Prospector Issue 6 (February 17, 2012)

Friday, February 17, 2012

Volume 51, Issue 6

TheVoice of Prospect since 1960

ROSPECTOR

801 West Kensington Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 * prospectornow.com

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Ian Magnuson’s photo of the week

Students work to cope with ADHD

By Maddy Moloney In-Depth Editor

D E I N E

D S S E C AC

When junior Eric Roach fell asleep in his eighth grade class, it wasn’t from staying up late the night before. Roach had forgotten to take his medication that morning and had trouble keeping his eyes open.

The teacher even had to come and shake him to wake him up.

Roach has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is the result of neurochemicals in the brain not working up to speed or the brain not recognizing that it has enough chemicals. The lower level of neurochemicals causes difficulties in concentration and focusing. “[People with ADHD are] kind of like a car that doesn’t have enough gas in the tank,” clinical psychologist Adam Crane said. “In order for the car to go faster, you need more gas.”

There are many ways to fuel people who suffer from ADHD. Some take psycho-stimulants, such as Ritalin, Focalin or Adderall, to give the brain the boost it needs. According to Crane, the medication works by using neurotransmitters to increase brain chemistry, thus helping to improve focus.

Because the brain gets used to the increased chemicals it makes forgetting to take the medication a shock to the system, which is why Roach fell asleep.

People with ADHD are often involved with in-home intervention, which can include psychotherapy, varying parenting techniques, learning strategies, helping cope with struggles and learning to understand why

See ADHD, page 10 Photo illustration by Ian Magnuson

School, district systems protect information

By Maddie Conway and Carly Evans Editor-in-Chief and Copy Editor Upon logging in to their computers on Jan. 24, Prospect’s staff were asked to warned to change their passwords. Along with this message, the staff also received an e-mail asking them to change their log-ins; this was a result of a break-in to the school the day before.

The incident involved two students stealing a computer, database and network access information and other computerrelated technology from Prospect, according to a press release from the Mount Prospect Police Department.

The students were later arrested and the items were returned.

n

For coverage of the recent alleged break-in, head to prospectornow.com.

Though there were no breaches in security as a result of the incident, the question is raised of how the district’s and its students’ information is protected when so much of it is housed electronically in servers and networks — and what could have been at risk had the students hacked into the system.

Security of student information with technology is a high priority of the district, according to the district’s director of technology, Keith Bockwoldt. Many precautions exist to protect students and their information, he said, and changes are underway to improve them.

In fact, the district is currently in the process of approving a new information security policy, which is set to roll out in the coming months. The policy has been in the works for a few months and is unrelated to the recent break-in where there was the potential of compromising security.

Cupid strikes again As Valentine’s Day rolls around once more, students are faced with the reality of their love life status. To read Kiley Walsh’s view on the holiday, check out...

Opinion, page 7

Currently, efforts to ensure the security of students’ information are at work at both the district and school levels. At Prospect, information is stored in several layers for protection.

According to school Technology System Supervisor Rudy Gomez, sensitive information and data, like certain student documents or files with information, are stored on specific servers for security purposes.

Staff store their information on their laptops, for example, which they back up on the school’s staff server. These servers, then, are protected with several layers of passwords, which Gomez has the ability to reset if needed.

The actual student information system, SchoolLogic — and all the data that comes with it — is housed at Forest View Educational Center and protected by

See TECHNOLOGY, page 3

pDEARLY BELOVED DANDY: The beloved drug dog, Dandy, died on Jan. 30. Log onto prospectornow.com to read a story in memoriam of her life. (File photo by Mika Sugano)

The name game

Film stalker

With the help of students, Prospect is looking to name the a la carte counter in the cafeteria. To learn about the naming contest, see...

‘92 graduate Matt Glasson directed the independent film “Love Stalker,” set to premiere tonight, Friday, Feb. 17. To read about Glasson and his film, turn to...

Features, page 10

Entertainment, page 13

2

NEWS

Friday, February 17, 2012

Spanish program sponsors exchange

By Danielle Keeton-Olsen News Editor Spanish teacher Danielle Ossman walked into a café in Madrid, Spain, the summer before her senior year at Streamwood High School. Her teacher told the group to order a meal. Simple enough, except for the fact that she had to converse with fluent Spanish speakers, even before she had taken AP Spanish.

While being totally immersed in a foreign language was difficult for a native English speaker, Ossman quickly found her feet on the foreign ground.

“My favorite part [of that trip] was realizing, ‘Wow, I actually can speak Spanish,’ because I had no choice,” Ossman said. “It was sink or swim.”

Today, Ossman will get to return the experience, as she, fellow Spanish teacher Mike Aldworth and 15 AP Spanish students host 15 high school stuWhen Aldworth contacted the same dents from Barcelona, Spain, until Feb. school to continue the new exchange 24. While some AP Spanish students visited Spain last year, this will be the tradition, he ran into a problem. In late September, Madrid was in the midst of first time Prospect will host students.

Of the three years that Aldworth has a large teacher strike. According to the worked here, he planned to start an ex- Associated Press, Madrid’s economic change trip. When he was interviewed crisis caused their regional governfor the position, his future boss, Social ment to cut school staff and tack on Studies and World Language Division extra hours per week. Government offiHead Gary Judson, asked if he would be cials observed that 40 percent of teachwilling to start a Spanish exchange pro- ers did not start classes in the fall in gram, and he has been working toward protest of these new obligations.

Due to this madness, a trip to Madrid this goal ever since.

Aldworth originally planned the was impossible to plan. Luckily, Barfirst trip for spring break of 2010. He celona was still fairing well economihad found a school that he planned to cally. Aldworth was able to find Pare visit, but halfway through the year, the Manyanet school, only a few minutes teacher in Spain switched schools, and outside of the heart of Barcelona. Aldworth and Ossman were both excited to the plans left with her. exchange with Pare No students had Manyanet because been chosen for the both teachers have trip, but it was a bitlived in Barcelona, ter disappointment and Ossman even for Aldworth and has a friend who the class. In spite went to Pare Manof that letdown, yanet.

Aldworth planned Students from a new trip for the both schools have class of 2011. been anxiously -Spanish teacher Mike Aldworth The AP Spanawaiting Feb. 17, ish students finally when they will made it to Madrid for the first time during spring break finally get to meet in person. Even though Marta Benosa Monclús, a stuof 2011.

“Last year was an amazing experi- dent at Pare Manyanet and exchange ence, mostly from the Prospect side, partners with Prospect senior Flori because of how supportive the staff, my Corpodean, has been to France, Engboss [and] the community was about land and Mexico, she has always wantdoing this trip,” Aldworth said. “That ed to come to the United States since says a lot about what [Scott] Russell and she began taking English at the age of [Lyn] Scolaro do with the French and 6. Even with more Spanish experience Italian exchanges. There’s that expec- than most of the Prospect exchange tation here that if you take a language, students, Monclús acknowledges the trip will be a learning experience. [you should] go and use it.”

“It’s going to be a bit hard speaking Even though Aldworth accomplished English all the days and not to be able his goal of taking a class to Spain, he still felt the exchange program was to speak Spanish with anyone the first lacking an important element. The days,” Monclús said in an interview Prospect students did not get the op- over Skype, “but I think that with my portunity to host a class of Spanish stu- English I can speak to the people nordents. The Spanish families were will- mally.”

Once they arrive, the first experiing to host American students, but most of the Spanish families could not afford ence for the students of Pare Manyanet will be a weekend with their exchange to send their children to America.

“There’s that expectation here that if you take a language, [you should] go and use it.”

pSPAIN MEETS SENIORS: At left, ‘11 graduates Savannah Snead and Lauren Matthews pose in from of a street in Madrid, and the 2011 AP Spanish class pose with their exchange partners on the streets of Madrid. Last year was the first year that Spanish students got the opportunity to go to Spain. (Photo courtesy of Dan O’Brien) partner’s family.

“Going to another family that I haven’t met, with someone that I just spoken by Internet — it [will be] a very different experience,” Monclús said.

During that weekend, the Prospect students, as well as their friends and families, will take their Spanish student to experience the United States (see “¿Que hacemos ahora?”).

During the school week, the Spanish students will visit various landmarks of Chicago, such as the Sears Tower, the Art Institute and State Street. But they will also get to fully experience a day in the life of an American high school student by accompanying their Prospect students to school.

As unexciting as that may sound to a Prospect student, Prospect and Pare Manyanet are vastly different. According to Ossman, a typical school is Spain is marked by small class sizes, and instead of students walking the halls during a passing period, Spanish students remain in their seats and wait for teachers to change classes. Spanish students are typically surprised by the commotion that occurs at an American school.

“Their only vision of high school is what they see in TV shows, like ‘Glee,’” Ossman said.

But the most noticeable difference between Spain and America is the size.

Both Aldworth and Ossman agree that in Spain, the people are happier using less than Americans do.

“They get by with less,” Ossman said. “In America, it’s all about having huge portions and huge houses and huge cars, and you see these people who have smaller houses and smaller cars, but they have such a rich quality of life.”

Above all, Ossman and Aldworth hope that the students, both Spanish and American, get the same experience they did out of the exchange.

“I’ve lived with a family over there,” Aldworth said. “And those are some of the best memories I have.”

From Prospect to pasta The Spanish students will be the second set of exchange students to come to Prospect this year.

Students from Italy came during the second week of school.

When they came, Scolaro and all the Prospect students took them on a tour of Chicago, like the Spanish students will get, but in a private trolley ride through the city. According to Scolaro, the students especially enjoyed visiting the Art Institute.

“It’s their favorite place because they study all this kind of art, and they don’t even get to see it,” Scolaro said.

Junior Tony Alberico hosted an Italian student, Matteo Ottocento, in September. He found Ottocento’s reaction to America the most interesting, especially his reaction to squirrels.

“It’s like seeing a bear in your backyard in Italy,” Alberico said.

Alberico and the rest of the Italian students will experience Verona and Venice from March 21 to March 31.

aro

y of Lyn Scol

Photo courtes

¿Que hacemos ahora? ¡Bienvenidos a Prospect High School! Cuando estás en los Estados Unidos, hay muchas actividades interesantes que se puede hacer en nuestra comunidad.

Woodfield Mall: Woodfield es el centro comercial favorito de los estudiantes en Prospect.

Se puede encontrar todo que necesita para aparecer americano.

Laser Quest: Hay muchos juegos que se puede jugar con amigos, como boliche o patinar, pero el más diferente es “laser tag.” En este juego, es como jugar a pillar en una sala oscura con un rayo láser.

La Tasca: En Arlington Heights, hay La Tasca, un restaurante que sirve comida española. Es obvio que Uds. quieren probar comida nueva, pero sería interesante comparar comida española real con comida española americana.

AMC Randhurst 12: El cine nuevo en Mount Prospect tiene todos las películas nuevas, con butacas tan cómodas.

Chicago: Uds. irán a Chicago y verán mucho, pero hay mucho más que pueden ver y hacer en Chicago. Pueden visitar más museos, como el Acuario de Shedd o el Plantario de Adler.

Pueden ver un espectáculo musical, como South Pacific o American Idiot. Y si le gusta ir de compras, se puede visitar Macy’s en State Street.

3

NEWS

Friday, February 17, 2012

TECHNOLOGY: District protects data CONTINUED from front page the district. There, Bockwoldt and other members of the technology staff monitor the system to make sure everything is secure, checking traffic on the servers and on wireless networks.

In the case that there is any potential threat of a breach in security — such was the case in January, although there ended up being no real risk — Bockwoldt said the district takes protective measures, from having staff change their passwords to gathering information about any risk and meeting to develop further plans to investigate the problem.

“Anything on the systems that may be a potential risk to us — [we’re] proactive to make sure we put the measures in place to prevent it from happening,” Bockwoldt said.

To stay proactive, Bockwoldt stressed these measures would be taken whether or not there was ever an actual threat.

Bockwoldt said the nature of technology makes being proactive especially important, because as technology evolves, so do the risks associated with it.

“I can’t ever say that everything is going to be as it always should be because information security is constantly changing,” Bockwoldt said. “There are some vulnerabilities in different systems that we have to look at proactively on a regular basis to make sure that whatever someone’s trying to come up with as an attack or a hack, we have to make sure we’re preventing it before it takes place.”

The new information security policy

addresses some recent changes in how the district uses technology, specifically with financial transactions. According to Bockwoldt, the new information security policy currently in the works has even more structure to its security model, as well as components to make sure all staff understand the importance of information security.

The new policy deals specifically with the security of personally identifiable information, or especially private information like social security numbers or data from credit card transactions, which by law require a higher level of security.

The new policy provides training to special asset managers — who deal with the student information system and financial information — with the goal of making sure everyone working with the information is properly certified to secure it effectively.

The policy also lays out specific procedures for securing mobile computing devices, like mobile network databases, and specifies safe encryption of data and how networks are designed.

Encryption of data means making the data unidentifiable to people outside of the network’s server. Any information or data transmitted over the Internet is transformed into a computer code that an average bystander couldn’t detect.

Staff at Prospect have recently switched to a new wireless network that is encrypted, according to Gomez.

Though the new network was rolled out following the break-in in January, the two are unrelated.

“That’s a significant level of security

What’s a safe password?

Until this year the passwords for students’ log-ins to the computers were their six-digit birth dates. With the integration of student e-mail, the strengths of the passwords needed to increase.

According to District Director of Technology Keith Bockwoldt, the strength of a password determines how secure a student’s information is.

The passwords that were created this year had to meet certain criteria to be considered strong. The password must include at least eight characters, one number and one special character, such as an exclamation point.

“Your dog’s name is not a good password,” Bockwoldt said.

Graphic by Ian Magnuson that we’ve just recently added,” Gomez said.

The new district policy will likely take effect after being reviewed by the Board of Education in the next few months, Bockwoldt said.

Though many of the changes will go on behind the scenes, a change students might notice could be that they may have to change their passwords more frequently, possibly every three or six months. According to Bockwoldt, people practicing the 90-day password change have the highest level of security and are most successful at keeping information safe.

Changing the passwords so often could potentially make the process less user-friendly; however, both Gomez and Bockwoldt stress the importance of maintaining balance between remaining secure and staying user-friendly.

Both acknowledge that forcing students and staff to change their passwords frequently may hinder them from using the school’s computer resources.

“We have to be careful to strike that balance of making things user-friendly and not making them too complex,” Gomez said. “So where is that happy medium? And that’s still something we’re trying to figure out.”

Bockwoldt described the district’s information security system as a layered approach, with some aspects needing heavier security than others, like financial transactions. With other aspects, there is more of a balance.

“We always look at the best prac-

tices [of security] and what’s the best method to make sure that people still have accessibility but still understand the importance of security, so we try to balance between both,” Bockwoldt said.

That frequent changing of passwords is one example of how security can affect the classroom.

The importance of passwords increased greatly this year because of the integration of student e-mail and HomeLogic being controlled by a single password.

In the past, students’ passwords were simply their six-digit birth dates, but that was too simple for their peers to figure out and gain access to their computers. If the passwords would have remained the same, students would be gaining access to more than just the computers.

“With everything integrated, it only made sense to make passwords more difficult,” Academic Technology Coordinator Frank Novak said.

As for overall security, Gomez said one way to keep information safe is just to be careful.

“Sometimes you can have the best and most secure network in the entire world,” he said, but that doesn’t guarantee security; teachers might put their passwords on a post-it note on their laptops, for example, and a student could walk by and read it.

“Sometimes the weakest link in some of these cases is human error,” Gomez said. “People need to be mindful and vigilant.”

To see pictures from the Orchesis show, “Through Our Eyes,” which ran from Feb. 9 to Feb. 11, go to prospectornow.com. u

To complement Miranda Holloway’s 82 Happy Thoughts blog, Chris Kivlahan has started an 82 Angry Thoughts blog.

Read it on prospectornow.com. u

pAre you wondering what’s going

on with the clocks lately? Check prospectornow.com to find out!

t“SMASH,” NBC’s hit

pGo on prospectornow.com to see a video

of the Company and Mixed Company preview show, which took place on Feb. 7.

(Photo by Ian Magnuson)

musical drama, premiered on Feb. 6. To read Tallyn Owens’ review of the new show, head to prospectornow.com.

4

NEWS

Friday, February 17, 2012

State stops offering free ACT writing

By Nabi Dressler News Editor Junior Hannah Trezise will have to pay to retake the ACT this year in order to take the ACT’s writing section. One school Trezise wants to apply to, Michigan State University, mandates the writing portion of the ACT, which is no longer paid for by the Illinois government.

Though there was always an additional fee for taking the writing portion of the ACT on national dates, the Illinois government used to cover the cost on the Prairie State testing date.

On April 24, students will still take

To write or not to write Not needed: Harper College, Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University, Western Illinois University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Augustana College Recommended: Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Eastern Illinois University, Bradley University Required: Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Required 2012, Recommended 2013)

Information courtesy of guidance counselor Diane Bourn

the ACT without the writing portion for free. However, since it is impossible for students to take the ACT writing portion alone, they will have to retake the entire ACT on a national test date in order to have the writing portion.

According to the Chicago Tribune, this year, Illinois officials cut funding for the writing section of the ACT test, saving the government approximately $2.4 million.

Rather than paying $34 for an ACT with no writing, students have to pay $49.50 to take the ACT with the writing section.

Junior Jacob Molli plans on taking the ACT with the writing, despite the additional price and even if his college doesn’t require it.

Trezise has the same view about the importance of the writing section because essay writing is an important skill in college.

In his study of writing tests district 214 has given in the past, District Director of Research and Evaluation Steve Cordogan found that, because of the nature of how writing tests are graded and the fact that scoring depends on the interpretation of the reader, the ACT writing section does not produce a spoton representation of a student.

“You would expect a writing test to relate fairly closely to a student’s more quantitatively graded English test, and it doesn’t,” Cordogan said. “There’s a relationship, but it’s not very strong.”

Guidance counselor Diane Bourn advises juniors to take another national ACT test date with the writing portion unless they are positive they are going to attend a school that doesn’t require writing.

Cordogan contacted colleges that rec-

p PAY TO WRITE: If juniors want to take the ACT with writing, the fee is $49.50. This year, Illinois officials cut funding for the ACT’s writing section. (Photo illustration by Ian Magnuson) ommend students take the ACT writing portion and found the general trend is the absence of the ACT writing score will have no effect on an application.

If students take the writing portion and do well, it could possibly help their chances of getting accepted, but if students do not take it, there will be no negative effect.

According to Bourn, the cut of state funding for the ACT writing section doesn’t have as large of an impact on Prospect’s students as it does on students at other Illinois high schools.

“In Illinois, we were able to offer the ACT to every single junior for free, [which] opened more doors for college accessibility,” Bourn said. “In some communities, having to pay $50 for a test may keep a student from taking the test and therefore applying.”

Bourn recognizes it’s tough for students to decide if they should take the writing section of the ACT. According to Cordogan, only seven out of 164 (4.3 percent) of Illinois institutions require the writing portion of the ACT, and less than .8 percent of D214’s college-

attending students enroll at these seven in-state colleges.

Since college admissions vary from school to school, Bourn believes colleges decide whether or not they require writing based on what the school values in a student.

Cordogan also believes colleges have different aspects they look at to admit students.

For instance, colleges may require applicants to submit an essay or participate in an interview.

The decision juniors have to make of whether or not to retake the ACT with writing depends mainly on what college they are interested in attending.

Cordogan said students do not have to take the ACT writing portion if the college they are applying to does not require writing, and if they are confident their ACT score will be “more than adequate” for the college’s needs.

“You have to look at each college’s individual requirements to make a final judgment, but you should not automatically think you’re going to have to retake the test,” Cordogan said.

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6

OPINION

The Staff

Loose tweets sink trust

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Maddie Conway

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Maggie Devereux ASSOCIATE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Jane Berry Andrew Revord NEWS EDITORS Meghan Doyle Nabi Dressler Jenny Johnson Danielle Keeton-Olsen OPINION EDITOR Kiley Walsh

Staff Editorial

MANAGING EDITOR Emmy Lindfors COPY EDITOR Carly Evans

Friday, February 17, 2012

Students huddled around former head football coach of Penn State University Joe Paterno’s statue Saturday, January 21, lighting candles in memoriam. This would have been a wonderful gesture to him and his family, but the problem was that although very sick, he was still alive.

Penn State’s student news organization, Onward State, tweeted that Paterno had died earlier that night.

It spread like wildfire and was picked up less than an hour later by CBS, who quickly retweeted the message.

The mayhem really kicked in. Paterno’s son, Scott, tweeted: “CBS report

FEATURES EDITORS Anna Boratyn Khrystyna Halatyma Angela Larsen IN-DEPTH EDITORS Katie Best Zak Buczinsky Maddy Moloney

is wrong — Dad is alive, gotten so out of control. but in serious condition.

According to Twitter, We continue to ask for your there are approximately 140 prayers and privacy during million tweets sent every this time.” day, every week one billion Immediately after see- tweets are sent and 460,000 ing the tweet, Onward State twitter accounts are created posted they would “look daily. With these statistics, further into the informa- if even 1 percent of Twitter tion that was users retweeted cor roborat ed the misinformaby multiple tion that day, 1.4 sources” until For Against million messages finally retractabout Paterno ing their statewere sent out. ment. Paterno We, The Prosdied the followpector, believe ing day.

Voting results of the Pros- that because of O n w a r d pector staff in regards to this the power Twiteditorial.

State and CBS ter, Facebook and paid for the cellphones give to misinformation they broad- their users, everyone using casted; CBS lost credibility these sites is now a part of as a news source, and the media and must accept the managing editor responsibility with what we of Onward State post on the Internet. stepped down Literally anyone with as a result of internet access can easily the mistake. spread information to milBut, there lions of people in just a few were thou- seconds. Most people do not sands of students bother to fact check the inwho retweeted the formation they post or even post that did not take decide if the source itself is a consequence. With- reliable. Without questionout these people, the mis- ing, people turn into robots. information would not have Any news deemed as “big”

22

0

is automatically reposted.

The information spreads like fire: without control.

And similar to fire, it has irreversible effects. The Paterno family was “burned” by the misinformation that spread, and there was nothing they could do. Now they are left with yet another scar from Penn State.

It can’t be denied that cell phones and social networks have helped people as well. The ability to connect with others at such high speeds has allowed this generation to share the good as well, whether that means sharing opinions on blogs, showing off musical ability through YouTube, or being able to bring together families that live on opposite sides of the world.

But, this speed shouldn’t necessarily make anyone a reliable news source. Everything and everyone should be backed up with facts.

Students are the generation who will be most effected by the errors made by blind reposts, and, with that in mind, should set a good example for everyone else.

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Tallyn Owens Tim Angerame Kyle Brown SPORTS EDITORS Jack Mathews Alyssa Zediker Matt Bajkowski Jordan Fletcher ONLINE EDITORS Miranda Holloway Tess Bauer Heather Dove PHOTO EDITORS Ian Magnuson Ali Preissing ADVISER Jason Block Some material is courtesy of the American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

Published by students in Journalistic Writing courses, the Prospector has won, most notably, the 2004-05 and 2006-07 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker and the Gold Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2006.

Mission Statement The primary purpose of the Prospect High School Prospector is to report news as well as explain its meaning and significance to our readers and the community. We, The Prospector, hope to inform, entertain and provide a school forum for the unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions.

Advertising For ad rates, call (847) 718-5376 (ask for Emmy Lindfors), fax (847) 718-5306 e-mail or write the Prospector, 801 West Kensington Rd., Mount Prospect, IL 60056, prospectornow@gmail. com.

Letters to the Editor Drop off letters to the Prospector in the box in the library, in Rm. 216 or email letters to prospectornow@gmail.com. All letters must be signed. Please limit let-

JKB canceled, leadership lost How many leaders does it take to change a lightbulb?

This summer I got the opportunity to go to Colorado as part of the J. Kyle Braid (JKB) leadership program. For one week, I, along with 18 other girls form local high schools and another from Prospect, received leadership training through activities like white water rafting, ropes courses and paintballing.

This year, however, two current sophomore girls and two sophomore boys won’t get the opportunity to receive this award. This decision was made due to the large fiMaggie Devereux nancial investment Online Managing it takes to send students to the ranch Editor as well as the hope to offer leadership opportunities to more than four students a year.

This doesn’t mean leadership just ends, though. On the contrary, leadership clubs are in no way at a shortage at Prospect. There’s groups geared toward leadership such as Leading INcoming Knights (LINK), Knights’ Way, Junior Leaders, Senior Leaders, a new leadership club geared toward athletes and National Honors Society as well as leadership roles on athletic teams and in other clubs.

With so many groups competing for influence, and many of the students involved in more than one of these groups, it makes much more sense to combine some of the groups and start working cohesively. Whether it be helping out freshmen, improving the community through service or encouraging House Rules, each play an important role.

As a member of almost all of the aforementioned groups, I feel none of

pGETTING BACK ON THE HORSE: J. Kyle Braid (JKB) leaders ride horses as a part of leadership training in Colorado. JKB has been cancelled due to financial issues. (Photo by Maggie Devereux) them truly take the time to teach stu- time to every single one of these groups, dents how to be leaders. While being a and instead there was one larger leadleader is an expectation of every group, ership group that met once every other it doesn’t necessarily mean each mem- week to work on leadership skills, there ber knows how to be one. would be time to develop skills much like It is because each person had time to JKB does in Colorado. develop as a leader in Colorado that JKB However, this group would be differworked so well. Each person had a week ent. It would combine the goals of LINK, to not only learn a foundation for leader- Knights’ Way and National Honor Sociship, but then apply ety, as well as develop it and build their own leadership similar to leadership philosothe JKB ranch. phy. After returning While it looks nice from the ranch, they to colleges being able then had two years to list four or five difto influence Prospect ferent leadership acwith everything they tivities on a resume learned.

— be honest, a lot of There is only one people do it for the training day to teach resume — leadership members how to be isn’t about quantity. adequate LINK leadIt’s about quality. ers and Knights’ Way leaders.

If what Prospect really wants to The training days teach members achieve is more quantity of leaders, well how to effectively communicate with then it’s got it. their classes or freshmen, how to apTo me, though, that defeats what leadproach topics and what the goal of the ership really is. It isn’t the amount of groups are. The Junior Leaders class, al- hours to put on a resume or meeting the though meeting every day, spends more minimum requirements to be considtime planning real events and future ered in a certain club. leadership roles than working on teamOne of my favorite quotes given in building leadership skills.

Colorado is “Leaders leave leaders when If students weren’t busy trying to give they leave.” That’s leadership.

Be honest, a lot of people do it for the resume — leadership isn’t about quantity. It’s about quality.

OPINION

Friday, February 17, 2012

7

Republican Rumble

With the Illinois Republican primary coming up on March 20, here’s the smackdown on the candidates

By Andrew Revord

Associate Editor-in-Chief Graphic by Heather Dove

THE HEAVY WEIGHT: Newt Gingrich

: K HORSE THE DAR m R ick Santoru is a

torum S: Rick San mes STRENGTH tive. He co va er e’s cons ney, more om R an conser vativ th than ss ar tificial pretentious across as le an Paul, less all th an m th h ea tr rt mains down-to ea eor or ts m d pp su an Gingrich warming, nies global Social de e e iz H at e. riv p re th to cell sign, wants intelligent de against abor tion, stem hat w is is d an Security ge — which d gay marria . ar an he ch to ar t se re wan nser vatives hardcore co tive might so conser va SES: Being t you’ll S E bu N y, K rt A E pa W t from your or ans don’t pp ic su er u m get yo se; most A el ne yo on er as alienate ev There’s a re long: if cial views. so so r s fo hi e m ar ru sh ticed Santo oo!” no ck y cu od b o, why no lf, “cucko t to yourse ews above, vi l ca iti ol you though p g about his while readin e. ogle on al t no , DON’T go you’re tever you do Oh, and wha antorum.” the name “S

STRENGTHS: Gingrich is a Jedi master of hyperbole. He talks about how Obama, secular liberals and Islamic terrorists are trying to ruin America — and how he’s the only one that can stand up to it.

Sounds crazy? Maybe, but Republicans love that kind of stuff. If you want a real anti-Obama, Newt’s your guy.

WEAKNESSES: There are two things Newt Gingrich is not: Mitt Romney and electable. Even a lot of Republicans— who pressured him to resign as Speaker of the House four years after he led the 1994 government shutdown — can’t stand him! He has more baggage than a TSA security line at O’Hare.

For starters, he’s had more wives than his Mormon opponent, Romney, ever had. Gingrich has been married three times. He married his second and third wives after having affairs with them while married to the previous wife.

THE UNDERDO G: Ron Paul

STRENGTHS: Revo lution! Ron Paul is the Chicago Cubs of the Republican primary: he’s got the most loy al fans in the world , who always say “th is is going to be ou r year.” A staunch lib ertarian, Paul make s the other Republica ns look like biggovernment socialist s.

Unlike the other thr ee candidates, Pa ul has always gotten strong support fro m people outside the Republican party for his opposition to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the “war on drugs,” in addit ion to his neutralit y on so cial issues.

THE REIGNING CHAMPION: Mitt Romney STRENGTHS: Mitt Romney looks like the kind of guys you see as president in movies and T.V. shows; he’s got those classic handsome “presidential” looks.

More importantly, he has solid leadership experience. He spent years working in management and private equity companies.

Also, he spent six years as governor of uberliberal Massachusetts, so he’s capable of working as a moderate when necessary.

WEAKNESSES: Romney is rich. Freaking rich. To imagine how wealthy he is, combine the wealth of every president Nixon to Obama and double that number. Now you’re in Romney territory.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, except when you avoid higher taxes by having investments in the Cayman islands and drops gems like “I’m not concerned about the very poor.”

Mr. Romney, President Obama called. He says thanks for signing the healthcare law in Massachusetts that became the basis for “Obamacare.” Good luck trying to explain that one!

WE AKNESS: Ron Paul is also like the Cubs in that he’s a “lova ble loser.” The 76 -ye arold has ran for pre sident before twice .

He takes the ideals of small governmen t and strict constitu tionalism to their log ical conclusions, but ne ither party wants to go back to the year 178 9.

Paul has a lot of fan s but few supporters , and there’s a dif fer ence. His ideas mi ght be enter taining, bu t few people would actually want him in the White House.

Does anyone still feel the love for Valentine’s day anymore?

For every holiday from kindergarten to 5th grade, all of my classes would always have a party.

It didn’t matter which holiday, it doesn’t even matter if you celebrate it or not, we always had one.

If you were an Italian on St. Patrick’s day, who cares!

You got Kiley Walsh teeth-staining Opinion Editor green cake.

If you didn’t like Halloween, you somehow ended up

doing a themed madlib anyway.

Basically every time there’s an event written on the calendar, you’ve got moms galore to throw a party.

And I swear, they’re going to start celebrating daylight savings with sunshaped cookies.

But one holiday I used to love celebrating in elementary school was Valentine’s Day. Who wouldn’t want to dress up in pink and red, not having the pressure to find a real “valentine” and mainly getting a boatload of candy attached to meaningless cards with our favorite shows and characters on it?

Up until elementary school ended,

everyone loved celebrating Valentine’s Day, but now, it’s only something to celebrate if there’s someone to celebrate with. It has evolved into a temporary holiday where one year you could get gifts, chocolates and roses, and the next year, it could mean absolutely nothing.

And for some, the day is absolutely just a sad reminder that they’re still single...

But lately, many people have misinterpreted the day by thinking it’s only dedicated to those 14-year-old couples who blatantly try to squeeze each other’s knuckles broken in the hallways, or as they like to call it, “holding hands.”

Valentine’s Day is about love, not

about giving any more attention to the extremely physically attracted kids in front of your locker.

Celebrating real love within friends or family is just as, or even more, important. Especially in high school, I’ve realized that those are the people who I will actually “love forever.”

So, my new take on Valentine’s Day is to stop hanging my head on the people I don’t have, but keep my focus on the people I do. And maybe for the first time this February, I’ll send out a few blue carnations to my friends.

Or maybe, their “secret admirer” will send them a few pink ones.

What is your ideal Valentine’s day?

“Dinner at McDonalds over a chocolate milkshake or Shamrock Shakes. That’s just the type of thing that seems most ideal.”

- Freshman Ian Lenke

“I want to see The Vow, so I’d probably see that. I’d also have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.”

- Junior Paige Zardzin

“I hate Valentine’s day...

It’s pretty much the most overrated holiday that’s been in the book.”

- Senior Jacqueline Dundertdale

“Probably out for dinner. Probably flowers, maybe a present, but that depends on what she likes.”

- Sophomore Rob Scardinia

10

FEATURES

Friday, February 17, 2012

Skating for a purpose was a beautiful sport. Since then, Sordo has fallen in love with ice skating. Because Sordo had such a close bond with her grandfather, it was especially hard for her when he passed away a few While her classmates were sitting in Pre-Calc, months ago. junior Jamie Sordo was sitting on a plane with When her grandfather was close to passing her coach and the rest of her synchronized ice away, Sordo’s mom, Dara, called the team managskating team, Chicago Jazz. The team, ranked er and told her that after the competition, Jamie fourth in the nation, were all headed to Neuchâ- and her father had to come home. They rushed tel, Switzerland to compete for the Neuchâtel home to say goodbye to her grandfather.

Trophy. Even though Sordo’s team was expected “I know he’s very proud of me for what I do,” to win second place, Chicago Jazz won gold.

Sordo said. “I talked to him about skating even According to the US Figure Skating website, though he couldn’t hear me.” synchronized ice skating is a team sport where Sordo’s first competition without her grandat least 10 skaters perform a program together, father was tough. Because the competitions were including synchronized blocks, circles, wheels, out of state, her grandfather could never go to lines, intersections and more. them before, but Sordo still struggled knowing he Sordo has gone to Nationals every year since wasn’t there. she started competitive ice skating except one; “[My grandfather] has been a big part of my the only thing that kept Sordo and life ... knowing he’s watching her team back from Nationals her me is a good feeling,” Sordo freshman year was half of a point. said.

The team has won Nationals two Sordo’s family is very imyears in a row, when Sordo was in portant to her, but she is also sixth and seventh grade. close with her skating team.

-Junior Jamie Sordo “It felt like I was on top of the Sordo said on some weekends, world,” Sordo said. she even chooses to hang out with her teammates According to one of Sordo’s coaches, Paula instead of her school friends.

Bischoffer, she is a leader.

As the team is getting ready to go, their coach“She has a very respectful attitude so the girls es are standing and supporting them on the sidewill often look up to her because [Jamie] does lines. Right before they skate, Sordo’s team has a have a positive we-can-do-it attitude. She’s always ritual prayer they do: “God is good, God is great, smiling,” Bischoffer said.

Lord Almighty, help us skate.” Bischoffer said she Usually, because of their large organization, hopes and prays they get through the program Sordo’s team has the loudest cheering section at with a good solid skate without any falls. regionals, but at nationals only the few parents “The feeling you have on the ice when you’re who can travel with them out of state or country competing ... it’s indescribable,” Sordo said. scream, “U.S.A” “It’s almost as if we’re skating the program “At this level it’s intense because they’re fight- with them,” Bischoffer said. “We’re not out there, ing for that international spot and national med- but we’re quietly saying [the moves] they’re doal,” Bischoffer said. “If [the routine] doesn’t ex- ing and reminding them, ‘Hang in there, you’re actly go as they hope it would, they rally around almost there. It’s not over yet.’” [and] support each other.”

“Our team always jokes, ‘Why do we do this?

The first time Sordo went ice skating was at Practices are so hard,’” Sordo said. “[But when] three years old when her grandfather, John Mu- we get to competitions we’re like, ‘Now we refich, brought her to the skating rink. He wanted member,’. It’s the best time of my life.”

Sordo to be an ice skater because he thought it

By Khrystyna Halatyma Features Editor

pNAME IT: Students can name the A La Carte section in the lunch room. Ideas can be sent to Dean Mark Taylor. (Photo by Ian Magnuson)

Call it your own: lunch corner named

By Angela Larsen Features Editor Some students know it as “the place to buy junk food,” “the Snack Shack” or simply the “Line.” This inviting little corner of the cafeteria is searching for a name to call its own.

Last month, Dean Mark Taylor sent out an e-mail to the student body asking for ideas, which in return have been organized into a spreadsheet.

Taylor says during a conversation with Food Services Supervisor Donna Rogers, the two realized this area lacked a name, so they started to brainstorm ideas for a new one. “[The cafeteria corner] did have a name when I first started here about 10 years ago,” Taylor said. “We were talking about it and said, ‘Hey! That’s a good idea.’”

The original name of this area was “The Knights’ Inn,” but surprisingly none of the 70 entries have mentioned it.

At first, the area belonged to Student Council, and according to Rogers, the name just disappeared for unknown reasons.

Rogers also explains the “place that has the cookies” has more than just that. She has been hard at work trying to make the area have more lunch items for kids who need to “pick something up

in a hurry or on [their] way out.”

“I’m trying for it to not be just a candy room,” Rogers said. “I bring food there every day because I’m trying to get the kids to buy healthier items. I even bought special bowls with lids to bring soup in.”

Rogers also explains there is almost everything is available in the kitchen offered in this corner, just on a smaller scale. She tries different items every day, from hummus with pita to fresh fruit to boxed salads.

The winner will get a gracious pizza party sponsored by the lunch ladies. If one or more people submit the same title, the first two or three will be provided a pizza party.

If only one person submitted the chosen name, he or she can bring a couple friends to share the pizza. To sweeten the deal, the name chosen will be placed above the area in a funky new sign.

As of now, there is no set due date for the final entries, and both Taylor and Rogers encourage students to submit any ideas they may have.

Ideally, the two would like to have made a decision by spring break.

“Ms. Rogers just wanted to keep the naming open,” Taylor said. “So if you have an idea, feel free to send it in!”

“It felt like I was on top of the world.,

pFAMILY TIES: Junior Jamie Sordo stands with her grandmother, Dolores Mufich, and grandfather, John Mufich after a competition. Sordo’s grandfather got her started in ice skating. (Photo courtesy of Jamie Sordo)

To se e a v ide o o f ju n io r Ja ime S o rdo ic e sk ati ng w it h h e r te am , C h ic ag o Ja z z .. .

Check out Pro s p e c t o

r n o w.c om

11

FEATURES

Friday, February 17, 2012

ADHD: learning how to work with less focus CONTINUED from front page

they are having a hard time with school and family issues.

Roach sees a psychologist who helps him learn ways to stay organized and on top of his school work, including how to get the most out of using his assignment notebook.

At school, students who suffer from ADHD can adopt a Section 504 Plan, which is for students with a disability but not involved in special education.

Students who are in special education with ADHD have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) instead.

Both plans work to help the student be successful in class by accommodating the student’s individual needs.Services can range from having extra time on tests to preferential seating in class.

These different types of techniques

The silver lining Though ADHD is thought of as a negative disorder, there are many people who learn to be successful with ADHD and its symptoms.

“There are also positive factors as well if you channel it properly,” clinical psychologist Adam Crane said. “Some people who are more hyperactive than impulsive behaviors, work very quickly, generally generate a lot of ideas, [and] they have a big picture of what things they would like to accomplish.”

Famous people These are just a few well-known people with ADHD: John F. Kennedy Albert Einstein Thomas Edison Benjamin Franklin Elvis Presley Robin Williams Michael Phelps Michael Jordan Vincent Van Gogh Emily Dickinson

According to add-adhd-treatment.com are used for people who have been clinically diagnosed with ADHD, rather than just self-diagnosing.

For many students, referring to themselves as ADHD has become an excuse for zoning out in class or acting hyper around friends. However, ADHD is more serious than simply being distracted.

“It becomes difficult for [people with ADHD] to actually prove their disability,” Crane said. “So many people can commonly just say, ‘Well, this is a diagnosis I have,’ [but] they don’t really understand it.”

ADHD involves difficulties with not only focusing and concentration but also with following directions, poor attention to detail and impulsive behavior.

Special education assistant John Meyers Jr., who works with students who have ADHD, likens ADHD to trying to listen to 15 people talk at once.

“There is a difference between being

pA STRUGGLE TO CONCENTRATE: Students with Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder (ADHD) sometimes have difficulty concentrating in class. Prospect provides a Section 504 plan to help accommodate ADHD students’ needs. (Photo by Ian Magnuson) distracted and having ADHD,” Meyers said. “It’s not, ‘I have a hard time paying attention in math; I have ADD.’” Meyers said that because people often times joke around about having ADHD, the seriousness of the disorder is lessened.

The seriousness of ADHD spawns from the inability to focus, which can affect a person in getting work done, resulting in trouble with school or work.

Roach sees one of his biggest chal-

lenges as staying focused in class which can end up affecting his grades. Roach notices a pattern of not being able to focus in class causing him to not be able to understand the material learned in class.

“I don’t view it as a negative thing about me,” Roach said. “It is just something I need to learn to deal with. Some people have other things that can make things hard for them — this is what I have.”

Common ADHD medications

According to webmd.com, symptoms are lessened by 70 percent when medication is taken. Medication is to be taken daily, in order to get the most out of the medication. Psycho-stimulants is the class of medication used mainly to treat ADHD. Ritalin- “Ritalin acts on dopamine and norepinephrine, to block reuptake from the space in between cells. This increases the amount of time they stay there, which means that they activate signaling pathways for longer periods of time.”

Adderall- “Adderall not only blocks the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine through cellular pumps, it also goes inside the cells and reverses the pumps. So instead of letting those chemicals in, and taking them away from “outside” the cells, it kicks them out.”

Focalin- “[Focalin] is a mild stimulant that is thought to work by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain.”

Focalin is a modified version of Ritalin.

Medication descriptions courtesy of webmd.com

Photo by Ian Magnuson

Who Knows HER Boyfriend Better?

This issue, the Prospector interviews senior couples Brad Reibel and Taylor Smith, and Alex Schnepf and Kelly Zeigenfuss to see who knows their boyfriend better.

What are his parents’ names?

W I What is his shoe size?

N N What is his favorite video game?

E R Who is his celebrity man crush?

The Girlfriend

Taylor Smith

When did you first meet?

What are his parents’ names?

The Boyfriend

W I N N E R

4

4

Cristiano Ronaldo

Denzel Washington

4

middle school

4

kindergarten

4

Bob and Maureen

4

Andy and Wendy

4

The Boyfriend

COD

Denzel Washington 6th grade spanish class

Kelly Zeigenfuss

8.5

Mario Kart

4

The Girlfriend

Modern Warfare 3

10.5

Brad Reibel

Andy and Wendy 8

Smash Brothers

What is your favorite video game?

When did you first meet?

4

13

What is his shoe size?

Who is his celebrity man crush?

Bob and Maureen

Brad Pitt

4

kindergarten

Alex Schnepf

12

ENTERTAINMENT

Friday, February 17, 2012

Graphic by Heather Dove and Emmy Lindfors

A gamer’s life for me Math teacher Mike Riedy once was an avid “World of Warcraft” (WoW) player.

He would play 12 to 16 hours a week. Even though he enjoyed the game, spending that much time on the game wasn’t in his best interest.

“Spending time in the game versus spending time with the family was a problem,” Riedy said. “It didn’t have major adverse effects; I never quit my job because of it. We didn’t sell one of our children to pay for it.

“There were some times on a Saturday night where I could have been sitting watching a movie with the wife instead of playing WoW — probably would’ve been a better idea.”

Senior Mary Rose Peterson also used to play WoW. She would log roughly one to three hours when playing, but she didn’t set time aside each day to play. Instead, she would play whenever she had the time.

However, upon entering high school, Peterson found it difficult to manage harder classes and activities like marching band.

As a result, her time to play video games took a hit. She also felt that she was lacking sleep.

“If I don’t have much time to sleep, there is not much time to play games,” Peterson said.

Since freshman year, Peterson hasn’t returned to the mystical land of WoW. However, she believes that she is “not missing much” as there are other things happening in her life.

Senior Simon Mischenko says he plays about the same amount of time as Peterson and plays “only when it is most convenient” for him and doesn’t find any conflicts between playing video games and other aspects of his life as he budgets his time.

“It is a hobby, just like any other,” Mischenko said.

In fact, Mischenko thinks his video game experience has only affected him positively.

He was first introduced to online video games around 2001, but he considers his first true introduction to video gaming to be later, when he started playing “Runescape,” a Massive Multi-player Online Role-

Breaking borders

Playing Game (MMORPG).

When senior Simon Mischenko “It gave me my first look into popstarted playing “Runescape,” he was ping into a server introduced to with a couple other a world with

By Emmy Lindfors and Heather Dove thousand people,” an economy, Managing Editor and Online Editor Mischenko said. something he “Suddenly, you’re thinks is one popped into a world Senior Simon Mischenko moves down of its great with magic and that a dirt lane, passing stone columns that strengths. sort of thing...It was He was also protect his Nexus. As he gets to the last influenced by interesting to follow because of all of the stone column, also known as a turret, he its open chat things that were altakes his place in the middle lane. After feature, which ways happening.” was filtered a minute and a half, his minions reach for slang and From then on his side. He places down an H-28G Evo- “vulgar lanMischenko has come to love online games lution Turret, which launches off bullets guage,” but like “League of and Hextech Micro-Rockets toward his was “not exLegends” (LoL) and tremely limenemy.

“Minecraft.” In LoL, ited.”

The Mischenko is taking on a new perso- chat allowed Mischenko finds “the aspect of stratna, Heimerdinger, in an action real-time him to comegy, [working with] municate with strategy (ARTS) massive multi-player other a great deal of math playonline video game, “League of Legends.” ers in-game, and numbers and learning through Later, he can create “whole new worlds” which in turn experience” highly with his friends in a sandbox indie video allowed him intriguing. the possibility game, “Minecraft.” Or he can fight for to talk to thouBut, Mischenhis team as a spy to obtain secrets from sands of other ko points out that games can become the enemy team. In game, he can change people across addicting. He, and globe. his class to any of the nine in “Team For- theAs others, attribute the Mischtress 2,” a first-person shooter (FPS) enko discovaddiction to “gamification”. ered via direct video game.

Gamification is Despite a survey done by the Prospec- c o m m u n i c a a process that is tion with playtor which showed students thought about ers, in-game prominent in WoW, half of their peers play online video chatting according to Mischor enko. vocally by megames, in reality only 25 percent play.

It relates to the This issue, The Prospector dives into the diums such as idea that if a perSkype, playworld of online gaming to explore and ers across the son is rewarded for see its effects. an action, they will globe are becontinually work to coming interget the reward. connected.

According to Mischenko, WoW has perAccording to Mischenko, “gamfected the timing at which players receive ing has reached an absolute new rewards for their actions. As a result of high,” as a result of this communithis cycle, which is reminiscent of psycation. chology studies such as the Skinner Box, Although it wasn’t the cause players continue to play for long periods of him playing video games, of time.

Mischenko has used the commu-

Online Gaming for RTS: Real Time Strategy: In RTS games, opposing teams fight until a specific goal is achieved. Players can create new assets or barriers, as well as destroy enemy’s assets.

A type of RTS is ARTS, Action Real Time Strategy. In ARTS, players control only one character, who they use to take down the enemy team.

ARTS games require knowledge on a specific character, as well as strategy to beat an opposing team.

Server: A computer or computer program that helps online players connect in a game. The larger a game community is, the more servers it needs. If there are too many users on a server, the connection and come will become slower.

MMORPG: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game: In these games, you can expect a huge source of players from across the globe. Since it is Role-Playing, you typically create a character out of a given set of class options, and finish missions or quests within the game.

Sandbox: A sandbox video game has no particular plot, and allows players to take on obstacles or situations in more than one way. Since players can “roam” wherever they choose within a sandbox game, Sandbox games are also known as “free roam” games. “Minecraft” is a Sandbox game because in “Minecraft,” players can do as they please. There are enemies that players can take on, but are not forced to face.

nication factor in video games to stay in touch with friends that have gone off to universities. He has also played with and come to know new people from as close as Minnesota to as far away as New Zealand.

In fact, Mischenko, with a group of his friends, met a girl from New Zealand. She happened to be visiting Chicago, and was willing to meet up.

Because of that, Mischenko and his friends have come to consider her a close friend.

But taking an online relationship into the real world can be tricky.

“It’s not something to be taken lightly,” Mischenko said, “It’s certainly something you need to be wary of.”

Mischenko believes it would’ve been a bigger deal if he hadn’t been with five of his other friends.

Unlike Mischenko, math teacher Mike Riedy has never met any online friends in real life. “[I] never [had] friends like ‘go out for dinner’ friends,” Riedy said.

“But I knew people online, and [I’d] jump online and see the same people.”

But, Riedy often used WoW to connect with his friends who didn’t live close.

“I had two friends that lived cross country that I dragged into it because it gave us an opportunity to kind of ‘hang out’ via ‘WoW,’” Riedy said.

Similarly, senior Mary Rose Peterson started playing video games to “hang out” with her sister who lived in California at the time.

“It gave me and her time to do something together, and made the distance seem smaller,” Peterson said.

Hogar de Hodges In “League of Lege nds,” players team up to destroy their enemy’s Nexus (or base) while facing minons, battli ng other champions and de molishing enemy towers.

Depending on the champion player choose, the y will have unique abilities, lik e some characters, tanks, have higher health than others .

As players continu e to participate in match es, their summoner level wi ll increase, eventually to the top , level 30.

14

SPORTS

champs and finished second in state in 2003. Troyer also saw this year’s team doing well because there is sectional and state expeLast year, the girls’ bowling rience from the previous year. team ended their season by “I came into this season hopfinishing sixth in state after ing we would be one of the top clinching a state spot with a second-place finish in sectionals. teams in sectionals,” Troyer said. “That’s where we are at evFollowing a strong season like ery year.” that, the girls hoped this year The team has not finished would go the same way. lower than third in conference in The team qualified for five years and always qualsectionals after ified for sectionals. The finishing second four seniors on the team, in the conference Michelle Bergeron, Cassie meet on Jan. 30, Bach, Alison Mulcahy beating Hoffman and Allison Walsh, benEstates, who led efit from this because they the conference for want to have a consistent most of the season. level of achievement with Head coach Greg each season, according to Troyer said this is the team’s best fin- Senior Alison Mulcahy Troyer.

As sectionals passed, ish in conference the girls struggled against since the girls were conference their conference rivals, Hoffman Estates and Elk Grove, but Mulcahy managed to be the only Striking 10 Prospect player to qualify for According to head coach state.

Greg Troyer, last year’s Although Troyer admits the bowling team was one of the team is a little disappointed by best spare-shooting teams the end of their season, they he has had. were happy to get the opportuWhile he misses that nity to support Mulcahy at the distinct ability, Troyer said state level. one of the things that helped Mulcahy said she was excited this year’s team was the for state and happy to end the large number of strikes they season having fun bowling at threw. state.

Throwing strikes helped As a single competing at state, keep the girls from falling Mulcahy was paired with singles behind in conference early in from four other random schools. the season.

While these competitors bowled

together as a team, only the bowlers with the highest scores moved on to further state rounds.

“Bowling with other people was different because I wasn’t there with them,” Mulcahy said.

“I wasn’t as comfortable with them as I was with my teammates.”

Mulcahy didn’t see herself going to state at the beginning of the season.

“I started the season off kind of rough,” Mulcahy said. “[Going down to state] just sort of happened.”

Mulcahy went down to state Thursday to practice with her teammates, and Friday, found herself competing in a very relaxed way.

Unfortunately, Mulcahy failed to qualify for the second round of state competition.

The girls experienced a lot of ups and downs this season, and the inconsistency eventually led to missing team trip to state by just six pins.

The team’s main conference rivals played much better at sectionals than they had the week before or at sectionals in the past. Troyer believes this year will work to provide the JV players with the experience and idea to work harder to win conference next year.

“This year we are favored a lot more going into post season,” Troyer said. “It’s given us the confidence and high hopes we need to achieve well for seasons to come.”

Friday, February 17, 2012

Mulcahy bowls at state

By Matt Bajkowski Sports Editor

pSTATE: (Above) Junior Oluwashola George practices wrestling in preparation for the state tournament.

George individually qualified along with seniors Max Triveline and Jon Bilancia (Photo by Ian Magnuson).

(Left) Freshman Maddie Larock sticks the landing.

The Gymnastics team qualified sophomore Gianna Scala, junior Meggie Kania and senior Lauren Johnson for state. (Photo by Nick Cartwright)

For coverage of these state meets, check out...

Prospectornow.com

Friday, February 17, 2012

15

SPORTS You Don’t Know

JACK Four-class system dilutes playoffs

Give it a boost pLENDING A HAND: Amenities, such as the scoreboard pictured left and the concession stand pictured right, benefit the athletic programs. The Athletic Booster Club is an organization that raises money to fund such projects. (Photo by Ian Magnuson)

Athletic Booster Club supports projects for teams

By Alyssa Zediker Executive Sports Editor Construction plans have been set to start breaking ground on a two-story storage facility for the girls’ softball program this summer. Head coach Jim Adair has high hopes for the new building. It will not only be used for storage of equipment and tractor, but it also has a concession stand and water supply to hose down the field.

This project will cost around $50,000 to complete, and after two years of fundraising, the Athletic Booster Club will be donating the money.

The sports programs receive numerous amenities ranging from press boxes to scoreboards and concession stands thanks to the Booster Club.

Volunteers The Athletic Boosters is comprised of parents from each sport and they act as representatives for their team.

The parents communicate the team’s financial needs requested by the coaches.

“These are all volunteer parents who want things to be better not just for their kids but for future generations,” head softball coach Jim Adair said.

These larger projects would be impossible to accomplish without the club.

The Booster Club fills the gaps where the school’s funding falls short.

The program tends to take on the larger projects like a scoreboard, which can cost roughly $100,000, according retired Booster President Tom Ziegenfuss, father of senior Kelly Ziegenfuss.

Recently the boosters raised funds to build the concession stand in the field house foyer, which cost $80,000.

The concession stand also helps raise funds for the booster program.

Building a turf field was another project the club was undertaking until the school administration formed a partnership (for more information, check out the back page).

While the club participates in larger projects, it also funds smaller needs for the athletic activities. In past years they have bought golf bags, a computer for swimming and diving and new poms uniforms.

“I think if there was an athletic team that said, ‘This is something we really need,’ and they went to the Booster Club, there is no doubt in my mind that the Booster Club would find a way to make it happen,” Adair said.

Every year the club puts around $5,000 aside for minor team needs.

Booster President Maureen Reibel, mother of senior Brad Reibel, feels their participation in the athletic program should reach every team.

“You want to be able to spread the wealth; you want all programs to benefit from any monetary funds,” head baseball coach Ross Guisti said.

The baseball program was able to build a press box after the Boosters, who co-signed a loan from the district.

Boosters would only have to pay for

RECORDS: Athletes succeed, make school history CONTINUED from back page her.

With all the hard work, Scala has broken her previously set record from her freshman year in her floor event. She ended up scoring a 9.775 in floor and 37.45 all around.

Walsh, along with the other varsity golfers, pulled out a state championship this season.

Not only did Walsh win the title, but she also earned two records, shooting a 72 on 18 holes and a 33 on 9 holes.

Walsh is team-oriented and said the time she spent with her teammates was more memorable than the record.

“I’m just part of something great,” Walsh said. “These girls deserve [the record] as much as I do.”

Walsh will golf at Bradley University in Peoria in the fall, and hopes to improve her game there.

With the amount of work they had to put in, both Walsh and LaTu-

lip respect their former record holders. “[Anderson] was a great player here and did a lot for this program, so to be mentioned with him is a honor in itself,” LaTulip said.

Anderson set the record as a senior in 2006.

“Part of having records is being humble enough to understand that one day someone will come along and break [your record],” Anderson said. “Records are meant to be broken.”

Anderson’s mind set allowed him to be very proud of LaTulip.

“I’m definitely happy for him; it’s a great accomplishment. I just hope he’s gracious enough to thank his teammates and his coach to display his talents,” Anderson said.

LaTulip recognizes the amount of gratitude he has for his team.

“I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” LaTulip said, “and the trust they put in me to score the ball and help this team win.”

the loan if the program did not pay the loan back within 10 years, which they have already done.

The club’s money is not divided equally because then they would be unable to fund larger projects.

“We want to make sure the larger projects we take on are going to help the entire community at Prospect,” Reibel said.

Larger project ideas come from parents that represent each team. Following the booster members’ brainstorm session, school administrators provide guidance to which ideas are beneficial for the booster club to undertake. At the end, the representatives vote to make the final decision.

To fundraise for the larger projects, there are a number of fundraising opportunities hosted over the course of the year. One way the club raises money is through selling membership, which costs each family $25.

The club also hosts events such as an annual golf outing in the fall, a number of feeder basketball tournaments,and a 5K race during the spring, and they sell school apparel in order to raise the funds their projects require.

According Ziegenfuss, the program raises on average $30,000 a year, but not all the funds are distributed every year. After meeting the smaller demands the funds are saved to later be distributed for the larger projects.

“I think we would like to continue to or even improve our footprint at Prospect,” Reibel said. “I want to make sure that people know what Boosters does and that people know that we are here to help as many teams and programs as possible.”

Records in 2011-2012 Boys’ Golf: Ryan Kowalski- 9 Hole- 30, 18 Hole- 67

Girls’ Golf: Allison Walsh- 9 Hole- 33, 18 Hole- 72 Varsity Girls’ Golf Team18-Hole 308

Boys’ Diving: Andre Burck6 Dive- 217.0

Girls’ Diving: Dana Liva6 Dive- 260.10

Boys’ Soccer: Brad ReibelCareer Shutouts- 19* Shutouts- 10 (Tied) Bill Cooney- Assists- 12 (Tied) Goals Single Game- 4

Girls’ Gymnastics: Gianna ScalaFloor- 9.775 Lauren JohnsonAll-Around- 37.45

Girls’ Volleyball: Danielle Siwik- Career Assists- 1,282*

Boys’ Basketball: Mike LaTulip- Career Scoring- 1,324**

*Career Record **Games Remaining as of 2/8/12

According to IHSA’s website, the term “March Madness” was actually coined by a man named H.V. Porter in 1939 when he used it to describe the excitement of the IHSA state basketball playoffs.

Since then, however, IHSA state tournaments have developed into just “madness.”

In 2006, IHSA voted in favor of class expansion for almost every high school sport. Previously most sports had two classes, A and AA, that generally separated the big schools in the Chicagoland area from the smaller rural schools in other parts of Illinois to help maintain fair competition when competing in the state playoffs.

Basketball, along with baseball, softball and girls’ volleyball, went from two classes, A and AA, all the way to the current four, while most of the other sports added just one class.

While adding classes might make sense for a sport like football (eight classes) where the number of participants can be an advantage in a number of different ways, sports involving cuts, such as basketball, where there are only about 10-15 players on a team and only five playing on the court, benefit much less from the number of kids attending the school.

While the apparent goal of adding classes was to keep schools with a larger number of kids from competing for the same prize as schools with fewer kids in an attempt to level the playing field, it has diluted the competition of the basketball state playoffs.

When looking at the history of the state championship for basketball, the separation makes almost no sense.

Schools with teams that are currently competing in the 3A class for basketball made the state championship in 13 of the last 15 seasons before the expansion to four classes.

This means that by separating the class AA, these schools can no longer compete against each other in the state playoffs in what were previously extremely competitive games. Games were played and rivalries were built despite the class size differences.

Now both state-champion teams in 3A and 4A are just left to wonder who really is the best team in the state.

Along with more classes comes more travel as schools have to go greater distances to find schools of the same general size. To reduce the amount of travel, the playoff format went from the top teams in the state being seeded into different regional brackets to putting teams into regionals based solely on geography.

Instead of the best teams in the state making it farther, they are replaced by the teams that win their region of Illinois.

This means that one regional can have five top 10 teams while another can have 10 teams with .500 records.

Having better teams play each other later in the tournament also creates more excitement because it creates the potential for bigger upsets, along with more competitive games as the tournament progresses.

Some schools saw more success as the classes were added, but head basketball coach John Camardella, who prefers the two-class system, does not think Prospect gained or lost from the expansion.

“I don’t think it is an advantage or disadvantage,” Camardella said. “The only thing the four-class system does is award two extra state titles.”

Even though the two class system wasn’t perfect, at the end of the year, there was no question who the best team in the state was.

SPORTS Friday, February 17, 2012

Boys’ and girls’ basketball playoffs began this past week at Stevenson and Libertyville, respectively. For full coverage of their postseason runs, check out...

Prospectornow.com

pBEING THE BEST: These athletes (pictured left to right), Mike LaTulip, Bill Cooney, Allison Walsh, Gianna Scala, Lauren Johnson, Dana Liva, Danielle Siwik, Brad Reibel, Ryan Kowalski and Andre Burck, have broken school records for their individual sports and now have their names among the best. (Photo by Ian Magnuson)

Athletes break numerous records

By Peter Fusilero Staff Writer Hanging up on the far fieldhouse wall are boards that have categories of different sports. The sports range from the fall, winter and spring seasons.

Numbers, decimals and percentages labeled in navy blue sit next to athletes’ names, representing that they are temporarily at the top.

These numbers and categories are records. Most recently joining the board is senior basketball player Mike LaTulip, who made the 7 points required to beat Craig Anderson’s record of 1,282 against Elk Grove on Feb. 3.

This year there were several athletes sitting in LaTulip’s same seat, but they don’t shoot a basketball. These other

Prospect athletes, including LaTulip, are seniors Andre Burck, Brad Reibel, Bill Cooney, Allison Walsh, Ryan Kowalski, Danielle Siwik, Lauren Johnson, sophomore Gianna Scala and freshman Dana Liva (see “Record breakers” on page 15).

Burck and Liva both broke records for points in their diving competitions and thanked their program as a whole for having a chance even to attempt to break it. Liva scored a record high 260 points while Burck scored a 217, both in the category for 6-dive.

Burck said having coach Patrick Kivland sophomore and junior years really helped him, and that’s why he believes he’ll be up on the record boards for a while.

As for Liva, she believes just the support of the program and coaches really contributed to her success.

Since both Burck and Liva are competitive athletes, the records were in the back of their heads as they worked all season.

“Once I started the season, [breaking the record] became a goal to shoot for, and it made me try harder every day in practice,” Liva said.

LaTulip said he couldn’t have broken the record without his family’s support.

LaTulip’s brother, 2010 graduate Joe LaTulip, played basketball at Illinois Wesleyan University until he had to stop because of an injured knee. Even with an injury, Joe continues to support his brother and has helped him out by staying close during his free semester to discuss his play and watch his games.

Scala is in the same shoes as LaTulip, because she too has had her family’s constant support.

According to Scala, gymnastics has had a huge impact on her family because her mom has to deal with transporting her and her sisters to meets and practices. Scala said her mom would have to leave early from work to get her sisters, then pick them up early to get

See RECORDS, page 15

pPERFECT 10: Sophomore Gianna Scala broke the floor record with a 9.775 at the MSL Conference meet. Here she performs her uneven bars routine. (Photo by Nick Cartwright)

District board gives approval for synthetic turf partnership

By Jordan Fletcher Sports Editor The Arlington Heights and Wheeling park districts teamed up with District 214 last April to achieve one goal: installation of artificial turf to both Hersey and Wheeling high schools. Prospect is now being added to the list, as well as Buffalo Grove and Rolling Meadows.

According to Principal Kurt Laakso, the reason why Prospect wasn’t among the leaders of this movement was because of the risk that goes into any big investment such as turf. Laakso believes the installation at Prospect will be of better quality than that of Hersey’s and Wheeling’s.

Because Hersey and Wheeling installed turf first, Prospect has been able to watch what worked and what didn’t.

This knowledge has allowed for the Mount Prospect Park District to feel safe in investing with Prospect for the roughly $1 million initial cost of the field.

Students react to turf installation “Most of our competitions are on artificial turf, so it’s going to be really helpful to practice on it because it is so different compared to the grass.”

-Sophomore band member Elizabeth Konopacki “I’m just glad we’ll be getting away from the terrible fields during the worst parts of the weather. Besides, everyone would rather play on a turf field.”

-Junior soccer player Trevor Sweet “The games will be better overall since the weather will have a much lesser effect on the game, such as footing.”

-Junior football player Devin O’Hara “I personally believe that [the fields] are going to be a great asset to our communities,” District Board President James Perkins said.

The park district will be allowed access to the field as well as the high school teams, gym classes and band. According to Laakso, Friday nights and Saturday mornings will be for high school sports, and Saturday afternoons and Sundays will go to the park district.

“It is a win-win for the community and the school,” Laak-

so said.

“When both the park district and school district come together, we are able to find a much more efficient and beneficial plan for everyone,” said Julie Caporusso, board secretary for the Mount Prospect Park District.

According to Superintendent Dr. David Schuler, the partnership shows that the community as a whole is being creative to help support all our programs.

This will also allow the band

to expand on opportunities of practice by being able to practice on the turf after school until 5 when other programs will use it. At that point they will revert back to the roped area where cars will be dismissed.

“I think [the turf] is going to allow a lot of groups to be out in the stadium in a setting that’s more suitable to practice, perform and compete in,” said band director Chris Barnum, who feels the band will benefit from practicing on the field because it is similar to the environment they perform in.

Laakso said within the field’s 10- to 12-year life expectancy, the turf will pay for itself around the eight or ninth year because of cost savings.

Since the field will need no regular repairs or striping, the maintenance and man power costs will decrease and allow for the grounds keepers to give all other practice fields a lot more attention.

“We will be able to put the savings into general funds as well as other areas of the school,” Laakso said.

According to Caporusso, the reputation that comes with this installation is great because it shows how supportive our community is to the programs for these kids.

“The decision [on the turf] has always been about supporting our programs,” Schuler said.

A problem with living in a Chicago suburb is always the weather. The turf, however, allows for both the school and park district not to have that affect sports’ practice and game times. There will be less rescheduling and therefore less “bumping” of team practices, which allows for consistent seasons.

“The fields were under utilized — we have these beautiful stadiums, yet we only had about 30 games on there a year,” Perkins said. “Now we can utilize that field, weather permitting, 365 days a year.”

“Prospect’s quality of facilities have always been great,” Laakso said. “We are just taking the field to that next level.”