Prospector Issue 2 2011-2012

Volume 51, Issue 2

Friday, October 7, 2011

TheVoice of Prospect since 1960

ROSPECTOR

A teenager’s 16th birthday often means getting a driver’s license, so many upperclassmen not only drive but also own their own cars. For stories on students and their experiences with their cars, check out...

In-Depth, pages 8-9

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

The struggle to sleep Busy schedules leave students lacking rest

By Maddie Conway and Carly Evans Editor-in-Chief and Copy Editor Senior Claire Goodrich looks forward to Tuesday: It’s the one weekday she gets to catch up on sleep.

With her hectic extracurricular schedule — she’s a section leader in band, a fourth-year member of speech team, in the winter play and also tutors outside of school — she sometimes doesn’t get home until 9:30 p.m. on school nights.

Coupled with homework for five AP classes, she usually doesn’t get to bed until midnight, sometimes as late as 2 or 3 a.m. Tuesday, when she gets home right after school, is the day she really has time to relax.

Goodrich isn’t alone. With school weeks full of everything from extracurricular activities to sports to AP classes, finding time to balance a busy schedule and still do well in school is a challenge many students face, not even taking into consideration having time to relax.

Driven by the promise of good grades and success, many students will put aside basic necessities, including sleep, to study, finish homework or get ahead.

Although studies consistently find that adolescents should sleep nine or 10

hours a night, the average teenager usually only sleeps six or seven hours, if that, according to The New York Times.

Such sleep patterns leave students who have demanding academic and extracurricular schedules in the tough situation of making it through the school day with little rest and consequently less energy, according to school nurse Cheryl Novak.

If students continue that short sleep schedule over a long period of time, it can turn into a vicious cycle of staying up late and going through the days less and less awake.

School psychologist Dr. Jay KypJohnson said the amount of sleep students get is tied to their performance in school. Kyp-Johnson said students who

Photo illustration by Ian Magnuson

have trouble in school are often feeling the effects of sleep deprivation.

“Kids have problems because they don’t sleep well,” he said. “Anybody will tell you that people having problems — emotional problems, mental problems or school problems — [is often] associated with some kind of sleep problem.”

Sophomore Josh Arshonsky, who is involved in Mixed Company, speech team, Madrigals, the fall play and Service Club, sometimes doesn’t get to bed until past midnight on his busiest days.

He notices that he’s significantly less focused and more easily distracted when he’s running on less sleep.

Goodrich said lacking sleep affects

See SLEEP, page 3

Service Club helps community

By Meghan Doyle Executive News Editor Seven students — six senior girls and one junior boy — counselor Rachel Brill and Service Learning Coordinator Dave Jacobson piled into a small white bus around noon on Monday, July 25. For the third time, Prospect’s Service Club was on its way to help people in need in West Bend, Wis. In the past few years, Service Club has focused on branching out beyond the walls of Prospect. By bringing back the blood drive, St. Baldrick’s Day and the food drive, Service Club has been able to reach surrounding communities.

Senior Kristin Klippert, who is on the club’s executive board, said Service Club has helped out with fairs in other towns, like Arlington Heights’ Autumn Harvest. Working in other towns has also expanded the club’s impact.

This past summer, the club took the trip to Wisconsin to work with Habitat for Humanity. Service Club has partnered with

Habitat for 14 years, traveling to Mondovi, Wis., and Michigan in addition to this trip to West Bend.

While there, Service Club helped build and paint a new duplex house for two families. Although they weren’t able to meet the people who would live there, Jacobson said the students enjoyed it because they were able to see the results of their effort.

“Even though we [didn’t] finish the whole house, I think [the students] certainly [saw] some progress and that they [had] actually [done] something concrete, no pun intended,” Jacobson said.

The kids also refurbished a resale store just purchased by Habitat by painting walls, taking out carpeting, sanding floors and doing other odd jobs.

“It was disgusting,” Klippert said. “It looked so bad coming in there, [but] the resale store looked completely different [after working there].”

Not only does Service Club look for ways

See SERVICE, page 2

For more on soccer, turn to Sports, page 15 Senior Patryk Ruta plays against Glenbrook South on Sept. 9. The boys’ soccer team clinched the Mid-Suburban League East division title and are playing in the MSL championship on Oct. 13. (Photo by Ian Magnuson)

Study stress

Pioneering the PC

Volleying for the cause

A heavy homework load can lead to heavy stress, but knowing how to manage and prioritize time can make the world of a difference. For an opinion on homework stress, see...

This issue, The Prospector decided to review “The Oregon Trail,” a computer game about pioneers that has been around since 1971. For the review and some nostalgia, check out...

The girls’ volleyball team supports breast cancer research through its annual Volley for the Cure game. The game is Oct. 11. For more on the fundraiser, turn to...

Opinion, page 5

Entertainment, page 12

Sports, page 14

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NEWS

Friday, October 7, 2011

SERVICE: Projects reach beyond Prospect community CONTINUED from front page to help out beyond Prospect, but they also do what they can within it. According to Klippert, Service Club has given a hand to the homecoming committee in putting up decorations and running banner painting in past years.

This year, they have already scheduled one blood drive and are hoping to put another one on the calendar as well.

Service Club members also go to the local Lutheran home to play “Bingo” with the elderly and participate in Acts of Kindness (AOK), a program where students rake leaves and plant and weed gardens for elderly members of the community who aren’t able to do it themselves.

Klippert said these events are not only fun because she gets to help out, but also because she gets to do them with her friends. Klippert joined Service Club sophomore year with several friends, most of whom are still participants.

It’s also nice that members can choose how much time they put into the club because there is not a weekly meeting.

Despite the fact that nothing is required of Service Club members, it feels good to participate in the service opportunities offered.

“When you come home, you feel like you’ve done something important,” Klippert said.

Fun in the sun? More like in the rain...

Even though Service Club got rained on while doing Habitat for Humanity service projects in West Bend, Wis., they still found a way to have some fun once their work was done.

On the night Service Club arrived, they paid a visit to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. The next afternoon, they went to the Washington County Fair, where they enjoyed rides and a late-night firework show. On Wednesday evening, the kids went round and round the local go-kart track.

Thursday, the club was invited to the lake house of the executive director of the West Bend branch of Habitat. The kids took rides on Lake Michigan on both Jet Skis and tubes, and then enjoyed dinner and games back at the lake house; the only damper on the day was that it was rainy and gray.

p WORK KNIGHTS: Service Club members seniors Kristen Klippert and Ashley Sargus (top), junior John Sullivan (middle) and senior Natalie Pacini (bottom) do their jobs on a Service Club trip to West Bend, Wis., in July. At left, Pacini enjoys a ride on a go-kart at a West Bend track. The trip was one of the many efforts the club has recently made to reach out to other communities. (Photos courtesy of Dave Jacobson)

New program motivates students to rethink drug habits

By Jenny Johnson News Editor The administration at Prospect takes drug and alcohol abuse very seriously, sometimes assigning 10-day suspensions or expulsions to offenders.

According to Dean Mark Taylor, Buffalo Grove High School started hosting a program called Seven Challenges last school year.

This program is for students with drug and alcohol problems and helps motivate students to make the decision to change their damaging habits.

Since this program was a success at Buffalo Grove, the Prospect administration was asked if they would like to host the same program for their students.

The program is run by Omni Youth Services and comes to Prospect to meet every Wednesday for two hours after school.

This group is anonymous and is advised not to talk about what goes on during the session after the session is over.

This program at Prospect has been running since second semester last year and continues this year. According to Taylor, it was very successful last year.

“Omni is a very good organization,”

Taylor said. “I think kids got a lot out nationwide, so sessions can differ deof it since they talk about making good pending on if they are held at schools, decisions and [how] the decisions you clinics or a juvenile detention centers. make form you.”

According to guidance counselor “Kids should not tell outsiders about Colleen Carroll, counselors recomother kids in the program’s problems. mend students who they think would be It is more about respecting others’ pri- a good fit for the program to the deans. vacy,” Omni Youth Then the recommended stuServices director Sharon Conner dents talk to the said. deans one-on-one, According to who then sign Conner, Omni is them up to join the challenge if the broken down into two different prostudents are will-Omni Youth Services director Sharon Conner ing. grams.

One is the actual “Kids will alprogram Seven Challenges, while the ways make their own decisions, and no other is a program to help train coun- parent, teacher or counselor can make selors to run the meetings of the pro- it for them,” Conner said. “Our main gram. focus is to make sure [students] are hapSeven Challenges is targeted for py with whatever they decide.” children aged 12 to 18. This program is

“Our main focus is to make sure [students] are happy with whatever they decide.”

The Seven Challenges During a Seven Challenges session, participants discuss the “Seven Challenges” and how students are planning to achieve these goals.

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Members decide to open up and talk honestly about themselves and about alcohol and other drugs.

Members look at their responsibility and the responsibility of others for their problems.

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Members think about where they seemed to be headed, where they wanted to go and what they wanted to accomplish when they did alcohol and drugs.

Members look at what they liked about alcohol and other drugs, and why they were using them.

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Members make thoughtful decisions about their lives and about their use of alcohol and other drugs.

Members look at their use of alcohol or other drugs to see if it has caused harm or could cause harm.

Members follow through on their decisions about their lives and drug use. If members had problems, they went back to earlier challenges and mastered them.

Information courtesy of sevenchallenges.com

Friday, October 7, 2011

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NEWS

SLEEP: Hectic schedules keep students without rest CONTINUED from front page her motivation in school, too. Just like her concentration wanes by Friday, so does her energy and desire to learn.

“By Friday, you feel so sleep deprived that it’s really hard to stay awake during your classes,” she said.

“Sometimes, you want to learn, but ... you just don’t have the concentration to even think about it anymore.”

Goodrich also said how much sleep she’s gotten the night before changes her mood, whether or not

Catching up on rest

When students have trouble getting a full eight hours of sleep at night, some look for other ways to get rest.

A method that works for some students is taking a nap when they get home from school to feel more rested. The nap functions as a way to regain energy, thus allowing students to stay up later to finish any work they may have.

Rather than sleeping when getting home, school nurse Cheryl Novak recommends starting any work immediately and avoiding taking a nap.

Keeping the sleep cycle together, rather than breaking it up, will result in a better night’s rest, she said.

While taking a nap to regain energy may not be ideal, after coming home from a hectic sports practice, some students may at least need a few minutes to relax before starting their homework, according to school psychologist Dr. Jay KypJohnson .

Similarly, Kyp-Johnson said students need to know how their bodies react to catching up on sleep over the weekends, as well.

While some students might believe cutting back on sleep is not a big deal because they can make up for their lost sleep during the weekend, that isn’t true for everyone, according to both Kyp-Johnson and Novak.

For those students who have already lost a substantial amount of sleep, a few extras hours of sleep on the weekend isn’t enough to undo what has already been done.

it’s related to stress from school. A friend poking her or making a joke that rubs her the wrong way might make her more annoyed than she’d usually be if she were wide awake.

Lack of sleep affects students’ health, as well. No matter the complaint, one of the first questions Novak asks students who come into her office not feeling well is how much sleep they had gotten the night before, since a lack of sleep usually makes students feel worse.

When students go through the school day on less energy, Novak said, there are other side effects like a loss of appetite and even early signs of depression.

Students who do go through the school week with less sleep, then, need to find a solution to their fatigue or face falling asleep in class.

To avoid these consequences, KypJohnson emphasized the importance of students knowing themselves and how their bodies function when deciding what works best for them (see Catching up on rest).

For Goodrich, getting extra rest when she can is important to her sleep schedule, but it doesn’t completely erase her tiredness since she has to go through the rest of the week on less rest.

“All day Tuesday I feel really good because I know I can go home and relax,” Goodrich said, “but then the next day I still feel kind of tired because I don’t get a lot of sleep Monday ... so I feel pretty tired, and then I’m stressed out Wednesday because I have more stuff to do that night.”

To help get more rest, both KypJohnson and Novak suggested minimizing distractions when students go to bed to help them sleep better, such as turning off their cell phones so they don’t wake up if someone tries to text them late at night.

What’s really key to getting more sleep, though, is knowing how to manage a busy schedule, according to KypJohnson. A problem for some students is not knowing what they can handle and paying the price — sometimes in sleep — because of it.

“Some of it’s just personal management — knowing yourself well enough to know how you can manage [your schedule].” Kyp-Johnson said. “Nobody’s exactly alike.”

Goodrich also said students need to realize what they sign up for when they take on extracurricular activities and difficult classes.

Goodrich said she knew what to expect with her schedule, but some others

To sleep, or not to sleep (too much)?

The required amount of sleep for the average teen is nine to 10 hours, but any amount of sleep over that can be just as damaging as getting less than six hours of sleep a night. The symptoms of sleeping too little and sleeping too much are strangely similar.

Symptoms include lack of concentration, drowsiness, loss of appetite and, the most common of all, migraines. After sleeping for more than 10 straight hours, it is very common for people to wake up with a migraine that will last until they go to bed that evening.

There are more risks to oversleeping. According to Discovery Health’s blog on sharecare.com, adults who sleep more than the suggested eight hours a night are more prone to heart disease, depression and high blood pressure. People who sleep more than nine hours per night are also twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.

Information courtesy of health-way.org and sharecare.com may not. She said many students may put on a heavy workload to look good for college without balancing it well.

Kyp-Johnson said a good skill for students to develop is knowing how to prioritize their time.

He said realizing what work is most important and focusing time on that — Kyp-Johnson calls it “cutting harmless corners” — is helpful.

Arshonsky recommended utilizing a calendar to stay more organized with a busy schedule. He tries to plan out his homework schedule in advance to avoid

an overload at one time.

Goodrich also tries to budget her time and do as much homework when she has time during the day as she can, like while she’s eating her lunch. However, sometimes with her busy schedule, she can’t always avoid staying up and working into the night.

“It just really sucks when it’s dark out and you’re sitting in your room doing homework,” she said, “[and you think], ‘I’m going to have to do this for the next 100 days, and it’s not going to stop.’”

Stay up to date with all things homecoming on Prospectornow.com.

Check back for pictures of Toga Tuesday, Color day, Knightgames, the Bonfire, Coronation, the game and the homecoming dance.

Juniors cheer on their classmates during last year’s Knightgames (left). Sophomores Megan O’Keefe and Bailey McGuire participate in the obstacle course (right).

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NEWS

Friday, October 7, 2011

OPINION

Friday, October 7, 2011

The Staff

Rumors ruin reputations

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Maddie Conway MANAGING EDITOR Emmy Lindfors

ASSOCIATE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Jane Berry Andrew Revord NEWS EDITORS Meghan Doyle Nabi Dressler Jenny Johnson OPINION EDITOR Kiley Walsh FEATURES EDITORS Anna Boratyn Khrystyna Halatyma IN-DEPTH EDITORS Katie Best Zak Buczinsky Maddy Moloney 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 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 letters to 400 words. The Prospector reserves the rights to edit letters for style and length.

Staff Editorial

COPY EDITOR Carly Evans ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Maggie Devereux

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Sorry, Dunkin Donuts.

America does not run on you. Rather, it runs on gossip and rumors. It is why grocery store tabloids still sell and why things like Tiger Woods’ extramarital affairs make so much news.

This is especially true in the world of teenagers. If anything controversial happens regarding a student, it will be heard throughout the school.

However, gossip can be very harmful. Often, whatever truth this gossip may contain is heavily distorted.

We, The Prospector, believe what makes this gossip more harmful is that, aside from often being untrue, it has real and serious consequences. Rumors are not a legitimate way to criticize anyone, even public figures.

In the public square, one of the most recent victims of gossip is former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin in the book “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” by Joe McGinniss.

In his book, McGinniss alleges Palin has had a onenight stand with then future NBA star Glen Rice in 1987,

had an extramarital affair lic attention. No celebrities with her husband’s business should be immune to people partner and snorted cocaine being allowed to voice negaoff an oil drum while snow- tive opinions about them, boarding. but McGinnisses’ biography Palin is certainly con- on Palin borders on slander. troversial on her own. Most It is not backed by proAmericans either love or fessional, outside research hate her. but the allegations of a few Extremely conserva- questionable sources and tive, this gun-toting, Bible- McGinnisses’ opinion; Palin thumping “hockey mom” is not allowed to defend herhas become one of the loud- self. est voices of the His book is Tea Party movenot simply a balment. anced, “warts She is outand all” biograAgainst For spoken about phy which shows her opposition Palin with all of to abortion, gay her flaws alongmarriage and side her more virtually all of admirable charVoting results of the the Obama ad- Prospector staff in regards acteristics to tell to this editorial. ministration’s the full story. policies.

Rather, it was If Obama were Harry meant to throw mud all over Potter, Palin would be Lord its subject.

Voldemort, showing up conAt the same time, Mcstantly and predictably to Ginnisses’ unofficial Palin complicate Obama’s life. biography serves as a valuAnd like “He who Must Not able lesson to all Prospect Be Named,” she always re- students: Rumors about othturns just when everyone ers aren’t hard to create and thinks she was gone for spread, and the ones startgood. ing the rumors often have an Once again, Palin has agenda for spreading them. been brought into the pub- It is almost certain McGin-

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nisses had an axe to grind with Palin when he wrote his book.

In high school, many students are all too willing to believe, spread and even create rumors about other students they may have something against.

Students rarely consider the consequences of gossip, but it can be harmful, sometimes irreparably so.

There is nothing wrong with scrutinizing a public figure; Palin has stuck her neck out into the public and is exposed to criticism. But scrutiny should be handled with balance and honesty.

These virtues were lacking in McGinness’s book.

As the old saying goes, some things are better left unsaid. If gossiping about public figures is immoral, gossiping about fellow students, who haven’t put themselves into the public spotlight, should simply be taboo.

No one is entitled to not being disliked by anyone, but no one should have to worry about his or her reputation being unfairly ruined by gossip.

Bearing the heavy weight of homework stress Skipping lunch, breaking out and staying up to hours that only the midnight shift Walmart greeters should be up at, all to finish a single day’s worth of homework. Now breathe.

A n d what’s my best excuse that this is absolutely necessary?

I’m a sophKiley Walsh omore in Opinion Editor high school and regardless if it’s 3:46 a.m., I have to do my AP World History notes.

Obviously, I’m being facetious, but more often than not, I find myself awake at drastic hours working on homework that only gets a stamp for completion.

I know I’m not alone several times that I’m up until the next day, I find my sister, senior Allison, doing the same thing as me — cramming homework with heavy, sleepy eyes.

I feel that the reason it is so difficult to complete all my homework and go to bed at a “regular” time is because of sports. Usually getting home around 6 or 7 p.m., there’s a lot to do if I want to get to bed before 11:30 p.m.

pHITTING THE BOOKS: Many students find trouble balancing homework, studying and school activities with adequate sleep and social life. This can make students’ lives very stressful. (Photo illustration by Ian Magnuson) Although I fully believe in doing homework or studying for tests, stressed teenagers need a big slap in the face.

It is emotionally and physically damaging to attempt 100 percent effort on each and every homework assignment.

When three tests and two papers are due the following day, usually your first thought isn’t to finish worksheets or color a poster.

But figuring out what homework is an immediate priority and what homework you can

Weighing down homework Several of my teachers have different weightings for homework in their gradebooks: Chemistry- Nick Delboccio: 15 percent World History- Dave Schnell: 15 percent Algebra- Lisa Halleen: 20 percent English Language and Composition- Rebecca Hagberg-

blow by at lunch is necessary in order to succeed.

Also, it’s important to organize yourself when doing work at home.

My house, or as I like to call it — a zoo, is the heart of all distractions. There’s always a TV on, a cell phone ringing or my mom in my ear complaining about how I won’t let her help me.

Even organizing homework and dinner at separate times is more crucial than it sounds.

Try attempting to read AP World book while parents, sisters and even a dog all bark at your locked door.

Looking back at high school, I want to remember putting in all my effort, but I don’t want to think of being pinned under a pile of stress all the time.

I’m just as guilty as anybody else, but sometimes we need to listen to the devil side of our conscious and give in to an extra hour of sleep.

But listening to the bad side

comes with consequences.

The weight of homework put into our grades definitely helps me maintain a higher grade than a test or a quiz would (see Weighing down homework). If I don’t do my homework every now and then, it can affect my grades more than it would seem.

Usually every day there is an achievable five points worth of homework, sometimes even for just completion.

And yes, when given points for an “effort check,” you would have to be really stupid to not do it at all.

But the bite hurts bad when my grade is an 89.6 percent and I have three missing homework assignments.

In order to get the appropriate grades you want without acing any given test or quiz, doing homework, enough to get full credit, is essential.

Because, not only in life, but in grades, it’s the little things that matter.

OPINION

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Friday, October 7, 2011

Mommy and me People always ask me what it’s like to have my mom work at the same school that I go to.

Well, here’s the answer, once and for all: a reflection on my mom, Mrs. Buczinsky, and seeing her every day at Prospect.

By Zak Buczinsky In-Depth Editor Photos by Ian Magnuson

Before I joined the newspaper staff, I remember students in Journalistic Writing 1 interviewing me. They came to me because I was, in their eyes, a perfect interview source. I was easily available and quotable, but the most important reason I was harassed by new journalists was because my mom is, you guessed it, Mrs. Buczinsky — an English teacher at Prospect.

Fortunately, I wasn’t pestered by those wannabe journalists for long, because journalism teacher Jason Block banned me as a source.

Getting interviewed for The Prospector about my mother was never really that bad, though; it took me no time at all to answer their questions because I had already heard them 100 times.

When people first meet me, they think my teacher-mom is the most important thing about me, so instead of asking me normal questions, they ask me about my mom.

For the most part, I’m polite when people ask me these questions, but somewhere in the back of my mind I always imagine the conversation going a little differently.

Q: Is it awkward when you see her?

A: Do you think it’s awkward when

your mom walks by you after you have been talking to your friends about the crazy party last weekend?

Q: Can’t you just get away with anything?

A: No, I’m not that free, genius — the security guards pretty much know who I am, so I doubt that I’ll be chilling with the smokers behind the parking lot.

Q: Can’t you just get away with nothing?

A: Thank you, Captain Obvious, for reminding me of my lack of freedom when I come to school.

Q: Do teachers just give you A’s in class?

A: Well, that would be nice, and I think they should, but my Algebra teacher last year didn’t like that idea too much.

But the question people ask me the most is, “What if your mom was your teacher?”

I wonder this myself. What would I call her? Mom? Mrs. Buczinsky? It

might be awkward informing her over dinner that I did not, in fact, do the night’s homework, but then again, it could be an easy A! Some kids even think that me having my mom in class would be illegal or that the school wouldn’t allow it. Just to make sure everyone knows, I don’t think the police will be reading my mom her rights or the school will be telling her to clean out her desk if she teaches me.

But what is truly horrible is when my mom talks about me in class. Throughout her years here, my mother has used stories of her cute son, “little Zachary,” to entertain her classes, but now that I am going to school with her, she tries to hold back.

Yet every once in a while, some kid I know will prance excitedly up to me, giggling, “Do you know what your mom said about you today?”

I have tried to get my mom to stop

Every once in a while, some kid I know will prance excitedly up to me, giggling, “Do you know what your mom said about you today?”

One of the benefits

So I don’t know about the other departments, but the English department at this school is rather gluttonous. It seems like every time I walk into the English office, I am being taunted by platters of midday snacks.

They have everything from veggie chips to cake and donuts, and the worst part is, it’s only for the teachers. One day, after bringing a letter to the English department, I decided enough was enough, so a friend and I went to my mom demanding permission to gorge ourselves on the mountains of sweets.

My mother wrote us an official document with her very own signature giving us unlimited access to the glorious feast of the English teachers.

these stories, threatening that I am in class with her co-workers and could easily start some vicious rumor about her around the English division, but she refuses to accept that I could be capable of such depravity.

There are certain pros to having my mother work here, though. My mom is one of the longest-running teachers of Humanities at Prospect.

In fact, she started the course, so it was rather empowering when I walked into Humanities with the knowledge that my teacher, Stephen Collela, was just slightly scared of having to teach the son of the Humanities queen.

But, sadly for me, he isn’t scared enough to stop referring to my mom as “the beautiful and wonderful Mrs. Buczinsky.”

The truth is, most people like my mom. She’s a laid back, nice teacher.

Once in a while I get a kid who calls my mom another word for a “female dog” because she gave him an F, but for the most part, students love my mom. I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like if they hated her.

Well, if the day ever comes when students start hating her, I’m probably just going to transfer.

One of the disadvantages

One of my greatest fears throughout high school has been that I might have my mom for a class; luckily, I managed to take all the classes I wanted to without having her as my teacher, but unfortunately, both me and my mother will be in attendance during the numerous Humanities field trips that occur throughout the year.

The strange thing is, despite the fact that my mom is going to be on the field trip with me, I still have to get all the field trip forms signed by my mom. So in order for me to go downtown with my mother, I need her permission. How exactly does that make sense?

How would you feel if one of your parents worked at Prospect?

“It’d be cool to have my parents work at my school. They could write me passes, and I could never get in trouble because they would get me out of it.”

- freshman Bianca Campanille - sophomore Damon Byers

“I probably wouldn’t want them around me, just because school and home are very separate in my life. I think if they were mixed together, it would be weird.”

- junior Shannon Kobler

“It’d be so weird.

I’d feel like my parents would always be watching me. School is the distance between my parents and me.”

- senior Maria Poonawalla

Friday, October 7, 2011

FEATURES

How to plan homecoming

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Student Council works to organize Knightimes week

By Khrystyna Halatyma Features Editor Junior Laura Barnett loves walking through the decorated halls during homecoming week. Once Barnett walks through the hallways during homecoming, she knows she can relax.

Like Barnett, most students are impressed when seeing the decorations and design of the hallways, yet very little know how much work it takes to set up the entire week of homecoming.

So much work, in fact, it takes Student Council about six months to organize.

Student Council has about 50 or 55 members with a five-member executive board and their adviser, Lyn Scolaro.

According to recording secretary senior Liz Sheehan, there are a lot of new members this year. With more people and a greater work force, Sheehan said it is easier to get the job done.

“We don’t have to be limited with what we want to do [by] what we can do,” Sheehan said.

The members of Student Council first met back in April to discuss homecoming themes, trying to make sure they did not repeat any theme in a fouryear cycle. This year, Disney had the popular vote, and according to Scolaro, students should expect “plenty of Disney characters around the school.”

“We are really trying to make it an amazing homecoming,” Sheehan said.

“We went all out this year.”

Scolaro said Prospect homecomings seem very successful because Student Council does not generally get many complaints from students.

pPAINT THE TOWN BLUE: Senior Trisha Mique paints a banner for International Club.

Banner painting was held Oct. 4 to prepare for homecoming. (Photo by Ian Magnusoun) “Homecoming really is a fun week, like a de-stresser,” Sheehan said. “We have all these things thrown at us from school, and it is kind of a bonding [experience] for classes in general.”

Student Council’s responsibilities include planning the coronation, dressup days, Knightgames, the bonfire and the dance. But that’s not all: The board is also responsible for the smaller preparations, which include anything from making flyers and posters to contacting teachers and vendors for decorations.

“There are just so many pieces that go into this week,” Scolaro said. “The dance is almost the easiest part.”

Once the school year begins, Student Council breaks up into committees, including Knightgames and Coronation.

With all the committees and planning homecoming can, as any other activity, get stressful, but Leane said she doesn’t really mind.

“The stress is outweighed by the

Graphic by Heather Dove “Knight Around Town” is a new feature where The Prospector picks random students and finds out what makes them unique.

By Anna Boratyn Features Editor Senior Alex Kaszubowski probably won’t be crossing the stage at graduation in June. Instead, she’ll have already earned her diploma and will be attending college.

Kaszubowski is graduating in January. This means while other seniors are working on their college essays, turning in applications and finalizing scholarships, Kaszubowski will be sitting in a college classroom.

Her first stop is Harper College to fulfill some general education requirements. Then, it’s off to Illinois State University, University of Wisconsin Green Bay or University of California Irvine to study psychology.

Kaszubowski wanted to graduate early because doing so will save time.

She doesn’t need to graduate with the rest of the class.

“I’m not exactly the sentimental type,” Kaszubowski said. “I don’t need ... to walk across the stage to feel accomplished.”

Kaszubowski’s parents want her to take the walk at graduation, even though she doesn’t want to.

When she told her parents that she wanted to graduate early, they assumed that she was just being cynical and didn’t believe she was serious.

However, upon realizing she was determined to graduate early, Kaszubowski’s parents became supportive.

Kaszubowski acted upon her decision quickly because she had to. She began the process to register herself as a January graduate three days before school started.

Though Kaszubowski had to rush to become an early graduate, she knew what her career was going to be much earlier.

Psychology 1 and 2, which Kaszubowski took junior year, affected Kaszubowski’s career decision. She knew she wanted to go into the field to do Clinical Psychology to help others.

Kaszubowski was most interested in working with kids, but her career

good things,” she said.

Even though homecoming week will only consist of four days this year because of Columbus Day, it doesn’t mean Student Council will work any less.

“The actual week itself is stressful,” Sheehan said. “We are the ones organizing everything; we have to make sure everything comes to our vision.”

Student Council’s vision also includes going “back to tradition” and will not be including a parade this year.

Because the executive board felt the parade was not very popular, there will only be pre-game festivities, including the 1961 and 2001 football team, the parade of banners, poms/cheerleader performance, honor guard and introducing the court.

“We’re just trying to promote that whole ‘being proud of where you’re going,’” Sheehan said. “If you’re going to be here for four years, you might as well make the best of it.” choice didn’t hinge on just arbitrarily liking little kids.

Her career choice was the result of an experience.

Over the summer of her junior year, Kaszubowski applied for an internship in the child life sector of Advocate Lutheran General Children’s Hospital.

Out of 60 or so applicants, Kaszubowski was one of the five selected, most likely because she had worked at the hospital before. By the end of her internship, Kaszubowski won an award through the hospital for the more than 250 hours she had put in.

The internship was a four hours per day, five days per week, five-week long enterprise. Kaszubowski wrapped presents, threw pizza parties, helped with crafts, painted and arranged movie times for sick and injured children.

She got to know some of the patients and what they liked to do when they weren’t being treated. Through it, Kaszubowski said she learned she loved helping kids.

“I know what I want to do with my future,” Kaszubowski said.

Internship opportunities The child life internship program at Advocate Lutheran General Children’s Hospital has sessions year-round, where interns have contact with patients, families and help children in “developmental, educational and therapeutic play,” according to advocatehealth. com.

The internship is open to high school students who are involved in child and family studies, and have at least 50 hours of volunteer experience at a hospital. The program is intended to help students go from interns to professionals.

Want to have your cartoons in The Prospector?

E-mail your ideas to prospectornow@gmail.com or stop by room 216

8

IN-DEPTH : W #1 A L FIC R AF NG T Y K MI its WAC W YO perm r i e h ir et t an g d get the c s r Drive ge 12 an age 14. at a ses at licen

The Car C

How to tell whether a guy or girl owns the car

TR A WACK Y FFIC FLO LAW #2 RIDA : If an is le elephan park ft tied t t o park ing mete a ing f r, the e to be e still ha s paid .

By Maddy Moloney In-Depth Editor

Girl’s

WACKY TRAFFIC LAW #3: GEORGIA It is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.

Friday, Octo

— There is a hair brush in the back seat, accompanied by an extra pair of shoes and a sweater.

— The latest edition of “Cosmopolitan” is ripped up on the ground. ­— Taylor Swift is blasting from the speakers. ­— Dove chocolate wrappers are spread throughout the car.

Boy’s ­ There is some sort of soccer — ball, football, baseball, volleyball or hacky sack rolling around the back seat. ­­— A “Sports Illustrated” is opened up to an article on the quarterback of his fantasy team.

— A Tupac song is blaring from the speakers.

— There is a mess of old Taco Bell wrappers littering the floor.

The ‘Need for Speed’ or Cars are key to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’

By Andrew Revord Associate Editor-in-Chief I have something in common with Han Solo from the “Star Wars” movies, aside from, of course, my swashbuckling attitude and rugged good looks.

In the movies, Solo flies the “Millennium Falcon,” an old, beat-up spaceship that has its occasional quirks but is always reliable when he needs to escape the clutches of the Empire.

I drive an old, beat-up 1990 Toyota Corolla that has its occasional quirks but is always

reliable when I want to drive to 7-Eleven on the weekends to get a double gulp Slurpee.

Solo’s method of transportation didn’t have to be fancy, and neither does mine.

The most important thing cars do is get you from point A to point B. When I look at Prospect’s parking lot, I notice a lot of students driving new and fancy cars.

Does any 17-year-old honestly need to drive a Lexus or a giant ‘07 Ford crossover?

There is nothing wrong with being a student who drives a nicer, newer car. Some families have more money or place more importance on what kind of cars they drive.

If, say, your family owns two BMWs, you might be driving one of them to school because

it’s available. That doesn’t necessarily mean you or your family are spoiled.

Some students also have siblings or friends who depend on them for rides.

In that case, having a bigger, perhaps nicer car makes sense.

My parents happen to not mind driving older cars (my mom originally owned my Corolla before my parents were even married), but I’m not jealous or critical of classmates who drive more modern cars than mine (which just happens to be about everyone who goes to Propect).

And driving old, simple cars has disadvantages, too.

My Corolla’s sound system consists of a basic AM/FM radio and casette player, and neither works anymore.

My dad and I also must wage a continuous war with the rust

on my car. So far, my dad has done a pretty good job keeping it up, but there’s only so much Bondo and repainting can do.

And that’s not to mention the issue with my car’s starter.

Every so often, my car won’t start. In order to fix this, I must open the hood and hit the starter with a hammer I keep in my car while someone turns the key in the ignition.

This has resulted in a few awkward moments when I’m driving alone, because it involves finding random people in the parking lot and asking them to turn the key while I bang on the starter like an idiot.

When no one else is around, this quirk can become just plain problematic.

If some students are on the extreme of having excessively fancy cars, I’m at the other

extreme of having a car that’s about ready to be junked.

But the bottom line is: A car is a car. Most students have very basic needs for their cars: a vehicle that can get them, their friends and possibly family to school, activities and to meet with friends.

It doesn’t make sense for students or their families to go out of their way to get a car that is more than what the students need.

Nobody should feel bad about what they drive as long as it is relaible and suits their needs.

Whether your vehicle is a 1990 junker, a brand-new Mercedes or the Millennium Falcon, appreciate your ride for what it’s there for, but don’t worry about how fancy it is.

Han Solo followed that advice, and the Empire still hasn’t caught him.

IN-DEPTH

ober 7, 2011

This issue, the In-Depth team steered right on course with all things cars. From dueling columns, to the elimination of the Autos 2 class, we’ve got it all right here.

Craze

Autos cut inhibits interest

By Zak Buczinksy In-Depth Editor Senior Paul Kepa was looking forward to taking Autos 2 his final year at Prospect, but because of a lack of students looking to join the class, Autos 2 has been struck from Prospect’s curriculum this year.

“I was thinking about becoming a mechanic after high school, but now I’m not really [studying] it, so that idea has kind of bottomed out,” Kepa said.

Because Kepa couldn’t take Autos 2 this year, he has decided to teacher intern for the still-existing Autos 1 so he can still work on cars, but he won’t become as much as an expert mechanic as he would like.

But for a lot of kids, taking Autos isn’t about becoming a great mechanic; rather, it’s about just about learning the basics of how a car works.

“It’s part of being a good consumer,” said Jovan Lazarevic, Career Technology and Physical Education Division Head. “Just knowing the basics about cars can be a enormous

help in modern society.”

Rather than having to go to the mechanic every time something goes wrong with your car, Lazarevic said with autos, kids will learn enough about their cars to fix the minor problems that occur.

But that’s not all that having a basic knowledge about cars is good for.

“It’s a good path for kids set to be in a career instead of college after high school,” Lazarevic said.

Even though Prospect focuses mostly on college readiness skills, there are plenty of students who aren’t thinking about college as part of their future.

Autos is one option for students who are looking into careers immediately after high school.

Lazarevic also thinks autos can be endlessly helpful for kids who are looking to go into more academic studies after school.

“It helps kids think logically,” Lazarevic said because of the step-bystep kind of thinking that auto teaches it can help with every other class.

But the basics of Autos 1 are hard-

ly satisfying for students like Kepa.

So, in order to fill the void that a lack of an Autos 2 class has created for some kids, autos teacher Sean Murrin has decided to form an autos club.

This new club is a private study opportunity for autos students to get together every other Wednesday after school and work on their cars, but for some students this club just doesn’t cut it.

Kepa doesn’t have too much time on his hands and he would much rather be in Autos 2, so with his interest in cars dwindling, the autos club just doesn’t sound to appealing to him.

But all hope is not lost: The only reason that Autos 2 hasn’t run this year is because enough students haven’t signed up, so next year, if more students sign up, there is a chance that the class will revive itself.

Sadly, for the autos students this year, the only way they will get to study autos is through the private study class, and for kids like Kepa, the absence of Autos 2 has destroyed their fascination in mechanics.

9 WA CK Y

TR A MO FFIC LA NTA It is NA W # 4 illeg : a she ep i l to ha v n you r tru the ca e a ck w b of i cha pero thout a ne

An Idiot’s Guide to: Changing Tires

By Katie Best This issue for the In-Depth’s topic of cars, I was put to the test. Anyone who has even come in social contact with me knows I am neither tech savvy nor a mechanical genius, and I barely know to how work my own car besides the “PRINDLE” and turning on my windshield wipers and radio. In other words, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a tuner and a gear shift.

However, this is about to change when I (attempt to) change my tires. While this could end up a complete and total FAIL moment for me, according to American Problems teacher Jim Adair, learning how to change your tires and care for your car is a very important life lesson to learn. So here is an Idiot’s Guide to Changing Your Tire: For starters... you will need: - a spare tire - a car jack 1) Put the car in “park,” and put something heavy such as a brick or tire blocks in front of or behind the tire so the car does not roll away (according to my research, your car rolling away when attempting to change your tires is actually a very common occurrence).

2) Take out the spare tire and car jack.

Place the jack under the frame near the tire that you are going to change. Make sure you place it where it will meet the metal portion of the frame. Raise the jack until it is supporting the car.

4) Remove the hub cap and the loosen bolts/ nuts by turning counter-clockwise.

DO NOT take them all the way off; you just want to loosen the resistance.

Ian Photo Illustration by

5) Pump or crank the jack to lift the tire off the ground. You need to lift it high enough to remove the flat tire and to put the spare on it. As you lift, make sure that the car is stable. If you notice any instability, lower the jack and fix the problem before fully lifting the car.

Remove the nuts and bolts the rest of the way.

her Dove

Magnuson and Heat

just a junker?

More than just transportation: a male obsession

By Marc Pontello Guest Columnist There’s something about the automobile that fascinates a majority of us guys.

No guy is completely certain what it is either, no matter how mechanically inclined.

Apart from girls, cars are that high school distraction parents of boys dread, and often they put off letting their sons get permits and licenses for exactly that reason.

While getting your license opens up a whole new realm of freedoms, there are some of us who simply

dream, night and day, about that perfect four-wheeled beast.

For some it’s dreams of imports, such as Supras and 350Zs with turbos, and for others it’s muscle cars, such as Mustangs and Chargers with straight-piped exhaust.

With these dreams comes the common question (especially from girls) of “Why are you so obsessed with cars?”

To be honest, I never can fully answer the question.

Sure, you can always answer with the sappy line about the “bond between man and machine” or say our culture of growing up on video games such as “Need for Speed” and watching Vin Diesel tear up the streets in “Fast and Furious” has gotten to our heads, but there is definitely more to the obsession than that.

Currently a freshman in college and having graduated from Prospect last year, George Ross recently

7) Remove the tire. Place the flat tire under the car so if the car jack fails, the car will fall on the tire (and not on you). bought a ‘90 Mustang with money he desperately saved during high school for the exact purpose of buying a performance car.

I spent some time with him when he was home visiting recently, and he was happy to take friends for a ride around town.

As he cycled through the gears of the stick-shift, five-speed transmission, I couldn’t help but notice there wasn’t one of us in the car who could hide the ear-to-ear grin the little Ford provoked.

At times I’ve felt like it was just me, car crazed from day one, building models of cars from the ‘60s as a kid instead of playing Xbox through my childhood.

And then there’s these moments that let me know that something about these mechanical masterpieces just draws in every single guy who’s a boy at heart at one time or another in his life.

8) Place the spare tire on the hub. Align the rim of the spare with the wheel bolts.

Put the nuts back in the tire and make sure they are secured tight.

9) Lower the car slowly to the ground and remove the car jack. Make sure the nuts are screwed on tightly and replace the hubcap.

10) Place the flat tire in your trunk, and you are ready to drive! However, it is advised that you get your tire checked and replaced by a professional as soon as possible.

Viola! You are now officially able to change the tires on your car. So the next time you get a flat on the side of a deserted road, instead of waiting for someone like a sitting duck and make you the main character of a horror movie, you can do it yourself and feel like a

10

FEATURES

Friday, October 7, 2011

A teacher’s worst Knightmare Teachers react to being assigned as dance chaperones

By Jane Berry Associate Editor-in-Chief Social studies teacher John Camardella watched as undercover cops swarmed the gym floor searching for the 2005 homecoming king. They found him in the foyer and started to handcuff him while his girlfriend was screaming.

“I had to go with [the homecoming king] and the cop ... out to his car while the car was being searched [for a gun],” Camardella said.

It was only after searching the car that the police realized that someone had picked up a lost cell phone and decided to play a prank.

“That was one of the craziest nights of my nine years at Prospect,” Camardella said.

Every year, as part of their contract,

all teachers must sign up to chaperone two after school events, such as plays or musical performances. But if teachers chaperone on a Friday or Saturday night, that is the only time they will have to chaperone.

According to Associate Principal Greg Minter, even with the bonus of only doing one after school event, dances are not popular choices.

Teachers get a form to fill out about which events they would like to chaperone, and those sheets are time stamped when turned in.

Requests based on the time stamp are honored first and then the other positions are filled with teachers who forget to turn in their form or did not get it in early enough.

Minter said teachers typically prefer certain events, and “dances aren’t usually high on their lists.”

This year, homecoming will be chaperoned by eight teachers, including Camardella, who hasn’t chaperoned a dance since his experience with the 2005 king.

“I have no expectations for this dance,” Camardella said.

Camardella is not surprised by much

Dance dramas

According to Kaminsky, dances are really fun when you are in high school, but sometimes there can be a lot of drama around them which is “mildly entertaining to look at from the outside”. Particularly when asking someone to a dance, everyone asks in “hugely, stupid ways”. No one can just flat out ask someone else. He believes this drama gets especially insane around prom.

“Prom is fun. It just gets a little crazy when you are trying to decide who will be sitting at your table, like it’s the biggest decision you have ever made, bigger than deciding where you are going to college,” Kaminsky said.

pTHE FATAL POSITION: A teacher curls up on the floor trying to avoid all the dancing around him. Many cannot avoid being stuck with chaperoning dances. (Cartoon by Katie Maigler) at the dances because he understands the “mob mentality” that occurs when 500 high school students get together. “[High school students] do things you wouldn’t normally expect from them [in that situation].” Camardella said. “I don’t pretend that [my students] are angels, none of us are angels.”

Social Studies teacher Jon Kaminsky says that he actually does not mind chaperoning the dances. He claims they are “not that bad” because during post prom he would mostly watch the upper deck of the boat and during homecoming he would watch the back doors to make sure no one sneaks in or out.

“I know what to expect because they are not that different from dances I went to in high school,” Kaminsky said.

“Mostly I just stay away from any awkward situations. The key is to not actually walk through the dance.”

Kaminsky claims that if assigned to the dance floor, the back is the safest place to be to avoid awkward situations.

Camerdella says he won’t go elbowing through anything to make the “dancing” stop, but usually if a chaperone

walks near it, it stops.

Special education teacher Audrey Smith says when she used to chaperone school dances, she would ask kids to stop their “risqué” dancing and students were very understanding about it.

“I wouldn’t want to watch a married couple dancing like that,” Smith said.

“There is a time and place for public affection: In the privacy of your own home.”

Another issue teachers face while chaperoning is having to deal with kids who are under the influence. Camardella and Kaminsky say they have had to remove people from the dance for being under the influence.

Camardella believes the most interesting part is when students don’t think their teachers know when they are drunk because “students are new to drinking.” The teachers and deans have been around it enough to know when someone in under the influence.

“I just hope that everyone thinks about what they need to have fun,” Camardella said. “And if you mess up, hopefully it only affects you.”

Who Knows You Better?

This issue, The Prospector interviews senior Julia Wolfe’s boyfriend, senior Matt Dziegiel, and sister, sophomore Jamie Wolfe, to see who knows Julia better.

What is her favorite Holiday?

4 Thanksgiving

What is her favorite class?

4

French

Where was her favorite vacation?

4

Hawaii

What is her favorite ice cream flavor?

What is her biggest pet peeve?

Thanksgiving

The Sister

W I N N E R

W I N N E R

French Hawaii

Sophomore Jamie Wolfe

cookie dough

The Subject

Senior Julia Wolfe

cookies and cream

4 straight guys in v-necks

straight guys in v-necks

4Thanksgiving 4

French

4

Hawaii

The Boyfriend

Senior Matt Dziegiel

mint chocolate chip straight guys in skinny jeans

Follow ProspectorNow

Mary Kay Cosmetics

If interested please contact:

Joyce Gartz 302 N. Pine Mount Prospect, IL 60056 (847) 670-9057 www.marykay.com/jgartz

for all the latest news!

11

ENTERTAINMENT

Friday, October 7, 2011

ne acts create opprotunities for creativity

By Tallyn Owens Executive Entertainment Editor This year’s fall play, “Uno, Part Deux,” can best be described as a perfect mix of chaos and creativity.

The play consists of 21 small plays approximately eight minutes in length, known as “one acts,” half of which are directed by students. “Uno, Part Deux” runs from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22.

The other half by English teachers Jeremy Morton and Stephen Collela and Special Ed teachers John McDermott and John Meyers.

Morton and his wife

welcomed a baby over the summer, and the format of “Uno” allows him to better juggle being a new father and his responsibilities with the play.

“I’m still responsible for 20 different plays, which is probably crazier,” Morton said. “But I have the help of the students and the other staff directors.”

Nobody has experienced this chaos quite like junior Patrick Pfohl, who is directing one skit and playing supporting roles in three others.

The skit he’s co-directing with junior Lauren Kinser is called “This Moment,” and both directors

agree the short format of the script allows them to have more creative freedom.

“We can interpret it in our own way. Instead of focusing on the actions, we can focus on the words,” Pfohl said. “The lines are more important than the stage directions.”

In addition to minimizing the stage directions, Morton said that casting was based on meeting the needs of each individual act.

However, the confusion begins when trying to figure out who practices in what room and when.

The rehearsal format is

that each one act practices at a different time and location during each day of the week.

Posted outside of the choir room and Morton’s room are “Uno’s” rehearsal schedules. They’re divided by day of the week, time of the afternoon and which skit is scheduled during that time period.

The variety the rehearsal schedule displays is indicative of the creativity and variety that the show allows.

“They have ten minutes to create a world,” Morton said. “And if they don’t like it, they can create a new one.”

‘Math for A cto

rs’

Directed b y C Olivia Churc hloe Chidester and hil Featuring: Cathleen L aFond and Mike Stolarz

pUNO, DOS, TRES, CUATRO: Above, from left to right, Junior Chloe Chidester, Senior Cathleen LaFond, Junior Olivia Churchill and Sophomore Mike Stolarz rehearse their one act “This Moment.” For this year’s fall play, entitled “Uno, Part Deux,’” over half of the short skits are student directed.

(Photo by Patrick Pfhol)

‘This Moment’ Directed by Patrick Pfhol and Lauren Kinser

Featuring: Kyle Scott, Allie O’Connor, Lauren Bell and James Farquharson.

“This Moment” tells the classic story of two best friends in unrequited love.

“Math for A ctors” chro nicles the re lationship b etween a h ardcore the pian and his sreluctant m ath tutor.

‘The Machine Stops’ Directed by John Meyers Featuring: Shannon Kobler, Franco Longobardi, Dana Laswell, David Pittman and Danielle Keeton-Olson

“The Machine Stops” is an adaptation a short story of the same name

by E.M. Forster. According to Meyers, it’s a science fiction story that “accurately predicts Facebook culture.”

pCALLING ALL MACHINES: Junior Jacob Molli takes part in rehersal for “The Machiue Stops,” a skit for this year’s fall play, “Uno, Part Deux.” (Photo by Tallyn Owens)

What happens in Canada, stays in Canada It’s common knowledge that the Twilight franchise is one of the most buzzed about — and often times hated —cultural phenomenons of our generation.

Due to a mass apprehension of Twilight, most people are likely to turn the other cheek when hearing a mention of young, supernatural anything.

This is why I feel morally obligated to plead the case of a show that comes from the scariest realm imaginable: Canada.

“Lost Girl” revolves around a succubus named Bo. Succubi, unlike vampires or werewolves, are less known in the teenage science fiction vernacular.

Succubi are a subset of a larger variety of mythical creatures called Fae. Bo’s superpower is her ability to feed off other people’s energy, sexual or otherwise.

In the most tame sense possible, her kiss can drain the life out of any unsuspecting slimeball.

Or anyone, for that matter.

If you can believe it, the sexually charged nature of Bo’s character is hardly the best part of the show.

There are fight scenes, great dialogue and an addictive character dynamic.

Like any good butt-kicking protagonist (Bo moonlights as a supernatural private investigator), she has a butt-kicking posse to match.

Said posse includes, but is not limited to: a werewolf, a siren, a doctor, a king and last but not least: a human.

Kenzi is Bo’s predictably loyal (and unpredictibly human) sidekick, but their friendship doesn’t feel half as cliche as it should, much in part to her comic disposition.

They’re ridiculously faithful to each other, literally to the point of near death.

In one episode, Kenzi eats a soup made by a Fae who feeds on human flesh.

There were toxic feet in the soup and when she nearly dies after eating it, she claims “I’m feeling better, I think it was just one of those 24-hour plagues.”

This review wouldn’t be complete without a mention of “Lost Girl’s” resident werewolf.

His name is Dyson (like the vacuum cleaner, I know) and he’s a detective who specializes in Fae-related underground crime.

Dyson is played by Kristen Holden-Ried, because only in Canada does the hunky leading man have a girls first name, and no, Taylor Lautner he is not.

He is an unconventional hunky leading man with a ginger with a beard, an obscene amount of leather jackets and a back tattoo.

Oh, Canada.

It all works out in Bo’s best interest, because not only is Dyson the right hand man of Trick (Rick Howland), the bartender at the local magical watering hole, but said bartender also moonlights a long standing, secret king of the Fae. Oh, and due to Dyson’s supernatural genes (and muscles), he can have, ahem, physical contact with Bo and it won’t kill him!

Much like Emmy Winner Peter Dinklage from HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” what Howland lacks in conventional height, he makes up for in charisma.

“Lost Girl” will be lost on American airwaves until next year when it premieres on the SyFy channel, but it’s worth the wait.

With a heroine that would make Buffy Summers proud and enough leather to clothe every last Vancouver Canuck, “Lost Girl” is definitely worth finding.

Friday, October 7, 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Urban myths create ambiance for No. 1 haunted house in the Chicagoland area

By Ian Magnuson Executive Visuals Editor While walking up to the eerie twostory Warwick building in Zion, Ill., home of “Dungeon of Doom,” something just does not feel right.

If people were to take a quick glance over the area, they would be able to see the empty parking lot and the woods beyond. It is now classified as a city park, but what was there before has a haunted history.

The Lakeside Candy Company closed down in the ‘60s, and there have been seven deaths associated with the location, which shared the parking lot with the Warwick building, considered to be a highly probable site for paranormal activity.

Many people have suggested the main disturbance could be caused by the misplaced spirit of Scott Bielech,who was murdered by his friend, Geoffrey Leon, in Chicago in 1998. Several days after the murder, Leon took the body to the Lakeside building, about an hour drive, to burn the body along with himself for no explained reason according to the Chicago Tribune.

Because of the unusual nature of multiple deaths and a suicide associated with the candy factory and an unexplained fire, the Zion mayor declared the Lakeside Candy Company building a menace, and the building was demolished using city funds, according to Ed Shanahan, medium and a column writer for examiner.com, Chicago Paranormal and Spiritual and Chicago Now. Since then, people who work in the Warwick building have reported unexplained phenomena, which they classify as ghost activity.

“The bathroom is by far the worst here,” Bryan Flammini, a technician and actor for “Dungeon of Doom,” said. “I won’t go near it. When I worked up here, I only

pMONSTER MASH: Left, owners Peter Koklamanis and Tony Relken stand outside the entrance to “Dungeon of Doom.” Above, medium Ed Shanahan conducts the “Circle of energy” seance with spectators (see Circle of energy). This year “Dungeon of Doom” decided to try and explain the hauntings in the Warwick building where the haunted house is set up. (All photos by Ian Magnuson)

13

worked in one room, the dot room, and Participants had the chance to visit when I went out to go to the bathroom, designated “hot spots” in the building I would hear heels [clicking], which no and were invited to bring their own reone wears here because it’s obviously cording, video and photography equipa hazard. Someone was saying some- ment to record the event. thing about a little boy running though “Dungeon of Doom” totals 37,000 the hospital. I go downsquare feet with towering stairs for my bathroom ceilings and multiple levbreaks now.” els. This year, at Mercy Owners Peter KoklaHospital, now with 4-D manis and Tony Relken terror, the spectators will moved their successful wear glasses to assist the haunted house attracspecial effects as the walls tion from Chicago to - ”Dungeons of Doom” owner are now painted in 3-D. their permanent home “The special effects are Peter Koklamanis in the Warwick buildbeyond amazing coupled ing in 2009. Now that with the performers that they opened their doors on Sept. 24 for tip this part of the attraction over the their 15th season, they have decided to scale of terror,” Koklamanis said. take steps to answer the question of “I look outside, [and] I can see the what is causing the unexplained activ- line. See the gratification, the quality ity. and the integrity after so many years.

“There is always a first shift, second It’s just been an awesome opportunity,” shift and a third shift. Ms. Juanita [Em- Relken said. “I see it now, the hesitation mons] and her husband have been here and the runs — and that’s just the most many times during the third shift oper- awesome part.” ation, including myself. And let me tell “There is nothing [scarier] than a you something,” Koklamanis said. truly haunted Haunted House,” Kokla“There is something — it’s a weird manis said. “If it becomes haunted, thing that happens at night, early in the then that makes it that much more real morning,” he said. “It’s freaked me out. for the customers.”

I don’t believe a lot into this, but I have to say there is a lot of interesting enCircle of energy ergy that happens in the middle of the night around here.”

The “Circle of energy” Ironically, 13 years after the Leon seance was performed by Ed incident, Shanahan paired up with the Shanahan during the paranormal owners of “Dungeon of Doom” for a investigation on Oct. 1. 25 private event held on Oct. 1 at 1 a.m. afspectators were asked to sit down ter the attraction closed. at the table with him and join Shanahan inveshands to complete the circle as tigated the unusual Shanahan worked as a medium activity with his and called out to spirits. team, Prairie State Shanahan’s team of Paranormal, while investigators were equipped with they filmed for Para“ghost boxes,” which are hacked normal TV’s website radios. During the seance, there and a live special on were several accounts of unusual the popular Internet responses from the “ghost show “One Foot Out boxes.” of the Grave” with Jeff One of the more disturbing and Nancy Rezman. was when Shanahan called on the Shanahan reached spirit of a little boy who has been out to contact the spirits reported to be seen for many who may have once been years by “Dungeon of Doom” victim of the bizarre employees. Shanahan asked his murder suicide across name and the “ghost box” replied the street with his “Circle of Energy” “Tommy,” which is a nickname seance (see Circle of energy), where that the employees gave to one Shanahan uses conscious channeling, of the ghosts. Shanahan then when he uses an object of a dead person asked why he was here, the radio to speak to any spirits that may be presreplied, “the nun.” ent or attracted to the object or area.

Several employees then left the “I don’t sit at the end of the table, like room. One of those who left was typical mediums do, and say, ‘The spirit Juanita Emmons, who originally of So-and-So is here,’” Shanahan said. gave the name “Tommy” to the “What I attempt to do is to raise the ghost and also plays the nun spirits and have them interact with the during operation of “Dungeon of people around them, so [the audience] Doom.” becomes the mediums themselves.”

“There is nothing [scarier] than a truly Haunted House.”

14

SPORTS

Friday, October 7, 2011

‘Volley’ stays strong after four years

By Alyssa Zediker

Executive Sports Editor

While the lighting in the field house remains its usually yellow tint, once a year it undergoes a color transformation when the girls’ volleyball program decorates for Volley for the Cure.

The field house is adorned with pink balloons, posters, uniforms, socks and volleyballs.

Last year, the Knights played Maine South in their Volley for the Cure game, and they raised $7,743 for the Susan G. Komen foundation.

This year, the game will be against Elk Grove on Oct. 11, math teacher and varsity head coach Mike Riedy is looking for the girls to win, but also to have fun.

“One of the biggest challenges of that night is [for the girls to] not [get] caught up in all the fanfare,” Riedy said. “[They] still [need to] be able to fo-

Prizes galore With a total of the 30 prizes, Volleyball has collected close to $5,000 in merchandise. Some include... iPad iPod touch Parking pass Blu-Ray player A Coach purse A Bettinardi Putter Blackhawks Tickets One pair of prom tickets 32-inch LED flat screen TV

cus on the volleyball game, which they have been able to do pretty well the last three years.”

Four years ago, the Illinois High School Association decided to give high schools the opportunity to host Volley for the Cure competitions, which is an opportunity for volleyball programs to help raise awareness for breast cancer and money for a cure.

When Riedy heard about this opportunity, he and the other coaches decided that Prospect would participate. “[IHSA] changed the rules a little bit to accommodate us; You could do all kinds of wonky things,” Riedy said.

“They basically forgot about some of the basic rules for a night.”

In that first year, the girls’ volleyball program was able to raise $5,020.

Since then, the girls continued to raise money for the cause, and, this year, the volleyball program has set a goal to raise $10,000.

“Basically I am happy with anything over $100; Any money we can send to this cause is great,” Riedy said. “We have surprised ourselves the last couple years with how much money we have been able to raise.”

“Each year we have gotten better, and we have raised more money with experience, but [three years ago], we beat any expectations we had,” senior Kelly Ziegenfuss said.

The money is raised solely through the T-shirt and raffle ticket sales. The T-shirts are $10 and the raffle tickets are $1 each (see Prizes galore).

The team has continued to increase their goal each year. Social studies teacher and JV coach Daria Schaffeld said they do not need to do anything else to raise money, and after four years she feels that the event runs like a “well oiled machine.”

t SERVE, PASS, SET, KILL: Seniors Michele Di Fatta, Shea Gallus, Kelly Ziegenfuss and Maura Benson show off theirs skills, while sporting the past four years’ T-shirts. Profits from the T-shirt and raffle ticket sales go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to fight breast cancer.

(Photo illustration by Heather Dove) For full coverage of the Volley for the Cure game on Oct. 11 see

Prospectornow.com...

“The first year was a lot of trial and error and discovery,” Schaffeld said.

“Now, we pretty much do what we did the previous year, and it runs well.”

Riedy also feels that it has gotten easy and says the first year was like “running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

Each coach takes on a different responsibility, and each level is in charge of some aspect of the fund raiser.

The freshman team has been in charge of making signs and getting balloons to decorate the gyms and field house, while the sophomore team deco-

rates Prospect’s halls with posters to help raise awareness among students.

This leaves the JV and varsity players to sell raffle tickets and T-shirts during lunch hours.

The entire program is responsible for finding prizes for the raffle. The girls are teamed up and sent out into the community to ask for donations for prizes.

“We get [prizes] from many different areas, which is nice because we don’t want to pressure families to have to give, ” Schaffeld said. “We just want people to be wanting to give.”

Soccer solidifies success

By Matt Bajkowski Sports Editor Following in the footsteps of last year’s season, Prospect’s varsity soccer team has once again risen to the top of their conference with a record of 14-0-2.

Last year, the team started 7-0-2 but ran into their three toughest opponents in one week, one of them being Elk Grove, and lost two games while tying the other.

“We were on our way up,” coach Kurt Trenkle said. “That just kind of knocked the wind out of our sails.”

Elk Grove then went on to win the division championship by beating Prospect and getting the better record over them.

This year, due to scheduling changes, Prospect instead faced all its toughest teams early in their season.

According to Trenkle, this is one of reasons the season has gone so well thus far.

“We saw them early, instead of building that seven-win cushion,” Trenkle said. “We had to climb up the hill this year.”

Of course, the players on the team have contributed the most to this year’s great record.

Trenkle thinks the biggest factor to the team’s victories is that the team plays incredibly well together.

The team is composed of 14 seniors and six juniors. The three captains are seniors Bill Cooney, Patryk Ruta and Brad Reibel.

Although there are only three official captains, Trenkle said many of the seniors show leadership in the way they play together.

“We have a lot of senior guys [who] have leadership roles, even though they don’t wear the captains’ arm band,” Trenkle said. “I think a lot of them knew going into this season that they had a lot of talent and this was their last chance.”

Even before the season started, Trenkle said he talked to the team last spring, and they made it clear they wanted to work hard to win.

“It was evident to me in camp and tryouts that everyone was on the same page,” Trenkle said.

According to Trenkle, even practices are full of focus and competition, and there is not a lot of screwing around.

Trenkle also cites the defense as another one of the reasons the team has done so well. He believes overall it is a big step up from last year, especially

On ProspectorNow.com

15

SPORTS

Friday, October 7, 2011

You Don’t Know

JACK Bye Bye, Ozzie

pCIRCLE OF ACHIEVEMENT: Varsity boys’ soccer team huddles together at their game Sept. 9 against Glenbrook South. The team has used an aggressive offense and good teamwork to obtain an undefeated record of 14-0-2. (Photo by Ian Magnuson) when he didn’t know what would happen with only one returning defender.

Trenkle said Reibel has done a great job of guiding the starting defenders, juniors Matt Burikas and Ethan Graven and senior Conor O’Leary.

“Graven has become a shutdown defender,” Trenkle said. “We can put him on their best guy, and they won’t get much.”

Reibel said the defenders are able to stay in position well, which is critical because there are only three of them in the setup this year.

Being able to effectively cover the goal with only three defenders, rather than four, has given the team the ability to have another person play the midfielder position, which provides more offense for the team.

And while their priority is still defense, Graven and O’Leary have both been able to move the ball down the field to the opponent’s goal because of their ball handling skills.

Trenkle said this c a u s e s many problems for other teams

that aren’t quite sure how to defend against a team that has this offensive ability.

The team’s offense has also been a large contributor to the team’s success.

Cooney has lead the team with goals this season, but Trenkle also highlights senior Richard Lenke’s ability to draw the extra defenders to himself and open opportunities for his teammates to score.

The team also has two high-quality finishers in Lenke and Cooney, while most teams are lucky to have one, Trenkle said.

According to Cooney, Ruta has become a huge playmaker this year and has been very successful in getting the pass to himself or Lenke.

Trenkle said the players know where their teammates are going to be and are able to play balls into spaces where no one is yet, knowing one of their teammates will be there.

“In soccer, anticipating where the ball is going next is a big thing,” Trenkle said.

As the team’s regular season comes to a close, they are in first for their division, and Trenkle believes they will get a high seed in the state tournament.

“They push each other in practice, but on game day they have each other’s backs and are all on the same page,” Trenkle said. “This team is what coaches hope to get when they ask for teammates who play together.”

Athletes of the week Check out athletes of the week to find out fun facts about each player.

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Ozzie Guillen once said, “I’m not a quitter. When I want to quit, I’ll do a lot of stupid things and make sure they fire me and I get paid.”

Some could assume that Guillen has wanted to quit for a while now based on his various “F bomb”-laced rants and fights with upper management.

Although Guillen did not get fired, he got the second best thing — a release from his contract with the White Sox and a new long-term contract with the Florida Marlins for more money.

Even though his departure could have been smoother, Ozzie made the “other” team in Chicago relevant for the first time in a while and brought a World Series title to the city for the first time in 88 years. Guillen gave the White Sox a sense of pride and an audacious voice they had been lacking and backed it up by winning.

Guillen’s ability to coach was never questioned. His controversial interviews and tweets, however, resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines over his eight-season career with the White Sox. One thing Guillen did best was taking negative attention off his team and diverting it onto himself. Any time they went on a losing streak or attracted negative public interest, Guillen would say something to ignite a response from the media in order to keep the pressure off his team.

Despite his disregard for social norms and the MLB fining him every other week, Guillen was great for baseball in his time in Chicago. In a sport that is known for being repetitive and dull at times, Guillen brought enthusiasm and passion both on and off the field.

While most managers will give out cliche after cliche in-post game interviews, Guillen would say exactly what was on his mind without any concern for political correctness and not duck any question, no matter how irrelevant to baseball it was.

Guillen has criticized everyone from the home plate umpire to actor Sean Penn, but whenever his candor gets him into a tight situation, his reply is “I am who I am” or claims it means something different in Venezuela. His honesty has been refreshing to everyone except maybe Cubs fans, as he often mocked Wrigley Field and their fans.

Most agree it was his time to go as his relationship with the general manager, Kenny Williams, has gone far beyond repair, but I think the wrong man is leaving.

After all, Adam Dunn was not Guillen’s idea. Williams has drafted poorly, and the young talent he has managed to receive has been traded for big name players with big salaries that have underperformed.

Looking forward, the White Sox will probably look within their organization as well as the free agents like Terry Francona. Williams always tries to get the biggest names, often well after their prime, but it can be sure any coach the White Sox sign will not be nearly as captivating.

They said coaches don’t sell tickets, but by kicking catcher’s masks across the field or swearing at umpires in Spanish, Guillen probably comes the closest to doing so.

With the Florida Marlins now becoming the Miami Marlins and moving into a brand new stadium, bringing in Guillen as their new head coach will be great for building a new fan base because of all the attention he demands.

But even though he will still be coaching in the league, he will be missed by many in Chicago, and if there is anyone who can make the Marlins more relevant than Steve Bartman did, it’s Ozzie.

SPORTS Friday, October 7, 2011

Ultimate Frisbee Club

On Prospectornow.com...

The homecoming football game is on Oct. 14. Head coach Mike Sebestyen invited the 2001 state championship team back for a 10-year reuion. Check online for full coverage.

Ramm(y)ing through rough competition

By Maggie Devereux Online Managing Editor The Ultimate Frisbee Club’s team “Deadliest Catch” used to head over to the Rammy’s Sub Contractor in Wheeling after most of their games last year.

As this year’s season approached, senior team captain Andrew Novak had the idea to ask Rammy’s to sponsor their team, making them the first ever Ultimate Frisbee corporate sponsors.

“Rammy’s subs being the first corporate team, it’s fascinating,” club sponsor John Camardella said. “It sets a new bar for teams.”

Every Friday, Rammy’s Subs now proudly wears their black and yellow T-shirts with Rammy’s Sub Contractor’s catch phrase, “If you find a better sub, we’ll eat it.” “[The shirts] are quite delicious,” senior team member Connor Regan said.

The power in power rankings After the games each Friday, club sponsor John Camardella sits down with two others and decides the top ten teams for that week, called power rankings. Unlike the standings, this ranking of teams is not solely based on record. Instead it’s a combination of who and how the teams played amongst other factors.

According to Camardella, power rankings give a better idea of how strong a team is versus the regular standings.

“Records are important, but there’s more to it than just [a team’s] wins and loses,” Camardella said.

To keep updated on the power rankings and all things Ultimate Frisbee, check out the Ultimate Frisbee page under activities on the Prospect website.

pSANDWICH KINGS: Rammy’s Subs poses during their games on September 30.

This year, the team was the first Ultimate Frisbee team to have a corporate sponsor and remain undefeated through week three. (Photo by Ian Magnuson) While Regan jokes “we’re cheap” as one of the reason’s for the sponsorship, the move actually did save the team quite a bundle.

Last year, the team spent approximately 165 for T-shirts. This year, Rammy’s covered the costs of not only their shirts, but the team also gave one to Camardella to hang in his classroom.

“I think [the shirts] are hysterical,” Camardella said. “It really sets them apart” According to Camardella, a team has never done a corporate sponsorship in Ultimate Frisbee’s nine years. However, since he knows the guys go there after each game, he thought it was a creative idea.

A few weeks back, the team even brought back food for Camardella.

“They have a place to go after the game and eat, and they all have on their shirts,” Camardella said. “[It’s] good for the kids if they like [the] food and I think it’s obviously great for the buisness.”

Rammy’s Subs name isn’t the only thing to talk about, however.

As of week three, Rammy’s was

the only team left undefeated with a record of 11-0. Not only were they on top of the standings, but the week’s Power Ranking as well (see The power in power rankings) Camardella believes the team is having so much success because this is their fourth year together. Now, the team has one thing many other teams lack ­ — experience. “[They] literally got pounded by the better teams their freshman and sophomore year,” Camardella said. “It’s been a slow, methodical process, but they have continued to work on their game.”

According to Novak, the team has been down in many games but is a “second half team,” so they were able to come back later in the game and win the match. Because of their success, they have set high expectations for themselves heading into the remaining weeks.

It’s no wonder then the team slightly modified their Rammy’s Subs slogan to better fit their agenda. They prefer to say: “If you find a better team, we’ll beat it.”

The Prospector’s picks BEST TEAM NAME The Quitters: The team started last year when a group of now juniors decided not to return to football and created an Ultimate Frisbee team.

pJUST FOR DISCS: (Top) Senior Doug Barr of Diamond Cutters snatches the frisbee before a Chocobot member can grab it. (Middle) Last year’s champions, Elevation, stand as a group between games last Friday. (Bottom) Chocobot’s senior Tom Cortesi and senior Ian Hogan reach for a frisbee during their game on September 30. (Photos by Ian Magnuson)

pQUITTERS: (Left to right) Juniors Jake Young, Gavin White, Dan Ott, AJ Compton and Dan Kavanaugh are members of “The Quitters.” (Photo by Ian Magnuson)

On Prospectornow.com...

Does your team want free Slurpees? Head to Prospectornow.com to vote for your favorite Ulitmate Frisbee team.

The winning team gets free Slurpee’s on us!

BEST TEAM JERSEY Sesame Street Gang: Whether it’s the familiar basketballesque jersey or the flashback to the beloved childhood show, this jersey won the hearts of our staff.