Volume 83: Issue 7

The

STUDENT

Sylvania Northview Volume 83 Issue #7 February 24, 2008

Prints TOP NEWS STORIES PEEK INSIDE

Winter Sports Assembly recognizes captains >>page 2

Are Ohio schools teaching enough math and sciences? >> page 6

Turnabout assembly amuses Staff Writer What do a gorilla suit, chicken noodle soup, and Africa have in common? They were all a part of the 2009 Turnabout assembly at Northview.

At 1:53 PM, students began to file into the main gym to the sounds of “Walk like an Egyptian.” Once everyone settled down, the choirs sang the Alma Mater.

The representatives from each grade were escorted by their moms as they walked down the runway. The freshman representative was John Broer, and the sophomore representative was Yianni Papadimos. The junior representative was Bobby Callejas.

The top 5 senior representatives were Ben Meyers, Dave Navarre, Tim Bodie, Dan Cooperider, and Bob Napierela.

“The assembly was really tight,” said junior Bob Callejas, “I liked it a lot.”

Harmony Road Show performed “Africa” by Toto following the announcement of the Turnabout court. Sophomore Austin Flores was given the opportunity to perform a solo during “Africa” with the vocal jazz group.

“Having a solo with Harmony Road Show really inspired me,” said Flores, “now I want to be in Road Show even more next year.”

As tradition, the top 5 representatives from the senior class each performed a skit, which usually exemplifies a talent of some sort. Ben Meyers was up first, and was slightly unorthodox when it came to his skit. As the song “Year 3000” by the Jonas Brothers played, Meyers walked around and strutted his stuff.

Next up was Tim Bodie. He came out dressed up in tight leather pants and an afro

Sierra Roby SENIOR DAN COOPERIDER as “Dan the Magic Man,” combines colors during his Turnabout skit. Four senior boys including Ben Meyers, Tim Bodie, David Navarre and Dan Cooperider each did a skit to pursuade students to vote for them for Turnabout King. Unfortunately senior court member Bob Napierala was absent and unable to perform a skit. wig. He showed off his dance moves and graced us with his singing talents as he sang “Staying Alive”.

Dressed as a Gorilla, Dave Navarre danced to the song “Chicken Noodle Soup”.

He showed off some hip-hop dance moves.

Dan Cooperider finished up the skits with some magical tricks. “Dan the magic man” from “England” performed tricks such as pulling colors out of a bag and pulling a zebra from his top-hat. Also, Cooperider made senior Sam Weisman levitate, disappear, and then reappear.

“This was my first show in the States and

I was really happy with the superb energy in the building,” said Cooperider, “Looking back on it, I thought it was a wicked good show.”

Unfortunately, Bob Napierala was sick on the day of the assembly and unable to perform his skit.

“I personally enjoyed all the skits. Sam Weisman was my favorite performance of the day. She took Dan Coop’s magic act to another level,” said senior Ali Sayre.

Students will vote during the week leading up to Turnabout on who will be their king.

NHS carnations continue tradition Smoking affects NV students >> page 7

Staff Writer In keeping with tradition, National Honors Society held their annual carnation sale during the week of February 9. Students were able to purchase the flowers during their lunch periods for delivery on February 13.

In preparation for the sale, NHS formed a committee of students led by chairperson senior Sarah Federman. The group met the week previous to the sale, to make decisions regarding flower color, advertising, and selling dates.

“The committee decided on red carnations because it is the color of Valentine’s Day,” said Treasurer senior Martha Fitzgerald. “And because red colored flowers were only 38¢.”

NHS had high hopes for the sale, ordering 500 carnations, leaving room for broken or dead flowers. “We had about 100 orders previous to the 12th and almost 200 orders that day, leaving us with a lot of flowers to deliver,” said Fitzgerald.

Because of religious obligations, Federman was unable to help out during the week of the sale, leaving matters to NHS President senior Sweta Rao, Secretary

senior Andrea Darmahkasih, and Treasurer Fitzgerald.

The carnations came in February 11 and were tied and carded after school on the 12th. Friday the 13th was delivery day, leaving students and some teachers in anticipation during first and second period.

“Well I was surprised when I received my carnations,” said junior Morgan Hojnacki.

“I actually have friends.”

According to Fitzgerald, NHS sales fell short of expectations. Of the ordered 500 flowers, only 300 were sold. Although there were extra carnations, the sale made a profit of over $200 for afterprom.

Science Olympiad eyes on States Swimmers compete in Sectionals >> page 10

Staff Writer

SECTIONS News >> 1 Opinions >> 4 Features >> 7 Sports >> 10 WEATHER Today high 35, low 26

Tomorrow high 34, low 29 Thursday high 35 low 25

Northview’s Science Olympians returned home late on February 7 with exhausted bodies, four medals, and a 14th overall finish.

Students loaded buses bright and early at 4:30a.m. and left for Solon, Ohio to compete against 44 other teams at the Solon Invitational.

The invitational included events ranging from typical science events such as Chemlab and Physics Lab, to abstract building and writing events. Competition officially began at 8:30 that morning with each event lasting 50 minutes, leaving only ten minutes as travel periods between events. In many cases, students were in up to six events, some being back to back.

“It was really hectic being in six back to back events in such a big school,” said junior President Connor McEwen, “But I felt like it prepared me well for regionals since that competition will be quite similar.”

NV faired well in the Science Olympics with top performances in the Junkyard Challenge and Physics Lab. The duo of junior John Holler and senior Ricky Gerding raced to build a machine from scratch within the allotted 50 minutes and dominated with a fourth place finish. NV took another medal with its sixth place finish in Physics Lab by McEwen and Holler. High placements also included Holler and McEwen placing ninth in Write it Do It, where one student writes directions to build a model and another student builds it based on those directions, and senior Paul Broer and junior Levi Jasper placing tenth in Remote Sensing, where students identify planetary structures.

“The invitational was full of super competitive teams,” said Holler, “I was surprised I placed so well.”

Sam Weisman This competition was also a new experience to the many novice SENIOR SWETA RAO and junior Connor McEwen continue to work Olympians on the team. “It was definitely different that anything hard in hopes to qualify for states in the near future along with else I’ve done before,” said Broer, “But it was a good preview to the rest of the Science Olympiad team. what regionals will be like.”

This invitational was a challenge to many due to NV’s shortage in team members and the more experienced, disciplined teams well at the Regional competition on March 7 and qualify to states with more preparation. present, according to advisor Mr. Andy Roth.

“I have full confidence that we will prepare better after seeing “We were not as prepared as we could have been,” said Mr. our competition,” said McEwen, “we definitely have a good chance Roth, “but overall, I was happy with our effort.”

With its weekend success, the team hopes to perform and place at going to states.”

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NEWS

February 24, 2009

Spanish, German Club celebrate holidays News Editor On February 12 the Northview Spanish Club couldn’t resist Cupid’s arrow and got into the Valentine’s Day spirit by making chocolate hearts.

The Spanish Club has been making Valentine’s chocolates for the past three years, according to Spanish Club advisor, Mrs. Chris Monday.

“The students always enjoy this activity,” said Mrs. Monday, “I really like how we can add a little history to our activities and still have them be entertaining.”

The Spanish Club chooses to make the chocolates for Valentine’s Day because chocolate was first introduced to Europe from the Spaniards.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas they saw the Aztecs drinking chocolate. They became fascinated with it and brought it back to Europe with them, thus introducing this delicacy to the other countries in Europe. In order to make these delightful little chocolates, one has to melt down chocolate chips, put the melted

chocolate into a bottle, and then proceed to squeeze the melted chocolate into a heart or rose mold.

After the chocolate is in the mold, for fast results, one must place their mold into a freezer. The molds will harden in approximately five to ten minutes.

“I love making Valentine’s Day chocolates,” said junior Jennifer Yerks, “they’re really easy to make and delicious to eat.”

The next Spanish Club event will be held on February 26 at El Camino.

Also starting off February with a bang, was the NV German Club. On February 12 the German Club celebrated the German holiday of Mardi gras or Fashing in German.

In Germany, a main tradition of Mardi gras is to eat a donut. They carried on the tradition by eating an apple streusel donut, according to Ms. Forster.

“Every German Club event is super fun,” said senior Dan Liber, “I love how we get to eat all the traditional foods of Germany. They are always scrumptious.”

The next event for the German Club is their Techno Party, which will be held on March 17 after school in Ms. Forster’s room.

Sam Weisman JUNIOR BAILY MANAGHAN puts the finishing touches on her chocolate hearts at the Spanish Club celebration held on February 13.

Orchestra NV opens its doors for incoming freshman; clubs, activities showcased performs Staff Writer Future students of Northview were introduced to the high school on February 11. The annual eighth grade open house was held for all junior high students that will attend or are thinking about attending NV next year.

Students and adult guests arrived at 7 pm for the event. Upon arrival, they received a complimentary ‘Class of 2013’ t-shirt along with a folder with school information and a map in it.

They then were sent to the main gym for opening words provided by Mr. Jesse.

He spoke about the upcoming years and having the new students at NV. After the speech, everyone was split into three groups. One group went to the band room for a presentation, one to the little theatre for a different presentation, and one group stayed in the gym to begin small tours.

National Honor Society students were present to escort people to the band room and

little theatre, as well as to give tours to groups of 8-12 people, according to NHS Advisor Mrs. Fran Borchers. After twenty minutes the three groups would rotate to a new location, until each g r o u p had done everything planned.

“I enjoyed giving tours to the eighth graders,” said senior N H S m e m b e r Alex Gross, “They really seemed to appreciate all the information we gave them. I think we really helped out a lot.”

During tours, the guests got an opportunity to stop in the auxiliary gym to check out the many sports teams at NV.

They could get information on each sport, talk to the coaches, and sign up for tryouts.

Eighth graders also got to mingle in the cafeteria and get an idea of the many clubs, activities, classes and other extra curricular activities offered at NV. “A bunch of us Business Tech students were there s e l l i n g license plate frames we made,” said senior Paul Broer, “The profits go towards our program.”

The Booster Club had a table set up to sell spirit wear to the students as well, according to Booster Club President Mr. John Munch.

“I think the tours really helped out the eighth graders, they really seemed to appreciate them.”

- SENIOR ALEX GROSS

Governor Strickland proposes changes to Ohio education system Co-Editor in Chief Governor Ted Strickland has proposed many changes to the Ohio education system in his State of the State address.

One proposal was to increase the school year from 180 days to 200 days over the course of ten years.

“Adding more days to the school year would be unnecessary. We go to school long enough as it is and we need all the time off in the summer that we can get,” said junior Katie Roemer.

He also proposed mandatory all day kindergarten in all school districts. All day kindergarten would better prepare students to enter into first grade, according to The Toledo Blade.

Governor Strickland also proposed tax cuts in Ohio. He would reduce the number of property-tax mills from 23 mills down to 20 and the state would pay for the difference, according to The Toledo Blade.

The state would end up paying around “an unprecedented 59%” according to The Toledo Blade.

He also proposed a two-year tuition freeze at community colleges and regional campuses and a one-year tuition freeze at four year university’s main campuses.

These freezes would make it easier for more high school graduates to pursue a college education without the fear of large student loans.

Governor Strickland proposed to add new topics to student’s curriculum to include life skills and global awareness.

These classes would enrich the education of students.

The life skills classes would allow students to be more independent as they get older and graduate from high school.

The global awareness classes would teach children about other cultures and people around the world. This would give students a chance to learn about others and possibly reduce prejudice. Also, students could learn about the suffering that is prevalent in other countries so they would appreciate all that they have, according to

The Toledo Blade.

Another proposal he made was to replace the Ohio Graduation Test with the ACT college assessment test in order to have a global comparison of scores, according to The Toledo Blade.

“I think it’s unnecessary to get rid of the OGTs because they show basic knowledge of what has been learned through high school. The school doesn’t go as in depth as the ACT expects you to know and would put students at a disadvantage,” said senior Ali Sayre.

Overall, Governor Strickland wants to improve the standards of Ohio’s education system.

“The learning experience will be built around the individual student,’’ Governor Strickland said. “Lessons will not end when a fact is memorized. Students will be given a chance to interact with information, to follow up on the subjects that fascinate, to think critically and creatively, and to use what they’ve learned to draw conclusions.’’

The budget the governor proposed is expected to include an increase of $925 million dollars in education, according to

with BGHS News Editor Northview’s Concert and Chamber orchestras joined together to make beautiful music alongside the Bowling Green High School orchestra on February 17 at Bowling Green Jr. High School.

The NV orchestra members loaded buses at NV around 5 p.m in order to be ready to perform in Bowling Green at 7 p.m.

Starting off the concert was the NV chamber orchestra.

The orchestra played three songs. Those three songs were Short Overture, a popular medley composed by Jean Berger, Nessun Dorma, a powerful, dramatic piece composed

by Giacomo Puccini, and America’s Cup, music meant for a sailboat race which was composed by Alan Lee Silva. The concert was directed by NV’s orchestra director Mrs. Pamela Thiel.

“I really enjoyed performing alongside the Bowling Green High School orchestra,” said junior Haley Armstrong, “it was good to see what we needed to work on before contest.”

Closing the concert was the NV concert orchestra and the Bowling Green orchestra.

Each orchestra also performed three songs.

The three songs they performed were; William Tell Finale, a popular song originally written for horse racing composed by Perry Hall, Brandenbury Concerto No. 5, a baroque piece ornamented with a light and airy style composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, and River Song, powerful and entertaining piece composed by Keith Sharp.

“I liked the variety in the concert orchestra’s program,” said sophomore Serena Chang, “the distinct styles kept my attention the whole time.”

The concert orchestra was also directed

by Mrs. Thiel.

“The Bowling Green High School orchestra definitely had a different musical style,” said junior Jacob Justinger, “it was good to be exposed to all the different music techniques.”

This performance prepared the NV Concert and Chamber orchestras for the annual Ohio Music Education Association state contest, which was held on February 21.

NEWS

3

February 24, 2009

NV student body celebrates winter sports Staff Writer Northview students gathered to celebrate the success and honors of winter sports February 6. Student Government members Max Filby, Chris Garone and Sweta Rao spoke to the student body along with Northview teacher Mr. Jay Ackerman in hopes of raising spirits.

The assembly started off with the dance team performing their routine, created by senior captain Danielle Snyder.

“It was fun to perform in front of the school and show them what we’re made of,” said Snyder, “We were really disappointed when we learned that our other routine’s song was too inappropriate, but we still had fun.”

Time was an issue for the student government officials who planned the event, but through hard work and planning they worked around it.

“We started planning for the event weeks in advance,” said Garone, “over time we made sure we covered all aspects from music to the basketballs for the contest.”

Following the dance performance the captains of hockey, cheerleading, boys basketball, girls basketball, gymnastics and swimming were introduced. During the assembly Girls Basketball Coach Jerry Siggler’s upcoming 600th win was mentioned. The boys swim team was also mentioned for winning the NLL title and the girls swin team for a third place finish.

The assembly even held a 3-point shot Wacky Wildcat challenge. Sophomore Nate Watkins, a participant in the three-point contest said, “I really enjoyed the contest, it

Sam Weisman SHOOTING A FREE THROW is freshman Allen Scharfenberg. Different students from each garde attempted to make free throws as a Wacky Wildcat event during the Winter Sports Assembly. was really fun and I wish there were more contests like this.”

After all of the contestants shot, the cheerleaders aided the school in getting a little bit rowdy with their cheers.

Junior cheerleader Alex Melick said,

“I really like assemblies, but it would be beneficial if they are longer to raise school spirit.”

At the end of the assembly a slideshow with pictures from each winter sport team was shown. The photos were generously

donated by the yearbook staff and were put together through Filby’s hard work.

“The assembly was a big hit to me, I liked the slide show but singing the alma matter was the downfall,” said sophomore Victoria Northrup.

Speech and Debate takes fourth at Nat Quals Gross brothers will go to Nationals in Birmingham Staff Writer Speech and Debate continued their excellent season as they competed in State and National Qualifiers in February.

Maumee Speech and Debate Invitational was held on January 31 at Maumee High School.

The Public Forum teams did very well as senior brothers Sam and Alex Gross took first and juniors Elizabeth Schwartz and Jacob Justinger placed second.

Senior Adam Cesarz and sophomore Viktor Barricklow placed first in Humorous Duo. Junior Haley Nelson placed second in Original Oratory.

SPADE traveled to Perrysburg High School on February 7 for State Qualifications and came out very successful, qualifying thirteen individuals for States.

Teams which qualified for States include Barricklow and senior Cesarz of Humorous Duo, junior Alyse Rogerson and senior Jennifer Post in Public Forum, and freshman Moe Dean and sophomore Kelvin Lui in Policy.

Individual qualifiers include juniors Courtney Tipton in Dramatic Interpretation, Sarah Fatemi in Impromptu Speaking, and Nelson in Original Oratory.

“I am very excited about making it to States,” said Rogerson. “I really wanted to go and I didn’t think we were going to make it. We shockingly made it after debating for

seven rounds.”

According to SPADE coach, Mr. Joe Drouillard, there will be three individuals, who are yet to be determined, will also going to States for Congress.

States will be held at Mason High School in Cincinnati, Ohio March 6 and 7.

On February 13, the team traveled to Gahana Lincoln High School in Columbus to compete in National Qualifications. Teams competed for a spot in the National Speech and Debate Competition which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama June 14-19.

NV placed fourth overall at National Qualifiers. Many teams did very well, but only one team qualified for Nationals. The Public Forum team consisting of the Grosses will make the trip to Birmingham in June.

With their qualification to Nationals, they also earned a spot in the State competition.

“This was a once in a lifetime event…

I gave my brother a hug,” said Sam Gross.

“Going to Birmingham is going to be exciting.”

The Policy team consisting of senior John Bodouris and junior John Holler also qualified for States through placing at National Qualifiers as first alternates to Nationals. Cesarz and Barricklow placed as second alternates in Duo, but had previously qualified for States.

“At National Qualifiers, the competition was incredible and everyone from NV did outstanding,” said Mr. Drouillard. “We had a relatively small team compared to other debate teams and I’m proud of our fourth place finish.”

Elizabeth Schwartz SENIORS SAM AND ALEX GROSS look over their ballots after the tournament with Assistant Coach Mr. Grant Christensen, who is also an NV speech and debate alumnus. The Gross brothers placed second in the National Qualifier tournament. This is the first year that the Gross brothers were partners in Public Forum Debate yet they both have competed in Public Forum Debate since they were freshman. They have double qualified for both the state and national tournament at the National Qualifing tournamnt. Head coach Mr. Joseph Drouillard will travel with the boys to Nationals in Birmingham, Alabama this summer.

Challenge Cats positive influence for freshmen Staff Writer Tomorrow the freshman class will take part in Challenge Day. Hosted by the Challenge Cats, Challenge Day is meant to bring freshmen closer together. The theme this year is team building.

“I’m really excited for Challenge Day. I don’t know what to expect exactly but I

can’t wait,” said freshman Jennifer Deng.

Mrs. April McGough is the Challenge Day advisor and along with the Challenge Cat officers, has organized several meetings to prepare for tomorrow. All the student staffers had to attend three planning meetings prior to the event, according to Mrs. McGough.

The first half of the day, periods two through four will be last names A-L and the second half of the day will be periods six through eight last names M-Z. Students will be receiving Jimmy John’s

subs for lunch as an added bonus.

Each student staff member will be wearing a green shirt that was designed for the event so freshmen know who to ask if they need anything.

To be a part of Challenge Day, the upperclassmen who were interested needed to fill out a questionnaire stating the importance of Challenge Day and why they wanted to be a part of it. They turned it the form into Mrs. McGough before winter break.

From there all the applications were

reviewed. Mrs. McGough and the Challenge Cats officers chose the students they thought were the best. Then a list of students that were chosen to help out was posted outside of the math office.

After discussing several topics in their individual groups, the freshman will be divided into several groups and have two leaders in each group.

The groups of freshman will go around and complete challenges at different stations. Each of the groups will complete two stations during the day.

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February 24, 2009

OPINIONS

Hallmark Holidays lack substance In 2007, Hallmark made $4.4 billion in revenue. One can assume that a majority of this money came from the well-known aspect of the company- their holiday greeting cards.

Sending cards on every holiday known to mankind has become a common practice among Americans thanks to greeting card companies such as Hallmark. This company has made cards for so many holidays and has installed in the human mind that it is necessary to buy cards to celebrate.

Hallmark has helped to attach false meanings and reasons to celebrate holidays as the company has expanded the amount of cards they sell. The Hallmark website states that many holidays marked on calendars are not just “Hallmark Holidays” and there are “fascinating histories behind each.” They design cards based on the “sendability” and “whether or not there is a large enough market across the United States to justify manufacturing products for it,” according to the Hallmark website.

With this, Hallmark has set off a neces-

sity to buy cards for many holidays, even if it is unclear why these holidays are really celebrated.

The following were the card-sending statistics in 2007, according to Hallmark’s website: 1. Christmas- 2.1 billion cards 2. Valentine’s Day- 191 million cards 3. Mother’s Day- 158 million cards 4. Father’s Day- 102 million cards 5. Easter- 88 million cards 6. Halloween- 35 million cards 7. Thanksgiving- 25 million cards 8. St. Patrick’s Day- 11 million cards For some holidays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, it is understandable why people would send cards.

But why do American’s honestly need to send cards for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Saint Patrick’s Day? Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day are in commemoration of Saints and what they accomplished in their lives, according

to the History Channel.

As legend goes, Saint Valentine was a priest in the Roman Empire who helped Christians escape persecution. He was then jailed and fell in love with a girl who he wrote to in prison. He signed the letters “From Your Valentine.” The original celebration was to commemorate Valentine’s death and burial. The day is now known as one of the top days of the year for selling candy, cards, and flowers, according to the History Channel.

St. Patrick’s Day was established to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland who drove the snakes out of the country. In Ireland, it is a day where the Irish celebrate their culture and St. Patrick through festivals and church services. The holiday has been assimilated into American culture thanks to companies like Hallmark, who have made it into a day of leprechauns, green beer and clothing, and many variations of potato dishes.

Easter, which is one of the most important Christian holidays of the year, has become nothing more than a spring Sunday

filled with marshmallow rabbits, jellybeans, and Easter egg hunts to the greeting card companies.

Hallmark has also produced cards for many other holidays that many people do not celebrate. Have you ever heard of or celebrated St. Joseph’s Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Citizenship Day, or Sweetest Day? Even if you have not, there are still cards for these holidays.

Do not get me wrong. I love celebrating holidays, but I believe that Hallmark and other greeting card companies have taken celebrating some holidays too far. It seems to be a ploy to obtain as much money as possible by telling people how necessary it is to buy holiday merchandise. Valentine’s Day is a holiday that has become more associated with profits than what it is truly about. Personally, it does not bother me that I do not receive cards from people for “Hallmark Holidays” such as Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day or Halloween, because it just is not necessary.

-Katie Koffman

Winter One Acts were impressive success I had no idea what to expect. Having never attended the Winter One Act Festival before, I was unsure of how the night would go or how the performances were run. Were there tons of mini intermissions? Would the shows even be good? Would anyone show up?

With doubt cemented in my mind, I settled near the back of the Northview Little Theatre. The rows were packed, filled with audience members who, to my surprise, seemed to be buzzing with excitement.

You see, I knew the Winter One Act’s were pretty well attended and a highly anticipated event for theatre participants, but I never realized so many diverse students would be in attendance. I was thrilled to see how excited the large audience seemed to be, and how many different people were cast in the six one acts.

Then, the house lights went down and a bold voice came over the Little Theatre’s speakers. Thus, Escape from the Home, a comical escapade, written by junior Michael Stebing and directed by Stebing and junior Kevin Butts, began.

Three nursing home patients, played by senior Steve Hildebrandt, junior Alex Gibson and sophomore Travis Bihn, attempt and eventually succeed at escaping from the dreaded home and the less than sane characters that lock them inside.

The three men had great chemistry and realistically pulled off the task of appearing very, very old. This chemistry was a highlight of the show and although at times the plot was somewhat slow, the three’s overall performance filled in any gaps.

Next, after a “mini intermission,” Intense Drama While Hanging 10,000 Feet in the Air! took the stage with “Episode One.” The plot was quite confusing at times and perhaps overly dramatic to play up the soap opera ideal, but there were some fantastic characters in Intense Drama. Sophomore Kramer Lindsley, who portrayed Muffins, gave a fantastic performance, utilizing great voice control and comical talent.

Junior Kevin Butts and senior Brandi Phillips were both very humorous and exciting, adding to the overall quality of the

Sam Weisman JUNIOR ALEX GIBSON AND SOPHOMORE JIM PARK PORTRAY Zeus and Ra during Theistic Therapy. Theistic Therapy was one of the plays performed at Winter One Acts and was written and directed by sophomore Yianni Papadimos. show. I have to admit, I did like the fact that Intense Drama was original and unique and the group flaunted this fact proudly.

Techie: Life in the Tech Booth was up next, using a very realistic looking set. At times, the actors talked too quiet to understand and the plot was slow, but I enjoyed the sentimental value and realistic acting. Overall, the performance was quite realistic and the “Thank you places!” line was a nice touch.

Junior Sarah Fatemi’s You Can’t Have Theatre Without a Little Bit of Drama took the stage, with some very original audience participation. I thoroughly enjoyed the antics of all the characters and Lindsley and sophomore Claire Chirgott performed extremely well, with great comedic timing.

You Can’t Have Theatre was well written as made apparent through Juliet’s “musical monologue,” performed by sophomore Taylor Hertz, leaving many audience members laughing. The dance choreographer routine

and final curtain call were both nice touches to this all-around entertaining one act.

As a change of pace, Smoke by sophomore Estar Cohen, took the stage in a dramatic fashion. This one act was serious and deep, with the superficial world contrasting a world of passion and personal ideology.

Butts and junior Emily Holshoe portrayed this contrast effectively, while posing the question: What would you sacrifice to make it big? Would you sacrifice all your passion and toss your personal beliefs to the side? This one act was much shorter, but it is clear that Cohen is an exceptionally deep and thought-provoking writer: When you sign your passion away, there is no big bang and there is no smoke.

After yet another intermission, the final show of the night began, sophomore Yianni Papadimos’s Theistic Therapy, garnering high expectations from many. Being the only show taken to the Northwest Ohio Theatre

Conference, I was expecting big laughs and even better writing from Therapy.

I was not disappointed with the fantastic costumes, great comedic timing and originality presented. Juniors Paige Luther and Hannah Dickerson delivered, making the audience believe that they truly were the narcissistic Aphrodite and the oh-so-cheery therapist respectively. Adding phenomenal comedic timing to Therapy was sophomore Jim Park, a lonely, out of place Egyptian God. Therapy was a fantastic show, garnering uproarious laughter from the audience.

The Winter One Act Festival was a fantastic event, which highlighted NV’s many talented students. I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the overall experience, although it as unfortunate that more microphones could not have been used.

By the way, there were tons of mini intermissions; the shows were very good, and yes, very many people actually showed up.

Sylvania Northview High School

Recent assemblies pointless Every student looks forward to a shortened school day, whether it’s SSR, homeroom, or a late start.

But there are some days when I would rather have a full day of school than have shorter classes, and that’s exactly the case with assemblies.

Assemblies are a time for the school to gather together to show their spirit for an important sports game, dance, or Class Olympics.

But are assemblies really necessary? I don’t really see the point in having them.

Sure, they’re fun sometimes but that’s on a rare occasion.

All they do is bring the school together to listen to someone talk over a microphone that we can barely hear.

It seems that during the past couple of months we have had a lot of assemblies randomly week after week. Some of the assemblies don’t even have a purpose.

Towards the end of the year, Northview hardly ever has any assemblies. If assemblies were drawn out throughout the year, they might actually be bearable.

I know that I’m not the only one who dreads going to assemblies, so when the announcer asks the students to get all excited and pumped up, they shouldn’t be surprised when no one responds. Most of the time I would rather be sitting in class than wasting my time watching people run around.

I understand that it probably takes a lot of time to plan everything for the assemblies and I respect the people that take the time and effort to do so.

But some of the assemblies were uncalled for; if there was a way they could make it more entertaining for students, we would actually want to be there, instead of trying to find the nearest door that is not blocked by a teacher.

Maybe the assemblies are so excruciating to sit through because NV is just not as spirited as it used to be.

If we had more spirit, maybe students would actually have fun instead of mocking other students for entertainment.

-Jordan Tomase

If assemblies were drawn out throughout the year, they might actually be bearable.

5403 Silica Drive Sylvania, Ohio 43560 2008-2009

Co-Editors-In-Chief: Max Filby & Elizabeth Strick Advisor: Sarah Huey News Editor: Haley Hofbauer Photo Editor: Sam Weisman Features Editors: Haley Nelson & Yelena Zhernovskiy Sports Editors: Alexx Klein & Joe Mehling Opinions Editor: Sarah Squillante Business Editor: Jackie Walz Staff Writers: Katherine Chang, Taylor Dreps, Sarah Fatemi, Mary Grace Fitzgerald, Adam Jurski, Katie Koffman, Kristi Kopaniasz, Nicole Mangas, Kelsey McCoy, Andrew Miller, Yianni Papadimos, Cody Ramm Abbey Strick, Jordan Tomase, Brian Wadsworth, Nick Wineland, Ally Yocom Photographer: Halie Langhals The Student Prints is the official student-produced newspaper of Sylvania Northview High School. It is distributed monthly at no charge to serve the purpose of informing students, faculty, staff, administration and the Sylvania community of current issues.

The main goal of The Prints is to present coverage of events in an unbiased and accurate manner. The paper also respects the opinions and ideas of the entire NV community. Signed letters to the editors are encouraged and should be no longer than 300 words. All letters can be turned into the publications room, E-6. The Prints reserves the right to edit letters that contain grammatical errors, accuracy and profane or libelous comments.

The newspaper staff is entirely responsible for the content of the paper and supports the First Amendment to the Constitution. Unsigned editorials published in The Prints are written by staff members, and agreed upon by a majority vote of the editorial board. The Prints is carefully examined by its staff and adviser prior to publication to prevent incorrect or libelous information.

The newspaper staff does not endorse advertisements published in The Prints. Advertising specifications may be obtained by calling (419) 824-8708.

The newspaper follows the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook guidelines for punctuation and grammar. The Prints is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll and the Great Lakes Interscholastic Press Association.

OPINIONS

February 24, 2009

5

Looks like TV’s good days are over When I get home from a long day of school, I often flip on MTV, one of my favorite stations. Yet, time after time shows like The City or The Hills appear on my TV screen. These are the worst shows that I have ever seen.

I would almost rather watch The View than watch garbage shows like these. First of all, what did any of these people ever do to become famous? Nothing. They are all a bunch of stuck-up wealthy brats who have had everything handed to them in life and think their lives are cool enough to watch.

Plus, The Hills has no plot. In an average episode you can watch Lauren and Lo walking around, going to coffee shops and talking about their problems, usually something like, “My dad only gave me $4000 to go shopping this weekend; I wanted $7000.” Shut your mouth and do something with your life.

I’ll let you in on another little secret, THE SHOWS ARE ALL SCRIPTED. If you cannot tell that all of the characters are reading from cue cards, you need to get your vision checked.

Reality TV shows are becoming ridiculous. A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila could be one of the dumbest shows I have ever seen. A bisexual stripper is looking for love? Hmm, maybe she is just using the show for publicity.

How about Rock of Love with Bret Michaels? The women on this show have to be the trashiest looking females I have ever seen. The star of the show (washed up rock star Bret Michaels) looks like a sewer rat and wears more eyeliner than the girls.

VH1 must really be hurting for viewers when they cast C-list celebrities. The only enjoyable part of The Flavor of Love is watching Flava Flav make a complete idiot of himself.

If that is not bad enough, VH1 then feels the need to take people from these reality shows and make them the stars of new reality shows like I Love New York or Real Chance of Love. Are you serious? A few bad reality shows is enough, you don’t need 20 at a time.

As annoying as these reality shows are, regular shows are becoming just as bad.

Why does every single show on TV have to take place in a hospital? Grey’s Anatomy could be the most overrated show ever. This show is a soap opera and it should be shown at noon with all of the others. It is basically a bad version of ER with doctors having sex every 30 seconds.

Why do people watch hospital shows?

They are so depressing. The last thing I want to do when I get home from a stressful day is watch people die and then listen to all of the doctors complain about their pathetic lives.

The show Lost is the most repetitive show I have ever witnessed. Senior Bryan Ulrich had this to say concerning this show, “In the first episode of Lost, they were stuck on an island, somebody died and then they found a new person. In an episode three seasons later, they were stuck on an island, somebody died, and then they found a new person.”

Don’t even get me started with Desperate Housewives. Studies show that you become five percent stupider after watching an episode of Desperate Housewives. Plus, this

show belittles women. It basically depicts women as jobless objects who run around and have sex with everything with two legs and a bank account. It is disgusting and gives women a bad reputation.

The worst part is when I am in public and am forced to listen to people discuss what happened in last night’s episode of House or crack an annoying joke from The Office that I have heard 30 times that day.

“They were all working on their computers and then Dwight said poop! Hahaha.” SHUT UP I DON’T CARE. Please spare me and go home and blog about it or something.

Television has been dead since Seinfeld aired its last episode. TV will never be the same, but if you must watch, I have a few recommendations for you, just stick to ESPN and Comedy Central, the only channels that air something worth watching.

For the majority of you that don’t agree with me, continue watching your tasteless programs, just don’t feel the need to discuss them loudly when us normal people are around. ~Andrew Miller

Phelps accused of possible pot allegations A photograph recently emerged of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps apparently taking a hit from a bong.

The picture is of Phelps at a party at the University of South Carolina in November, according to www.yahoo.com Though I do not condone the use of marijuana, or any drug for that matter, I choose not to express cruelty or disrespect to those who do. It is a lifestyle choice, even if it is one that I would not choose.

Narrowing in on Phelps’ scenario, it is first hard to even say that he did indeed smoke marijuana. The picture in question does show him holding a bong, but this

type of instrument can be purchased legally in stores across the country. (The fact that young people are told not to do drugs, yet bongs and rolling paper can be purchased with ease is something I find extremely hilarious).

Aside from that fact that Phelps may not be smoking in the picture, he never actually uttered the phrase, “I smoked marijuana.”

Just to reiterate, owning a bong is not a crime, at least when one has reached the appropriate age. Phelps is 23, far above any legal limit set to stop underage purchases.

I would hope that the photograph does not mar his base of fans, because

he has publicly apologized for behaving inappropriately (though he failed to specify exactly what he had done which is the work of a master publicist, I am sure).

Phelps has already taken a blow by being suspended from USA Swimming and has lost his endorsement from Kellogg. Yes it is sad to say it, but Phelps will not be on the cover of Wheaties anymore. However, I am sure he will be able to cope with his remaining sponsors including Speedo, Visa, and AT&T. John W. Gardner once said, “Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.” Though Mr. Gardner is entitled to his own opinion,

I politely disagree. As humans, it has been our nature since time’s ignition to falter.

In real life, people often slip and receive a chance at redemption.

Even if Michael Phelps did smoke marijuana, should he be chastised any more than any other 23 year old? Many would say yes, because he has willingly become a public figure and a role-model to millions of fans and young people and he needs to accept the responsibilities that come with that. However, others (including myself) would say this: he’s human, he messed up, and he’s sorry. ~Yianni Papadimos

Governor Strickland’s education changes, good idea or bad?

Counting the weeks, counting the days, counting the hours. How much longer until school lets out for summer break? It’s a question that I won’t have to be asking for much longer, as I am a junior, and this is my second-to-last year in high school. But for the grades below me, bad news is in the future.

Governor Ted Strickland is planning to add 20 extra days to the school year as well as extending half-day kindergarten to full-day; Sylvania schools would begin two weeks earlier in Augustt and end two weeks later in June. The proposition is planning to o add two school days a year for the next 10 years. This plan is insane nsane and pointless.

Now, I am aware that the minute most people ople read my last sentence, they will make the automatic assumption sumption that I am just a lazy student who refuses to work. k. Wrong. Why would I bother to complain about the new plan, when I am only going to be part of it for one yearr (making it only two extra days added to my school year)?

Can you imagine having a summer of barely a month and a half, not including the possibility of make-up days on top of that? Ohio schools are only allowed to have up to five snow days without makeups in the summer. I cannot help but pity the future school kids who will be melting g in their hot, sticky desks during the heat eat waves of August and June. Students would d slack off and not taking advantage of the so-called benefit of the school year extension.

And what about cost? There are so many people involved with education that willl have to have increases in pay during our recession-bound on-bound economy: teachers, bus drivers, superintendents, ntendents, just to name a few. I have already overheard eard some teachers demand they receive a hefty raise if they will be expected to stay for extra days and hours. rs.

Year after year, I finish school burned rned out and ready to rest for two and a half months of summer. Kids need time to simply “be kids”. When given free time, imagination is born. When imagination is born, gadgets to make life easier are invented. It is important nt to study hard and have material passed on, but it is also important mportant to have pressure-free time to allow creativity to really lly emerge—it is often beneficial in the end.

What Governor Strickland needs to o understand is that it is not the amount of education thatt is received that makes a difference; it is the capacity. For instance, nstance, in one of my subjects, I feel as though I have learned more this year in that class than in the past courses of that subject ubject in the past three years. Many of the countries that are surpassing us in educational excellence, such as ___ have a full three months of summer, which is more than what we are re currently given. It’s not as if 20 days will even give that much to iimprove h more time i education for students. A lot of classes spend about a week and a half on a chapter and then take a test over it. Only an extra two chapters will be covered; three at the most.

I’ll admit; it’s fun to picture the misery of our younger siblings. But with the points discussed above, is it really necessary to extend the school year? Can the state of Ohio really afford such an unbeneficial program? Governor Strickland needs to realize that it is the quality of education that matters, not quantity. ~Sarah Fatemi

1,728,00 seconds, 28,800 minutes, 20 days.

Twenty days is a small amount of time that packs a lot of power. An additional 20 school days per year in Ohio would create a necessary brain boost.

Teachers at Northview have a hard time teaching students all the necessary materials in a daily class period that tops out at only 41 minutes.

Time is also constantly lost every Tuesday when students pretend to read during SSR, lowering class times to only 39 minutes.

An extra 20 days would not only help make up for time wasted in SSR, but would provide struggling students with more time to understand t h e i r m o s t difficult subjects.

Students in other countries, like India, learn at a much faster rate than students in American public schools.

“In India, when they are going into med school, we would just be going to college,” said senior Sweta Rao. If the United States truly is “the greatest nation on Earth,” then why are we not up to par with the world’s standards of education.

Governor Strickland’s education reform would also create full day kindergarten for all incoming public school students.

The “children ARE the future,” so why not focus on fixing early childhood education? The minds of children are like sponges, able to soak up mountains of information meaning that a partial day of education is just another setback in the American public school system.

“When you are younger you are able to make more neural connections in an enriched environment,” said Psychology teacher Ms. Sarah Petersen.

The eight year plan’s $3.5 billion price tag ( about 500 million per year) seems like a huge amount of money in a crippling economy. However, the only way to ensure that economic history does not repeat itself is to fully educate current school children.

Give up 20 days of vacation and maybe go to Cedar Point a little bit less. Ultimately the impact of adding 20 days onto the school year will help our state and even save our downward spiraling nation.

- Max Filby

6

OPINIONS

February 24, 2009

Some American schools lacking teachers science, math education catch senioritis Laziness, apathy, and hypocrisy are rampant at Northview, especially within the last few months of the school year.

Seniors are not the only ones to exhibit these errant qualities, however; a few members of the faculty display them as well. Although the majority of our teachers are unparalleled in their knowledge and ability to convey that wisdom to their students, a few are in need of a wake up call. They have become complacent and idle, through the use of online material, teaching directly from the textbook, and not making the best use of their time.

Many teachers complain about the hectic schedule that only leaves them 41 minutes to complete a lesson plan.

Student agree and sympathize with their struggles; we sometimes feel rushed to learn concepts as well, but it is frustrating to occasionally witness these teachers wrapping things up several minutes before the bell. Students surely appreciate the time to get a head start on homework, but one cannot complain about the lack of time they have when she is not even using all the time allotted. Extra time could always be used to address questions from the previous night’s assignments or continue on with a fresh lesson. A few minutes at the end of class everyday adds up to hours that could be spent learning. I commend those teachers that work bell to bell, as it shows a passion for their subject and a commitment to their profession.

As students, we are expected to put forth a huge amount of effort. It is also presumed, of course, that we have done all our own work and not relied on another student or the internet as a crutch.

But how can we be motivated to develop our own ideas when numerous teachers derive their lesson plans, projects, test questions, or homework assignments from online resources? Not only does this make searching for answers and anticipating test questions incredibly easy, but it sets a poor example for the student body. If teachers cannot develop material on their own, how can we? Just as a professional athlete who has used performance enhancing drugs, teachers who borrow any sort of material from the internet lose credibility with their students. This practice simply reeks of laziness and banishes the possibility of admiring a teacher for their work.

A teacher’s purpose lies not only in educating their students, but in enlightening them. Most students are not intrigued by surface material, but only when they are encouraged to stretch beyond themselves and delve deeper into the subject matter, applying the information to their lives. The classes I enjoy most are those that challenge and interest me. Every student is capable of reading their textbook at home, but what we cannot do on our own is experience the information, discuss the concepts with peers, analyze ideas under the guidance of those who are more experienced, or be challenged to go further. With all the technology available, teachers should be making use of SMARTboards, televisions, computer labs and other resources to extend the material as much as they possibly can. Powerpoint can be an effective tool for student-produced presentations, but merely reading notes from slides is unproductive and quite frankly, unexciting. Even the most exciting of material cannot be jazzed up by custom animation or designs. Teachers prohibit their students from reading off their Powerpoint during presentations, and rightfully so. They should serve as purely a guide, but they should practice what they preach. Going over notes that can be read directly from the text is simply a waste of time, as the book is usually expected to be read out of class. Unless the material is particularly challenging and needs explanation, the students rely on the teacher to somehow make the material interesting, not just reiterate what was read the evening before.

Most of the teachers at NV have an evident passion for their work; those who take their job seriously and exhibit creativity motivate many students to excel. It is the few that fall short of these high expectations, however, that have prompted widespread feelings of disdain.

The teachers that have caught a case of senioritis from their students need to cure themselves of the terribly infectious disease before it spreads even further.

As we flip through the news channels on the television and overhear our parents complaining, we see a reoccurring idea; America’s education is suffering. Suffering that is in regards to science and mathematics education, according to NBC.com.

Currently, America is the strongest economic and political power in the world thanks to our large labor force and rapid increase in technology over the years.

Yet America is now falling behind as other countries are picking up the pace in education and as labor is moving overseas where it is cheaper. America is left with an ultimatum; strengthen education or abdicate our economic power.

American schools must emphasize education primarily in science and mathematics in order to reverse this backtracking. These subjects alone pose more challenges than any other subject and are proving to be more vital in order to maintain a lead in the technological world. As labor moves overseas, Americans must now seek jobs as engineers, doctors, pharmacists, and computer specialists, just to name a few, as opposed to factory jobs, which were once widely available.

These occupations require a strong background in both science and math.

We are now facing an epidemic where job unavailability is commonplace, yet the demand for health professionals and engineers remains high. Americans cannot fulfill these demands due to their lack and interest in science and math, but must make it an interest in order to become employed.

We will remain unemployed unless we strengthen our performance in these areas.

In comparison to other first class nations, America’s education in science and math proves to be among the weakest. How can the most powerful nation in the world

Sam Weisman WHILE THE UNITED STATES is falling behind other countries in the education of students in math and sciences teachers like Mrs. Carolyn Kaminski work hard to correct it. maintain its lead when education in the two most important fields is neglected? Other nations such as Japan, China, South Korea, and India have surpassed the United States in both advancement and discipline in these two fields, according to NBC.com. America on the other hand has faced problems with lack of passing performance in science and math among students but still has done close to nothing to increase test scores, according to The New York Times. The Schools of course require science and math to be taken, but our standards for passing these subjects are too low. It is more important now than ever to fix our lack of skill and education

in these two fields as it has become more evident we need it to remain on top.

As our economy grows worse and unemployment increases, the problem of education in math and science becomes more apparent. America must strengthen its curriculum in these areas and raise the bar when it comes to passing. Graduation requirements should also place more emphasis on science and math credits.

We must cure the problem of apathy and ignorance in these two subjects or face unemployment and fall behind as a world power.

-Katherine Chang

Obama meets expectations I often wonder myself: Is President Barack Obama really living up to all his campaign promises and expectations?

Although he has only been in office for about a month, it is clear that he has been working actively to live up to his promises.

Clearly, it is much too soon to analyze his actions in office and determine if they have had a positive effect on our nation. However, it is fair to say that he has been working to try and create positive change in America.

For example, the President signed an official order to close the detention camp Guantánamo Bay in his first week in office.

The detainment camp has been accused in the past of torturing prisoners, holding many detainees without trial and violating many of the laws set up at the Geneva Convention, according to CNN.com.

Obama has also been working to pass an $838 billion economic stimulus package, which has been passed in the Senate. Although he has experienced opposition in the House of Representatives, the bill will work to create jobs and salvage the economy.

“What we have to do right now is deliver for the American people,” said the President. This capitalizes on Obama’s action-atall-costs attitude, reminiscent of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.

Similar to Roosevelt’s fireside chats, the President has been holding press conferences around the country and has been traveling outside Washington to stay connected to the citizens of America, in the hopes of giving them what they really need to get out of this crisis.

At press conferences in Indiana and Florida, he talked of how he will address foreign issues and relations. Relations with Iran have been extremely shaky for at least three decades and Obama announced that he will be trying to talk with Iranian officials to settle the differences.

Hopefully, he will be able to construct a peace similar to the peace we now share with Libya, a country whose terrorist actions mirrored Iran’s in an even more extreme way in 2007, according to PARADE magazine.

Currently, the President is working on a 16-month exit plan for the United States to exit Iraq. He is also constructing a plan to stabilize the war-torn nation of Afghanistan.

“I do not have a timetable for how long that’s going to take,” said Obama. “What

I know is I’m not going to allow al-Queda and bin Laden to operate with impunity, planning attacks.”

It is truly revitalizing to have a President who is actively working to fix our world and improve our nation. Whether or not his actions will prove to be effective or not, it is clear that Obama is living up to his promise to create change.

We cannot analyze the effectiveness of his bills yet; that would be a premature and foolhardy action. But what we can recognize is that Obama is living up to be the man his campaign said he was and this is very reassuring.

Clearly, he is changing things up, because within the first month of his presidency it seems as though more issues are being addressed than during the entire final year of George W. Bush’s administration.

Obama is presenting bills to Congress, sending Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to meet with leaders in Indonesia and Japan and he is formulating both economic and wartime plans.

It is important that we all remember: Nothing can be changed or fixed if one never tries.

- Haley Nelson

Letter to the Editor

Left 4 Dead review incorrect “I wouldn’t recommend this game to serious gamers, but if you are a buffoon with no standards on games, I would say go for it.” This excerpt, taken from an article in our very own Student Prints, blasted the video game Left 4Dead, describing it in such a manner that is not only incorrect, or at least as widely accepted the term incorrect can be in such a case, but also personally insulting. The article, printed in not the Editorials, but the Arts and Entertainment section, is not only completely opinion based, but backed up with no facts whatsoever.

Let us take a look at the “points” the author took the time to point out in his article. He claims the graphics are horrible, listing them as being on par with an outdated system. This is simply not true. The graphics in this game are

gorgeous, conveying the feeling of a zombie apocalypse perfectly. Second, he claims that the gun selection, only being able to carry one rifle and one pistol at a time, is flawed. I’m sorry, but wasn’t the top grossing game of 2007 Call of Duty

department, dear author, but this game does in fact have a versus multiplayer mode that I can say from first hand experience offers countless hours of fun with friends. ~Andrew Simpson, senior

The graphics in this game are gorgeous, conveying the feeling of a zombie apocalypse perfectly.

4, where the same exact weapon set up is applied? How can that be flawed if so many other similarly successful games do the same exact thing? Finally, the author, who will remain anonymous due to the sincerity of my good nature, declared that the game is shallow, due to the fact that “there are no modes outside of the campaign.” I’m sorry to offend your obviously well established research

TSP Reply:

While we appreciate Mr. Simpson’s opinion, we must remind him that the article in question was in fact a review and that is why it appeared in the Art and Entertainment section of The Student Prints. As a review the author can therefore put his opinion out there and support it with whatever information he deems necessary from having played the video games.

We also had to edit the last paragraph out of this letter as we deemed it insulting to the TSP staffer who wrote the review and lacking a polite nature of debate.

FEATURES

February 24, 2009

7

Just a bad habit or a cultural thing?

Smoking. It is one of the deadliest hobbies available to the consumer market of today's world.

Role models like Michael Phelps, who was caught smoking marijuana (pot), bring up the ethical question, is smoking just a bad habit, or iss there an actual cultural background?

Another up-and-coming smoking method is using ng a hook hookah, kah, or an argely to smoke tobacco. cco.

Hookah tobacco obacco and smoke contain numerous rous toxins known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and are equally y as deadly as cigarettes, according to the he Center for Disease Control.

Cigarette and pot smoking tends to give all smoking ing an evil alias, according to senior Nick Ansara.

"It is just perceived erceived as 'bad' because of the laws in n the U.S.," said Ansara, "but in Lebanon on an argely is a part of everyday life."

An argely (hookah) is typically part of the middlee eastern and European culture, according ding to Ansara.

Families in n the U.S. like the Ansara's tend to smokee an argely with their family.

"We smokee flavored tobacco," said Ansara, nsara, "including Strawberry y and Double Apple." ing So if smoking cco flavored tobacco mily is a cultural family tradition, then what is th smoking the big deal with marijuana? d green Marijuana is a dry dry, shredd shredded and brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds and leaves derived from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. As the most commonly abused drug in the United States, marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (joint) or in a pipe. according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Blunts are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana.

Since the blunt retains the tobacco leaf used to wrap the cigar, the harmful effects of mar-

ijuana are combined with nicotine, making it even worse, according to NIDA. Other combinations such as heroin and marijuana can be even worse.

While some may say that smoking marijuana can be good for you, it can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory due to the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There has even been evidence that found that an abuser’s risk of having a heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana, according to NIDA. W h i l e it is clear that there are negative side effects that are significantly stronger when smoking marijuana, smoking cigarettes and drinking are also on the ethical border. “Smoking marijuana makes you feel good,” said an anonymous senior, “ I don’t think it will affect my future.”

Every time someone lights up just one cigarette or any other form of tobacco they are inhaling 4,000 chemical substances and cutting 10.7 minutes off their life span, according to NIDA. The diseases linked to smoking includes stroke, heart attack, vascular disease, aneurysm, leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia and the list goes on and on.

Smoking in America’s youth has decreased since the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

However the “Monitoring the Future” survey results showed that 7.1% of eighth graders, 14% of tenth graders, and 21.6% of 12th-graders reported that they had used cigarettes in the previous month.

-Max Filby, Co-Editor In Chief & Yelena Zhernovskiy, Features Editor

Halie Langhals PREPARING THE TOBACCO for his family’s argely is senior Nick Ansara. An argely, more commonly known as a hookah, originated in the Middle Eastern and European countries.

Ansara’s family smokes flavored tobacco like strawberry and apple at family gatherings about four times a month. Ansara’s family is originally from Lebanon. Although Ansara has never been to Lebanon, smoking an argely on a daily basis is much more common there than in the U.S.

20 famous people who we frankly do not like very much 1. Orlando Bloom - No one can be that big of a jerk and deserve that face 2. Sara Palin - Look at her. She kills wolves from space 3. John Madden - He has lost all common sense. The man can’t even spit out a full sentence without sounding like an idiot.

4. Chris Brown - No one allegedly punches Rihanna and goes unchecked 5. Bret Michaels - Rock of Love can stop . . . Now! 6. Tyler Perry - Stop making the same movie over and over again with a new name.

7. Mario Lopez - Stop smiling and hosting television shows. We miss A.C. Slater.

8. Nick Jonas - You can’t sing.

9. Joe Jonas - Neither can you 10. Kevin Jonas - And you

11. Creator of Ugg’s - They’re Uggly 12. Voldemort - Who do you think you are?

13. Ashton Kutcher - Punk’d is not funny and your screaming is just annoying 14. Stephanie Meyer - You are a wannabe J.K Rowling and will never come close to her standards.

15. Flava Flav - Too many clocks and bimbos 16. Every VH1 Show - I Love New Rock of Flavor Bus Chance at STUPID. 17. Spencer from the Hills - He has a fleshy beard 18. Michael Phelps - When he’s under the influence 19. Ryan Seacrest - He’s four foot six with frosted tips, enough said.

20. Demi Lovato - You are not Miley Cyrus. Why would you want to be?

** The writers of this list have a little too much free time on their hands and watch way too much TV

FEATURES

8

February 24, 2009

BPA, Interactive Media Teams Head for States in Columbus in the BPA competitions.

“I chose to do BT because it offers such a wide array of opportunities,” said Gross. “I like the thrill of competition and I do not mind receiving plaques and trophies from them.”

IM is also a two level program for juniors and seniors. Students learn how to work with different forms of digital media and design.

“I am really proud of all of the students,” said Mrs. Blue. “Many of my students chose to do events that they did not study and ended up doing really well. It is really good to see them be rewarded for their work. They represent NV and the Sylvania community well through competitions.”

Staff Writer The Business Professionals of America (BPA), consisting of the Northview Business Technology (BT) and Interactive Media (IM) classes, will be traveling to Columbus, Ohio March 12 and 13 to compete in the BPA State Competition.

According to IM teacher Mrs. Tami Blue, students qualified for States after participating at the Regional Competition at Clay High School on January 27. Several of the students in IM and BT faced each other because they competed in the same category. There are several different categories that students competed in for a spot at States.

At States in the team competitions, BT seniors Eric Brown, Steve Camp, John Jerabek and Haley Lancaster will compete in Global Marketing. Seniors Paul Broer, Jimmy Dow and Alex Gross will participate in Small Business Management.

Juniors Cassie Clark, Jessie Coyle, Georgiana Rumman and Hannah Shafransky will compete in Presentation Management.

“I like competition because we get to meet lots of people around Ohio,” said Broer.

“We also make awesome business connections and there is a lot of local recognition when we do well at competitions.”

The individual competitions will include NV BT students Tim Goss in Prepared Speech, senior Tim Bodie in Entrepreneurship, senior Josh Brint and junior Scott Goellnitz in Integrated Office Applications, senior Michael Epstein in Advanced Interview Skills and senior Ziad Burkett in Advanced Spreadsheet Applications.

IM students participating in the state competition include junior Britney Lupica in Digital Media and juniors Brendan Connelly and Amanda Edwards in Desktop Publishing.

Students who place high enough at States will have the opportunity to compete in the BPA National Competition in Dallas,

SENIOR ADAM CESARZ works on a computer while completing a project for Interactive Media.

SENIOR TIM BODIE enters Kingston Retirement Home, the location of his Business Tech internship.

SENIOR TOM ELLISON works on his Interactive Media project while preparing for States. The state competition will be held March 12 and 13 in Columbus, Ohio.

Texas May 6-10.

The BT Classes of NV, taught by Mrs. Sue Briddell, consist of two levels of the class.

BT-I is generally a class for juniors, while BT-II is only for seniors. Students learn of different aspects of the business world and seniors participate in an internship during second semester as part of the class.

Students also prepare a project to compete

My three days without technology Staff Writer Cold water whips around you while an undertow pulls you deeper into the oceanic abyss.

You reach for something to hold onto; anything that might help pull yourself up and out, but there is nothing. It is as if you are gasping for air without avail; drowning in an ocean.

These are the sensations discovered when the pedestal of technology is knocked out from underneath you.

For three days—undeniably the three longest days of my life—I struggled to get by without the use of several electronic necessities.

My music was smothered. I could not use an iPod or radio (car trips were silent).

My computer was turned off and with it my email and Facebook were temporarily dissolved.

Finally, my cell phone was turned off, and with it, the lights of my life.

The first day, Wednesday, started horribly. I awoke at 7:25a.m. exactly because my alarm clock was my cell phone and I had forgotten to tell my mother that I would need her assistance in waking up. I managed to get myself to first period with seconds to spare.

Needless to say, Wednesday morning I did not shower.

The school day progressed fine although I did feel a little ill, but thought nothing of it.

I often choose to ignore signs of illness.

It was not until I got home that things started to get very bad. I spent close to an hour walking from room to room unsure of what to do with myself. At this point, the revelation first hit me.

Electronics had become more than a luxury for me. They had become a sine qua non; they were objects that were completely necessary.

And with this, I was able to realize that in the coming days, it was possible that I could enter a sort of withdrawal. Not one that has the extent of a palpable drug, such as cocaine or nicotine, yet all the same, it was a possibility.

The evening continued decently, as I finished homework while fighting the growing temptation to turn on the television.

T h u r s d a y, h o w e v e r, would bring far more tribulation than anticipated.

The start of the second day brought detrimental news. I was sick with what was most likely the flu. Many would be thrilled with this news and readily jump on the opportunity to miss school.

However, for me, it meant a fever of 101

Technology plays a larger part in our lives than we consciously know.

1.

radio

iPod

6.

2. 3.

5.

CD player

cell phone

4.

TV computer

taboo-ed items

degrees, some strain of the whooping cough and a primitive computer-less, televisionless, cell-phone-less house.

I spent as much time on the second day, Thursday, as I could sleeping and when my batteries could be charged no longer, I turned to the piano.

All that was available by means of sheet music was a collection of easy Disney songs.

Needless to say, after those last two days, I had never been so sick of Disney.

Aside from learning “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid, and “Arabian Night” from Aladdin, the rest of my day was spent rummaging through storage areas and reading—yes—reading books, just for pleasure.

The third day began with the

continuation of the fever and illness as well as more reading.

It mirrored the second day in almost all respects and drove me to using the house phone, which through some miraculous loophole, did not fall into the category of contraband technology.

I begged my mother to take me on her daily errands (usually I plead to be just left alone).

At midnight on that fateful Friday I was freed. I immersed myself into two solid hours of Family Guy before finally drifting into a content sleep.

Through my primitive trials, I came to know one thing for certain; technology plays a larger part in our lives than we consciously know and want it to. Without it, our minds quickly lose themselves.

FEATURES

9

February 24, 2009

Winter one acts impress WORKING OUT SOME EMOTIONAL ISSUES during Theistic Therapy are juniors Hannah Dickerson and Shannon Parcell.

As the therapist, Dr. Bonval, Dickerson worked to help Artemis, played by Parcell, overcome her obsession with killing animals.

Features Editor The stage was set. The lights were down. The curtain opened and after much anticipation, the 2009 Winter One Act Festival had officially commenced.

Presented by the Northview Theatre Department, six student-written and directed one acts took the stage, with topics ranging from the thought provoking to the outrageously hilarious.

The audience was buzzing in between each show’s mini “intermissions,” discussing the 10 to 20 minute piece that had just been performed on NV’s Little Theatre.

Known for their originality, the One Act Festival did not disappoint, with shows like the laughable and creative Escape from the Home by junior Michael Stebing and Smoke, the profound and multifaceted piece written and directed by sophomore Estar Cohen. Sophomore Yianni Papadimos’s Theistic Therapy, revolving around the problems of the Greek Gods, was incredibly funny and well written.

Each show had its own unique personality, like the exciting You Can’t Have Theatre Without a Little Bit of Drama by junior Sarah Fatemi, which mixed humor with very realistic theatre occurrences.

Techie: Life in the Tech Booth by junior Alexis Hall and sophomore James D’Onofrio also portrayed theatre life extremely accurately while Intense Drama While Hanging 10,000 feet in the Air! by seniors Sarah Hammye and Sierra Roby, lived up to its name, being quite dramatic “It was my first time directing,” said Hammye. “And it was lots of fun directing with one of my best friends.”

Overall, the Winter One Act Festival was a success, enthralling audience members and allowing a diverse range of students to perform on stage. Students were able to display their acting, directing and writing talents.

“It was a lot of work and a lot of time,” said sophomore Marisa Mercurio, stage manager of Theistic Therapy. “But, it really paid off.” ~ Haley Nelson

Sam Weisman

PLAYING RA and carrying a dear shot by Artemis is sophomore Jim Park in Yianni Papadimos’s One Act Theistic Therapy. The cast members were invited to the Northwest Area Theatre Conference where they will be performing at the State Thespian Conference on March 27 at Beavercreek High School, in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Sam Weisman

Behind the Scenes: NV Substitutes Ms. Pamela Malcom Favorite School: Northview

Teaching Since: 1997

Previous Job:

International research analyst

Favorite Subject: No Preference

Other Job:

AP Testing Advisor

Days per Week: Four to five

Subs for:

Sylvania Schools only

Dislikes:

Science classes and Cafeteria Duty

“Alright everyone get out a pencil, today you’re going to take a quiz over Macbeth,” said Mr. Micah McGough as he settled his class after the bell rang.

Although Mr. McGough is regularly seen at Northview, he often finds himself in a different classroom everyday. No, Mr. McGough is not one of NV’s cart teachers like Ms. Sarah Petersen, but a beloved substitute teacher.

A favorite of students and teachers, Mr. McGough always seems to be welcomed into every classroom that requires his temporary teaching.

“Mr. McGough is a great sub,” said senior Chris Garone, “he’s really laid back but he knows what he’s doing.”

Since 2006, Mr. McGough has conquered all fields of teaching, while specializing in Social Studies udies with a degree from m Oklahoma Christian stian U n i v e r s i t y.

Also whilee attending college, Mr. McGough met hiss wife, NV math teachcher Mrs. April McGough.

“There have dents been students who have her for math thatt tell hink her they think I’m cute,” said ugh, Mr. McGough, “it’s kind of awkward and funny.” .

M r McGough is not the only Sylvania substitute that waits for a phone call every weekday morning at 5 a.m.

Ms. Pamela Malcom was once an international research analyst for an automotive company and has been substituting in Sylvania for the past 12 years.

“My mother became sick so I made the

choice to leave my career and start substituting,“ said Ms. Malcom.

Substituting is a relatively easy and flexible job, according to Ms. Malcom. A structured classroom environment seemed to be favored by both Ms. Malcom and Mr. McGough.

While a regular teaching position typically offers the same subject a few times a day, substitutes are given a wide variety of teaching options.

Through her job, Ms. Malcom has watched students go from the toddler days of elementary school to getting their diploma their senior year.

“One of the students I met ended up being the nurse’s assistant for my husband’s surgery,” said Mrs. Malcom, “I felt so comfortable knowing that he was there.” there.

After spending some time with both Mr. McGough and Ms. Malcom it’s clear that substitute teaching looks a lot different to the untrained eye. It is amazing how a person can show so much dedication and enthusiasm to a job that t h e y

Mr. Micah McGough Favorite School: Northview

Teaching Since: 2006

Previously Attended: Oklahoma Christian University

Favorite Subject: Social Studies

Other Job:

Youth Minister

Days per Week: Four to five might not have the next day.

Who would think that a person you don’t see everyday could end up being someone that you know better than almost any other teacher you have ever had. Although I only see them occasionally, Mr. McGough and Ms. Malcom are two teachers that I will always remember.

-Max Filby

Subs for:

Sylvania Schools and Springfield Public

Dislikes:

Cafeteria Duty

10 SPORTS LadyKats place second in league February 24, 2009

Staff Writer Thirty-three years later and yet another end of the season state tournament lingers closely to Coach Jerry Sigler and his Ladykat basketball team as they finish off another successful year. However, this 2008-09 season may just be one of the more memorable, as the Kats helped Sigler become only the third coach in Ohio basketball history to hit 600 wins.

The game countdown began January 31, as Northview easily defeated Rossford in a Northern Lakes League contest 62-32. This narrowed Sigler to only two more victories in order to hit the big 600th win. Three LadyKats scored in double digits, junior Olivia Fouty led with 16 points as senior Kelsey McCoy and sophomore Valerie Sohasky chipped in 12 points apiece. The Kats managed to only commit nine turnovers in 32 minutes of play.

The following Tuesday, NV hosted the Maumee Panthers for the second meeting of the year. Coming out strong in all four quarter’s, the Ladykat’s attack was far too great for Maumee. NV rolled over the Panthers 79-37. The win over Maumee put Sigler and his Kats in line to reach history against cross town rival Southview, the upcoming Saturday.

With black and gold stretched from wall to wall, NV fans piled into the SV gym for the game. With all sorts of media from The Toledo Blade to 13 Action News, the wellanticipated rivalry began.

Lighting the fire that never went out, NV outscored SV 16-4 in the first quarter of play. Despite the exciting first quarter, the NV crowd erupted with joy for the inaugural return of Paige Maroney, a four year starting senior point guard who has not played in a contest or practice all year due to a back and foot injury sustained in soccer. Not only did Maroney squeeze in her first two days of practice right before the big game, she managed to start off the season scoring on the very first shot of her senior year.

“It has really been frustrating to sit out and have to watch the game from the bench this year,” said Maroney. “So I was relieved just to finally tie up my shoes and play. And scoring on my first shot against our rival

Sam Weisman SENIOR KATELYN DOBSON dribbles the basketball around her opponent. The Northview LadyKats, finishing 15-5 overall and recently helped head coach Jerry Sigler achieve his 600th win. He is the third coach in Ohio basketball history to do so.

Southview, priceless.”

Most of the Kats’ points came off of transition or fast breaks. NV forced 13 Cougar turnovers before the second half as they rallied and took a 27-15 lead. Senior Katelyn Dobson led the Kats with 14 of her 17 points in the first half of play.

NV never let down their pressure as they avenged their earlier meeting and crushed the Cougars 48-27. Around the 1:30 mark, the Ladykat fans held up yellow sighs reading “600.” All that could be seen was the massive gold arrangements before the ending buzzer. With leading scores from Dobson who poured in 17 points, Fouty and senior Stephanie Rentschler with 11 points apiece, Sigler accomplished his 600th win.

Immediately after the game, the NV bench erupted in celebration as they ran to encircle their coach.

“This is definitely a huge milestone,” said a humble Sigler. “However, this belongs

to more people than just me. It belongs to the hard work and dedication of the 33 teams I have had throughout the years. Without them, this could not have happened.”

With media streaming onto the floor, NV Athletic Director, Chris Irwin presented the game ball to Sigler. “It felt amazing to not only beat Southview at Southview, but the fact that we also helped coach reach 600 wins all in the same night,” said Fouty. “Not to mention the celebrating that didn’t just stop at Southview, the team decided to hang out and go play laser tag at Q-Zar. Definitely one of our most memorable nights this season.”

Sigler’s record of 600-157, as of February 8, averages out to approximately 18 wins a season, according to The Toledo Blade. Over the passed 33 years, Sigler and his LadyKats have brought home nine Great Lakes League titles, six NLL titles, seven District titles and three state tournament appearances. “If

winning that many titles does not prove that Northview is not just a program, but rather a tradition, then what more proof do you need,” said sophomore Katelynn McCoy. The Kats earned more wins as the season began to close on yet another special night, senior night. Northview defeated Rossford once more 43-34, eventually making the LadyKat seniors 7-3 on their home court this year. Fouty led scores with 14 points, while Rentschler chipped in 12 of her own.

However, the final tip-off of the ’08’09 regular season was tossed last Tuesday for the LadyKats. Fouty rallied to score a season high of 27 points, as NV thrashed the Springfield Blue Devils 58-37. This win secured a second place finish in the league and made NV 15-5 overall this season.

The LadyKats begin tournament play tonight at Central Catholic against The Saint Ursula Arrows at 6:15pm.

Swimmers take 23 to District competition Staff Writer As Sectionals wrapped up, the Northview Swim team prepared for Districts.

“The entire swim season is basically leading up to Sectionals and Districts, so it’s a big deal,” said senior Faith Latorre.

Going into Sectionals, NV had many new swimmers place well and shave large amounts of time off of their swims, such as

junior Cody Brant, sophomore Britain Fretz, sophomore Trent Victor and freshman Kelly O’ Connell who are all first year swimmers and qualified to Districts this past weekend.

Fretz having the biggest drop, lost 16 seconds from his 100 backstroke.

“Huge drops like this are not unusual for younger swimmers, if they worked as hard as we asked them to all season then the taper (practices leading up to the big meets that are meant to rest swimmers) will work well for them and they will drop time easily,” said Coach Sarah Huey.

“I never thought I would make it

to districts, even right up to my race,” commented Victor.

The girls did quite well at Sectionals as well. They placed first in the women’s 200 free relay consisting of seniors Danielle Hrovat, Katie Koffman and juniors Laura Guinness and Megan Foster. Third place in the women’s 400 free relay, and Guinness took first place finishes in both her 200 and 500 freestyle.

The men also did well with a second place finish in the 200 free relay where senior Michael Ward broke 23 seconds in his 50 meter split. Other strong finishes include

a second place finish in the 100 breast for senior Zach McClurg and another second place finish in the 200 medley relay for seniors Darren Guinness, McClurg, Ward and senior Mico Cordero.

The week leading up to Sectionals both the boys and girls dyed their hair. The men bleached theirs while the women put pink on the ends of their hair. Its a tradition that the swimmers do to show their team spirit.

Districts were held at Bowling Green State University February 20 and the State Meet will be held in Canton on the 27 and 28.

Wrestling team looks forward to Sectionals Staff Writer Northview’s Wrestling team continued their season with a tri-meet against Woodward High School and Start High School in January. NV won against both schools, a sure sign that the wrestlers were well-trained and hard-working.

Practices take place Mondays through Fridays from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., which they have been doing since October.

“Practices consist of running sprints, light drilling, to full-out matches. We also condition and do sit-ups and push-ups.

Sometimes even after practice, a group of guys will go run for a few miles,” said junior Bobby Callejas.

Training is usually led by head coach Luke McKinnley, along with the team

captains, Callejas, seniors Eric Brown and Kyle Kunar.

“It’s a rebuilding year,” Brown said. ‘‘There are a lot of young people that are improving. I can tell that we are going to get better.”

The next meet was held at Bowling Green High School on January 29. Although NV left defeated, they kept their hopes high for Senior Night on February 5.

The meet was held at NV and the

seniors were recognized. NV defeated the Perrysburg Yellow Jackets.

“It was cool to win for the seniors,” said Callejas, ‘‘We are doing pretty well considering how young we are.”

The team was defeated by Anthony Wayne on February 11. The Generals beat the Cats by nearly 20 points.

The boys have still been training strong for the upcoming sectional meet at Start High School on February 20 and 21.

Sports

February 24, 2009

11

Basketball has high hopes for states tourney Sports Editor Looking to gain some momentum heading into the state tournament, the Northview Boys Basketball team needs to get a few wins under their belts. The Cats took a break from Northern Lakes League play to face off against the St. Francis de Sales Knights.

The Cats had trouble containing the Knights in the paint and paid for it on the scoreboard. The team fell to the Knights 5766. Senior Tripper Northrup led the team with 20 points as fellow senior Ryan Yockey added 18 points.

The team hoped that a game against NLL foe, the Springfield Blue Devils, would be a good springboard to a winning streak.

The Cats defeated the Blue Devils earlier this season but still were ready for a tough NLL game.

The Cats started off a little slow but

stuck with the Blue devils through the first half. Both teams struggled offensively, neither team scoring 50 points, but it was the Blue Devils who edged the Cats 49-43.

Northrup once again led the team in scoring with 13 points.

Next on the schedule for the boys were the Bowling Green Bobcats. The team played very well for all four quarters and pushed the game into overtime, but lost due to a very controversial no-call by the referee’s. The ball bounced high off the backboard which should have been called out of bounds. The ball then dropped off the top of the backboard and fell into the hoop as time expired in overtime.

Northrup led the team once again with 17 points.

“It was tough, but it’s the game and we should of won in regulation so we can’t blame it on the ref’s,“ said senior Devin Simon.

The Cats played the Maumee Panthers February 20.

Sam Weisman DRIVING DOWN THE LANE is junior Jacob Zuriech. The Cats lost the game on a last second buzzer beater in overtime. The boys played Maumee on Friday.

NASCAR: Great sport or waste of gasoline?

After over three months of a deep depression, the NASCAR season is finally here.

It was so hard for me to do absolutely nothing on Sunday afternoons, just staring at my blank TV screen. The only thing that has kept me going during this hard time was playing NASCAR 09 on Xbox Live every single day. And yes, more than 20 people play the game; it’s more like 5,000 people.

As the only NASCAR fan on the entire newspaper staff, I felt that I had to stand up for the best sport in the world.

Most of the people that I have talked to around the school hate the sport. They think it’s just a bunch of cars going around in circles for 500 laps at a time, only making left turns. Actually, there are only four races in the year that run for 500 laps and they are both half-mile long tracks.

Drivers do 100 laps in about 40 minutes in the 500 lap races, making the race about three and a half hours long, give or take caution flags. Plus, there are two races in the 36race schedule that are road courses where drivers also make right turns. That is more than enough right turns I can take in a year.

There is only one race in the whole season that is over 500 miles, which is the CocaCola 600. That race is also held on the same day as the Indianapolis 500, making it the best day of the year, as there is about nine straight hours of racing.

Some people talk about how boring races can be to watch. I admit that racing does not keep you on the edge of your seat the entire race, but how many sports do keep you on edge for the whole time?

Soccer, for example, is completely pointless as you run around a field for 90 minutes and sometimes not even score a goal in that time. And at the end of the day, people hold mass rallies for soccer where they just end up killing each other in riots. That’s not my idea of a fun time. Also, there are only so many ways you can shoot a ball into a basket, and we have literally seen them all. You wouldn’t guess, though, from the way basketball fans stand up every single time the ball crosses half court. NASCAR, like all sports, has its boring moments, but most races are exciting.

People also say that you know who is going to win the race from the first lap. Once they pull ahead, the race is in the bag. That is nowhere near the truth. No matter how big a lead is, something can always happen. A caution could come out and bunch the whole field together. Lap cars could get in the way and cause the leader to lose his lead.

Mechanical problems could also come up, as drivers could blow an engine or tire. The race is not over until the leader crosses the finish line.

If you’re watching the Cleveland Browns play, for example, and they are doing the usual “lose by 30 points every game with 50 different quarterbacks,” nobody is going to stay and watch the game. People will either change the channel or leave early to avoid the traffic, if there is anyone even at a Browns game. There is no way in NASCAR that you can leave a race early.

One of the biggest issues that people bring up with NASCAR is that they think drivers are not athletes. How could you say that they aren’t athletes? Those cars are nearly impossible to drive. People think that NASCAR drivers are just on a nice Sunday drive with no problems in the air. The only thing is that they are going over three times faster than the legal speed limit and are driving with 42 other drivers that just want to get to first. Plus, there is no traction control on the cars, so if you get loose, (which is when your back wheels lose traction and they slide out) it is very difficult to get the car straightened out. They do not need more things like rain to affect the race.

You can argue that NASCAR is not a sport (even though scrabble is on ESPN), but it is also a way of life. Just spending the entire week camping in the infield is a year’s worth of fun. In NASCAR, you are not just a price tag compared to other sports; fans can get right next to the car and driver. No other sport allows this kind of close proximity with its fans and athletes. Only in basketball where you can mortgage your house to pay the price for courtside seats allows you to get so close. Maybe, if you are lucky enough, you can get one of the players to sweat on you or fall and crush you.

I am not expecting most of you to watch the next race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 1, I’m not expecting 95 percent of you to, but stop criticizing a sport that you know very little about, besides that they make left turns. I don’t understand the point of hitting people with sticks in lacrosse or running for fun, but you don’t here me complaining. ~Adam Jurski

Scream if your excited for NASCAR season to begin! What? I don’t hear any noise.

Maybe it’s because NASCAR is the single most boring event on the planet. I don’t consider watching cars moving around aimlessly in a circle for five hours remotely entertaining.

How do people sit through 350 laps of this garbage? The only reason I would watch NASCAR would be if I really wanted to take a nap and was out of sleeping pills. I thought watching paint dry on my bedroom wall was boring, but NASCAR makes paint drying seem more appealing than Jessica Simpson in a bathing suit. Pit stops are almost interesting, but the fact that seven grown men are being paid huge amounts of money for about a minute of total labor really makes me angry. What a sad excuse for a job, McDonald’s employees should be paid more.

The only thing worth watching in a NASCAR race is the final lap, even though the chance of a photo finish is less likely than being struck by lightning in a cave. The honest truth is the best part of a NASCAR race is when it’s over.

The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that people consider NASCAR a sport.

A sport has to take some physical ability. The only physical thing in NASCAR is when drivers turn the wheel and occasionally itch themselves. Some drivers complain that “it is too hot in the car”. If I was getting paid millions of dollars to drive a car, I would never complain.

The worst part of SportsCenter is when it’s rudely interrupted by NASCAR. I guarantee you that 90% of real sports fans instantly change the channel like me. If you consider NASCAR a sport, then driving my car to school is a sport and my mailman is the best athlete in the city. If it’s a sport, then why isn’t it in the Olympics? Scrabble is more of a sport than NASCAR. At least they have to lift their fingers to grab new letters.

I find it hilarious that these “professional drivers” cannot even drive in the rain. I think that this hobby might actually be fun to watch if they had to race in tough conditions. I drive my car in the rain and it is actually challenging. Maybe I would gain a little respect for these so called athletes if they stopped being little babies and cry every time it rains.

I hate it when I’m driving down the road and a NASCAR fan is in front of me in their 1928 Chevy truck that is going 20 miles per hour in a 55. They spend their entire lives watching cars going 100 miles an hour and they can’t even drive the speed limit. Tear the 30 NASCAR bumper stickers off of your vehicle, sell it, and buy a new car that can break 20 miles an hour.

Another one of my least favorite things that NASCAR fans do is wear their favorite driver’s T-shirt every single day. Honestly, change your shirt, it smells and your embarrassing yourself. It’s almost like their religion to represent NASCAR every waking second of the day. I remember being at a funeral and next to me was a man in his stupid NASCAR t-shirt. Does he not realize that everyone is dressed up? I bet if they sold a NASCAR suit he would buy it.

Everybody says that “it’s not the same unless you go to the race.” I will never go to a race. I must admit that if I was forced to watch NASCAR, it would be much more enjoyable with concession stands. However, the last place I would like to be is at a NASCAR race with thousands of drunken rednecks.

The fighting in NASCAR is a joke. The drivers get mad for whatever childish reasons and decide to love tap each other in the helmet. Wow, you guys are rough. They should all be forced to watch a hockey game and see how real men fight.

On a more serious note, this sport is wasting the valuable natural resource that sent America to war with the Middle East in the first place, gasoline. With 9/11 as a disguise, our gas guzzling SUVs and sports like NASCAR led us into a war that has taken the lives of thousands of troops. In times when America is at war for oil, maybe NASCAR should come to a momentary halt. NASCAR needs to realize its negative effects and take personal responsibility for its actions and shut down. No one will miss it anyway.

NASCAR is not only a disgrace to sports fans, but to our country. Please stop supporting this hobby that seems to be getting out of hand. We cannot afford to keep breeding NASCAR fans. Eventually they will take over the world. Is that a world you want to live in? Me neither. Instead of watching NASCAR, flip on a real American sport like Baseball, Basketball, or Football. So please do not tune into NASCAR this season, and maybe together we can stop this epidemic that is destroying life as we know it. ~Andrew Miller

12

SPORTS

February 24, 2009

Hockey improves as playoffs begin Sports Editor The Northview Hockey team had four games remaining going into their affair with St. Francis. The Cats had to win out against Southview, Bowling Green and St. Johns in order to win the Northwest Hockey Conference.

NV was looking for their third consecutive win on January 30 against the Knights. With a win, the Cats’ record would improve to 11-12-2 and they would control their own destiny for a league title.

“I think we proved that even when we are looked down upon, we rise up, and take control,” said junior Mark Hall.

The Cats came out strong with a first period goal from junior Shane Wheatley but the Knights scored a tying goal at the beginning of the second. The game remained tied until sophomore Tyler Harding assisted sophomore Nolan Culver for the goal, making the score 2-1 NV. Senior captain Kyle Hymore also added a goal to seal the win for the team.

Contributing to the win was freshman goaltender, Austin Gryca, with 23 blocked shots.

“Our team was playing strong and they helped block a lot of shots. It made my job a whole lot easier,” said Gryca.

The Wildcats had to defeat rival SV on February 7 in order to keep the Mayor’s cup in Northview’s possession. The cup goes to the winner of the season series between the Sylvania School’s. NV has won the cup for ten consecutive years and also won the previous game against the Cougars back in December 3-2.

“We expected to win, it’s Southview,” said senior Nile Culver.

Junior Anthony Holley gave the Cats an early lead with his first period goal.

However, SV scored the next two goals, giving the Cougars the lead 2-1 mid-way through the second period. Nolan Culver added two goals to boost NV back on top by one goal. Hymore’s goal and yet another from Nolan Culver, gave the Cats four unanswered goals in the win.

“I was really excited and happy our team pulled through. It was a great experience and

GymKats improve scores Staff Writer This year the Northview Gymkats are exceeding expectations in practice and in competition. Last year, it was the Gymkats’ goal to try to score 100 points in a meet and this year they started off at an outstanding 109 points and have already gotten over 115 points, according to their coach Mrs. Heather Tussing.

The girls practice two to three times a week for about two to three hours at a time at Sunrise Gymnastics Academy. They have a meet almost every weekend and the NLL championships were February 11.

The GymKats placed fourth in the NLL out of seven teams and freshman Katie O’Keefe is moving on to Districts.

Due to their hard work and dedication the girls have improved their team score in every single meet, according to Coach Tussing.

“Even though we aren’t winning all of our meets, we have to be the most improved team in the league,” said Coach Tussing.

There are 10 girls total on the team and 4 captains. The senior captains are Carey Gray and Sarah Sneider and the junior captains are Meaghan Mick and Hailey Nowak.

“All of the girls have improved so much it’s mind boggling. I’m so proud of them,” said Mick.

At meets the girls can participate in the vault, uneven bars, balance beam or floor exercise. If a girl can do all of the events then she can also place in the All- Around, according to Coach Tussing.

“These girls are working so hard and improving at every practice and every meet.

I am so proud to be their coach,” said Coach Tussing.

The GymKats have had an amazing season exceeding not only their own expectations but the expectations of others.

The girls have proven that hard work and dedication can improve scores.

Sam Weisman SKATING AGAINST THE TITANS defense is sophomore Nolan Culver. Culver has helped with the team’s recent success. The Wildcats were defeated 6-0 in the loss to St. Johns. However the team looks to rebound by advancing to Columbus, OH for the State Final Four. it was nice to beat SV again,” said Hymore.

On February 8, NV took on the Bowling Green Bobcats at BG. The first goal went to the Bobcats early in the first, but Hall tied the game at one on a power play goal towards the end of the first period. Wheatley gave the Cats an edge with a second period goal but the score was knotted at two going into the third.

“We were confident going into the last period because we were playing well as a team,” said sophomore Aaron Booth.

In OT, senior assistant captain Bob Napierala was hauled down from behind, creating a Wildcat power play. The game

winner came from sophomore Graham Kelsey, who netted his first career goal for the win.

“Going into overtime, we knew our team had the upper hand and would come through with the victory,” said Napierala.

With the win, NV jumped St. Johns to move into first place in the NHC and had a chance to claim their third league title in four years.

“We were determined to win at all costs and put another league title flag in the locker room,” added Nolan Culver.

On senior night and the last league game of the season, the Wildcats took on

the St. Johns Titans. The Cats were seeking a league title on February 14, but lost a disappointing game 6-0. The team took this as a wake-up call with the playoffs drawing near, according to Hall.

“We were not on top of our game. It was embarrassing and the worst game we have played all season,” said Nolan Culver.

The Wildcats crushed the Ottawa Hills Greenbears on February 19 in the first round of the playoffs, winning 10-0.

“The state tournament is like a new season. Nothing else matters, everything is in the past, and we are hoping to get hot at the right time,” said Nile Culver.

Bryan Smolinski - NHL player, former Olympian, Cardinal Stritch grad

Terry Cook Craftsman truck driver Devin Vargas Olympic boxer

Nate Washington - Pittsburg Steelers two-time super bowl champion, Scott high school grad

Pat Jablonski - Former NHL goalie, born and raised in Toledo.

Jim Leyland - Detroit Tigers Manager, Perrysburg resident

Figure Skating - Scott Hamilton Bowling Green Hometown hero. Olympic gold medalist

Doug Mientkiewicz - former Olympian and MLB player, born and raised in Toledo.

Jim Jackson - former Mr. Ohio basketball player, Ohio State grad and former NBA star. Current resident, Toledo Joe Tiller - Purdue coach, all time leader in wins at Purdue and one of the best Big Ten coaches of all time. Former Toledo resident.

Big Ben Roethlisberger - Findlay high school graduate, two-time super bowl champion and NFL superstar

Fred Davis - Rogers high school grad, USC grad and Washington Red Skins tight end

Charles Woodson - Fremont grad, Michigan grad, Heisman trophy winner and NFL player

Northwest Ohio home to many great athletes!

Ever thought to yourself that no one famous has ever come from Ohio, or that the athletes you watch in local high school sports will never amount to anything beyond college?

Well, there are many great Northwest Ohioans who have gone on to greatness.