Flicks Old favorites top the list

the

chroniclearts&entertainment

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Reviews Book

Santaland Diaries provides an unusual, sarcastic spin on the holidays

By TRICIA WOLFORD Staff Writer

1. A Christmas Story (1983) The images of a tongue stuck on a frozen light post and a Red Ryder BB Gun will never leave our minds. This truly classic story of childhood brings a smile to all our faces. Ralphie teaches us to never give up on the perfect present, and proves that you should always listen to your parents. Ralphie's story shows us we really can "shoot our eyes out."

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) This animated greedy character has become a symbol of what not to be during the holidays, and we will always be able to remember the evil turn around the Grinch made. We've all been upset around the holidays, and The Grinch reminds us we all have a little bit of a dark side. But when the Grinch makes a drastic turn around and proves his kind heart to WhoVille, we, like our green friend, are reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. Good Deeds prove to be stronger once again.

3. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989) Chevy Chase's Christmas vacation is a complete disaster to which all of us can relate. Besides his annoying relatives, broken lights, aggressive neighbors, and countless things that go haywire, Chase seems to barely survive the holidays. He seems to teach us one simple lesson: A little comedy goes a long way.

4. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) No matter our age, our hearts will always have a spot for this Claymation classic. We've all felt like misfits at one point in our lives, and Rudolph's red nosed trials aren't that different from ours.

Rudolph's story rings true when it encourages us to be "in - de pendent," and not judge on outward appearance. I say, shine on Rudolph, shine on.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) Who can forget when Charlie Brown buys the scraggliest Christmas tree ever seen? Despite his friends' negative opinion of the hideous tree, Charlie gives this peculiar plant a chance to shine, with effects that are unexpected.

But, Charlie's friends pull through and show the true nature of the holiday spirit, and us too.

6. Frosty the Snowman (1969) Being the most famous snowman in history, Frosty melts our hearts with his love of life. This fairytale snowman shows us that we all need a little bit of love every once in a while, and friends and family are an important thing to treasure. Frosty shows us that a little bit of magic goes a long way, and the belief in others gets us farther.

7. The Santa Clause (1994) Have you ever seen your father as Santa Claus? Does his fake beard and pillow-belly make you want to hide under the tree? The thought of a father being Santa Claus is brought to life through this movie. After Charlie's father accidentally kills Santa Claus, his father takes a negative outlook on becoming the big red man with rosy red cheeks. On top of that, Charlie's father doesn't believe in the Christmas spirit, and needs a little help in believing. Lucky for Charlie, the elves in the North Pole help his father discover true holiday spirit, and prove to the audience the real power of believing.

8. It's A Wonderful Life (1946) After a lifetime of putting others before himself, George Bailey finally reaches the limit when one of his business partners loses all their money (literally, an envelope full of money goes missing). In the depths of despair, he wishes he had never been born. But with the help of Clarence, a guardian angel in training, George realizes that he has made a big difference in the lives of his friends, and that life is worth living after all. The true significance of the film is that even though George's life is still not perfect at the end, he learns that even the smallest things are to be cherished, an important idea for us to carry with us throughout the hectic holidays.

9. Elf (2003) This films original humor solidifies its status as a Christmas movie great. When the lovable, if a bit dim, elf Buddy takes a trip to New York City to find his father, who just so happens to be on the Naughty list, it's not quite the reunion he expected. But through his overwhelming Christmas cheer and holiday hi-jinks, Buddy succeeds in bringing his new family together, and a smile to our face.

When we're all older and losing the Christmas spirit, this film will still inspire us to answer our phone asking people their favorite colors.

10. A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Charles Dickens' classic story would have become redundant if it were not for this refreshing spin. It's not so much that the Jim Henson company changed a lot, (well, except for Bob Cratchit being a frog) but the charming humor of the puppets creates a film adored by both children and adults alike. If nothing, Michael Caine's transformation is always touching and encourages us not to dwell on the past and embrace the future with warmth.

By SHEA DAVIDSON Staff Writer Attention Macy's Shoppers! If you want to cuddle around a fire and read a book this holiday season about fluffy little snowmen, cute little reindeer, or hot chocolate and Christmas carolers, this book is for you.

Not! Santaland Diaries is a sarcastic, anti-holiday essay which tells of author David Sedaris' true-life experiences while working as an elf in Macy's Department Store during the Christmas season. As a fan of David Sedaris, and being somewhat of a Grinch myself, I was immediately attracted to the essay. What is funnier than a thirty-something man that dresses up in tights for work and is known as "Crumpet" the elf?

With a "screw Christmas" (and the rest of the world) attitude, Sedaris applies for a job as an elf for Macy's Department store. After landing the job, Sedaris describes the people with whom he came in contact. He tells how foreigners would come to see Santa, but couldn't speak enough English to tell him what they wanted. He jokes that physically handicapped children would come to visit Santa with missing body parts. One kid, prompted by some tree-hugging liberal parent, even requests from St. Nick that "Prokton and Gamble stop animal testing." Needless to say, there is nothing politically correct about this essay.

Not only does Sedaris talk about the people who come to see Santa, but he also talks about the "Big Guy" himself. For example, he and some other elves realize that "Santa" is actually an anagram of "Satan." Some Santa's even seemed to take their job a little too seriously. When Sedaris asks one Kris Kringle where he lives, the reply is simply "The North Pole with Mrs. Claus." It sounds like some struggling actor who got way into his character.

Overall, Santaland Diaries is another example of Sedaris' sarcastic humor, and in my opinion, will appeal to that "Bad Santa" inside each of us.

Music

Beatles’ new release makes perfect gift

By SAM GOLDSMITH Contributing Writer The Beatles are quite possibly the four greatest men in modern music. Throughout their relatively small 8-year recording career, they broke many of the boundaries and conventions of what pop music could and would be, from 1963's Please Please Me to 1969's Abbey Road. They also became one of the highest selling artists in history, including having 2000's biggest selling album with their compilation, 1. Now, 36 years after their breakup, their influence in music is no more evident than in their latest release, Love.

When orchestrated together with such precision and care, the sound is whole as if it was always meant to be that way, making each track thump with a vibrant and colorful energy. After a lush a cappella rendering of "Because," accompanied by quiet singing birds, a group of pianos crescendo backwards into the fierce opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night." This is immediately followed by the drum and guitar solos from "The End" which go on to open "Get Back." In the track "Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing," all three songs meld together to become an arty funk-rock jam. In "Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows," a psychedelic trip and an Indian trance are merged together to become a new kind of mind-expanding meditation.

However, two tracks off the album are magnum opuses in the craft of music production. In a new version of "Strawberry Fields Forever," you see the song's progression in front of your eyes.

It starts with a rough acoustic demo by John to the gentle Take 1 of the song. Then the track moves into the actual song until it begins the "freak-out" section, in which "Sgt. Pepper's," "In My Life," "Penny Lane," "Piggies," and "Hello Goodbye" all come to add to the avant-garde nature of the song. To contrast, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" begins with the original spare Take 1 recording with Harrison on guitar and vocal and McCartney on distant organ. Then the song adds a lilting and lovely score by George Martin, newly composed for the album. The song turns from being a hard cry of pain to a beautiful haunting prayer of sorrow that leaves you heartbroken.

"Love" is not just a reaffirmation of The Beatles legacy, which it does a great job doing, but also a transcendent reflection of the journey of life itself. The album shows our joy, our pain, our successes, our failures, and of course, our love. "Love" is a masterpiece of art and the best album of the year.

Movie The Holiday is a memorable winter romance

By BETH LIPTON Staff Writer The Holiday consists of two women, struggling with love problems, hoping to spend the holidays--if not the rest of their lives-- away from men. Sounds similar to many other romance films. But while I was under this impression at first as well, The Holiday did not take on the oh-so dramatic stances that other films do. In fact, it put a spin on regular romance.

The movie stars Cameron Diez and Kate Winslet, who are both looking for a getaway from their troubled love lives over the holiday season.

Amanda Woods (Diez) is a Los Angeles local that produces movie trailers.

Iris Simpkins (Winslet) is a wedding columnist living in London and is still in love with an engaged man. The two switch houses through an online program to get away from their own lives for the holidays, hoping to stay as far away from love as possible, a goal unaccomplished. The Holiday co-stars Jude Law and Jack Black, who become the two love interests of Amanda and Iris respectively. Amanda meets Graham (Law) when he pounds on Iris's door intoxicated while Iris meets Miles (Black) when he goes to Amanda's house to pick up some paperwork. What makes this movie so great is that each of us can relate to Woods and Simpkins. Those of us who have sought out can understand the plight of being the girl left behind, and those of us who have been chased can understand Woods. Nevertheless, seeing both perspectives is in itself interesting.

The only part that seemed to detract from the performance was a lack of Jack Black, a character that always seems to deliver a funny performance. However, despite the lack of his performance, The Holiday is a good film for those who want an easy-to-digest holiday movie, and aren’t looking for an in-depth plot or serious topics. That, we can leave to Blood Diamond.

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December 21, 2006

Local candy store appeals to our holiday sweet tooth

By MICHELLE ROTBART Staff Writer

photo by Beth Lipton

Main Street Sweets and Popcorn owner Vicki Larcomb prepares a new batch of candy. She attributes much of her holiday business to the media’s portrayal of candy and to holiday candy gift-giving traditions.

photo by Beth Lipton

The Main Street Sweets and Popcorn appeals to the traditional holiday candies in their display. Of these include popcorn and decorated cookies.

Candy canes, chocolate Santas, peppermint sticks, chocolate covered cherries, and cranberry cookies are all a few examples of popular holiday candy choices. The holiday affliction towards over-consumption of candy is not a new one. Now, candy companies have reached their ultimate goal of marketing sweets by excessively stocking up holiday candy.

This association between seasonal sweets and the actual holidays has created several family traditions.

Senior Patty Morbach and her family have a tradition to make and eat their own holiday candy.

"We make buckeyes, white chocolatecovered pretzels and peanuts, and sugar cookies that are cut out like trees, Santa, reindeer, and stars," Morbach said. "We make icing out of powdered sugar, milk and food coloring to decorate [the cookies]."

While traditions encourage families to consume large amounts of sweets, candy companies also have an opportunity to make more money around the holidays.

Mars Incorporated especially focuses their advertising around the holidays this season.

Red and green M&M candies are sold the month before Christmas and in the mid 1980's Christmas candies were sold with symbols associating with the holiday replacing the noted "m" on the candy.

The reasoning behind marketing holiday candies is most obviously for profits, a fact perpetuated by the National Confectioners Association's findings. NCA estimates that the profit made from candy sales is four times higher than total store average sales otherwise. Holiday candy generates some $2,400 in sales per store per week over and above the average $2,500 for regular candy

items.

Marketers attempt to promote their products as early as possible.

"We try to get it on the shelves at least a month before the holiday to pick up whatever candy dish sales we can in the first couple of weeks. The strongest seasonal sales usually get down to the last 10 days before the holiday," Jim Fisher, director of purchasing and advertising for Fruth Pharmacy.

“Candy is a fun part of the holidays. I’m sure businesses make alot of money from it, but people don’t buy candy during the holidays just for its taste. It’s tradition.”

Amanda Armstrong

Dave Reichert, national sales manager for M&M/Mars sees many stores attempting to lengthin the amount of time they can advertise and promote holiday candies. Some vendors even send the stores holiday decorations such as banners, ballons, inflatables and displays.

"Early displays equal early sales, maximizing candy presence in-store will meet the consumers' need for decorating and snacking during these peak consumption periods," Reichert said.

Most noted is M&M's holiday commercials where the popular Red and Yellow M&M's meet Santa Claus on Chritmas Eve. "The commercial made me laugh, it came out a long time ago and they are still running it. It’s awesome, it's not Christmas without seeing that commercial it makes me want to eat M&Ms and have a peppermint stick," senior Adam Denton said.

Candy is also an easy gift that can bring joy to the person reciving it. " I get Godiva chocolate from my uncle every year, and we also get sweets in our stockings. The holidays are really the only time I ever eat Godovia, but it's extra special that I get it from my uncle, it's become a tradition that I can indulge in such an expensive chocolate. Chocolate is easy to crave and a great gift to get," Senior Jessica Homan said.

Most noted is M&M's holiday commercials where the popular Red and Yellow M&M's meet Santa Claus on Chritmas Eve. In Mason there are a few stores that are satisfying the publics' sweet tooth. Main Street Sweets and Popcorn recently opened.

Owner Vickie Larcomb makes numerous homemade holiday sweets, including chocolate-covered candy canes and pretzels, holiday popcorn, reindeer corn, and peppermint flavored homemade marshmallows.

"The people that come here just want sweets," Larcomb said.

Main Street Sweets and Popcorn is different from regular candy stores in that all the candy is home-produced, adding a touch that no supermarket can offer.

"All the candy is homemade, and we use a special kind of chocolate called Ghirardella Chocolate which makes the candy better," Larcomb said.

Lorena Siso, a cake decorator at Sweet Sinsations believes that the large consumption of rich foods is due to the fact that people just want to enjoy the holidays and sweets are a good reminder of childhood.

“Candy is a fun part of the holidays,” senior Amanda Armstrong said. “I’m sure businesses make alot of money from it, but people don’t buy candy during the holidays just for its taste. It’s tradition.”

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November 27, 2006

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Williams takes passion for holiday decorations to Heritage Oak Park Also after he was interviewed for so long it almost seemed to him like the media was twisting his words around in order to tell his story how they saw it.

When Mason resident Carson Williams was "The media seems to tell the story as they asked by his wife Sherry to put lights on his see it, taking statements out of context and house 10 years ago, Williams dreamed of ways reusing them to tell their story," said Williams to make his light display truly special. With the Williams's display was cut short on help of computers, it started with different colDecember 6 of last year when he received a call ored lights blinking at designated times. Last from the sheriff informing him that an accident year, Williams synchronized the lights with occurred outside of his house because of the music from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. large amount of community members visiting "My plans are to make it through this year and his home. 45 minutes after see what next the accident, Williams years brings," said "My family is the most "pulled the plug" on the Williams, a network engineer for important thing, so I have to display.

However, Williams's Cincinnati Bell make sure what I do does not neighbors were happy Technology with the display during the Solutions. negatively affect them." short time it was up.

But what had Carson Williams "I received good comoriginated as an ments from my neighbors overzealous last year even during the Christmas decorarush of traffic through the neighborhood," said tion soon turned into a community attraction, Williams. and then a world attraction as Williams' display This year his home remains dark while others was being featured on shows such as Good are glowing with strands of lights, but he does Morning America and The Today Show. not attribute this to the possibility of accidents The famous video that sparked the display's on his street. Rather, Williams has taken on a popularity was first posted to larger Christmas lights project for the city of Planetchristmas.com in February of 2005.

An advertisement agency for Miller Beer con- Mason.

This year Tom Keper and Roger Cupp, two tacted Williams and offered to do a holiday heads of The Festival of Mason, approached advertisement using his display. Soon after, the Williams in hopes he would create an intricate local and national news stations began contactlight display in Heritage Oak Park this year. He ing Williams for interviews making him a agreed. household name. Williams was even contacted The planning started in January 2006 with his by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra with gratitude brother, wife, neighbors and a few close for using their songs, and free backstage passes friends. to their shows.

"My wife is a large part of my inspiration and Much to Williams's surprise the local media she helps me through various artistic blocks," where actually the last wave of media to conWilliams said. tact him regarding the light show.

By SPENCER WEBB Staff Writer

photo by Spencer Webb

Mason resident Carson Williams (above) has become a household name for his light displays. His display in 2005 attracted enough viewers that a car accident took place outside of his house. His house was featured in a Budweiser Commerical, and he was featured on The Today Show and Good Morning America.

Now, Williams is working with the city of Mason to create a light display in Heritage Oak Park.

This year the Christmas in Lights display is comprised of 80 thousand lights, five thousand feet of cable, and is run by software called Animated Lighting. The shows themselves are kept on tiny flash-drive-like disks in a Ziplock Bag. Williams loves what he does around the holidays so much he even founded his own private company called Consar Lights, and has been asked to put on shows in Denver Colorado where he used 250 thousand lights and West Virginia where he used 35 thousand lights.

Williams attributes his ability to put forth

such a great amount of zeal towards his projects to his family.

"My family is the most important thing, so I have to make sure what I do does not negatively affect them," Williams said.

The show will run until December 31.

Williams hopes to add even more lights to his display next year, including a motion activated tunnel to the viewing area.

"I am still amazed that everyone comes to see my hobby in action," Williams said.

MHS brother and sister believe differently, celebrate together

By CAROINE JOHNSON Staff Writer

photo by Olga Borodulin

Senior Kelly Carl and her brother, sophomore Ryan Carl, may both celebrate the holidays and exchange gifts together but they do not believe in the same holidays.

Stemming from the different religions of their parents, Kelly has adopted Christianity while Ryan has chosen to be part of the Jewish faith. Both, however, say that their holiday celebration doesn’t differ from that of other families.

Did you know?

Most families that are part Jewish and part Christian will celebrate both holidays.

Of the families surveyed, 99 percent plan to participate in Hanukkah, while only 89 percent plan to participate in Christmas.

Ninety percent plan to light the menorah and 63 percent plan to tell the Hanukkah story.

The most common Christmas activities they will participate in are giving gifts and decorating the Christmas tree.

Only 5 percent plan to tell the Christmas story.

-according to the third annual national survey of interfaith families by InterfaithFamily.com.

Kelly Carl and her brother Ryan have nine days of gift-giving: eight for Hanukah and one for Christmas. For the Carl siblings, every holiday season brings two very different customs together and every year they celebrate these customs the same way.

"We celebrate Hanukah with my dad's side of the family and Christmas with my mom's side of the family," Ryan said.

With a Christmas tree and a Menorah in the same room, the Carl siblings have grown up in a household that has merged two religions together, allowing them to have a wide variety of experiences especially during the holiday season.

"When we were really young we would get our eight presents, one for each night of Hanukah and then a bunch more on Christmas morning, and that was all I knew. Back then, I knew it was because my dad was Jewish and "I think it makes me my mom was Catholic, but I didn't know the difference between stronger because the two religions," Kelly said. instead of growing Now that she and her brother are older, Kelly notes a change up in a household in her appreciation for her family's unique traditions.

"Now I know the difference between the two religions. Even where a religion is though I decided to pursue Catholicism, I still really enjoy celechosen for you, we brating the Jewish traditions," Kelly said. were able to see Both of the Carl siblings were able to choose the religion they both felt compelled to follow, and feel their parents prepared them perspectives and well to make that decision.

"Up until fourth grade we went back and forth every other year choose our own.� between Catholic and Jewish religious programs," Kelly said.

Kelly Carl "After going to [Catholic services] every other year, I thought I believed more in the Catholic faith."

Although Ryan decided to continue learning about Judaism, instead of Catholicism like his sister, Kelly was not upset.

"I was actually happy about it because we have two and two. That way when I grow up I'll still have the Jewish culture as a part of my family, and I really want that," Kelly said.

Through the years, the Carl family has been careful to honor both religions throughout the entire year, and not just the Christmas and Hanukah season.

"We go to temple on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and we go to church on Christmas and Easter as a whole family," Kelly said.

A common misperception Kelly believes people have about her when they discover that she was raised in both a Catholic and Jewish household is that she will not make the best decisions about her faith in the future, however, she strongly disagrees.

"I think it makes me stronger because instead of growing up in a household where a religion is chosen for you, we were able to see both perspectives and choose our own," Kelly said.

Whether they are gathering around a Christmas tree or a Menorah, the Carl siblings are happy with their holiday traditions.

"I'm proud of it. We still celebrate like everyone else. Just on Christmas there is a Menorah in the background," Kelly said.

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the

November 27, 2006

chronicle

s t h s p a Sn Candice’s camera lense closes in on...

Philpot

by Candice

“Wh

With the at are yo number advancement u listenin o o ers or m f students atte f popular techn g to?” o n o day sea re so an Ipod, ding Mason H logy in today's ig s s a at the to on advances, re the overwh h School witho ociety, the m e u p more La of their wish any students h lming minority. t MP3 playlis A a u has ma ra Peszek, wh t. One of thes ve placed the s the holise electr e d o o ner. "I ju e her parents a has wanted a students inclu des sop nics n w s hothem] I t tell them tha are of her wa Ipod for over a n t would u se it a lo everyone else ting in a not so year and has one t and it s ," Pesze ubtle mank said. "[I tell would b e Althoug money well sp h e variety there are a larg nt." of e Peszek models availa ble, w "shuffle ants the Ipod b [the mu ecause it mixe sic s someth ] up and you ing diffe get re time." E ven tho nt every ugh Peszek k probably nows she will n Christm ot get one for a receive s, if she were to Johnso would "p song sh one, the first n." e robably be som would downloa ething b d y Jack

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With the graduati many s on of th enio e Class Winter B rs here at the of 2007 quickly h reak for approac is no ex many d igh school are h ifferent looking ception reasons . Daily s forward ing, becaus . Senior ays she to e all of 's lookin Samanth the [colle then." W g "forwa ge] a hile Daily rd to this a Daily knows th cceptance lett break ers at she w ill be co will be in and by ming ho holidays m e for once sh e's in co the she will lleg miss the Winter B e, of her h igh re miss my school years. aks "I will fr lot of m iends," Daily s aid. "A y fr college] iends are goin g [to out of s tate, so only ge we'll t to see e a the long c breaks." h other on Drama As the Club Se c retary, D says sh aily e's the holid most anticipati n ays bec ause sh g "looking e's fo Tempes rward to The t after th e break ."

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g up w While th ith... Do ing time e students of M rothy C with fam a ombs ily, open son High Scho ol ing gifts and hop will be busy sp efully en e weathe joying th ndr during e Win al MHS staff me ter Break, sev ermbers w most of ill s the of which ir holiday at s pend ch is custo dian Do ool; one Combs. roth "W days an e're only off w y ork two dh the wee ave to work th e re k," claims th Combs said. C st of ombs at there are alw of thing a s to do when stu ys a lot are in th den eb to be ab uilding, "so it's ts le nice While C to get caught u hri p." time for stmas is a spe cia C daughte ombs, going to l and see becaus ing her r' her e her gra grandkid s house for th e holida ndkids "a s is the y most im re numb portant, er one o f [hers]. "

The high school will be empty, not a single student walking through doorways, notebooks and forgotten pencils in the hallways, and no teachers.

The only people inhabiting the halls will be custodial worker Dorothy Combs and her crew. We asked Combs what the school is like without the noise of students. But to find out what the world outside of the school will be like for the students, we asked senior Samantha Daily about what her break will be like, and what, if anything, is she looking forward to when school starts.

Sophomore Laura Peszek, on the other hand, is only looking forward to one thing: recieving an iPod from her parents for Christmas. But while Peczek must wait a week longer for her gift, freshman Spencer Stucki has already recieved his brother’s gift: a free locker rental. His brother, senior Bradford Stucki, lets his brother avoid class tardies by sharing his locker in the spirit of the holidays. Senior Jen Phillips , however, pondered the ulitimate question for next year: Will winter break be longer?

f this ster o t trime d new rs fi s e le an ived th chedu se probs rv a u w s t e " with n ingers to cau n’ ou ts at Helpi lthough the "D-wl year, difficulteiersswill continfouer these studegnof the o in A h s o n gin lem teac sch the be trimester. d secon nts g stude Some in the D-win d locate en fortunate be have to receive h enoug om others. fr nts favors ese stude f th o n e a n m O sh o has es fre includ Stucki, wh r to e c h n g e u Sp eno brothlucky been locker with i. a Stuck share r Bradford io n e to er, s came n we "Whe

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pot. ntral s ore ce ve a more m a in ha y e's py to ere m locker was tion," is hap ing. "H ] aw wh rienta an] O said, "we s [Bradford's g, Spencer gets annoy been any m h s t 't i s in a n k e [Fre c e -w th m v tu D ti a e get er S d in ome cided here h g, "W Spenc as and de ses locate claims it s said. T while sayin s w rd rd la r fo c e fo d lock f his Brad ," Bra ford smiles one o while space d With n nt locker, 's less rothers, Bra re ie e n th e b e th conv nized and n a twee disorg roblems be e." p tim major ost of the m along

I heard it in the halls...

With po s seniors ts being made plo on Edlin e conce Questio tting away at rning se a n: I hea nior skip rd a rum definate skip d longer a d next ye o r th a t Winte y, senior Jen P ays and most ar than r Break hillips w it is this is goin on year. Is g to be a dered, this tru lot e?

Answe r by MH S cipal G eorge C assistant prin oa 2007-20 08 scho tes: "For [the ol day for students year], the last is the 2 Decemb 1s er] and they co t [of on the 7 me th of Ja nuary. [W back break] h inter as when th a lot to do wit h eh year, [C olidays fall. Th hri is Monday. stmas] falls on a P school re lus, we started a of the [c lly late too bec ause onstruc tio MECC building n of] the ."

the

November 27, 2006

Fashion Wire Aromatherapy cures holiday aches

By MICHELLE ROTBART Staff Writer For the holidays we must all please others. The gift giving, cooking for your family and all the charity work might leave you a bit anxious. Though it is important to keep others in mind during this time, it is also nice to give something to yourself, besides those Steve Madden Suede Platforms.

Aromatherapy is a simple, inexpensive pleasure that you can enjoy for the season.

Aromatherapy is the use of oils derived from stems, leaves, and plants to improve mental and bodily health. This practice of using natural substances has been used since the ancient times, and might even be older than Santa.

The oils can be in liquid form and can be diluted with water and sprayed or can be in candles which are highly popular around the holidays.

According to aromatherapist Mary Hernandez, peppermint, lavender and basil are the best smells to relieve holiday headaches.

The smells can bring a relaxing response in the brain and trigger calming feelings.

"Scents such as Eucalyptus Spearmint and Sandalwood Rose are popular around the holidays and are able to unlock endorphins in the brain making the brain say 'oh this is soothing'," Gina, of Bath & Body Works at Waterstone, said.

After a long hard day of holiday preparation many people choose to use aromatherapy to unwind.

"Many people use aroma therapy candles at night, when taking a bath or before they go to sleep to help them relax," Gina said.

Scent is the strongest sense tied to memory and especially soothing scents can remind us of more tranquil times.

Express Yourself Name: Fifi aka Mrs. Claus Age: timeless, forever young…no comment Style Inspiration: I have to stand out against the snow, so really, I do my own red thing. Then the elves fill me in on my approval rating at Hot or Not.com.

Favorite Store: I get all of my clothes custom made for me at Sparkle Sunshine's Elf Emporium, located in the southeast quadrant of the North Pole Mall. I also go to Chico's on the weekend.

Wadrobe Spice: The ruffled cap that I quite frequently sport tops off the entire outfit.

That’s gotta go: I've seen a lot of girls wearing snow boots in the summer time. What are they called?...Ugly Boots? These kids are wearing out the soles their boots in the summer, and when winter comes the snow makes their feet chilled.

Signature Color: Ruby Red is iconic to me, but when I'm feeling really wild I like to mix it up with some crimson.

Gifs that Give Giving is apart of the holidays but why not make your last minute gifts give back to the world.

Polo Ralph Lauren's Pink Pony fund focuses on breast cancer care and prevention, The Pink Pony Fund receives ten percent of the earnings from Pink Pony products.

Get a glamorous look with products from VIVA GLAM! Support the MAC AIDS Fund by buying VIVA GLAM products. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to MAC AIDS Fund to take action against HIV/AIDS.

photo by Michelle Rotbart

The Grape Vine in Mason has an abundance of sweet smelling scents to help you relax this holiday season.

What’s up with

that?

Craving Cute and Comfy? Crave Pink

By MICHELLE ROTBART Staff Writer

Winter Break. I can already envision the hot cocoa, the tree, and all my Vogue magazines stacked next to me, ready to be infiltrated by my all-seeing eyes. But since the fantasy of Winter Break has yet to hit , it's difficult to not spend this day craving school’s end. If you look around you'll see the tired faces adorned in aged sweats with near-empty Starbucks cups. But leave it to us girls to at least come to school in the fashionable, the cute, and the Pink sweats. In the midst of sheer exhaustion, I wonder, "What's up with that?"

Generally, it seems a lot is up with the Pink line. It's popularity has soared with its launch in July of '04. The Limited Brands Pink line includes fun and sweet loungewear and pajamas. Pink has just about everything a girl needs to stay comfortable but cute this holiday, because who wants to look bad during the celebrations.

"Pink and Frost" slogans, snowmen and Santa hats will put you in a jolly mood. Cheerfully colored tops, cropped sweat pants, thermal shirts and vests will keep you warm and appealing "Pink has many nice looking sweats. Not drab," Laura Evans, Zone Pink Lead of Victoria Secret in Kenwood, said.

Not only does Pink offer sweats but they also specialize in accessories.

Fuzzy robes, hats, totes all add to the toasty and relaxing mood of this holiday season.

"I'm really excited to see the holiday line. I love Pink because it's comfortable but girly and I still feel pretty wearing Pink," senior Courtney Gunn said.

Despite the cost, which may fall in the 30 to 80 dollar range, the product delivers a soft cotton interior and makes your exterior look extra attractive during a time when all you want to do is snuggle next to the fire. I guess Victoria's Secret really does know the secret to beauty even in the most weary of states.

Style giveaway In the spirit of the giving season, The Chronicle is giving you the opportunity to rock the same designer all your favorite celebrities do! Michael Stars is a west coast company that is renowned for the wonderful fit, energetic shades and comfy material of its shirts, and can help you stay a bit warmer this season! Now you can win a Michael Stars fitted t- shirt, compliments of the new and fabulous Girl Boutique. You win if you have a sticker somewhere on this page! Come down to room C110 by the end of today and claim your prize!

You Really Can Win! Join Orlando Bloom, Jamie Foxx, and Penelope Cruz and other celebrities in the battle against extreme poverty and global AIDS. The ONE Campaign offers the ONE Book, the ONE short sleeve tshirt, and the white bands.

Stylista Michelle Rotbart presents sophomore Paul Griffin with a bottle of Kenneth Cole Black Cologne.

Griffin was the winner of The Chronicle style give away.

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