Issue 3

Volume 54, Issue 3

801 West Kensington Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056

Friday, October 31, 2014

Follow us! @Prospectornow

The

Prospector Dangers of distracted driving

By Grace Berry

Executive News Editor Junior Teddy Eckhardt was speeding down Waterman Avenue behind his friend’s car on the first day of school while a cop was waiting nearby. He saw the cars racing down the street and pulled Eckhardt over. He was given a speeding ticket. His friend wasn’t.

Distracted and risky driving is a very common issue among many teenagers.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for 13 to 19 year-olds in 2010. Additionally, 11 percent of drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported to be distracted.

Not all teenagers drive distracted.

Some like senior Lauren Becherer see the danger in risky behavior behind the wheel. She believes a good driver is one who stays safe.

She obeys the rules of the road by

Local hauntings

having her friends read and answer her texts when she drives because of the dangers associated with texting and driving.

In a poll conducted by the American Automobile Association, 94 percent of teens said texting and driving was a serious threat, but 34 percent admitted to texting and driving anyway.

Driver’s education teacher Aaron Marnstein believes both teens and adults have problems with texting and driving but that teens are associated with it more. Moreover, Marnstein believes small actions like changing the radio station or calling someone in the car can be just as distracting as texting.

Senior Jessica Hirsh believes teens text more while driving, but she still thinks 16 is the right age to drive.

“If you’re 16, you should be able to make the choice whether to text and drive,” Hirsh said. “You should know whether it’s wrong or not.”

Marnstein believes that when

any teen starts driving, the lack of experience causes bad decisions, not the age. He believes whether teens start driving at 16 or 18 doesn’t make much of a difference.

“The biggest problem with driving for [new drivers] is that when they get their license, they have very little experience, so they’re more likely to get into accidents,” Marnstein said.

“They’re more likely to drive erratically, fast and crazy because they don’t think anything is going to happen to them.”

Eckhardt explained that he isn’t always the best driver, but he “usually” follows the law. He thinks texting and driving is wrong even though he’s done it before.

“When I do drive bad, it’s because I choose to,” Eckhardt said. “It’s kind of fun to be bad.”

Senior Jenny Krengiel also believes she could be a safer driver sometimes because she tends to speed.

“I would be a hypocrite if I said

speeding wasn’t OK because I do it all the time,” Krengiel said. “I think you shouldn’t be going more than five or 10 over [the speed limit], though.”

Illinois law requires all teen drivers to have their permit for nine months before getting their license. Teens have to take a state-approved driver’s ed course, usually consisting of six driving hours with an instructor, and complete 50 hours of driving. Ten of those must take place at night.

Police Counselor Scott Filipek believes driver’s ed is important for teens because it’s easy to forget the rules of the road.

“It’s good to have that knowledge base [of driver’s ed and] to have somewhere to start [when first driving],” Filipek said.

Once a teen is 16, he or she can get their license but has the limit of one passenger that is not family and has to See DRIVING, page 2

New clubs develop student interest

By Jack Gabriel News Editor

Cuba road is infamous for being haunted. To read more about haunted locations, go to ...

8-9 In-Depth Triplets of PHS

Prospect has over 50 clubs and activities, but if a student or staff member wants to start their own club, they can. Some people believe that starting a club is difficult, but all it takes is some hard work and persistence. (See “How to start a club” for more information.)

Conservative Club and Film Club are two examples of clubs that were created when someone thought something was missing. According to their members, neither club faced difficulties in being created, and both were able to circumvent the minor problems that occurred.

Conservative Club:

be a triplet, turn to ...

10 Features

Junior Adam Nadler was on Twitter one day when an argument about minimum wage broke out. During the argument, Nadler realized Prospect needed a Conservative Club.

“When you are in the school environment, most of what you hear is liberal,” Nadler said. “I think it’s important for students to see the other side.”

At the first meeting, members talked about their goals for the club, which included helping out at a fundraiser and talking about politics. After getting social science teacher Qiana Drye to spon-

CONSERVATIVE CLUB: Senior Alex Blethen poses with a Conservative Club poster Oct. 23 in room 162. Conservative Club is one of the many new clubs this year. sor the club, the last step to becoming an official club was getting approval from administration.

According to senior Adam Koszyk, Conservative Club has not faced many challenges in getting started.

Conservative Club had around 20

people show up for its photo and around 45 followers on Twitter. Conservative Club has dealt with its fair share of opposition.

According to Nadler, students came See CLUBS, page 2

2

October 31, 2014

Selective schools frustrate students In addition to Princeton, Dale will be applying to Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern University. Each school has an acceptance rate below 20 percent.

Dale believes her peers are not familiar with selective college admissions.

“Everyone always comes to me for help, so they all expect me to be smart and get into Stanford and Princeton,” Dale said. “But they don’t really understand what getting into Stanford and Princeton takes.”

Similar to Dale, senior Kishan Trivedi is applying to Stanford University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and Duke University. Some have questioned his decision to apply to such top-tier schools. Nevertheless, he is undeterred by his peers who doubt him.

“You can’t listen to other people,” Trivedi said. “If you

By Mike Stanford

Executive News Editor *Name changed at source’s request Senior Kelly Dale* sat in her house Oct. 15, finalizing her Princeton application that had been looming over her for months. She checked and rechecked her essay on being a culturally aware person before finally submitting her application in time for the Nov. 1 early action deadline. A sense of relief rushed over her.

“Now that it’s gone, it’s out of my hands,” Dale said. “I know that I did the best I could and don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Dale is among the few people who apply to schools with acceptance rates in the single digits (see “College acceptance rates”). For students like Dale, the college application process can be more complicated.

College acceptance rates

College Notre Dame

Prospect National acceptance acceptance rate (%) rate (%) 35.3

21.2

25

18.1

Northwestern

23.8

12.9

Dartmouth University of Chicago

15.4

11.5

13.3

8.4

MIT

10.5

7.7

Penn

9.1

10

Duke Yale

8.7 4.9

10.8 6.3

Brown

3.8

8.6

Harvard

3.0

3.0

Stanford

2.5

5.1

0

6.9

Berkeley

Columbia

prospectornow.com

News

think you can get in, and you want to get in, then you will get in or stand a chance at getting in. You can’t have people say, ‘Oh, you’re not going to get in because you don’t have a 35 ACT [score].’”

Trivedi recognizes there is a high likelihood he will end up with the approximately 95 percent of people denied entry to Stanford, his dream school.

However, he will not be heartbroken if he gets a letter of rejection.

“Wherever you go, that’s where you’re meant to go,” Trivedi said. “You’ll end up loving it anyway.”

Despite the long odds, certain aspects of the college application can help students increase their chances for acceptance.

According to college counselor Diane Bourn, one crucial but frequently overlooked part of the application is the essay. Since many rejected applicants are qualified, she believes a unique and thoughtful essay is the best way to differentiate an applicant and ensure a letter of acceptance.

While the college and career center holds essay-writing seminars to give students advantages on college applications, they often are poorly attended. Bourn believes the main reason for low participation is a lack of advertising. The College and Career Center plans to better promote essay-writing sessions in the future through the morning announcements and talking to junior-level English classes.

However, one factor working in Prospect’s favor is its increasingly positive reputation among college admission officers. Among top-tier Midwest schools like Notre Dame and Northwestern, Prospect student’s acceptance rates are just under 15 percent higher than the national average (see “College acceptance rates”).

“For a while we were just, “Prospect who?’” Bourn said.

“Now [college representatives] are coming to us and saying, ‘You have some really strong students.’”

While Prospect students have a high likelihood of being accepted at local colleges,

students’ p r o s pects a r e lower at s e l e c t ive schools on the East and West Coasts.

According to Bourn, part of the problem is selective colleges hundreds of miles away are more reluctant to accept students from the Midwest because they are likely to turn down a top-notch school in California or New England and opt for a similar one closer to home like Northwestern instead.

Bourn believes the best way to counteract college admissions officers’ uncertainty over a student’s intentions to enroll is to apply early decision. Early decision deadlines are usually in early November, and if accepted, students are contractually bound to attend.

The benefits of applying early decision are evident in the increased acceptance rates.

At Princeton, acceptance rates are just under 13 percent higher for prospective students applying early decision.

Although Prospect has a strong reputation throughout the Midwest, the standing may not translate as well for students applying to college in different parts of the country. Bourn believes distant schools may be hesitant to accept students because they are not familiar with the strong academics of Prospect.

“When [Midwest] schools see a transcript from a Prospect student, they know what that transcript means,” Bourn said. “When a school sees a transcript from across the country, they don’t know if [our] A’s are the same [as another school’s A’s].”

OUT OF REACH: Senior Kishan Trivedi reaches to the logo of his dream school, Stanford University. Stanford was the most selective college in the country in 2014 with an acceptance rate of 5.1 percent.

DRIVING: Rules of road ensure motorist safety Continued from front page follow the town’s curfew. In Mt. Prospect and Arlington Heights, the curfew for teens under 17 is 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday.

Filipek believes most teens usually follow these rules, and there are only occasional situations where teens are pulled over for having too many kids in the car or for being out past curfew.

According to Filipek, the Mount Prospect police department uses saturation patrol or the concentration of a large amount of officers around certain areas during busier times like Halloween.

These rules exist to keep people safe since many accidents occur during the

Beware the roads on Halloween

night. Fifty-three percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2012 occurred on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and 17 percent of crash deaths occurred most frequently from 9 p.m. to midnight. Accident rates increase on holidays due to more drivers being intoxicated while driving.

While many restrictions are in place, some teens feel they are unnecessary.

Eckhardt believes the driving he was required to do with his instructor was more beneficial than the 50 practice hours he was required to complete on his own.

“I think driver’s ed completely affects safe driving,” Marnstein said.

“The more in-depth the instruction is, the more practice behind the wheel you get and the more classroom you see, the better driving you’re going to see.”

Deadliest night for pedestrians

4.5x more child deaths

Check out ProspectorNow.com to see why student drivers are getting tickets during lunch

20 percent more drug-related crashes

Teens are age group most often killed

prospectornow.com

October 31, 2014

News

3

Tantillo takes over fall drives

As retiree Dave Jacobson walked out of Prospect last year, he passed on his Service Club legacy to science teacher

anxious because she has great students and experience planning similar events. Service Club members and seniors

Blood drive provides hope to people in need

nization, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. in the field house foyer.

Senior Mari Conrad has participated in the past, but she is still nervous to Over the summer senior Evy donate blood and because of the needle Ohstrom got a phone call saying that a puncture. Nevertheless, she donates befamily friend was giving birth and decause her brother broke his spleen as a veloped a hemorrhage after birth. She toddler and needed a donation. was going to die unless she received a “I realized that people need blood, blood transfusion. and that it’s important to donate blood After receiving the transfusion, she so people don’t have to wait that long had an emergency surgery and gave [because] it’s a scary thing,” Conrad birth to a healthy baby said. girl named Clara. Ever To make sure peosince, Ohstrom has Visit ple do not have to wait seen the importance the blood drive, Prospectornow.com during of donating blood.

Tantillo’s role during When Ohstrom’s the drive will be regfamily friend was in to read about Service istering people and need of a donation, Club volunteering at checking in on donors. she was sad that she Along with LifeTimothy Ministry! could not help besource employees, cause she did not have Service Club members the right blood type. will help with regisOhstrom felt even tration and will assist by handing out worse because the couple was trying to food and refreshments. have a child and faced many complicaMazurek and McAleer are excited to tions in the process. see people come together in the commu“I just want to make sure that if that nity through this event. ever happened to someone else, they “I think it’s going to go really well,” would get help,” Ohstrom said.

McAleer said. “I’m not nervous [for the A donor herself, Tantillo pushes peoevent] because it’s nice to make a differple to donate to the blood drive sponence in the community.” sored by Lifesource, a non-profit orga-

By Jack Ryan News Editor

photo courtesy of Dave Jacobson

Helping Hand!: Prospect students help out the community by sorting food for

Service Club’s annual food drive. Social sceince teacher Tim Beisher excites his students by having them think of strategies to win. “I tell them to donate in any way they can,” Beisher said. “There’s a way for everybody to do it.”

Competition increases food drive participation

By Jack Ryan News Editor

Social science teacher Tim Beisher’s second-period class last year ate breakfast at school like champions when they won the 2013 annual food drive by collecting 1,398 cans of food.

From Nov. 7 through Nov. 21, students can donate food to the food drive during their second-period class.

When the deadline arrives, all the food will be collected in the commons, and Service Club will organize the food into groups so they can deliver it to Northwest Compass, the Mount Prospect Village Food Pantry, and other small churches and food pantries.

To win the food drive, Beisher encourages his students to donate by bringing in money so he can buy food or by bringing in as much food as they can. His strategy helped him get four victories.

“When you’re the champion, you have a target on your back,” Beisher

said. “There’s going to be scheming and planning, but really, it’s all going to be for nothing [because no one can beat us].”

Despite the competition, he tries to help students understand the importance of the event.

Beisher believes both students and teachers should participate.

“If I tell them to do it, then I should do it,” Beisher said.

Like Beisher, science teacher Michelle Tantillo is not anxious for the event to start because she believes all of District 214 schools hosting their food drive at the same time will make a great event.

With senior Olivia McAleer helping organize the food drive, she realizes that donating means more to some people.

“Especially during the colder months [in] our community, [some people] don’t have as much access to food,” McAleer said. “We take so much for granted, and it only costs a couple bucks to get a six pack of green beans.”

Ten steps to donate blood 1: Go to wwwlifesource.org 2: Click “Donate Blood” then “Make an Appointment” 3: Set Start Date for 11/1/14 4: Scroll down to select Prospect High School then click select button 6: Tell you friends and family to come donate with you 7: Eat a good lunch/breakfest before you come 8: Drink plenty of water 9: Sign up to donate anytime using the code MP30 10: Enjoy how good it feels

4

October 31, 2014

Negativity frequents campaigns

News

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In case you missed it ...

‘Book of Life’ proves to be fun

Bob Dold vs. Brad Schneider political ads take a savage turn, attacking each other

By Aungelina Dahm Managing Editor

p

Ty

17.5%

s

27.5%

nt

Brad Schneider, a candidate running for Illinois’ 10th District for the House of Representatives, spoke to AP Government classes on Wednesday, Oct. 15. His opponent, Bob Dold, sent a representative to speak to the same classes on Friday, Oct. 24.

According to the Wesleyan University Media Project, political advertising this September was more negative than in the previous two itical elections. Both pol f o Dold and es Schneider are part of those negative attacks. “ I think i t ’ s kind o f sad,” AP Gover nment teacher Tim Beishir said. “People don’t force the guys that are running to focus on the issues, and we’re OK with these attack ads and the vague [promises from candidates].

We need to hold them to a higher standard.”

Senior Alex Blethen, who works for Dold’s campaign, has seen the effect of these attack ads first-hand.

“People see the need to com-

bat negative with negative, which is definitely the wrong way to do things, but it’s where we fall in today’s [society],” Blethen said.

Between 2012 and 2014, negative political ads have jumped from 23.3 percent to 43.8 percent of all political advertisements.

The rise of attack ads may be due to the results of a 2007 analysis in the Journal of Politics that found viewers tend to remember more about negative ads than positive ones.

Therefore, they are adve likely to push rtis more m voters to the e polls. Specifically, negative ads provoke more 1823 yearolds to v o t e rather than any other age group.

Senior P a t r i c k Donohue recognizes that unfair tactics are used in these ads.

“I don’t think we understand the circumstances of some of the statistics that [the campaigns] put in their [negative] advertisements,” Donohue said. “They usually tell you the half-truth instead of the full truth.”

Because of this, Blethen is bothered when people complain about the negative ads.

55%

Leigh Sapp shows that family matters

‘The Best of Me’ review photos courtey of the Dold and Schneider campaigns

DEBATE: Bob Dold (top) talks to Frank Mirandola and Jason Block’s American Studies class. Brad Schneider (bottom) talks to Tim Beishir’s AP Government class. Both Dold and Schneider are guilty of running negative political ads about the other.

They usually complain that much.

“You passively consume the the ads only say what the other candidate does wrong and advertisements [on television], don’t acknowledge the candi- but you don’t go out of your way to read the [pamphlets] bedate’s policy decisions.

“Every single person in the cause you just see them as junk state of Illinois has had pam- mail from these ‘corrupt Conphlets dropped off about the gressmen,’” Blethen said.

Blethen and Donohue both information and voting issues about all the major candidates have similar causes for concern in the upcoming election. in the major Donoe l e c t i o n s, ” Schneider hue, unlike Dold Blethen Blethen, said. “[Peowill not be ple] just old enough throw them to vote in away withthe Noout reading vember them, but e l e c t i o n, then [combut he still plain that] To see an example of negative they are not political ads used in the Dold vs. b e l i e v e s e d u c a t e d Schneider election use Aurasma candidates need to because the on the pictures above. push for commereconomic cials are bad. Just read the pamphlets. They come up to change rather than focus on social issues. your house for free.”

“I’m 18, [so] the social isBlethen also thinks that if people took the time to prop- sues really don’t matter to me erly educate themselves, neg- in comparison to where jobs ative attack ads on TV and ra- are going to be in the future,” dio wouldn’t influence them as Blethen said.

came to the first meeting with the purpose of going against the club but did not have good arguments.

Members are currently working on a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, a veteran service organization that helps wounded veterans of military actions following the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

According to associate principal Greg Minter, no one has yet come to him to start a liberal club.

Film Club: Psychologist Jay Kyp-Johnson’s daughter, Quinlan, found out that Prospect did not have a Film Club and immediately wanted to make one. Quinlan has made films and documentaries and believed students would enjoy them. With her dad’s help, they created Film Club.

“There are a lot film fanatics at Prospect,” Kyp-Johnson said. “This is a nice way for kids to have good clean fun and good conversation.”

Kyp-Johnson was able to get teachers Jim Adair, Jim Wills, John Myers, Lisa Soukup and Quinlan to be adult sponsors right away.

Like Conservative Club, Film Club did not have many problems

How to start a club 1. Find something that you or a group of people are passionate about.

2. Find a teacher or an adult to sponsor your club. If you do not know someone who could sponsor your club, skip this step.

3. Go talk to Mr. Minter about your club to get it approved. If you do not know someone who can be a sponsor, Mr. Minter might be able to help you.

4. Secure space and advertise your club, so that other students can join.

getting started because of student interest.

“I joined because I am seriously obsessed with movies,” sophomore Sarah Glauberg said.

The biggest problem film club has had is securing time in the theater, but they make do with whatever time they get.

Kyp-Johnson wants the club to be the students’ and not his. “[After the club began], I started to turn

Students attend inspirational speech

Some restaurants encourage guns

VS.

CLUBS: Lights, camera, Film Club!

CONTINUED from front page

prospectornow.com

things over to the students,” Kyp-Johnson said. “I asked them, ‘How do you want this? How do you want to do that?’ and it has been great.”

According to Glauberg, students talk about what film they want to watch, discuss the films they have already seen and perform short plays.With Halloween coming up, the members of film club voted to watch “Ghostbusters.”

“The kids have been great and very energetic about doing this,” said Kyp-Johnson. “We have only been in existence for a few weeks. We have posters up, and we have a date for a big movie.”

Film Club is planning to show films from genres that everyone would like.

“Sometimes it’s hard for people to meet,” Kyp-Johnson said. “Some people are interested in sports, [and] some people are interested in other things. Movies are [something] everyone can have an interest in.”

LGK wins frisbee championship

Students embrace KLC changes

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Protection second to knowledge

y

What’s your favorite thing about math?

Math > solving for ‘x ’

Staff Editorial

the basics, you can -Tim Will, math teacher

*To use Aurasma on the images below, swipe through the tutorial, skip creating an account, click the Aurasma logo, click on the search icon, search “Prospector,” select “Prospector” and click follow. To return to the camera, click the square icon. Now you’re ready to scan the images below!

F I B O N A C C I

Ten limitations to free speech 7. Threats to national security 8. Copyright violations 9. Expression creating material and substantial disruption of school activities 10. Speech promoting drugs at school sponsored events.

F R A C T A L S

MATH’S LIMITS ARE UNDEFINED: The Fibonacci sequence can be found everywhere in nature. Check out clips of ViHart’s YouTube video (left) to learn more about the sequence and

o them fractal.

The Staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ellen Siefke Kelly Schoessling MANAGING EDITOR Aungelina Dahm COPY EDITORS Caroline Binley Krzys Chwala ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jack McDermott ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Beth Clifford

ONLINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR-INCHIEF Lauren Miller

OPINION EDITORS Iulia Vesel Elai Kobayashi-Solomon

ONLINE EXECUTIVE EDITORS Eva Schacht Mary Kate Moloney Molly Mueller

FEATURES EDITORS Shreya Thakkar Flynn Geraghty Ivanka Norhrup Rachel Parks

ONLINE EDITOR Spencer Ball BROADCAST EDITOR Alyssa Duetsch NEWS EDITORS Grace Berry Mike Stanford Jack Gabriel Jack Ryan

5

Over the past five days, I’ve heard use a formula. You can use properties.

There’s no set way to do a problem. a variation of the phrase “math sucks” 17 times. Each time, as I hast- There can be a simple solution and also ily added to the tally in my assign- a more tedious one. Math gives you the ment notebook, I was struck with freedom to be creative — you can reach the same solution regardless of disbelief. method — that itself is graceful.

I’ve comforted myYet math is more than arithself by giving everymetic and algebra. You don’t one the benefit of the have to be a mathematician to doubt. I tell myself, appreciate it, just like you don’t “Don’t worry. They have to be a singer to appreciate don’t hate math. It’s music. just a phase.”

Just take a look at the MandelAnd quite honbrot set and Sierpinski’s triangle estly, I believe that’s pictured below. They’re eye cantrue. dy, right? And it’s not that diffiIn our high Krzys Chwala cult to understand them — you school mathematCopy Editor just have to notice the recurring ical careers, we’re pattern. (These are described as so focused on the fractal.) You don’t have to know roots of mathehow they are created to appreciate their matics that we fail to see the “You have to be flowers that bloom from them. beauty. very intuitive with The Fibonacci sequence in any plant is We spend all of our time learning fundamentals like also beautiful. (Check out ViHart’s video what you’re doing long division, multiplying below for a visual explanation.) ... I don’t know. I On the other hand, sometimes the polynomials, factoring just love it. Math is them and solving for “x.” I complexity of a problem is its beauty. It’s often hear my peers com- unreal that a crazy formula can give you really fun when it’s plain about having to a short and sweet answer. challenging.”

Math can be difficult, and it comes to repeatedly do these, but -Dominique Davis, they in fact are beauti- some of us more easily than it does to othmath teacher ers. Nevertheless, its beauty is universal. ful on their own.

We tend to have tunnel-vision regardYou don’t think so?

Take solving for “x” ing math; we see it as just what we learn as an example. It’s in class. But as soon as we realize that a puzzle with mul- math is something much broader, we can tiple possible truly appreciate it.

That responsibility lies on us. No approaches.

You can use one can teach us that math is beautiful. a r i t h m e - We have to come to that realization ourtic. You selves, and in order to do that, we have to c a n explore math on our own time.

We won’t use it every day, so let’s retire the question, “When will I ever use this?”

“I like the fact that Instead, let’s realize that math doesn’t you don’t have to just occur in the classroom. Wherever we look, we can find memorize a lot of something mathestuff. If you know matical.

The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi Oct. 10. Both recipients were praised for their activism in protecting children’s rights.

Satyarthi has dedicated his life to eradicating childhood slavery in India through his peaceful protests and demonstrations.

However, Yousafzai’s involvement in children’s activism has not been as peaceful. In 2012, Taliban gunmen shot her in the head because of her blogs advocating female education in Pakistan.

Despite the attack, Yousafzai recovered and released her own autobiography, “I am Malala.”

Both Yousafzai and Satyarthi’s activism to protect children’s rights serves as a reminder to students how precious their own rights to education are. However, students should also be consciously aware of what those rights encompass.

We, the Prospector, believe that as students we have a responsibility to understand our rights before we can acknowledge and protect them.

First, students should understand that their rights are not irrelevant at school.

Although restrictions and regulations for school rules may differ by district, all students’ first amendment rights are protected and limited by the same guidelines (see “Ten limitations to free speech”).

Therefore, students should not feel a responsibility to censor themselves in order to avoid controversy.

As Neal Boortz said, “Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.”

Unpopular speech is exactly what Yousafzai and Satyarthi’s activism was characterized as during their early advocacy.

Students should also be aware of their religious rights on school grounds. Unless there is a substantial disruption, students have the right to pray, read from religious text, wear religious symbols, discuss their faiths and invite others to join their religious group.

Although the fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, this does not make students immune to authoritative searches of backpacks and lockers. However, there must be a clear and reasonable suspicion that a student is hiding something violating the law or school rules.

If students remain ignorant to these basic principles, they risk both manipulation and exploitation.

Ultimately, when students choose to ignore how their rights are affected on school grounds, they are also allowing themselves to be uneducated on how their rights differ from the rights Yousafzai and Satyarthi have worked so hard to earn.

“I don’t know why people have divided the whole world into two groups, west and east,” Yousafzai said. “Education is neither eastern nor western. Education is education, and it’s the right of every human being.”

1. Obscenity 2. Defamation 3. Speech that is intended to create lawless action 4. Fighting words 5. Invasions of privacy 6. Deceptive advertising for illegal products or services

October 31, 2014

Opinion

IN-DEPTH EDITORS Diana Leane Shannon Smith Katy Ryan ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Abby Sunu Isabelle Rogers Garrett Strother Marci Kiszkiel

x SPORTS EDITORS Devin Prasad Ryan Molini Peter Fusilero VISUALS EDITOR Cassidy Selep PHOTOGRAPHER Amanda Downar ADVISER Jason Block Mission Statement The primary purpose of the Prospect High School Prospector is to report news as well as explain its meaning the community. We, the Prospector, hope to inform, entertain and provide a school forum for the unrestricted

exchange of ideas and opinions. The Prospector is published by students in Journalistic Writing courses. Some material is courtesy of MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

Advertising For ad rates, call (847) 718-5376 (ask for Aungelina Dahm), fax (847) 7185306, 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.

Limit letters to 400 words. The Prospector reserves the right to edit letters for style and length.

6

October 31, 2014

prospectornow.com

Opinion

Hysteria deadlier than disease Heads exploded as panic levels jumped from “Code Red” to “Starbucks is going out of business” when Liberian Thomas Eric Carter was diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 30.

It was official. Ebola had successfully infiltrated the United States, and The Walking Dead was going to become a reality. Say your farewells, eat your last burger and decide on your epitaph; Ebola was here, and in a couple of weeks, you probably wouldn’t be.

At least, this seemed to be the general message spread throughout popular media for the past couple of weeks. News organizations and radio pundits rallied under big banners To see how much students really know about Ebola, reading “panic” and “fear” as use the Aurasma app on the cartoon above. they valiantly attempted to cartoon by Veronica Holloway raise awareness and give information about this dangerous EBOLAPOCALYPSE: Ebola-infected zombies chase innocent, helpless Americans. Although the Amerdisease by making people too ican media has tried its hardest to spread fear and panic about the disease, much of what they claim is far scared to leave their houses. from the truth.

And although planning an escape route in case an Eb- much of an expert on Ebola as children crossing the border to the disease. It doesn’t spread ola-infected zombie knocks owning a goldfish makes you a faraway West African disease through water, food or air. You down your front door may an expert on oceanography. can’t get it from getting on a spells the utter destruction of seem like an exciting break plane, being in the same state Not only that, but somehow our great nation. from your otherwise dull life, Ebola has become, along with The truth is, there is abso- as or even standing directly this nationwide fear of Ebola pretty much everything else lutely no reason to fear Ebo- behind a person infected with was, and still is, completely il- nowadays, Obama’s fault. Fox la in the Ebola. logical.

On top News host Gretch- U n i t e d Deadlier than Ebola U n f o r t u n a t e l y, of that, en Carlson blamed S t a t e s . somewhere among disthe spread of Ebola A c c o r d - Ebola is scary, but there’s only been the the extensive coveron the president’s ing to the one American that has been killed ease only age of Ebola, facts becomes weakness and inde- Center for by the disease. As an American, got lost along with cisiveness and man- D i s e a s e you’d be better off worrying about c o n t a other inconsequengious after aged to tie it to ISIS, C o n t r o l , getting killed by these things: tial details like rathe infectthe VA scandal and, “ E b o l a tionality and sensied person you guessed it, Beng- poses no Cows: 22 annual deaths bility. has starthazi.

Meanwhile, s u b s t a n In fact, CNN beed to show conservative pundit tial risk to Molasses: 21 killed in Boston came so desperate symptoms, and radio host Rush the AmerMolasses Distaster Elai Kobayashifor sensationalizaby which Limbaugh went as ican popSolomon tion that it featured time he/ far to suggest that u l at i o n , ” Lightning: 51 annual deaths Opinion Editor fiction writer Robin she will the Obama is using Ebo- and Cook on as an “exprobably la as some sort of re- chance of pert” on Ebola. Its reasoning: venge against the United States an Ebola be in inback in 1987, Cook had written for slavery. Although not all outbreak in the US is “incred- tensive care, surrounded by “Outbreak,” a science fiction theories about Ebola are as far- ibly low.” a group of doctors wearing thriller novel that described fetched as Limbaugh’s, it’s true Even though this has already hazmat suits and journalists the Ebola virus terrorizing that much of the American me- been said by countless medical eager to tell the public that this America, killing innocent ci- dia has jumped on the oppor- experts, I’ll say it again: Ebola time the world was surely govilians. tunity to construct a thrilling ONLY spreads through direct ing to end.

It’s safe to say that writing and exciting fantasy world in physical contact with the bodiUnfortunately, the media’s a fictional story makes you as which anything from Mexican ly fluids of a person sick with campaign of panic and anxiety

has been successful in convincing many Americans that their painful, inevitable deaths are right around the corner.

A recent poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that 40 percent of Americans are worried by the possibility of a “large outbreak” of Ebola in the United States, with more than a quarter concerned that someone in their immediate family will get Ebola this year.

But what is even more surprising, and, in a sense, more disturbing, are the results of a study conducted by Media Matters of America. They discovered that “the people who said they were covering the story most closely were the ones with the most inaccurate information about Ebola.”

It’s true that Ebola is a scary disease and a serious African problem. It’s also true that, if nothing else, the American media has helped raise awareness for Ebola.

However, whether it be Fox News’ Chris Wallace suggesting that ISIS was planning to use Ebola in a mass bio-terror attack, or Congressman Louie Gohmert publicly announcing that the U.S. government wants aid workers to get infected so that they will bring Ebola back to America, it’s important to recognize that in some instances, the media prefers sensationalization and exaggeration to informing people of the truth of the matter. Because of this, it’s vital to not blindly believe what you hear on the radio or see on the news, but to do research of your own to form an opinion based on facts, not fear.

So, will you get Ebola? I guess the answer is maybe. But only if you fly to Liberia and dip your hands in the feces of an Ebola patient.

What if you find yourself sick to the stomach and tired with a nagging headache?

Chances are that you ate one too many french fries last night.

Impacts of dangerous driving affects passengers, pedestrians When I was 4 years old, my mom or not, driving other passengers was hit by a drunk driver in a head- is not a game; it’s a responsibility.

According to the CDC, the risk of on collision.

She was driving forward when crashing correlates directly to the the intoxicated driver turned into amount of passengers in the car.

Therefore, you’re three times the oncoming traffic lane and hit her. Thankfully, my mom had more likely to get in an accident enough time to hit her brakes, and while driving three teenage passengers than while drivno one was seriously ining one. jured.

In other words, three I was young, so I more families are likely to don’t remember a lot be affected along with the about the accident, but family of the other driver I do remember seeing in the accident. the car.

I’m sure the drunk The front was driver who hit my mom crushed, and it was wasn’t worried about how deemed unsalvageable. the accident would impact I learned from a young my family, but that doesn’t age how much destruc- Kelly Schoessling mean I wasn’t affected. tion something as com- Editor-in-Chief I try to rationalize that mon as driving can do. whenever I’m riding in a The accident not only influenced my own driving, car with a distracted driver, they’re but it also impacted the way I per- not truly thinking.

But the fact is when someone ceive other people’s driving.

It’s safe to say teenagers know purposely distracts themselves the effects distracted driving has while driving, they’re disregarding the lives of their passengers, on their own lives.

However, less seem to think other drivers and nearby pedestriabout the people sitting next to ans.

My friends who continue to text them.

Whether students recognize it and drive tend to give me the same

argument: it’s multitasking.

According to textinganddrivingsafety.com, it takes drivers at least five seconds to take their eyes off the road to read their phones.

If they’re driving 55 miles per hour, that means they’re driving the length of a football field without looking at the road.

So, yes, it’s possible to engage in distractions while driving, but it’s up to chance whether or not something or someone suffers in the process.

When I first heard about my mom’s accident, I was scared, but what terrified me more was that she had no control over the situation.

Now in high school, I realize I don’t have much control over the situation, either.

I don’t have control over whether or not my friends decide to distract themselves while driving, and neither do other drivers or pedestrians.

The final decision needs to be made by the driver. I only ask those guilty of distracted driving to remember one thing: while the decision is in your hands, the consequences are not.

prospectornow.com

October 31, 2014

Features

Join the Joiner family P a rent- Tea cher Conf erence

By Flynn Geraghty Features Editor

English teacher Elizabeth Joiner says her father, Herbert Beer, is “a real character.”

Beer’s grandson, 8-year-old Finn Joiner, says his “papa” is “funny and old, and he gets injured a lot.”

Beer describes himself as “a happy-go-lucky old man.”

Elizbeth’s father is one of

the most influential people in her life. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be an Elizabeth.

Before she was born, her family knew her name was going to be Elizabeth, but they wanted to find a cute nickname to call her. They tossed around Beth and Liz, but nothing seemed to fit.

Finally, the day she was born, Beer saw her and said, “She’s an Elizabeth.”

PRECIOUS MEMORIES: (Above) Elizabeth Joiner’s father, Herbert Beer, rests with his grandson, Finn Joiner. (Top Right) Herbert crawls along with a young Elizabeth. (Bottom Right) Elizabeth poses with Herbert at a wedding.

“She was a little princess, and she needed a princess name,” Beer said. “She was Princess Elizabeth.”

To this day, Joiner will not respond to people calling her Beth or Liz. Even when she was younger and people called for Beth, much to Joiner’s embarrassment, her parents would say, “We don’t have a Beth here.

We have an Elizabeth.”

There’s only one other name she’ll go by: My Little Lizard.

“Only her daddy can call her that,” Beer said.

As time went on, Beer and his “Little Lizard” spent a lot of time together. The two enjoyed going outside, whether it be hiking in the forest or going on vacations with the rest of the family.

“I feel like the things my dad did with me were more about spending time together and not doing fancy things,” Elizabeth said.

One of their favorite things to do was visit the library. Beer has always been an avid reader. Since she was young, Elizabeth has been a reader as well, even though her parents never pushed her to become one. “[My father] didn’t have to do much,” Elizabeth said. “He read to me, both of my parents did, and he was a reader himself, but I was just naturally that way, and he supported it.”

Even now, Beer gets to do these activities with Finn.

“Finn’s a really cool kid,” Beer said. “He’s smart, just like his mother, and he’s just great.”

Beer used to babysit Finn once a week when he was a baby. He was willing to do anything to take care of Finn — except changing a diaper.

“He would put him d o w n a n d s a y , ‘ We ’ l l j u s t wait until Grandma gets home,’” Elizabeth said.

Beer no longer babysits Finn because he doesn’t need a babysitter. Beer only sees him a few times a month, mainly to watch him scoring goals on the soccer field.

“I like when he comes to my soccer games because he gets to watch me dominate,” Finn said.

Despite having to juggle both a career and a family, Elizabeth calls her parents every day after school.

She’ll mostly talk to her mom. Elizabeth will talk to Beer on the phone, too, but he’s more of an “in-person” kind of guy. He’ll chime in during their conversations, but he mostly hears everything Elizabeth had to say from his wife later.

Despite having a good relationship with her father, Elizabeth would not consider herself a daddy’s girl.

“She always liked her mom more,” Beer

Special Ed proves rewarding Department comments on

By Ivanka Northrop Features Editor

Special Education (special ed) teacher Becky Boorman had known she wanted to be a teacher since a young age because of her love for school. In high school, she joined the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, a local volunteer organization. She soon realized she was truly passionate about teaching special ed.

“I started doing some volunteer work with a Special Recreation Association and loved it,” Boorman said. “[I] felt helping people was something I wanted to do, and teaching kids to do a variety of things was fulfilling to me.”

Boorman is one of many Prospect teachers that went into teaching special ed to pursue their passion of helping students to achieve their goals.

Division head Julie Stoker and the entire special ed department strive to help their students succeed in every way possible. Prospect offers many programs and approaches to assist students in learning.

While academic success is important, special ed teachers aim to help kids beyond the school setting, whether it

is helping them find a job or teaching them important life lessons.

“I figure I’ve got two main jobs,” special ed teacher John Hardey said. “[I need to] give them an education and give them a chance to succeed once they leave school. The other thing is [to] make them a good citizen. That’s my job. Schooling isn’t everything.”

There are nearly 200 students in the special ed program. There are different categories within the program, such as learning and processing difficulties, behavioral and/or emotional services and physical disabilities.

Because of the multiple types of services offered, students are provided with many options. They can be placed in classes that are not within the special ed department, or, if needed, some may be put into a more contained classroom setting.

Many students are included in mainstream classes with students who are not a part of special ed. This idea is called inclusion.

“Depending on what a student needs, there’s a variety of programs and services that are available within our district,” Stoker said. “We always try to provide services within the least restrictive environment for all of our students. A lot of our students are in mainstream classes with services being provided to them.”

Some classes are co-taught, where a special ed teacher and another teacher team up and teach the class together.

According to Stoker, every student in special ed has different ways of learning that work best for them.

For many students who fall under the learning and processing category, simply having a period in the day to strategize or break down the material is enough, while for others, more support may be needed.

“We’re able to individualize,” Stoker said. “I think you really have to look at, ‘What does that student need?’ So some students really need to see it and hear it, while other students need to write it.

It’s just trying to figure out what each student needs to be successful.”

Hardey feels the same way, and being able to individualize is something unique to Special Ed. “All of our kids have different deficits, and we have to use [multiple] strategies to hit every kid,” Hardey said.

“Our kids are all over the map. So for our kids in Special Ed, one size does not fit all.”

For staff members, getting to know and helping their students is truly beneficial. According to special ed coordinator Sandy Adkins, motivating students to reach their goals and aspirations is something that is very important to her.

“We have so many students that come back and say, ‘Thank you, [and] this is where I’m at [now],’ or ‘This is how I’m doing,’ or ‘I’m running my own business,’ or ‘I went to college,’” Stoker said. “It’s just great to see the kids be so successful.”

7

joked.

Elizabeth quickly interjected with, “That’s not true!”

“Are [my dad and I] ever going to be the type who go and get manicures together? No, but he probably knows me better than anyone else,” Elizabeth said. “I love my dad and I know he loves me.”

Some faces of the Special Ed department

Julie Stoker Special Ed Division Head

Becky Boorman Special Ed teacher

Sandy Adkins Special Ed Coordinator

John Hardey Special Ed teacher

In case you missed it ...

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Teachers describe dream jobs

Book club preview

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For more news, entertainment and video features on everything Prospect, visit ProspectorNow.com

8

October 31, 2014

In-Depth

prospectornow.com

welcome to th

fears can be frightening o

By Diana Leane

Executive In-Depth Editor Roller coasters can induce two emotions: excitement and/or fear. Psychology teacher Jay Heilman solely feels the latter. While many fear for their own well-being when approaching a roller coaster, Heilman thinks of two little boys instead. Heilman is fearful his two sons Maddux and Jaxson will grow up fatherless if something happens to him.

“Now I have a family, and I start to think more rationally like, ‘Oh my gosh, what if this roller coaster skates of the tracks? Who is going to take care of my boys?’” Heilman said.

Heilman also hates scary movies for his sons’ and his own sakes. While watching a scary movie, Heilman imagines himself in the main character’s position and how it would affect his sons. Generally, horror movies are rated PG-13 or above, so if children can’t watch the movie, they would not do well living the movie’s events in real life.

Heilman lacks the ability to detach movies from reality, which is one of many reasons why people like or dislike feeling scared.

According to WebMD, people who enjoy the fear that accompanies horror movies, haunted houses and other various fear-inducing events like to push themselves to see how much fear they can tolerate and feel satisfied afterwards.

Others enjoy horror movies because they experience feelings and sensations that don’t occur in their everyday lives. The average day for most doesn’t include any terrifying situation; therefore, when these types of events are experienced through a screen, people temporarily leave behind their predictable lives.

In a WebMD article, Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University, said movies provide a way to experience bizarre situations that differ greatly from the everyday life.

photo illustration by Cassidy Selep

MOVIE NIGHT: Juniors Julia Mozdzen and Angela Roman watch a scary movie. Roman cowers behind a pillow in fear while Mozdzen enjoys and watches the movie with fascination. One of several reasons why teenagers watch scary movies is for the social aspect.

In addition, fear-inducing events cause an adrenaline rush, which induces an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, faster breathing and intensified feelings. This reaction continues to linger after the fear-inducing event is over.

A study published in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology” showed that scary events can serve as a manliness competition. The study displayed that males enjoyed horror movies more when they watched it with a scared female, and females enjoyed the horror movies more when they watched it with an unafraid male.

Junior Angela Roman isn’t a fan of fear and especially dislikes horror movies. Roman recalled a trip to Six Flags’ Fright Fest when she was 10 as her scariest memory.

The tiny 10-year-old Roman hid behind her aunt’s legs as she walked through the maze with her eyes glued on the ground. Reaching the end of the maze, Roman was relieved until a man wearing a hockey mask and bloody apron and holding a roaring chainsaw jumped out at her and chased her around outside of the maze.

“Some people find that exciting,” Roman said. “I find it horrifying.”

Unlike Roman, junior Julia Mozdzen falls into the two-thirds of the population that enjoy scary activities. Mozdzen didn’t watch her first scary movie until freshman year when her sister forced her to watch one. After watching “The Woman in Black”, she knew she loved them.

Freshman Matthew Leoschke also didn’t start watching scary movies until his freshman

year. Leos curious an Leoschke’ and he en movies, be citement.

Althou during th people tha what is ha only feels can alway Mozdze cluding Ro agreed to be “that p doing som After re ie, Roman After the m keep her l that enjoy parts they Heilma role in wa ple are mo a group b However, scary mov er fear-ind they encou Scary m son to be fun with f “Watch other mov but [being Mozdzen your seat, interestin it’s not so

many Cultures celebrate boo -tiful tr

By Shannon Smith

Executive In-Depth Editor

Ireland Halloween derived from Ireland, and many of the Halloween traditions around today stem from Celtic Christianity. Samhain, which means summer’s end in Old Irish, was the Celtic holiday celebrated on Oct. 31. This tradition centered around the idea that harvest season was ending and the darker half of the year was beginning.

On Samhain, the Celts thought spirits could easily come into their world, so many would dress up in disguises or costumes to hide from the spirits. Celtic Christians also thought that souls of the deceased visited their homes so they left out extra place settings and food, similar to the Latin tradition of Day of the Dead.

After dinner, festivities like bonfires and divination games with apples and nuts began.

Today, Ireland continues to keep 10th century Celtic traditions alive on Halloween. According to irishcentral.com, bonfires are still a huge part of their Halloween celebrations, and people continue to dress up.

Romania The tale of Dracula written by Bram Stoker originated in Transylvania, Romania, so it’s no surprise that Romania has a holiday centered around vampires. This holiday is known as St. Andrew’s Eve or Vampire Night and takes place on Nov. 29.

On Vampire Night, vampires and the undead come out to fight and dance near abandoned houses or cross roads. In some

villages, the young people gather in one location and participate graves. in “guarding the garlic,” which is when all doors Day of the Dead is a joyo and windows at the location are canvassed with brating loved ones who hav garlic.

There are several superstitions that go along with the holiday. One is that if someone works on St. Andrews Eve, they will be Common items pla unlucky for the rest of the year. Also, it is said Marigolds: girls who go to a fountain with a candle can see Garlic clove the face of their future husbands in the reflection. to ward off

Mexico

vampires

Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition that celebrates family connections to those who have passed away, according to Spanish teacher Leigh Sapp. It is celebrated from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 in correlation with All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, but according to Sapp, it is in no way a Mexican equivalent to the American Halloween.

There are multiple traditions that take place during Day of the Dead. According to Sapp, one of the most important is setting up altars in homes.

These altars have two or more tiers and usually depict the deceased’s life on earth and the afterlife. They are usually decorated with certain items (see “Common items placed on altars and graves”).

Along with the altars, families visit cemeteries and bring items to lay on the sugar skulls

Candles: Sugar Skulls:

Food

prospectornow.com

October 31, 2014

In-Depth

he knightmare

or fun

Hometown haunts

By Katy Ryan

In-Depth Editor

schke watched one because he was nd found out he liked horror movies. ’s favorite horror film is “Shutter,” njoys this one, along with other scary ecause of their “edge of your seat” ex-

ugh Mozdzen and Leoschke feel scared he movie, they fall into the group of at are able to detach themselves from appening in the film. Since Mozdzen s fear while watching the movie, she ys sleep afterwards. en admits she has forced friends, inoman, to watch scary movies. Roman the movie because she didn’t want to person” that prevents the group from mething. eluctantly agreeing to watch the movn sat covering her face with her hands. movie, Roman sat thinking she had to lights on that night while her friends y scary movies discussed the creepy y loved. an believes peer pressure plays a big atching scary movies and believes peoore willing to watch scary movies as because there is “safety in numbers.”

Heilman also believes watching vies, going to haunted houses or othducing events can be beneficial since urage people to be social. movies provide Mozdzen with a reasocial while simultaneously having friends. hing a scary movie is different from vies because in a comedy you laugh, g scared is] a different form of fun,” said. “You’re sitting on the edge of , and I think scary movies have really ng plots. [They] are very detailed, and cliché like other movies.”

spirits plague Cuba Road What is Cuba Road and White Cemetery?

photo by Cassidy Selep

According to local legend, Cuba Road, a residential road that sits between Barrington and Lake Zurich, is haunted. Mysteriousheartland.com ranked it as the “creepiest road in Illinois.”

White Cemetery is a small rectangular burial ground on Cuba Road, and according to 365barrington.com, it’s one of the most haunted cemeteries in Illinois. The cemetery’s tombs date back to the early 1800s, but no records exist to say when it actually started.

Why they could be haunted:

One recurring story is that of a phantom automobile on Cuba Road. According to a blogger on typepad. com, the car is a black GTO Pontiac that four teens were killed in while driving in the Lake Zurich area in the early 70s. They turned from Cuba Road onto a one-lane side street called Flint Creek Road where they met a car driving straight at them. The group in the Pontiac thought it was a game of “chicken” and sped up before turning off the road straight into Flint Creek.

Many people who have driven down Flint Creek Road and Cuba Road claim to have seen some sort of black car drive by them. Residents in Barrington say they have driven by the cemetery and seen bright headlights far in the distance. When they got to the point the car should have been at, there was nothing but the cemetery and shrubbery.

White Cemetery is also known for a mysterious white orb of light that follows cars. According to prairieghosts.com, witnesses have seen white lights that float through the cemetery and onto the road.

They also have seen hazy human-like figures near the fence that seemed to vanish at will. Mysteriousheartland.com says that “spectral lovers” have been sighted there as well.

People also claim to have seen a vanishing house located near the woods of White Cemetery. Legend says the house burned down long ago but makes an appearance on moonlit nights. Self-proclaimed “scary story specialist” Jennifer Drinka says if someone enters the house at night and stays until the sun comes up, he or she will disappear along with the house forever.

According to prairieghosts.com, sometimes people see an old lady, assumed to be a ghost, carrying a lantern by the house. She tries to flag down passersby, but when someone stops to help her, she disappears.

Mrs. P

ME is paranormal

What is Mrs. P and Me?

Mrs. P and Me is a restaurant in Mount Prospect that local residents claim to be haunted.

A Short History of Mrs. P and Me:

raditions

ous holiday filled with music and celeve passed.

In 1902, Henry Behren opened a bar and restaurant called Behren’s Saloon. The saloon did well until Prohibition was passed, banning the sale of alcohol. This caused Behren to convert the saloon into an ice cream parlor and candy store. Behren sold the parlor to William and Sophie Kruse in 1923. photo by Cassidy Selep The restaurant served the community as a place for dairy farmers, railway patrons and sports fans to get to know each other and relax. The Kruse’s son, Henry, turned the parlor back into a tavern after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, and in 1977, after multiple changes in ownership, Dennis Miller took over the bar and renamed it Mrs. P And Me. The “P” stands for Miller’s hometown, Pittsburgh.

In 2004, three Mount Prospect residents acquired Mrs. P And Me and promised to carry out the tradition of the restaurant by keeping the original bar and Mount Prospect memorabilia.

Why it could be haunted:

aced on altars and graves

They are

According to manager Chris Bonozelos, some community members speculate that the spirit of a suicidal patron haunts Mrs. P and Me. She was a regular customer, and it is assumed that when she died, her spirit went back to the restaurant, causing the unusual events.

A faucet has inexplicably turned on, waitresses have felt like they’ve been tapped on the shoulder when no one was around and books have fallen off shelves so much that they are no longer kept there.

People have also taken pictures in the restaurant in which a white orb appeared in the background.

According to forgottenusa.com, the shadow of a very tall man has occasionally shown up, things have flown off the kitchen counters and hangers on the coat rack have spun and fallen off the rod.

Bozonelos said that there have been some minor incidences at the restaurant but nothing that “actually scared the living daylights out of people.”

Patrick O’Brien, a psychic who does readings at Mrs. P and Me every Tuesday, said he feels a presence in the restaurant, which he believes could be the patron who took her life so long ago.

However, Bozonelos isn’t too sure.

“It’s all down to what you believe and how much you believe,” he said.

9

10

October 31, 2014

Features

Triple trouble Despite statistical norms, sets of triplets attend

By Rachel Parks Features Editor

For senior Frances Ponicki, childhood memories of going to the zoo consisted of people staring at her more than the ani(Left to right) mals. Around Frances, Sophomores some people don’t seem Geoff, Mike and Tom to have a filter. They Wharton sometimes ask her intrusive questions because Frances and her sisters, Mary and T h e re s a feel it?”

Theresa, are identical triplets.

In their preschool class, Some little kids think they are the many of the children are too young to same person and ask questions like, understand that Mary, Theresa and “Do you eat, move and breathe at the Frances are different people. Older peosame time?” and “If I stab Frances ple ask more personal questions like, with a fork, will “Do you switch places in school?” and “Do you trick boys?”

According to cdc.gov, about 124 per 100,000 births result in triplets; statistically, only two or three of triplets should attend Prospect, but five do.

The triplets that attend Prospect are the Ponickis, juniors Joey, Johnny and Jimmy Michael, sophomores Geoff, Mike and Tom Wharton and freshmen Jackie, Drew and Kenny Orel.

Many people confuse Theresa, Frances and Mary, including teachers. Some teachers tell them apart by assigning them different seats. Only social science teacher Mike Sebestyen can tell them apart because he had them in different periods of AP Human Geography; other teachers simply try.

According to Frances, some people tell them apart by their different colored backpacks. Others notice that Theresa has a freckle on her throat, Mary has two freckles by her mouth and Frances has freckles all over.

Because Rolling Meadows senior (Left to right) Seniors Jonathan, Nicole Anderson has been friends Maddie and Mark Larock with the Ponickis since kindergar-

prospectornow.com

(Top left, top right, bottom right) Seniors Theresa, Mary and Frances Ponicki photos by Cassidy Selep

ten, they look different to her. However, Jimmy, Johnny and Joey Michael are also identical, and even their mother, Edna Michael, still mixes them up sometimes.

“They just start laughing.

I’ll start yelling at Joey and start going off, and he’ll just say ‘Mom, I’m Johnny, not Joey,’” Edna said.

The Michaels are new to Prospect. Joey says the good part about transferring with his brothers was having a place to sit at lunch. After transferring, they ended up becoming friends with Mary, Frances and Theresa.

Even though Joey himself is a triplet, he thinks it’s weird to see Mary, Theresa and Frances together because they look exactly alike.

According to Frances, being a triplet is like having two best friends. They all have similar interests but different personalities. Joey disagrees. “[We’re] not really [close]. We don’t communicate the way that other triplets do,” Joey said.

Theresa, Frances and Mary have another sister, Lynn, who is 32 years old.

Frances says their relationship with her is equally important because she gives a lot of advice. Joey, Johnny and Jimmy have a sister who is 2 years old.

The Ponickis are already making changes because of the possibility of not going to the same school next year. They used to study and do homework together often, but now they do it s e p a r at e ly to imitate a more independent s t u d y environment for college.

They a r e open to both

(Left to right) Juniors Joey, Johnny and Jimmy Michael

going to the same college or going to different ones. According to Frances, possible benefits of attending the same college are easier travel and the ability to share clothes, which they currently do often. Benefits of attending different colleges, however, are being able to be known as individuals at each of their schools, rather than being known as the triplets.

Despite their differences, the Ponickis and Michaels believe that if they weren’t triplets, life would be boring.

“You live with two of [your] best friends,” Frances said. “We’re very similar even though we have different personalities. It’s cool to have two people that share the same interests as you.”

(Left to right) Freshmen Jackie, Drew and Kenny Orel

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October 31, 2014

Features

11

Breast cancer hits close to home share what U-Knight for a Cure meant to them

By Shreya Thakkar

Executive Features Editor The stands were packed, the fans were loud and the football players were ready. But before the Oct. 17 U-Knight for a Cure football game could start, there was a moment of silence in remembrance of all those who have lost their battle against breast cancer.

“It was really touching because right before the moment of silence all the fans were going crazy, but during the moment of silence it was totally silent,” junior Hirangi Patel said. “You could’ve heard a pin drop. It was like nobody was even in the stadium.”

This moment was especially touching for sophomore Arie Upshaw, who presented the game ball in honor of her mother who lost her battle against breast cancer Dec. 26, 2011. “[Being able to present the game ball] was nice because I’ve done so much to promote breast cancer awareness and tell others that [they] can get through it — it’s a fight, but there’s always that light,” Upshaw said. “I felt proud to be out there. I didn’t feel like crying in front of any of the officials, coaches [or] players, but as soon as I got back to the sidelines, I started crying.”

Last year, Upshaw had asked the football team to wear pink sweatbands at a game during October, breast cancer awareness month, and was approached this year to present the game ball by football coach and Underground coordinator Frank Mirandola.

U-Knight for a Cure was meaningful for Upshaw and many others who have been affected by breast cancer. The Underground reached its goal of spreading awareness and celebrating survivors by raising $11,050 throughout the week from t-shirt and raffle ticket sales and donations. The money will pay for over 69 mammograms for women in the community through Northwest Community Hospital’s Gift-A-Mammogram program.

Upshaw is thrilled with the amount raised.

“I am very happy [with the amount the U raised] because I know [when I was] growing up, we always struggled with the medical bills,” Upshaw said. “I can’t even imagine some of the people out there who are diagnosed and are a single parent or out of a job. It’s heartwarming [to know so much money was raised].”

For junior Alec Heyde, whose mom is currently battling Stage IV breast cancer, the week was eye-opening.

“I didn’t know that so many people could relate,” Heyde said.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in every eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer. That means around 300 students at Prospect have been affected by their mothers having breast cancer, not to mention others who have had sisters, friends or extended family members battle breast cancer.

Heyde’s mom was diagnosed when he was five.

“It was a little tricky for me to understand because I was so young,” Heyde said. “But I just remember my [older] siblings crying, and I was a little confused.”

Heyde started understanding what his mom’s cancer meant when he was six, and then his 1. mom went into remission for six years. However, the cancer returned when Heyde was 12.

“One day mid-Saturday, she had me, my brother and my sister sit down on the couch, and she told us, ‘Guys, I have cancer again,’” Heyde said. “That time I was way more prepared and understood what it was.”

Heyde appreciates the awareness that U-Knight for a Cure spreads.

“I really like to see the school get a word out about breast cancer,” Heyde said. “I’m pretty sure everyone has been affected by it [in] some way. Even if it’s not their immediate family, they can say that they know someone that has cancer, so I think it’s nice to just raise awareness for the entire benefit.”

2.

U-Knight for a Cure symbolizes hope for Upshaw.

“We are all different, but when we [come together for] something like U-Knight for a Cure, we can stand together as one voice and put a foot forward in the right direction to help,” Upshaw said.

“Somebody else might not understand how much one game meant, but everybody down on the field did. All 3. you need is that small group at first, 4. and then you’ll take off. I feel like once you get everybody on board, it’s gonna be a sight to see how [U-Knight for a Cure] continues.”

U-Knight for a Cure is also special for junior Hannah Brummer, whose mom is a 12 year breast cancer survivor.

“I look up to my mom for being so strong, and she has taught me so much.

[She] always tells other people to stay strong and have hope,” Brummer said. “[My mom’s battle against breast cancer] really has taught me to never give up.”

Upshaw believes another important takeaway from U-Knight for a Cure is for students to appreciate what they have.

“When people say they hate their parents, I PINK OUT: (1) Junior Hannah get that, but you say that so much growing up, Brummer and her mom, a 12 year breast cancer survivor, pose before and you never [regret it] until you don’t have Brummer’s pink-out softball game. (2) Sophomore Arie Upshaw them — until they’re just not there to look out for you anymore,” Upshaw said. “I’ve [had] to shares a moment with her mom who passed away from breast cancer make a lot of choices on my own. Unlike a lot in 2011. (3) Junior Alec Heyde and his siblings pose with their mom, of my friends, I didn’t have a mother figure who currently is battling breast cancer, after she shaved part of her growing up. I don’t know how to put on makeup. hair. Although realizing the seriousness of the situation, the Heyde’s I don’t know how to curl my hair. I don’t know put their mom’s hair back on her head in the shape of a mohawk in common things that girls would know because I [lost my mom]. But you adapt without knowing the game ball at the Oct. 17 U-Knight for a Cure football game. right off the bat.”

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October 31, 2014

Entertainment

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PMK sets tone for excellence

By Garrett Strother

Entertainment Editor There is an institution at Prospect known for its consistency. It is renowned throughout the school for its frequent triumphs. No, it’s not the football team or even the chess club. This group is the Prospect Marching Knights (PMK), who pull off shows of grand scale and quality year after year. They have been Grand Champions at the University of Illinois Marching Band Festival over 30 times, their most recent win being Oct. 18.

This consistency raises the question, “What makes the marching band talented year after year?” While the success of other activities and athletic programs fluctuates year to year, the PMK remain strong.

On top of their consistent quality, the marching band starts every year with an entirely new show. These new shows require different styles, formations and, of course, entirely new songs.

Sophomore clarinet player Michael Kanai stresses that

photo by Cassidy Selep

PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC KNIGHT BOY: The marching band played the halftime show at the home football game on Oct 17.

A lot of work goes into creating the show from the directors and the students. this year’s show requires an entirely different approach than last year’s.

“The show this year is more effect-[heavy] than [it was] last year, which was more power-[heavy],” Kanai said. “We have to be more expressive with our notes.”

According to Kanai, this expressiveness comes from

Steps to create a PMK show

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honing dynamics and note length and making sure that each show carries a different atmosphere than the previous year’s.

“We adapt right from the beginning,” junior trumpet player Cesar Contreras said.

“We slowly progress our way through the season so that we are at our best during competitions.”

However, Contreras says that regardless of the show, the band directors always have the same good rapport with their students.

“We get support from everyone,” Contreras said. “They’re always supporting us no matter where we are. They’re always there for us.”

Freshman flute player Sophie Speedy agrees that the instructors are really encouraging.

“When they criticize you, you don’t feel bad about yourself,” Speedy said. “They really want the best for us and the

best for the band.”

Peter Weber, the drill designer for the marching band, says creating what is best for the band is more than just getting the best perfor mance from the players.

“Running any type of music program, be it band, choir or orchestra, is pretty time-intensive,” Weber said.

“There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that students don’t see.

When I was growing up and I was a student at Prospect, my teachers David Morrison and Gary Parker said that teaching is about 10 percent of the job. The rest is to coordinate a program.”

Coordinating the program involves everything from preparing transportation to festivals and concerts to scheduling rehearsals inside and outside of school.

Students also juggle a busy schedule when it comes to marching band. The PMK has a reputation for taking up almost all of a student’s free time.

“I think it is really time intensive,” sophomore mellophone player Liam Fasick said, “But all of that time is really just spent with your best friends, and they kind of be-

come your family, so you don’t really realize it.”

Best friends or not, marching band members have to put in long practice hours to earn the accolades the program is associated with.

The band practices every Monday as well as occasional Wednesdays and Thursdays.

M o n day and Wednesd a y practices r u n f r o m six to n i n e while Thursd a y practices are from five to nine.

Fridays bring football games, and Saturdays are spent at tournaments. This is not taking into account any private lessons or independent practice the students do during the week.

This involved of a schedule can sometimes lead students to leave other activities.

Contreras had to quit the soccer program after sophomore year to accommodate his practice schedule, but he said it was well worth the sacrifice.

“Even though band camp and other rehearsals are [really] time-consuming, it’s all worth it for competitions and winning,” Contreras said.

“The feeling is just great.”

Swift shifts style; still sensational songwriter

By Mary Kate Moloney Executive Online A&E Editor OK, fine. I’ll admit it. I, Mary Kathryn Moloney, am a closeted Taylor Swift fan. Remember two years ago when Swift came out with her album “Red?” All anyone said was, “This isn’t real country,” or “She only writes about her break-ups.” Well, in her new album, “1989,” that’s still true.

“1989” came out as a pop album Oct. 27 with 13 songs. I’m going to take this opportunity to point out that 10 of those songs are love songs, break-up songs or a mixture of the two, but that’s OK because that’s why we love T-swift. Her

music is relatable. It discusses topics people can connect to and understand.

Although “1989” has music involving similar topics, it has a totally different feel. Her first album, “Taylor Swift,” was released in 2006 when Swift was only 16. Now at 24, she uses her new album to introduce us to Taylor 2.0. Now an adult, she manages to sing about more than her experiences with love.

“1989” is rather a mature reflection of her new life in New York City.

The first single released from “1989” was the catchy, “Shake it Off.” It was a perfect introduction to the album, showing Swift’s newfound confidence.

It is the only upbeat song in “1989,”

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but it was done perfectly. The song has the number one spot on the iTunes top chart and number two spot on Billboard’s Hot 100, not to mention the music video is number one on iTunes.

According to Billboard, it is predicted that 800,000 to 900,000 albums will be sold in the first week or so of “1989” being released. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, because her last two albums, “Red” and “Speak Now,” both sold over a million copies.

“Welcome to New York,” the first song on the album, describes her appreciation and infatuation towards New York. Stated previously by Swift, New York served as a major source of inspi-

ration for the album.

In her song “Style,” Swift compares her relationships with clothing trends, saying that while some people come and go in her life, there are always those few who are staples. This is a different sort of writing for Swift. In past albums, her music was very blunt, but with “Style,” she makes her audience infer the meaning behind the song.

Despite its critics, “1989” is solid proof that Swift has proven her music extends far past teenage love songs.

She has successfully transitioned from a country singer to a pop star, while maintaining her fans and staying authentic.

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From apple cider donuts to pumkin cream cheese, read Ivanka’s take on the best foods

Hear about Eva’s favorite artist this She promises they will make you get

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October 31, 2014

Entertainment

13

Prospect’s Got Talent pursues traditions

By Isabelle Rogers

Entertainment Editor

Instead of choosing to have a car wash or a bake sale, Associate Principal Scott McDermott and Fine Arts Director Jeremy Morton, along with 2014 graduates Meghan Doyle and Josh Arshonsky, thought up a different idea for a speech fundraiser in 2012: Prospect’s Got Talent.

“It’s actually a lot of fun,” junior Kit Fitzgerald said. “Most fundraisers are concession stands or bake sales. I cannot bake, and [this show] is actually really entertaining.”

Morton will continue the fundraising tradition this year with McDermott and Fitzgerald, along with music teacher Robert Shellard, seniors Allie O’Connor and James Farquharson and sophomore Jimmy McDermott.

“We have over eighty students [in speech], and we needed help to support the team financially and give them supplies,” Morton said. “[This fundraiser] helps prevent students from having to pay a lot of money for our overnight trips, and for the major supplies like scripts.”

After talking about it with Shellard last year, these four students were invited to help organize the show and be the

Masters of Ceremonies.

According to Fitzgerald, the students’ jobs consist of sitting in on auditions, deciding prices, who gets to perform, choosing prizes and tallying votes.

This group of students and teachers has worked to transform Prospect’s Got Talent from a show that benefits speech to a show that benefits everybody.

Each year, the show grows in number, giving it the opportunity to grow in variety. “[You see] kids interact in a way that they wouldn’t normally,” Shellard said.

“You have kids from the drumline interacting with kids from the choir department and with kids that do whatever they do that may not interact in other circumstances, and here they work together to put on this great show.”

Prospect’s Got Talent also benefits students by offering prizes to its winning contestants. Some prizes include gift certificates to restaurants and stores around the Randhurst area.

Each audience member also receives a free raffle ticket that can go towards prizes like free parking passes and dance tickets.

Audience members also have a chance to vote for their favorite performers. In past years, the audience voted on mobile devices, and the votes

photo courtesy Jimmy McDermott

AND THE WINNERS ARE: ‘14 grads Meghan Doyle (left) and Josh Arshon-

sky (right), last year’s MCs, announce the winners at last year’s Prospect’s Got Talent. were tallied to pick a different (or, in some cases, the same) winner than the judges’ choice.

The producers of the show try to pick staff members that make strong connections with their students to be the judges. So far, this year’s judges are social science teachers Jon Kaminsky and Daria Schaffeld.

There are about twenty acts each year, and each one must be under three minutes, leaving a small amount of time to wow the judges and the audience.

“There are students that definitely stepped out of the woodwork,” Shellard

said. “Nobody had even heard about [their talents].”

The contestants go through auditions and then rehearsals, which are mostly for the stage crew, then the final show.

“Some people [perform], and you are like, ‘Oh my gosh! I did not know you could sing,’ or, ‘I did not know you could dance!’” Fitzgerald said. “It is a surprise that a lot of the contestants are people who are not involved. It is a cool thing to know that there is more to people than you actually know. They could be really good at [their talent] and you did not even know their name before.”

Prospect playlists: purchased or poached?

By Abby Sunu

Executive Entertainment Editor *Name changed for confidentiality When prep study teacher Lauren Ciesemier was a senior in high school, the iPod age was just beginning, and it was rendering CDs and mixtapes irrelevant.

Despite the change in technology, Ciesemier continued collecting records and wearing out the needle from her parent’s old turntable. “[Records] were very affordable, but at the same time, [it was] not very popular for my friends or anyone to be listening to them,” Ciesemier said.

According to a survey of 200 Prospect students, this is still the case. Only three out of the 200 surveyed said they use records to listen to music.

Despite this, Ciesemier still uses the record player she got for Christmas almost seven years ago.

Even though Ciesemier has a collection of about 50 records, she only listens to her record player on the weekends and when she has enough time to enjoy and actually listen to

the music.

“I think there is something unique about the sound quality,” Ciesemier said. “For fun and when I have a little more time to relax, and if I’m just hanging out at home, that’s where the record player comes in.”

According to Ciesemier, it’s not only the “where” and “when” she listens to music that matters–it’s also the songs themselves.

“You absorb the sound on a big speaker, and on a record player, it’s like a you’re in a tunnel,” Ciesemier said.

Ciesemier enjoys listening to music in the car and while she works at home. When she doesn’t have the time to listen to her records, she uses other, more convenient devices.

“If I’m in the mood to hear a specific band or song or type of music, there’s a total vibe that goes with listening to music on a record,” Ciesemier said.

“Then there’s the convenience factor of listening to music on my iPod or playing on my computer or speakers at home.”

However, sophomore Sabrina Przytula has a completely different method for listening to her music. Przytula discov-

Where students get their music

Number of users

Can’t do the time, don’t do the crime -

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ered Spotify in seventh grade and has been using the website ever since. She now has a playlist containing over 800 songs.

Spotify allows her to listen to her favorite songs on her computer and phone, so she rarely downloads songs from iTunes. However, she will purchase a song if Spotify doesn’t have it.

Senior Katie Parker*, stopped using iTunes two years ago when people stopped giving her iTunes giftcards.

Instead of buying music from iTunes, she found a replacement by illegally downloading music.

Parker uses a website that converts YouTube videos to MP3 files and downloads them onto her computer for free.

Parker isn’t the only one using this website. Whether it’s through a YouTube converter,

Pirate Bay or another website, 74 percent of students admit to downloading music illegally.

She doesn’t know anyone who has been caught, and she’s not worried about getting caught, either.

“I used a really crappy computer, so I didn’t really care about viruses, and I just don’t think I’ll get caught,” Parker said.

Parker thinks this method is more convenient because with the click of a button, her music is automatically uploaded to her iTunes library. The songs come out on YouTube and iTunes around the same time.

“I don’t [feel bad about paying for music because] I think $1.29 for one song is kind of ridiculous,” Parker said. “When it was $.99, I didn’t really care for buying them as much, but now that it’s more expensive, I

think it’s kind of stupid.”

Only 73 of the 200 students surveyed still use iTunes to pay for music. While paying for music is an uncommon choice, Ciesemier has been acknowledged as even more unique because of her music listening choice.

“I think people respect that I like to do something different.

We have a lot of eclectic stuff [and] a lot of vintage stuff,” Ciesemier said. “We have a few collections that have been in my family for a while. Cameras are one [collection], and my records are another one. I think people just appreciate that I’m kind of using and adding value to these old things that could be in someone’s storage. These [are] old discarded items that people used to like 30 years ago, but I think that my friends kind of appreciate it for that.”

14

October 31, 2014

Sports

prospectornow.com

New coach revamps leadership well so far this season, which has translated into success. In the Peoria match, the team placed fifth and sophomore and top runner Brooke Wilson had what For girls’ cross country, leadership she said was her best race all season. In is crucial according to head coach Pete their Palatine match, the team got to Wintermute. He believes leaders aren’t see how they stacked up against some necessarily the fastest runners. They of the best teams in the state. are the athletes who can set an example In addition to talking about the team, for the team both vocally and through team leaders are also reading Jeff Janstheir actions. sen’s “The Team Captain’s Leadership “The expectation is that you are do- Manual” to help them prepare for the ing everything to the best of your abil- future. The book discusses leadership ity,” Wintermute said. “When you are skills and different types of leadership. a leader, you are being watched all the Along with revamping leadership, time.”

Wintermute is altering traditions to In his first year as head coach, Win- make them more meaningful, such as termute noticed leadership was lacking pasta parties. In the past, athletes would and felt that needed to change. This show up to other players’ houses on the summer, the team started a leadership night of the parties, grab one plate of group in which two runners from the food and leave after half an hour. sophomore, junior and senior classes According to White, this year the parmet once a week to disties occur less often cuss team affairs. This but are useful bonding Summary of team’s included spotlighting activities for the team. leadership book certain runners after The team has tie-dyed, a good race and exam“The Team Captain’s made caramel apples ining injuries affectLeadership Manual” is and played games such ing the team. a book leaders of the as capture the flag.

“It’s a good thing The team also startteam have been walking ed the summer by because there are through. The book creates playing games such as leaders from all difcaptains who ... ferent grades,” sophvolleyball, which acomore leader Aileen cording to Getschman White said. “So we really helped the team all just come together get to know each other. a high standard and think about what “The girls are with we could do to make each other many days teammates the team better.” in the summer and In June, the girls then all fall,” Wintervoted on the runners teammates mute said. “It’s six whom they thought days a week pretty should become leadmuch when we get in ers, but the coaches the school year. I wantmade the final decision. The leaders ed to make sure they were enjoying it now meet once a week, which is less fre- and were committed to it.” quent than over the summer.

This season, the team has four sophAccording to senior Hannah Get- omores within its top seven runners. schman, the team has been able to work

By Devin Prasad

Executive Sports Editor

photo illustration by Cassidy Selep

FOCUSED:

Wilson is very excited for the future of the class. With two years to grow, Wilson believes the team will continue to get stronger.

Wintermute places this sophomre class in the top three of all time. He says that by having them as a majority, they are better able to lead the team.

Each year that Wintermute has helped with Prospect cross country has prepared him for this year. He was part of the boys’ cross country program for eight years and the girls’ for four years.

In his time with both programs, he be-

-

lieves he has learned from two great coaches, Mike Stokes and Dave Wurster.

From Stokes, he learned to run a great program by putting in hard work.

He learned about patience and analytics such as the science behind training from Wurster.

The team placed seventh in its conference meet on Oct. 18 and proceeded to get fourth place at the regional on Oct. 25. They are confident they will place in the top five teams in their sectional on Nov. 1 and advance to the state competition.

prospectornow.com

October 31, 2014

Sports

15

Frisbee reaches ultimate peak Unique traditions sustain popularity

By Ellen Siefke Editor-in-Chief

Alumni of all years return to Prospect during Homecoming Week to watch the football game; however, some rush back early for more than sports.

Six alumni this year made sure to arrive by 3 p.m. to watch the Ultimate Frisbee matches.

“It’s really cool to see the alumni come back,” Ultimate Frisbee sponsor John Camardella said. “To have people from four, five years ago come back and talk about their experiences shows the impact of the club.”

Since its inauguration in 2003, the program has grown from 24 members to 226, a new record, this year. It is also now the largest club in District 214.

Senior Alex Blethen, a member of the now four-time champion team Let’s Go Knights (LGK), thinks frisbee is so popular because it appeals to students from all walks of life.

“It attracts athletes not in a fall sport, but it’s also a good way just to hang out with your friends,” Blethen said. “Everyone can come out and play, and it’s very accepting, even if you’re not that good.”

Camardella attributes the popularity to its student leadership; members form their own teams, design their jer-

photo by Calla Flanagan

I GOT IT!:

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LGK four-peats, makes history

photo by Calla Flanagan

REACH:

seys and manage their games. Camardella only organizes the schedule and rankings and maintains the club website. He also keeps track of results and time during matches.

During the matches, Camardella sees all teams showing enthusiasm.

“You can’t tell a team’s record while watching because they all display the same kind of excitement,” Camardella said. “Everyone’s respectful, and everyone plays the game how it’s supposed to be played.”

Ultimate Frisbee began in 2003 when a student on drumline in his second-period history class asked Camardella to sponsor an Ultimate Frisbee club. Because he played in college, Camardella readily agreed.

The first year, the 24 participants formed four teams with six players each. By the next year, however, that number had doubled, and games moved to seven vs. seven, a style that continues today. The average team size now is 10 players.

According to Camardella, the popularity increased steadily during the first few years because of a team called Chocobots. The team consisted entirely of band members, many of whom were founders of Ultimate Frisbee. Chocobots won titles in 2004, 2006 and 2009 and heavily promoted the club.

Chocobots also started the tradition

Young talent takes over Juniors lead boys’ cross country

By Ryan Molini Sports Editor

Freshman Jack Terry and sophomore James Riordan both made boys’ cross country history by breaking the frosh/soph records in the 2.5-mile race at home Oct. 9. Terry broke the record with a time of 13:28 and placed second in the frosh/soph boys’ conference race Oct. 18. Riordan broke the record in 13:20.

The program as a whole is very young with 22 freshmen and only two seniors. However, with the display of underclassmen talent, their goals are still set high. “[Placing] top 10 [in state] would be great because we were top 20 last year,” head coach Mike Stokes said.

Senior Mike Anderson and juniors Max Crowninshield and Alec Heyde all ran at state last year and are expected to lead the team to a top-10 finish. Stokes believes the team can use its experience because runners are familiar with the intense atmosphere state meets bring.

Going into the conference meet,

Hersey and Buffalo Grove were the favorites. With the Mid-Suburban League (MSL) being such a strong conference with recent state champion Palatine, and perennial power Barrington the team gained valuable high-level competition throughout the season in dual meets against them.

“You get three [runners finishing] every second at the MSL [conference meet],” Stokes said. “That only happens at the state meet, the MSL and in our sectional.”

The MSL conference meet took place on Saturday, Oct. 18. The team finished third overall with junior Karson Lecomte (15:55) in 20th, Heyde (15:52) in 18th, junior Matt Cozine (15:51) in 17th and Anderson (15:47) in 15th.

Anderson and Tommy Mathews have the challenge of being the only two seniors on the team, but the team views it as a fresh start, according to Stokes.

“It’s hard to lead with only two seniors on the team,” Anderson said. “But overall it’s a great feeling to be where we are at right now.”

Heyde knows it can be tough at times but said they expected only two seniors to be on the team. As a returner, Heyde saw he had to set an example for the other juniors. Having been together as a team for so many years together, it wasn’t strange when he had to help

of passing down team names, a tradition that is still prominent today.

Most of the time, highly successful teams choose to pass their names down.

Others pass down their names to younger siblings who join.

Senior LGK member Eryk Krzyzak thinks the tradition is important because it gives glimpses into the history of the league.

“I think it’s a big tradition just because of the rich history the league has, and you see a lot of the teams that used to have success in the past,” Krzyzak said. “It’s kind of cool that you can carry on a team’s legacy and see how that team name has gone during the league’s history. [You] carry on the name, carry on the tradition, carry on the legacy.”

Traditions like this and a competitive yet laid-back atmosphere have allowed Frisbee’s popularity to continue.

With numbers surpassing the 200 mark in 2009, Camardella recognizes it is plateauing but is excited to see the future.

“At this point, we’re kind of at our critical mass,” Camardella said. “Once you factor in the fall athletes and those with other commitments, we can’t get much bigger. That being said, it’s been exciting to see all the growth and excitement that comes with every week, and it’s been exciting to watch all the teams show such enthusiasm and energy every week.”

some of his teammates along the way.

Heyde and Stokes both see that the team has every single person on board, caring about practice and improving times.

“They’re workers,” Stokes said. “It’s refreshing that they’re not heading for the door until everything’s done. They want to do their best.”

Heyde explained that the team keeps track of other schools’ performances by reviewing recent times and races.

“With running, it’s hard to focus on other teams,” Heyde said, mentioning that they update the team group chat about other teams’ standards and their opponents’ races. “I think it’s really cool to see [this dedication] from a cross country team.”

Looking toward later meets, the team’s goal is to make it to state and finish strong. The Knights have already met their goals of placing third in conference and second in the Oct. 25 regionals.

Stokes believes the team’s mental toughness will help it reach its goal of five runners under 15:50 and seven runners under 16:10 for the late-season three-mile races.

“They’re mentally tough. That’s because they’ve worked very hard to toughen themselves up,” Stokes said.

“They’re really into the mental aspect of running, and there’s [more] to it than people think … It’ll make you or break you. I don’t think it’s going to break this team.”

The team known as Let’s Go Knights (LGK) made history Oct. 24 bee team to four-peat. With a franchise record of 90-4, it is now the winningest team in frisbee history.

The team started three years ago with a group of then-seniors, who won the 2011 championship. The next year, they passed on the name to a group of then-sophomores,

have won,” sponsor John Camarbet on them.” day during the summer to improve their game. During matches, the team uses a defensive strategy to

meaning members focus on quick

won back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.

LGK,” Krzyzak said. “We want to go Head to prospectornow.com to read about LGK’s season and the challenges it had to overcome.

photo by Cassidy Selep

RUN, FOREST, RUN: Junior Matt

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SPORTS Friday, October 31, 2014

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The boys’ cross country team took third overall at their conference meet on Oct. 18 and senior Michael Anderson along with juniors Karson LeComte, Alec Heyde and Matt Cozine received all-conference honors.

The Ultimate Superfan

Photo courtesy of Chris Strobel

STILL A KNIGHT: Benny Skrzynski (Pictured front middle with blue jacket) stands alongside the bluemen and Underground during the UKnight For a Cure football game against Buffalo Grove, Oct. 17. The former Knight has been attending Prospect sporting events for over a decade.

Knights’ greatest supporter, Benny, thankful for experience

By Peter Fusilero Sports Editor

Down at Champaign’s Memorial Stadium 13 years ago, the Prospect football team had completed the unimaginable.

A program that couldn’t even win a game a few years prior went through a season without losing a game. The end result?

A state championship.

One person hasn’t missed a piece of Prospect sport history since that state run.

Ben Skrzynski is the Knights’ ultimate superfan.

“Seeing Ryan Holajn haul that pass [in] from George Smith was awesome,” said Skrzynski, who has Global Developmental Delay, according to his father Rodney .

“Just being in Champaign to see two teams, Prospect and

Edwardsville, who were playing for their first state championship, was unbelievable.

Every chance I get, I watch the VHS and DVD versions of that championship win.”

For 14 years straight, he and his father sat right below the press box to cheer on the football team. However, football is not the only Prospect program they support.

“Prospect is family,” Rodney said. “They’re Knights. We’re Knights. We go to as many events as we can, especially the girls’ games. They appreciate that we’re there.”

The girls’ basketball team, for example, has developed a strong relationship with Ben, a 2003 graduate, and his family.

They even made him his own superfan t-shirt.

“It is so special to see Benny and his dad at every game,” se-

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nior forward Catherine Sherwood said. “We know that we have someone who always has our backs. There’s usually not many fans at our basketball games, so knowing they are there is a great feeling.”

Sherwood can’t imagine a sporting event without Ben. “Prospect games would be very different,” Sherwood said.

“He always gets very into the game and is always right there with the fans when the referee makes a bad call. Everyone knows him as the number one superfan, and [he] adds a great vibe to the Underground. I would love to see Ben around at games for many years to come.”

Before Ben was the superfan many know him as today, he was a Prospect student hoping to get a chance to play for the football team.

“I have a lot to say for [former Prospect] coach Brent Pearlman,” Rodney said. “He made it possible for Ben to par-

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ticipate. Ben was [in] special education. They made a place for him with the team, and it was great to see him play on that field.”

Ben echoes his dad’s appreciation for Pearlman and the football team.

“It’s a thrill of a lifetime just to play on that field as well as be a part of the team,” Ben said. “They still consider me a part of the team even though I’ve graduated. That means a whole lot to me. Every chance we get, my parents and I personally thank coach Pearlman for all that he has done for me.”

According to Rodney, being a parent of someone who was in special education isn’t always easy, but the brotherhood that Prospect preaches on and off the field has helped.

“I’ll be out shopping with Ben, and somebody that graduated 10 years ago with him will go ‘Hey Benny,’” Rodney said. “Benny will tell me ‘Oh, he played on the football team

with me.’ Seeing something small like that makes me feel good.”

During head coach Mike Sebestyen’s first year at Prospect, he coached Ben on the Freshman “B” team.

“Benny is a great young man who has overcome a lot of adversity,” Sebestyen said.

“The one thing he does love is Prospect High School and Prospect athletics. It is nice to see such loyalty.”

Sebestyen always notices Ben at the games.

“I’ve been here now for 16 years, and Benny has been here for all of them. To me he’s just been a part of this place,” Sebestyen said.

Sherwood doesn’t see Ben’s disability limit him in any sort of way in the crowd.

“He puts his special needs aside and just blends in with the Underground. It’s awesome to see him do this because the Prospect Knights make him so happy.” Sherwood said.

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WATER BREAK WITH KACIE O’DONNELL Year: Senior Sport: Girls’ golf Best score this season: 75

Q. How has coach Hamann by your side during your golf

career made an impact on your life?

Q. Your golf career is finally finished, looking back

Q. This year where a lot of people doubted you

guys, to win conference and make it to state, how did that feel?

A. Yes, a lot of people doubted us and making it all the way to state was unreal. I could not be more proud of my teammates.

He was always helping me with new shots and taught me everything I know about golf.

Kacie O’Donnell

at those four years, what does the Prospect girls’ golf program mean to you?

A. It means everything to me. It has helped me grow and learn inside and outside of school. It has helped me learn dedication and how to truly work for something.

A. He has helped me become the player I am today.

Q. What will be your favorite Prospect girls’ golf memory and why?

A. Probably winning state, because it was and still is such an unreal moment to me.

Q. Do you hope to stay connected with the girls golf program in any way after high school?

A. Yes, I plan to help out in the summer if needed and if I can come back to any meets I will