Volume 81: Issue 5

S t u de n t P r i n t s Sylvania Northview High School

The

January 26, 2007

Issue #5

NEWS Pages 1, 2 & 3

EDITORIALS Pages 4, 5 & 6

Fondu with the French Club Page 3

Music prepares for solo & ensemble M a x Filby Sta f f Wri te r Students from Northview’s music department will be competing in the Ohio Music Education Association’s (OMEA) district Solo and Ensemble contest on January 27 at Perrysburg High School.

Students from choir, band and orchestra are all participating in the contest.

Both soloists and ensembles will perform music with a level of difficulty ranging from classes A to C; class A being the most difficult.

Students will be judged by an official adjudicator of OMEA who will award students with a rating on a scale of one to five, one being the highest rating, according to Choral Director Mr. Gary Lewis.

“Judges come from all over Ohio,” said Orchestra Director Mrs. Theil, “but judges can’t judge the event if they are teachers in the same district of the event.”

NV’s choral department has 81 events taking place at the contest this Saturday. According to Mr. Lewis, this is mostly due to freshman interest as there are 23 freshmen soloists.

“I’m excited,’ said freshman Gabrielle Romberger, “I’m singing All The Pretty Little Horses as a soloist.”

“Judge s come from a l l over Ohio, bu t judge s can’t judge the even t if they a re te acher s in the same district of the even t.”

- O rche str a Director Mr s. Theil All together eight ensembles from the choral department will be performing in the contest.

There will be one ensemble from each choir with the exception of the Women’s Chorus which has two.

Two of these eight ensembles include a sophomore girls quartet and a senior guys quartet. The Harmony Road Show will also be performing as an ensemble in the contest, according to Mr. Lewis.

According to Mrs. Theil, twenty three students from orchestra will attend the contest, including one string quartet performing as an ensemble.

Mrs. Theil recommended that all of her students who plan to participate in the contest study privately with another instructor.

According to Mrs. Theil most of the students will be performing music from the class A level.

“I’m performing class A music,” said sophomore Amit Goyal, “but I’ve had to practice a lot on my own.

Student orchestra teacher Ms. Caitlin Bartholic will also be at the contest to assist Mrs. Theil and her students.

Fifty five students will be performing from the band department, including 46 soloists and six ensembles. Students are able to compete in more than one event, as longs as their events are not of the same type according to Band Director Mr. Bohland.

Mr. Bohland also recommends that students take private lessons. “Students should come in and get help before the contest,” said Mr. Bohland.

Student teachers Mr. David Babich and Mr. Brent Hildebrandt plan to assist band students and Mr. Bohland at the contest this Saturday.

Does your purse fi t in the new rule?

Page 6

Volume 81

FEATURES Pages 7, 8 & 9 Harry Potter Madness page 8

SPORTS Pages 10, 11 & 12 Bowling, see what it’s all about page 11

Northview hosts largest speech tourney in state Greg Adkins News E di tor Northview and Southview Speech and Debate programs hosted the annual Sylvania tournament on January 19 and 20. This is the biggest, most popular, and most respected tournament of the whole year, according to assistant coach Grant Christianson.

“Sylvania is definitely the most fun tournament of the whole year. And I get to still sleep in my own bed!” said senior debater Allison Malik.

Both Northview and Southview open their doors to competitors from all over the state and even some from out of state. This year was the largest since 2001 with over 600 speechies and debaters attending.

Usually, speech events take place in NV and the debaters compete at SV. Speech consists of nine individual events such as Original Oratory, Humorous Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Original Interpretation, Prose Poetry, Duo, International Extemp, Domestic Extemp, and Impromptu.

Debate involves three different types of scenarios, including policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas, and Ted Turner, also known as Public Forum.

Both sides of the program offer a plethora of awards for event winners that are coveted throughout the Midwest.

One of a kind glass mugs, made here in Toledo by Libbey Glass, bear the Sylvania logo and are given to the students placing in the top six of each separate event.

Plaques signifying first, second, or third place are distributed while ribbons are given to students placing fourth, fifth, or sixth in addition to the specialized mugs. The first place finalist

Megan Bringe PREPPING FOR THE NEXT round of Policy Debate are junior Sophia Lui and seniors Olivia Lui, President, and Patrick McEwen. from every category also receives a briefcase.

These awards are very significant for speech and debaters because of the prestige they carry.

An award from Sylvania means a great deal in the trophy case of an established speaker, according to Speech and Debate coach Mr. Joe Drouillard.

Three awards are also given to whole schools, which are called Sweepstakes awards.

The schools earning the most points from individual participants for debate, for speech, and for both combined receive an honorable award. NV received the award for the most debate points.

Many students from NV are worthy of mention for their individual and team achievements. Seniors Patrick McEwen and partner Olivia Lui reached semifinal rounds in policy debate. Patrick won the best speaker award in all of policy debate and Olivia took third place speaker. Junior Sophia Lui was an octofinalist in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Junior Brian Finch and freshman partner Elizabeth Schwartz were also octofinalists in the LincolnDouglas category.

“Everyone was so committed, it made my last Sylvania tournament a truly memorable one. NV winning first place for debate was just amazing too,” said senior president Olivia Lui.

SG anticipates Class Olympics Tay lor He lberg Sta f f Wri te r

Eric Graber CUTTING A DESIGN for Human Bowling to take place in the Class Olympics is senior Matt Colville. Student Government has put a lot of time and effort into the Class Olympics assembly.

The Class Olympics, sponsored by Student Government, will take place the week of January 29 during all lunch periods and will be wrapped up with a final assembly on that Friday.

There will be Wacky Wildcat events everyday during all lunch periods for the classes to accumulate points. One to two people will be chosen from each class to participate. The first place team will get four points, second team will get three and so on.

SG members came up with the ideas for the Wacky Wildcat events. All of the events will be exciting and fun, according to SG member senior Kevin Li. “Class Olympics took a lot of effort to plan during the winter summit meeting, my fingers were wobbling after all of the work. It was so much more challenging to plan due to the time cut of the assembly,” said SG member senior Issac Cohen.

The week of Class Olympics is also a spirit week.

Everyday there will be a theme for people to dress up to.

The themes will be Cowboy Day, Crazy Hair Day, College T-shirt Day, Superhero Day, and NV Spirit Day. The final events at the assembly on Friday will determine the winner of the Class Olympics. The assembly is usually about 40 minutes long to be able to do all of the events, but this year there is a big time cut and SG only gets 20 minutes.

“I’m excited for Class Olympics this year because we are finally seniors and we are going to dominate,” said senior Brett Myers.

2

Student committee forms Je ssica Be sset te Sta f f Wri te r A new student organization called the Principals Student Committee formed at Northview this past November.

This committee includes sophomores, juniors, and senior students who have been recommended by at least three teachers on staff at NV, and then chosen by Principal Mr. Stewart Jesse.

The students who have been chosen meet once or twice a month in the media center with Mr. Jesse who is in charge of the committee.

They discuss present and future policies, rules, and represent the student body on certain topics.

The students are to discuss issues and concerns they have about the school and voice their opinions and ideas to the principal.

“There is controversy at NV with students who disagree with certain rules or policies and think that many of them are unnecessary such as not being able to have water bottles, some aspects of the dress code, doors being locked, and many other concerns,” says Junior Susan Sediqe.

According to Mr. Jesse the students on the committee bring issues and other concerns to discussion and think of ways to improve them and bring different ideas they have to other members of the committee as well as himself.

“This organization is a good benefit to the school because its members know a lot about issues the student body is having conflict with and representing them influences change in the school,” said junior Sarah Mignin a member of the committee.

Juniors adopt school for charity Neno Aou thm an y & Ta r a Pate l Sta f f Wri te r The junior class shared the holiday spirit before break by going to work on their biggest charity project yet.

Instead of adopting a family as usual, the Junior Class Government decided to adopt Chase Elementary School. Chase is located at 3315 Mayo Street across from the sports arena, and is the second most poverty-stricken school in Toledo.

“We decided to help Chase because we were trying to reach a large group of people and we wanted to help out in their education,” said Junior Class Government member Mallory Apel. “All the things we donated were educational.”

The first drive ran between December 4 and 15. However there will be additional drives throughout the school year to help Chase.

Members of class government went to junior English classes to encourage students to donate supplies to the under privileged children. Some items on the list included coloring books, crayons and puzzles.

“Mr. Wachowiak’s classes collected a lot of money and supplies. Everyone participated,” said junior Ariel Jones.

The junior class got additional help from outside the school. Mrs and Dr Tomase donated 245 toothbrushes and toothpastes, enough for the whole school.

At the end of the drive, Chase was provided with 18 packs of markers, 86 pens, 312 pencils, 97 crayon packs, 250 coloring books and various other supplies. $173 was also collected and used for more school items.

“Students were able to relate really well with this project because we were helping a school. We got a lot of supplies, this was probably the best charity project I’ve seen from juniors,” said Junior Class Advisor Mrs. Fran Borchers.

Members of class government delivered the supplies on December 18.

The second drive will run through January 29 to February 9. Class government will be collecting socks for Chase students to add to the collection of 56 girls’ socks and 48 boys’ socks. The goal is to provide socks for every student.

N EWS

Janua ry 26, 2007

NV charity raises $1000 E li z abeth Strick Sta ff Wri te r Northview students in Mrs. Kathy Benya’s English classes worked together to raise over $1000 for the residents of the Liberty Care Center Nursing Home in downtown Toledo this December. “They raised nearly twice as much as past years have,” said Mrs. Benya.

The Liberty Care Center Nursing Home takes care of 24 geriatric psychiatric patients. With the money raised, Mrs. Benya purchased gifts. Each resident received a sweatshirt, sweatpants, slippers, socks, toiletries, a calendar and a game.

Also, the classes were able to purchase a DVD/ VCR player and a coffee maker for the Liberty Care Center Nursing Home.

On the last day of school before winter break, students wrapped the gifts.

“It was a really fun way to spend the last day before going on break,” said freshman Kelly Strick.

Mrs. Benya and her husband delivered the presents to the patients on Christmas Eve. They also brought cupcakes and pop for the celebration.

“I felt good for helping the patients during the holiday season even though I couldn’t be there to give them the gifts,” said sophomore Olivia McIntee.

Mrs. Benya’s classes have raised money for this nursing home for the past five years. This year, her five classes consist of three Honors English 9 classes and two English 10 classes. It was a competition between the different class periods to see which period could collect the most money.

Meredith Lodge WRAPPING GIFTS IN Mrs. Benya’s second period class is freshman Kate Schmidt. Every student helped wrap gifts throughout the day.

Mrs. Benya chooses to raise money for this nursing home in memory of her mother who was a patient there.

“I liked raising money for the residents because it was a different type of charity and we

were able to see what our money bought when we wrapped the presents,” said Strick.

The students will receive a re--ward within the classroom from Mrs. Benya for their participation.

Three celebrity deaths occur over five day period Wil l C ousino Sta ff Wri te r

While Northview students and faculty were on winter vacation, three prominent world figures passed away before the New Year. In only a five-day span, performer James Brown, former President Gerald R. Ford and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein died.

First, native South Carolinian rhythm and blues icon, James Brown expired on Christmas Day in an Atlanta hospital due to congenital heart failure, according to the New York Times. The original cause for the 73 year old performer’s hospitalization was a case of pneumonia, according to his agent.

Before Brown’s last week alive, “the hardest working man in show business” was living up to his self-awarded title. Although Brown’s doctor insisted that he cancel several pre-Christmas performances because of his pneumonia, he was given permission to perform the following week for a New Year’s Eve show at B.B. King’s night club, according to the New York Times.

To the very end of his long career in music, Brown proved to be the “hardest working man in show business.” That career began a half century ago in 1956 when a gospel and rhythm agent listened to Brown’s band, the Flames, performing “Please, Please, Please,” and invited them to record their single. This was the break that catapulted “Mr. Dynamite” into the arena of developing rhythm and blues music. Little did he suspect at the time, the name “James Brown” was destined to be adorned by neon lights and fame.

In the 1960s and 1970s Brown rose to the prime of his career with hits that remain popular today. “I Feel Good,” “Cold Sweat,” and “Hot Pants” have run the race of time and survive today

as the epitome of the ‘Funk’ style of music that Mr. Brown created. He accomplished his unique style through his syncopated beats, wild dancing, and passionate lyrics.

Brown’s casket remains guarded and locked in his home over two weeks after his death, unburied. Legal issues about the soul singer’s estate are being resolved, including his intended final resting place.

The day following Brown’s death, the 38th president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford, died at 6:45 p.m. at the age of 93. President Ford was the oldest surviving president, living longer than Ronald Reagan by several months, according to the Washington Post.

Ford was remembered as an optimist without enemies. He arrived in the oval office when the country’s chips were down. The economy was in a slump, the U.S. had been tied up in the divisive Vietnam War for nearly ten years and former Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon had left their offices in scandal and disgrace.

It would be Ford’s task in the coming two and a half years of his term to restore the legitimacy of the Republican Party and the Presidency that had been marred by Agnew and Nixon and to revive his skeptical country’s optimism. Generally, historians agree Ford accomplished his mission.

“When he left office he had restored public trust in the presidency,” said Vice President Dick Cheney.

President Ford was an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. As a long time congressman from Grand Rapids, Michigan his greatest ambition was to become Speaker of the House. Even after a long career in the House of Representatives, he had no desire to become President, according to his autobiography. When Vice President Agnew stepped down, Richard Nixon elevated the Speaker of the House, Gerry Ford, to the nation’s second highest office. Ford realized he would be fighting

Hockey graduates serving in Iraq E amonn Reynolds Sta ff Wri te r Two former Northview hockey players, Alan Sundheimer and Bob McElheney, are currently serving in the United States Marine Corps in Iraq.

Sundheimer graduated in 2004 and played four years as a defenseman for the team. McElheney graduated last year as a four year goalie and led the team to the state championships in Columbus, OH. Both of them enlisted in the Marines directly

after high school.

Both men went through the same basic training and boot camp in Paris Island, SC. Sundheimer left for duty this September and is currently stationed with his platoon in an area around Fallujah, Iraq. McElheney was called for duty much earlier than Sundheimer and was deployed this December.

He is also currently stationed in Fallujah, but is not enlisted in the same platoon as Sundheimer.

Sundheimer and McElheney are both scheduled to return home from their duties on May 31st.

Both of them were liked by their peers and were respected by their fellow teammates during their time at Northview.

an uphill battle to gain the confidence of the citizens because he ultimately became President without a mandate from the people.

Knowing the country would only suffer from a public, drawn out trial of former President Nixon, he granted his former boss a full pardon. Though immediately unpopular, this course of action proved to be wise because it allowed the nation to change its focus from Nixon to righting its future.

Lastly, on the international front, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was hung at dawn on December 30. The Iraqi judicial system handed down capital punishment for the ex-dictator’s crimes against the citizens of Iraq. Hussein remained calm, dignified and reverent in his final minutes, witnesses told the Washington Post.

After his capture over three years ago, prosecutors tried him for the killings of over 100 residents of Dujail, Iraq. This province was responsible for a failed attempt to take Saddam’s life in 1983. The Dujail massacre was Saddam’s iron fisted retribution for the ill-fated assassination attempt.

Neither the courts, nor American forces in Iraq, released the date of Saddam’s execution. Security was made a priority and therefore the time and place were carefully guarded secrets.

Precautions were taken by Iraq’s Shiite government to prevent Saddam’s execution from making him a martyr for their Sunni rivals, according to the Washington Post. As a result, his execution was postponed to avoid it from falling on the religious holiday of Eid al-Hadha.

Most of all, Saddam’s execution is a reminder of the rift that exists in Iraq between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. As a Sunni, Saddam oppressed the Shiite majority in Iraq for his 25-year reign, according to the Washington Post. Now, a civil war for power is threatening to erupt between the two rival groups. His rule for a quarter century in Iraq is largely responsible for the growth of violent conflict between the nation’s two major ethnic groups.

Laurie Gross

President Certified Lighting Consultant

2807 N. Reynolds Rd. Toledo, OH 43615 Phone: 419-537-1818 ext. 8250 E-mail: lgross@grosselectric.com Showroom Hours: Monday- Wednesday, Friday 10am-6pm Thursday 10am-8pm; Saturday 9am-5pm Gross Electric . . . Innovative Products.

Old-Fashioned Service.

N EWS

Janua ry 26, 2007

3

Students prepare for Fame this Spring MEASURING JUNIOR JOSH BARNES for his costume is junior Kelly Venia. “I enjoy working backstage because I get to interact with the crew members as well as the tech members. It is just a great thing to be a part of in general,” she said.

GOOFING AROUND BEFORE their fi rst read through of Fame are senior Justin Kruger and freshman Andrew Szerba. Justin will be playing Mr Meyers the drama teacher and Andrew is Nick Piazza a drama student.

photos by Meredith Lodge

Kimm y Ya r k Sta f f Wri te r Northview Spring Musical director Mr. Don Wachowiak chose to bring the bright lights and big city feel of the play Fame to the little theater at NV so that everyone can remember the famous line, “I’m gonna live forever.”

Auditions were being held the week of January 8 and about 35-40 students came prepared to get the top parts. “With such a high number of students auditioning many wanted to be prepared either by memorizing their monologues or dressing the part to help them get into character,” said senior Katie Litzer.

Tryouts were the same for every student auditioning. Each student was given music about a week before the auditions. The girls audition piece was entitled, “Lets Play a Love Scene,” the boys piece was “I Want To Make Magic.” The students also had to go through a rigorous dance audition to the song “Dancin’ On the Sidewalk.”

Some student wanted to really get into character and dressed up in 80’s style clothes. “I dressed in clothes I thought they wore during the play Fame to help me get in the part I auditioned for,” said senior Justin Kruger.

Helping Mr. Wachowiak with decisions about casting was Interactive Media teacher Ms. Libby Pistilli, who also is in charge of choreographing the play, and Mr. Gary Lewis who is the vocal coach for the play. The auditions were on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during the week before exams. The cast and crew lists were posted on the Friday before exams.

Each student found out which part they got throughout the week of exams. The cast list consists of 27 of the best actors at NV and 43 of the most talented crew members that will be helping backstage with makeup, costumes, properties, publicity/business, programs, sound, lighting, stagehands, and the production. “It takes a lot of time and hard work to make sure the play is perfect but it’s worth every bit,” said senior Stage Manager Kristi Kunkel.

“This is going to be a great show,” said Mr. Wachowiak.

Mr. Wachowiak rotates contemporary and classical plays each year. Last year, the King and I was the classical play, which is why Fame was chosen this year, he said.

Practices are held Monday through Thursday after school from 3-6 pm and as the musical gets closer the rehearsals start after school at 3 and go until around 9 or 10pm. The musical is set to premiere on April 19 and will be performed through April 22.

French progressive dinner teaches culture Tay lor He lbe rg Sta f f Wri te r The annual French Progressive Dinner is a several course meal served at different houses hosted by the French Club.

On January 21, four French Club members opened their homes for the dinner. The first course of appetizers was held at senior Heather Pilewski’s house, then the main dish was at senior Emily Perry’s, the salad and cheese was at sophomore Alyssa Darah’s, and for the final course, dessert, was held at the home of senior Nicole Munch.

“It was a great experience to open my home to my fellow French Club peers. I especially liked having the dessert course of chocolate fondue at my house,” said senior French Club member Nicole Munch.

The event is for socializing and learning the culture at the same time. One of the best ways to experience a culture is to taste the food. Almost every French Club member who attended the dinner brought a dish, while the student host just shared their home.

The appetizers consisted of a light carrot dish and quiche, the main dish was raclette, a cheese, roast beef, and boiled potato sandwich, the salad was greens with a light vinaigrette dressing and a variety of cheeses, and the dessert was chocolate fondue with many things to dip such as cookies, strawberries, and angel food cake.

“I thought the progressive dinner was the best it has ever been in my four years of being here. There were a lot of participants, which made it more successful,” said senior French Club President Lauren Kotlarczyk.

SENIOR LAUREN KOTLARCZYK, junior Abby Liebenthal, senior Taylor Helberg, junior Caitlin Burman, senior Nicole Munch and Mrs. Yaniglos dip oreros, angel food cake and other sweet treats into the chocolate fondue as their last course. photo by Meredith Lodge

Applications now available for 2007-08 Student Prints Newspaper Staff see Ms. Flynn in room E-6 to pick one up

PAPPOULIS PIZZA 5127 S MAIN ST. SYLVANIA 419.882.6979

OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK 4 PM - 12 AM CLOSED ON MONDAYS PIZZA GYRO PASTA CHICKEN WINGS BEER WINE

Oprah opens new school in Africa Li z z y Breier Sta ff Wri te r Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, and South Africa’s Ministry of Education broke ground on December 6, 2002 for the future site of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls- South Africa.

The grand opening officially took place on January 2.

Nobody knew it would get the attention and donations that it has received when the school opened in Henley-on-Klip in Gauteng Province for selected girls grades 7-12. These young women will now have the chance to prove themselves in a private environment with high standards.

The grand opening of the school welcomed 152 specifically chosen students from grades seven and eight. The girls represent all nine South African provinces, and are looking to make a difference in their life, according to Winfrey.

“I think it’s very generous of her to donate as much money as she did to help those in Africa,” said senior Courtney Stambaugh.

The school includes a 28 building campus with modern dormitories for the girls, dining hall, wellness center, state-of-the-art classrooms, computer and science labs, library, theater, and gymnasium.

In December of 2000, Oprah initially granted $10 million for the school, after everything was completed, she had contributed over $40 million to get the school up and running while being equipped with the newest technologies.

Karolynn Nowak said, “I think it’s wonderful that she has the kind of money to help children in need.”

Every teacher at the Academy is South African, and the girls will cover a curriculum that includes math, natural science and technology, arts and culture, social, economic, and management sciences, life orientation and leadership, and language.

“I know that this Academy will change the trajectory of these girls’ lives,” said Oprah Winfrey.

“They will excel and pass their excellence on to their families, their nation, and our world.”

4

OPINIONS

Janua ry 26, 2007

A

UT SHOout

by Kat ie Litzer

De-stressing Techniques The semester is almost over and exams have ended. Seniors have submitted their applications and are on their way to blossoming into the real world. Even though things are slowing down, there are still some major stressors that are weighing on the heads of students.

Never fear, I have devised a list of ways to cope with all the stresses of daily life.

Tip # 1: Eat organic foods. They are so much healthier for you. They are grown without those yucky pesticides and processed without additives. Growth hormones have been injected into our food for years. Organic foods are grown so that only nature has taken its course on them.

They will help you de - stress because they are way more delicious than regular food and they will boost your immune system.

Tip # 2: Meditate. There are many ways that this can be accomplished. First take yourself to a place where you are most comfortable, like your room. Then, pretend that you’re in a tropical rainforest (this will definitely enhance your experience.) Or you can just do it like they do in Fight Club, “Go to your cave. When you have problems in the real world, go to your cave.” Escape the world for a while and think about nothing. This will make you feel so much better.

Tip # 3: Listen to Relax, by Frankie goes to Hollywood. By just hearing those wondrous lyrics that go something like this, “Relax, don’t do it, when you want to get to it, RELAX!” This song will make you feel so relaxed and you will be able to dance to the funky techno beat.

Tip # 4: Paint. This means paint anything and everything. Paint your face, paint your shoes, paint your room, paint whatever you want! This will let you release your creative genius and instantly de - stress you. You could paint pictures of what you are stressed about, or where you wish you could be.

Tip # 5: Take a bubble bath. This is a classic de - stressor. Light some lavender scented candles, put on some R. Kelly, and jump in.

Soaking in the tub will let you dissolve all your problems. You will become so relaxed that you will want to take a nap.

Tip # 6: Burn incense while sitting and crying. The incense will take you to a calming place, and crying will allow you to release your emotions. It is a proven fact that crying releases endorphins that will make you feel happy. So cry with all your might. The incense is just an added bonus effect that will smell delicious.

Tip # 7: Play the game “eat poop you cat.”

This is a fascinating game where you whisper silly non-sensical sentences into a friend’s ear and at the end of the friend chain the sentence is all mixed up. Not to mention the fact that it has the most hysterical name that I have ever heard.

Tip # 8: Eat chocolate. This is another classic way of getting rid of stress. Chocolate is delicious, it is a yummy snack and will make you feel better. Dark chocolate releases endorphins that will turn on your happy button.

I hope these tips will help you rid yourself of the stress of daily life. If you follow my guidelines I assure you that your aura will be bright, and you will be on the high road to becoming a happy, unstressed adolescent. Have a fun day!

2

- my cents -

“I like that we get out early each day and then have a three day weekend,” -sophomore Sarah Sneider

Exam week, what do you think?

Best week of the year!

What is the only week during the school year that consists of three half days? What is the only week during the school year when a person can sleep in, go to school, and be home at 11? Exam week. This week is by far my favorite week of school for these reasons and more.

First, starting with the obvious, we only have to go for three half days. That is a day in a half of school for one week, which is absolutely amazing. I love get ti ng home at 12:30 everyday and this is definitely p referable to 2:30.

Second, the time I do spend at school is not all torture. Some exams can be very easy and it is great to go into an exam, nail it, and chill out for a while. That, in my opinion, is so much better than sitting in class and being bored out of my mind all day. Granted, a student may have one, maybe two, extremely challenging exams. These are a small price to pay for the amount of free time we get.

A third advantage to exam week is the three-day, homework free, weekend that every student gets afterwards. For one magical weekend, we, as students, have no responsibilities, stresses, or problems that are school related. Which, in essence, makes all other worries a little bit better.

There are also other little added bonuses that make this week awesome.

Being able to eat anywhere after exams is sweet. Go to Panera, the mall, Starbucks, or wherever. The point is that no student has to brown bag it or eat in the cafeteria, which is way cool. Plus, getting to dine with your friends is also a lot better than sitting at the boring cafeteria table.

Another bonus is being able to brag about our freedom with students from other schools or to younger siblings who are in school for the full day. It is a special week for Sylvania high school students and is a great way to make others envy our amazing week.

Therefore, with the exception of maybe one or two stressful exams (exactly three hours of stress), high school students have a week off school.

We can sleep in, go home early, maybe have a whole extra day off, and get two three-day weekends.

These reasons are enough to convince me how glorious exam week is.

Unless a person hates going to school late and going home early, loves to eat in the school cafeteria and can’t stand days off school, then exam week is torturous. I have a feeling that these students are in the minority.

Worst week ever!

We all know exam week is horrible, not only because of the exorbitant amounts of time we spend studying but also because it is not run logically and it is not fair to students. Everything from when we take them to how many we must take is unreasonable.

I think it is ridiculous that students have to take exams after winter break because we should be able to use that time to relax not study. Those who actually even want to study can’t because many teachers do not give study guides until the week before we take them.

Also, I don’t understand how teachers can expect us to study for exams when they are cramming in extra chapters and tests in the very last days before exams on top of all the information that we already must review.

I understand teachers need to encompass everything we have learned but exams are not a good representation of what you have learned from the class, where as your quarter grade represents your hard work and what you have learned.

Many students have complained that the last week before exams is more jam packed with homework and tests, which leaves us without time to spend studying for exams.

So we are left with only the three day weekend to study on average 300-400 pages of text for each class, not counting other specifics. This is not sufficient time especially if we don’t understand or remember some of the material we have to spend more time trying to relearn the entire concept instead of reviewing.

Since teachers insist on putting all of the information that we learned we deserve adequate study time to so that we can perform our full potential on exams.

The exam schedule also allows people to cheat because those who take an exam on the first day usually do worse than those on the second and third days.

Many teachers have commented on how it is not unusual for the later period to do better. An alternative to this would be having an exam period when all the classes meet up to take the exam together.

I think that exams are not a good representation of how proficient you are at a subject. Your overall grade shows the effort you put in and how well you comprehend the material. Exams are not as efficient because teachers don’t put a lot of the material on them. That is why NV should adopt a policy that lets students opt out of one of their exams if they have an A in the class. Many schools have this rule or one very similar to it in effect. It would motivate students not only to try their hardest but also to attend school because they can only be absent so many days to get the privilege.

Exams are defiantly not a fun time for students but regardless we have to deal with them. There should be some reforms that make it give us realistic time to prepare and do out best on them.

State of the Union unifies both sides This week, President George W. Bush gave another State of the Union address to the country.

This speech could have gone two ways. One, he could have been more aggressive than he already has been about the war in Irag, or he could have taken the high road and tried to unite the country along with this plan.

To the relief of the American people and the new Democratic Congress, he chose the latter. Starting off his speech very humbly, he said, “Thank you very much. And tonight, I have a high privilege and distinct honor of my own, as the first President to begin the State of the Union message with these words: Madam Speaker.”

These words sent an uproar of applause through the House and even the president cracked a smile. He then continued by congratulating the Democratic majority, and reassured the American people that even if Congress has changed, their goals and responsibilities remain the same. This was a big step for Bush since it showed his willingness to work together with Congress, which is

something that most Americans did not believe could happen.

The President then proceeded to discuss the growing economy which, according to the him, “We’re now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth, in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs.” This was exciting news to many who actually believed him. But who can blame the American people for being disillusioned when it comes to the things that the Bush Administration declares.

However, no one can deny that the budget deficit plan that Bush announced, which will run over the course of the next five years, is exciting. If the federal government can pull it off, it will be a great feat for the Bush administration and the next administration that takes power in 2009.

Another interesting topic that Bush discussed was the reduction of gasoline usage here in the United States. We use more gasoline than many other countries combined, which is saying a lot.

It is nice to know that the government is actu-

What do you think about exams?

“ Exams are a lot of studying.”

-freshman Chris Dipof I

“I feel exams are unnecessary if you get good grades throughout the year,” - junior Tara Zuber

ally taking this huge problem into consideration because sometimes it seems that they are more worried about medicare and the war than current problems that could have surprisingly devastating effects on the world.

Finally, Bush addressed the war in Iraq, which was what the American people were really wanting to hear about. However, nothing more was discussed than had not already been revealed before.

The president is still calling for more troops and more protection in Iraq. It is safe to say that most Americans are against this plan.

Even though the president tried to deliver an energetic address, no one could deny the weary look on his face and the toll that the past years have had on him.

Overall, Bush had some very good points and ideas. The plan to surge in Iraq was disappointing but things are not as bad as some critics are saying that they are. The president at least is willing to work with the Democrats and that is one comfort that many people should be happy about.

“ It’s a stressful week and the tests shouldn’t be worth 1/5 of your grade.”

- senior Bret Meyers

OPINIONS

Janua ry 26, 2007

Cheerleader’s skirts too short, violate dress code

Abby Liebenthal WHILE CHEERLEADERS’ skirts are regulation length for cheering, they wear them to school, breaking school dress codes.

While many students here at Northview are being reprimanded for their boxers hanging out, their midriffs being exposed or for whatever else the administration can cook up for new regulations, the cheerleaders seem to be untouched by such dress code stipulations.

They are able to spend their day, demerit free, sporting a mini skirt that is so short they risk indecent exposure if they bend over too much. The skirt is probably regarded as cute and adorable by the mothers and attractive by the male population.

A normal person would see it for what it really is though - a short skirt that violates the dress code policy.

The policy, which is stated in the 2007 Sylvania Schools handbook, is as follows“Apparel shall be adequate in both length and coverage to be considered appropriate for school.” The cheerleaders skirts are not adequate in length or coverage.

The question of why the cheerleaders are wearing these skirts to school in the first place then comes to mind. It is understood that they make it easier for the girls to do their cheers at the games therefore the concept that they cannot wear the skirts to the games is not in question. The concept in question is why the girls wear their skirts to school before the games. This is unnecessary.

The skirt is their uniform, thus not what they should be wearing to school before a game. Students do not see the football team walking around in their helmets and pads the day of their game. Likewise, the basketball players are not seen around school in their shorts and jersey’s before theirs. They either dress-up or at least wear some form of a casual team warm-up to school. Therefore, the cheerleaders should not be wearing their uniforms to school.

But because of the cliché idea that cheerleaders have to always wear little skirts to keep up their cute and adorable image, it is entirely possible that they will be allowed to continue to be exempt from the rules. This will probably be allowed while other non-cheerleader girls are wearing short skirts and getting in trouble.

Which can only add to the many problems that students have had with the new rules the administration is pushing on them. Either they make all the students follow their inane regulations or they eliminate them. Such hypocrisies are completely unfair and the teachers and students should at least acknowledge the problem.

Grading scale unfair and inaccurate What does it take these days to be valedictorian? A 4.0, a 4.5, or a 5.0? Since when did the “perfect” 4.0 grade-point-average become not so “perfect”?

Northview’s inclusion of a 5.0 possible on a 4.0 grading scale has made the whole GPA issue both confusing and unfair. A regular class is graded on a 4.0 grading scale with a four equivalent to an “A”, which is traditionally the highest grade in the class. Whereas an honors class, or an Advanced Placement class, has a new highest grade, the “H” worth 5.0. This makes it so that even though the grading system is on the 4.0 scale, the highest is not 4.0 but rather a 5.0.

An honors or AP class is allegedly harder and more challenging, therefore warranting the additional credit. But is it really harder? I know that I have received more “B”s in regular classes than I have received “A”s in honors or AP classes. When I compare Physics and Honors Band, I’m not sure which class is the harder one. I’m even tempted to say that the former would be harder due to the comments from my friends about the difficulty.

Let us just suppose, for argument’s sake, that regular classes are easier than honors and AP classes. The question to answer here is if it is fair to have a group of classes worth inherently more credit than another group of classes while being compared in the same framework.

Let us simplify this question through two hypothetical students. Student A is taking eight regular classes while Student B is taking eight honors classes. Student A, if he is perfect by getting straight “A”s in his classes, can get a 4.0 GPA at maximum. Student B on the other hand can get at maximum a 5.0; however, the interesting point is how Student B can still get a 4.0 with an “F” and a

“C”. If student B were to receive six “H”s along with one “F” and one “C”, he would receive the same GPA as Student A while still looking better because his schedule says that he took all honors classes.

Is this really fair? How can one person while he is perfect in all of his classes have the same GPA as another person who is failing one class and has a “C” in another? The question then becomes should honors and AP classes, if they are so much harder, really warrant their own separate grade.

When a class is labeled as honors, it usually means that it is harder because the class moves faster than a regular class thereby either covering more material or the same material in a greater depth. However, when it is difficult to tell which class is harder as in the case of honors Band and Physics, that difficulty should be the clue that the separate grade is not warranted.

The trouble with the presence of the “H” is even more pronounced when students have a mix of regular and honors classes. Suppose that Student A has six honors classes, two study halls and lunch while Student B has the same six honors classes, three regular classes and no lunch. When comparing these two schedules, it is obvious that Student B has the harder schedule, for he is taking the same classes as Student A along with three other classes without a lunch; however, how is this reflected GPA wise? If both students were to receive 100% in all of their classes, Student A would have a 5.0 while Student B would have a 4.67 due to the extra regular classes. Now if Student A were to get only five “H”s, he would still have a higher GPA than Student B who has six “H”s. Anyway you see this scenario, it is not fair.

The implications of this are drastic. If students are punished for taking more classes and further

Hussein execution video offensive Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, was executed on December 30 under charges of crimes against humanity and of genocide. Shortly after his death, a video of his hanging was released on the Internet. By such a video being put on the web, disastrous effects were bound to, and did, occur.

Not only was the video released, but pictures of a deceased Hussein were readily available. These pictures, in effect, caused an international uproar. As stated by Amnesty International U.S.A. Director Larry Cox, “The rushed execution of Saddam Hussein is simply wrong. It signifies justice denied for countless victims who endured unspeakable suffering during his regime, and now have been denied their right to see justice served.”

This statement expresses the opinions of many across the world who feel that Hussein’s life was taken in an dehumanizing way. It almost seems hypocritical to take the life of another for doing the very same thing. By going through with this execution, we are only committing the same terrible that Saddam Hussein was convicted of.

According to CBSnews.com, a ten-year old boy from Texas accidentally hung himself while trying to imitate Hussein’s execution, as well another nine-year old boy from Pakistan who accidentally died attempting the same thing.

I, for one, feel that such a graphic video and images should not be given the chance to gain such widespread accessibility, especially when the effects are so traumatizing. By watching this video, adults and children alike are witnessing the actual sight of death.

The fact that anyone could look up this video is a disturbing thought. It is so easy to find the video on the Internet, more and more people, including children, will be able to watch the execution. By allowing this to happen, we are causing immeasurable amounts of damage to ourselves and the rest of the world.

There is no one who would want to watch somebody be executed by lethal injection or electrocution, so why is this case any different? It is true that Saddam Hussein committed terrible, unimaginable things but why does that give us the right to watch him die, and more importantly, why would you want to?

challenging themselves, then students will learn to take the minimum number of honors classes without taking classes that they are truly interested in. If students are getting the message to take the minimum number of classes due to the grade system, then there is a problem with the grading scale, for it contradicts the spirit of school. School is a place to learn and challenge oneself on all subjects, the grading scale is punishing those who want to take regular classes.

In the case of school rankings where .001 can be the difference between two ranks, GPAs and class schedules are very important. The student who is perfect and receives 100% in all his classes but schedules to take six honors classes and three regular classes each year will not be valedictorian.

Instead, the student who takes the bare minimum of six honors classes and the required classes (Health and Gym) without receiving all possible H’s will be the valedictorian. With a title as prestigious as valedictorian at stake, the brightest of each class will only take the minimum number of honors and AP classes.

The alternative for this is to abolish the “H” and have it on a strict 4.0 schedule. However, there should be classes designated as core or other classes so that students cannot just take the core classes and three study halls. To compensate for this, AP classes should add .05 to a student’s GPA every year if he were to receive an “A” average in the class. And because honors classes would be the prerequisite for AP classes, students would have to take these more challenging classes if they wish to raise their GPA above a 4.0. In this way, the inherent unfairness with the 5.0 “H” will be eliminated and students can be allowed to take all classes instead of only choosing “H” classes. ~Wang Pan

Adkins

the

5

EFFECT Senioritis has come

It’s that time of year again. We have all experienced it in some way. Juniors watched the seniors go through it last year, students have observed older siblings as they went through it, and now seniors, it is our turn. The second semester has arrived, the last one for seniors.

For three and a half years we have looked forward to this moment. It is time for ranks to freeze, acceptance letters to come in, and school not to matter anymore. Or at least that’s the scuttlebutt.

The truth is that second semester actually does matter for some people. Colleges now request a final transcript after graduation in June and a serious drop off in academic achievement could mean a different decision concerning admission. If it does not affect admissions, then it could possibly lead to academic probation upon arriving at the university in the fall. Who wants to start out their first year of long-awaited college on probation?

That brings two important questions to the mind of every senior. “Can I slack off now?” and “If I do, how much can I afford?” It is time to weigh the pros and cons, costs and benefits, pain and glory. Senioritis has become even more inflamed and seniors are more than ready to be done, however, classes are not. Many seniors are still taking a heavy course load and have difficult classes that are demanding just as much now, if not more.

A certain amount of slacking could probably be tolerated. However, there is a line that is often hard to distinguish, meaning everyone needs to be weary. Dropping from a 97% to a 94%, or a 93% to a 90% would probably not be a big deal. However, dropping letters or going from an “A” to a “C” could be disastrous for college-bound seniors.

The smell of graduation is in the air and the time is approaching very quickly. It can be hard to focus and study, but finding a balance between school and outside activities is crucial.

Sometimes it is okay to blow off studying to spend time with friends you may not see next year, but there are times when schoolwork may trump all else.

Sometimes it is just so hard to focus on anything school related though. I find myself severely demotivated to finish homework, study for tests, or complete other school related projects. I often feel very rushed, like I have so much I want to do before I leave for college, but not enough time to do it. There are so many people I want to spend time with and I feel like that is what is really important. With all that, it is very easy to forget about school work and just focus on social life. Then I remember that I am still in school and, no matter how much I want to, I cannot just quit trying completely.

Sometimes life can be more stressful now despite the fact that we are on the last stretch before graduation.

The important thing is to find a balance between interests. Time management is an extremely important skill that can make life much less stressful and overall more enjoyable. It is also something that will be crucial in college so learning and practicing now would be a good idea. I struggle with prioritizing my interests often and usually end up using the excuse, “Who cares? I’m a senior.” Unfortunately that does not always work, especially with teachers. There really is not much choice. Get stuff done but don’t stress over it too much. Make this year the most memorable ever and enjoy it while it lasts.

Sylvania Northview High School 5403 Silica Drive Sylvania, Ohio 43560 2005-2006 C o-Edi tor s-In- Chie f: Wang Pan & Jackie Zureich Advisor: Sa r ah Flynn News Edi tor: Greg Adkins Fe ature s Edi tor: K ame l Ansa r a & K ristin Win te r s Photo Edi tor: Me redi th L odge Sports Edi tor: Ryan Stansley Edi tori a l Edi tor: K atie Li tze r Busine ss Edi tor: Neno Aou thm an y Sta ff Wri ter s: Me lissa Ben ton, Je ssica Be sset te, Li z z y Breie r, Wil l C ousino, M a x Filby, Jamie H amilton, Tay lor He lbe rg , A sh ley McNair, Emily Nava r re, Ta r a Pate l, Ty le r Puh l, E amonn Reynolds, Ste ph anie Sa l l ah, E li z abeth Strick, M at t Wade, K atie Wambold, Kimm y Ya r k, Ye lena Zhe rnovski y

The Studen t Prin ts is the offici a l studen t-produced newspa per of Sy lvani a North view High S chool. It is distribu ted mon thly at no ch a rge to serve the pur pose of in forming studen ts, facult y, sta ff, administr ation and the Sy lvani a communi t y of curren t issue s.

The m ain goa l of The Prin ts is to pre sen t cover age of even ts in an unbi a sed and accur ate m anner. The pa per a lso re spects the opinions and ide a s of the en tire N V communi t y. Signed let ter s to the edi tor s a re encour aged and should be no longer th an 300 words. A l l let ter s can be turned in to the publications room, E-6. The Prin ts re serve s the righ t to edi t let ter s th at con tain gr amm atica l error s, accur ac y and profane or libe lous commen ts.

The newspa per sta ff is en tire ly re sponsible for the con ten t of the pa per and supports the Fir st Amendmen t to the C onsti tu tion. Unsigned edi tori a ls published in The Prin ts a re wri t ten by sta ff member s, and agreed upon by a m ajori t y vote of the edi tori a l boa rd. The Prin ts is ca re ful ly e x amined by i ts sta ff and adviser prior to publication to preven t incorrect or libe lous in form ation.

The newspa per sta ff doe s not endor se advertisemen ts published in The Prin ts. Advertising specifications m ay be obtained by ca l ling (419) 824 -8708.

The newspa per fol lows the A sso ci ated Pre ss (A P) St y lebook guide line s for punctuation and gr amm a r. The Prin ts is a member of the Nationa l S chol a stic Pre ss A sso ci ation, the C olumbi a S chol a stic Pre ss A sso ci ation, Quil l and S crol l and the Gre at L a k e s In ter schol a stic Pre ss A sso ci ation.

6

Janua ry 26, 2006

OPINIONS

Big purses cause new school rules In the world of females there are always purses. A purse is what makes an outfit complete in my opinion. Almost every girl everywhere has at least one purse. Whether it is a small purse or a huge purse, the majority of them have one.

Over the years, purses of all different shapes, sizes, textures, and colors come in and out of style all the time. In the last year or two big wide purses have been the new fad.

At Northview the majority of the female students have purses that are big, in style and carry them around everywhere they go.

A new rule has come into place at NV which states that you cannot carry purses that could possibly pass as a book bag.

Another reason for this policy to be passed is because it’s not fair to guys because they can’t carry book bags and they don’t carry purses.

“The rule is that if you can carry an 8x11 textbook in your purse you are to keep it in your locker until the end of the day, because it’s the same as carrying a book bag,” said Principal Stewart Jesse.

I do not like this new policy at all. I don’t even own small purses because I can never fit anything in them that I need and I don’t want to buy a new small purse that I’m never going to use outside of school.

Girls like to carry their purses for their own individual necessities. Whether it be a pencil case, calculator, make up etc. They need a big purse to carry it in to and from their classes.

We should be allowed to carry whatever size purse we want unless it’s a luggage bag or something.

A girl’s purse is her private life. It’s where the lip-gloss and mirror stays, markers, erasers, pens, wallets, feminine products and more.

I’m sure teachers will not like girls raising their hands to go to their locker every five minutes to get something from their purse.

Purses really haven’t been a big issue until they were being made too big. I think if we want to carry a big purse then we should be allowed, it’s ~Jessica Bessette our own individual style.

Meredith Lodge RESTOCKING HER EXTRA large purse is senior Lauren Yoder. “She carries everything in that bag, you can ask for a sandwich and she’ll have one in the bottom,” said photographer Meredith Lodge.

How to stick to that New Year’s resolution It’s a brand new year and you know what that means- New Year’s Resolutions; the ever popular promise to yourself that will ultimately result in failure.

It’s almost a joke among our society, but instead of telling you about how you’re going to fail, or how unrealistic your New Year’s resolution truly is, I’m going to ask you to take it seriously and I’m going to encourage you to pursue something for the New Year.

Each year people make resolutions with half-hearted ideas in mind, but instead you should make a goal that you are enthused about, something that you truly want, and can picture yourself doing all year round.

So let’s face it, our lives are overbooked. Everyday we go to school, we sit through nine periods, and after school we head off to practice, work, or to those never ending piano lessons with the old Russian lady who spits when she talks. With all that stress occurring day after day, we become attached to the itinerary of our daily lives and we naturally have a hard time with change. However, this is the reason goals for New Years, or for any other day, seem to let us down time after time. What we really need is to achieve things in life by having personal determination, practice, and support of others. New Years resolutions aren’t about getting a new iPod, or giving up eating French fries but they are about focusing on the future, expanding your life’s happiness, and proving to yourself that you can succeed.

Another thing people often over-look when making goals or resolutions for themselves is that it doesn’t have to be such a narrow topic. Actually, it’s probably more realistic to have a broad goal to begin with, and expand and play with as the year goes on. For example, instead of saying “I’m going to go running everyday!” you should say that your year goal is to be healthier. This way, you can take it one baby step at a time, and allow the change to occur in a manageable way.

Another aspect of resolutions to think about is the idea of not just improving on yourself for one year, but doing so over the course of a lifetime. You can do this by creating a Life List; which is a list of things that you want to accomplish by the end of your life. Many famous celebrities are creating life lists; people such as Orlando Bloom are making lists that include learning to play the bongo drums, learning to cook, and learning to speak French. Beyonce’s life list is to learn ballet; while Courtney Love’s is to stop partying with nineteen year olds and to stop having cosmetic surgery until she is at least sixty. The list should include anything that you wish to improve on and they can be goals that may take time. These lists can be very beneficial for our lives, by allowing us to focus on our future and set goals.

It may seem intimidating at first, even after you have written it, but taking things one step at a time is the way to go.

What’s up with mother nature this winter?

Mother Nature has gone insane, senile, mad, whichever term you prefer. There is no denying that the weather, especially throughout the winter, has been anything but normal. Being able to wear just a t-shirt and jeans in the middle of December is baffling. Moreover, not having to wear any sort of winter coat in January, in northwestern Ohio no less, is unheard of. So what is the cause of all this madness? I’m afraid the only answer points to senility.

Mother Nature is probably about 4.5 billion years old, if we take it into consideration that she’s been around since the creation of earth. Most types of dementia occur after the age of 60, according to the National Institute of Aging, so it’s only to be expected.

Symptoms can include forgetfulness, inability to remember how to perform activities that were previously done with simplicity, and failure to recognize and understand familiar people, places, and time.

Well, controlling the weather and all its wonders for a few billion years would have to become familiar eventually and it was most definitely done with ease in previous millenniums. Mother Nature

also seems to be forgetting that it is now January, thereby not understanding the changing of the seasons, or time at all for that matter.

It is only fair that Mother Nature be given some time off and possibly be allowed to retire from her famed position.

After all, she has been at for some time.

Maybe after a break or so she will finally realize what season it really is and stick to the correct weather. The fact that it was fifty degrees and raining on Christmas in the midwest is just one indication that she needs some relaxation time.

Everyone deserves a break.

However, this option leaves us in a quandary as well. Who will replace Mother Nature? Father Time can most certainly be ruled out since he’s been around well, since the age of time. The Easter Bunny can be crossed off as well because really, who wants some imaginary animal to do this sort of thing? I think the only solution lies in Baby New Year taking over. He’ll have plenty of time to train and take over as the head of nature.

This way Mother Nature can get some well-deserved rest, as can everyone when everything goes back to normal.

New calendar will spread out breaks Students never want winter or spring break to end. It would be great if break never had to end. However, it is possible to add another break to our school year if Sylvania schools were to switch to a balanced calendar.

The balance calendar is very similar to the schedule that Northview is currently on. There are two main differences. One difference is that there is a break at the end of every quarter. That means there would be a week-long break during October.

Imagine all of the things you could do during that week. You could hang out with your friends, catch up on sleep, and most importantly just relax and prepare for the second quarter of school.

Also, the last day of second quarter would be the last day before winter break and third quarter would end as spring break began.

That would make the breaks so much more enjoyable because students wouldn’t have to worry about grades since the quarter is over.

The second difference is that school would begin about ten days earlier in August. Although the idea of starting school earlier is not appealing, everyone knows that by the time August comes around students are bored out of their minds and starting school a little earlier is not a very big problem.

“It never bothered me starting school earlier in August when I went to St. Joe’s. By the time the middle of August comes around, I am bored and ready to get back to school,” said sophomore Martha Fitzgerald. “I really liked the balanced calendar at St. Joe’s. The balanced calendar gave us many more breaks when we were tired of studying. ” NV students and teachers would greatly benefit from switching to the balanced calendar. The time off in October would help both students and teachers to recover from the start of the school year and make NV more successful overall.

Meredith Lodge THE FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR took many students by surprise as they scraped their cars and dealt with the cold that finally arrived.

F E AT U R E S Addiction: It Kills Janua ry 26, 2007

7

By Stephanie Sallah & Meredith Lodge

Drugs are a habit-forming substance and some people may find that fun, but when an individual cannot go one day without taking drugs, and addiction is formed, that person’s life could become another death statistic.

Once a person experiences a drug for the first time and the feelings that go along with it, the next time the person will have to use a higher dosage to feel the same experience again. From this, a person becomes addicted. To experience these things

first hand not only creates problems for the addict, but causes suffering among caring family members and loved ones.

The helpless feeling of watching someone you love fall prey to drug addiction is frightening. Parents do not want to believe it and at the same time the addict does not want to admit it.

Everyone is in a state of denial.

Where can you go to get help? Who do you call? Who will listen without ignoring the problem?

Addiction is defined as a compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance. Some people believe that drug addiction is not as severe as people make it out to be, and that it does not affect many Americans. However, the US NO DRUGS website reported that every year there are 19,102 deaths per year in the United States alone due to drug addiction.

Prescription drugs are becoming popular among teens. Even over the counter drugs such as Sudafed and Clariton now have to be obtained from pharmacists.

One of the leading drugs causing death and addiction among young adults and teenagers is OxyContin, a highly addictive and very strong narcotic pain reliever, similar to morphine. OxyContin is legally obtained through prescription as well as illegally on the street.

According to an article published in the Bellville News-Democrat, “Oxy is the most popular narcotic painkiller in America, ringing up more than $1 billion in sales and filling nearly 6 million prescriptions in 2002.”

Physicians, such as the one most recently implicated in Toledo, Dr. Leo Ognen, fill many of these prescriptions illegally. Ognen was charged with prescribing more than $10 million in painkillers to patients.

What is happening today is that people are illegally obtaining OxyContin, chewing, crushing, snorting, and shooting it. Doing this causes a large amount of Oxycodone to be released from the tablet, potentially resulting in a dangerous or fatal drug overdose.

Northview Principal Stewart Jesse feels strongly about teenagers’ addiction problems. “I am concerned for the students who turn to drugs, rather than seeking help from a professional. I am also concerned about the availability of the drugs. If it was harder to get them, it would not be as big of an issue,” he said.

The high that is felt is a sedate, euphoric feeling that is carefree and painless. The side effects can be constipation, nausea, sedation, dizziness, and vomiting. Long-term use of Oxy will cause muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, and depression. Many habitual Oxy users require long-term rehabilitation and care.

The law firm of Parker and Waichman in New York City, pose two significant questions regarding the manufacturing of OxyContin. “Did the benefit of this drug somehow outweigh so deadly a risk? Was a drug like this every really necessary?” Many experts believe this was one drug that never should have been approved in the first place.

Where can I seek help?

There are many rehabilitation programs such as Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings that can be attended, but most young adults and teenagers may not feel comfortable because they think it is an adult environment. Now there are new alternatives for young users and their loved ones.

One such meeting is called Rusty’s House. Rusty’s House was formed after two parents lost their son to a cocaine overdose. Their goal now is to help with recovery and to continue to provide a support system to young people and their families. This organization has access to great rehab centers and if an individual is showing signs of a dangerous future with drugs, they recommend attending a rehab center.

Watching an addict try to achieve sobriety can be a relieving sight, but can also cause a great deal of pain. What are they feeling as the drug is leaving their body? This process is called withdrawal. Seeing this action first hand led me to wonder, how can addiction be so powerful?

Reading this article, you may not believe the toll that addiction takes on people. You may think that it is the addict’s fault for letting themselves become hooked on drugs, but coming from a family with recovering addicts and alcoholics, I have see my fair share of the effects.

Local Statistics Statistics from the Sylvania Area gathered by SCAT:

• 9% of the senior class in Sylvania Schools have tried cocaine in the last year.

• 22 students in the junior class and 28 students in the senior class in Sylvania Schools have tried oxycontin and other pain killers.

• 4% of youth ages 12-17 reported non-medical use of prescription medicine in the last month.

(AbovetheInfluence.com) • Emergency room visits associated with narcotic and pain relievers have increased 163% since 1995.

(AbovetheInfluence.com) • Lifetime use of sedatives among seniors increased 18.3% since 2001, more than one in ten 12th graders.

(Monitoring the Future Study in 2006)

8

F E AT U R E S

Janua ry 26, 2007

Page by Tara Patel

Harry Potter Madness

7th Title Revealed

December 21 was a big day for Harry Potter fans everywhere for JK Rowling revealed the title of her seventh Book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, through her website (jkrowling.com).

To access the information, click on the eraser on her desk to get to the unlocked door. Then, a number of various objects must be clicked on and fans have to play a game of hangman, which reveals the title.

Or, one could easily go to a Harry Potter fan site where the title was already discovered and spread throughout the web within 45 minutes of Rowling’s release of her game.

The release date of the book is still unknown, though rumors about an 07/07/07 or Halloween release date are circulating. The fifth movie will be in theaters on July 13.

Analyzing the title: Hallows n. 1. a loud shriek or cry 2. something sacred/holy, such as “saints”

book reviews Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry learns that he is a wizard and is introduced to the Wizarding World where he is well known for surviving Voldemort, a merciless and evil wizard infamous for the murders of many great witches and wizards.

He starts his first year at Hogwarts and is in for a series of surprises such as Quidditch, ghosts, and his magical classes. With the help of his friends Ron and Hermione, Harry also has to brave enchantments to stop Voldemort from retrieving the Sorcerer’s Stone, or “Elixir of Life.”

“The first book was a great start and set a good precedence for the rest of the series,” said senior Mary Dickerson.

Chamber of Secrets

During his second year, the mysterious Chamber of Secrets reopens and Harry tries to figure out who or what is behind the petrifying of students and where the voices within the walls of Hogwarts are coming from.

“This book was full of twists which made it exciting-the ending was totally unexpected with Ginny and Riddle and the hidden Chamber,” said senior Olivia Lui.

(Information has been confirmed by Rowling in her website or in interviews)

• • • • • • • • • • •

Prisoner of Azkaban

W h e n Si r i u s Black, whom many believe was Voldemor t’s number one man, escapes from prison, Harry and the rest of Hogwarts are put under tight protection.

While trying to cope with the horrible dementors that guard the school, Harry learns more about his past and the murder of his parents than ever before.

“Book Three is definitely my favorite because of all the new characters like Sirius and Lupin,” said sophomore Sweta Rao.

Goblet of Fire

Harry finds himself selected as an underage competitor in the Tri-Wizard tournament, a tournament between wizarding schools with tasks involving dragons and mazes.

As Voldemort is “reborn”, the tournament turns out to be more deadly than expected.

“I li ked the four th book because of the TriWizard Tournament and because everything became more dramatic and thrilling,” said senior Katherine Kim.

Order of the Phoenix

In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry and Dumbledore are scoffed at when they reveal that Voldemort is back. When the ministry intervenes at Hogwarts by placing the evil Dolores Umbridge in a position of rising power, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands and forms the DA (Dumbledore’s Army) Club, which prepares members to fight the Dark Arts.

“The Order of the Phoenix was really confusing sometimes so I didn’t like it as much as the others,” said junior Brad Bever.

Half-Blood Prince

confirmed information

When the wizarding world finally accepts that Voldemort is back, the war against him must begin. The Wizarding World suddenly becomes a lot more dangerous and it seems as if no one can be trusted. Harry takes private lessons with Dumbledore and together they delve into Voldemort’s history and the choices he made long ago to keep himself immortal.

“The sixth book is really depressing because of all the deaths, but I can’t wait until the next one!” said junior Amy Macmillan.

Dumbledore is really dead Harry will be trying to find and destroy all of Voldemort’s Horcruxes At least two important characters will die Viktor Krum and Dolores Umbridge will return There will be no more Quidditch matches Harry will visit Godric’s Hollow (where his parents died) There will be a reappearance of the two way mirror, which Sirius gave to Harry We will see the wedding of Fleur and Bill The magical protection Harry gets from the Dursley House will expire on his 17th birthday – July 31st.

Lily Potter and the fact Harry “has his mother’s eyes” will be important The last chapter will explain what happens to the surviving characters and the last word (though it could change) is currently “scar”

JK Rowling has recently been named the second richest woman in entertainment, following Oprah Winfrey. Ten years ago she was writing her first book on the back of paper napkins in between working jobs and looking after her young daughter.

Harry potter club at NV Harry Potter madness hit Northview this year with the “Harry Potter Club.”

Founder and President Nick Ansara started the club to bring people who like the series together.

“Mrs. Benya, the club advisor and I have had this idea for about a year. The turn-out for the first two meetings was a lot more than expected and we were thoroughly pleased,” said Ansara.

The club is divided into the four houses Rowling uses in her books- Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Members were sorted randomly in the December meeting.

Each house consists of one head of house, two prefects, a head teacher and around 25 students. In addition, seniors Kristin Winters and Cliff Lemke serve as the head boy and head girl for the entire club.

At the January meeting, members competed in the club’s recreation of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Basic party games like relay races took a Harry Potter twist and winners will move on to the February meeting.

The club also plans to end the year with a movie marathon in anticipation for the release of the fifth movie in July.

“This year is going to be a trial and error experience. Next year we will tie up loose ends and plan more activities,” said Ansara.

fansites jkrowling.com (JK Rowling’s website which she updates herself) mugglenet.com (EVERYTHING- from news and debates to games and an online store) hp-lexicon.org (for the really obsessive- basically a Harry Potter dictionary) harrypotter.com (The movie website- games based off of the movie)

theories Who is R.A.B? To jog the memories of those who have become a little rusty in the Harry Potter field and to understand this question, we must review the meaning of a Horcrux.

To ensure his survival, Voldemort split his soul (by killing people) into seven parts and hid them in various objects. These are called Horcruxes. To fully kill Voldemort, all these Horcruxes must be destroyed.

When Dumbledore and Harry set out to retrieve one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, they found a locket. However, the locket turned out to be a false Horcrux. A letter within the locket revealed that the real Horcrux had been found by a person with the mysterious initials R.A.B. The most likely person to fit these initials seems to be Regulus Black, Sirius’s brother who was supposedly killed for backing out of a plan Voldemort made before he lost his powers. Since he was a Death Eater, he might have known about the horcruxes and taken Kreacher the house elf with him to retrieve the locket.

So where could the locket be? In the Order of the Pheonix, Harry comes across a heavy locket that seems impossible to open. However, it is not known where this locket is anymore.

Is Snape good or bad?

Good - To prove his loyalty to the Death Eaters and therefore make it easier to spy on them, Snape had to make the unbreakable vow which stated that he had to kill Dumbledore if Malfoy didn’t.

Secondly, Dumbledore seemed to be well informed of a plan when Harry tried to warn him. It could be assumed that Snape had already filled him in.

Additionally, though it seems as if Dumbledore is pleading for his life near the end of the book, it could be taken that he is telling Snape to get the Death Eaters out of the tower before they discover Harry under the invisibility cloak. Snape does not even kill Harry when he has the opportunity to.

Lastly, Dumbledore always trusted him and Dumbledore’s judgement has rarely been wrong.

“Because we’ve seen this good-bad twist throughout the books where Snape always ends up being good, he’s probably going to be good this time too,” said senior Olivia Lui. Bad - Since everybody in the book believes Snape is bad, Snape will no longer be able to give information to the Order. This makes his supposed attempts to get closer to the Death Eaters useless; therefore he really is bad.

Also, he could have still stayed somewhat close to the Death Eaters without sacrificing Dumbledore in the process.

Lastly, Dumbledore has been wrong in some instances; for example he did not seem to know the locket that was supposed to be a Horcrux had been replaced by R.A.B. “Snape killed Dumbledore. He’s bad,” said juniors Rob Bovee and Brad Bever.

F E AT U R E S

9

Janua ry 26, 2007

St. Valentine’s Day

Do you wan t to ha ve th e best Valen tine’s Day e ver? W h eth er you are single or ha ve that s pe cial someone, this pag e will be your guide to ha ve th e ultimate time.

Crazy in Love With Your Lonely Self 1. Watch sad movies at home 2. Lounge around in your pajamas 3. Enjoy a gallon of fattening ice cream from your freezer.

4. Feel sorry for yourself for a 24 hour period.

5. Receive or buy absolutely NO presents.

$0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

VS

1. Dine at a fancy restaurant 2. Buy a new outfit for the evening.

3. Eat a box of fattening chocolate.

4. Feel anxious for a week before the date.

5. Buy presents for each other.

$50 $40 $10 $0 $25 $125

Acco rding to th e charts abo ve being by yoursel f on Valen tine’s Day is a lot better than being in a relations hip. Many studen ts would rath er s pend no money than any at all.

Who is Saint Valentine?

Gift Ideas

Here’s h el p to de cide w hat to g et your girl f riend/boyf riend.

Every February, across th e coun try, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchang ed between lo ved ones, all in th e name o f St. Valen tine. Bu t w h o is this mysterious sain t and w hy do we celebrate this h oliday? Th e history o f Valen tine ‘s Day is a hug e mystery. Howe ver, we do know that February has always been a mon th o f roman ce. St. Valen tine ‘s Day, as we know it today, con tains both Christian and an cien t Roman traditions. So, w h o was Sain t Valen tine and h ow did h e be come associated with this h oliday? Today, th e Cath olic Church re cognizes at least three differen t sain ts named Valen tine or Valen tinus, al l o f w h om were killed.

A h omemade card tou ch es anyone’s h eart. It s h ows th e person re cei ving th e card that your not af raid to s h ow th em your sensiti ve side. In cluding a lo ve letter inside is always a g ood idea.

Leg end One

One leg end says that Valen tine was a priest w h o served during th e third cen tury in Rome. Em peror Claudius II de cided that single men made betRo ses are a nice traditional gift for ter soldiers than th ose w h o had wi ves and families, so h e ou tlawed marriag e Valen tine’s Day that someone can for young men . Valen tine, realizing th e un fair rule o f Claudius’ actions, ignored ne ver g o w rong with . Th e meaning o f him and con tinu ed to perform marriag es for young lo vers in se cret. W h en a single red rose is lo ve, so a bou quet Valen tine’s actions were dis co vered, Claudius ordered that h e be pu t to death . o f red roses must mean “I lo ve you” Leg end Two 12 times.

Valen tine may ha ve been killed for attem p ting to h el p Christians es ca pe hars h Roman prisons w h ere th ey were o ften beaten and tortured.

Leg end Three

Valen tine actually sen t th e first ‘ valen tine’ greeting card. W hile in prison, it is belie ved that Valen tine fell in lo ve with a young girl, w h o may ha ve been his jailor’s daug hter w h o visited him during his sen ten ce. Before his death , it is pro ven that h e w rote h er a letter, w hich h e signed ‘From your Valen tine,’ w hich is still used today.

A box o f ch ocolates is a g reat way to win th e h eart o f your crus h . Nothing can sy mbolize your lo ve fo r anoth er than a delicious treat that no one can resist.

Alth oug h th e tru th be hind th e Valen tine leg ends is murky, th e stories certainly em p hasize his a ppeal as a sy m path etic, h eroic, and o f course, a roman tic figure. It is no surprise that by th e Middle Ag es, Valen tine was one o f th e most po pular sain ts in England and Fran ce.

Year 2007

Senior Matt Wade and junior Tyler Puhl make predictions on what will occur this upcoming year from technology to our own peers.

The 2007 li ne up for the Surreal Life will be K-Fed (before the album comes out), Michael Richards, Dave Chappelle, Martha Stewart, Rosie O’Donnell, Clay Aiken, Lisa (Phoebe) Kudrow

Halo 3 Tragedy The much anticipated Halo 3 video game comes out with record sales. So much so that in attempts to achieve the most kills at one time results in a mass suicide.

Kevin Federli ne comes back from his tragic breakup to record the highest selli ng Christian rock album of all-time.

With songs li ke Faith + 1, Jesus My Superstar, and Are You Down With G-O-D? Federli ne’s Album revolutionizes the industry being the only record to go double mihr.

Hootie comes back with a vengeance Hootie and the Blowfish burst back on to the charts after changing their names to Hootie-who and the Blow. With songs li ke Throw Some Fins on That Blowfish featuring Persia from The White Rapper Show, I Only Want To Be With You (Gangsta Version) featuring Bonethugs ‘n Harmony, Hootie-li cious, and Betcha Can’t Do It Like Hootie.

Brian Koehl, a male three-sport varsity athlete at Sylvania Northview High School will clone himself so he can play as many as five sports professionally. We talked to him about cloning himself and he responded by saying, “Always do I become the greatest athlete ever.” When asked about the possibili ty of being killed from cloning he added, “I highly doubt that.”

Chuck Norris and Steven Segal tag team to star in the summer blockbuster, “Roundhouse Justice.”

Norris and Segal both grab Oscar nominations after this tear jerking, action packed, star studded thriller. The cast includes Ja Rule, Carrot Top, Whoopi Goldberg, and Chyna.

In a landsli de victory Sylvania resident Matt Page wins Wilmer Valderrama (Fez from that 70’s show) look ali ke contest on MTV. When wondering what his prize is, Page said, “Not only do I go home with the pride of my hood, I also go home with $1,000 cash money.”

John Brown (King of the ‘Burbs), of the white rapper show, joins the phenomenon that is called Lost. He becomes a fan favorite because he starts the “Ghetto Revival” of the island. His famous li ne is, “Hallelujah, Holla Back,’ sparks controversy on the island.

The Laguna Beach phenomenon comes to Sylvania in the form Erie Shores. Upperclassmen at NV and SV demonstrate the pressures and the drama of li ving in the SYL.

10

Janua ry 26, 2007

SP ORTS

LadyKats find hope but come up short Emily Nava r re Sta f f Wri te r Going into the second half of their season with an 8-6 record, the LadyKats Basketball team is looking to finish off the rest of their season strong.

“Now that our season is half over and we have got things on the right track, it is time for us to continue playing as a team and upset some good teams,” said senior captain Ashley Morris.

The leading teams in the NLL are Anthony Wayne and Perrysburg. The LadyKats were beaten by both earlier in the season, but will push the next time they battle. The ladies have Whitmer, Bowling Green, Springfield, Maumee, Rossford, Woodward, Clay and Southview secured in their winning record.

Competing for the first time of the season against Southview, NV found success within the hands of Freshmen Olivia Fouty who scored the game winning free th row. Success was not found the second time the LadyKats played SV. With the scores tied after the first quarter NV was looking at things positively. After half time the LadyKats knew they had to push in the second half to come out on top.

Finishing up the third quarter, lead scorer sophomore Paige Maroney, with 12 points, made a half court shot at the buzzer.

After a shot like that, the girls spirits were raised and in the fourth quarter they fought hard but ended the game in a defeated position. The final score of the

Meredith Lodge DEFENDING A COUGAR is junior Karly Kasper during the Northview, Southview Girls Basketball Game. It was a good attempt by the LadyKats but they were sadly defeated 38-27. game was 38-27.

Leading the team throughout the season have been seniors

Gymnastics flies high on attitude Me lissa Ben ton Sta f f Wri te r The Northview Girls Varsity Gymnastics Team has started off an exciting season with three new team members, some talent, and a lot of fun.

Competing in the Southview Invitational on January 6, the Patrick Henry Invitational last Saturday, and taking a win against Springfield on January 13, the team has done well so far this season.

“Once you step off the mat and know you gave 110%, it doesn’t matter what place you get,” said senior Erin Zeiler, the leading scorer at the Southview Invitational.

The team consists of seniors Amy Fleming, Zeiler, and Stephany Krieger, junior Emily Wal-

“To be a team, everyone has to work together,” - Stephany Krieger lace, and freshmen Sammie Manore and Lindsay Yost.

Wallace, Manore, and Yost are brand new to the NV team this year and are learning fast. The team practices four days a week for two hours at the Sunrise Gymnastics Academy.

Gymnastics consists of four elements: vault, bars, beam, and f loor. The girls on the team compete in multiple elements and two of the girls compete all around, or in all of the elements.

“Never limit your dreams; you can do anything if you try,” said Fleming, who has been on the team for two years and competes all around.

“To be a team, everyone has to work together,” said Krieger, who has been on the NV team all four years of her high school career.

The team is coached by Mrs. Heather Tussing, NV math teacher, who did gymnastics for 13 years including time on the Eastern Michigan University team.

The team will compete away this Saturday, at 5:30 p.m. against Perrysburg.

Morris and Nicole Munch, who both recently have been injured.

The rest of the team is made up of

three juniors, three sophomores and one freshmen.

“Although we are young,

speed and determination will hopefully lead us through the season,” said jun ior Brooke

Taylor. With a young team the LadyKats will push to become more successful.

Boys Basketball is ballin’ Ryan Stansley Sports E di tor As the school year progresses past the first semester the varsity Boys Basketball Team begins the climax of their season. Northview is presently 9-5 overall and currently tied for second in the Northern Lakes League.

NV played six games this year over winter break, the first of which was against the Springfield Blue Devils. NV played well with senior Derek Andrzejczak scoring 24 points to lead the Cats to victory. The final score was 78-39 and the Cats improved their winning record in the league.

The Cats next game was against the Whitmer Panthers where the Cats were down big at half time but were able to come back in the second half. NV had the momentum in the second half but turned the ball over towards the end of the game and suffered a disappointing loss, with a score of 63 - 56.

After the loss to Whitmer the boys played a huge game against St. Francis. The scoring went back and forth the whole game but in the end the Cats came out victorious.

The boys played two away games and one home game after St. Francis. They played Bowsher, Fremont Ross, and Rossford at the end of break and were able to beat all three teams very easily.

On January 9 the Cats played a big league game against the Anthony Wayne Generals at home. It was close and late in the game NV was down five points. Junior Michael Schaffer came to the rescue with a 3-pointer to get the Cats within two points. After stopping the Generals, Schaffer managed to get the ball back and take it in for a nice little tricky shot and tied up the game sending it into overtime.

Overtime is where the cats really showed their talent and NV was able to defeat the Generals after an amazing finish by Schaffer.

“It was a great challenge and Anthony Wayne is a great team,” said Schaffer, “ The boys played very well and its a great feeling knowing that I could help the team out when we really needed it.”

Another big game for the Cats was the NV vs. SV game which at SV. It was very close and really was the epitome of what a rivalry game should be.

Both teams came out strong and ready to play.

SV was up two points late in the forth quarter until NV was stripped of the ball and SV had an easy two point lay-up to win the game.

The final score was 51-47 as SV was able to defeat the Cats for the second time this year.

“We worked really hard and its a shame that

JUMPING FOR THE SHOT is sophomore Ryan Yockey. we couldn’t pull it out in the end,” said senior Chad Weaver, “Even though we were very disappointed that we lost, we have a lot of good things to say about the game.”

The boys next game is tonight at 7:30 at Springfield and NV will try to keep their league record good enough to stay tied for second in the NLL.

Ryan Young

SP ORTS Bowl games come to close

11

Bowling throws a strike

E amonn R eynolds

K atie Li tzer & Meg an Bringe

Sta f f Wri te r

Sta ff wri te r s

The 2006 College Football season was full of upsets, rivalries, and “Cinderella” stories. Unfamiliar teams such as Rutgers and Wake Forest shocked the nation as they both had winning seasons and finished in the Top 25.

Powerhouse teams such as Michigan and USC suffered heart-breaking losses at the ends of their seasons. There was a great deal of controversy towards the end of the regular season regarding the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Bowl game system as well. But in the end the teams were placed in their assigned bowls and the madness that is “Bowl Week” began.

What is better than playing in the national championship? Nothing obviously, but for Michigan and USC, playing in the Rose Bowl, a.k.a “The Granddaddy of ‘em All,” was just as honorable. Two teams that were robbed of the national title spotlight would collide in what looked to be a better game than the national championship. Many felt the strength of Michigan’s defense was too much for the Trojans. Southern Cal receiver Dwayne Jarrett felt differently. The Junior wide out stole the show, catching 11 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback John David Booty also threw for 391 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Michigan secondary was torn up as the Booty-Jarrett connection stunned the Wolverines in the second half.

Michigan quarterback Chad Henne had a shaky game, throwing an interception and losing a fumble. The Trojan defense also held Michigan’s star running back Mike Hart to only 47 yards rushing. With a final score of 32-18, the Trojans were picking roses.

When people think of the Fiesta Bowl, not very often is Boise State’s name mentioned. This year was a first for the Broncos in the BCS spotlight. They would be going up against an Oklahoma team, who had a tough season to injury, that was determined to end their season on a high note. The game was filled with back and forth action all the way down to the last play of regulation. Down by a touchdown, Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky threw to his receiver down field, who then threw a lateral pass to his teammate Jerard Rabb. Rabb ran it in for a touchdown with just 7 seconds left and just like that, the game was tied up at 35. In overtime, Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson walked his way into the end zone for a score for the Sooners. Boise State quickly answered with a touchdown but decided to go for the 2 point conversion and the win.

Zabransky ran the Statue of Liberty play and snuck the ball to running back Ian Johnson. Johnson ran his way into the end zone for the touchdown and the win. The Broncos proved they could play in the national spotlight and finished with a hard-earned 43-42 Fiesta Bowl victory.

Two words come to people’s minds when the think of this year’s Orange Bowl: Wake Forest. For the first time in school history, the Demon Deacons finished with 10 wins, which led them to their ACC championship and Orange Bowl berth. Unfortunately for them, they had to face a much stronger and much more talented Louisville team.

Louisville finished 11-1 on the season and was determined to end the season “eating oranges.” The game proved to be a good one as both teams played hard. The 4th quarter began with the teams tied at 10. As the quarter edged along, the Cardinals showed their strength and walked away with a 24-13 victory. Quarterback Brian Brohm threw for 311 yards and running backs Anthony Allen and Brock Bolen both scored. Wake quarterback Riley Skinner tried to lead his team, throwing for 271 yards with one touchdown and one interception as well. Wake Forest proved to the nation that they could play with a big team even though they lost. It made for a great bowl game.

What a way to bring life back to hurricane-struck New Orleans than to bring the Sugar Bowl back to the Superdome. In this game, LSU would be facing off against a suspect Notre Dame team. Many felt that the Irish secondary was too slow and would not be able to keep up with the LSU receiving core. They were correct. LSU quarterback Jamarcus Russel came out firing, throwing for 332 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Keiland Williams also ran for two touchdowns. Notre Dame tried to keep it close and walked into halftime only down 14-7. In the second half however, it was all Tigers. Notre Dame was unable to establish any kind of offense against an LSU defense, who was considered to be one of the best in the nation.

Notre Dame quarterback and team captain Brady Quinn tried to lead his team and threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions. The Tigers walked away with a 41-14 victory as they handed the Irish their 9th consecutive Bowl loss.

And last but surely not least, the national championship. The game where number one meets number two.

This year it would be the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes facing off against the 12-1 Florida Gators. Led by senior quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith, the Buckeyes dominated the college football season, and were heavily favored against the number two Gators. On the first play of the game, Ohio State speedster Ted Ginn Jr. ran the opening kickoff 93yards all the way for a touchdown to give the Bucks an early 7-0 lead. Unfortunately for Ginn and the rest of the Buckeyes, it was all downhill from there.

Florida quickly answered the call as Chris Leak threw a touchdown pass to freshman wide out Percy Harvin. The Gators would then score twice more to give themselves 21-7 lead. Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman tried to get the Buckeyes on track with a touchdown run of his own but it was not enough for the Buckeyes. The Gators defense held Smith to 35 yards passing and forced 6 sacks and an interception. The offense continued to produce as Leak threw for 213 yards and 1 touchdown. As the final buzzer sounded, it was all Gators, 41-14. This was the Gators’ second national title, there first coming in 1996, and head coach Urban Meyer’s first as a coach.

Janua ry 26, 2007

For the past year we, Megan and Katie, have been wondering what exactly the Bowling Club is, but on January 23 we certainly found out. This is an account of our adventures with the Northview Bowling team.

We arrived promptly to the Imperial Lanes parking lot at 7pm. There was a slight chill in the air, and it was obvious that the bowling alley was hopping.

Tonight was the night for all the leagues in the city to flock together in order to enjoy a rowdy game of bowling.

As we strolled inside, the smell of chicken wings filled the air. We immediately began searching for our team. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity we found them in lane seven. They were dressed in casual wear and looked to be having quite a good time.

After a few club sodas we began our interview with sophomores Chad Reiger and Andy Hoover. They are both on the Varsity bowling squad and compete regularly. The entire varsity team consists of five wildly skilled players, while the JV team also has five players.

“Our team has really come together this year,” said coach Jeff Easton. “I have really enjoyed working with everyone.”

Coach Easton organized the bowling team last year. Reiger and Hoover have been on the team since the beginning. To be on the bowling team you must compete in rigorous activities.

First you must bowl six games against everyone who wants to be on the team.

Whoever has the highest scores at the

Megan Bringe BOWLING TEAM MEMBER, sophomore Chad Reiger, works on his game during one of their many practices end of the games is put on the team. Then you have to pay an $11 sanction fee, and a $7 bowling fee every week to bowl at Imperial Lanes.

The bowling team usually has three games a week. These games start very early on Saturday mornings.

This year the varsity team won the First Halt Championship. The bowling season lasts from the beginning of the school year until April. Reiger and Hoover said they enjoy wearing their sweet bowling team outfits and really love to get in the game.

Before we could leave we had to ask about the mascot. OSU and UT set off cannons at the

end of a big game, and the bowling team sets off a cowbell.

“Our bowling team has really succeeded this year, and I’m really happy that we have such good players,” said sophomore Chad Reiger After a well spent evening with the team we had to go our separate ways. We have gained a new respect for the bowling team and maybe in future years we too will become at one with the bowling ball.

In conclusion, we believe that the bowling team needs some recognition for their sweetness.

They work very hard at what they do, and are very proud of their achievements.

Boys, girls swim teams look to finish strong

Meredith Lodge SWIMMING THE 100 FREE is senior Meghan Benson in the meet against Perkins. Benson has been swimming for all four years in high school and is a captain this year.

Wang Pan C o-E di tor-In- Chie f The Northview Swimming team is looking to do well in the Sectional and District Meets. Both the Boys and the Girls have done well throughout the season and are a major presence in the Northwest District.

On January 19, the team participated in the Northwest Ohio Invitational at Bowling Green University. The team performed very well with the Boys placing second overall after St. John’s and the Girls placing first.

The next day, NV hosted Perkins. In a very close meet both the Boys and the Girls lost making it both team’s first loss of the season. Then on January 22, NV hosted Southview and won by over 50 points.

“Having one of the best teams this year along with all the work we

have put in will hopefully unfold in our favor in Districts,” said senior captain Matt Pierzchala.

For the entire Winter Break, the swimmers had three and a half hour practices every day except Christmas and New Year’s. According to Coach Melissa Burke, winter break practices are the heart of the season to prepare the swimmers for taper.

Taper is when swim practices become very easy compared to the exhausting practices the rest of the season. Taper time only occurs the week before the Sectional or District Meet to ensure that the swimmers swim their best times. Taper allows swimmers to swim faster because muscles are allowed to regain the sugars that they lost and are able to rest from the practices before.

“I am looking forward to see how well the seniors taper in the championships,” said Coach Pete Cole

Good Luck this season,

Northview Hockey!!!

12

Dedicated dance team performs on, off court

Janua ry 26, 2007

SP ORTS

Guidance from Urban, seniors leads wrestling to wins

K atie Wambold Sta f f Wri te r The Northview Dance Team has been doing a great job performing at the boys basketball games this season.

The NV dance team did a combination dance with the Southview dance team at the last NV vs SV boys and girls basketball games.

The NV girls and NV boys varsity teams both played at SV on January 19. The two dance teams practiced together twice for a routine they did during both the girls’ and boys’ halftimes.

The girls danced to a mix of songs including Gwen Stefani, the Black Eyed Peas and a song from the movie Step Up. “It was really cool NV started together then SV came through,” said Romberger.

“It was more funky hip hop and different from the jazz and pop style we normally do.”

“Whenever we do kick lines the crowd really loves it and gives us a lot of applause and we feel really good about it because it is hard work to do that,” said Romberger.

They are currently preparing for their upcoming competitions in a few months. “We are going to two competitions this year,” said senior Captain Cortney Smith.

Captains senior Kathy Sipes and Smith choreograph the dances that are chosen, with some help from juniors.

The team is putting in extra practice this time of year with their competitions in the next two months. “There is one in February at Southview and one in March at Lebanon High School,” said Smith.

The girls will be performing in three different competitions pom, kick line, and hip hop. They can use any music they want with each style, according to sophomore Noelle Romberger.

They just started working on their Pom performance which was choreographed by and senior Amy McMillan.

Normally, they practice every Monday and Thursday for about two hours. At their practices they start with a 15 minute warm-up, which includes stretching and splits. After that they get right into learning and “cleaning” their routines.

Erin Zeiler SENIOR SCOTT BOILEAU GRAPPLES with his opponent from SV. Boileau is 19-3 for the season. Other impressive season stats include Matt Urban surpassing his 100-win plateau in his NV career.

M at t Wade Sta ff Wri te r In a sport where success is not often recogn ized, the Nor thview Wildcat wrestli ng t ea m is more t ha n deser vi ng of re cognition. For instance, senior Mat Urban has surpassed the 100-win plateau for his career.

“It was something I wanted to accomplish when the season started, it is a great honor to be mentioned in the school’s history of wrestlers,” said Urban.

In the Cat’s most recent meet they were up agai nst a tough competitor, the Anthony Wayne Generals. This was a good test for the Cats who will be competing in the League Championships coming up because the Generals were undefeated in the League.

Sen ior Leadership was evident i n the meet, with senior Travis Zipfel pin ning his opponent i n the 171-pound match, i mproving his overall record to 23-4 on the season.

Urban was also able to pin his opponent in convincing fashion making his season record 25-1.

Other winners included senior Scott Boileau in the 119-pound weight class who won in a 15-6 decision, upping his season record to 19-3 and senior Justin Bailey who was also able to win his 145-pound match with a score of 7-4. Despite the team’s best effort they lost the meet 45-19.

Over the weekend, the Cats pa r ticipated in the Archibald Invitational. Again Urban, Zipfel, and Boileau performed extraordinarily well, going 5-0 in all of their matches.

Junior Tracy Cole joined the seniors in go i n g 5 - 0 i n t h e i nv it a t io n a l a s wel l .

Hockey presses on to NLL’s, playoffs Ty ler Puh l Sta f f Wri te r Hockey continues to tear through the season and hopes to keep momentum going into the playoffs.

The Wildcats went into the Padua Invitational Tournament with high hopes. Friday night, the Cats took on state power St. Edward. The game went back and forth with goals from junior bash brothers Brandon Snead and Brent Bain, but it wasn’t enough to win. St. Edwards won 4-3.

The next mor ning the wildcats took on University School in a rematch of the state semifinal from last year. A great game from junior goalie Craig Trego helped NV come out on top 2-1.

That night, emotions ran high with a rematch with Padua, the team who beat the Cats in last years state final. NV went up 3-0 in the game, but in a complete meltdown the Cats gave up five goals in the second period and eventually lost 6-4.

La ke Cat hol ic wa s t he opp onent t he next mor n i ng, si ngle goals from Bai n, senior Matt Cook, junior Tyler Puhl, and freshman Mark Hall paced the Cats to win 4-1.

NV returned home the next weekend to play the Tam-O-Shanter International Tournament.

St. Francis was the first opponent for the Cats.

Last year, NV beat St. Francis five times, but tonight was a different story with the Cats losing 3-1 with, Cook scoring the lone goal for NV. The next morning, NV beat Gilmore 6-1. A hat trick (three goals) from freshman George Wilkinson, two goals from junior Cody Bourland, and a single goal from Cook allowed for the rout of Gilmore.

T h e Ca t s s t r u g g le d t h e n ex t m o r ning, but goals from Cook and Snead helped

pull it out for NV against Upper Arlington.

That night, there would be a rematch against St. Francis for the championship. The Cats started out strong with goals from Puhl and Snead.

Bain and Wilkinson tacked on two more to seal the win. A great game by Trego and hard work and great defensive play by senior Jon Hymore helped the Cats avenge their loss to the Knights.

In the championship, NV beat North Olmsted 6-0 with goals from Matt Cook, Snead, Hymore, Monteith, Wilkinson, and Bourland.

NV returned to league play against crosstown rival Southview. Goals from Bain, Tyler Cook, Bourland, Wilkinson and the fifth shutout of the season from Trego helped the Cats win 4-0.

The next night NV played one of their strongest games of the year against Findlay. After Findlay went 2-0, NV rebounded with goals from Kelsey, Bourland, and Bain to make it 3-2, NV. Findlay Player of the Year Candidate, Jerrod Hartman added his second goal of the game to make it 3-3.

Twelve seconds into the third period Hartman added another goal to put Findlay up 4-3. Bain added another one on the power play to tie it up at four. Regulation time ended in a tie, so overtime was next. Wilkinson showed that he is one of the fastest players in the league by beating a Findlay player who was forced to haul him down for a penalty. On the power play, Bain banged one home for the win. Senior defensemen Nic Saenz played a great game to help NV go to 3-1 in the league.

Then the Cats traveled to Meadville to take on some of the best teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania. First, NV took on the defending Pennsylvania Mt. Lebanon and beat them 4-2 with three goals from Bourland and another from Jon Hymore followed by a good celebration from him. The

Noel Luther THE NV STUDENT SECTION CHEERS ON junior defenseman Eamonn Reynolds taking a slapshot on goal at the Cat’s home rink, Tam-o-Shanter. next morning, St. Edward beat NV 2-0, the only bright spot on the team was the performance of Trego in net, who stood on his head to help keep the Cats in it. Later that night, NV tied Gilmore Academy 0-0. On Sunday, the Cats lost to La Salle 4-3. Single goals from Bain, Napierala, and Bourland helped, but LaSalle proved to be too strong.

The next game would be against a familiar rival

in St. Francis. St. Francis got on the board first with two goals, but the Cats responded with five unanswered goals by Jon Hymore, Wilkinson, Bourland, and the season first from junior Eamonn Reynolds.

The next night, St. Johns Titans beat the Cats 51 in an uninspired performance from NV. The lone goal was from Wilkinson. The loss dropped the Cats to second place in the league and 4-2 in league play.