Rocky Mountain Highlighter: 2006 March

Highlighter

Keyworth retires after 14 years as head coach, Page A12

R OCKY M OUNTAIN MARCH 24, 2006

VOLUME 33, NO. 7

“...EVERYTHING AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE” -JOHN DENVER, ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL

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1300 W. SWALLOW RD.

In a hurry for freshmen fury

The last time Poudre School District discussed the possibility of moving 9th graders into high school, the Hubble Space Telescope had just been launched into orbit and the San Francisco 49ers were winning their second consecutive Super Bowl.

It is somewhat of an understatement, then, when Jerry Wilson, PSD superintendent, describes it as “a question that is overdue to be asked again.” The concept of having a 9-12 high school has not been seriously studied since 1990.

“Almost all schools across the state use the 9-12 system,” said Wilson, who took over as superintendent just over six months ago. “That’s not to say it’s bad that we’re different, because sometimes being unique is good. We just want to make sure that we have a good reason to be different.”

Wilson introduced the idea in early January as part of a list of

Front Page F P Special Special

FORT COLLINS CO, 80526

Freshman class causes fresh concerns

by SCOTT MERRILL/Reporter With the possibility of a freshman class coming to Rocky in the 2008-09 school year, questions have been raised whether or not t h e school could ◆Affected students’ support input, A2 another class of students.

Some problems with bringing in another class would be things such as the number of classrooms, KRIS COTE the cafeteria size, the amount of food in the cafeteria and the drop-off zone for students. ◆Number of Students: With bringing in a new class, one of the biggest concerns would be the total number of students.

I n This school year, there are SETH SECRIST 1,729 registered students.

The capacity for the school is currently 1,836 students.

If another class were to be added, the number of students would exceed the school’s capacity. One of the reasons that the new class could still be introduced, though, is because the projections for number of students has been declining. The Rocky

Freshmen may move up in ’08

by COLIN WEST/News Editor

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S eealso

SETH SECRIST

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Almost all schools across the state use the 9-12 system.

-Jerry Wilson, PSD superintendent

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eight recommendations for dealing with shifting enrollment patterns.

On Jan. 23, the School Board voted to approve all eight recommendations. Although this does not mean that the decision is final, it does mean that the Board will be creating five “work teams” to investigate various aspects of the project, including the rationale for moving to a 9-12 system and the impact on grades K-8.

This decision has prompted much debate, not only within the School Board but within the high schools, as well. Wilson said that the PSD community has been very receptive, although he admits that Jump to FRESHMEN, page A2

AREAS OF CONCERN: If a freshman class is added to Rocky in the future, school officials will have to address numbers of issues for the cafeteria and lunch time length (above), student drop-off and pickup congestion (above insert), and hall and classroom space (middle and bottom). The district is currently studying the feasibility of bringing freshmen into the high schools. PSD is one of the few remaining districts in the state to have three-year high schools.

Jump to CONCERNS, page A2 STEVE UNDERWOOD

Students upset at late start changes

by MATT LEEKE/Reporter

COLIN WEST

LATE START: Seniors (from left) Andrew Cook, Ryan LaCount, Megan Buford, Nick McGovern and sophomore Michael LaCount sit in the commons utilizing their late start in different ways. But now Late Start Mondays will be no more. As of March 6, a decision was made that late start will be moved to Wednesdays starting at the beginning of the 2006-07 school year.

What’s Inside This Issue...

The days of students sleeping in on Monday after a long weekend are over thanks to a recent decision by the district to unify all the high schools under a schedule that moves the week’s late start day to Wednesday starting next year.

“The goal in doing this is that they want everybody to have the same late start day because elementary and junior high schools might go to a late start program as

early as one year from now,” said Assistant Principal Marian Kolstoe.

“If that happens, having the same late start day means that we here can collaborate with the staffs from other schools.”

The decision was made official to change the late start day to Wednesday at a School Board meeting on March 6.

“They decided on Wednesday because that’s what most people wanted,” Kolstoe said. “Generally, when we have three-day weekends,

we lose a Monday, and that means less staff time to work on important issues.”

The Rocky late start schedule that was previously on Mondays will simply be shifted to Wednesdays, and the staff meetings will be held Wednesday morning instead of Monday.

“This is crap,” said junior Adam Nye, who was less than enthusiastic about the change. “What’re we Jump to LATE, page A2

New CHSAA rules rile student pack, Page A5 Death of Salesman seeing ‘death’ of cast, Page B8

Freedom of expression expresses concerns, Page B4-5

Page A2 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

Speech team shatters records, wins two titles ANTICIPATION: Senior Jacob Thompson awaits the results of the 2006 state speech and debate tournament, as coaches Paul DeMaret and Doug Cole look on.

SARAH SPEIGHTS

Forensics team’s showing a school-best The forensics team competed in the CHSAA state tournament over spring break from March 17-18 and set several school records.

Jennifer Tschetter became the state champion in Lincoln Douglas debate, beating previous school-best 2nd place. Along the way, Tschetter defeated three of the state’s top debaters.

The team of Colin West and Dan Daenan also took first place in Public Forum debate, marking the first time Rocky has won two different debates in the same year.

Also setting school records were the Duo team of Jessi Whitten and Jacob Thompson and Humorist Trent Sawyer, whose 3rd and 5th place finishes, respectively, are the highest ever for Rocky competitors in interpretation events.

Also receiving awards were Mickey Ellenwood and Emily Garcia in International Extemp and Original Oratory.

-Colin West

News Briefs B Plans come into focus for April Unity Week This year’s Unity Week promises to be special.

“Paws for Peace” is the theme for this year ’s celebration.

Scheduled for April 18-22, the event will feature different activities throughout the week.

This week was originally created “to promote peace, friendship, understanding and acceptance,” Peers’ sponsor Pam Kilness said The week will have ongoing activities such as the Choose a Different Adjective Campaign, and tables at lunch with games and prizes. Hug day, an assembly, and a weenie roast are also planned for the week.

Kilness said that there might also be a few other things occurring throughout the week.

“There’s going to be some suprises,” Kilness said. “It’s going to be fun.”

-Kris Cote

Late from page A1 going to do on a Wednesday?

You’re a lot more tired after a weekend than after a Tuesday.”

Sophomore Jordan Gale was also against the decision.

“I use Monday morning to do all the homework I couldn’t do on the weekend, which is really nice,”

News 6th graders ready, nervous for changes

/March 24, 2006

Gale said. “Not as much homework piles up in the middle of the week, so it’ll just feel stupid.”

“From the kids I’ve spoken to, it seems as though students would prefer a late start Monday,” Kolstoe said, “but I think they’ll adjust eventually.”

Coupon expires 5/31/06. Offer not valid with DAILY SPECIALS or other coupon offers.

by VALERIE HISAM/Editor-in-Chief Soon there will be freshmen in high schools, and all will change.

Having four-year high schools is a new structure that Poudre School District is now studying. If the move takes place, the high school experience will be completely different for the class of 2012.

For the current 6th graders in PSD, when it comes time for them to go into 9th grade, they will be going to high school instead. For some it seems like no big deal, while others are a little nervous.

“It’s one less year in junior high,” said Olander Elementary 6th grader Rylee Johnston. “But there are going to be so many kids, and it’s where you’re so young and they’re so old.”

The four year age gap does seem to be the main concern among the 6th graders, but also missing out on a year of junior high is weighing on them, as well.

“Junior high is a time of change,” said Destiny Haynam, also a sixth grader at Olander. “It’s a time to

“

Junior high is a time of change; it’s a time to get older and mature more. The maturity levels are way different (in high school).

-Destiny Haynam, Olander Elementary 6th grader

get older and mature more.”

Haynam, whose older brother Sam Hayman is a current sophomore, also felt that the four year age difference was large, and that there are “higher risks” because they would be “really young.”

“The maturity levels are way different,” Haynam said. “We are going to feel like the little ones.”

But the current 6th graders are not going to be the only ones impacted; the current 7th graders will not be the only rookies going into high school. The seventh graders in PSD were the first proposed grade to test out the four year high school system, but they will now be going into high school normally. They will, however, by joined by about 500 more students.

“They (9th graders) are ready to

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go up,” said Webber Junior High school 7th grader Kadie Kovach, whose older siblings have gone through Rocky. “It is a good point for a change.”

If indeed the change takes place, as most currently prediect it will, high schools will need more room, and more staff, which there certainly isn’t at the moment.

“It is strange to change now,” said Webber 7th grader Paige Hisam. “Now, when we (the current 7th graders) go into high school, everyone is going to be working hard with the 9th graders versus the 9th and 10th graders. It is going to be a hard transition.”

“There are pros and cons,” Haynam said. “It is nervous to be the first group, but things are going to change.”

Concerns from page A1

Freshmen from page A1

estimates given by Poudre School District for the next couple of years are: 2007-08: 1472 2008-09: 1427 These estimates, though, are not always accurate. The school district had projected 1,583 Rocky students for this school year, excluding school of choice students. There were, in reality, 1,680 students, excluding school of choice. If the number of students stay relatively steady the next couple of years, changes will have to be made to allow 9th graders to go to Rocky.

“It (freshmen coming to Rocky) will certainly require some changes in the way we do things,” Assistant Principal Holly Sample said. “One thing that would need to change would be school of choice.”

The district would first fill up all of the schools with students who are in that particular school’s boundaries. If there was any room left after that, then that is where

the idea is receiving mixed reviews among the staff and students.

“The general concern is that there’s nothing broken here,” Wilson said, “so people want to know why we’re trying to fix it.

Primarily, my concern is access, and [freshmen’s need for] academic opportunities and college counseling.”

Senior Jacob Thompson said the extra students would be hard for the school to handle, especially in the music department.

“Obviously, there’s a lot that you can do in terms of moving teachers around and using empty classrooms,” said Thompson, one of several students who met with Wilson and the Rocky administrators on Jan. 18 to share opinions about the proposal. “On the other hand, there’s only one choir room and only one band room. I don’t see how they could handle a freshman level class.”

To other students the biggest concerns are not about a lack of space but more about a lack of maturity among freshmen.

“When you’re in 9th grade, you really want to be out of junior high, but I think, maturity-wise, most people just aren’t ready for it,” said sophomore class president Laura Willson. “As much as I wanted to be [at Rocky] last year, looking back, I was better off in junior high.”

Not all students, however, oppose the idea. Senior Hailey Garner said that bringing 9th graders into high school would expand their educational experience.

“The more time you have to get to know your teachers, the more comfortable you will be at the school,” Garner said. “It just gives them more time to get prepared for college and learn how to succeed.”

Superintendent Wilson said the decision is not final, and that there is also the possibility of “partial implementation,” meaning that not all high schools in the district would necessarily have to use the same system. The important thing, he said, is for all the schools to be involved in discussion.

“We want all the high schools on a level playing field,” Wilson said.

“

It will certainly require some changes in the way we do things.

-Holly Sample, assistant principal

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school of choice students would be able to fit in.

Another solution capacity issues could be boundary changes. The boundaries for Rocky would have to change, possibly feeding students to different schools.

“The goal has to be for the district to fill up Fossil Ridge,” Sample said. “Collins has a lot of space as well.” ◆ Cafeteria size/ Amount of food: If freshmen were to join Rocky, the cafeteria would be one of the big problem areas. It can currently take 20 minutes standing in line to get food, and it is not uncommon for vendors to sell out of food. If another whole class were added, especially a class without cars or driver’s licenses, the congestion in the cafeteria would worsen substantially. ◆Drop-off zone: West Swallow Road, the main road that runs eastwest in front of the school, is one of the big concerns with adding another class.

“I would say the area that would be the toughest to control would be the street (Swallow),” Human Relations liaison Jim Gjerde said.

Students whose parents drop them off at school are usually dropped off on this street. If freshmen start coming to Rocky, this road will get even more crowded due to the fact that no freshmen can drive.

Also, transportation to Rocky would have to be adjusted to compensate for the freshman class, especially since freshmen could not drive themselves.

“We will probably wind up having up to one or two more buses,” Gjerde said.

Currently, Rocky has four buses servicing the school.

News

Page A3 Rocky Mountain Highlighter CHECKING OUT: Business teacher Lynne Lyle sets the alarm on her way out of school. Over the last year, the number of false alarms has increased to 34-the majority of which are the result of staff errors.

VALARIE HISAM

Numerous staff errors leave school alarm system crying wolf

by VALERIE HISAM/Editor -In-Chief When a building in Fort Collins has six false alarms in 12 months, the police place it on the “No Response” list.

Over the nine months in the 2004-05 school year, Rocky had 34 false alarms.

While police will still investigate alarm reports, an administrator will be contacted first to confirm the need. Each time an alarm is set off and a staff member doesn’t call it in, Human Relations Liaison Jim Gjerde is called to determine the cause and notify police if necessary.

“If a series of motion detectors is going off, I call the cops to come with me,” Gjerde said. “If it is in one room, I’ll check it and then disregard.”

When district security manager Norm Bastian was contacted about the issues, he declined to comment, citing

security and confidentiality concerns. Gjerde, however, said the problem is simply one of following procedures. Twentynine of the 34 alarms were the result of staff errors, for example.

“The biggest problem is them (staff) not having their ID cards and they leave the alarm ringing,” Gjerde said. “Staff members need to sign in so they are not overlooked. “[The alarms] were due mainly to staff members entering the building and human error,” Gjerde said.

While Gjerde said every alarm report will be taken seriously, there have been times where the police have accompanied Gjerde to an alarm set off by accident. Once, for example, a squirrel from the courtyard ran wild in the building until the K-9 police dog chased it out.

/March 24, 2006

Live Large makes waves “

by COLIN WEST/News Section Editor

For decades, drugs and alcohol have been problems for high school students, and for almost as long, adults have been trying to solve those problems for them, with mixed success.

That is what drove senior Jon Greany to become involved with Live Large, a program sponsored

by TEAM Fort Collins designed to promote healthy living. Greany found out about the program through Peers and was excited about the possibility of creating an anti-drug program that would be easier for students to relate to.

“They (Live Large) were looking for student input,” Greany said. “I think the difference with Live Large, its about students, instead of old, white, fat men who don’t know what’s cool.”

The program is designed around the idea that students do not respond well to commands and negative news, like posters ordering students not to drink and drive or describing the gruesome results of smoking. Instead , Live Large is based on the concept of “mythbusting.” Contrary to what many students think, for example, over 90 percent of Rocky students say they do not smoke, drink or use marijuana in a typical week.

“Often, we assume the worst about our peers, for instance, that everyone drinks on the weekends,” said Kelly Rollins, who works in Student Assistance Services and is involved with the Live Large

It’s about students, instead of old, white, fat men who don’t know what’s cool -Jon Greany, senior

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program. “We tend to do what we think everyone else does in an effort to fit in. (However), when the survey results come back, we find that most Rocky students make healthy choices most of the time.”

This “mythbusting” campaign is unique among drug-prevention programs and has attracted attention on a national scale. Live Large and TEAM Fort Collins recently received the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Community Initiative Award, for example.

Greany said it is refreshing to see that Live Large is attracting attention since “Students everywhere have problems with healthy living and a program like this could really help.”

Among the successes boasted by the program is the 6 percent increase in the number of students who say they do not drink and drive, up to 89 percent overall since the program’s inception.

Rollins said that figures like these are incredibly encouraging, not only for the students involved in the Live Large program but for all students.

“I really believe that teenagers

are sick of hearing that they shoplift, drive badly, or drink too much,” Rollins said. “ I think it is very important to get people excited about what positive choices they are making.”

Although the program has focused only on drinking and driving in the past, Greany said the program is looking to expand its scope to include several aspects of healthy living. The program hopes to address Tobacco issues in its posters next year, and, currently, it sponsors the “tips for healthy living” that are displayed as wallpapers on school computers.

These wallpapers have become perhaps the most recognizable aspect of the Live Large program, although they have receives mixed reviews. Some students say the wallpapers are interesting, but others, like senior Billy Penoyer, say they are “dorky.”

“It’s rediculous,” Penoyer said.

“It just gets annoying, seeing all this random stuff all the time.”

Greany, on the other hand, is more than happy to hear students are taking notice of Live Large, even if they think it is “lame.”

“We know we’re uncool, but sometimes the coolest people are the ones who are uncool but totally comfortable with it,” Greany said.

“The important part is just getting noticed.

“Whether you say you love [the Live Large material] or whether you hate it, you still talked about it. That’s all it takes for us to be successful.”

Prom retains senior-only format, combines with banquet

by VALERIE HISAM/Editor -In-Chief When senior-only prom was announced a year ago, students and staff were skeptical of how it would take, but for the 2006 prom, the new tradition will continue on.

The junior class officers and sponsors had a tough decision to make this year after the current senior class sponsors made the decision last year to go to a senior-only prom.

Other changes last year also had to be considered, such as the cost, if dinner would be included, and then the possibility of adding the senior banquet into prom.

“The hardest part was the decision with senior-only aspect,” said junior class sponsor Carol Peterson. “The students had to decide because senior prom is really honoring them (the seniors).”

“Senior only prom is a good idea,” senior Chelsea Werner said. “Prom is a big deal, and going your junior year makes going your senior year not as special.”

Last year, the idea of a senior only prom where underclassmen could only attend by invitation (and that seniors would have to pay for), didn’t go over as smoothly as anticipated.

But seniors didn’t have to pay too much, and a dinner was included as well as a dance. So, the idea has now turned into a tradition. But not all are in favor of the dinner and the pricetag.

“Prom is staying senior-only,” said junior class president Evan Way. “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“I think it is unfair to both parties,” said junior Eric Fanning. “Juniors are not allowed to go and seniors have to pay.”

Senior Prom THEME: A Red Carpet Affair: A Night at the Oscars WHEN: Saturday, April 8 WHERE: Holiday Inn/Hilton COST: $45 per person and space is limited. Tickets will be sold from March 20 to April 7 in the commons.

DETAILS: Dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the dance ends at 11 p.m.

After Prom will be held at the Elks Club from 12-3 a.m.

Senior prom will still be held this year at the Hilton on April 8 starting with dinner at 6 p.m. and the dance ending at 11 p.m. After-Prom will then be held at the Elks Club until 3 a.m. Seniors are still going to have to pay, and this year the price has increased to $45 per person.

“The prices are going up because we are doing a lot more this year,” Way said. “But we feel like we are going in the right direction.”

The dinner includes a vegetarian option and then another plate that has chicken, beef, salad and pasta. Plus there will also be outstanding dessert choices. Another change that has been made is that the dance floor will

be bigger and the senior gifts are going to be better.

“I like the idea of all of us (seniors) being together,” said Werner about the dinner aspect now included into prom. “But I think people enjoy going to a place of their choosing.”

“Dinner is a bad idea,” Fanning said in agreement with Werner. “A point is to be able to go out somewhere else verses paying for dinner with really no choice in it.”

As to the ever-important question of what the theme will be, an almost a unanimous decision by the senior class was made for “A Red Carpet Affair: A Night at the Oscars.”

“We are hoping to go all out with the theme,” said junior class treasurer Karmen Lucero.

“We want it to be the best it has ever been,” Way said. “It is either go big or go home.”

Prom is also taking another new twist this year; instead of having a senior banquet, which in the past, has always been held closer to graduation, it is going to take place in conjunction with prom. Senior personalities and special honors will be announced then.

Tickets are on sale now in the commons.

VALARIE HISAM

OPEN INVITATIONS: Seniors Kate Hapmson and Chelsea Werner open their invitations to the 2006 Senior Prom, which is being hosted by the junior class. This year’s Prom, like last year’s, will be senior -only.

News

Page A4 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Lobo Mess brings history to life

by SETH SECRIST/Reporter To most high school students, history classes mean boring lectures and another hour of homework.

But there are a select few who get to experience it for real. The Lobo Mess, Rocky’s Civil War Living History independent study class, gives students the opportunity to not only learn about the Civil War but to also participate in activities that emulate that era.

The course does require substantial amounts of time both during and outside of school, but those involved say it is a small price to pay. The 11 students who make up the Lobo Mess are dedicated and enjoy being a part of it.

“It’s fun; it really is,” said graduate Jim Bertolini. “People don’t often get to do this kind of thing. We get to interact with history,

AT EASE: History teacher Kurt Knierim waits with Lobo Mess members Thomas Curry and Cody Bourne, juniors, and Joshua Kyle, senior, before the St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Denver.

SETH SECRIST

not just sit in a classroom.”

The Lobo Mess does presentations for museums, elementary schools and the National Park Service, as well as marching in parades. On March 11, for

example, the Lobo Mess marched as part of the 69th New York “Irish Brigade” in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Denver.

“The St. Patrick’s Day parade is always a lot of fun,” said senior

Kevin Pessetto. “We get to march in Denver, we shoot guns and the cops cheer us on. It’s really cool to march with a bunch of people.”

History teacher Kurt Knierim, who is the instructor of the course, said that he likes the Lobo Mess because it gives students a different perspective of the period of American history that surrounds the Civil War. “[The students] get involved in history to a deeper level, and they experience history in a different manner than most high school students – most people even – will ever get the chance to do,” he said.

“It’s really different. You get a whole different perspective,” said Pessetto. “You really get a more personal side of history. You get to look into the lifestyles, you get to see how everything really was.”

Church offers meals to students

by KELLY GAVIN/Center Section Editor Many students take advantage of open campus lunch and go out with their friends. Many, however, only have to travel a few steps.

Peace with Christ Lutheran, the church next to the school, has started providing free food to students every Thursday at lunch.

Although the service started small, it has become quite popular.

“Essentially we offer lunch to students,” said Vicar Perry Copus.

“We try to be a good neighbor to the school.”

“I started going a few weeks ago when some of my friends told me about it,” said junior Patrick LaCount. “Now I try to go every Thursday if I can.”

A church is not normally a place you’d expect to see high school students spending their lunch hour, but according to junior Lander Hultin, who also attends every Thursday, quite a few do.

“I know that there are a very large number of people [that go,]” said Hultin. “Around Thanksgiving there were at least 100 kids.”

According to Copus, at the last lunch there were 143 people.

“130-140 is what we’ve settled

KELLY GAVIN

TASTY FOOD: Cameron Mills and Courtney Klockeman, seniors, are served lunch by the staff of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church. The church has begun serving lunch to Rocky students every Thursday.

into and that’s up from zero the first week we did it,” he said.

Many students who go to the church for lunch heard about it from friends, and that word has spread throughout the school. According to both LaCount and Hultin, no students are pressured into religious beliefs though.

“They have optional prayer cards, but other than that it’s just eating and sitting around with your friends,” LaCount said. “It’s pretty

sweet.”

“I really appreciate the church’s hard work,” Hultin said. “The kindness shown is amazing because it has no overtones or converting or other ‘Christian/church stuff.’”

A lot of actions are taken to insure the students have a good time and hopefully plan to come back in following weeks. The food is home-cooked and plentiful, so that there is always enough.

“The reaction of the

congregation has been great,” Copus said. “They help bake homemade cookies and serve food.

They think it’s important to do this for students.”

Some of the foods they have served include soup, sandwiches, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and lasagna. Occasionally an ordered pizza is thrown into the mix.

“We have a few students that are part of our congregation and we thought it would be nice for them and some friends to come over and have lunch,” Copus said. “We never thought it’d become what it did, but we enjoy being a good neighbor and showing the love of Christ to people.”

The church offers more than lunch to students, like a Bible study at 8 a.m. on Mondays, and they plan to continue offering Thursday lunches to any interested students.

“We’ll continue it through the rest of this year and we’re planning on it for next year, too,” Copus said.

“It’s been a very successful outreach and we look forward to seeing new students next year.”

“It is a great way to build relationships with teenagers and adults,” Hultin said. “I definitely think more students should come.”

New tutoring program targets student-athletes

by SCOTT MERRILL/Reporter Athletes who will participate in a spring sport this year are going to have to buckle down, academically that is.

With the help of National Honors Society and Link Crew, a new tutoring program for student-athletes is being initiated. The program is for athletes who are failing any of their classes.

“This is a program I’ve had the desire to implement since I became athletic director,” Wayne Moddelmog said. “We just got together and they can use students to tutor and they would like to provide it.”

The program requires studentathletes who are failing a class to get a signature from that teacher and their counselor. They then need to turn in their progress report to Moddelmog.

The students are then required to report to tutoring sessions after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays until they have raised their grade. Students who don’t attend the sessions will be ineligible for the following week.

“It (the tutoring program) is more stringent than ever,” Moddelmog said. “If they don’t want to be students and don’t want to go to the tutoring, then they don’t want to participate that bad.”

The new tutoring program is strongly supported throughout the school. Coaches as well as

administrators are willing to do what it takes to help their athletes.

“This pilot program is one the coaches had to accept,” Moddelmog said. “The coaches agreed to commit an hour of their practice time.”

The reason the new program is being initiated now is the hope of holding athletes more accountable for work in the classroom.

“I don’t believe there are any concerns out of the ordinary with athletes and academics,” said counselor Chrystal Kelly. “But there are some athletes who struggle and the tutoring program is an intervention that will provide a way for athletes to get the help they need early on, so they won’t be ineligible later.

“I think the program is a great resource for students. If even one athlete is helped and can bring their grade up and be able to be eligible to compete in their sport, then the program is successful to me.”

Matt Leeke Leeke Almighty

Video game draws undeserved fire DATELINE: Miami - Jack Thompson, one of the most hated men known to modern video game enthusiasts, is once again up in arms over the pending release of a video game titled Bully.

Rockstar, the infamous developer of the game, is best known for its work on the Grand Theft Auto series, which has received more negative press than any video game series to date, largely at Thompson’s hands.

Thompson first stepped into the limelight after he made an appearance on CBS News show 60 Minutes, in which he made far-fetched accusations that placed the blame for an 18-year-old’s killing spree squarely on the shoulders of the Grand Theft Auto games. After the show aired, Thompson continued to make himself an enemy of the gaming community by speaking out in favor of strong censorship of video games, making statements that were absolutely false about why the NFL “wouldn’t lend its name” to Midway games’ over-the-top football game Blitz: The League. Thompson told the media “The NFL wouldn’t lend its name to [Blitz: The League]: That says something about it right there,” when in fact, the NFL license was simply unavailable to Midway because a rival developer had already purchased the exclusive rights.

So now, with the pending release of Rockstar’s Bully, Thompson is once again blubbering about how the apocalypse is fast approaching at the hands of the Playstation. The game is still in early stages of development, but is likely to put players in the role of a school bully and have them carry out various orders of bullyish business, such as taping “kick me” signs to virtual students’ backs.

After likely spending several hours stomping around his house and sputtering nonsense aloud to himself in a barely suppressed fit of rage, Thompson somehow gathered the strength to warn the Miami Herald about the anarchy that will surely ensue after the release of this game, which is tentatively scheduled for release in late 2006.

In a statement that would have made Mussolini blush, Thompson told the Herald “Once the game is released, it’s too late…. The goal is to make it such a negative thing that the retailers won’t carry it. This thing hasn’t really reached critical mass as a [public relations] problem yet; that’s what I’m trying to do.”

There is certainly something to be said for the advantages of keeping violent video games out of the hands of young kids. But such a task is left to a parent, and not a Puritan like Jack Thompson, whose solution is to remove any and all interesting content from every form of media.

If your kid is impressionable enough to shoot cops in real life after shooting cops in a video game, then don’t let him/her play the dang video game. It’s also important to remember that for every crackpot that stabs somebody and blames it on a video game, literally millions more play the game and are unaffected.

So for the love of god, if Thompson slithers his way onto the news again, please turn the channel.

Matt Leeke is a senior and a reporter for the Highlighter

Letters

Page A5 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Letters Wanted

CHSAA ruling stirs fan pack CHSAA’s new rules won’t silence Den Dear Editor, Apparently, CHSAA must have forgotten how old we are.

With the coming of the next school year, our beloved Den will no longer ring with cries of “airball” or “start the bus” (without threats of probation that is). Our home court advantage will be minimal and our incredible fans will be silenced (after probation I mean).

What CHSAA can’t seem to understand is that they’ll never quiet the Den. We’ll be back next year, crazy as ever. Their rules will only add to the fire.

For those of you who were not at our state boys’ basketball tournament first-round game, we single handedly (along with great defense from our boys) took Lincoln’s best player out of the game. After airballing a 3, he was fouled and sent to the free throw line. And with our fans screaming “airball” relentlessly, he wound up shooting just that. And this was only the first 10 minutes of the game.

So, come next spring, coach Bruce Dick will have our boys ready and our fans will be back with as much enthusiasm as we had this year. We’ll bring the noise whether CHSAA likes it or not.

And that’s music to my ears.

-TJ MacMaster, junior

New CHSAA rules will not affect fans ‘in our house’ Dear Editor, Obviously, CHSAA doesn’t care too much for school spirit, or home court advantage.

As everyone knows CHSAA has outlawed everything from a unified, and terrifying “airball” chant to screaming when the other team is at the free throw line. What’s next? Are they going to ban standing up because it blocks the view of others or are they going to say that the noise level has to be quiet enough to let the parents’ babies sleep?

In my opinion, CHSAA doesn’t stand for Colorado High School Activities Association. It stands for Can’t Handle Students Abusing Athletes, and by abuse I mean verbal abuse that comes from our sacred, feared student section in the jampacked Den that happens 20 or so times per year during out basketball season.

And I’m not trying to say let high school students be high school students; we’re not in third grade and

No need for late start changes Dear Editor, I’m writing this letter in regards to the new Poudre School District decision to move all high school late starts to Wednesday.

I think there was absolutely no need for a change. Just think about how this is going to affect us here at Rocky. We have prospered from our Late Start Monday routine. For one, it lets us ease slowly into the school week. I mean, come on! We’re high school kids. I think it’s pretty safe to say that the majority of us are living up our weekends to the best of our ability and coming late on Mondays allows us to readjust.

Also, the new Wednesday Late Start is only 40 minutes later than the normal school day. They say it’s supposed to be a way for us to “rejuvenate in the middle of the week,” but 40 minutes isn’t really going to do much.

If submitting a letter to the editor, letters should be signed and a home phone number should be included. Try to limit letters to 300 words and either give letters to a Highlighter staff member, Highlighter adviser Steve Wahlfeldt, or drop them off in Mr. Wahfeldt’s staff box in the front office. Letter writers also may drop them by the Highlighter room, Room 528, during 4th period.

See More Letters to the Also Editor, Page A6 Swim team faced obstacles, overlooked

TRENT WAHLFELDT

SILENCE: Lobo seniors (from left) Kate Hampson, Alexis Trujillo, Jami Koepp, Michaela Cicero, Matt Leeke, Emily Matthews, freshman Morgan Hartman, and seniors Haley Hartman and Maree Stevens watch the final girls’ basketball game against Doherty High School on March 4 at the Denver Coliseum. Due to new CHSAA rules, fans, like the Lobos, will have to tone down their exuberant spirit. if someone can’t handle a little taunting in the game, send ‘em home to get their pacifier and have them cuddle with mommy, because immature, crybaby athletes should get off the hardwood. For the few that will make it into college sports, they will have a rude wake up call when they play in a college stadium where the opposing fans bring in family relatives and actually do research on things just to get in your head.

Once there, they won’t be able to complain to the NCAA about fans such as the Cameron Crazies being loud, or tell the fans of Maryland that it’s wrong to say things about your sister, or telling Gonzaga to stop the “Brokeback Mountain” chants because it’s wrong to single out players.

CHSAA might as well make it against the rules to breathe at a game because we need to be nice and conserve oxygen for the winded players. Everyone knows CHSAA has threatened the team with probation if the chanting continues, but all they have done is thrown a bottle of lighter fluid into our burning flames.

So, when the game-time chant starts off the season again next year, the “airball,” “who wears short shorts?” and “start the bus” taunts will be ringing louder than ever, because as we all know, we don’t take rules very well, “Not in out house!”

-Josh Pape, junior

Basically the entire idea of having a district-wide late start is absurd. We didn’t need a change. The committee just needed something to do with their time.

-Nicole Friehauf, sophomore

Rocky amazing school for those with special needs Dear Editor, In response to Alana Curtis’s Feb. 24 piece on “Special needs students find acceptance at school,” I had to hold back tears.

Rocky is such an amazing place to go to school, not to mention its kindness towards those in need. Rocky really does step up and stand out in its generosity and connection with with students. I personally had connections to this story.

Shortly after finishing my sophomore year, my friend Nicole Cordova moved to Colorado Springs to go to the school for the deaf there. She was my sign

CHSAA safeguarding, not encouraging school spirit Dear Editor, The new rules decided by CHSAA for athletic events, in my opinion, are going a little overboard.

Talking crap to the opposing team isn’t meant to be an insult to that school. It’s just the heat of the moment. It’s part of a school’s spirit to not just cheer for their team but to also boo the other team.

CHSAA is trying to control game etiquette more than they can. If they keep trying to clamp down on students, then it’s a possibility that fewer people will want to go to the games.

I just think that they’re trying to safeguard the feelings of people who know the difference between an actual insult and just someone showing school pride.

-Liz Farquhar, sophomore

CHSAA ‘guidelines’ watering down competition Dear Editor, Much has been made of the new “guidelines” that the Colorado High School Activities Association has laid down concerning fan behavior and sportsmanship.

language tie for much of junior high to senior high, not to mention a very good friend. Then while in my junior year, much of my sign language lapsed. At least it was quieted. While in Interior Design class second quarter, I met Pamela. I finally had someone to sign to and help “communicate” with again.

Pamela is as far as I can see a wonderful person to “talk to.” She taught me to be persistent and patient.

Another tie that I had with this story is that my stepbrother has autism. He’s like Rain Man, except that he can’t really talk and doesn’t gamble. My brother is also an amazing, spunky 13-year-old, who is like other 13-year-olds but, in a way, not. Through him I have learned mostly to be patient and kind.

So many of these people have so much to offer, not to mention so much to learn. It’s funny what you remember most comes from unexpected places.

Just keep it up Rocky.

-Alexis Storkson, senior

Most of the reaction has been negative, and rightfully so. CHSAA seems to believe that we fans should act as though we are at a self-help meeting where everyone is a winner and self-esteem is the No. 1 priority.

When in actuality, we are watching a competition between athletes who have put in countless hours of blood, sweat and toil in order to compete to the best of their abilities. Is that not where self-esteem comes from?

Grace under pressure is a rare trait and one that must be earned; yet it is one of the most important in order to be successful in this world. What’s more is that if any of these athletes decide to play at the next level, college or pro, the fans only get rowdier and the pressure only becomes more intense. Look, everyone in the building knows that you just shot an airball; we’re just going to let you hear about it so that the next time you try a little harder.

If high school is meant to prepare students for the real world, how are these “guidelines” helping to do that?

CHSAA is basically watering down high school sports as we know them, slowly chiseling away at the concept of competition.

Who knows, in 10 years we may as well not even keep score anymore.

But remember, these aren’t really rules; they’re more like “guidelines.”

-Patrick Ghidossi, junior

Dear Editor, It has come to my attention that information concerning the girls’ swim team in the Feb. 24 addition of the Highlighter is inaccurate.

In the article “Swimming and diving team looks ahead,” the article states: “the school’s divers came out of the conference meet solid and carried the momentum into the state meet. The swimmers, on the other hand, didn’t qualify anyone for state.” I agree that the divers had an amazing meet and remained positive throughout, but the statement that the swimmers didn’t qualify anyone for state is erroneous.

The girl’s swim team had two relays, the 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay, and an individual swimmer, Callie Anstett in the 100 breaststroke, qualify for the state meet. Although these qualifications did not occur at conference but earlier in the year, they are still considered legitimate.

In addition, at the state meet the swim team had 10 members present and competing. The individual swimmer, Anstett, and a member of the relays, Elise Kulovany, were both competing with ill health, which had been affecting them for over a week. The team made a tremendous effort and elected to swim, even with ill health.

The entire season has been a challenge for the team. This season the team was introduced to a new coach, after having the coach of over six years resign. Also, the team has had three morning practices a week, beginning at 5:30 a.m., a new schedule from previous years. The morning practices caused the team to drop from maximum capacity, 42 swimmers, to 24.

Overall, the team has worked extremely hard and maintained comradery throughout the entire winter season. Although swimming is not an extremely popular sport, it arguably requires physical endurance and coordination comparable to track and football. Swimmers are exceptionally dedicated to their sport.

I would appreciate it if any information concerning sports, were confirmed by the team coach in future situations.

-Cynthia Musante, junior

Three cheers for retiring coach Keyworth Dear Editor, After recently resigning as head coach of Rocky Mountain’s girls’ basketball team, a well-deserved standing ovation of recognition and applause should go to Terri Keyworth.

After 14 great seasons with the Lobos, Keyworth announced she will no longer lead the girls. However, she will not be forgotten. In a great final season, she led the Lobos to a 21-4 record and reached the final eight in the state tournament, and the final four in 2005. It is rare to have the oppurtunity to have a coach such as Keyworth, and we should be grateful for the years we have had with her.

After seeing two seasons and several games of basketball with her in charge, I could see a bond between Keyworth and her players. While talking to several girls on the team, they all said that Keyworth was more than just a great coach but also a friend to her players both on and off the court. She was the type of coach who cared about her players like her own kids and she put in the time and effort whenever a player needed help.

Keyworth will be greatly missed next year, but we appreciate her work with the Lobos throughout the past 14 years. Three cheers for coach Keyworth!

-Nic Hallisey, junior

Opinion

NSPA National Critique

CSPA National Critique

CHSPA Newspaper Sweepstakes

1st-2005; 2nd place-2004; 2nd place2003; 1st place-2002; 1st place-2001; 2nd place-1996; 1st place-1992; 2nd place1991; 2nd place-1990; 1st place-1987

Valerie Hisam Editor-in-Chief

All American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2005; All American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2004; All American, 5 Marks of Distinction-2003; All American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2002; All American, 5 Marks of Distinction-2001; All American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2000; All American, 4 Marks of Distinction-1999

Gold Medalist-2005; Silver Crown-2004; Gold Medalist2004; Silver Crown-2003; Gold Medalist-2003; Silver Crown-2002; Gold Medalist2002; Gold Medalist-2001; Gold Medalist-2000; Gold Medalist-1999

Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Page A6

Americans complain, seen as lazy by foreigners During the 2006 Winter Olympics, The United States played the role of international letdown.

The Issue: They failed to repeat In the 2006 their snowboarding Olymics, America’s medal sweep. They atheletes failed to won only one gold in live up to the alpine skiing expectations, and events, despite making drew criticism from it their goal to win other countries. more than any other country. Snowboard Cross competitor Lindsay Jacoblis forfeited an almost-certain gold because she tried to show off at the last Our View: minute. Even the women’s curling team Many Americans, failed to live up tp both atheletes and expectations. students, seem to rely Not surprisingly, on talent alone and the international not hard work, an media latched on to attitude created in the failures as a schools when chance to portray students unfairly Americans as lazy and complain about their lacking in dedication. homework load.

Many outside the U.S. began to perceive Americans as a bunch of Bode Millers: talented, but without

the work ethic to match. And sadly, their perception is largely accurate.

There’s no denying that the American Olympic team had some impressive standouts; the dedicated Ted Liggety and the generous Joey Cheek come to mind. Nevertheless, there seems to be a growing trend in the U.S. towards the mindset of “we are above hard work.”

The process seems to start early.

One can’t walk through the halls of any high school without hearing someone complain about how hard their classes are or how late they stayed up to finish their homework the night before. But in reality, high school students in the U.S. are living in a dream world.

Students who complain about the workload in school have absolutely no idea what it is like to be a student in another country. Take Japan for instance. Japanese students spend 240 days a year at school, that’s 60 more than their American counterparts. Not only is the school year much longer, but students are also required to attend classes on Saturdays.

In Japanese high schools it is also required to take three years of each

of the following subjects: mathematics, social studies, Japanese, science, and English. Given the number of required subjects, electives are few. After school all students participate in o soji, or the cleaning of the school.

Japanese students then go home to at least four hours of homework, something many Americans would find unthinkable. In fact, the Chicago Tribune reported that, at a Chicago-area K-8 school, students accross the school refused to do their homework. In response, the teachers stopped assigning it, or made homework only 10 percent of the grade.

It seems that as early as kindergarten, Americans are rewarded for lack of work ethic, which leads to lack of involvement in high school and poor dedication to their careers. The net result is an incident like the Turin Olympics: a national embarassment on an international stage. It is because of this that countries like Japan see American students as lazy and

iPods like boys: Can’t live with them, without them You can’t live with them, but you can’t live without them.

Boys? Well, sometimes, but that’s not my point. iPods? Yes, that is my point.

Now, that seems a little far fetched considering that an iPod is simply an MP3 player. But as their popularity is growing, so is the idea that once you have one it’s almost impossible to go a day without it.

I’ll admit that I am guilty of this. I own an iPod and can’t imagine having to use a CD player again, except for the one in my car.

Over half of the people in my second hour math class own an iPod, and I’m sure the statistics of the student body would be rather astounding.

It is crazy how popular these MP3 players have become since their release in 2001. Of course, with time, well-known iPod makers, Apple, have come out with many different styles and eliminated others. No longer can people purchase the iPod Mini or the Second-Generation iPod, which is currently playing next to me. It has been replaced by the popular Video iPod. The iPod Nano is also very popular, but its small size makes me wonder what would

Highlighter ROCKY M OUNTAIN

The Rocky Mountain Highlighter is published nine times during the school year by the newspaper staff of Rocky Mountain High School/1300 W. Swallow Rd./Ft. Collins, CO 80526.

Contact Highlighter staff members at 488-7090 or (970) 488-7091 for advertising information. Also, the Highlighter staff is in the Highlighter Room, Room 528, during 4th period.

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Kelly Gavin Kell It Like It Is happen if you dropped it. Would it shatter?

I can someday imagine iPods being so small that if somebody dropped it they would yell, “I dropped my iPod! Nobody move!”

The MP3 players have their perks: being easy to use, being conveniently portable and storing an amazing amount of songs. But as I found out a month after I got mine, they have their dark sides, too, not to mention the price of them.

I have had my iPod for a little over a year, and within the first month of owning it, it completely broke down and dumped all my songs. Then shortly after I loaded all my music back onto the device, it shut down again.

My iPod has been replaced a total of two times, meaning they gave me a brand new iPod, and it has been sent in directly to the

Valerie Hisam/Editor-in-Chief; Colin West/News Editor; Sarah Speights/ Features Editor; Trent Wahlfeldt/ Sports Editor; Laurel Kessler/ Limelight Editor; Kelly Gavin/Center Editor; Bailey Johnson/Advertising Manager Weston Ackerman/Reporter; Kris Cote/Reporter; Alana Curtis/Reporter; Ari Curtis/Reporter; Matt Fredrickson/Reporter; Joel Hafnor/ Reporter; Tiffany Heien/Reporter; Matt Leeke/Reporter; Scott Merrill/ Reporter; Seth Secrist/Reporter; Steve Underwood/Reporter; Ryan Wuest/Reporter Stephen Wahlfeldt/Adviser

Apple headquarters two times to get the hard-drive replaced. I was without my iPod for a total of three weeks each time I sent it in, which, pathetically, was really hard to get used to. Sometimes I wonder if having an iPod is really worth it.

But who am I kidding? I rely on that MP3 player so much it’s ridiculous. I plug it in when I get into my truck in the morning to listen on my way to school and then on my way home from school. I always look forward to listening to it in class, rather then the random and distracting chat of the people around me. With over 1,000 songs on it, I believe that having that many songs in one convenient place is so much easier than carrying around a ton of CDs. Thus, I have decided that having an iPod compared to any other MP3 device or a CD player is very much worth it. Looking back on the time when I left 25 CDs on an airplane to Hawaii, which first prompted me to buy an MP3 player, I do enjoy having an iPod, especially because since the last time I sent it in, it has yet to give me any problems.

Let’s hope it stays that way.

-Kelly Gavin is a junior and the Center Section editor for the Highlighter.

Highlighter Editorial Policy The Rocky Mountain Highlighter is a student news publication which strives to report school and community events with truth, accuracy, objectivity and clarity. The Highlighter will also comment on issues of interest to its readers.

The purposes of this publication are to report the news to the Rocky Mountain High School community, to provide the school community with a public forum for thoughtful discussion and debate, and to provide students on the newspaper staff with practical journalism experience.

Letters to the editor are welcome. They should be signed and a home phone number should be included. The writer’s name may be withheld upon request, provided that the editor agrees the reasons for withholding a name are valid and compelling. Try to limit letters to 300 words and place them in one of the “Letters to the Editor” boxes located in the Media Center and the Main Office or give them to a Highlighter staff member, Highlighter adviser Stephen Wahlfeldt, or drop them by the Highlighter room, Room 528, during 4th period.

Columnists express their own views and not necessarily those of the Highlighter staff. No expression made by the students of the Rocky Mountain Highlighter shall be considered an expression of Board or Rocky Mountain High School policy. Furthermore, Poudre School District and its employees are immune from any civil or criminal action based on any expression made or published by the students.

The Rocky Mountain Highlighter reserves the right to edit anything it publishes.

indifferent. In reality, we simply lack the work ethic of other nations.

There’s no excuse for skiers like Bode Miller to compete without sufficient practice time--just as there’s no respectable reason for students to complain about their schoolwork.

Letters to the Editor isn’t legal, at least the article Student drivers want graffiti shows that not everyone does it just to public. to park outside lines spiteNothelonger is it just seen as Dear Editor, I am responding to a letter to the editor in last month’s issue of the Highlighter.

Keith Buderus wrote about how bad Rocky students are at parking on snowy days. He went on by asking how hard it was to park between the lines. Well, Keith, have you ever thought that people don’t want to park between the lines? I’m here to let you in on a little secret. A lot of the so-called “ bad drivers,” who park outside, across and every which way in the parking lot, do not do it on accident. For those of us that chose to park sideways or completely out of the designated box, we are just trying to take advantage of a rare opportunity. Tickets are given out so easily at Rocky that this might be our only chance to mess up the parking lot or park illegally without getting fined for it.

Furthermore, I think it is quite funny watching people come into their spots almost completely out of the lines, with no real effort in finding a true parking space. And as far as I am concerned, that’s how a high school parking lot should be on a snowy day.

-Ben Morse, senior

Graffiti package shows polar opposites well Dear Editor, I’m writing in regard to the article about the “Graffiti: Crime vs. Craft” article. I really appreciated seeing both sides of that issue. You always hear people are simply destroying property and that’s all you hear. And although

destroying property, but more than that “Kris” appreciates his work as well as others, not to mention having it with the article about graffiti happening at Rocky. It showed the polar opposite side of the “craft.” Great article!

-Jamie Lapp, sophomore

AP debate worth time, goes beyond high school Dear Editor, In the latest issue of the Highlighter, I thought that the two editorial pieces that examined whether or not AP classes are worth the extra work were really interesting.

I think that it was a very good topic to write about because it affects a lot of students throughout the school and is a question that a lot of students ask themselves. The way the articles were written really challenged readers to think about the arguments presented and form their own opinions.

They had a lot of good points, and it was obvious that background information had been researched before the articles were written.

However, I think that it would have been interesting to contact at least two former students who are both attending college now—one who took AP classes and one who did not—and get their opinions on whether they have any regrets about their decisions and if their opinions on the classes have changed now that they are in college.

-Heidi Mayer, sophomore

See More Letters to the Also Editor, Page A5

Opinion Colin West

Page A7 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

Colorado speeding fines doubled

Vs.

News from the West Wing

THIS

Bike thieves aside, high school not for freshmen

Doubling fines is fine, but more cameras needed to catch speeders

I’ll admit, I’m somewhat torn by the question of whether we should move our freshman students into high school.

On the one hand, my 9th grade year at Webber Junior High School was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I don’t like the thought that other students might miss out on such an opportunity. On the other hand, several 6th graders tried to vandalize my bike the other day, so perhaps it would serve them right. It makes it hard for me to decide.

Nevertheless, I can’t help but think that it makes more sense to keep the freshmen where they are. I learned a lot my freshman year. As a freshman, my classmates and I were far more mature than I was as an 8th grader, and, as the oldest students at the school, we learned to develop as leaders. Yet, while I was given a chance to learn leadership and responsibility, for example, tomorrow’s freshmen will only be learning what to do when a senior flirts with them.

Now, I don’t think that there’s anything overwhelmingly destructive about a 9-12 system. Obviously, hundreds of other schools across both the state and the country use it without leading all of their students to ruin. But it also seems like there isn’t that much wrong with the current 10-12 system, either. Sophomores and freshmen both score exceptionally well on CSAPs in our district, and our overall college attendance rates are very high. We just don’t have a lot to gain from making these changes, even though the cost (in time and money) will be immeasurable We do, however, have a lot to lose. In addition to the overall experience of a 79 junior high, there are a lot of programs that would suffer greatly if freshmen are moved to high school. At Webber, for example, I participated in the WAVE program, an extracurricular program that I think was almost completely responsible for teaching me organization, leadership and interpersonal skills. The program is heavily dependent on its 7-9 dynamic, and if the 9th graders were moved to high schools, it would almost certainly fall apart.

I can’t even begin to express how important that program was to my development as a student and as a human being. And, try as I might, I can’t convince myself that 9th grade would have been more valuable to me if I had been in high school. Instead of gaining maturity, I would have simply had an excuse to stay immature for longer. Instead of feeling academically empowered for the first time in my life, I would probably have felt overwhelmed.

At best, I would have had an extra year to procrastinate my college applications.

At worst, I would have had one less year to become comfortable socially before I tried to deal with issues like drugs, alcohol and crime.

So, no matter how much I resent this year’s 6th grade class for trying to run off with my bike, I can’t wish this fate upon them in good conscience. In the first place, if I ever want them to outgrow these kinds of immature habits, then I have to allow them room to grow as well—room they won’t have if they’re thrust too quickly into high school.

And, in the second place, the fact that they’ll be missing out on “Late Start Mondays” is more than payback enough.

Colin West is a senior and is the News Editor for the Highlighter.

/March 24, 2006

Speeders becoming increasing problem, deserve doubled fines

THAT

In an attempt to cut down on the amount of speeding violations in the state, Colorado and Fort Collins officials have decided to beef up their traffic fines, nearly doubling their costs.

Although the idea is correct, they are going about it the wrong way. Simply because you take more money away from people doesn’t mean they will stop speeding.

When I got my first ticket, I lost $40 for doing 10over. I thought that I wouldn’t speed again and this thought held true. . . for a week.

Then I just learned where the police liked to hide, and where the traffic cameras are, and I slowed down in t h o s e areas, but I still speed everywhere else I go and this seems to be common among the rest of the population.

The argument that making the fines heavier will decrease speeding might work for a little bit, but things will eventually stay the s a m e : People will slow down at first but then start to test what they can get away with, and when they aren’t caught, they’ll just speed up again. Not to mention, getting one ticket every six months isn’t going to deplete the wallet fast enough to make people think twice.

What needs to be done is the state should keep the high ticket prices, but also spend more money to fund more cameras. If there are more cameras to catch a person, they’ll be more cautious, and for those who still speed, they’d get caught more often and start realizing the options--slow down or go broke.

I can say that the idea of higher fines is a good one, but it isn’t being supported the right way. It would be like raising gas prices at only one station-- people would just avoid it.

Instead, we need to make sure that the ones who are constantly getting away with speeding start getting caught, and then things will slow down.

“Officer, I didn’t know I was speeding. I’m really sorry.

“Oh, it was in a school zone, too?

“What do you mean my fine is doubled? “$200? Let me just call my mother. . .”

A simple scenario of what happens when someone is caught speeding, but changes have been made.

Recently, speeding fines in Colorado, Fort Collins in particular, doubled. Yes, that means times two. So, those speeding must pay more money for breaking the law.

Go figure.

Although for most students, 100 extra dollars aren’t just lying around, but that’s not the point; if students, or anyone in genreal, are going to speed, they need to pay the price.

More frequently, residents of Fort Collins are seen speeding not just on main streets, but in school zones, residential areas and construction zones.

Thus why the ticket fines have increased.

A reasonable choice was made, not only be the local law enforcement, but other cities and the county sheriffs have also increased fines for speeding; clearly the speeding problem isn’t as small as many believe.

Recently, the fines have doubled, making a minor ticket for driving 110 miles over the speed AARON SECRIST limit anywhere from $100-$300 dollars, and most people don’t have that kind of muhla laying around.

But then add in Fort Collins’ other speeding factors: If one speeds in a construction or school zone, that fine is doubled yet again, to the point where it could reach close to $1,000.

Nevertheless, drivers should pay. Speeding is something that everyone tends to do, but when it becomes a major safety hazard, then paying that $200 for speeding in a school zone isn’t even enough of a consequence for the possibility of injuring students.

Thus, students and other residents might complain that the speeding tickets shouldn’t have been increased, and say that the speed limits should have, but it isn’t a matter of what increases, it is a matter of safety.

If it takes a $500 fine to open some drivers’ eyes, then let the fines go up and let those who speed get caught.

-Kris Cote

-Valerie Hisam

PHOTO POLL Question: Who do you feel is the most controversial teacher at Rocky?

Shaira Lukeman, senior

Sam Braun, junior Austin Seward, sophomore “Mr. Richmond. I’ve never had him in class, but he promotes most of the topics that he wants you to form your own opinion on, which causes controversy.”

“Mr. Smailes because he feels what is appropriate for students to learn and teaches that.”

Allie Keller, senior “Mr. Richmond because he doesn’t repress issues and outwordly speakes his own opinions.”

“Mr. Richmond because he is wacky and talks about pot.”

Sports

Page A8 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Boys’ track looking to impress this season

by JOEL HAFNOR/Reporter “We are going to shock the world.”

This, a statement from senior track and field athlete Daniel Price, could be the motto for the 2006 campaign.

The physical strength formed while competing in track and field usually correlates directly with mental strength. This could explain the confidence the boys’ team carries with them into this spring.

After losing two key athletes in Aaron Braun and Wil Buchanan to graduation, the boys’ have work to do if they hope to revisit last

“

We are going to shock the world.

-Daniel Price, senior

”

season’s success. And though the losses of Braun and Buchanan are a common theme, the boys seem to be ready to make the transition.

Senior leadership from sprinters Price and Jared Stewart will be the first step in the right direction.

“Our team has a lot of depth in middle distance runners,” said

Stewart, who is ailing from a bone fracture acquired in August. “We seem to be injury prone, though.

Staying healthy will be key.”

The team started off the season on March 4 with a practice meet which was hosted at Rocky.

“We had 160 people out here competing,” said Coach Benett. “(It) gives me and idea of who I want to run on March 25, when the season starts.”

It is up to the next generation of track athletes to fill the shoes of Braun and Buchanan.

This year’s team seems willing to rise to that occasion.

“We understand that we need a

Boys’ Track View COACH: Bennet Colvin is in his second year as the head coach for the boys’ track team.

LAST YEAR: The team finished up at state with the two seniors, Aaron Braun and Wil Buchanan, gaining most of the team’s points.

RETURNING PLAYERS: Key players for the team this year include seniors Jared Stewart, Dan Price, Alex Grimm, Jeff Daly, junior Ryan Pahlau

balance between long distance, and sprinting,” Stewart said. “It will be up to us as sprinters to raise the bar from last year. We are starting to

and Freshman Mike Liss.

OUTLOOK: The team has to make up for its two standout seniors last year but if they can get a solid team effort every meet, they should be successful. Recovering from injury wil also be a key to success.

COACH QUOTE: “The strength of this group is team unity. For such an individual sport, the teamwork in this group is great.”

-Bennet Colvin

believe we can win.”

The season begins tommorow at the Runners Roost Invitational. The Fort Collins Invitational is April 25.

Houghtons lead lacrosse Girls’ track racing for state crown

by WESTON ACKERMAN/Reporter

After an injury-plagued football season and a basketball season that ended in disappointment in the third round of the state playoffs, Jacob and Jared Houghton are ready to strut their stuff on their field of choice.

The senior twins are two of 28 returning lettermen for the Poudre School District Vipers lacrosse team in what looks to be a big year.

The Houghtons both received partial scholarships to play locrosse at the University of Denver next year. For now though, they are only focusing on this season.

“It relieves some pressure knowing where I am going next year,” Jacob said. “But I also feel more pressure because it’s like I have to beat people’s expectations.”

Jacob and Jared have both either started or seen significant playing time in football, basketball and lacrosse as two of Rocky’s few three-sport athletes. They took the greatest liking to lacrosse, a sport they have only played since 8th grade.

“I like lacrosse because it kind of combines the other two sports,” Jacob said. “It’s fast-paced and has contact. “It’s just a lot of fun.”

Last season Jacob had a breakout year at midfielder scoring 25 goals and racking up 11 assists while Jared was a stalwart on defense.

This year the coach at DU requested that both of the brothers play middie, so Jared will join his brother at that position.

“I’m excited about playing

LOOK OUT: Senior Kevin Lock tries to pick up the ball during a drill in a preseason practice.

The Lacrosse team is looking for a very successful season this year and play their next home game Tuesday, April, 4 against Steambaot Springs High School at 7 p.m.

WESTON ACKERMAN

middie,”Jared said. “It has definitely been a lot of fun so far.”

The 2005 edition of the Vipers (7-1, 12-4) made it to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A playoffs before a 9-6 setback to Regis High School. With several returning players, head coach Cary Smith is optimistic about this season.

The team took a spring break trip to Orlando, Florida where they went 2-0 playing teams from Texas and New Jersey.

“This is the deepest most athletic team I have had,” Smith said.

“There are about five top teams this year that have a chance and I think we’re right there.”

Lacrosse View COACH: Cary Smith is in his 7th year as head coach of the Vipers.

LAST YEAR: The team went 13-4, 71, with their final loss coming to Regis High School in the playoffs, 9-6.

RETURNING PLAYERS: Key players for the team this year include seniors Jared and Jacob Houghton, Nate Jestes and Jack Aylward.

OUTLOOK: This year, the team has 28 lettermen from last year’s team returning. It is their deepest, most athletic team ever.

COACH QUOTE: “I feel really good about the season, we have great defense and midi’s.”

-Cary Smith

by TRENT WAHLFELDT/Sports Editor A second place finish at state last year has this year’s girls’ track team hungry for more.

The team only lost two seniors off of last year’s team but better yet has numerous contributers from last year who are returning. Players returning include seniors Sara Price, Emily Matthews, Dani Parry and juniors Ari and Alana Curtis, McKynzie Maher and Elle Rastall.

Both the Curtis sisters Matthews and Price all were on the state championship 4x400 relay team last year and are looking for a repeat again this year.

“Anything can really happen at state,” Price said. “Every year we try to win the state title but other teams can have a really great meet and win too.”

Despite having such a successful season, the team knows that they have to work even harder this year to be another state championship contender.

“A lot of us girls are trying to work on our form,” Price said.

“It’s just something we can improve.”

Although the girls are working hard, they also want to have fun this year along with winning.

“For me, it’s my last year,” Price said. “So I just want to focus on having fun (more) than

Girls’ Track View COACH: Bennet Colvin is in his second year as the head coach for the girls’ track team.

LAST YEAR: The team finished second at state behind Montbello High School and are looking to do even better this year.

RETURNING PLAYERS: The Lobos only lost two seniors off of last year’s team. Key players that are returning include seniors Sara Price, Emily Matthews, Dani Parry, Megan Howard, juniors Ari and Alana Curtis, Elle Rastall, McKynzie Maher and sophomore Whitney Hoyne.

OUTLOOK: With so many players returning, the team has a really good shot at winning state if they can get some throwers to step up and contribute.

winning. We all enjoy hanging out with each other so it’s easy to have fun.”

The team is set to have many good freshman who will move up into the system and contribute to the team in a positive matter.

The Lobos will compete tomorrow at the Runner’s Roost Invitational. The Fort Collins City Meet is on April 25 at French Field.

New coach heads boys’ swimming

by JOEL HAFNOR/Reporter One of the most grueling sports, swimming, is often one of the most overlooked sports in high school athletics.

This years boy’s swimming team is looking to get noticed, though, under first-year swimming coach Janelyn Lilly, a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Wyoming.

Lilly, who gained her first experience as a swimming coach last semester with the girl’s team, shared her experience with the girls, “We worked hard. And it ended up being a successful season. There was a lot of leadership on the team.

Leadership was a word the first year coach used many times when speaking about the team, and is something she will be getting plenty

of from junior swimmer and diver Josh Pape.

“Often times I am diving while the rest of the team is swimming,” Pape said. “But (coach Lilly) does a great job of bridging the gap between the swimmers and divers.

I think that is what this team needs.”

The bond that is being made between the coach and her team can be directly related to her experience at the Wyoming as a swimmer.

“I found that with the amount of leadership this team had,” Lilly explained, “coaching wasn’t much different than what I did at (Wyoming).”

The team hopes to qualify several swimmers for the state tournament at the end of this year’s season. The first meet will be the City meet on March 23, at EPIC against Poudre and Collins.

Swimming View COACH: Janelyn Lilly is in her first year as the boys’ swimming coach, but coached the girls’ swimming team this winter.

LAST YEAR: Josh Pape was the only player to qualify for state last year in diving.

RETURNING PLAYERS: A relatively young team has the team open for improvement. Key players include senior Sterling Croft and juniors Josh Pape, Andrew McGee and Nick Howard.

OUTLOOK: A strong diving team, complemented with good swimming, makes this year’s team one to watch for.

COACH QUOTE: “I hope that this team has good leadership and experience and if we do then we should have a successful season.”

-Janelyn Lilly

Page A9 Sports Girls’ soccer team led by senior early beginner Rocky Mountain Highlighter

by RYAN WUEST/Reporter There is nothing better than being able to put on the varsity jersey for the high school team, and it’s just that time of year for the girls’ soccer team.

While some have to wait to earn that varsity jersey, senior Alex Hastings will be putting it on for her 4th year as a varsity soccer player.

“It’s an amazing privilege to have played four years on varsity,” Hastings said. “I really would like to make all-conference this year.”

Hastings got started playing

soccer at the age of 4 when her parents put her into a recreational league and ever since than has been a huge part of her life.

“I got started playing by going to my brothers soccer games when I was 2,” Hastings said. “I’d watch and just kick around a soccer ball.”

While playing soccer for 15 years now, it has been a big part of Hastings’ life, and her families.

“It pretty much is my life,” Hastings said. “We plan all our family vacations around all my soccer trips because I have so many of them.”

As her career comes to an end as a Lobo-and after losing numerous of seniors from last year while having only eight returning starters-the leadership role has now landed on Hastings and the other seniors to see the team be successful.

“The seniors need to be the leaders,” Hastings siad. “I really want us to do well and come together as a team this year.”

After this year, Hastings will leave her career as a Lobo and become a Wildcat at the University of New Hampshire to continue playing the sport that she loves.

Soccer View COACH: Cheryl Ingham is in her 4th year as head coach of the girls’ soccer team.

LAST YEAR: The team finished the season third in conference last year with losses to both Collins and Poudre.

RETURNING PLAYERS: The team has eight returning starters from last year. Key players include seniors Estelle Johnson, Maree Stevens, Alex Hastings, Kate

/March 24, 2006

Hampson, Kelli Breidenbach, Ashley Grover, juniors Steph Cynkar and Lauren Cathey.

OUTLOOK: The team is lead by nine seniors and has the talent and potential to be conference champs and make a good run at the state title.

COACH QUOTE: “We always take the season one game at a time and try not to get too far ahead of ourselves but I have great confidence in the ability of this team to have an excellent season.”

-Cheryl Ingham

Eggers leads Lobo baseball team

by STEVE UNDERWOOD/Reporter

GUN FOR AN ARM: Senior Scott Bachman (above) teaches a youngster how to pitch during a March 17 youth clinic the baseball team put on as a community service project. Senior Jeremy McCoppin (right) watches as a boy throws out a runner at second. The Lobos’ next home game is Thursday, March 30, against Collins at 3:30 p.m.

STEVE UNDERWOOD

For senior outfielder Andy Eggers, he takes a much different outlook on the game than most other high school baseball players.

At the end of the day, he is a baseball player second and a person first.

“Baseball is just a sport and it is not life,” Eggers said. “You have to figure out everything off the field before you can figure it out on the field.”

Eggers grew up around baseball all of his life. He had two older brothers who played the game before him and eventually it turned into a passion.

“It started off as a hobby,” Eggers said. “But as I continued to play, it (baseball) turned into something much more.”

Eggers tries to lead by example not only on the field but off the field, as well. Having a very strong core of young players this year, he knows it is very important to lead by example.

He feels the little things are important like showing up on time.

“I don’t want to be in left field making errors,” Eggers said. “I don’t want to mess up for the young

guys. It is fun that way.”

Last year, as a junior starting on the varsity team, Eggers had the highest batting average on the team at .424.

The past two years the Lobos have had two disappointing postseason finishes. Both years they were ranked among the top teams in the state and made the top eight at the state tournament but then went 1-2 in the double elimination tournament games. Last year they lost to Green Mountain High School and Grand Junction High School which took the state title.

The year before that they lost to Heritage High School and ThunderRidge High School which also won state.

“Definitely it helps knowing what state is like,” Eggers said.

“The best team in the state never wins state, and we are not by any means the best team in the state this year.”

Along with Eggers, there are seven other seniors leading the team this year. All of them have aspirations to lead the team to a third straight conference title, which is an achievable goal.

“I think in all baseball success starts with pitching,” head coach

Baseball View COACH: Scott Bullock is in his third year as varisty head coach.

He holds a 39-9 record prior to the season.

LAST YEAR: The team finished the season 18-6 and first in conference with a record of 7-1 with their only loss coming to Collins.

The Lobos made it to the final 8 in last year’s playoffs.

RETURNING PLAYERS: The team has three of four pitchers returning from last year’s team. Key players include seniors Scott Bachman, Drew Englebart, Brandon Buchanan, Andy Eggers, Jon Adkins, Andrew Pastor, Keith Jones and Jeremy McCoppin.

OUTLOOK: The team has a good pitching staff returning and a good foundation of seniors to build up the team this year.

COACH QUOTE: “I think we are a team that can make a run (at state), but that doesn’t mean it will happen.”

-Scott Bullock

Scott Bullock siad. “We have a good pitching staff, so I feel very confident with are chances this year.”

Golf team set to go Experience to lead girls tennis Hartman leads girls into season

by STEVE UNDERWOOD/Reporter High school girls golf isn’t your typical high school sport.

There comes much stress with this sport.

But for senior Haley Hartman, she tries to take a lighter approach to the game. Her motto is just get up to the tee box and swing.

“I am a laid-back, fun-loving golfer,” Hartman said. “We are a team that goes out and has a lot of fun. Other teams take the game too seriously.”

Hartman not only is a more laidback golfer, which she says is the reason to her success, but she is also the leader of this year’s golf team by teaching the younger golfers technique and the rules. She also organizes all of the team dinners.

“We all start off as young golfers,” Hartman said. “I was there, so I feel I need to help all of the young golfers in every aspect.”

Last year, Hartman led the team to a second place finish at conference behind Skyline High School. This year, the team has a preseason ranking of second in the state behind conference rival

Girls’ team has nine varsity players returning to squad

Golf View COACH: Denise Hansen is beginning her seventh year as the head coach of the girls’ golf team.

LAST YEAR: The team finished second in conference behind Skyline High School.

RETURNING PLAYERS: The team is lead by two seniors, Hayley Hartman and Ashley Benigni.

Sophomore Casey Smigelski will also play a key role on the team this year.

OUTLOOK: This year, the district team can win state. They just need three girls to consistently play well.

“

Monarch. Last year, the team beat Monarch in conference play.

Hartman took 10th place at the state tournament last year and hopes to be in the top five this year.

Other key golfers on the team will include senior Ashley Benigni and sophomore Casey Smigelsky.

As for Hartman’s future in golf, she has no plans to play at the next level.

“I want to pursue a lot of other things,” Hartman said. “I just want to enjoy college.”

by TRENT WAHLFELDT/Sports Editor For this year’s girls’ tennis team, experience is going to be key.

Only losing two seniors in Sidra Montgomery and Aria Marco, the team looks to improve on a solid foundation that was built last year.

“Having done so well at regionals and having so many girls go to state (last year), we have a lot of experience,” fouryear varsity player Emily Rubin said.

Last year the Lobos qualified eight of their 11 varsity players to state. That includes senior No. 2 singles player Erin Mathre, junior No. 3 singles player Lauren Anderson, No. 1 doubles team made up of Rubin and Montgomery, No. 3 doubles team made up of juniors Christine Hendee and Jennifer Peters and No. 4 doubles team made up of senior Ashley Gormley and Marco. They finished strong behind Monarch High School in regionals and

this year, they hope to qualify even more players to state.

“We were successful,” Rubin said. “A lot of us went to state.”

For the seniors, beating Collins has been one of their highest goals for this year. In the past three years, the Lobos have never been able to get over the hump and beat them.

They face them on April 25 at Collins.

Despite having so many returning players, the Lobos are still focused on getting better and improving their game for this year’s season.

“We have a lot of strong players, but I think we need to work on being more like a team,” Rubin said.

Other key matches on this year’s schedule include a home match against notoriouslystrong Cherry Creek High School team on April 5 and another home match on April 18 against Poudre.

“Since it’s my senior year I want to go to state obviously

Tennis View COACH: Bobbe Vassos is in her third year as head coach of the girls’ tennis team.

LAST YEAR: The team qualified 8 players to state and finished second behind Monarch High School at the regional tournament.

RETURNING PLAYERS: The Lobos only lost 2 players from last year’s team. Key players include seniors Brea Roth, Emily Rubin, Erin Mathre, Ashley Gormley, juniors Lauren Anderson, Christine Hendee and Jennifer Peters.

“

OUTLOOK: The team has a great deal of experience and if they play well at regionals, they can qualify many players to state with the possibility to place high.

but I want to set a good example,” Rubin said.

The Lobos host Loveland High School on Thursday, March 30 at 4 p.m.

Sports

Page A10 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Hockey starts despite no school funding

by KRIS COTE/Reporter The Rocky club hockey team has faced many obstacles over the past four years, but perhaps its biggest obstacle has been getting recognition.

In 2003, the Colorado High Plains Hockey Association was formed, bringing the sport of competitive club high school hockey to Northern Colorado. In the beginning there were two city teams, which competed in the league that features teams from all across Northern Colorado. Rocky and Poudre students made up one team and students from Collins formed the other. Since then, the program has grown so rapidly that each of these schools has students playing on their own teams, and Fossil Ridge has a team on the way, as well.

The problem that the teams face, however, is due to liability issuesthese teams cannot and do not have any affiliation with the Poudre School District athletic department and therefore are not considered to be a sanctioned sport.

This lack of affiliation has many

effects on the team. One of the largest effects is that they receive no funding from the district. Along with that, athletes cannot letter in this sport, and cannot compete for the high school state championship.

The viewpoints on this issue have been less than eye-to-eye between players and PSD officials.

Thomas Boileau, a senior and four-year varsity player, thinks that hockey should definitely be a PSD sport.

“We should be a sport,” Boileau said. “We could for sure compete with those other teams.”

Boileau said that the teams in Northern Colorado could really compete with the teams in Southern Colorado where ice hockey is a Colorado High School Activities Associtation-sanctioned sport.

Sandi Martin, athletic director for PSD, said that getting hockey to be a sanctioned sport would face many obstacles. The major problem would probably be funding, not to mention transportation and event supervision.

“We have had numerous requests over the years to add this program to

our sanctioned sports,” Martin said.

“But we are not able to fund additional programs at varsity levels.”

The city’s lack of facilities is another big problem the district would face. Currently the only ice rinks in the area are at the Edora Pool and Ice Center and at Providence in Windsor. Challenges that would come with this shortage would be the cost of renting the ice as well as balancing the schedules of the three schools teams so that each team got a fair amount of practice time.

Rocky Athletic Director Wayne Moddelmog suggested that one possible temporary solution the team might have would be to file for club status at the school.

“There’s plenty of interest here,” Moddelmog said. “They should try to seek out a staff sponsor.”

This suggestion could at least be a step in the direction of recognition for the team.

For now, though, the team doesn’t seem to mind its predicament.

“It doesn’t matter that much to me,” Boileau said.

KRIS COTE

COMING THROGH: Junior Austin Reider attempts to get past a defender during a March 10 game against Greeley. The Lobos won the game 9-0 at the Greeley Ice center.

Fencing sensation on top of nation Girls from page A12 OUCH: Sophomore Dylan Walrond competes in a fencing competition.

Walrond is currently the 12th ranked junior fencer in the country.

by JOEL HAFNOR/Reporter

Greatness looms in the halls of Rocky.

And it’s not the great teaching, atmosphere, students, or even the three-time defending state champion gymnasts. It’s fencing sensation Dylan Walrond, just a sophomore here at Rocky.

For those of you who know little or nothing about the sport of fencing, Walrond is the perfect reason to tune into the sport. The sport of fencing is incredibly fast paced, and leaves the casual sports fan hard to follow. Each fencer is dressed in an electronic uniform that can detect the slightest touch of the opponent’s weapon.

The sport is played on a 6 inch x 40 inch strip, and the game is broken up into three different divisions. The divisions differ only in the weapons used, the choices are the epée, the foil and the sabre, with the only difference lying in the tips of the weapons used.

Walrond, an epée fencer, began the fencing season, which runs from July to February, as the 2nd-ranked junior fencer in the country.

COURTESY OF DYLAN WALROND

“I got started about six years ago,” Walrond said. “I went to a club in Boulder. Turns out it was one of the best clubs in the country.”

The fencing season usually has around three tournaments in two months, one international tournament, and two domestic. As of right now, Walrond ranks 12th overall in the nation in the sport, and is off to what he considers

somewhat of a dissapointing season.

Although the sport is unheralded here in the United States, to be ranked among the top in the nation is no small feat. Walrond, who is a humble sophomore, didn’t go on and on about his greatness. He just answered the questions asked. It is no wonder why more people don’t know about this Rocky great.

Boys from page A12 The Lobos were given a No. 2 seed in the their bracket, a first round bye and home-court advantage in the second round of the state playoffs.

The senior class of six lived up to all the hype posting the best regular season record of this decade. Forwards Jacob Houghton and Coldiron led the way averaging 14.8 and 13.1 points per game respectively. This season was also the debut for head coach Bruce Dick. Dick was hired in the fall after Brad Beauprez resigned to take a job at Poudre.

“It was a lot of fun,” Dick said.

“Team-wise we accomplished alot, the players were great from the day I met them.”

After everything was said and done, three players were selected to the All-Front Range League-team,

Coliseum on March 4.

“We pretty much controlled the game until the end,” Keyworth said.

Doherty’s size eventually got to the Lobos as they started to falter in the fourth quarter.

“We’re a small team and they had two refrigerators on their team,” senior Bayley Chevron said. “We let them get the ball in the post too easily.”

Despite a disappointing loss to Doherty, the season did have many positives. The Lobos won their region in the Nike Tournament of Champions at Arizona in late December beating teams from California, Utah and Nevada.

“In the first half (of the season) we just clicked,” Chevron said. “Our team just came together really fast.”

The Lobos will lose three seniors this year in all-conference honorable mention Chevron, first team allconference Stephanie Hejde, and 6foot Carly Glisan. However, they have four players returning with considerable experience in first team all-conference player Alana Curtis and honorable mention 3-point shooting guard Jocelyn Zarling.

MATT LEEKE

TAKING IT STRONG: Senior Stephanie Hejde drives toward the basket during the state playoffs third round game against Boulder High School.

“They are going to be awesome,” Keyworth said of next year’s team.

“They are just loaded with talent and the younger kids will just mold right into the system.”

The Lobos finished 21-4 and were ranked 2nd in state at one point.

“Nobody cared who was successful as long as the team was successful,” Keyworth said. “It was a huge contributing factor in the success of our team.”

Keyworth from page A12 including Houghton, Coldiron and Tyler House. Senior guards Trent Wahlfeldt and Shaun Gutting received honorable mention citations. Houghton was given allstate recognition, as well. Dick was selected as the league’s coach of the year.

“That’s awesome,” said Dick .

“Well-deserved. Jake is probably the best athlete I’ve ever coached.”

Houghton and Dick were also selected to play and coach in an all star game at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Show, which was established in 2001, matches 20 of the top players in the state from all five classes against each other. The game will be played on April 15 following the Nuggets game at approximately 9:30 p.m.

“It’s a great honor for both of us,” Dick said.

ARI CURTIS

THROWIN’ IT DOWN: Senior Jacob Houghton dunks during a state playoffs second round game against Lincoln High School. The Lobos won the game but lost to Smoky Hill High School in the round of 16, 82-75, in overtime.

now holds the longest stint of any girls’ basketball coach ever at Rocky.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better place to coach,” Keyworth said. “The administration, staff and students have given me unbelievable support.”

In Keyworth’s 14 years, she made it to the state playoffs round of 8 four times, and the final four twice. Even though she never participated in a state championship game as a head coach, she will be known across the state as one of the best.

“She was well respected,” Moddelmog said. “She really has created a really good reputation as far as women’s athletics around the state.”

Moddelmog opened up the job for applications shortly after Keyworth’s resignation. The posting will close on March 30.

“It’s going to be difficult to find a

replacement for her who has the knowledge and passion that she did,” Moddelmog said. “It’s an attractive program for a lot of reasons and the majority of those reasons are because of Terri.”

When asked about the possibility of coaching again sometime in the future, Keyworth smiled and said there was a possibility but quickly changed the subject.

“I love coaching,” she said. “I love basketball. I love the connection with kids.”

Keyworth said the thing that she is going to miss most will be the connection with the athletes when they were here and then when they come back to visit.

“The athletes I’ve had from the first year I was here until now have been wonderful,” she said. “I am definitely going to miss it.”

Sports

Page A11 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Girls’ height doesn’t have to fright “

by WESTON ACKERMAN/Reporter

As a guy, being tall is a positive.

As a girl, however, it is not always that way.

The average height for an American woman is 5-foot-4, but occasionally there is an exception.

At Rocky there are several girls who are at least 6-feet tall, senior Carly Glisan and junior Nicole Cova to name a few.

Being tall as a girl brings many challenges but also some advantages, especially when sports are concerned. But they find difficulty not only in buying clothes and what they can or cannot wear but also sometimes in being accepted as different or feeling comfortable with themselves.

STEVE UNDERWOOD “I definitely did (have selfDON’T HURT ME: Senior Hunter Grondin looks up at senior Carly Glisan in the esteem problems) in junior high,” weight room. Females in today’s society have to deal with numerous stereotypes said Shannon Dreessen, a 6-foot-1 that go along with playing sports. former Colorado State University

You can never find pants that fit, and then when you do, you can’t put them in the dryer because they shrink.

-Carly Glisan, senior

Lesbian from page A12

Barbie from page A12 “In society they (female athletes) are looked at as somewhat masculine,” said senior athlete Kate Hampson.

What would a masculine Barbie look like?

Since the ratification of Title IX in 1972, the number of female athletes has increased dramatically and they have certainly become more accepted in society. No longer is cheerleading the only arena of female athleticism, and a woman who plays sports is not automatically perceived as homosexual.

“Female athletes today have the ability to choose their femininity and still be strong,” said Physical Education teacher Jo Lacricchio, who was an active athlete in the 1970s and 80s. “When I was younger, it was if you were an athlete, you were gay.”

Without a doubt, the status of the female athlete in society has elevated to a much more respected level.

However, women still face the challenge of being able to maintain their femininity (or not) while participating in athletics. They, according to Lacricchio, have “freedoms, but not all freedoms.”

“I know of a woman who was excused from a collegiate team four years ago because she was considered gay looking,” Lacricchio said.

The challenge of being athletic while appearing feminine has been and still is a hardship for girls. Shelly Borrman (formerly Shelly Greathouse), one of the most celebrated athletes of the school in the early 1990s, faced this dilemma daily. Holding school records in the shot put and discus since 1994 and having played basketball and volleyball, Borrman was “big.”

“I was small for a thrower,” Borrman said. “I was 5-foot-9, 155 pounds in high school—(but) that’s big for a high school girl.”

Borrman got past the insecurity that comes with being a female athlete by surrounding herself with people who accepted her for who she was.

“It didn’t really come across to me to care what I looked like,” she said.

“As long as I felt in shape, I really didn’t care what people thought about me. I surrounded myself with really great people.”

Heavy Stuff The weight room can be a scary place, especially for female athletes.

”

basketball player and former coach of the Lobos’ junior varsity girls team.

“I sometimes hated being taller than everyone and especially the boys. I think at that age anyone who has something different about themselves feels that way.”

The trouble with finding clothes is the length, from pants that are too short to sleeves that don’t reach the wrist.

“Buying jeans is a nightmare,” said Glisan, who was a starter on the girls’ basketball team and checks in at 6-feet even. “You can never find pants that fit and then when you do, you can’t put them in the dryer because they shrink, but mine always get thrown in anyway.”

Sometimes a hardship in the real world, being tall tips the scales the other way on the field of play.

Having a height advantage is extremely beneficial in a sport like basketball. Being taller than your opponent gives you not only a physical advantage but also a mental edge.

“I think it probably is intimidating to other teams seeing that they are playing girls that are really tall,” Glisan said. “I know it is intimidating to me to see girls across the court that are taller than me.”

“

Female athletes today have the ability to choose their femininity and still be strong. When I was younger, it was if you were an athlete, you were gay.

-Jo Lacricchio physical education teacher

It is not the weight lifting contraptions that appear to be used for torture or the staring eyes of the lobo mural that intimidate girls. The fear of gaining muscle and looking “manly” is what drives many girls away from the weight room.

“I did not like lifting weights,” Borrman said. “I had this big perception that lifting weights would make me get big, and I didn’t want to be manly. That was the perception at the time.”

As it turns out, this perception is still prevalent today. Girls, especially those who are new to weightlifting, turn away from it in order to maintain what they believe are feminine physiques. “[Freshman] are reluctant to lift because they don’t want to lift because they don’t want to be that girl that’s stronger than the boys,” Hampson said. “Even in volleyball you see girls...that are buff and any guy that doesn’t lift would look just like them. You’re like, ‘They’re buff and manly and you should be afraid of them.’”

What many girls don’t realize is that gaining strength with weight training doesn’t mean gaining bulk.

“I think women need to be educated properly on how to lift weights,” said former Rocky athlete and German teacher Jen Roper.

“You can get stronger without looking masculine.

“I wish they (weights) had been more incorporated when I was in athletics. It’s changed now.”

With the mass incorporation of weight training in all of high school athletics, female athletes have overcome their apprehension of it and have reaped the benefits of lifting weights. Weights have become as much of a necessity in training for a sport as practicing the activity itself.

“You definitely can’t be in a varsity sport and have coaches not make you lift,” said senior and track athlete Emily Matthews. “I just kind of accept having to lift.”

Many girls do accept the neccessity of weight lifting in sports and getting “too buff” is avoidable.

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What may be harder to conquer are the mindsets of women and men alike that muscle equals masculinity.

“That’s completely understandable, that girls don’t want to lift weights,” Borrman said. “That (if you lift weights) you’re going to get big, and if you get big, you’ll look manly. I lived that stigma.”

The fear of appearing masculine for female athletes may seem unreasonable, but it is far from unfounded.

“When you see girls in the weight room benching like 250 pounds, that’s kind of awkward looking,” said junior Josh Pape. “If they want to do that, that’s fine, but it’s not something I’d consider feminine.”

Junior Eric Fanning said: “In society, I don’t think buffed and ripped and chiseled is something associated with women. It’s more like thin and attractive, not cut.

“I don’t think it’s very attractive for a woman to be like ripped.

Maybe that’s the society in me.”

Manly Pride In the evolution of relationships and social standards, one thing hasn’t changed: Men are supposed to be stronger than women.

Saying things like “you run like a girl” and “my sister could beat you in (activity)” are meant to be insulting, but what if that girl is faster than the insulted party?

“If you dated some guy and you could beat them in basketball, they wouldn’t like that,” Hampson said.

“I think that guys wouldn’t want to date someone who could beat them.”

With thousands of years behind the idea that men are stronger than women, those women who tip the balance may find themselves at an advantage or disadvantage when it comes to dating.

Borrman had no trouble finding boys.

“I had a lot of boyfriends in high school,” she said. “I always had a lot of friends with guys. I was friends with them and always accepted.”

Borrman’s lack of trouble with dating can be based on common interests. With an interest in sports

being a common denominator, she found that becoming friends with the opposite sex came easily.

“A lot of my friends who were guys were athletes themselves,” Borrman said. “I grew up around sports and was always playing with the guys.”

On the other hand, being the superior athlete to a male can be “intimidating” and drive him away from female athletes.

“I’ve had so many guys tell me that I’m intimidating because I’m good at sports, which is lame,” Hampson said. “Guys here (at school) are intimidated by girls who are athletic.”

Fanning explains the effect of being “beaten by a girl” as an issue of pride.

“There’s always that sense of manly pride,” he said. “I think that might be a factor in some relationships.”

Social Security It seems that as long as women are insecure about their bodies, female athletes will be concerned about their femininity. While there was concern for Borrman, her confidence outweighed her diffidence.

“Maybe the guy that you kind of had a crush on—I knew I wasn’t their type,” she said. “They liked the cute little bubbly girls. I knew that wasn’t me, (but) I changed my attitude. It’s their loss.”

The increasing acceptance of female athletes is also a contributing factor to their becoming more comfortable with their athleticism.

“Guys call (an athletic girl) like ‘beast’...I think sometimes that can make you compensate (for a lack in femininity),” Matthews said, “but at the same time they’ve become more accepting. They’re not trying to say you’re masculine, they’re just trying to be encouraging.”

Even in high school, where one’s self esteem is likely to be tested, Borrman accepted her “beast” status.

She believes that confidence can move a female athlete past the masculine label.

“Being an athlete in whatever sport, you have to have a lot of confidence in yourself,” she said.

“As long as you have that confidence in yourself, who cares how you look?

“If people can’t accept you for who you are and what you do, then it’s their loss.”

vanished?

Last year, a situation involving Penn State women’s basketball coach Rene Portland and her supposed “no lesbians” policy blew up into a full-fledged controversy.

Allegedly, since as early as 1982, Portland had been singling out athletes who were, or looked, lesbian and asking them to leave the program.

The scandal erupted when Jennifer Harris, a former player on the Penn State University basketball team, came forward to say that Portland had told her to leave because her appearance and of males said they attitude were not feminine enough know a girl who has purposely not and that she appeared to be lesbian. worked out in order Harris claimed that she was not a to keep her feminine lesbian. figure.

“I don’t think it should be accepted because you can’t judge a person based physical appearance or sociology,” senior and softball of females said that player Maureen McDaniel said. being strong, “It’s not healthy for society.” physical and athletic are attractive “I think it’s weird that people qualities in girls. would think about that,” junior Tyler Silver said. “Just because girls are strong or athletic doesn’t mean they’re lesbians. That’s a of males said that stereotype.” being strong, The situation at Penn State is physical and athletic only one case of discrimination are attractive qualities in girls. based on sexual orientation. P.E. teacher and former girls’ basketball coach Terri Keyworth knows of other cases in which college of females said coaches have biases against certain they think females athletes. who play sports “I do think coaches do that,” are not as Keyworth said. “They [college feminine as females who don’t. coaches] won’t recruit athletes who appear to be lesbians. I think it’s 343 students surveyed illegal to discriminate against sexual orientation.”

Some may make judgments about sexuality based purely on looks, but when do coaches cross the line? How much information should coaches be entitled to know?

“It’s important for them to know [if there are lesbians on the team], but it also invades people’s privacy,” senior Sarah Curry said. “If I was a coach, I wouldn’t want some secret nasty (lesbian) on my team or girls getting rowdy in the locker room.”

“I don’t think prejudices should be held because their sexuality shouldn’t say anything about their personality or playing ability,” McDaniel said. “It’s not something they should worry about.”

An underlying stereotype that girls who play sports that demand more physical strength, and thus a “less feminine” appearance, may be fueling motives for coaches or society in general to form biases.

“I tell people that I play softball and they ask if I’m a lesbian,” Rachel Cavallero said. “That’s not right. It doesn’t happen in guys’ sports.”

Keyworth said that often the perception is that “everyone who plays pro women’s basketball is a lesbian.”

“Like any stereotype there are people who fit,” she said.

“For a long time, it wasn’t feminine to play sports. A lot of pro athletes have proven that you can be feminine and play sports.

“Any stereotype can cause hurt and discrimination. There are a lot of people who play sports who are straight…there are also lots of people who are proud either way.”

53%

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22%

S ports Oh no, OT! Trent Wahlfeldt, Sports Editor

Baseball team kicks off season with high expectations, Page A6

Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Page A12

Ari Curtis Extending No Courtesies

Heartbreaking losses for both hoops teams

Girls team Athletes have to knocked out learn to lose too in final 8

I hate losing.

Being a competitive athlete, I have lost a countless amount of times.

Whether it was a game, a race or an event of some sort, I’ve lost them all.

My experience with losing is in fact so great that I have come to discover several types of defeat.

First, there’s the complete blowout.

The most distinctive type of losing, the blowout contains a wide range of emotions. It’s when the game is nearing the end and all hopes of winning are gone. At this point the athlete can either give up or continue in vain to make up an insurmountable deficit.

A blowout can vary in styles and results. If the team or athlete didn’t compete to their potential, there is at least a chance to beat that opponent on another occasion. Thus, this type of blowout is not too difficult to overcome. Another type of blowout is the utter stomping. This is when you leave the event thinking, I just got killed. In this situation it is best to make light of the loss and hope no one important was watching.

I believe that the key to experiencing a blowout is accepting it gracefully and coming to terms with the fact that the opponent was just better than the athlete. But in the meantime, the athlete should never give up. No matter how cliche that sounds, it makes the loss much worse when the opponent doesn’t even have to try to score or win. The athlete should at least make the opponent exert some energy while pounding him or her into the ground.

Next, and probably the most infamous loss, is the “moral victory.”

It’s the “we tried the best we could, but the other team was better” loss. The moral victory can be a positive or negative experience, based on the athlete or team’s performance. If an athlete reaches a personal best and still loses, there’s more to celebrate than to grieve over. However, doing one’s best and still losing can be damaging to one’s confidence.

The final and worst brand of defeat has no particular name. It’s the classic case of “so close, yet so far away.” It’s the loss in overtime, the game-winning touchdown pass slipping between the receiver’s fingers, or the last lean at the finish line that just wasn’t enough.

One may ask why this type of loss is so terrible if it was so close to a win.

For that exact reason, the almost-butnot-enough loss is one that can induce physical pain. Knowing that the celebrating opponent could have been you if it weren’t for that one missed free throw or the stupid turnover can make a stomach turn.

This type of loss is the most difficult to emotionally conquer. However, with the acceptance of this loss comes the ability to realize that there will always be another game. Even if that second chance isn’t tomorrow, the chance to win will come in other areas of life.

I believe in learning from a loss and gaining perspective. They say winning isn’t everything, which is true. I’ve learned that losing has its place.

But what can I say: I love to win.

Ari Curtis is a junior and a reporter for the Highlighter.

Keyworth resigns after 14 years

by TRENT WAHLFELDT/Sports Editor

by TRENT WAHLFELDT/Sports Editor It was an emotional roller coaster for this year’s girls basketball team.

The team started out the season 15-0, then finished the season only 6-4 with its final loss coming in the state playoffs round of 8 against Doherty High School in overtime, 66-64. To add insult to injury for the underclassmen, highly successful and longtime head coach Terri Keyworth announced her resignation at the end of the season.

“I thought this was one of the most amazing groups of kids I’ve ever worked with,” said Keyworth who coached for 14 years.

In the playoffs, the Lobos defeated Green Mountain High School 35-19 in the second round after a first round bye. Then they faced Boulder High School in the round of 16 and whipped them, 7648, at Alameda High School. Last, they faced Doherty at the Denver

Jump to GIRLS, page A10

A little more than 14 years ago, Terri Keyworth started her first season as head coach of the girls’ varsity basketball team at only 24 years old.

This past season was her I couldn’t last.

“She was the best coach have asked I’ve ever had,” senior for a better Bayley Chevron said. “I was place to coach. really fortunate.”

Keyworth resigned from coaching shortly after this last season because she said she wanted to spend more time with her family and 13month-old son Trek. She will continue at the school -Terri Keyworth, as a health and physical former girls’ education teacher. basketball “She was huge,” Athletic coach Director Wayne Moddelmog said of her character. “She was the godfather of coaches here at Rocky.”

Posting a career record of 220-90, Keyworth

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”

TRENT WAHLFELDT

FOUL!: Junior Alana Curtis tries to make a move around a smothering defender from Doherty High School in a state playoffs final 8. The Lobos lost the game 66-64 in overtime.

Jump to KEYWORTH, page A10 TAKING IT STRONG: Senior Jared Houghton drives to the basket during the state playoffs round of 16 at Alameda High School. The Lobos lost the game to Smoky Hill High School, 82-75.

Boys upset in round of 16

by WESTON ACKERMAN/Reporter A season with so many highs ended on the lowest low at the hands of Smoky Hill high school for the boys’ basketball team.

The Lobos (20-4, 8-0) went into the state playoffs on the heels of a 3-game sweep of the conference tournament and having won 13 of their last 14. In their first playoff game they handled Lincoln High School easily, winning 92-70. They looked to be in control in the Sweet

16 at Alameda High School game but Smoky Hill was able to came back and force overtime. In overtime it was all Buffalos and they pulled away with an 82-75 victory and a berth in the final 8.

“It was just a good game with two really good teams,” senior Marcus Coldiron said. “We made a couple mistakes here and there but nothing really lost the game. They just were able to come out on top.”

Jump to BOYS, page A10

Barbie, butch or buff:

TIFFANY HEIEN

Female athletes find their way in today’s sports world

Athletes weigh femininity and athletic pride

Girl athletes often labeled ‘lesbian’

by ARI CURTIS/Reporter

The history of discrimination in America is an ugly one.

There is hardly a need to describe the horrors of Jim Crowe, the prejudice involving women’s ◆Tall girls rights, and the cope, A11 mistreatment of immigrants seemed to have disappeared into the distant memories of the nation. Has such outright discrimination truly

Barbie didn’t play basketball.

The lyrics to I Enjoy Being a Girl

by Rodgers and Hammerstein read: “I adore being ports page dressed in special s o m e t h i n g frilly”; not “I wear soccer sweats almost daily.”

These examples of femininity, while dated, leave no room for today’s image of the female athlete.

by ALANA CURTIS/Reporter

S eealso

S

Jump to BARBIE, page A11

ALANA CURTIS

GETTING HUGE: Senior Bayley Chevron lifts weights in the weight room. Female athletes have to deal with the stereotypes that go along with being an athlete in today’s society.

Jump to LESBIAN, page A11

Features Sarah Speights, Features Editor

Colin West wins Boettcher, Page B3 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

B Section Valerie Hisam

Getting through...

Journalists connect world through controversy any way you can The Good, The Bad, & The Blonde

“Fornicate Collins!”

Now that that has been established, let’s move on to more controversy, because, trust me, it is prevalent in journalism.

If we don’t go a week, at most, without having one person or another come in and complain and harass any member of the staff about one thing or another, then this can’t be called journalism.

Journalism: It sounds like such a technical term. Why not call it writing or a brainbusting activity that adds so much extra stress that it is known to kill people? (Just kidding.) It is more than that, though; journalism has become a way of life. At times, my entire life.

But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.

The whole point of journalism is to make stories and facts known, or to state an opinion, and to write.

We just inform people about the news; we do not create it, contrary to common beliefs.

What would people do if there were no newspapers? Watch more TV? Yeah, because we all know just how healthy that is. What if people just stopped reporting things? What if the general public had no news on what was happening in the Middle East? Or if Jessica and Nick really split up?

Whether it is the dirt or the facts, it is those who report on it who keep us all connected, whether you want to be or not.

So why is it that when one utters “journalism,” a negative connotation is almost immediately thought of?

Well, the paparazzi have a thing or two (or fifteen thousand things) to do with it. But we are not paparazzi in high school, and we are certainly not publishing who is with whom and who just got the biggest boob job.

In high school, it may not seem like a school newspaper is necessary, but that could not be more wrong. For us, the main purpose of the paper is to help get the news and facts out there.

Whether they are about prom or about a recent car accident, the population has a right to know.

And, granted, we are not always going to please everyone, but that is that.

News Flash: People have different opinions on different things.

Anyway, journalism really isn’t that complicated once people understand it. We write articles on current events and important people, but we also publish opinion pieces which express the single opinion of the writer, and guess

Jump to BLONDE, page B2

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SCOTT MERRILL

Online courses for credit

by MATT LEEKE/Reporter Since the Internet’s popularity explosion in the mid 1990s, people have been going online to earn college degrees or GEDs. Ten years later, high school students are joining the ranks of those who have completed academic courses online.

Students all over Poudre School District are being given the opportunity to take courses online for credit towards graduation as alternatives to a eatures page traditional inspecial class learning experience for a wide variety of reasons, according to Joan Ruberry, who coordinates the process of setting students up with an appropriate online course.

“Some students use the online course as a means of credit retrieval, or if they’ve repeatedly failed a course,” Ruberry said.

“Others take a course if they’ve

F

transferred to Rocky from another school and need to make up the credits but don’t have the time to do it in a classroom environment, and still others take online courses if they have health problems and know they will be out of school for a quarter or semester.”

Students who wish to take an online course must first talk to their counselors to make sure that an online course is a suitable course of action.

“Online courses aren’t offered as alternatives to regular classes,” Ruberry said. “They’re given to kids who are under extraordinary circumstances.”

One such student is senior Jocelyn Axelson, who skipped the 9th grade entirely and is now taking an online course in anthropology to fulfill graduation requirements.

“It’s pretty boring,” Axelson said of the experience. “It’s a lot of

Jump to ONLINE, page B2

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Some people don’t like change, and this is a big change-graduating from high school and moving on.

Maybe they feel like they’re not ready to graduate.

-Brad Boda, counselor

”

Counselors attempt to get all students to graduation

by TIFFANY HEIEN/Reporter Graduation.

For some, this word is a landmark, a steppingstone and a celebration. For others, it can be a sigh of relief, the end to a 12-year battle, or just plain miraculous.

“School offers the comfort of what comes every year,” counselor Susan Takahashi said. “Graduation takes away that comfort.”

According to counselor Brad Boda, counselors keep an eye on about 20 to 30 seniors and about two or three of them fail to graduate each year. In some cases, it appears as though some struggle on purpose.

“There’s two categories of kids,” Takahashi said, “Those who have struggled throughout their high school career, and those who have had successful 9th through 11th grades and they get to their senior year and start to struggle.

“I don’t know that kids consciously say, ‘I’m gonna mess up my senior year so that I can’t graduate,’ but I think maybe fear of making decisions of what’s ahead, the reality of what’s

Jump to GRADUATE, page B2

Hair dyeing trend won’t ‘fade out’

by KELLY GAVIN/Center Section Editor

SARAH SPEIGHTS

NOT ‘DYEING’ FAD: Junior Mandy Beatty, senior Jessi Whitten and junior Ian Walsh show off their dyed hair. All three dye their hair on a fairly regular basis, although their styles of dyeing are drastically different. Beatty, who is a natural brunette, tends to dye her hair fairly natural colors. Whitten, a natural brunette, as well, dyes her hair fiery red, but has dyed it blonde in the past. Walsh, naturally blonde, usually dyes his hair colors such as purple, blue and black.

There are many trends that have been around for a long time, hairdyeing being one of them.

“I think people want to stand out,” said junior Ian Walsh, “especially in high school it draws attention.”

Walsh is a natural blonde but has dyed his hair 12 different times with seven different colors.

“I’ve used blue and black the most,” said Walsh.

His current hair color should have been black, but by accident it is blue and purple, with a little pink and black.

“I like how it turned out, though,” he said. “It’s my favorite so far.”

Walsh said he doesn’t plan to quit dyeing his hair anytime soon.

Hairstylist Angela Valdez believes that hair dyeing isn’t a fad

and won’t go away soon.

“I think it’s a great way to express yourself,” Valdez said, “and it will never go away” But what about the consequences and dangers that come with teenagers dyeing their hair? The most common effects are allergic reactions or, more often, not liking how the color turned out. There are some people who go to salons to get their hair dyed, possibly to be on the safe side.

“We get some people who want a fiery red color, but usually nothing more than that,” Valdez said. “I think it’s more popular for teenagers to do it themselves.”

According to Valdez, there are more dangers involved than just not liking how it turned out and the

Jump to HAIR, page B2

Features

Page B2 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

School groups travel world Art students plan trip to Italy; German club sets sights on 2007

by JOEL HAFNOR/Reporter There are some things in education that cannot be taught within the walls of the school.

In these instances teachers reach for a different kind of teaching utensil--school trips--to give students a look at other cultures and a chance to meet a variety of different people.

One trip that has been a tradition since 1997 has been the Germany trip, which is led by German teacher Jennifer Roper.

“The trip lasted two weeks. We traveled all the way from Vienna North to Salisbury and Munich,” Roper explained. “It’s a great experience. We use German to learn about history.”

The German group will not travel this summer but is scheduled for another trip in the summer of 2007.

Besides the trip to Europe, the German class has begun yet another tradition with their trip in late January to Winter Park.

German-speaking students from

GERMANY: Students who went on a trip to Germany during the summer of 2005 pose with their bicycles.

German teacher Jennifer Roper (left) plans to take students to Germany again in the summer of 2007. This summer, students will travel to Italy to see famous artwork and develop their skills in new surroundings.

“

This trip will give the students plenty of time to take out their drawing pads, or canvases, or cameras, and practice with new surroundings.

-Dan Ibanez, art teacher and Italy trip sponsor

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eight different schools in Colorado joined together for a weekend to polish their German-speaking skills.

“We had to sign a contract (that we would only use German) at the beginning of the weekend,” said senior Ashley Benigni. “I know a couple of people cheated, but our group stayed true to the contract.”

Another group that will be traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to further their schooling is the art

COURTESY OF JENNIFER ROPER

group, which will visit Italy in June.

“The goal of this trip is to enrich the minds of the students and give them some tangible experience and some global perspective,” said art teacher Daniel Ibanez, one of the sponsors for the trip. “This trip will

give the students plenty of time to take out their drawing pads, or canvases, or cameras and practice with new surroundings.”

The goal for most teachers who sponsor these school trips to other countries or other states is to give

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students an opportunity to fully learn about tendencies and lifestyles in other parts of the world.

Not only do the students get an opportunity to enrich their education, but they enrich their lives as well.

Dyer wishes to ‘create legacy’ with athletes Blonde from page B1

Coach, P.E. teacher gets up early to help students achieve

a period of seven years, but declined to elaborate any further on that.

“It is kind of my niche,” Dyer said. “Each coach tries to find theirs

and this is mine. I enjoy the science behind strength and conditioning, and not many people do.”

In this day and age, it is becoming a time where working out year round and participating in specially designed exercise programs is no longer just for professional and collegiate athletes; it is required to stay competitive in high school.

Making these programs is what Dyer does for all of the teams.

“Weights is all him,” said head football coach Mark Brook. “He has done a tremendous job with the kids and gets great results when kids follow his program.”

As for what Dyer will leave behind, nobody will know until that time arrives, which is not something Dyer sees in the near future.

“I hope I’m in the process of building a legacy right now,” Dyer said. “I just try to work hard day by day and I hope people see that and do the same. I just want kids to reach their full potential as athletes.”

Online from page B1

Graduate from page B1

reading and writing. I’m sure it improves your ability to write a lot because of all the essays. I don’t like it all that much overall.”

Senior Pricila Venzor, who is taking an online course in American government, noted that they weren’t much of a challenge.

“You just have to read, read, read,” Venzor said. “[The courses] are really easy. You get to do the tests and projects on your own time.”

“For some students, these classes are less effective than traditional classes,” Ruberry said. “For others, they are more effective because of the hands-on nature of the work. I think that online courses make a good complement or supplement to regular classes, but I wouldn’t want to see them replace traditional course work.”

ahead, and the comfort of what’s here--for some reason they stop being successful. It appears that they’re sabotaging.”

For the students who are usually successful, grades and attendance can start to slip, and even if they’ve been accepted to a college, their graduation can be jeopardized.

“Some people don’t like change,” Boda said, “and this is a big change-graduating from high school and moving on. Maybe they feel like they’re not ready to graduate.”

According to Boda, grades at the end of third quarter are a big indicator for kids whose graduation is in question.

“There’s a few that pop up at the end of third term that scare the poop out of us,” Boda said. “We try and keep some classes available fourth

by WESTON ACKERMAN/Reporter and STEVE UNDERWOOD/Reporter The average work day for physical education and health teacher Mike Dyer isn’t the usual 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Dyer puts in an average of 10 to 15 hours a day at school working on putting together lifting programs for the school’s athletes on top of being a full-time teacher and assistant football coach.

“I always wanted to be a P.E. teacher, since the 3rd grade,” Dyer said. “For me, it was a good fit and it was something I never went away from. I have loved it ever since.”

Dyer is the football team’s defensive ends coach as well as being in charge of the strength and

Staff Feature F t

STEVE UNDERWOOD

TRAINING: Coach and physical education teacher Mike Dyer works with a student in the weight room. Dyer is in charge of all strength training and conditioning, along with teaching full-time and acting as an assistant football coach.

conditioning of the players.

Working in the field of strength and conditioning was something that came naturally to him. Dyer was a competitive weightlifter for

Hair from page B1 health issue of allergic reactions.

“Kool-aid is usually pretty bad for hair,” Valdez said.

“Sometimes you have to bleach your hair to get it out.”

One of the more serious things Valdez spoke of was people having their hair, literally, melt off.

“There are certain kinds of salts out there in hair dyes that, if combined with other products, will cause your hair to melt off completely,” Valdez said.

“Sometimes we’ll have people come in here and they won’t tell us what product they used to color their hair, and, without knowing it, we’ll completely

damage it with another chemical.”

But other damages can be caused when certain products are activated by heat and the sun.

Build-up and color lock are also common problems when selfdyeing one’s hair.

“If you do it yourself, just follow the instructions carefully, otherwise it might end up really messed up,” Walsh said.

Regardless of the problems associated with it, Walsh and Valdez both believe that hair dyeing will continue to be popular for a long time.

“I don’t think hair dyeing will fade out,” Walsh said.

what? People have different opinions. It is all a part of being a journalist.

You are going to get criticized, and you are going to have to support what you write, but if you truly want to make a difference, then that’s what being a journalist is all about.

So, to say the least, I am proud of being a journalist, and wanting to be one. It isn’t easy, especially when you get holed up in the newsroom for 10 straight hours with no food or water, and Weston Ackerman is around, but that is how things go.

So, embrace the paper and its outstanding journalistic quality, because, let’s face it, our paper rocks and we weren’t given the title of “top student newspaper in the state” for no reason.

Valerie Hisam is a senior and Editor-in-Chief of the Highlighter.

“

It’s really important to us that they graduate. It’s a lot of personal ‘TLC.’ -Brad Boda, counselor

”

term for seniors that they can retake.”

Besides keeping fourth quarter classes open, the counselors do everything they can to help seniors achieve success.

“It’s really important to us that they graduate,” Boda said. “We talk to their parents and have meetings with assistant principals and their (students’) parents--keep a close eye on them. It’s a lot of personal ‘TLC.’”

Features

Page B3 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Student seen as ‘resident genius’ Humble West one of 40 to win Boettcher

by ALANA CURTIS/Reporter Although famous for his outstanding academic excellence and even more outstanding test scores (he earned a score 35 out of a possible 36 on his ACT), Boettcher Scholarship winner senior Colin West is more than just the “resident genius” at school.

West is a thoughtful and humble person, so humble that he is even humble when speaking of his humility.

“Playing down my accomplishments is just as pretentious as bragging about them,” West said. “You have to be pretty spectacular to use false modesty. But there’s also no point in me bragging; living up to the expectations people set for me can be hard enough.”

“He’s unique in that he’s genuinely modest,” said language arts teacher and forensics coach Paul DeMaret, “which is pretty unusual for someone who is genuinely brillant.”

DeMaret was one of the first people that West contacted when he

Student Feature F t

ALANA CURTIS

found out he had won the Boettcher.

“He joked at the Homecoming Assembly that we spend so much time together that I’m more like his surrogate father than his teacher,” DeMaret said.

But West didn’t go out of his way to tell anyone he could find that he had won the scholarship.

West said that he first told people who had helped him along the way, people who “had the most to do with it,” although he wants all his former

teachers to know that he feels in their debt.

The Boettcher Foundation Scholarship Program, modeled after the reknowned Rhodes Scholarship Program, is an organization that awards 40 academically elite Colorado high school seniors with full-ride scholarships to any in-state college or university.

To be eligible for the scholarship, a senior must rank in the top 5 percent of his or her class and earn

Editor-in-chief named state’s journalist of the year Q&A SARAH SPEIGHTS

JOURNALIST: Highlighter editor-inchief, senior Valerie Hisam, edits proof pages of the March Highlighter. Hisam was recently named the Colorado High School Journalist of the Year.

“Valerie always steps up to take the big story, the big opportunities,” Wahlfeldt said. “This created a strong entry package and allowed it to stand out. She is well-deserving.”

The scholarship application was available in January, which gave Hisam only a month to put it together.

“I had 12 samples that had to meet requirements and (show) my best work,” she said. “That was probably the hardest part. I cut out every article and laid them out on a table to pick out which ones I wanted to use.”

Hisam will know in April when she and other Highlighter staff members travel to San Francisco for the JEA/NSPA National Scholastic Journalism Convention if she won the national award.

“It’s hard to put out of my mind,” Hisam said.

Hisam plans to take her state win scholarship money to Colorado State University where she will major in technical journalism and hopefully write for the CSU student newspaper.

“In Journalism I, it just kind of hit me that this is what (I wanted to do),” Hisam said. “It’s good to know that your hard work pays off.”

at least a 27 ACT score or 1200 SAT score, among other expectations and achievements.

“The things they list are excellence, strength in character… in some ways this is just a test to see who can impress them,” said West, who is also a state champion in speech, debate and DECA as well as news editor of the Rocky Mountain Highlighter. “But I think they try to find people who are really excited about learning new things.”

and resistance workouts. I work with mostly high school seniors that are planning to play at the college level. Currently I am studying to be a certified strength and conditioning specialist.

by LAUREL KESSLER/Limelight Editor For Valerie Hisam, winning statewide journalism awards seems to be turning into a trend.

Not only is Hisam editor-in-chief of the state winning newspaper, the Rocky Mountain Highlighter, she has made an individual appearance as the 2006 Colorado High School Journalist of the Year.

The scholarship, awarded by the Colorado High School Press Association (CHSPA), recognizes the state’s top high school journalist with a $2,000 scholarship to any instate institution. Hisam will continue on as a candidate for the Journalism Education Association (JEA) national competition for a chance to win an additional $5,000 in scholarship money.

Stephen Wahlfeldt, advisor of the Highlighter, was the first to receive notice that Hisam had won the award.

“When Mr. Wahlfeldt found out and told me I called my dad screaming and crying,” Hisam said.

“He thought I was being assaulted.”

According to CHSPA Executive Director Kim Blumhardt, one of three judges who decided Hisam’s application was the winning entry package, Hisam’s samples stood out.

“Valerie’s packet was very nicely put together,” Blumhardt said. “The amount of information she included was in-depth and very good.”

Not only did Hisam’s effort stand out, but also, Blumhardt said, the issues her articles tackled stood out by themselves.

“She is a courageous writer,” Blumhardt said. “She’s not afraid to say certain things and tackle certain sensitive issues and she did a nice job covering them.”

HUMILITY: Senior Colin West recently won the Boettcher Scholarship, which gives him a full ride to any college in Colorado. West is also an accomplished member of the debate team, and is involved in many other school activities.

West is very “realistic and down-to-earth,” choosing not to make a big deal out of his accomplishments.

Eric Gibbons, Strength Intern Q: Why are you here at Rocky?

A: I am doing my internship for Colorado State University. I deal with a lot of the strength and conditioning that goes on with coach (Mike) Dyer. I design various speed, agility, polymetrics

Q: What has your experience been like at Rocky thus far?

A: It has only been a good experience with both the faculty and the students. The kids are great and I am surprised I have not had any bad experiences with the students as far as respect goes. I have also learned a lot from the faculty. Everything has been great so far.

Q: Why did you want to be a strength coach?

A: I have known for a while I wanted to do this and it is the only

According to both DeMaret and Char Mulnix, head of the College and Career Center, West is one of those people who “are really excited about learning new things.”

“I had a feeling that Colin would be a very, very strong candidate,” Mulnix said. “He is a seeker of knowledge. He is a student who is always wanting to know more, to stretch boundaries… I see him as a person learning to gain knowledge, not just to spit it back on a test.”

“It’s rewarding to see a student who values education who is rewarded for academic excellence,” DeMaret said. “Whatever he does, he’s going to give something back.”

Until West received the Boettcher, he was looking for a university among the ranks of Cornell, Stanford, and Dartmouth.

Right now, the Universtity of Colorado is looking like just as good a choice for him.

“At CU I can be just as challenged,” he said. “I just have to make sure to challenge myself.”

Although many joke that West is academically brilliant, he has his low points just like anyone else.

“I think everyone has moments that they aren’t who they wish they were,” West said. “ The day I heard I won the Boettcher I was up until 4 o’clock in the morning finishing work. I don’t know what that really means.”

thing that I wanted to do. All my high school teachers and coaches had such a big influence on me, and I wanted to do the same thing by giving back.

Q: Did you lift a lot of weights growing up?

A: I pretty much lived in the weight room. I started training in the 7th grade and I thought if I did train I would always be at a higher level that other athletes.

Q: What are your plans after you are done at Rocky?

A: I am going to go to grad school, but don’t know where yet.

I am going to be a graduate assistant coach. Right know I am looking to go to either Purdue University or Troy University to do this.

Center Section

Page B4 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Teacher’s classroom comments spark debate on appropriateness

by TIFFANY HEIEN/Reporter The recent controversy with Overland High School teacher Jay Bennish has many people asking whether or not freedom of speech should be restrained It’s only fair to the inside the students to hear classroom.

“A rule both standpoints. of thumb It’s part of the ( f o r educational process. teaching) is to not -Ben Luther, create consocial studies student teacher troversy,” Assistant Principal Brett Larsen said, “which, sometimes, is too bad.”

Bennish’s comments went a little farther than expected in his geography classroom, though, when he gave a lecture on President George Bush’s State of the Union address. In the lecture, Bennish compared Bush’s

“

”

statements with those of Adolf Hitler, and called the United States “probably the single most violent nation on Earth.”

Bennish was placed on paid administrative leave March 1, but was reinstated two days later.

According to Tustin Amole, a spokeswoman for Cherry Creek School District, officials investigated whether or not Bennish violated a policy that prevents teachers from intimidating students who hold political beliefs different from their own.

“To have pure speech, you have to have a willing audience,” social studies teacher Tom List said. “High school students are not a willing audience--they are a captive audience. A teacher has to be careful about presenting both sides.”

According to Larsen, it is the responsibility of the teachers and the school to keep all the students’

viewpoints safe.

“Teachers spend a lot of time in education classes to learn how to be ethically balanced,” Larsen said.

“Everyone does dumb things--me included. If we know of someone who’s struggling with it, we’ll let them know. If it’s a situation where, ‘Wow, that’s not right,’ …I haven’t had that conversation this year.”

According to Amole, teachers are allowed to express their opinions in the classroom, but only as long as it is in context of the material being taught and if they provide a balanced point of view.

“When it comes to politics, there needs to be a greater understanding,” social studies student teacher Ben Luther said. “You can only come to that through debate.

It’s only fair to the students to hear both standpoints. It’s part of the educational process.”

Rocky Mountain Highlighter

CENSO

RED

except if you’re a teacher or a student that is Recent Littleton H.S. case brings questions to staff

KELLY GAVIN

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SPEIGHTS

by SARAH SPEIGHTS/Features Editor

Controversial teacher known for ‘unconventional’ methods Set a time machine to a teenager’s bedroom circa 1969 and one might find himself in a strange place.

Add desks and a chalkboard, and he’s in language arts teacher Rob Richmond’s classroom.

“I send mixed messages, I guess,” Richmond said. “I have pennants of universities up and I have rock posters of people who took too many drugs and died.

“People will look at that and say, ‘he’s controversial.’”

Richmond’s classroom is quite different, but anyone can tack up some posters.

What makes him different– and what some consider controversial–is his unique

teaching philosophy.

“The delivery of my curriculum is random…and at times more personal than academic,” he said. “But I do it for the sake of relevance.”

Students tend to find little or no relevance of what they’re learning to relate to their lives. Richmond and his students believe his teaching supplies that relevance to a teen’s life.

“He talks about a book and talks about something that relates to teenagers,” said senior Sara Price. “He makes it about their lives.”

While most students find the curriculum relatable to their lives, the randomness perturbs many.

“Most of my best teaching

is indirect and probably perceived as controversial because it doesn’t address RICHMOND academic areas,” Richmond said.

“Parents and some administration want to feel that every teacher is predictable, what we call ‘on the same page.’ I clearly am not.”

Price at first struggled with this style of teaching.

“I learned differently than he taught,” she said. “We were reading great books and a lot of times it seemed we went astray from the book.”

Comedy is another aspect of Richmond’s class that students tend to find controversial. The content of his humor is perceived as inappropriate at times, but amusing.

“He talks about drugs a lot in a really funny way,” said senior Ashley Leonhard.

“Some kids may take offense to that.”

Richmond has been confronted about his humor before. However, he doesn’t allow concerns regarding his humor take away from what he does.

“I’m respectful of people when they have concerns,” Richmond said,” but it doesn’t shape what I do day to day.”

Whether it is controversial

/March 24, 2006

‘Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech...’

FREEDOM OF SPEECH: Clockwise from left, social studies teacher Kurt Knierim, Assistant Principal Brett Larsen and social studies teachers John Robinson, Jim Schmidt and Satini Liufau hold a meeting during lunch period to discuss a recent teacher freedom of speech case at Overland High School in Aurora. Recent incidents at other schools have caused the staff to question how Rocky would handle the situation.

by ARI CURTIS/ Reporter

Page B5

Kelly Gavin, Center Editor

or not, the humor is “a wonderful aspect of any class,” according to Leonhard.

“If you don’t think a class is fun, you won’t want to go,” she said. “He (Richmond) is really good at making people laugh, even if it is off topic.”

What Richmond believes is more important than the humor he brings to his class is what his students take away from it.

“In a society full of individuals, groups and institutions constantly working to mold your loyalty, all I want from my studentsand you can call it controversial-is to stand up for what they believe in,” he said. “How I get them there is unconventional to be sure.”

“If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

-GEORGE ORWELL

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”

-RALPH WALDO EMERSON

“I have fought censorship all of my adult life. To me, the most precious of all rights ...is the freedom to think, write and say whatever is on your mind...”

-LYLE STUART

In early February, Littleton High School junior Bryan Lopez was suspended for 15 days after posting comments about his school on his MySpace account.

Lopez’s account was password protected, but a friend copied and pasted the material onto their own site.

The exact contents of the post are unknown, however.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) threatened to sue the school because, according to them, “school authorities do not have the right to impose discipline for statements that students make off campus, especially when, as in this case, those statements do not cause any material disruption of the educational process.”

Lopez served only six days of his suspension before the ACLU and Littleton High School authorities reached an agreement.

“

The only time we’re concerned is when there’s a reference to a threat or a history of bad behavior.

What would happen, though, if something similar happened here?

“The only time we’re concerned is when there’s a reference to a threat or a history of bad behavior,” Assistant Principal Brett Larsen said. “We’ll look at that, then look through the student conduct book. There’s nothing that’s happened so far, but anything meeting the harassment codes is a problem.”

A current law known as the “Doctrine of Material and Substantial Disruption” is intended to make it easier for administrators to determine whether the action requires further action.

“If nobody reads it, it’s not a problem,” Larsen said. “But

-Brett Larsen, assistant principal

”

if 10 people come to school the next day talking about ‘oh, did you see what this person said; did you hear what they’re going to do,’ then it’s a disruption.”

“Everybody has a right to their opinion, as long as they aren’t endangering themselves or other students,” said Assistant Principal Marian Kolstoe. “If it’s something like ‘Rocky sucks,’ we can’t do anything about it but try to make a better environ-ment.”

One of the biggest issues with posting things on public sites such as MySpace is that nobody can ever know who, exactly, will be looking at what they’ve posted.

“We’re completely aware of the Rocky community on

MySpace,” Larsen said. “We don’t necessarily monitor it, but we’re aware of it.”

Basically, if a student is posting threats against other students, the school in general, or threatening to hurt themselves, there is cause for the administration to look into it further. Whether or not the student is suspended depends on the student book of conduct.

Just this year, a new section was added under the heading of “harassment of students,” which can include threats posed to students on personal websites.

The section states that “remedial and/or disciplinary actions shall include measures designed to stop the harassment, correct its negative impact on the affected student, and ensure that the harassment does not recur.”

This can extend so far as to suspending a student, if necessary.

Center Section

Page B4 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

/March 24, 2006

Teacher’s classroom comments spark debate on appropriateness

by TIFFANY HEIEN/Reporter The recent controversy with Overland High School teacher Jay Bennish has many people asking whether or not freedom of speech should be restrained It’s only fair to the inside the students to hear classroom.

“A rule both standpoints. of thumb It’s part of the ( f o r educational process. teaching) is to not -Ben Luther, create consocial studies student teacher troversy,” Assistant Principal Brett Larsen said, “which, sometimes, is too bad.”

Bennish’s comments went a little farther than expected in his geography classroom, though, when he gave a lecture on President George Bush’s State of the Union address. In the lecture, Bennish compared Bush’s

“

”

statements with those of Adolf Hitler, and called the United States “probably the single most violent nation on Earth.”

Bennish was placed on paid administrative leave March 1, but was reinstated two days later.

According to Tustin Amole, a spokeswoman for Cherry Creek School District, officials investigated whether or not Bennish violated a policy that prevents teachers from intimidating students who hold political beliefs different from their own.

“To have pure speech, you have to have a willing audience,” social studies teacher Tom List said. “High school students are not a willing audience--they are a captive audience. A teacher has to be careful about presenting both sides.”

According to Larsen, it is the responsibility of the teachers and the school to keep all the students’

viewpoints safe.

“Teachers spend a lot of time in education classes to learn how to be ethically balanced,” Larsen said.

“Everyone does dumb things--me included. If we know of someone who’s struggling with it, we’ll let them know. If it’s a situation where, ‘Wow, that’s not right,’ …I haven’t had that conversation this year.”

According to Amole, teachers are allowed to express their opinions in the classroom, but only as long as it is in context of the material being taught and if they provide a balanced point of view.

“When it comes to politics, there needs to be a greater understanding,” social studies student teacher Ben Luther said. “You can only come to that through debate.

It’s only fair to the students to hear both standpoints. It’s part of the educational process.”

Rocky Mountain Highlighter

CENSO

RED

except if you’re a teacher or a student that is Recent Littleton H.S. case brings questions to staff

KELLY GAVIN

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SPEIGHTS

by SARAH SPEIGHTS/Features Editor

Controversial teacher known for ‘unconventional’ methods Set a time machine to a teenager’s bedroom circa 1969 and one might find himself in a strange place.

Add desks and a chalkboard, and he’s in language arts teacher Rob Richmond’s classroom.

“I send mixed messages, I guess,” Richmond said. “I have pennants of universities up and I have rock posters of people who took too many drugs and died.

“People will look at that and say, ‘he’s controversial.’”

Richmond’s classroom is quite different, but anyone can tack up some posters.

What makes him different– and what some consider controversial–is his unique

teaching philosophy.

“The delivery of my curriculum is random…and at times more personal than academic,” he said. “But I do it for the sake of relevance.”

Students tend to find little or no relevance of what they’re learning to relate to their lives. Richmond and his students believe his teaching supplies that relevance to a teen’s life.

“He talks about a book and talks about something that relates to teenagers,” said senior Sara Price. “He makes it about their lives.”

While most students find the curriculum relatable to their lives, the randomness perturbs many.

“Most of my best teaching

is indirect and probably perceived as controversial because it doesn’t address RICHMOND academic areas,” Richmond said.

“Parents and some administration want to feel that every teacher is predictable, what we call ‘on the same page.’ I clearly am not.”

Price at first struggled with this style of teaching.

“I learned differently than he taught,” she said. “We were reading great books and a lot of times it seemed we went astray from the book.”

Comedy is another aspect of Richmond’s class that students tend to find controversial. The content of his humor is perceived as inappropriate at times, but amusing.

“He talks about drugs a lot in a really funny way,” said senior Ashley Leonhard.

“Some kids may take offense to that.”

Richmond has been confronted about his humor before. However, he doesn’t allow concerns regarding his humor take away from what he does.

“I’m respectful of people when they have concerns,” Richmond said,” but it doesn’t shape what I do day to day.”

Whether it is controversial

/March 24, 2006

‘Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech...’

FREEDOM OF SPEECH: Clockwise from left, social studies teacher Kurt Knierim, Assistant Principal Brett Larsen and social studies teachers John Robinson, Jim Schmidt and Satini Liufau hold a meeting during lunch period to discuss a recent teacher freedom of speech case at Overland High School in Aurora. Recent incidents at other schools have caused the staff to question how Rocky would handle the situation.

by ARI CURTIS/ Reporter

Page B5

Kelly Gavin, Center Editor

or not, the humor is “a wonderful aspect of any class,” according to Leonhard.

“If you don’t think a class is fun, you won’t want to go,” she said. “He (Richmond) is really good at making people laugh, even if it is off topic.”

What Richmond believes is more important than the humor he brings to his class is what his students take away from it.

“In a society full of individuals, groups and institutions constantly working to mold your loyalty, all I want from my studentsand you can call it controversial-is to stand up for what they believe in,” he said. “How I get them there is unconventional to be sure.”

“If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

-GEORGE ORWELL

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”

-RALPH WALDO EMERSON

“I have fought censorship all of my adult life. To me, the most precious of all rights ...is the freedom to think, write and say whatever is on your mind...”

-LYLE STUART

In early February, Littleton High School junior Bryan Lopez was suspended for 15 days after posting comments about his school on his MySpace account.

Lopez’s account was password protected, but a friend copied and pasted the material onto their own site.

The exact contents of the post are unknown, however.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) threatened to sue the school because, according to them, “school authorities do not have the right to impose discipline for statements that students make off campus, especially when, as in this case, those statements do not cause any material disruption of the educational process.”

Lopez served only six days of his suspension before the ACLU and Littleton High School authorities reached an agreement.

“

The only time we’re concerned is when there’s a reference to a threat or a history of bad behavior.

What would happen, though, if something similar happened here?

“The only time we’re concerned is when there’s a reference to a threat or a history of bad behavior,” Assistant Principal Brett Larsen said. “We’ll look at that, then look through the student conduct book. There’s nothing that’s happened so far, but anything meeting the harassment codes is a problem.”

A current law known as the “Doctrine of Material and Substantial Disruption” is intended to make it easier for administrators to determine whether the action requires further action.

“If nobody reads it, it’s not a problem,” Larsen said. “But

-Brett Larsen, assistant principal

”

if 10 people come to school the next day talking about ‘oh, did you see what this person said; did you hear what they’re going to do,’ then it’s a disruption.”

“Everybody has a right to their opinion, as long as they aren’t endangering themselves or other students,” said Assistant Principal Marian Kolstoe. “If it’s something like ‘Rocky sucks,’ we can’t do anything about it but try to make a better environ-ment.”

One of the biggest issues with posting things on public sites such as MySpace is that nobody can ever know who, exactly, will be looking at what they’ve posted.

“We’re completely aware of the Rocky community on

MySpace,” Larsen said. “We don’t necessarily monitor it, but we’re aware of it.”

Basically, if a student is posting threats against other students, the school in general, or threatening to hurt themselves, there is cause for the administration to look into it further. Whether or not the student is suspended depends on the student book of conduct.

Just this year, a new section was added under the heading of “harassment of students,” which can include threats posed to students on personal websites.

The section states that “remedial and/or disciplinary actions shall include measures designed to stop the harassment, correct its negative impact on the affected student, and ensure that the harassment does not recur.”

This can extend so far as to suspending a student, if necessary.

Limelight Glass staff looking for new, creative layout

Page B6

Rocky Mountain Highlighter

by TIFFANY HEIEN/Reporter With the submission deadline behind them, the Looking Glass staff has a few more challenges to overcome before the release date set for May 12.

“Our biggest goal,” co-advisor Colleen Christie said, “is to keep the quality of what we had last year while making (this year’s issue) our own.”

The Looking Glass is a student produced literary magazine that publishes student fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, music, paintings, drawings and any other creative works that address common issues and problems of high school students.

/March 24, 2006

According to Christie, over 300 pieces of poetry, between 50 and 100 fiction and non-fiction stories, and 50 pieces of art were submitted this year by students.

The deadline for submissions was Feb. 4, and pieces were selected by a staff of seven “readers.”

This includes one editor each for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and art categories, three music and marketing students, and four copy design and layout students. Editors make the final decisions.

“One of the things we’ve struggled with is picking pieces when there’s so much talent at Rocky,” Christie said.

The Looking Glass staff now has

to select 40 pieces of poetry, five to 10 pieces each of fiction and nonfiction, and is still undecided on the number of art pieces they will pick.

Students whose pieces were selected were notified the last week of February. They will receive a free copy of the Looking Glass at the release party in May. According to co-advisor Maurissa Moore, this year’s issue will include more music, more art, and will be “more visually appealing.”

However, the co-advisors were reluctant to discuss the theme of the magazine.

“It’s going to be an extremely creative format,” Moore said. “We don’t want to tell anyone.”

TIFFANY HEIEN

LOOKING FOR ART: Senior Lauren Thomas and juniors Leah Vendl, Lander Hultin and Jessiann Schrader look over a submission to the Looking Glass. The release date for the magazine is set for May 12.

Vendetta mysterious, bold masterpiece

by SCOTT MERRILL/Reporter V for Vendetta, starring Natalie Portman and The Matrix’s Hugo Weaving, is a bold and intriguing tale of one man’s quest to liberate his country from the oppressive hands of its corrupt government.

The movie takes place in the future in Britain. During this time, Britain is under control of a totalitarian government and a suppressive dictator. The country’s citizens have no personal freedoms and government-implemented censorships and curfews control all aspects of their lives.

The story first starts building when a woman named Evey (Portman) is outside after curfew and is caught by two policemen who begin to threaten her. A masked man then appears and comes to the rescue of Evey. At this

REBEL: “V” (Hugo Weaving) threatens Adam Sutler (John Hurt) in new movie release V for Vendetta .

The movie tells the story of “V,” who is trying to overthrow future Britain’s dictative government.

Movie Review M R point of the movie, viewers find out that the masked man is known simply as “V” (Weaving).

As the movie progresses, more and more is found out about the mysterious man V. Viewers find out that he is trying to ignite a rebellion in Britain and free its citizens from the restricting controls of its dictatorship. His plans for tearing down the government continue to unfold as the movie gets farther along.

The rest of the movie from this point on revolves around V’s plan for a better country. Along with this main plot also lies an intense subplot about V and his relationship with Evey.

The movie has countless subtle twists that leave the viewer

©WARNER BROTHERS

guessing for what comes next.

The acting in the movie is extremely well done and Weaving and Portman create an outstanding duo. Weaving has an Oscarwinning performance and was perfect in the role as a radical hero.

The dialogue is what really made the movie, though. The writing for the movie carried the story and

made the whole plot. It was powerful and manipulated emotions with dominant speeches and hard-hitting monologues.

One of the biggest elements of the movie is the action. With any movie that involves toppling an establishment, there is bound to be explosions, and believe me, there was no lack of that in Vendetta.

The movie is full of high-speed, high-intense action scenes. Some fight sequences of Weaving’s are Jackie Chan worthy in the fact that they are full of extremely well choreographed martial art sequences. Explosions, gun fire and hand to hand combat add a new level of intensity to the movie.

After watching the 132-minute movie, awe set in. One usually doesn’t see a movie that was as well written and thought-provoking as Vendetta . The movie’s greatness is far beyond anything that can be put into words.

A high recommend to see V for Vendetta goes out to anyone who doesn’t mind a bit of blood and gore. The movie is rated R for strong violence and some language.

GRADE: A+ A+ GRADE:

Limelight

Page B7 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

Radio from page B8 Metallica B-Side song: No one has heard of that or knows what it is.”

Beano’s shift, which lasts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekdays, targets the majority of people at the office who, according to him, aren’t really listening for the bands or for the music. They turn the radio on just to have it on and to hear songs they know. Teens tend to focus on the actual music being played.

“When I was in middle school I was too punk rock for everything,” Beano said. “The second a band started to sell records it was crap.

(Since I’ve started) radio I’ve developed a collective taste in music. I have a little of everything from Chuck Berry to Metallica to Bob Seger. It’s a musical train wreck.”

Along with expanding his taste in music, Beano has also become much more involved with pop culture.

“I have to (research) new albums, tours and break-ups,” Beano said.

“It’s all about preparation. I want to have content on the air other than ‘hey, what’s up?’”

In addition to researching music, Beano also spends time looking through the newspaper for local events to tell listeners about, working on advertising and updating The Point’s website.

“There is always something to do,” Beano said.

All the work the DJs put into the station and their shifts does pay off, however. Beano said that because

/March 24, 2006

Matchbook Romance’s new CD Voices offers perfect mix of screamo, melody

by RYAN WUEST/Reporter Third time’s a charm for Matchbook Romance with the recent release of their new CD, Voices.

As a follow up of their last fulllength album Stories and Alibis, there is no disappointment in this.

Starting out, Matchbook Romance was just a small band known as The Getaway only having two members at the time: Ryan Kienle, who plays the bass guitar, and Andrew Jordan, who takes over lead vocals while playing the guitar. To become who they are now, they added a third guitarist, Ryan DePaolo, and drummer Aaron Stern.

To get their name out into the public, the band posted messages and songs on MP3.com and other internet sites, while managing their own website.

From there, the big man of Epitaph Records, Brett Gurewitz, saw how enthusiastic the band was, listened to one of their songs and called to make a deal with the band.

Due to legalities they changed their name and became the band they are now, Matchbook Romance.

In their previous album Stories and Alibis the band managed to

CD R Review

LAUREL KESSLER

ON THE AIR: Beano, one of the DJs at local station 99.9 The Point, makes an announcement to listeners on upcoming songs to be played.

“

You won’t always get the job you want (in radio) so you’ve got to be open.

Don’t just walk in thinking you are going to be the next Howard Stern.

-Beano, DJ at 99.9 The Point

”

“the records are all about pimping their bands and giving them exposure” he can get on guest lists.

“I (meet) a lot of local bands like Twelve Cents for Marvin and Roger

Clyne,” Beano said. “On my birthday I got backstage with Green Day and got their autographs.”

To Beano, though, the greatest benefit is all the promotional CDs artists send to the studio.

“My CD collection has skyrocketed since working here (at The Point),” Beano said.

For those interested in getting a start in radio as an intern, Beano offers some very useful advice.

“Get involved in radio because you love it,” Beano said. “Also, try different things. There are dozens of opportunities. You won’t always get the job you want so you’ve got to be open.

“Don’t just walk in thinking you are going to be the next Howard Stern.”

Future from page B8

Death from page B8

radio is not practical anymore because music is becoming more available through other sources.

“I think that radio will slowly become obsolete, but will still be broadcast,” Sorensen said. “It will just slowly lose listeners. Music is becoming more and more available for the masses through other sources and as it does, radio will slowly fade from view.”

Still, senior Alexis Wakefield said she thinks that although radio’s popularity is certainly waning, it will still be around and available in the future.

“I don’t think it’s declining enough to where it’s going to go away,” Wakefield said.

The recent development of satellite radio (also referred to as digital radio) does seem to be gaining listeners and some believe that this will be what replaces the current system of broadcasting.

“I think more people will start switching to satellite radio,” McDonald said, “because it doesn’t have any commercials.”

(Sawyer),” Cron said. “I know that he will do great.”

This still, however, left Sawyer’s original role empty, which has now been filled by senior John Cook.

“I can’t very well play that (the part of Smith),” Sawyer said. “He’s only in one scene, but that’s with Willy.”

In addition to these casting problems, there is still the issue of the play being a very difficult one to perform.

Originally, Cron was going to put on a Shakespearean play, but she “wasn’t really interested in performing (Shakespeare).”

Instead, Cron chose to do a play which is very difficult, especially in a high school setting.

Fast facts about radio Speedy: Radio travels at 186,000 miles per second.

-www.windows.ucar.edu History: In 1901, the first radio receiver successfully received a radio transmission.

-www.encyclopedia.com Power: Howard Stern is the highest-paid radio personality in America: He makes $77,000 a day.

-www.tv.com Driving: Car radios reach four out of five adults

-www.nab.org In the house: An average U.S. household has 5.6 radio receivers

-www.newsgeneration.com

Digital radio uses satellites to beam a signal of near CD quality audio to a radio receiver from space, which is both convenient and practical in today’s world.

Whatever the future of radio, there will always be an interest in music and audio entertainment, and people will find a way to make it available.

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VOICES: Originally starting as a two person band called The Getaway, Matchbook Romance has developed a dark and mysterious sound on their new album named Voices.

make a bridge between pop, punk and screamo. In Voices, they still managed to keep the bridge standing strong, even with having less screamo.

The vocals give a different feel to the music than other bands, with it sounding mysterious and slightly dark. From the 11 tracks on the album, their single, “Monsters” rocks out with a catchy beat in their intro, and a catchy chorus. They also provide a softer sound with the song “Say It Like You Mean It.” If you liked the last album and don’t mind long intros, then Voices is worth the money to go out and get. It will provide a new feel of who Matchbook Romance is, and shows that they can keep producing good music.

GRADE: B

Top Ten Reasons to take the CSAP tests

“

I think we’ll be able to overcome this and produce a great show, because our theatre department kicks a**.

-Trent Sawyer, senior

”

“It (the play) is definitely going to be a challenge,” Sawyer said.

“But with the shows Rocky’s theatre department has produced, I think we’ll be able to overcome this and produce a great show, because our theatre department kicks a**.”

10. You don’t have a choice if you’re a sophomore.

9. They are the only required tests colleges do not look at.

8. You learn how to do tricks with pencils you never thought you could do once you finish.

7. You can make a superb decision on who to pick in the big game with the multiple choice answer sheet.

6. You can bubble in pictures on the answer sheet.

5. You can write ANYTHING on the essay section.

4. You can meet all of the kids with the same last initial as yours.

3. When someone passes wind, there is no guessing game.

2. After you finish the test, you get good introspective time.

1. Complementary snacks.

Compiled by Steve Underwood, Weston Ackerman and Patrick Noonan.

Yellow Submarine sinks into stomachs

by STEVE UNDERWOOD/Reporter and WESTON ACKERMAN/Reporter When one walks into the Yellow Submarine, it becomes very apparent very fast that this is not the average fast food place.

In fact, it is not fast food at all, with their motto being, “If you get your food in under 10 minutes, it will be a miracle.”

Not only does the Yellow Sub have great food, but also the atmosphere is what sets in first.

Some days it is very busy and others it is not busy at all. No matter the amount of people, it is a very quiet atmosphere with everybody attending to their own business.

Some will have a quiet conversation with friends or loved ones and others will be working on their work or studies. It also

Food Review Review Food

STEVE UNDERWOOD

SUBS: The Yellow Submarine offers a variety of food including “Them Things”: deep fried pastry bread with melted mozzarella cheese.

has a very diverse age group with the retired elderly, the working man or woman and the student, either of college or high school.

Once you begin to peruse the chalkboard menu, you will realize that not only do they serve submarine sandwiches, but burgers, hot sandwiches and appetizers. The best appetizer they serve is: “Them Things.”

“Them Things” are deep fried, pastry bread, with melted mozzarella cheese in the middle.

And they were a very delicious way to start the meal. You dip, “Them Things” in salsa and when you bite into them, the cheese just starts to ooze out.

After eating your “Them Things,” the hamburger with fries, either regular or spicy fries, for about $5 is suggested.

Also recommend are the spicy fries with the hamburger. They are similar to the Arby’s curly fry, but the Yellow Sub’s taste better and have a tiny bite to them.

These fries are particularly good with a little mustard on the side.

The Yellow Sub is located off of Taft Hill Road in the King Sooper’s shopping area.

GRADE: B

Looking Glass staff looks for talent, Page B6 Rocky Mountain Highlighter

Limelight Laurel Kessler, Limelight Editor

/March 24, 2006

Page B8

Actors, singers should stick to one ‘talent’ Is it just me or should actresses stick to acting and singers stick to singing?

Lately, it seems as if anyone with mediocre talent in one area pushes their luck in the other.

I think this terrible phenomenon dates back to Nov. 8, 1994, when Shaq, whose main achievement is in basketball, “recorded” 12 songs, put them on a CD and tried to sell it to the public.

Two years later, he decided to go ahead and make a movie, Kazaam, which saw about as much success as his album: little to none.

Some advice to Shaq: learn how to shoot free throws, then act and sing.

As if this wasn’t bad enough for the American public, actresses/singers Lindsey Lohan and Hilary Duff tried to follow the same path as Shaq, but have had the same results up to this point.

Lohan started off her career with a little respect in 1998 with a starring role in Parent Trap with Dennis Quaid. Then moved to pursue such movies as Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Herbie: Fully Loaded.

After Lohan seemingly settled on acting as a career, she moved to making music and came out with the albums Speak and A Little More Personal.

In my opinion, she should quit both and go to her local McDonald’s and pick up an application.

Now, moving on to Duff. Her path hasn’t been much different.

She was best known for her starring roll on the Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire, but also seems to be making noise and putting it on an album. At some point, she came out with a “debut album” called Metamorphosis.

I didn’t mind Duff before I knew about her. And my advice to her is similar to Lohan’s except try the local sports bar; she might be able to make some decent tips as a waitress.

So, if any of the people reading this ever become a famous actor, music artist or athlete, stick to the thing that made you famous and save the rest of us from any extremely lousy attempts at doing something else.

Trent Wahlfeldt is a senior and Sports Editor for the Highlighter.

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Wahfizzle

R i

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Trent Wahlfeldt

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SCOTT MERRILL

Radio more than just 51% voice behind speakers of students say they dislike the radio

because there are

by LAUREL KESSLER/Limelight Editor From the beginnings of radio in the early 1900s to today, with over 27,000 broadcast stations in the U.S. alone, the radio has always been a part of human entertainment.

But, due to the imelight page spark of special popularity with iPods and MP3 players, has the radio’s popularity decreased among young people? “(There is) probably a decrease because iPods can be hooked up to stereos; they are small, compact and have good sound quality,” said sophomore Josh Robinson. “I like having control over the songs I listen to.”

However, according to one local DJ, Beano, of 99.9 The Point, there will always be a place for radio.

“With the local stations, there is that local feel,” Beano said. “iPods can’t tell you there is free coffee down the street, about traffic backups, about great new songs or bands or collect money for charities.”

L

Another reason the radio has lost some popularity with teens is the constantly repeating playlists, according to Robinson.

“By overplaying it way too much, it makes a song crappy real quick,” Robinson said. “I heard Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ every 10 minutes (when it first came out).”

“I can’t stand stations that play the same music over and over again,” agrees junior Lucas West.

DJs like those at The Point aren’t oblivious to overplayed songs.

They have a target audience from 18-34 year olds and, Beano said, to please this very diverse group of listeners is a “giant juggling act.”

“The best example I have is when the new Nickelback song came out,” Beano said. “We played it 70 to 80 times a week, and I still got at least five calls a shift asking ‘can you play that Nickelback song?’

We try to get music most of the people will enjoy. Otherwise we would be playing some ’84

Jump to RADIO, page B7

too many

Grim or glorious: Future uncertain for radio

commercials.

by SETH SECRIST/Reporter

54% of students say they listen to their iPods as an alternative to the radio.

38% of students say they only listen to the radio every once in awhile.

46% of students say that they mainly listen to local radio station

Before the invention of the television and the computer, radio was one of the only affordable forms of entertainment.

Whether used for listening to music, talk shows or even getting live coverage of events, radio has always been useful and entertaining.

With the technology available today, however, one may begin to question the future of radio. The availability of music and entertainment in other mediums has risen in popularity and pushed the practical nature of radio to the side. Programs for buying and downloading individual songs and even entire CDs give people the ability to hear what they want with just a click.

But there are still those who do listen to the radio. A lot of people do, in fact. However, those people seem to do so mostly while driving.

“I think less people listen to the radio these days,” senior Cat McDonald said, “which is most likely due to iPods and MP3 players. Especially at home, no one really listens to the radio anymore.

But I listen to it everyday in my car.”

Sophomore Josh Sorensen said that he thinks

99.9 The Point.

Jump to FUTURE, page B7 (352 students surveyed)

Salesman cast death defying

by SARAH SPEIGHTS/Features Editor This year’s spring play Death of a Salesman has itself been near death several times now.

Due to scheduling difficulties, two members of the cast were forced to quit after the original March 25 opening night was changed to April 26.

“When the cast was still original, we kept moving back the date,” said senior Trent Sawyer, originally cast in the role of Howard Smith, the boss to leading role Willy Loman.

Sawyer has now been recast as Loman. “There was a lot of scheduling conflict. We were unable to even find a consistent time to rehearse.”

Before the date change, the cast only had five weeks allotted to

“prepare a show harder than any show any other school does,” according to senior Jacob Thompson.

Thompson was originally cast in the part of Loman. Due to problems in his own life, though, he decided to quit the show.

“I apologize to everyone for having to make that decision (to quit the play),” Thompson said.

“But I ultimately made it by myself so I guess I just have to wish everybody the best of luck.”

Since the time Thompson quit, the play’s director, drama teacher Larissa Cron, has held auditions to fill the parts left empty. Sawyer was then recast as Loman.

“I have complete trust in him

Jump to DEATH, page B7

COLIN WEST

DEATH AND DRAMA: Senior Jon Greany, sophomores Darby Sample and Ethan Dickinson, and senior Shanley Cunniff do some on-stage practice for the upcoming play Death of a Salesman, scheduled for April 26, 27, and 28.