The Chronicle, 9.5

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W il l i a m M a s o n H i g h S c h o o l

A CLUB FOR ALL COLORS

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F ebruary 17, 2012 Volume 9, Issue 5

The Chronicle thecspn.com

PIERCING JUDGEMENTS SEE PAGE 20

Students with gauges defy negative connotations

LOW BLOWS ROMNEY 2012

GING RICH 2012

GOP candidates hit below the belt to secure nomination photo illustration by Erica Boden and Ajay Agrawal

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C NEWS

Say goodbye to the OGT

Class of 2016 will be the last to take the OGT

SEE PAGE 5

PAGE 2 | FEB. 17, 2012

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C Talkin’ Sports Juniors Jacob Hurley and Lee Sponseller talk to the top athletes at Mason High School. To watch exclusive interviews with the players making the news, check out thecspn.com and see our new segment “Talkin’ Sports”.

C Lauren Pauley finalist for “Billy Elliot Dream Award” With the chance of a $500 scholarship, junior Lauren Pauley is a finalist for the “Billy Elliot Dream Award.” After submitting her dance and an essay, she is one of three finalists to be chosen. Go to thecspn.com to see her dance and read more about what this means to her as a dancer.

C Girls’ basketball heads into

state tournament The Mason girls’ varsity basketball team is done with their regular season, ending with a record of 14-6.

Check out thecspn.com for information as they head into their state tournament play.

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Typical majors lead to unemployment College majors not targeted towards specific career path Ian Howard | Staff Writer

With unemployment not matching demand to go into certain fields, according to the Washington Post, college majors business, engineering and law are the top ten most unemployed fields for recent college graduates. These classic college majors may never go away, but how they are packaged and what career the students of these fields will ultimately go to is subject to change, according to Business teacher Craig Murnan. He said that because of the abundance of careers and jobs that the average person sifts through ten years after graduation, students are being inadequately prepared by universities.

“Are colleges and universities really doing their job if you’re just coming out with one major? The answer would be no,” Murnan said.

Senior Cody Schrand said that he plans to major in engineering at Ohio State University (OSU). Despite the relatively high unemployment rates in engineering, Schrand said that he is optimistic that he will be able to find employment when he graduates.

“I’d say the engineering degree with the business minor [helps me stick out among other students],” Schrand said. “I’m also part of OSU Business Scholars. I think that will help out and also the co-ops and internships that I get throughout the year will help me out with job placement.”

Senior Matt Loehr said that he is interested in going to college as a business major. Loehr said that he is looking to become involved in multiple fields in college, but he also believes that his classes taken in high

school will provide a kick-start.

“Just taking the bank [class] prepared me well for doing something in business; [it] kind of gave me a resume that looked good to colleges,” Loehr said. “At OSU I got into the business program [and the] same with Dayton. It opened the opportunities for me to get a good foundation in college for a career.”

Loehr said that he would like to become involved in sports management, but he will take any career available. It is important to expand one’s options, according to Loehr.

“I would also like to take a lot of other classes to help broaden my horizons to give me other opportunities, just in case one path doesn’t work out,” Loehr said.

Schrand’s combination of different fields in his education is the kind of thing that Murnan believes colleges ought to strive for. Technical study for a specific major is still important, according to Murnan, but critical thinking is becoming more and more important.

“People are changing jobs more frequently [and] people are changing careers more frequently,” Murnan said. “Colleges are going to have to react to that.

They’re going to have to come up with ways to teach our kids better problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, analysis. Those types of things are going to really drive the jobs in the future.”

University of Cincinnati’s Career Development Center Director Katrina Jordan said that the university sees its duty in helping its students to be in experiential

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Most Popular College Majors Business Administration and Management Psychology Nursing Biology Education

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English Language and Literature Economics Communications Political Science Computer and Information Sciences information provided by The Princeton Review

FEB. 17, 2012 education.

“We certainly encourage experiential learning, like cooperative education and internships,” Jordan said. “It allows [students] to have a real life experience where they say, ‘Wow, I’m in this area of engineering, but now I think I might like another area of engineering better.’”

Minors and majors can be useful, but they are not something that UC necessarily encourages or detracts from, according to Jordan.

It is the student’s initiative and responsibility about whether or not they would like to take on the extra work load, according to her.

“I don’t know that I could say that we encourage certain majors or minors,” Jordan said. “The option is there for the students to have a minor.”

University of Cincinnati’s Center for Exploratory Studies attempts to take this into account, according to Center for Exploratory Studies Director Donnie McGovern. He said that versatility is something that UC tries to remain conscious of.

“We advise students to pick classes that are going to count towards their major, but we also to help them pick up classes that will be a good fit for them,” McGovern said. “I think the important thing to keep in mind is that not all majors are tied to one specific career, very few majors actually are.”

The opposite can also be true, according to McGovern.

“The majority of employers out there are not looking for one specific major,” McGovern said. “What we do is try to help students pick up classes that are going to help them figure out what’s going to be a good fit for them, help them do research on majors and find internships that will help them land a job eventually.”

As Director of the Career Development Center, Jordan said she sees evidence of this in the limited data currently at the department’s disposal. Majors are less important to finding a job than the field that the graduate chooses, according to her.

“It wouldn’t matter what the major was if a person went into that field then that field would be successful,” Jordan said.

Chemistry teacher Chris Ennis said that even though engineering may not actually leave the table as a college major, its waning job opportunities could have a direct effect on other industries. This discrepancy is the result of America’s lack of commitment to research and development, according to Ennis.

“Our country is not investing in engineers because we’re no longer a country that believes deeply in research and development for basic sciences,” Ennis said. “If you don’t believe in the basic sciences trying to get you somewhere, which is all we’ve done up to about this point, then you won’t have very many jobs for engineers regardless of the type of engineering you’re going into.”

Until the government is petitioned to increase funding in these areas, the difference will be noticeable in other industries as misplaced engineers take the jobs typically better tailored to other majors, according to Ennis.

“It’s kind of a domino effect in terms of the job industry,” Ennis said. “If you have too many of one thing and they’re highly skilled, then they’re going to go to another highly skilled profession where they can use the education that they obtained, at least part of it.”

This excessive chain reaction can be warded off with the power of diverse training, according to Murnan.

“Companies want you to be skilled in a specific area, but what I’m saying is, along with getting a degree in engineering, colleges [are] making you take three or four classes in business and are trying to make you a little bit more diverse graduates so you have experience in a bit more. The combination of majors comes into play.”

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Most Unemployed College Majors

photo art by Jami Bechard information provided by The Huffington Post

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Mason changes standards to prepare Math, Science and English curriculum to see major changes starting in 2012-2013 year Branden Labarowski | Staff Writer

photo by Megan McCormack

Chemisty teacher Aimee Hansen performs an experiment in her classroom. Experiments like the one pictured above may be replaced by more scientific reading due to the curriculum changes in place starting in the 2012-2013 year.

In light of recent decisions by the Ohio Department of Education, Mason High School will be making a number of adjustments to its curriculum between now and the 2014-2015 school year.

The Department of Education announced its decision to adopt the Common Core State Standards, a set of national standards for language arts and math, in a press release in June 2010.

According to Associate Superintendent Amy Spicher, the switch to Common Core was made in conjunction with Ohio’s decision to work with PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career.

One benefit of this decision is that Ohio schools’ curriculums will now match those of other states following the Common Core. “[45] states… have adopted [the Common Core], so we are going to have national standards,” Spicher said.

According to Spicher, improving technical reading skills is a major focus in PARCC’s plan to improve standards.

“The things that you have to read… at work… [are] pretty technical,” Spicher said. “[Hence] the emphasis on doing reading and writing.”

This focus on reading and writing will mean a greater integration of argumentation into the English curriculum, according to Honors English I and English III teacher Shawna Parkinson.

“I would imagine that colleges would be more concerned with students who are thinking through their personal stances on the evidence that they gather,” Parkinson said.

As the focus on argumentation grows, English classes will not abandon literature. Instead, Parkinson said that a greater emphasis will be placed on relating literature to the world.

“Right now we have a lot of teachers who are bringing in articles that relate literature to society, so I would imagine that we’re going to see… more of those informational pieces,” Parkinson said.

In addition to English, Math standards are also changing. According to Pre-Calculus teacher Peter Rudowski, Math Skills for Life will be removed in the upcoming school year to meet the state government’s new financial literacy requirements.

“When the state… said every student must take… [a] financial literacy course, we looked at our course offerings and Math Skills was meeting the requirements, but we felt that the Business classes would do a better job,” Rudowski said.

Advanced Quantitative Reasoning, an elective available after completion of Algebra II, will take Math Skills for Life’s place. “[Students] can take [Advanced Quantitative Reasoning] if they’re not quite ready or don’t

want to go into a Calculus class,” Rudowski said.

Math and English are not the only content areas that will change. According to Science curriculum leader Diane Rupp, the Department of Education has also revised its standards for Science and Social Studies to incorporate a greater level of inquiry.

“With [the Revised Academic Content Standards], the goal was to infuse more inquiry and more… cognitive demand, which means higher thinking levels,” Rupp said.

Much like with the Common Core, literacy will be a focus of this switch to higher-level thinking. Chemistry teacher Barbara Shuba said that technical literature will become a common sight in Mason science classes in the next few years.

Shuba said that the changes the revised standards will bring to her curriculum accurately reflect the need for critical thinking and research skills in the workforce.

“You’re going to have to be able to access information, you’re going to have to be able to use it, [and] you’re going to have to think critically,” Shuba said.

Not all teachers, however, are completely happy with the change. Chemistry teacher Aimee Hansen said she feels that the new Chemistry curriculum focuses too much on minutiae.

“They’re… focusing more on what’s going on in the atom, which is really tough for kids to visualize,” Hansen said.

According to American History teacher Dan Langen, although Mason’s current history curriculum matches the revised standards for the most part, it too will be adapting a more literacyintensive approach as it focuses more on the founding documents.

As changes sweep across the Mason curriculum, senior Qian Wang said he predicts that embracing a critical thinking-intensive curriculum will put Mason ahead of the curve in terms of college readiness.

“The speech and debate topic last month was about… how a large percentage of colleges don’t prepare their [students] for critical thinking,” Wang said. “If we’re going to go forward [with teaching critical thinking skills] in high school, it’s better [preparation] for college.”

As the district begins the process of adapting to the new standards, Spicher said she is confident in students’ ability to succeed.

“We feel like in Mason we’re already in good shape because we have such great students and… high expectations,” Spicher said. “We’re looking forward to [raising] those expectations, and we know our students will not let us down.”

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for new educational mandates OGT not in the future for class of 2016 Mitchell Matacia | Staff Writer

The eighth-grade class of 2016 will be the last students who will see the Ohio Graduation Test, according to World History teacher Robert Page. Although there has not been an official means of replacement for the OGT, Page said that the standardized test will be removed and potentially replaced with the college readiness test from the American College Testing--the ACT. “I’ve heard of a variety of things,” Page said.

“I’ve heard [they’ll use] end of course exams in US History and Government. I’ve heard there’s going to be a new graduation test where every third reading question will be Social Studies based. I’ve also heard that they’ll use the ACT as a graduation requirement,” Page said.

Although the future of OGT is untold, the installment of ACT material would compare Mason’s students against a national stage.

“There’s multiple reasons for the [replacement of the OGT],” Page said. “[The state] feels like they need to have a more up-to-date way to assess learning. The other reason is that having multiple [OGT tests], Science, English, Social Studies and Math, is expensive. The ACT is more of a nationally accepted test. I have also heard that the ACT is cheaper than the OGT.” On Wednesday Feb. 8, 2012, the Mason High School staff met in the small commons to discuss Common Core curriculum changes and the future of the OGT. Kristi Otten, Math Curriculum Coordinator at Mason, said that in the next few years Mason will be introduced to a new line of assessments called Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, a program affiliated with the Common Core. These assessments will strictly be limited to Math and Language Arts because of Ohio’s decision to adopt those standards from the Common Core. Science and Social Studies will continue to be state mandated, although revised to fit the rigorous curriculum.

“The assessments in Math and Language Arts, they’re being written by an assessment consortium call PARCC,” Otten said. “These assessments will replace the OGT.” The PARCC assessments will offer progression checks throughout third to eighth-grade.

The details for high school assessments have not been finalized though, but future Ohio high school students should expect testing based around college readiness according to Otten.

“When [students] get to the high school, they will get a college readiness score,” Otten said. “We don’t know exactly how that will be communicated; [PARCC] hasn’t really devel-

oped any assessment that they are releasing.

The state is working very closely with higher education. The universities have a huge piece in this and PARCC is working very closely with them to step up those college ready benchmarks.”

Principal Mindy McCarty-Stewart said that the ACT and end of course exams could be implemented to replace the OGT as a mutual decision between universities and state educators.

Battelle for Kids, a national non-profit educational group, has been one of the benefactors in the strive to replace the existing state graduation test with end-of-course exams.

“There are matches [with the ACT and Common Core],” McCarty-Stewart said. “The state really works well and does a lot with Battelle.

They’ve been piloting these end of course exams. [The end-of-course exams] are aligned to ACT standards, so what you have currently are state standards from the Ohio Department of Education and there [are] standards that are aligned to the ACT. It’s sort of this balancing game.”

According to McCarty-Stewart, if the OGT was replaced with ACT standards, the OGT wouldn’t be a single-year test, but a process that encompasses a student’s whole high school career.

“We have to do end of course exams and then the ACT would kind of be that final summative piece,” McCarty-Stewart said. “We don’t know whether there’s going to be additional parts to it.”

Kelsey Mitchell, freshmen at Mason who will be taking the OGT next year, has known about the test since seventh-grade. She said that the testing material is familiar to her.

“I remember that my [eighth-grade] math teacher told us that the problems on the review sheets that we would be going over would be similar to the ones on the OGT,” Mitchell said.

However, Mitchell said that she disagrees with the discussion of replacing the OGT with ACT material. If enacted, the ACT would serve as the state graduation test, but Mitchell said it would target all high school students on a college level, something she said isn’t taken into account.

“If [the state is] having us take [the ACT] to graduate from high school, and if it’s at a college level, then I don’t know if it would be necessary,” Mitchell said. “Some of us aren’t going to college and I think that’s important to recognize that not every person in this school is prepared.”

photo by Mitchell Matacia

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Saving a life just one click away New Facebook feature promotes suicide prevention Miranda Carney | Staff Writer

In a typical high school classroom in the United States, it is likely that three students have attempted suicide in the last year, according to the Mental Health & Recovery Centers of Warren County. Now, the power to change this statistic lies in the hands of the 800 million members of Facebook with the addition of a new feature that allows users to report their friends.

Facebook has partnered with the Suicide Prevention Lifeline so that now when users log onto Facebook, they have the ability to anonymously report ‘suicidal content’ in their friends’ statuses. Once a user clicks ‘Report’ and then selects ‘Suicidal Content,’ a link will be sent to the reported person that will allow them to immediately start chatting with a professional through the Facebook instant chat system, according to USA Today.

School Psychologist Jeff Schlaeger said that he thinks Mason students at this school will take the new Facebook feature seriously because of the number of suicides that have already recently occurred at the school.

“As you talk to more and more sophomores, there is more of a building community,” Schlaeger said. “In that class, they are [asking], ‘What’s going on here?

We’ve lost a couple of kids and we need to be on the lookout for each other.’ There are a lot of people that have stepped up in the [sophomore] class. For the month after the loss we had, there was a flood of kids coming down here on behalf of other kids and that is a good thing.”

Sophomore Lauren Harris said she agreed that Mason students would be more impacted to use the new Facebook feature because of the recent suicides that have occurred.

“Suicides have already happened at our school in the past year,” Harris said. “So I think everyone knows they have to look out for each other more and talk to people and know not to make jokes about things that should be taken seriously. We’ve already lost two people at our school and they both posted Facebook statuses so this is definitely applicable.”

Senior Sidney Hays, who has read about the new program after being involved with “To Write Love on Her Arms,” said she thinks the addition of this button will make it easier for students to take responsibility for each other.

Above: there are two ways to report suicidal content, either by directly clicking on the upper right corner of a status or by going through the Facebook help center.

“I think [the new feature] is a great idea because society is becoming more technologically based rather than personal,” Hays said. “Facebook is a way people communicate a lot, and suicidal thoughts are usually stopped when there is quick intervention. If you see something like that, and you report it, that person has the opportunity to chat with [a professional] a lot more [easily] and comfortably [online].”

Harris said that although she thinks the button is important, many students will probably still try to reach out personally to their friends.

“Some students will probably think that it’s too much that people are trying so hard to get everything out on Facebook,” Harris said. “I think that a person’s friends will use this button to report the statuses if they are worried, but they still might call the friends themselves to see if they are okay.”

Vice Principal Joycelyn Senter had similar concerns and said that the button could have negative effects.

“My only concern with this is that I would hate for someone to click on a report in a joking manner because either they don’t like the person or they are having problems with that person,” Senter said. “That outside person could actually make them believe or think about [suicide] as an option that they never thought about before.”

Senter said that many students already report their friends when they see potentially harmful content on Facebook, but the immediacy of this tool will allow students to immediately report their friends instead of waiting until the next school day.

“I think our students will definitely use [the button] because they already anonymously report when they think their friend is in trouble currently, without the

button, so I think that this will give them that extra step,” Senter said. “They’re on Facebook, and they can tell that something just doesn’t look right and [this chat] is immediate so they don’t have to wait to come to school and report it to us hours later.”

Like many students Senter talked about, Hays said she has been in a situation where she felt concerned about a friends’ status and didn’t know whether to contact them or not.

“I have seen [statuses that worry me] a couple times,” Hays said. “When it’s someone posting that on Facebook, and I’m friends with them, it’s usually someone I care about at least enough to care about their life, and I want to do something to help them. I have seen a couple [of statuses] where it just doesn’t seem right and the language they use, there are some indicators that people are suicidal or need help and it’s important to reach out to them” The feature is currently available for all Facebook users in the United States and Canada, and professionals are available to talk 24 hours a day. Hays said she hopes students realize how important the new feature is.

“I just think this is a really great option and it’s something that I think is needed because the way our culture is changing to be more based on technology,” Hays said. “We’re losing the communication skills to be comfortable to talk to someone so this is something where people can go to get help in a crisis. The professionals are going to be trained to handle these situations and they’ll know what to say. I hope that students realize that they have responsibility for each other, but that responsibility doesn’t take that much—it’s simply being a friend to someone.”

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C EDITORIAL PAGE 8 | FEB. 17, 2012

Chronicle Policy

C Editorial Cartoon

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

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

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

The Chronicle is published monthly. Call 398-5025 ext. 33106 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, obscenity, clarity and poor taste.

Letters to the editor may be dropped off in room C106 and must be signed.

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

Contact Information The Chronicle William Mason High School 6100 S. Mason Montgomery Rd. Mason, Ohio 45040 (513) 398-5025 The Chronicle Staff Editor-in-Chief Janica Kaneshiro Associate Editor Julia Halpin Layout and Design Editor Jami Bechard Online Editor Rebekah Barnes Sports Editor Katelyn Cain Business Manager Samantha Weaver Editorial Cartoonist Ajay Agrawal Staff Writers Ashley Calvani Miranda Carney Thom Carter Chloe Knue Branden Labarowski Katherine Hansen Corynne Hogan Ian Howard Nicole Huser Mitchell Matacia Megan McCormack James Nosek Joseph Spencer Taylor Telford Adviser Dale Conner

C Staff Editorial Boys’ body image problems taboo Body image is a decidedly feminine subject.

Girls, from a young age worry about their hair, their weight, their height—it’s just a “girl” thing.

But, the truth is, boys also worry about their body image.

The societal ideal for a man is tall, lean, muscular and dominant as can be seen strutting down every cat-walk, as the male lead in every action flick with the exception of satires, and proudly displayed on People’s Sexiest Man Alive edition.

Ever notice the lack of plus sized male mannequins? They exist in one place, Casual Male XL, but this issue is kept quiet. Boys’ body issues are overlooked simply because boys are taught from a young age to solve their own problems and “toughen up.” Concern over their bodies feels like a sign of weakness to young men of this generation which is what traps them in a dangerous place. It’s unconventional to voice concern over your body image if you’re male, and yet the media perceptional mold of a perfect man puts so much pressure on an average male. This position between a rock and a hard place, the media and social obligations puts men’s body image stored in a place not discussed in public. Until it becomes more acceptable to speak on their concerns, boys will continue to hide their discomfort with their bodies and the issue will remain taboo.

C Letters

to the

Editor

We should pay more attention to teen drug-use Dear Editor, The DARE program was started many years ago to teach young kids about the negative effects that drugs have on a person. When we did the program in sixth-grade, we all enthusiastically vowed we would never do drugs, but over that short period of three years until we got into high school, many things have changed. How it started, I will never know, but when we all came over here from the middle school, it was a whole new world. Some people gave into peer pressure and some indulged their curiosity, and so the cycle continues.

The next grade of students comes in to a drug ridden school that the administration refuses to acknowledge. Mason has always been depicted as a shining city on the hill for some other struggling schools, but we have some serious internal problems that we refuse to face. We’re spawning a generation of people who do drugs and thin kthat there will be no consequences; will they raise their kids thinking it’s okay to commit a crime? Those of us who view drug use as a serious problem seriously hope not, but the city of Mason as a whole needs to respond to this problem. Parents need to step up their efforts at home, and the school needs to step it up here with stricter punishments for those who do drugs and rewards for those who collaborate to bring drug trafficking and use in Mason to a halt. It may be harsh medicine for some, but we really need to fix this problem before it’s too late.

Jacob Hayes, junior

Letters

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C OPINION

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PAGE 9 | FEB. 17, 2011

Thomas Carter

C Columns Julia Halpin | Associate Editor

Oh, Grandma Flo. My Grandma Flo, full name Florence and “Flo-Flo” when I was little, is one of the most interesting and wonderful women I’ve ever met. Slightly stout, and extremely Italian, Flo and I can talk for hours. Her house is filled with old religious paintings, aging antiques, and, last Christmas, Italian opera music, which she asked me to turn up every couple minutes so I could bask in the beauty of the music that I didn’t understand. She’s huge on the “real Italian food,” and has never been too proud of me for stepping into an Olive Garden with my girlfriends.

At 88 years old, Grandma Flo’s values are about as different from today’s generation’s as a fake blond is different from a real one.

Flo and I talk a lot about my future. My hopeful move to Chicago is a main topic; she tells me her tales at art school, the shows she’s gone to, the music I must listen to, oh, and of course, the type of boys I should look out for. Flo, unlike the majority of people of the 21st century, doesn’t care about my iPhone, Facebook status or new desire for a nose piercing. She, on the contrary, cares about the passions in life, tasting new food, trying new music and traveling to new cities.

Our generation, has lost that passion. Constantly obsessing over our next tweet, teenagers today find more importance in who they’re hanging out with Friday night over what they’re actually doing with their lives. My newsfeed is consistently filled with whiney statuses about the dreariness of high school life, when really, according to Flo, being young is the best time of a persons life.

I’ve always felt like I had an “old woman” spirit. In fact, some people have told me that I dress like an old woman, which I chose to take as a compliment, but am pretty sure that it’s not. I would rather listen to Italian opera music, even with the language barrier, than memorize lyrics by Lil’ Wayne-- that I’m sure is not making me any smarter. But, I, like most people my age, fall victim to the misplacing of values that our generation has done so effortlessly. Just as easily as taking out the trash every Tuesday night, today’s teens have thrown away the important qualities of life.

I want that passion in my own life. Looking at my grandma, with her adorable wrinkles and graying hair, I want that kind of life. Flo’s wrinkles reflect the wonderful, beautiful life she’s lived, filled with art, romance and extraordinary fashion statements. I don’t want to lose that thirst for life. I want to constantly keep drinking out of whatever experiences come my way, and I hope, when I’m 88, that my wrinkles are just as beautiful as Flo-Flo’s.

“I think it’s a good idea [for the Facebook button] just because…there are so many stories nowadays about people getting bullied...and people having suicidal thoughts. ...I think the only problem is the fact that Facebook is so big and you never really know if [posts are] real or not and you never really know if they’re going to find out the reasons in time.”

Sam George, junior

Labels divide people Branden Labarowski

Ian Howard

Political correctness hinders more than it helps

Living the passionate life

C What You Think

Censorship hurts minorities

An ode to Kroger

Janica Kaneshiro | Editor-in-Chief

For quite a while I avoided watching the “stuff ” that people say videos on Youtube—I figured it was another hyped up video series like Kingsley or Marcelle the Shell and therefore, not worth my time. But I finally caved and watched “stuff ” white people say to Asians, and I have to say, I loved it. Sure, it was directly racist, but I laughed all the same.

I started watching other videos like “stuff ” Christian girls say, and “stuff ” white girls say to black girls, and I realized along that way that though these videos completely lacked political correctness, they were far more effective in dispelling racism than a public service announcement or saying nothing at all.

Often with issues of racism, political correctness is the unsaid solution. The notion is that saying nothing at all is better than offending someone. But I find that political correctness builds more of a wall between people than just saying something upfront.

Avoiding the subject makes racism the elephant in the room. It builds a fear in people that’s just ridiculous.

“If I ask her if she likes take-out, will she think I’m racist against Asians?”

The answer is no. If people never question, they’ll just think their assumptions about a race are correct, so ask questions; people become more informed citizens if they do.

And why do people think stereotypes are wrong if they think political correctness is right? To me they have a cause and effect relationship. When people ignore a problem and refuse to ask questions in case it might accidentally offend somebody, they, in turn proliferate stereotypes because they just group people—it’s human nature. If we don’t ask questions, it’s safe to assume that all Asians get beaten if they don’t get all A’s, all African Americans have weaves, all Christians are homophobic and all Gays like Lady Gaga.

Stereotypes start from a place of ignorance and the fastest way of dispelling ignorance is by asking the questions on your mind.

A world without stereotypes, however, by today’s standards would be wrong. Every TV show could make fun of different cultures and stereotypes would be widespread. People would sue every media outlet for degrading their culture and it would be an epidemic.

Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but sadly, political correctness is in place for a reason. We can’t go around spouting stereotypes and offending everyone just like we can’t quietly sit back in fear of the same thing. With political correctness, it’s a thin line and I’m not sure if we’ll ever reach a balance. But for now, don’t be afraid to question stereotype faux-pas, like the “stuff ” that people say videos, it might make that racism elephant in the room a little less awkward.

What are your thoughts on the new Facebook button and do you think it will accomplish anything?

“I don’t really know, I think it’s a good idea but no one is really going to use [the button].”

Max Beres, freshman “I think that [the button] be really helpful…I don’t know if I’d personally use it because if…I’m already friends [with the person] on Facebook, I would talk to them and say, ‘Are you okay?’ I don’t even think I would comment on [the post]. I would rather talk to them.”

Rachel Doppes, sophomore

“It’s a good idea because usually people write something on Facebook before they commit suicide. But, I don’t know how fast Facebook would be able to tell the person’s school or the person’s parents about it.”

Annmarie Lake, junior

“[The button would] probably get overused. People would take stuff the wrong way and just press it when something’s really not wrong…It might need multiple people to click the button before it would get [reported.]”

Caleb Pitcher, sophomore

compiled by Rebekah Barnes

“I think it’s a good idea because I think a lot of people in that kind of situation are scared to do anything because they don’t want to hurt their friend or make them mad.

This would be a way to help anonymously so creating tension in their friendship isn’t a worry.”

Cailin Sweeny, senior

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FEB. 17, 2012

photo illustration by Ajay Agrawal

Negativity a key player in GOP campaigns GOP campaign bordering on “entertaining and ridiculous”

Thomas Carter | Staff Writer

Campaign advertising is an integral part of the election process, and the 2012 race of for the Republican presidential nomination is no exception. As of January 22, the Campaign Media Analysis Group, or CMAG, reports that $53.1 million has been spent by candidates, political action committees and interest groups on TV ads.

In a race that has five members (Buddy Roemer included) of the same party running for its nomination, mudslinging has largely been adopted by the potential nominees and their respective super PACs. According to CMAG, 71 percent of the ads that have been broadcast in the current election are considered negative.

The cutthroat nature that characterizes much of the advertising has frustrated self-proclaimed Republican students such as senior J.C. La Rue. He said his biggest complaint in the race thus far has been the attacks between the candidates.

“I know it’s a competition and I know that one Republican has to win, but I hate how they are all at each other’s throats,” La Rue said.

Unity, an aspect that La Rue said is a key for the Republicans in the upcoming election, is at risk because of the backlash the mudslinging could bring. Without it, La Rue said Independents could be swayed to vote Democrat as the GOP contenders tear each other part.

Similar outcry has been voiced by politicians who wish to see an end to the attacks over the airwaves and during debates. In a post on her Facebook page, former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin called those part of the GOP establishment who attacked Newt Gingrich “cannibals” and said their opposition “was nothing short of a Stalin-esque

rewriting of history.” And according to senior Andrew Swartz, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush warned the candidates prior to the Florida primary to “cut back on the attacks and focus more on ‘Here are my views, and this is why you should like mine better.’” Not, “‘here is why their views are wrong.’”

Swartz, who also said he is a Republican, endorses Ron Paul, the libertarian and former doctor, noting his desire to get things done and to-the-point attitude. “[Paul] seems very passionate about what he’s doing and he’s got a very strong, passionate fan base,” Swartz said. “While his [poll] numbers haven’t been great, they’ve held constant, differing only two or three percent.”

Swartz said his least favorite candidate, Newt Gingrich, uses attacking methods in his campaign that channel a “go big or go home” mantra, an option Swartz said isn’t always best and sums up his aggressive campaigning style.

“He doesn’t seem to have a lot of tact,” Swartz said.

La Rue, who said he is a supporter of Gingrich, favors the former Speaker of the House over Mitt Romney.

“I know Romney’s kind of like the main Republican everybody knows about right now, but to me, he seems very wishy-washy,” La Rue said.

Attacks on Romney have centered on his the amount of taxes he pays and his position at Bain Capital, a company where he made much of his multi-million dollar fortune. According to the Daily Beast, one antiRomney radio ad funded by Gingrich that claimed he was anti-immigrant had to be pulled after concern was expressed by Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Swartz said that these scandals, including Gingrich’s

three marriages, have to take a back seat in the candidates’ negative repertoire. Instead, Swartz said they need to focus on the issues that face the nation, mainly the mounting national debt, budget and military spending.

“The candidates don’t need to attack each other on [scandals],” Swartz said. “The public will take care of that themselves.”

Senior and Democrat Nikita Nambiar said that after watching the January 26 debate in Florida, she found the much of the race to be pathetic and even funny at times.

“It’s kind of entertaining and ridiculous to watch,” Nambiar said.

Nambiar is hoping for another four years of Barack Obama, the democratic incumbent, and said the innerGOP mudslinging as exemplary of what she said is wrong with the republicans.

“If they can’t come up with their own consensus in their own party, how do you expect them to have a successful presidency?” Nambiar said.

According to her, subgroups of the GOP, namely the Tea Party, haven’t been able to come to terms with their own ideas and issues, leading her to ask how they could possibly function within the United States’ Government.

As for limitations with attacks, Nambiar said she doesn’t recognize any boundaries that politicians aren’t willing to cross.

“That’s just [their] mindset,” Nambiar said. “It’s just politics. It’s never going to stop.”

FEB. 17, 2012

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“Self-discovery

Letters

is the best gift

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

of all”

Editor

New games better than the old ones

photo by Ashley Calvani

Editor-at-Large of “Essence” Magazine, Mikki Taylor speaks at Black History Month lecture on February 7.

Club opens its doors to all students Ashley Calvani | Staff Writer

With Black History Month in full swing, members of the Mason African American Students for Change club are hoping the activities they planned for February are helping Mason High School students gain new perspectives and better establish their self-identities.

According to Nazz Brandon, MHS senior and M.A.A.S.C. member, the Editor-at-Large of “Essence” Magazine Mikki Taylor’s assembly speech and the month long lecture series have provided to students plenty of opportunities to explore and build on this year’s theme: ‘Who Am I?’ Taylor said the ‘Who Am I?’ theme is at the heart of everything she does.

“Self-discovery is the best gift of all,” Taylor said.

“Once you discover who you are, it’s your job to really polish it and be your most authentic self, despite the distractions that will try to take you off course.”

Possessing this sense of self, according to Taylor, is all about having the right information.

“I take away information from the hundreds of young people I meet as I travel the country,” Taylor said. “I learn of the challenges you’re facing, the futures you want to shape and the world we are handing you.

You have to gain these perspectives to help define how you’re going to conduct yourself in the world.”

According to Margaret McKinnon, Co-Advisor of M.A.A.S.C., the club holds their activities during Black History Month because it serves as a time for appreciation of the accomplishments and perspectives that Taylor said need recognizing.

M.A.A.S.C. board member senior Eizayah Bull said when more people understand everyone’s take on issues, it also better enables them to cooperate.

This is important here, Brandon said, because MHS lacks racial diversity, and the real world is much different than the environment here. Indeed, roughly one out of every 50 kids in the Mason City School District is classified as a minority group, according to masonohioschools.com.

to the

“Our activities are going to expose [students] to perspectives they don’t ordinarily get to have,” Brandon said. “The world is mostly more racially diverse than Mason. People are different. You need to be able to handle that when you grow up and move away. You need to be able to move away from the Mason perspective.”

According to Taylor, it’s also moving beyond a message society sometimes conveys.

“Allowing ourselves to care about the stories of others…takes focus,” Taylor said. “Subliminally, we are encouraged to be singular successes, but that’s not the way we can shape this country in the future.”

Just because M.A.A.S.C. focuses on sharing minority perspectives, though, doesn’t mean it is limited to that, according to Bull.

“At our meetings, we don’t sit around and complain about race,” Bull said. “We talk as a family and ask thought-provoking questions to get discussion going.

We don’t even always talk about race. We don’t always have all the answers, either.”

Brandon said that the name, Mason African American Students for Change, was decided on because it was started by black students who were passionate about discussing racial issues in the Mason community, and though some members want to expand from the implications along with the club’s name, it is important to recognize where the club started. Despite that, Brandon said they encourage as many students as possible to join in to make their discussions more complete.

“It’s hard to promote racial understanding when our club isn’t very diverse at all,” Brandon said. “Understanding different perspectives helps us all to come together easier and more efficiently in any occasion.

There are different standards, different cultures, and different histories all over the world. Our biggest goal: students don’t leave Mason unaware.”

Dear Editor, I read your article, “Back in the Game.” I am a big fan of video games. I have played video games for about nine years. I have been introduced to many games over the years, and I have come across many different types and styles. But in my opinion, I disagree with the people in this article, and I think modern games are much better than old classic games.

I dislike older games because technology these days have created better ways of playing video games. The video games I play are on the Xbox.

This has better graphics than an Atari and is much newer. The games I play are clear and have many pixels compared to the old games where they have very few pixels. When i was a kid, I played Pokemon and that got me excited. That was a very good game, and I loved it when the graphics changed because of the new technology.

In conclusion, older people like old games, and younger people like the new games. Games like Skyrim and Call of Duty are what a lot of kids these days are playing. I only know about one or two people who still love to play old games, but I don’t. I believe modern games are the best video games and the older ones are not as good.

Rohan Murthy, freshman Parents shouldn’t smoke around kids Dear Editor, As long as I can remember, my parents have smoked. Personally, I don’t like the fact they do it because of so many health problems it creates like lung cancer and excessive coughing, but it’s not my choice whether they smoke or not. If they feel that they “need” to smoke, then they can smoke. I get judged almost everyday because my parents don’t like to smoke outside, so my clothes an my hair smells like smoke as well.

When people smell it on my clothes, they think I smoke, and I don’t. I wash a lot of my already clean clothes everyday because they smell like smoke, but it gets hard after a while. Sometimes I hear people talking about me in class if I get up to ask the teacher a question, I hear, “did you smell that? It smells like smoke. I think she smokes.” They think I don’t hear them, but I do, and it’s really frustrating sometimes. I think it would be a lot better if parents didn’t smoke in households with kids.

Ashley Woxman, freshman

FEB. 17, 2012

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Sixth-graders raise money for underprivledged teens Rebekah Barnes | Online Editor

Given a project for their ACT (Academically and Creatively Talented, or called gifted) class, sixth-graders Aleah Ellis and Marielle Buquo were required to find a problem and solve it. The two decided not to solve something that affected their lives, but others a little bit older.

Ellis and Buquo are helping others by selling t-shirts to purchase prom tickets for those who can’t afford them at Mason High School. The shirts are on sale now in the MHS Comet Zone and sell for $8.

According to Buquo, they wanted to help out high school students because they felt that a lot of focus was given to younger children.

“We wanted to [help] high [school students] because we felt that [for] the younger kids everybody goes to [help] them, but everybody forgets the high [school students],” Buquo said. “We wanted to [help out] the high school and we just had to go from there. …Mrs. Clark told us that kids need money for [prom] tickets, so we went from there [and started solving the problem].”

Fifth and sixth-grade ACT teachers Sheila Issenmann and Chantele Gillman gave the project to their students and said that they were fascinated at the types of problems they received.

According to Issenmann, Ellis’ and Buquo’s idea brought a whole new level of empathy and creativity to their project.

“I think [their project is] the most kind and considerate act that I could ever think of,” Issenmann said. “[It’s considerate] that they’re not thinking of themselves; that there thinking about other people in the high school that are much older than them.”

Issenmann and Gillman said that they wanted their students to start seeing the world in a different way than they usually would.

“Our main goal for the whole problem solving is: that’s life,” Issenmann said. “[Our students] can make their lives better, and when you make their lives better, than they can make the world a better place. They have to come up with creative solutions and not just, ‘Oh, this is the way it’s done.’”

Along with their project, Buquo and Ellis reported their project to the Board of Education on November 17 with two of their classmates. They said that they were “nervous” but Gillman said the Board was

photos by Rebekah Barnes

Sixth-graders Aleah Ellis (left) and Marielle Buquo (right) make posters to advertise their prom t-shirt sales.

intrigued by all the student’s work.

Buquo said that they haven’t come across anything that didn’t have a solution.

“When we try something [that doesn’t work], another door…opens,” Buquo said.

Issenmann said that the pair is very good at overcoming obstacles and keeping the drive to help out their cause.

“They’ve never lost that passion, that drive, to help those kids at the high school,” Issenmann said. “Nothing stops them. …Sometimes we meet a door that’s closed, and they somehow manage to go

around it. You know, they are very creative…even when they presented at the Board, you could tell that they are very passionate and very secure in what they are doing and they want to see it [through].”

While trying to make a difference in some students’ lives, Buquo said some people forget that there are people in need that live in Mason. “[Some people realize] that even though we live in Mason, people forget about [how] some people can’t afford to go to prom,” Buquo said.

Gillman said that she sees a clear passion in their project.

“I agree they have gone above and beyond what…a lot of our sixth-graders projects are and just the passion they have for the older kids, not just the younger students,” Gillman said.

Using prom-related sponsors, like Presidential Tuxedo and tanning salons, the cost of the shirts is completely paid for and then the proceeds will go directly into buying the shirts. According to Ellis and Buquo, they will also be auctioning off a tuxedo and tanning certificates at the NHS Prom Fashion Show.

Senior Emma Green, a Comet Zone employee, said that she helped the two with the design and the process of ordering the shirts. Green said that she was impressed by the unique and generous idea.

Green also said that she is hopeful for the shirts selling at the Comet Zone and wants the students to help out the cause.

“I’m hoping that the high school [students] will hear this and know that it goes to a good cause and hopefully [the shirts] will sell,” Green said.

The two are going to try and get the word out to the district to purchase the t-shirts, according to Ellis, by putting up posters and speaking at a staff meeting.

For Ellis, she said that she thinks that it is their job to help out others.

“I think it’s important [that we help out the students],” Ellis said.

According to Buquo she hopes that they can change some student’s lives from what they’re doing. “[We] just [want] to make a difference in those people’s life and to make sure they can go to prom and have a good time,” Buquo said.

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PAGE 12

Say Cheese!

Photography rising in popularity among artists

PAGE 13 | FEB. 17, 2012

SEE PAGE 24

New website fosters creativity in its users Corynne Hogan | Staff Writer

Pinterest, an arising Internet sensation, offers a unique service to the public. Unlike sites such as Facebook or Twitter that offer a social networking service, Pinterest allows users to browse, organize and share their Internet findings on virtual pin boards.

According to senior Meredith Touby, an avid Pinterest user, Pinterest stands out amongst other websites because it’s a site centered on ideas and creativity rather than communication. “[Pinterest] isn’t [about] about friends and it’s not about you,” Touby said. “You don’t really chat or talk to people on it. It’s not really a social networking [site]—it’s browsing. …It’s fun to follow others’ [Pinterests] and get ideas from them. It’s like shopping.”

Junior Tori Martin said she enjoys Pinterest because it’s expression through a visual aspect, rather than through a status or a tweet.

“I think [Pinterest stands out] because you can’t post statuses,” Martin said. “You have to express

yourself in how you feel or what you like through pictures and [other] visual things.

[They aren’t] statuses that straight up tell you what you’re thinking. It’s more creative “[Pinterest has] a lot of than that. When you post pictures, inspiring [ideas] for different art people will see them differently.” related things.”

Senior Hailey Bollinger, another -Hailey Bollinger Pinterest enthusiast, said the structured manner of the site is what different ideas she found on makes it so unique.

Pinterest for parties, jewelry and outfit “I think it’s the organization of it,” ideas.

Bollinger said. “On Pinterest, you can “There was this necklace that I pin things to your boards, [then] go made [that I found] from [Pinterest],” back and look at [what I posted, like] Touby said. “[I] used fabric, a little inspiration for outfits, little things you charm and made a flower necklace. want to do or photography. There’s …I [also] had an apple themed party [also] a lot of encouraging things for a Bible study I have at my house on there [too], so it makes you think and I used recipes from [Pinterest].” more about life. …It’s really unique in Martin also said that she uses Pinthat sense.” terest because of the inspiration she Bollinger, an aspiring artist, said find in the pictures and quotes posted that Pinterest is a resource she uses on the site. to find inspiration for photography, “[Pinterest] gives me a lot of cool fashion and art projects. Recently, ideas of [what] to do and [how] to Bollinger arranged and performed make cool stuff,” Martin said. “I’m just a photo shoot of a friend that was a really visual person. Sometimes inspired by a pin on Pinterest. people’s [Facebook] statuses get “[I] used fabric, a little charm “I have a board of photograreally annoying—I don’t like all the and made a flower necklace.” phy [pins]—it’s huge,” Bollinger words all the time.”

-Meredith Touby said. “[Pinterest has] a lot of According to Touby, Pinterest is not inspiring [ideas] for differonly something she enjoys using in ent art related things. There her free time, but also acts as an out[are] just cool techniques let allowing her creativity to flourish. that I’ve seen on there “I love looking at all the different that make me think of new ideas,” Touby said. “They have a lot things. …I think the whole of great recipes and a lot of cute, art aspect is what I love little, sweet treats [you can make.] the most about it.”

They also have a lot of fashion After finding inspirapictures that [I] get inspiration from tion in a few of the ideas [for outfit ideas]. …It makes you feel Pinterest has on its site, creative when you’re looking at it.”

Touby’s used several

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F ood F right

FEB. 17, 2012

Extreme food allergies complicate the lives of MHS students Nicole Huser | Staff Writer

Most MHS students do not have to worry about where their favorite foods are packaged, but for some students, eating certain things can be deadly.

For junior Sophie Malin, the ingredients in food have to be closely monitored before she knows whether or not it’s safe to eat.

“I’m severely allergic to eggs, all nuts and seeds, strawberries and soy,” Malin said.

According to Malin, she and her family have known about her allergies since she was very young.

“I was around two or three and my mom gave me a piece of my sister’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I threw it up and started reacting,” Malin said. “They brought me to the hospital and did a lot of testing [on me] and I found out about all my other allergies then.”

Because Malin has multiple allergies, she has to take certain precautions when she eats, checking multiple times to make

sure the ingredients do not contain anything that could send her into anaphylactic shock.

“I have to read ingredients multiple times on everything I eat… even if it’s just a bag of Cheetos that I [already] read yesterday,” Malin said. “You never know when something is going to be packaged somewhere else, because companies change locations of where they make and package food all the time.”

Since Malin cannot control what food certain restaurants prepare, there are limitations to where she can safely eat.

“There are certain burger places like Five Guys, and some restaurants have those peanut barrels out so I can’t go there,” Malin said. “A lot of pizza places have egg in [the] crust, so it isn’t safe for me to go to a lot of pizza restaurants. Also, I usually can’t go get ice cream because they’ll put egg in ice cream, which is kind of surprising. I just have to be really careful as to where I go to eat.”

According to senior Alex Besse, who is allergic to tree nuts, while her allergies may not be as life threatening as Malin’s, tree nuts are still something that she must take special care to avoid.

“I found out in 6th grade, and they told me that I can be around nuts,” Besse said. “If I touch them it’s okay, I might just

get hives on my skin. I can be around [nuts] and people can eat them around me, so it won’t kill me if the nut is airborne, but if I were to actually eat nuts my throat would probably swell shut and I could have serious stomach problems as well.

But I’ve never gotten to that point, and hopefully I won’t have to experience it.”

According to Besse, she does not have limitations on where she can eat, but she has to take extra care in making sure foods are not cross contaminated.

“At ice cream parlors, I always have to ask [the workers] if they can use a different scooper for my ice cream so I know that it won’t be cross contaminated with any sort of nut,” Besse said. “Also, I work at Yagoot, and whenever I eat stuff there I have to pull my toppings out of separate containers, because there are tree nuts nearby certain toppings and it could get cross contaminated. I just have to ask a lot and I always have to check labels and read ingredients.”

There are also limitations on lotions that are safe to use, according to Besse.

“I can’t use certain body lotions that have some sort of nut based oil, like almond oil or macadamia nut oil from Bath and Body Works, because I’d get hives on my skin,” Besse said.

According to Malin, ever since she began taking xolair shots in the sixth grade, which help with her severe asthma as well as suppressing the intensity of her allergies, it has been a lot easier dealing with her allergies.

“When I started taking xolair shots, I became less sensitive [to my allergies],” Malin said. “[My allergies] are still deadly if I eat [the food], but if I smell it or if I’m kind of near it, I’m okay. Since I’ve been in high school I can even buy lunch.

Mason is really clean about their food, and I haven’t taken the time to go check all the food, but I know there’s definitely things I can go eat.”

According to Malin, while the xolair shots help relieve some of the symptoms of her allergies, they come with a painful price.

Story Continued

on

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photo and photo art by Jami Bechard

C FEATURE

FEB. 17, 2012 “So once a month I go there and I get the xolair shots,” Malin said. “The medicine has to be mixed up, and it’s super thick, as if you were trying to push honey through a syringe. I have to get one in each arm, and it’s really painful so I have to use this cream to make my arms numb so it doesn’t hurt so bad. I’ve only done one arm once without the cream, and it hurt so bad that I made them stop. It takes half an hour for them to mix the xolair and let the numbing cream take effect, but it’s worth it if it helps [my allergies].”

According to Besse, although she has not had a strong reaction before, she has come close to needing her epipen on a few occasions.

“One time when my mom was cooking, she used pesto because she didn’t realize that it had tree nuts in the ingredients, so it made my throat swollen, but I’ve never had a bad enough reaction to the point where I’ve had to use my epipen,” Besse said.

“Another time that I’ve come close to having a really bad reaction was I’ve tried a cookie once at Noodles and Co. that had tree nuts in it and I didn’t know, so my throat was sore and I got hives on my neck and face.”

Similar to Besse, according to Malin she has never had a serious enough reaction to her allergies to use her epipen.

“As far as reactions go, none have happened other than my original reaction that I know of, because I was so little when they found out so I don’t really remember,” Malin said. “I’ve just grown up knowing about my allergies, not really experiencing them. I’ve just grown up with them and have always lived with them. I don’t remember a time that I had to go to the hospital for something.”

Despite the limitations she has on what food she can eat and be around, according to Malin her family and friends adjust their diets to help her out.

“It’s hard [for my family and friends], but I feel like everyone understands,” Malin said. “It’s not like I can change it. [It would be harder] if I were to have a boyfriend or something, because they don’t understand completely since they don’t live with me. I mean, my family has been used to it by now. So it’s hard but everyone usually really understands, and they’ll try to help me out as much as possible.”

According to Besse, her family and friends have not had to make any serious adjustments in their diet in order to keep her from having an allergic reaction.

“A lot of people in my family eat nuts, like almonds and cashews, and just mixed nuts, and they just have to make sure that they don’t eat out

PAGE 15 of the desserts,” Besse said. “It was a lot harder at first trying to check everything. My parents had a lot more responsibility in the past too, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned how to read the labels and ask people about what they cook their food near. Now, my parents put more responsibility on me for carrying my epipen, so I definitely think it’s gotten easier to maintain because I know what to do better.”

According to Malin, allergies were much harder to manage when she was younger, similar to Besse.

“When I was in elementary school I would sit up on the stage [of the lunch room],” Malin said. “I had this little square table and only three people could sit with me and they all took turns to sit with me, so everyone in my class would rotate each day for a spot on the stage.”

According to Malin, although her allergies are a hassle, it has become almost second nature to avoid certain foods. “[Allergies] affect my life a lot, but for me it’s normal,” Malin said. “I’m so used to it now that if people say they feel sorry for me because I have to avoid so many foods, I don’t understand why it seems like such a huge deal for them. I’m just so used to [my allergies] that it’s almost weird to think of life without them. I know that sounds strange, but this is all I’ve ever known so to me it’s normal. I do think about how it would be if I didn’t have them; life would be so much easier, but it makes me different. It’s just always what I’ve lived with, I haven’t known life without them.”

“When I was in elementary school I would sit up on the stage [of the lunch room]. I had this little square table and only three people could sit with me and they all took turns to sit with me, so everyone in my class would rotate each day for a spot on the stage.” of that and then go on to eat out of something I would eat out of, because they might still have something on their hand that would cause me to have a reaction,” Besse said. “So I guess my family is just more careful with washing their hands after they eat tree nuts and stuff. I think that some of my friends know how to use an epipen, so they kind of know what to do if something were to happen to me.”

According to Besse, it has become easier to control her nut allergy as she has gotten older.

“I found out in 6th grade, and that was hard because it was right before Camp Joy, so I went there and couldn’t eat any

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PAGE 16 | FEB. 17, 2011

Measuring

up

Modeling industry encourages extreme thinness Janica Kaneshiro | Editor-in-Chief Julia Halpin | Associate Editor

There is a skinny epidemic going on in the modeling industry today, according to senior Emily Sones. While the modeling world has always been fond of thinness, Sones said that the media’s version of pretty today isn’t actually beautiful at all, with shapeless women walking down runways rather than women with curves. “[Today’s beauty] is just not as flattering; it’s not womanly or beautiful,” Sones said. “It’s [emphasizing] child-like bodies, and it’s not sexy anymore. Pretty is thin and skeleton-like.”

According to an editorial in PLUS Magazine, twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. Today, models weigh 23 percent less.

This discrepency, according to Sones, is due to the perception that thinness is perfection.

“Thinness epitomizes success and beauty,” Sones said. “For so long, thinness has always been perceived as beautiful, success and perfection, and I guess that people just want to be the best at being thin. They just are striving for perfection and striving for success, and they figure that the thinnest they can be, the more successful and perfect they’ll be.”

Senior Chelsea Mullen, a former model, said that being a part of the industry made her feel less beautiful. According to Mullen, simply being around skinnier girls affected her self-esteem, but now that she’s out of the modeling world she realizes that being skinny doesn’t equate to being more beautiful.

Though this need for skinny seems unnatural, Sones said that agencies desire thin models because clothes look better on skinnier girls. While this may be unhealthy, Sones also said that agencies aren’t looking for healthy girls.

“I feel like the push from agencies is so strong because they want people to look a certain way, because girls who are thinner do look better in clothes, but they have to go through drastic measures to get that way,” Sones said. “If it’s selling the product, the agencies don’t care. They don’t care about your health, they don’t care about anything, they just want to sell their product. That’s their main goal.”

Because fashion agencies want to sell clothes, according to Sones, girls now are transforming themselves to fit the image that agencies want.

would I try to work out, because I’m never going to be that.’”

Sones, who said she has struggled with an eating disorder, said that the media plays a huge role in girls views of themselves. For her, seeing thin girls on television made her feel a need to be skinnier.

“I guess I’ve always felt like being thin would mean that I would be beautiful, and that I’d fit in with all of the girls in the TV shows, and the people I really looked up to on TV,” Sones said.

“But, I realized that I always felt bad that I didn’t look like these people, so I just thought that if I was thin, then I would [look like them]. Then it just became like an obsession, and you just realize that this is the one thing you want, and it overcomes you almost because you’re just so taken over by this that it’s the only thing that matters. You’re just persistent in getting perfection.”

According to PLUS Magazine, a woman between the sizes of six and 14 is now considered a plus-size model. A decade ago, plus-size models averaged between sizes 12 and 18. With smaller girls being considered “bigger” in the modeling world, Sones said that the number of girls with body-image issues is bound to grow.

“In the past ten years, I would say I feel like the media being so prevalent, that it’s created more body issues and just because they see this all the time,” Sones said. “It’s everywhere you look.”

While she still faces this battle every day, she said that she continually tries to drive out negative thoughts. Her own struggle with body-image, she said, has led her to the realization that the way she looks doesn’t determine her worth.

“My story has been a really big struggle in dealing with [eating] and I wake up with [this struggle] all the time,” Sones said. “It’s always in the back of my head, but you just have to realize that these thoughts, they don’t matter, and that they’re not real. I know I need food for energy, and I think I’m learning to love myself better because I realized that there’s more to life that just being thin and my appearance. …I’ve learned that I’m a lot stronger person—I’m a lot stronger than I thought.”

photos by Megan McCormack

“Today’s beauty is not as flattering; it’s not as womanly or beautiful.””

Sones said that putting drastically thin girls in the spot-light, triggers teenage girls’ bad views of themselves.

“I feel like media just tries to tell us that being yourself isn’t okay,” Sones said. “Being beautiful means you have to shape yourself into something that they want. It’s not your true identity so you have to mold yourself into something that’s not you.”

As the modeling world trends towards extreme thinness, average Americans, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are heavier and taller than they were 40 years ago.

Mullen said that the rate of women getting bigger in the US is caused by the unreachable standards that models set.

“I feel like the rate of woman [becoming] obese is because of the media and how they portray all the skinny people,” Mullen said. “[Average women] think that they can never be that so [they think], ‘Why try? Why try to eat healthier, why

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Boys’ body issues overlooked Janica Kaneshiro | Editor-in-Chief

For boys in today’s society, body image is a particularly touchy subject. Most boys, according to senior Andrew Martinez, avoid the subject entirely because it degrades their manhood.

“It’s just seen as feminine,” Martinez said. “Guys see it as being a girl like being prissy and worrying what they look like, and they don’t want to be seen as, “Oh, I’m also doing that so that makes me a girl.”

The issue, however, of men’s body image is still prevalent even though it often flies below the radar.

“I think people don’t realize that guys think about it,” Martinez said. “Like guys go into the bathroom before school, fix their hair, make sure they’re wearing the right stuff—the right brands, make sure their body looks fine. We keep it quiet, but I probably say we do it just as much as girls do.”

Like it’s expectation of girls, society’s expectations for men are apparent in media, according to Martinez. He said he feels that a subtle standard is in place for boys to look up to. “[Society says to] look like Ryan Reynolds,” Martinez said. “He’s tall, he’s buffed out, and he’s got a pretty face.

That’s what people look at—[they also look] at athletes and stuff like that.”

The societal standards for men’s bodies are extreme like women’s, but a major difference is the height factor. While it is socially acceptable to be a short female, according to Martinez, being a short male leads to its own set of body image problems. Being a feature that he can’t change, however, height has taken the back seat to attaining more muscular figure to better reach society’s standards.

“The height, you can’t change; I’ve gotten

used to it,” Martinez said. “I know I’m only average to short height, so I get used to it, but I know I can change when it comes to athletic abilities and muscle mass and stuff like that.

So that’s probably something [boys] focus on because that’s something that we can change.”

Martinez said most girls assume that boys don’t struggle with their body image because of the teenage boy diet—an unreasonable amount of food—but the worry remains in the back of boys’ heads, just like girls, but less visible.

“Right now, I’m trying to gain weight for rugby, and I’m thinking in the back of my mind, ‘Keep working out because you don’t want to drop your image,’” Martinez said. “When you’re eating something—and teenage guys eat a lot-you still think, “I need to eat a lot, but I also have to work out to go along with that so that the weight is going in the right place.”

The struggle for ideal weight is not just a feminine issue according to Martinez who struggled early on in his adolescence with his weight.

“I used to be tubby right before high school started,” Martinez said. “I had older brothers who were finishing high school when I was in middle school, and I saw them and their friends, they’re taller, they have better bodies, they’re growing up, so that’s when I started getting into water polo. I started running more because I just wanted to get out of that physical state that I was in and so I worried about it and I consciously thought about it--it didn’t just come to me. I knew I had to get a handle on this and make a change.”

Martinez said that boys and girls are treated differently when they’re overweight which proves that men’s body issues are more taboo.

“The way I see it, girls, they get teased, but guys get treated differently,” Martinez said. “I remember when I used to be bigger, certain people wouldn’t talk to me. Certain people wouldn’t—this is going back to elementary school—but people wouldn’t like pick you on their team whenever you’re doing something outside or something like that. It’s those little subtle things. You don’t fit in as much. For girls, they get pretty [blatantly] teased, but for boys it’s more of those little hints.”

But most of these issues, boys internalize rather than speaking out because it’s socially unacceptable to be simultaneously male and self-conscious according to Martinez.

“I think guys worry about saying it out loud,” Martinez said. “It’s definitely a quiet issue.

People just fix it themselves and don’t say that they’re trying to fix it just because we have this thing in our minds that tells us it’s acceptable to be one way, so we want to fix it on our own and not have anyone else help us.”

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Gauging Interest Rebekah Barnes | Online Editor

Gauging, or stretching your ears, has been prominant around the halls of Mason High School, and according to senior Ozzy Olivo, it can cause for judgment from outsiders.

According to Olivo, people with gauges get a bad reputation because they look different. Olivo said even teachers have judged him because he has holes in his ears.

“I’ve had teachers [who have] been surprised with me turning in my homework…the first day of the trimester,” Olivo said. “I’ve had them tell me, ‘Wow, I’m surprised you turned in your homework,’ and I’m like, ‘Why?’ [and they’ll say,] ‘Because you have holes the size of your thumb in your ear.’ …There’s also those people that really judge you for it and other people [think], ‘…He’s got holes in his ears, no big deal.’”

According to Olivo, gauging is a step-by-step process. Piercing the ears is the first step, and then a person is supposed to gradually move up by increasing the hole with larger tapers. There is supposed to be about a two to three week gap between each increase, Olivo said, but he decided to increase size when the pain stopped between each enlargement, causing his ears to scrunch up. Olivo said the pain is tolerable with gauges, only causing a little bit of discomfort throughout the process. “[The pain is] on a scale of one to ten, I don’t know, a six,” Olivo said. “It burns for like at most an hour, and then if you touch [your ears,] it’s tender. …

The only way I can compare it is [it’s] the same feeling as somebody giving you an Indian burn. It’s just…really not that bad. It’s like if you’ve had a tattoo; you’ve [had] worse pain.”

Olivo’s decision to get gauges, he said, was just an urge to try something new and cool.

“I always thought they were cool…ever since I was in the seventh grade, I wanted gauges,” Olivo said. “I just thought they looked…awesome.”

For junior Abigail Klem, she got small plugs, which are a name for gauges as well, for her ears because her friends all wanted them as well. However, after a while she took them out and it took two weeks for her ears to shrink back to normal.

“A bunch of my friends were [getting plugs],” Klem said. “I thought it was a cool way to express myself, …so we just kind of did it together.”

Klem said that she sees a rebellious stereotype with those who use stretch their ears, and admits to doing hers with a slight sense of rebellion.

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“I think people think that people…that have plugs and gauges, that they are tough and that they’re… rebels against society because they’re just like, ‘Oh, look how big I can get my ears’,” Klem said. “I think to a point, yeah [that stereotype is true]. I think I kind of did because my parents didn’t really like it, but I just did it because I thought it looked cool and I wanted to do it. …[I] took them out because I thought they looked stupid [afterwards].”

Throughout the process, Olivo said, that as his holes got bigger, the judgment grew. His friends, however, were used to gauges already.

“I got more and more weird reactions [as I was gauging my ears]…after they got bigger than a pencil size,” Olivo said. “When I was doing it, people were always like, ‘Don’t get any bigger, don’t get any bigger,’ but the change is so subtle that you don’t really notice that you’re getting bigger until you get to the point were your like, ‘Huh they weren’t that big before.’ …I guess a lot of my friends got used to it in a way [through the process,]” Olivo said.

Amongst his friends, Olivo said that he has the largest gauges, with his currently ¾ of an inch in diameter.

“I had friends that had gauges, but theirs are smaller than mine,” Olivo said.

“I’m the only one that really took it to a whole new level, to the point where you can’t really go back.”

According to Olivo, he can sense a different personality with those who gauge their ears and those who do not.

“It’s a whole thing with personality too…like [people with gauges are] more open and less judg[mental]” Olivo said. “I’m not trying to make anyone look bad, but I feel like they’re more accepting on different issues.”

Olivo said he tries to step beyond the stereotypes framed around his gauges, even by improving his school work and effort in the classroom.

“I try to show people that just because you have something [different] doesn’t make [someone] what you think [they are],” Olivo said. “I just kind of brush [judgments] off and show them otherwise. …I don’t really turn in my homework that often. …

I guess [gauges] just got me to turn it in more [often now] because [people] judge me on it.’”

According to Olivo, he recognizes that stereotypes will be given while he still has his gauges. When it comes to the future, he is unsure, but leaning towards leaving his gauges out and then re-gauging once he has a steady job and income.

“I know that they affect your job, because, again,

people stereotype you,” Olivo said. “I can probably take them out and they have these gauges…that match your skin color, so I’d get those and just look like I have really big earlobes. But once I have a career set in, I might start up again. This could be like a kid phase, I mean, I’ve had them for two years, so I don’t think it is a kid phase but there’s probably a 70 percent chance that I’d pick it back up again after I get a really good job.”

While Olivo said he loves his gauges, he does not recommend it as a spur of the moment decision and people should look over all aspects that gauging comes with.

“If you are iffy about [getting gauges], you will regret it. …Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you’re not sure about them, don’t get them. …You have noth-

ing to gain from it really, you’re most likely going to end up regretting it.”

According to Klem, people need to keep in mind that plugs and gauges are just another way of piercing and form of self expression.

“Just remember that people pierce their ears, people pierce their nose[s], people pierce different things,” Klem said. “I mean, it’s just a different form of piercing. It’s just another way for people to express themselves. …[People] want to look how they want to look.

I don’t think people should judge people on how…they have their ears stretched or anything.”

According to Olivo, he urges people to stray from criticizing gauges and look at him as a person.

“People shouldn’t judge,” Olivo said. “You need to just get over your own little bubble of comfort. …I’ve had people not like me because of [my gauges,] and I’m like, ‘Ha ha, cool your shallow’ and there [are] more than [appearances in life]… I’ll wear earmuffs for you.”

To stretch ears, tapers, as shown to the left, are used.

According to Olivo, you are supposed to stretch your ears with the tapers and then wait around two weeks before moving up to the next size. Olivo said that he equates the pain of stretch to an “Indian burn.”

After you stretch your gauges, you put in the plugs, which is the “earring” part, according to Olivo. Olivo said he has probably spent around $1,000 throughout his life on gauging his ears and plugs.

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Conducting the show

photos by Megan McCormack

Music composer brings new style to MHS’ talent show Megan McCormack | Staff Writer

The typical high school talent show act consists of a garage band or a singer, according to junior Dustin Goes. But, he said he wants to break the stereotype for this year’s National Honor Society Talent Show as he composed his own piece of work and will be conducting a group of 15 musicians on stage.

Goes, who has been composing music since the eighth-grade, said he came up with the idea for trying out for the talent show because he wanted to combine classical and popular music.

“I was talking with a couple of my friends and I started listening to a bunch of arrangements of popular songs and it just all fell together,” Goes said. “For [this] piece, what I wanted to do was merge the classical aspect [of music] with the pop and today’s culture, that way people still don’t think of classical music as classical music; they think of it as just music and it’s all just one type.”

For him, Goes said, it can take up to six months to write an original composition.

“A normal piece will take me about five to six months [to compose] but it’s definitely gotten a lot easier since I started, since I have more experience with music and how it sounds,” Goes said. “Basically, what I do is I think of how the piece is going to flow together and then I’ll sit down at the piano and come up with a couple of cords that I like, and I’ll put everything together and [it] usually ends up in about a five minute piece.

While he said it usually takes him five to six months to compose a normal piece, Goes said this piece was quicker and easier to put together.

“This piece took about three months just because basically everything was already written; I just had to rearrange everything for what I had in mind,” Goes said.

This is not the first piece that Goes has composed, however. He said he’s put together five major original compositions and is sending one to a national competition for judging.

“I’m currently working on my fifth major piece and that will be sent to a national competition… the Morton Gould Young Composers Award,” Goes said. “[If I win,] I believe the grand prize is a $20,000 scholarship.”

According to Goes, he wanted to try the talent show to show the school a different act while merging two

different aspects of music.

“The thing with the talent show [is] I’ve always heard about bands going on and doing the standard, stereotypical talent act,” Goes said. “I just wanted to bring something new to the table. I kept the pop culture that everyone relates to, but I moved it with the band world so that it all merges as one.”

Sophomore Emily Schwitzgebel, who will play the piano in Goes’ piece, said she is eager to see what the school thinks of their performance.

“I’m actually excited [for the school to see it] because we haven’t really played in front of the whole school before, so I think it will [be] fun,” Schwitzgebel said. “I think people will really like our music.”

Sophomore Jacob Burris said he is playing electric guitar in the piece Goes has composed. According to Burris, winning isn’t his goal: he’s just excited to be on stage performing.

“Even if we don’t win, we’re not in it to win it,” Burris said. “Music is what I love. If I wasn’t in this group, I’d be up there with my guitar, singing anyways. It’s just really cool to be [playing] with my friends.”

Goes said that he thinks that audience will enjoy the act because the recognizable songs and the uniqueness to their act.

“Hopefully, [the audience] will enjoy it,” Goes said. “When we auditioned, everyone was singing along to the tunes…and they liked…the surprises that we added in. So, I’m pretty sure they’ll enjoy it. I have nerves, but I’m still very confident with what we have just because we’re just so unique that I think it will scorch a new light in people’s minds.”

Coming from a performance background in marching band, Burris said he is excited to be judged by the school because the requirements and criteria are not as strict as in a marching band competition.

“It’ll be cool to be judged by the school because coming from marching band, where there’s very strict

criteria, if you mess up once, you don’t get anywhere.

[With the talent show,] it’s a little easier,” Burris said. “[You] just [get] up there and [play] what you play and what you like…and you realize that you don’t care what anyone else thinks because it’s what like you to do, so you do it.”

Overall, Goes said he is excited to see how the school will react to a different kind of act in a traditional high school talent show.

“I’m very excited to bring a new type of talent that school hasn’t seen,” Goes said.

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The rising art form Photography replaces drawing and painting as most popular medium Katherine Hansen | Staff Writer

Pictures not only say a thousand words, but they could also come to be the pivotal art form for the current generation, according to junior Jessica Hudspeth.

Hudspeth said photography’s rising popularity and irresistible convenience lead many young aspiring artists to head for the photography track.

“There’s definitely a lot more need for photography [for this generation] because everywhere in the media there’s photography,” Hudspeth said. “Not that it’s better than other arts, but it’s more popularized, so I think it definitely could define our culture.”

According to Hudspeth, photography has gained a massive following largely due to its close involvement with the latest technology.

“The technology part of photography is more exciting [than other mediums,]” Hudspeth said. “People get to use the newest camera instead of, ‘Oh, there’s a new kind of paint’.”

The attention directed to photography persists heavily, according to Hudspeth. She said with this mass attention may come a loss in other art forms.

“Since photography is so widespread right now, people are kind of losing interest in art like painting or drawing,” Hudspeth said. “Especially with the media and magazines and billboards, all over the internet too – photos are everywhere.”

Senior Aparna Avasarala, whose art involves

photo by Corynne Hogan

various mixed medias, said photography has become so popular, not just because it requires working with technology, but it spreads so easily through social media.

“I think photography in general is becoming more popular mostly because people on Facebook see how cool it is,” Avasarala said.

With this undeniable popularity comes the difficulty of blending art and business, according to Hudspeth.

The blurred distinction between commercial and artistic photography puts a concerning strain on the art behind photography.

“Commercial can be artistic, but then commercial could be a picture of the perfect McDonald’s burger where all the sesame seeds are all in place,” Hudspeth said. “To me that’s not artistic, it’s more business-like and commercial.”

According to senior Jessica Miller, because artistic photography entails such a sensitive balance of purpose and craft it becomes the most difficult art form.

“Photography is very difficult,” Miller said. “With photography you can’t just take a picture and make it art. Not every single photograph ever taken is considered art. If you photograph something it has to make an impact.”

According to Avasarala, commercial and artistic photography often cross over, but artistic photography always has a larger meaning behind it.

“It depends on the means of the commercial photography,” Avasarala said.

“For artistic photography there’s a really strong meaning behind it.

Something that the artist is feeling inside and wants to capture, but I feel like commercial photography is more eye-catching, as in they just want to get a point across.”

With the various motives behind photography blending into one, Avasarala said it gets overly competitive.

“So many people want to be the coolest one out there, so it’s sometimes like everyone’s doing it,” Avasarala said.

The competition that arises from the countless photography businesses, especially among young photographers, is hard to beat sometimes according to Hudspeth.

“There’s more competition with more people,” Hudspeth said. “You have to fight for a place to put yourself out there and get people to notice you.”

According to Audrey Gorman, painting and photography teacher, digital photography’s availability has helped form new methods of expression for all.

“With the birth of digital photography more people feel talented in photography even though they may not have an art degree,” Gorman said. “More people have found it as a means of expression though maybe they don’t have any expertise in how the camera actually functions but they know composition.”

According to Avasarala, technology is essential to elevating art, but often takes people away from traditional arts.

“Obviously technology has a huge role in the art world, but sometimes you just need to take it back to the basics,” Avasarala said. “So learning how to draw, learning how to paint, that’s what’s really important.

You can elevate art to a certain extent with technology.”

Tina Roberts, photography teacher, also said that if technology ever took away from the hands-on aspect of art, then it would become a worry.

“If it gets to the point where we start losing the basic hands-on of drawing and painting then I think that would certainly be a big down side - that would take away from the art world,” Roberts said. “If it adds to it and expands upon it I think it’s great.”

While identifying artistic photography behind all the chances for deception is tricky, the key to classifying photography as art is finding the artistic process behind it, according to Gorman.

“It still takes that talent, it still takes the creativity and that artistic process still has to take place in order for it to really be art versus, ‘I’ve used a tool’,” Gorman said.

Amongst the increasing popularity of photographs, finding artists in the field of photography is a test of ability, according to Miller.

“Just because you can take a pretty picture doesn’t mean you’re an artist,” Miller said.

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Person of Interest Junior Aly Kim said that moving back from halfway around the world makes her unique.

A different kind of teamwork Student equestrians go beyond verbal communication Taylor Telford | Staff Writer

What’s something interesting about you?

“Something interesting about me would be that I moved to Korea in sixth grade, and lived there until the end of the previous summer.”

Why did your family move to Korea, and what was your reason for moving back to Mason?

“We moved to Korea because my dad works for GE, and they needed him to move for his job. We decided to move back to Mason because all of my family lives here, and it was just a lot more convenient for our family.”

How was school in Korea different from school in Mason?

“In Korea, I went to an international school, so there were kids from all over Europe and Asia, so it was more culturally diverse. Also, Mason is so big compared to my school in Korea. At Mason, there’s almost 4,000 students, but in Korea, I only had 300 kids in my high school. Because the school was so small, it had more cliques, and it was hard to get into a group because the people were so set on staying exclusive.”

Do you think that living in Korea has influenced your habits and made you different from someone who may have lived in Mason their whole life?

“Since Korea’s culture is so different compared to Mason’s, I’d say living in both places has made me unique. There’s certain mannerisms that teenagers in Korea have that I have now, and some of the phrases I say a lot are popular to say in Korea, but aren’t popular in Mason. “

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In popular culture, horseback riding is commonly associated with cowboys and fairy tale princes. In reality however, horseback riding is an intense sport which requires patience, athleticism and dedication.

Senior Katie Tracey said she believes people underestimate the level of difficulty in horseback riding, and instead equate it to being a fun activity to do every once and a while.

“A lot of people don’t understand how it’s a sport because they’ll do it on vacation or they’ll do it at a fair and they’ll just see people sitting on a horse.”

Tracey said. “They will think that’s all it is. They don’t really realize the athletic side of it.”

Horseback riding is different from some of the more popular sports because, though it is not a team sport, it is not an entirely individual sport either. Beyond just relying on their personal skill, equestrians are also dependent on their horses.

“What makes [horseback riding] different is that you aren’t working with a team. It is very individual, but you still have to rely on your horse.” Tracey said.

Competing with an animal rather than a teammate presents a challenge for equestrians that is also prevalent in other sports, but in a different manner. While communication amongst teammates is a critical aspect of all team sports, the communication is generally verbal. For equestrians however, most communication is emotional or nonverbal, according senior Sarah Kent.

Kent said that the challenge of learning how to communicate with her horse in one of the things that appeals to her most about horseback riding.

“I like that it is mental and physical work,” Kent said.

“It’s about creating a connection between you and your horse, trying to figure out what works for it. It takes a lot of problem solving.”

A key element of communicating with a horse means building a relationship with the animal. Establishing a basic relationship in which a horse will respond to commands takes roughly a half an hour, but forging a stronger bond happens over a period of multiple weeks, according to Tracey.

Because of the amount of time it takes to forge a strong bond with a horse, to train and practice diligently, and to travel and compete, horseback riding is an extremely time consuming sport.

Junior Allie Shea, who rides competitively, said that she

spends roughly 12 hours a week with her horse, and typically rides three to five days during the school week.

“It definitely dominates my life,” Shea said.

For Shea, horseback riding is so demanding that it requires her to focus her life around it. Formerly a ballet dancer, Shea said she had to quit ballet because it clashed with her riding schedule.

Throughout her riding, Shea said she feels she has learned valuable lessons that can be translated into everyday life. One of the most important lessons Shea feels she has learned is how to control her emotions. “[Riding] increases your sense of alertness and keeps you emotionally in check,” Shea said. “The horse can feel when you are nervous or upset, and picking a fight with a two thousand pound animal ...well, the result might not be pretty.”

Shea said she also believes her riding has caused her to be more responsible, to persevere under difficult conditions, and to always keep trying, even after falling off.

“The way I see it, falling off is a lesson for me: to just get back on figure out what went wrong and keep riding,” Shea said.

As she approaches college, Shea said it will be difficult for her to continue to compete, but that she hopes to always find ways to continue to spend time around horses.

“I always want to have horses be a part of my life.” Shea said.

photo by Corynne Hogan

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“Sure, Eli and his Giants just won the Super Bowl but did that steal the headlines away from Peyton and his neck injury in any other place besides the big apple?”

PAGE 27 | FEB. 17, 2012

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...WHILE WE WEAR THE BLUE AND WHITE...

photos by Jami Bechard

Although most cheerleaders are expected to cheer for their high school, some choose competitive gyms Megan McCormack | Staff Writer

Go, fight, win. Three little words almost synonymous with cheerleading. Yelling and chanting to not only pump up the football or basketball team, but the crowd as well. Cheerleading has always been just that, cheering: for your team, your school, your peers. Only, some cheerleaders don’t cheer for a school team; they cheer competitively for a gym built solely for the purpose of competition, according to senior Morgan Liddic.

While sideline cheering composed of chants and school spirit, competitive, or all-star, cheer is much more challenging than the average sideline cheer, according to Liddic.

“Competitive cheer is more physically demanding and mentally demanding because you’re stunting, tumbling, learning choreography and some of us juggle multiple teams,” Liddic said. “And for me it’s more exciting, all-star…than sideline.”

Liddic, who cheered varsity for football this past year,

cheers at Champion Elite Gym competitively. Liddic said she used to cheer for the Mason’s competitive cheer team.

“I did the school competition team, my sophomore year,” Liddic said. “In Ohio, school cheer is not allowed to stunt and my strong point is stunting because I’m a strong person, I’m a back spot. In school cheer I can’t stunt and tumbling is not my strong point. And a lot of school cheer is tumbling.”

According to senior Chandler Cornett, who also cheers for Champion Elite Gym after cheering sideline for Mason since she was eight years old, the reason she likes to cheer all-star over sideline is because of the competiveness that comes with being an all-star cheerleader and all the techniques she gets to learn.

[Sideline is] competitive to make the team but once you’re on the team, you’re on the team,” Cornett said.

“It’s not as demanding and its not as physical. All-star

is more mentally and physically demanding. It’s harder.

It’s a lot different. Sideline is all about yelling and chants and cheers. And with all-star…there’s stunts, there’s jumps, there’s pyramid…there’s dance and then there’s tumbling.”

Junior Brittany Rocheck said she used to cheer for Midwest Cheer Elite for competition, but chose to cheer on Mason’s competition cheer team her freshman year.

“When I found out there was a school [competition] team for high school, I decided to try that for a year,” Rocheck said. “Midwest is really daunting on your body and really expensive, so I wanted to try

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from Page 27 something new and I really liked being involved with the school more than just being in an outside gym.”

Cornett said that cheering for a gym after cheering sideline for so long is different because cheering is no longer about school spirit.

“I did Mason Cheer from second grade until my freshman year and…I have all this mason cheer stuff and all you know is green and white,” Cornett said.

“So, when you step into the all-star world, it’s different because it’s not all about showing school spirit, it’s being there for your team.”

Rocheck said that cheering for the school competition team is more like cheering for a college team than cheering for a gym because the team wants to represent their school in the best way possible rather than just winning.

“I would relate it to a college team on how they just want their school to [be] represented and make the best name for their school rather than just trying to win first and go to worlds on a Midwest team,” Rocheck said.

Cheerleaders have to be full of spirit, according to Liddic. But sideline and all-star cheer have different definitions of spirit. Liddic said that sideline is about getting the school excited for the team and the game.

“When you’re at school, for me, [spirit] is all about how many people can I get to be excited about the same thing I’m excited about it,” Liddic said.

“I absolutely love football games, everything about them: cheerleaders, band, football team, student section, the parents, the little kids running around, it’s everything to me, I really love that.”

Cornett said that having spirit for your school is essential to being a sideline cheerleader.

But in all-star, you have to keep your teammates inspired.

you missed team

The Mason Academic team won the GMC tournament on February 4th and in the process gave Sycamore their first loss of the season despite finishing 2nd to them in the regular season. The Comets will take their 15-3 regular season record and GMC title to the regional tournament.

Chess Team For the first time in the history of Mason’s chess team, the team won a GMC title after finishing the regular season with a perfect 18-0 record.

They ended Sycamore’s reign which extended all the way back to 2004.

C Quick Hitters Swimmers

break school records

Sean Sargent and Megan Helwagen, divers for the MHS swimming/diving team, each finished 1st in the GMC for 1 meter diving. Sargent’s 309.0 points and Helwagen’s 286.75 points both broke GMC and school records.

Competition

cheer qualifies for

State

The Mason competition cheer team was one of five Division I cheer teams to qualify for the OASSA state competition which will take place at Ohio State University on March 4th, 2012.

“Spirit for your school is being a good role model… when your [team is] on the field and…not doing as well, to pump up the crowd and keep people going,” Cornett said. “For all-star, [spirit] is keeping everyone on your team motivated to push through. That kind of spirit is completely different because you’re trying to help your teammate.”

Junior Ashton Gregor, who cheers for the MHS’s competition cheer team, said that on the school’s competition team, she’s cheering for the school rather than cheering for a win.

“I like the school aspect, like having something there, having something to cheer for,” Gregor said. “[With Midwest, you’re cheering for] just the team, just to win and that was it. I like for other people to be behind me, to encourage someone else to do something good.”

Rocheck said that cheering for the school competition has been fun for her because she has gotten to watch the team compete at higher levels since her freshman year.

“The best part would be…being able to represent your school and make them known,” Rocheck said.

“Other teams have really made a name for their school with competition and Mason’s starting to make our name now: we’re starting to compete with higher level teams and the change in that direction has been fun.”

Gregor said that MHS’s competitive cheer team has seen so many advances over the past few years because they are so close and they are always there for each other.

“You’re with your friends and they’re there,” Gregor said. “They’re there to help you...and you just continue to get better. And, this year, we’re going to regionals and last year we didn’t even think about going to regionals. We’re making steps to make us better.”

photo by Jami Bechard

C The Numbers

178.8 Girls’ varsity bowling captain, junior Emily Harrison, leads the Mason bowling team with an average of 178.8 points a match.

5 The wrestling team broke a school record by having 5 wrestlers: Patrick Kearney, Jacob Atrip, Jorge Gonzalez, Eoin Walden, and Adam Quick each win an individual GMC title in their respective weight classes.

318 1.5 1:52.0 The boys’ basketball team currently leads the GMC conference in assists, with a total of 318 assists for the season.

In the Centerville Elk Invitational, the gymnastics team placed first in the meet, scoring 140.6 points, and broke their previous team record by over 1.5 points.

Sophomore swimmer, Zoe Thatcher leads the GMC in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:52:00.

results as of February 10

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FEB. 17, 2012

PAGE 29

PIN IT TO WIN IT

Patrick Kearney, a freshman on the varsity wrestling team, aims to take his wrestling talents to the top of the podium at State Joseph Spencer | Staff Writer

As freshmen, many athletes are nervous about just trying to make their first high school team.

There are some special freshmen that are moved up to Junior Varsity or even fewer to Varsity.

Freshman Patrick Kearney has filled these shoes for the Mason Varsity wrestling team.

Kearney has not only wrestled against the top level of competition, but he is also leading the 106 pound weight class in the Greater Miami Conference with a record of 26 wins with only 11 losses.

Kearney accredits much of his success to how easy the seniors made the transition to varsity for him.

“I’ve been wrestling for a long time in the Mason program, so I know most of the guys on the team already,” Kearney said.

“So, wrestling on Varsity feels right due to knowing all of the guys and getting along with my

coaches.”

While Kearney has become one of the guys on the team he is also the top guy in the GMC. He says his size has helped him succeed as a freshman.

“In wrestling, because of weight classes, on the mat everybody is the same size so you can’t use the excuse that as a freshman every-

listened to what the coaches instructed me to do.”

Kearney has had a stellar season; he is first in the GMC and also won the GMC tournament, an experience he described as a great time and a huge accomplishment.

“I went up there and I wrestled very well,” Kearney said. “It was a great experience and a real honor to win the league.”

Now Kearney is looking on to the district and state level, which is a place were he hopes to win a lot at.

“In my high school career my goals is to win state. . . twice” Kearney said.

This year he hopes to succeed as well not letting his age get in the way.

“I hope to get up the state meet and make a run,” Kearney said.

“I hope to finish in at least the top ten.”

“Wrestling on varsity feels right due to knowing all of the guys and getting along with my coaches.”

C Trading Punches After his fall from grace in both his professional golf and personal life, why is Tiger Woods still such a fascinating subject when it comes to the world of golf?

one is bigger than me,” Kearney said.

Kearney believes that lifting in the summer, and a firm belief in the coaches is what has helped him move to the top of the league.

“I lifted a lot in the summer and have been wrestling for years,” Kearney said. “Once I got into high school I just followed the seniors’ leadership and l

Tiger Woods is such a fascinating subject when it comes Joseph Spencer to the world of golf and the world of sports because he brings everything to the table that fascinates Americans. The scandal, the girl, and the secrets bring into play those who are not truly fans of sports. But aside from his personal life, Tiger Woods is the most dominate athlete in the last 20 years. His stretch of domination in golf was simply best out as amazing. Waiting to see if her return to this stature bring people to care so much about him.

photo by Corynne Hogan

I don’t agree with what Tiger did but as a golfer, James Nosek I love watching and hearing about Tiger Woods. He is still talked about because he is one of the best golfers to ever live and maybe one of the most famous athletes. He is the sport of golf at the moment. He’s moved on from his sex scandal and in a way, I have too. Once again, what he did was completely wrong but that’s not the first time a famous athlete has been involved in some kind of crazy sex scandal.

Despite what has happened with Tiger Woods, he’s the one Katelyn Cain who made golf exciting for fans. If you ask anyone who knows next to nothing about golf, the one thing that they do know is Tiger Woods. He put golf on the map and I think his past triumphs and his downfall make people want to root for him even more; because they want him to be back at the place that he used to be.

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C Sports Column Which Manning will the media marry?

James Nosek | Staff Writer

Theoretically speaking, let’s say the Manning brothers are not married men any more.

Eli and Peyton are recently coming off divorces and are looking for love once again. (Sorry Eli.) Ladies, take your pick.

Who ya got?

Now, that topic might be a toss-up, as I’ve asked multiple girls, and it seems like it could go both ways, but the bigger question is who would the media marry? That is unsure as well considering that every episode of Sports Center doesn’t just feature one Manning, but both of them. Overall though, at the moment, you have to go with Eli as the media’s golden gem.

Sure, Eli and his Giants just won the Super Bowl, but did that steal the headlines away from Peyton and his neck injury in any other place besides the big apple? That’s up for you to decide, but just days after Super Bowl Sunday I was already hearing Eli-Hall of Fame talk.

Really?

But think about it though, he’s a perfect target for attention. He’s this shy and underthe-radar confident football player, who has persevered through two championship winning seasons with the Giants, and oneupped his brother in the ring department.

Eli has started to burst out of the neglected spot light he has been behind regarding Peyton. Or has he?

Eli you know is a lock to stay in New York for possibly the rest of his life, but the other Manning is in a different situation. What if he went to the New York Jets, like few current reports are suggesting? That would be two Mannings in the same crazy city. Could New York handle it? I know the Post and Daily News could, that’s for sure.

So in reality, it doesn’t matter if both can or cannot win over the ladies or the media, these two are a duo that has revolutionized the NFL as of late. Eli might be dominating the headlines and media attention at the moment, rightfully so, he deserves it after winning another championship, but if you step back and look at the big picture, it’s not one Manning brother who over powers the sports world, really it’s the two of them that are complementing each other, if they know it or not.

And that makes sense right? The female population can’t decide on whom they like better, and really that’s the media’s problem as well.

FEB. 17, 2012

MASON TEAMS PLAYOFF BOUND Girls’ Varsity Swimming

photo by Corynne Hogan

Junior Mary Mostowy swims alongside teammates at practice.

Chloe Knue | Staff Writer

The Mason girls swim team defended their GMC title for the fifth consecutive season and placed second overall at the sectionals meet.

Head swim coach Mark Sullivan said the teams achievements have been a great honor for the team as well as the entire Mason swim program.

“It is always awesome for the girls to win the GMC title,” Sullivan said. “But it is important that the team continues to swim fast because the biggest meets are coming up.”

According to senior Morgan Emter, there is more fierce competition ahead. With the GMC meet and sectionals out of the way, the swim team is preparing for the

two biggest meets of the season - districts and state.

“They are very intense,” Emter said. “[Districts and State] are what my team and I have been training for. At these crucial meets, the competition is the toughest and the races are the fastest that our team sees.”

Sullivan said the team is looking forward to seeing all the teams hard work pay off.

“This has been one of our best training years ever,” Sullivan said. “All the girls have worked really hard this season. We are ready to see what we call the fruits of our labor and perform well.”

Boys’ Varsity Swimming Chloe Knue | Staff Writer

The Mason boys swim team took second place at GMC’s only behind rival Sycamore.

According to head swim coach Mark Sullivan, he knew prior to the important meet that the results were going to be significantly close between the two contending programs.

“Going into the meet [our team] knew that every event, every race was going to be extremely competitive,” Sullivan said. “In the end, I think the boys had a great GMC meet.

Our team swam very well and despite receiving second place...I am really proud of our boys for keeping positive attitudes and never giving up. We competed and did our best.”

Senior swimmer Brad Lebling said he is satisfied with his teams hard work and dedication. This determination also carried over to the boys sectional tournament results where photo by Corynne Hogan they took another second place.

Junior Drace Penley swims butterfly at practice.

“The effort and support I have seen from my teammates is very reassuring,” Lebling said. “Especially approaching these big end of the season meets, where I expect both relay and individual wins at the district and state meet. Our team is excited to swim fast and put up some of our best times of the season, and of course, break pool records.”

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FEB. 17, 2012

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Mason teams vie for the top spots through the postseason Boys’ Varsity Basketball James Nosek | Staff Writer

photo by Corynne Hogan

Senior point guard Tim Reale begins a play in the Lakota West loss on February 3.

Varsity Wrestling

Last Sunday, the Mason boys’ varsity basketball team earned a four seed and first round bye in the Cincinnati region of the OHSAA sectional tournament, but with one game remaining in the regular season, winning a GMC title is still the number one priority for the Comets, assistant coach Chris Delotell said.

Mason, who is currently 16-3 overall and 10-3 in the GMC, will go up against Oak HIlls tonight in their last game of the regular season and if they want a chance to tie Middletown as GMC champion, they would need to win the game and hope Middletown loses to Colerain.

“Winning a GMC title is the main focus for us right now,” Delotell said. “We won’t think or worry about the tournament until Saturday.”

Currently, the Middies top the GMC with an 11-2 conference record and have a one game lead over not only Mason, but Lakota West as well.

Middletown is guaranteed at least a tie for the

reigned as GMC champion for the third straight year, but they set a school record in the process. Five Comet wrestlers won individual GMC championships in their respective weight classes.

The Comets as a team won the meet, which was held at Oak Hills High School, in definitive fashion as they scored 195.5 total points. Fairfield (167.5) and Lakota East (129.0) were the second and third place finishers.

Head coach Craig Murnan, who won GMC coach of the year for 2012, said he was pleased to see his team bounce back from the losses to Lakota East photo by Corynne Hogan and Moeller, back on January 28th, and Mason freshmen wrestlers, Jordan Collins and Brenden Wiles practice in the wrestling room. eventually have a successful conference tournament.

James Nosek | Staff Writer “It was a big win,” Murnan said. “I’m really proud of our kids on how we responded and battled back to Not even two losses in the Mason wrestling team’s win GMC’s. It was an outstanding team effort by our last regular season meet against Lakota East and kids and coaching staff.”

Moeller could prevent the Comets from winning Mason will compete in the 2012 OHSAA Division another GMC title. On February 4, Mason not only

championship, but if they win tonight over Colerain, they will win the outright conference title.

Even if the Comets aren’t able to end the season in a tie for the GMC title, a victory over Oak Hills would give Mason the most wins ever since joining the conference, with 17, and according to Delotell, that is important for his team.

“There is still a lot to play for in the regular season,” Delotell said.

As far as the OHSAA playoffs are concerned, Mason will play on February 28 at Fairfield High School (6:30) against the winner of the Mount Healthy and Anderson first round match-up. Both teams currently have under-500 records as Mount Healthy is 8-10 and Anderson is 7-10.

But like Delotell said, ending the regular season with a win over Oak Hills is the only thing on their mind.

“The most important thing is to the finish out the regular season the right way,” said Delotell.

Sectional Tournament, at Hamilton high school, starting tonight at 6 pm, which will include the 1st round and quarterfinals, and it will continue into Saturday, where the rest of the matches will take place, including the finals later in the day. The tournament will consist of 13 teams, 5 represented from the GMC, where the top four placers in each weight class will advance to the district championships.

“We’re trying to get the best place we can get,” senior Ruben Victoria said. “We are going for first place and to place as many individual [wrestlers] as possible.”

Winning a GMC title once again and earning a spot in sectionals provides motivation, Murnan said, but they are achievements the team will have to look past as they move forward.

“It was nice to get a team title, however our kids will need to put this behind them and focus on the bigger goals that lay ahead.”