Rocky Mountain Highlighter: 2012 March

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the rocky mountain

Rocky Mountain High School March 30, 2012 Volume 39, No. 7

Various male teachers and administrators display their painted toenails, sandals and heels in the Commons on Feb. 29.

Their foot attire was a reward to the students for successfully raising over 8,000 pairs of shoes in the Key Club sponsored shoe drive for Soles4Souls.

Cassa Niedringhaus

Graphic Illustration by Reanna Nelson

the

Side SHOW

HANDCUFF HIJINKS At various NYC schools, the NYPD is testing out Velcro handcuffs as a gentler alternative to traditional metal handcuffs.

Police claim that the cuffs are still only to be used in extreme circumstances, but opponents of the Velcro handcuffs maintain that “handcuffing by any other name is still handcuffing.”

UTAH BILL VETOED Utah Governor Gary Hubert vetoed a bill that would have prohibited “instruction or the advocacy of the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior; homosexuality; contraceptive methods or devices; or sexual activity outside of marriage.” It had passed in both the House and Senate but Hubert said that he thought that parents should be allowed to choose what their children are taught about sexuality, and the government should not dictate it.

QUOTE OF THE ISSUE We have the capabilities of being a good team, we’ve got all the tools. It just depends if we want to go out there and try to win it, or just sit back and let it take us for a ride - Cale O’Donnell, junior about the baseball team

Collegiate Conundrum

Inconclusive that exit tests reduce remediation

Recent High School Graduates Requiring Remediation - Two Year Public Institutions (CO) WRITING 40.1%

by Isaac Effner Editorial Editor

Picture a giant exam that covers all you have learned in high school and if you fail it you can’t graduate.

This is the idea behind the evidence-based, or accountabilitybased, approach that is used in about half of the states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

“The tests were a legislative decision,” Nevada Department of Education Program Manager Henry King said. “No Child Left Behind required states to come up with their own requirements and it was decided that the tests would be used.”

The tests are not designed to cause students to fail but to ensure that all students are properly prepared for other exams and for college classes. However there is a lack of evidence that shows that the graduation tests are more effective than Colorado’s graduation requirements.

These exams also attempt to stop students from taking easy classes and coasting through high school,

Jump to TEST, page A2

4.7% 10.3%

6.3% 18.7%

14.3%

45.7%

1.5%

2.4%

28.9% READING

MATH

41.8% not assigned remediation

Recent High School Graduates Requiring Remediation - Four Year Public Institutions (CO) WRITING 9.5%

4.7%

2.2%

3.5%

1.1% 2.7%

9.4%

16.3%

MATH

0.7%

0.9%

5.4% READING

79.5% not assigned remediation Information courtesy of the CO 2011 Legislative Report on Remedial Education

State combats rising remediation rates using various methods

by Cassa Niedringhaus Editor-In-Chief

In a startling report released by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, there was an 11 percent increase in Colorado’s high school graduates that require remediation in college, which evokes the question: what does a high school diploma truly mean?

In the 2011 Legislative Report on Remedial Education released by the Colorado Commission on front Higher Education pecial (CCHE) on Feb. 7, it was found that 44.9 percent of males and 55.08 percent of females attending Colorado colleges required remedial classes in the 2011 school year. These staggering figures are a concern for Colorado educators because students who require remedial courses are less likely to earn their degrees.

“It (a high school diploma) doesn’t suggest anything about being ready for college,” said Bob Schaffer, Colorado State Board of Education member and principal of Liberty Common High School.

“A high school diploma today just means you sat in a chair in a school for a certain amount of time and for a certain, requisite number of courses that the district may require. But as far as the quality of the graduate, the

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diploma doesn’t mean anything other than you’ve spent the right amount of time.

“And that’s why SAT scores and ACT scores are A high school valuable diploma today because a diploma just means you doesn’t mean sat in a chair the same thing districtin a school to-district, for a certain much less state-to-state. amount of Colleges can’t time and rely on just a certain, a diploma, or even a requisite GPA for number of that matter, because of courses that the dramatic the district differences from one may require. school district Bob Schaffer, to another.

Board of Education And so there’s an effort by the state now to try to burnish the currency of a diploma so that it has a common value.”

For Rocky specifically, 25 percent of graduates attending Colorado colleges required remedi-

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Jump to CO, page A2

A2 March 30, 2012

the news rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Teacher lost in woods for night

by Alex Creighton Reporter

Note to potential hikers: always go where you tell people you are going and always take a buddy.

The last weekend of spring break, technology teacher David Weber went hiking near Eagle’s Nest Open Space, about 15 miles north of Fort Collins and close to the town of Livermore.

“I packed my lunch and stuff but we finished pretty early in the day so I decided to go hike around near some property that we were looking at buying,” Weber said, a Florida transplant. “My mistake was ►David Weber that I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.”

Weber spent a few hours hiking in the Cherokee Park area, 12 miles north and west of Eagle’s Nest, with his dog and eventually ended up near Halligan Reservoir. When he started to head back to his car, he realized he did not know where he was or which direction he needed to go.

He hiked around for a little while, and since he was not wearing a watch, he took pictures with his digital camera in order to check the time.

Originally, he hunkered down near a river and was planning on staying there but could not stay still.

“It was at that point that I should have started backtracking,” Weber said. “But I didn’t; I kept going in what I thought was the right direction. It was about 4 o’clock before I allowed myself to look at the dog and say, ‘Dude, we’re lost.’”

As a result, Weber was forced to spend the night outside with his dog Riley, an 11-month-old, 50-pound Australian Shepherd.

Obviously scared for his safety, Alison Weber, David’s wife, called fellow technology teacher Robert Ufer at about 2:30 a.m. Immediately, Ufer began rallying other teachers at Rocky to begin a search for David.

“She and her son, Chris Weber, were scared to death,” Ufer said. “So

I got up at 2:30 a.m. and went and composed an e-mail to the staff and sent the e-mail around 3:30. I then left my house with a giant spotlight and my first thought was that he was in Owl Canyon, which would be on the way from his house to where he was going hiking.”

Meanwhile, Weber curled up with his dog and began what he called the longest night of his life.

He used the dog’s body heat to keep warm and was rationing his food to make sure he would have enough if worse came to worst. Among his food were milkbone dog bones and dehydrated turkey dog treats.

“I was prepared to eat the dog food,” Weber said. “If I would have been out there longer, I would have been eating chicken turkey with the dog.”

At 4 a.m. Ufer went to Owl Canyon and spent the next three hours looking around with his spotlight before sending a call to Principal Tom Lopez at 6 a.m. Lopez immediately started the call chain to alert all the teachers to Weber’s situation.

“Everyone knew we were meeting up at Livermore Elementary School, and I said I would be there at 7,” Ufer said. “At 7, Chris showed up shortly followed by Brett Larsen (assistant principal). Within a couple hours, there were 15 vehicles with two people per vehicle looking through various places.”

That’s when art teacher Laura Cronen stumbled across Weber, who had found his way back to his truck by mid-morning.

“I had one of those moments where it was like tunnel vision and I could see into his windshield,” Cronen said. “I saw his face and said, ‘That’s him!’ We turned around and started following him and chasing him and flashing our lights and honking our horn. Finally, he stopped, and I pulled up next to him and I just said, ‘Dave, what happened?’ And he said, ‘I was lost.’”

“When I saw her (Cronen’s) face in the window, it was probably one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen,” David said. “I had no idea that my Rocky family was out there looking for me.”

If you get lost in the woods: ► Do not separate from your friend or pet. You can share body heat. ► Do not wander. It makes search and rescue more difficult. ► Keep warm. Cover exposed skin and your head. ► Put out a bright marker of some kind to catch the attention of searchers. ► If a search plane flies overhead, lie on the ground to make yourself look bigger. Don’t stay on the ground. ► Do not lie on the ground. Use leaves to create a ‘mattress’ to protect yourself from losing body heat to the ground. ► Do not eat strange foods. ► Stay away from large rivers and lakes so that you do not fall in.

Courtesy of the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force

CO

from page A1 ation in both the 2011 and 2010 reports.

Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia, who is also the Executive Director of the CCHE, attributed the rising rates of remediation to a misalignment between K-12 and postsecondary education, rather than poor teaching.

“No, this report is not an indictment of the K-12 public education system in Colorado nor does it suggest that K-12 teachers are not fulfilling their jobs,” he said. “There are numerous reasons why some students need remediation when they enter college. Most of the growth in the K-12 system in the past decade has been from the most at-risk population of lower income students that are more likely to face challenges in academic attainment. Misalignment of admission and remedial policies is part of the cause for higher remediation rates, too.”

The report is being used to inform the state and the public about the progress that is being made in education and to help identify which school districts and programs are most successful. The state is working on various strategies now to combat this misalignment and reduce remediation rates.

“Senate Bill 08-212 (CAP4K) set a basis for P-20 alignment,” Garcia said. “DHE (Department of Higher Education) is currently supporting HB12-1155 (Improvements in College Completion), which will help further align strategies already being implemented and underway.

According to Garcia, House Bill 12-1155 (Improvements in College Completion), if passed, will help to mainstream students that don’t require a full remedial sequence of classes. It will instead give them the opportunity to receive supplemental academic instruction while taking regular courses.

Additionally, Garcia said that the Colorado Department of Higher Education has received grants from donors such as the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors that will be used to help align standards between K-12 and postsecondary education.

Schaffer said that this alignment is aided by a better cooperation between the Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the Department of Education than in past years. The DHE deals with postsecondary education and the Department of Education

Even though socalled experts down in Denver at CCHE and the Department of Education and legislature are talking about these issues, I think regular citizens and taxpayers should not expect a lot from politicians and bureaucrats.

“

Scott Douglas, Lakeville South High School principal

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deals with K-12 education, so he said increased communication between the agencies is beneficial.

“So, the Department of Higher Education is having more input as to what state standards should be, what the state assessments should be and what other assessments are going to be relevant so that a high school diploma means that you’re either career-ready or college-ready,” Schaffer said.

Here in Fort Collins, Front Range Community College (FRCC) and Poudre School District are both working on additional solutions to improve the transition from K-12 education to postsecondary education.

“FRCC tries to work with the K-12 system to align the curriculum,” chair of the mathematics department at the Larimer campus of FRCC, Nancy Casten said. “However, our curriculum is established by a state curriculum committee with standard competencies and objectives. We do try to maintain contact with the secondary system in Fort Collins and even offer some concurrent enrollment classes. These are FRCC math classes that are taught by high school faculty so that the students may earn both college and high school credit.”

Poudre School District Superintendent Jerry Wilson agreed that the concurrent enrollment classes offered are beneficial.

“One way to better align curriculum is to have more concurrent enrollment opportunities for high school students, especially where the high school teacher 60.00% 55.08% teaches the college curriculum,” Wilson said.

44.9% “Then, students are 40.00% assured that the assessments and instruction are at a college level.”

Wilson also said 20.00% that the district has a goal that all students be postsecondary ready by the time they 0.00% graduate. The district Female Male hopes to ensure this by Information courtesy of the CO 2011 Legislative Report on Remedial Education expecting all students to complete at least one Advanced Placement or concurrent enrollment class to challenge themselves and better prepare for postsecondary education.

“Our measure of success is that a

Remediation by Gender 2011

Test

from page A1 by keeping them accountable with statewide tests. They are not created by an average that passes and fails half of the students, but measures student development through the high school career.

“The overarching point is that these tests are equated on a criteria scale not on a percentage,” King said.

These tests, along with regular test requirements, are often tested over a number of years and measuring varies from state to state.

“We have three tests that we call the grad tests,” Minnesota Dept. of Education’s testing and research division member Mary Joe Swanson said. “In ninth grade we have reading, in tenth

student completes a postsecondaryready class like AP or concurrent enrollment,” Wilson said. “I believe if parents and students took this to heart and planned for completing an AP class in math and English we would have fewer graduates requiring remediation. My belief is that postsecondary readiness also requires that students have support to be successful.”

Another solution that may be considered is a requisite exit test for high schoolers in order to graduate.

As of now, these tests are not used in Colorado but Wilson said the district is implementing end-of-course assessments in core classes. The tests will be classroom-based and teachers will be able to include the tests as part of class grades.

Math teacher Todd Pfeifer said that he would fully back an exit test.

He said he believes that it would be a higher-stakes test that students would take more seriously. Especially for math, he also said that a cumulative, capstone class during students’ senior year would help them to prepare for such an exit test and for college.

“It would help to bring back together everything students have learned,” Pfeiffer said.

In the CCHE remedial reports, math is consistently the subject that requires the most remediation in college. Pfeiffer said that a capstone class and an exit test would help students to revisit the math they learned in high school and provide a solid foundation for college-level math classes.

He attributes the high remediation in math to its sequential nature and the fact that students fulfill their high school graduation math requirements early and then don’t take math again until they get to college.

Added Casten, “Math is a very sequential subject based on pattern recognition and practice of skills.

Many students take a long break between completing a math course and trying to complete the next level.

In my experience when a student has a semester or two without any math content much of the concepts that were learned become ‘fuzzy,’ or are lost.”

In math and in other subjects, Casten said that the Colroado Community College System has created a taskforce charged with investigating innovative and effective strategies for the delivery of developmental courses.

It is meant to help reduce remediation.

According to Schaffer, however, the most effective solution is not any bill or taskforce.

“Even though so-called experts down in Denver at CCHE and the Department of Education and the legislature are talking about these issues, I think regular citizens and taxpayers should not expect a lot from politicians and bureaucrats,” he said.

“They’re not going to improve education just because they have meetings and pass rules. The only thing that really works is conscientious teachers, ambitious schools and school leadership and school boards and students who want the most out of their school.

“For as long as there have been students in classrooms, the outcome is a function of students’ effort and the quality of a teacher. And I don’t care what kinds of laws or rules or strategies people in Denver come up with, nothing is going to replace effort. Nothing is going to be a suitable substitute for a knowledgeable teacher.”

we have writing and eleventh grade we have math. We call these tests the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments and we use them to test development.”

The research to whether or not these tests accurately and effectively prepare students for college however, has been inconclusive. With a study by The Future of Children organization writing “Clearly, as many researchers and policy advocates have pointed out, merely passing a high school exit exam does not ensure that students are collegeready,” and finding no distinctive difference between students who had exit exams and those who had not.

While the theory is sound, the tests are considered to be simple enough for most students to pass and are not even taken in to account for colleges, with most studies focusing purely on high schools.

the news rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

March 30, 2012

Court in school

Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases at school May 1 Training in progress: Social studies teachers John Robinson and Andrew Schauer, Assistant Principal Tyler Nickel, social studies teacher Charlie Ross and language arts teacher Paul DeMaret attend the March 21 training for the Courts in the Community program. (Below) Lawyers Ian McCargar and Jill Phipps (below) and Colorado Supreme Court Justice Nancy Rice with various teachers.

by Meleena O’Neill Reporter

All rise! The Colorado Supreme Court is coming to Rocky on May 1 to hear two cases.

While both cases are from different sides of the legal spectrum, the lessons learned from such an event will last a lifetime.

These cases are part of the Courts in the Community outreach program designed to teach high school students about the judicial system. It was first established in 1986 and has continued ever since.

“We’re often perceived as being so mysterious, but really, we’re not,” said Supreme Court Justice Nancy E. Rice. “That’s why I like to come out and do this.”

All teachers interested in participating were asked to invite students to the cases on May 1. There was a preliminary meeting held in the Front Range Conference Room on March 21 involving lawyers and Rice in order to prepare these teachers for the cases.

Because only two schools per year are allowed this opportunity, it is difficult to be selected for the hearings. Rocky parent and Larimer County Court Judge Tom Lynch said that he was at a training 18 months ago when he heard about the program and hoped to get the school involved. He communicated with the program’s media coordinator and Principal Tom Lopez to try to secure the school as the location for the hearings. He said that it is a unique opportunity.

“They only do this in a couple schools each year throughout the state,” Lynch said. “This is not something that will come around again next year.”

Lynch also said that the hearings would help students to learn about the judiciary proceedings.

“Well, ultimately, the Supreme Court

Meleena O’Neill

determines the legal issues for the state of Colorado and I think it (Courts in the Community) gives students the opportunity to witness that process in action,” he said. “So in terms of what they can get out of it, even if they are not concerned with particular issues the court is addressing, it is a unique opportunity to see that body, the Supreme Court, actually working and doing that work inside their high school.”

Both of these cases that will be heard at Rocky were hand chosen by Rice. One case is a civil case involving two drivers from Telluride. The other is a criminal case that is trying to use the Fourth Amendment to overturn the discovery of a methamphetamine lab.

“Driving cases are interesting to high school kids,” Rice said about why she chose the case.

But in order for the Colorado Supreme Court to see a case, there must be something unusual or precedentsetting about it. Most suits originate from the Appeals Court, unless they deal with suppression of evidence.

The Appeals Court, on average, has 11,000 to 12,000 cases, and the Supreme Court sees about 7 percent of those, or 770 to

840 cases a year.

“We spend a lot of time deciding what we’re not going to do,” Rice said. “It is a very hard part of our jobs, deciding what to take.”

The justices hear cases twice a year at local high schools. But students won’t be hearing a verdict that day. Decisions for the cases heard by the Supreme Court take several months in order to receive a majority on the decision. The part students get to be involved in is the oral argument between the justices and the attorneys of the cases.

“What we want is the lawyers to answer our questions,” Rice said.

“We want them to help us. Oral arguments are where everyone (the justices) come together to talk about this one case.”

The justices expect for the students to try and figure out why the cases were chosen. They hope that students will ascertain why the cases may be applicable to them and their peers.

The Telluride case involves one driver crossing the center line and hitting a driver in the oncoming traffic.

While most of these cases are simple, this one involves trying to expand the doctrine of sudden emergency. Sudden emergency involves any situation that is out of the driver’s control, such as brake failure. According to the brief summary written by one of the justice law clerks, the justices are deciding if the jury was instructed correctly on the sudden emergency doctrine.

The other case involves a police investigation about a stolen vehicle.

When police investigated the home of the suspects, one officer went to the backyard, apprehended three suspects and, in the process, saw material in the basement that looked like a meth lab. The defendant is trying to get the methamphetamine evidence suppressed because there wasn’t a warrant. The Fourth Amendment and the right to privacy are the basis of the defendant’s case.

But whether or not the students hear a verdict, they will learn how the State Judicial Branch operates and experience it firsthand.

“The more we can talk to people, the better the judiciary,” said Justice Rice. “It’s part of being open and transparent.

This is a fun day for us.

We (the Justices) enjoy it.”

A3

Speech and Debate competitors excel at state tournament Michael Harrison and Nate Bethke took second in the Duo Interpretation at the State Speech and Debate tournament, held March 16-17 at Collins.

Kelly Pollard and Jovan Riviera-Lovato also made the finals and finished fourth. In adin rief dition, Maddi Lynch and Sean Bray finished fourth in Public forum and Will Kelley and Selena Wellington finished 12th in their events.

Over 500 students from all over the state qualified to compete in the tournament and Rocky had the fifth most qualifiers in the event. eight of Rocky’s 22 qualifiers earned awards.

The team next competes today and Saturday in the National Qualifying tournament at Northridge High School.

-Michelle Kennedy

B

TCAPs a success; new test to be instituted in 2014 Freshmen and sophomores finished four days of TCAP testing earlier this week.

In contrast with the CSAPs of previous years, the new tests are meant to prepare districts to implement new standards and help them adapt to higher expectations for students in the years to come.

The TCAP will be conducted again in the spring of 2013; however, in the spring of 2014 the New Colorado Assessment will be administered to students.

Meanwhile, many juniors participated in ACT practice testing on March 22. The school ACT is April 24.

- Michelle Kennedy

Dance to be held at Lincoln Center

by Alex Creighton Reporter

Ladies get your dresses, men rent your tuxes and everyone prepare for the night of your lives.

Prom is on the way.

On April 13, A Night on Broadway, this year’s Prom Info: prom ►Cost: $30, theme, Single; $55 Double ►On Sale: April 2, will be 4, 6, 9-13 and at hosted by the door the junior ►When: April 13 class ►Where: Lincoln Center at the Lincoln Center.

“I am so psyched for prom,” said Austin Druse, a junior on prom committee. “It’s going to be the coolest thing ever.”

Druse, along with nine other juniors, is part of the prom committee that has been meeting since early November.

The group meets twice a week

and has put in countless hours to plan every detail, from what beverages are being served to where the event is held.

Every year a committee is formed by members of the junior class to present prom to the senior class as a going-away present.

“It’s a way to say, ‘You know what, we appreciate you guys.

Good job on high school.’”

Druse said. “And we’ll get that rite of passage next year.”

While all seniors are given a free ticket, juniors must purchase their tickets to be able to attend and underclassmen must be invited by an upperclassman to be allowed to attend.

“Prom this year is going to be awesome; we’ve all been working extremely hard,” said Megan Shaw, another member of the committee. “I can’t wait to see it all come together.”

The Lincoln Center will be turned into New York with a matching skyline and décor

that will mock that of the theatres on Broadway.

“They have all put in a lot of work and done a really great job organizing,” said Mark Brook, a sponsor for the committee. “They’re doing a great job.”

All students are encouraged to grab their tickets and come to prom.

“It’s going to be one to remember,” Brook said.

Alex Creighton

A night on Broadway: Junior and prom committee member Austin Druse (above) creates a poster to advertise prom on April 13. The committee created various, Broadway-themed posters (below) to decorate the halls.

A4 March 30, 2012

the news rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Civil obedience

GSA Club’s efforts at civil union support postcard run counter to school policy

by Isaac Effner Editorial Editor

The Gay Straight Alliance Club (GSA) attempted a school-wide postcard campaign on Feb. 24 to show support for civil unions, but after a small amount of time, their effort was reduced to only a booth on the Rocks.

According to the school’s administration, the postcards contained a political message and, therefore, the GSA was unable to go class-to-class for fear that the postcards could potentially make students feel uncomfortable.

“There were certain things we could and could not do,” GSA officer and sophomore Jovan Lovato said. “We went to three classes and got a lot of positive responses, but we went to (Assistant Principal and Activities Director) Tyler Nickel in the front office and she said we couldn’t do it in classes because it was a political message. We could only use a booth on the Rocks.”

The postcards were to be sent to state politicians to show the support of minors for civil unions for homosexual partners.

Lovato said that the club got

the postcards from Mac Simon, a man they met when attending an LGBT meeting at CSU. He was handing the postcards out there and gave them the cards they used at school.

“It was for anyone who can’t vote and it said even though you can’t vote, you support civil unions,” GSA officer and senior Kiefer Maizland said.

“The postcards were sent to state legislators, like senators and representatives.”

The postcards were to be distributed during homeroom but the GSA was banned from doing this because student-initiated clubs could not advertise during class time.

“In short, GSA is a studentinitiated club,” Nickel said.

“Student-initiated clubs in general, whether it’s GSA, FCA, Slack Line Club, Zombies or any other of the student-initiated club operate under different rules and guidelines than the school-sponsored clubs do. The postcards were not allowed to be passed out in classrooms because student-initiated clubs’ advertising rules are different, as is their inability to use any class time for their clubs.”

The issue with the club be-

Isaac Effner

Advocating for change: (Left to right) GSA Club officer and sophomore Jovan Lovato, GSA Club officer and senior Kiefer Maizland, club sponsor and social studies teacher John Robison and counselor Kelly Glick hand out club shirts at the meeting. This year the GSA Club started a postcard campaign in which minors could sign and send postcards to state politicians that showed support for civil unions.

ing moved to the Rocks is that the club has had a harder time catching people’s attention and effectively conveying their message.

“We had more of a chance to fully explain what we were doing in the classes,” Maizland said.

Added Lovato, “We also

could talk to everyone (in classes). Most people are just going to lunch, and half of the students go off campus.”

Even though the efforts of the GSA Club suffered some setbacks by being moved to the Rocks, the campaign has still been successful, according to Maizland and Lovato.

“We were somewhat surprised,” Maizland said. “We have only 10 members in GSA and all of the postcards were filled out. I thought it went pretty well.”

Added Lovato, “I was happy to see that so many people filled them out. It was more than just a signature.”

Newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief named Colorado H.S. Journalist of the Year

by Regan Miller Reporter

Fahey Zink

Print edition: Rocky Mountain Highlighter editor-in-chief Cassa Niedringhaus (left) works with reporters Meleena O’Neill and Brennan O’Grady on distribution morning for the January issue.

Niedringhaus was named the Colorado High School Journalist of the Year, which includes a scholarship and an opportunity to compete for national honors.

Rocky Colorado H.S. Journalists of the Year ►2012, Cassa Niedringhaus ►2011, Tess Halac ►2006, Vale­ria Hisam ►2003, Marisa Beahm ►2001, Jessie Ann Shay ►1999, J.J. Babb ►1988, Lau­rie Lat­ti­more

After hard work and long hours of dedication, senior Cassa Niedringhaus has been rewarded with the prestigious honor of the Dorothy Greer Scholarship or the 2012 High School Journalist of the Year.

“I was really honored to win this award because it’s something that I have really been working for these past couple years,” Niedringhaus said. “I really liked writing, but when I started journalism in high school, I got really excited about it because I like telling real life stories that inspire people.”

Presented by the Colorado High School Press Association, the award recognizes Niedringhaus for her efforts as a talented journalist as well as a student of high character. Her scholarship portfolio included multiple letters of recommendation, a transcript, a personal letter of the applicant’s journalistic life and several samples of produced work. “(She’s) worked very hard as a writer,” said Scott Niedringhaus, Cassa’s father. “The award will show that working hard gets something; she’s always been very good in school– worked hard–that’s something we’ve always tried to instill in her, but she’s always been driven to do well.”

After Journalism I, and two years as a staff member on the Rocky Mountain Highlighter, including her position of Editor-in-Chief this year, Cassa built a journalistic clip file which included pieces from all sections, countless photographs and many page designs.

Additionally, Cassa’s experience at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington D.C. as well as her participation in national and state high school journalism events came into play in the scholarship application process.

Being recognized as a top high

I really liked writing, but when I started journalism in high school, I got really excited about it because I like telling reallife stories that inspire people.

“

Cassa Niedringhaus, senior and editor-in-chief of the Rocky Mountain Highlighter

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school journalist of Colorado will also allow her to compete with other state winners at the national level for additional honors and scholarship monies.

The national high school journalist of the year and several runners-up will be announced at the National Scholastic Press Association/Journalism Education Association Spring High School Journalism Convention in Seattle in April.

“I was just thrilled to hear that she earned this prestigious honor, and I know it’s well-deserving, with what she’s done the past two years, what she’s done in Journalism I, and just her world of journalism,” Steve Wahlfeldt, RM Highlighter adviser, said. “She worked hard, has worked hard, worked hard to put together her portfolio, and I’m sure it shined. And from what the coordinator of the scholarship program said to me in an email, the competition was tougher this year than in many past years. To have Cassa be the top person in something where there was a lot of very good candidates is just a testament to what she’s done and who she is.”

Cassa has developed her skills due to all of the hands-on work she has committed herself to, with each individual article and each individual issue of the newspaper. The maturing process

excelled due to her leadership status and overcoming the obstacles and managing responsibilities which come along with the title.

“There’s a lot of growth, anytime you are editor, section editor, editor-in-chief.

The challenges are great and a lot of times it is the first leadership position that a young person has. It’s always a learning experience,” Wahlfeldt said.

“She’s a tremendous journalist. I think her strength is in reporting and writing and synthesizing the big story and wanting it to be as good as possible.

“When you take work like that and you turn in the best of it as part of your portfolio, it’s going to shine.”

Cassa’s strict work ethic, determination and perfectionist personality drive her to complete each story fully and to the best of her ability. She demonstrates her love of storytelling in each story she writes for the paper.

“Having a passion for journalism and storytelling is, I think, the best start,” Wahlfeldt. “Being curious about things, your world, is important as well. And that’s kind of the foundation you need.

Being editor-in-chief has its own challenges in terms of visual communication, staff leadership, but you know that kind of foundation of storytelling and curiosity will always be there for Cassa, regardless of where she takes journalism, regardless of her next step. That is a tremendous strength.”

Cassa plans to continue her studies in journalism and to feed her passion for storytelling. She plans to go to college to major in journalism with an ambition to write and get connected with the print media at her campus.

“She’s just found something she likes a lot and she has a lot of talent for,” said Jacque Niedringhaus, Cassa’s mother. “It shows us that she has a lot of talent. It could have not have had been a better experience for her.”

the news rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

March 30, 2012

Smarter than...

A5

Strong Science Olympiad team eyes earning trip to national competition

by Meleena O’Neill Reporter

Sweet success quickly turned into dread of the coming month.

Everything depends on the next competition for the Science Olympiad team. But the celebrations shouldn’t slow down this team. They have a lot to be proud of.

Science Olympiad isn’t that well known, but Rocky has had a growing presence while at their various competitions. Rocky has a First team and a Second team.

The First team earned a second place overall, behind Poudre, and with a total of 13 individual medals between the two teams at regionals (which occurred on March 3) is nothing to sneeze at.

“It was an amazing year,” head coach Marion Annis said. “We haven’t gotten second on First team since 2006 so to bring home the big trophy was an amazing, amazing thing.”

Each team consists of 15 members. Only seven can be seniors and all compete in 23 events that cover almost every field of science.

Only two members, or three for specified events, of the team compete in each event. There are two types of events: study and building. The study events are given 50 minutes to complete the task(s) given to them as outlined in the official rulebook that comes out every year. To compete in the building events, the partners must build their device to the specifications they are given and compete in their individual assignments.

While there are individual medals for each event, the overall competition is team-oriented. A first place in an event gives a team one point. Then the lowest score wins, just like in golf. The goal for state is to win and move on to the national tournament.

Meleena O’Neill

A new generation of learning: Seniors Max Flynn and Sean Wright (above) work on a gravity vehicle at the regional Science Olympiad competition on March 3. They have to adjust the vehicle and the ramp in order to get the vehicle to stop at a designated point. (Left) Juniors Michelle Dworkin and Karlie Svoboda prepare for Science Olympiad.

Dworkin is working on a tower and Svoboda is building a rubber band-powered helicopter.

Success doesn’t come without hard work. Most team practices are about an hour each and happen once a week. That way, the groups can practice each of their events as often as possible.

“Studying is really important,” senior team member Erik Evans said. “I don’t have any building events so I can’t do any of those iterative tests on the machines. But studying is really helpful for most of the events I’m in. But it also puts more strain on schoolwork

that you also have to study for.”

Another reason for stress comes from preparing for state, which takes place at the Colorado Schools of Mines on April 21.

But the main cause of stress on first team is the drive to get to the National Tournament, which takes place May 18-19 in Orlando, Florida. In order to be eligible to compete at nationals, a team must win or place second at the state level. But a second place doesn’t automatically give a team

KONY campaign: Short-lived activism Anyone who uses social networking knows about KONY 2012.

The video spread rapidly across e-mails and Facebook, raising awareness and aggravating most who watched the thirty minute clip about child soldiers in Uganda. The KONY 2012 campaign was almost impossible to avoid, influencing teens and adults alike to demand the blood of a man they had heard about a mere thirty minutes before.

Propaganda is a frightening thing.

It’s not to say that the Invisible Children campaign doesn’t have good intentions. Nobody thinks Joseph Kony is a swell fellow, nobody thinks that child soldiers are a good thing, and nobody thinks that there aren’t serious problems in the world. The issue at hand is the impact that one viral video had on the lives of so many of the 100 million viewers across both YouTube and Vimeo.

In the age of information, a significant idea, good or bad, spreads faster than ever before.

People have decided to cut out the middleman of walking to the grapevine and instead live

Conor on the Corner Conor Schrader there. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good movement as much as the next guy and check my Facebook probably most. In fact, the combination of the two had me head over heels for the Occupy Movement a few months ago. I was viewing one sided arguments and seeing them at an astonishing rate.

While social networking can be used for great, positive purposes, it can also be abused, so

it’s always important to doubt.

Between shady actions of the Invisible Children foundation being brought to light and an arrest of one of the co-founders, the KONY 2012 phenomenon has cooled down. Within three weeks, millions have gone from apathy to intense social activism to apathy once again. Individual research of the problem in Africa separate from the viral video would have not only lead to a more informed opinion, but likely a longer lasting one, as well.

We’re brought into this world and leave it with just our name. Don’t sign it away to the first seemingly worthy cause.

Conor Schrader is a senior and a reporter for the RM Highlighter.

a bid for Nationals. Colorado currently cannot take more than one team to nationals. They may be able to take more teams if more teams register in the state.

“State is the step to Nationals,” sophomore team member David Shorrosh said.

But nationals isn’t new territory for some of the members.

Evans and fellow senior Max Flynn both have been three times.

Seniors Meleena O’Neill and Mando Ramirez have been twice,

while juniors Andi Heath and Nate Brinks have both been once.

“It’s just kind of nice to have that air around you at nationals,” Evans said. “It’s way more competitive than you’ll ever experience at regionals or state. It actually gets you to see how crazy some of these other people are. But it’s great to be put into that, even when you end up as the last place team, you still got the experience of ‘we went to nationals.’”

But before that, juniors Michelle Dworkin and Karlie Svoboda need to build a tower for the Tower event that requires a tower that can hold 15 kilograms and not break. To earn the top spot at state, it also must be as light as possible. Because of this, everyone builds with balsa wood and superglue.

“These two are the hardest working students I have ever worked with,” towers coach Robert Ufer said.

First and second place finishes in the single events are needed to reach Annis’s goal of placing in the top eight at state for both teams.

A lot of diligence is needed to move on. To get to Orlando, the Rocky teams must beat Poudre, who has won 10 state titles since 1999, when Science Olympiad began in Colorado.

But, Poudre was beat last year but Cheyenne Mountain High School from Colorado Springs, and with Cheyenne Mountain falling to Homeschool Science at the Southern Regionals, Rocky team members are starting to see a glimmer of hope.

“I think we just need to bump it up and spend some more time together,” Annis said about preparing for state. “Find where we have holes, make some strategies and get it done.”

March 30, 2012

editorial A6

the rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

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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./ Fort Collins, CO 80526.

Contact Rocky Mountain Highlighter staff members at 970-4887090 or 970-488-7091 for advertising information. Also the Rocky Mountain Highlighter staff is in Room 528, during 4th period.

the rocky mountain

Making the Grade A- Annie: The classic tale was retold by the theater crew in a brilliant way.

B- The start of track season:

Editor-in-Chief Cassa Niedringhaus Advertising Manager Ben Bigler

The first meet on March 22 makes the rest of the year look promising.

Way to go Lobos.

Editorial Editor Isaac Effner Sports Editor Lauren Binder Features Editor Christine Gravelle Center In-Depth Editor Fahey Zink Limelight Editor Cam Chorpenning Staff Alex Creighton Taylor Hitchings Ed Kennedy Michelle Kennedy Regan Miller Meleena O’Neill Cammie Palomino Grant Rotman Conor Schrader Artists Amanda Kriss Reanna Nelson Contributors Jeanelle France Sarah Hatch Adviser Stephen Wahlfeldt

RM 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 RM 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.

In order to make the RM Highlighter as professional a publication as possible, important legal and ethical guidelines will be followed. Senate Bill 90-99, enacted by the Colorado General Assembly during the 1990 legislative session, declares that “students of the public schools shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press.”

(Colo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 22-1-120) We, the staff of the RM Highlighter, are prohibited by law from publishing certain materials. We will respect these laws. No material which is libelous, encourages illegal acts, or causes material and substantial disruption to school activities will be published. Expressions which are obscene will not be printed. Profanity will not be printed unless it is considered absolutely necessary by the RM Highlighter editorial board to express the views of the writer or quoted person. Expression which is false “as to any person who is not a public figure or involved in a matter of public concern” will not be printed. “Expressions which are in violation of lawful school regulations designed to control gangs” will not be printed.

In the event of a potential controversial item, the editorial board —consisting of all the editors, the advertising manager, and the adviser —will meet to discuss the merits of the item and then decide whether or not to print the item.

Coverage of deaths which occur within the Rocky community will be carefully considered by the editorial board.

Natural or accidental deaths will be reported for clarifications of death and will contain a memorial. Except in extreme circumstances, suicides will not be covered to reduce glorification of such acts.

In general, the RM Highlighter observes the guidelines presented in the “Code of Ethics” of the Society of Professional Journalists. The RM Highlighter will not allow source review prior to publication, unless there is a clarification issue. Source anonymity will be granted only after careful consideration by the editor, with the editor reserving the right to make the final decision. Staff editorials shall be presented logically and will represent the views of the majority of the staff. Editorial criticism, of either individuals or groups, will be based on fact and will be constructive.

Guest editorial space, the “Open Forum,” is available to anyone in the Rocky community, including students, parents, faculty, and administrators. Anyone interested in writing in the “Open Forum” should contact the editor-in-chief or the adviser, Stephen Wahlfeldt.

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 the editor agrees that 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 RM Highlighter staff member, RM Highlighter adviser Stephen Wahlfeldt, or drop them by the RM Highlighter room, Room 528, during 4th period. Letters may also be mailed to the Rocky Mountain Highlighter, Rocky Mountain High School, 1300 W. Swallow Rd., Fort Collins, CO 80526.

To talk with anyone on the RM Highlighter staff, phone (970) 488-7090.

Columnists express their own views and not necessarily those of the RM Highlighter staff. No expression made by students of the Rocky Mountain Highlighter shall be considered an expression of school 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.

All advertisement is welcome. To place an ad, contact RM Highlighter advertising managers at (970) 488-7091. The RM Highlighter, however, reserves the right to refuse advertising which the staff considers inappropriate for our audience.

The RM Highlighter is a member of the ASNE/ MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service, and some material is courtesy of that service.

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

Initiative 300 failed

Reanna Nelson

S

ince Feb. 14, all the medical marijuana dispensaries in Fort Collins have been shut down. Marijuana in Fort Collins, Staff however, has not Editorial been shut down. ► Drugs in In fact, if there the house has been an effect, an unsafe it has been detritransition mental. from mediCity code alcal marijua- lows single-family na dispen- residences with saries caregivers to grow 12 medical marijuana plants. Since voters decided against having dispensaries in public and commercialized areas, all the marijuana is being grown in residential areas.

This means marijuana is

Letter to the editor: Anonymous editorial inaccurate

being grown in neighborhoods with an in increasing numbers of caregivers and with much less regulation.

The thousands of patients who were served by the medical marijuana dispensaries now must figure out how to either grow marijuana themselves or find a caregiver living in a residential area to buy from.

The problem with the current situation is that now there are fewer regulations and less accountability in the distribution of medical marijuana, but just as many people need it as before.

People voting for Initiative 300 made the mistake

Dear Editor, I was happy to see the issue of SOPA and PIPA bills in this month’s edition.

Everyone needs to be educated on the subject and spread awareness about it. However, you did give out false information regard-

of thinking that voting the dispensaries out of business would end marijuana in Fort Collins.

That’s wrong. Marijuana has been here. Marijuana is here now. Marijuana will continue to be here in Fort Collins.

While it’s true that medical marijuana dispensaries were too numerous, and licenses were too easily attained, the dispensaries were better regulated outside of neighborhoods and farther away from schools.

Voters of Initiative 300 certainly had good intentions, but the consequences of last November are now reverberating louder than ever in our neighborhoods.

ing Anonymous. “A hacking group dubbed Anonymous threatened to shut down the entire internet on March 31 with operation global blackout.” As someone who associates themselves with the group, I can speak for Anonymous when I

say operation Global Blackout isn’t real.

Anonymous’ message is to protect the rights of internet users and of the internet itself. Shutting it down would be completely against our cause. The reason things like operation Global Blackout get

C- TCAPs: For having questionable significance to students, everything went surprisingly well.

D- City of Ft. Collins’ power outages: Our dependence on technology really shined in those 30 frightening minutes on March 21.

F- The many “Project X” parties: Another wonderful example of “why your life isn’t a movie.” Come on.

out into the public is because Anonymous has no official structure. We have no leader. We have no super-secret ritual to get in. We’re just a group of individuals who share the same idea.

-Anonymous

Being a teenager doesn’t make me less valuable “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. “-Mark Twain Should the value of one’s opinion be based on its logic and substance or on their age?

Recently I was part of an incident that leads to a string of angry emails. During the back and forth bickering with an adult, accusing me of being a belligerent stereotypical teenager, I created my rebuttals myself and responded from my own email. I looked to my parents only for counsel on how much restraint to use but they never advised my grammar, punctuation, or thoughts on how to respond.

Grant’s Rant Grant Rotman Therefore, it was quite insulting when the adult accused my parents of composing my emails for me.

Although it is a compliment to be told I have the writer’s voice of an adult, it was rude for my efforts to be belittled and my email labeled unworthy since it exceeded the seemingly low expectations of

a teenager’s intuition and mental ability.

I believe one’s opinion should be valued for its validity and intelligence more than the speaker’s impression or stereotyped appearance. That’s not to say age doesn’t matter in terms of stature, because it is true that someone who is older may be more experienced, but experience and education can also be measured in quality and not just quantity.

There may be rather dim teenagers with rude behavior, but they are only a percent of teenagers as a whole and I highly doubt there isn’t a faction of equally dim and

rude adults. Stereotypes may be comical and funny to see in movies or television shows, but should not be accounted for when meeting new people. I’m American but I am not obese, I am from Colorado but I do not know how to bail hay, I am a teenager but I am not uneducated or illiterate. Some of my music is crude, obnoxious, and ignorant but that doesn’t mean I am.

“Listen deeper than the music before you put it in a box”-Tyler the Creator Grant Rotman is a junior and a reporter for the RM Highlighter.

the editorial rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

March 30, 2012

A7

The exposition argument Career exposition helps Exposition time-consuming, Pro unnecessary, inconvenient students prepare, learn C A Con



career is important.

There’s no getting around that fact. And choosing a career is a major decision, a decision that many students may need help with. The Career Xpo is coming up and some students are dubious of the event’s significance and validity. It is an opportunity for exploration in different fields so that students can make better informed decisions about what they may want to study in college or even pursue as a career.

There have been complaints that the Career Xpo is set to take place after ACT testing and that students would rather relax after taking the test. As nice as that would be, attending the Career Xpo is not a highstress activity, nor does it require a great deal of thought. It could even be a way to wind down after the ACT—it’s better than going to class and having to work. There are even prizes that students have a chance to win just for showing up at the event.

In addition to being an opportunity to wind down after the ACT, the Career Xpo has the potential to be a valuable resource for college-bound students. Students will have the opportunity to meet professionals in the fields they have chosen to learn about. Different people are being brought in from around the community, people who have expertise in their careers and are willing to impart their knowledge to students. The Career Xpo is a legitimate event and a valid chance for students to learn from people who have firsthand experience.

Although some will continue to complain about having to stay at school for an event that they consider worthless, others will realize that this is an excellent opportunity that is extremely easy to take advantage of and will seize the chance that they have been given.

Cam Chorpenning

The Career Xpo attempts to provide opportunities for professional exploration to individuals.

Employers overstepping boundaries through Facebook Social networking is hardly just social anymore.

As Facebook and other social networking sites become more engrained in our society, employers are going beyond searching for the profiles of their interviewees. Employers are now asking for login information so that they can view private information on prospective employees’ profiles.

Some schools are doing the same; and many schools are requiring student athletes to let coaches access their profiles.

As we go to college and begin to enter the workforce, I understand that schools and employers want to view our profiles. We reveal enormous amounts of information on our profiles that they won’t learn through an interview or an application. It is not an uncommon practice for them to search for profiles or send friend requests to potential employees.

However, I think they begin to overstep their bounds when they ask for login information to our profiles. I don’t think they have the right to ask me to reveal conversations I share with my friends that can’t even

In the Haus Cassa Niedringhaus be viewed by my other friends on Facebook. It would be like them asking me to record all my conversations and then turn that information over to them.

It is extraordinarily invasive.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Catherine Crump said on the ACLU website, “It’s an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people’s private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process. People are entitled to their private lives. You’d be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside. It’s equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person’s private social media account.”

I completely agree with her statement, and am heartened by

the fact that actions are now being made to restrict employers from overstepping boundaries.

Facebook has now threatened to sue employers that request login information because it is a breach of Facebook privacy policy. I appreciate that they are taking strides to uphold their policies and protect our privacy.

Reuters also reports that lawmakers are now making efforts to draft laws that would prohibit employers from asking for passwords to email or social networking sites.

That being said, I think that as we are just entering the area of social media and just beginning to navigate Internet privacy laws, we should exercise caution in what we post to the Internet. Even the most stringent privacy policies cannot protect all the things we share for the world to see.

While employers don’t have a place in your Facebook, the pictures of your drugs and parties don’t have a place on Facebook either.

Cassa Niedringhaus is a senior and Editor-in-Chief for the RM Highlighter.

hoosing a major in college may be one of the most important decisions that a young adult makes, as it leads to a career.

On April 24, juniors and seniors will be required to attend the Career Xpo, a half day seminar for career discovery. While the Career Xpo attempts to provide opportunities for professional exploration, it fails to capture the attention of large groups of the student body. In general, this is a result of poor timing and the overall conviction of students.

For example, many upperclassmen, especially seniors, have already chosen a career path by April of their senior year. As such, required attendance at the Career Xpo does not make good use of their time. Even more so, many students are just outright unmotivated to take such an event seriously and it not only wastes their time, but also the time of the people who have volunteered to present at the Xpo. However, for motivated students still searching for a career path, the Xpo should be optional. Those who want to take this opportunity seriously and are driven to find a career through it could benefit. Although for a larger portion of the student body to benefit from the Career Xpo, students would need to make more of an effort to engage.

Furthermore, as it will fall right after the ACT for juniors, the timing will make them absent-minded and lethargic. This, in Reanna Nelson addition, amplifies the futility of required attendance, when many students will be too mentally drained to take full advantage of the chance to learn about possible career paths.

For these reasons, as a required activity, the Career Xpo is neither beneficial for these students nor courteous to the volunteers and the careers presenting.

Michelle Kennedy

Photo Poll

Do you think the Career Xpo is actually helpful for students?

“It’s a good concept but I wouldn’t want to do it.”

Sid Elder, freshman

Brandon Jones, junior

“I guess it depends on the way of looking at it. They could just ask friends or parents, but they could find help from the Xpo.” “I think it’s actually going to help people learn what the job will be like so they don’t get blindsided.”

Jalen Lacy, junior

“I think it helps people find what they want to do in life.”

Noah Steffen junior

A8 March 30, 2012

Lacrosse hitting hard

the sports rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Boys ready to make an impression

by Regan Miller Reporter

While lacrosse players are hitting hard in the fields, character building is an important part of the team beyond the field.

With already about a month into the season, the guy’s lacrosse team has been working to build their skills, both lacrosse related and character related.

The team has currently played four games: two played in Colorado and two in Florida, with a record of 1-3. Despite the losing record, the team holds a positive outlook.

“The head coach, David Shigekane, places a higher importance on character building, rather than winning, helping us not only grow as players but as young men,” junior Julian Richards said. “While our obvious goal for the season is a state title, we also place an importance on our character building.”

When the team is playing a tough game, the players work to concentrate not only on their physical actions and skills, but

Regan Miller

Hitting heads: Senior Cole Bradley wrestles with a Regis High School opponent for the ball in the March 24 game. Vipers Lacrosse, which has seven Rocky players, lost to Regis last Saturday 7-2.

also focus on their mind-set and teamwork.

“We are mainly trying to improve on our mental aspect of the game,” Richards said.

“We do very well with our skills, however we sometimes fall apart as team. Once the mental aspect of our game comes together, it will all come together.”

Like many team sports, the teammates have worked to build friendships and camaraderie. For some, the team feels like family.

“Our players have very strong relationships with each other,” Richards said. “While sometimes there is tension and anger, at the end of the day, we are a family. Each player cares for the

other like a brother. This year we also acquired a new coaching staff. This has greatly strengthened the bond between coaches and players. The coaches are more involved and more supportive than past years.”

The positive atmosphere has helped the team to bond and continue to improve their

Track brings new athletes and young talent

Signing Out

by Cammie Palomino Reporter

Fahey Zink

Signing for the Future: Seniors Hannah Clark, Shelby Bowden, Megan Avery and Lindsey Guice sign on Feb. 1 to play soccer for the colleges they plan to attend next year.

The signing happened even before their senior soccer season had started. They are all excited for their future and are happy about the decisions made.

Girls’ golf putting in time to make an impact on greens

by Conor Schrader Reporter

The girls’ golf team has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Last season, the girls’ golf team were regional champs. Following in the footsteps of the last year’s team will be a challenge, but junior Connie Davis feels confident.

“I expect a season that we become the team to beat,” Davis said. “We have a lot of talent to look at this season.”

Davis also commented on the noticeable improvement of the sophomores and juniors this year.

Davis said she expects there to be fierce competition for varsity spots as players become more skillful and fight for rank. Davis says consistency is the best way to move up.

As a team, the girls are aiming to help each other improve scores

overall lacrosse skills each game they play.

“All of the games we have played were very manageable,” Richards said. “When we slow down and play our game we can beat any team out there. As long as we improve and make ourselves better each practice and each game, we are successful.”

Girls’ Golf Record: 4th place at Flat Irons for varsity Stars: Anna Summers (Poudre) Annika Gustafson Ahead: PSD Cup Tournament Talk: “It seems like a family this year. All of us have fun playing. We all focus on our and our game, but we also have fun with it.” -junior Connie Davis

and shoot under 100 for any tournament or match. “(It) can easily be attained if we focus on that goal,” Davis said.

Between high hopes and expectations, it’s looking optimistic for the ladies. The team has some goals in mind for what they would like to achieve, including improving their consistency on a day-to-day basis. Definitely keep an eye out for the girls’ golf team this year as they work towards being regional champs again.

The track team is ready to show other teams Rocky is a legitimate team that is ready for state.

A new year means new talent, and this year’s underclassmen are ready to show teams around the state they are ready to compete.

With freshmen like Carly Lester, Max McDonald and Riley Neal, and sophomores like Dan Williams, Alivia Ayres-Perry and Anna Ernst, the future of the track team is bright.

But with so much new talent, the experienced upperclassmen such as Maggie Demott, Ethan Karp and Bryce Wilson will have to teach the underclassmen their leadership skills.

Karp is in the midst of his last high school track season and has high hopes for this season’s team.

“I think this year we will have a very strong team,” Karp said.

“We have seniors with experience and talented underclassmen. In order to be successful this season, we must be consistent and stay healthy.”

Karp is competing in the shot put, discus and high jump events.

Last season, Karp placed second at state for the boys’ high jump with a 6-foot-2 jump. He also placed top ten in shot put with a 50foot-8 throw and in discus with a 145-foot throw.

Ayers-Perry was one of the team of five that won third place at state last year for the girls’ sprint medley. This season, she is working on challenging herself as a runner and challenging her new teammates to progress from last year’s results.

“I want to see our team continue to improve as a whole team,” Ayers-Perry said.

Neal is one of those teammates

Flying high: Junior Justin Schiller (below) runs down the triple jump strip, gaining momentum to make his jump. Sophomore David Messerli (left) uses all of his upper arm strength to pole vault and make the bar while his coach watches.

The regional track meet took place last Saturday.

Lauren Binder

Track & Field Record: Runner’s Roost meet on Saturday the 24th at French Field, both boys and girls raked fifth out of 24 team Stars: Senior Austin Walter, made a 14-foot-6 inch personal record for pole vaulting and won first place.

High jumpers, six are speculated as of now to go to state.

Players to track: Senior Bryce Wilson, shot put and discus.

Ahead: Foot of the Rockies Invitational March 31 at French Field, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Talk: “I feel like we have a strong team coming into this year.” -Riley Neal

Lauren Binder

who is pushing to improve. He broke both the long jump and the 200-meter records at Webber last year, and expects to continue to excel this year.

“I feel like we have a strong team coming into this year,” Neal said. “The girls have a lot of stars that are showing up in the events and the boys are showing some impressive numbers as well. I think the girls have an edge on sprints and jumps while the guys have strengths in the jumps and throwing.”

The track team has been working hard and has gained many new athletes this year.

New athletes like Jacob Haase will be a great addition to the team. Although in the beginning of the season the team was struggling trying to recruit members, their efforts were a success and some of the new athletes have a good chance of qualifying for state.

This effort will hopefully pay off with more athletes to represent Rocky at state.

the sports rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

March 30, 2012

A9

4 x No. 1 = Title?

Cromwell’s goals include bringing home state championship hardware

by Fahey Zink Center In-Depth Editor

Highlighter Archives

Racketing in a win: Senior Cara Cromwell (above) practices for her next tennis tournament.

Senior Natalie House (right) hits a shot in the girls’ March 21 match against Legacy. Cromwell has been the No. 1 singles tennis player for the past three years and hopes to continue that tradition for her fourth year on the tennis team.

Regan Miller

Senior Cara Cromwell knows tennis.

Cromwell, a four year varsity player for the girl’s tennis team, has played the No. 1 singles position throughout her high school career. While this type of status can bring major pressure, Cromwell tries to embrace it.

“Playing number one has a lot of pressure,” Cromwell said. “You’re out there by yourself and the competition is harder. But I like the pressure. If I do well with pressure on my shoulders, I feel accomplished.”

Cromwell not only puts the pressure on herself, but her teammates as well. She influences her teammates to the best they could possibly be, but in the long run, she mostly wants everyone to have fun.

“She helps us all to play better since she’s so good,” sophomore and No. 3 singles player Natalie House said. “She adds a higher intensity to the game since she plays so well.”

Cromwell has had many influences in her own tennis career and has been around tennis for majority of her life. Her three siblings all played tennis, her dad played tennis in college and her dad now coaches the girls’ varsity team.

“My dad played in college and my siblings played, so then I just started playing because they were,” Cromwell said.

Out of her four years playing in high school, she has made it into the state tournament twice, won first place at the George Washington invite last year and hopes to be able to win the state title for her final year.

“Winning state is my goal,” Cromwell said. “I came pretty close last year, but I

Girls’ Tennis Record: 2-0 Stars: Cara Cromwell, Brianna Garza, Maddi Lynch Ahead: Greeley West dual and Warrior Classic Tournament Working on: Communication in doubles, still a pretty young team Talk: “We can all do better as a team. It would be fun if more people made it to state this year” - Natalie House

want to do better.”

Added varsity tennis coach and father Gordon Cromwell, “Cara made it to the semifinals last year, so there’s only one more step to take. A lot of things have to come together to have a good year in tennis, and I think she is preparing well to make another run at state.”

With Cara’s final year ahead of her, she’s ready to play at the next level but still has bittersweet feelings of leaving the team.

“It’s really sad,” Cara said. “It’s my last year with my dad, and he’s coached me my entire life. But I’m ready to move on to college tennis, too.”

Added Gordon, “It’s hard to replace a four year No. 1 singles player, but a lot of girls have stepped up their game this year.”

The team this year has eight returning varsity players, a better situation than last year when they had only two returners.

The team has more experience this year, so the outlook for the season is good overall.

“I’m excited about this season,” Gordon said. “We replaced nine of our 11 players last year, so we enter this year with a much more experienced group.”

Added House, “We can all do better as a team. It would be fun if more people can make it to state this year.”

Practice makes perfect when it comes to the boys’ swimming and diving team

by Isaac Effner Editorial Editor

After a rough start, the swimming and diving teams are really starting to shine.

“The season started off well; we had a tough first meet with two really good teams, Fossil and Fairview,” senior and diver Colton Hankins said. “But for being the smallest 5A swim team in the state, we are beginning to hold our own as swimmers and mov-

ing to the top as divers. Rocky divers took top four at state.”

But even a great team needs practice, and as the diving team works hard on its form, it’s showing in the scores.

“The skills we are working on for diving are really raising the level of difficulty for our dives,” Hankins said. “(Divers should remember), always just point your toes.”

Just as important as individual

skill is the strength and size of the team.

“For diving I think our strength is size,” Hankins said.

“We have nine divers of all ages, which is rare for diving numbers.

We have to trust and rely on each other to get work done in the water or on the board.”

Additionally, both the swimming and diving teams are very close to their coaches, and although the teams have separate

coaches, they still try to work as a single unit.

With such a good start for the teams and the positive team relationships, Hankins has high hopes for the future.

“My hopes for the season are to place top two at every meet, and by the time state comes, I want to make it to the finals and place top eight,” Hankins said. “(I want) to overcome my fear of what happened last year, being

ranked high going into state tournament and choking and not even making it to the second round. As a team I think just for divers, we want to bring four divers to the tournament and all make final rounds.”

This year could be Rocky’s chance to become a superpower, with both individual strengths and team strengths and unity this season could mean big things for both state and the future.

Girls Basketball Wrap Up

Alex Creighton

Full of concentration: Sophomore Anna Ernst attempts a lay-up in a home game against Fossil Ridge. The girls’ basketball team finished their season in the Sweet Sixteen round of the playoffs, losing to Doherty. Overall, they were able to accomplish a 15-8 regular season record and 2-1 playoff record.

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the sports rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Reger sisters able to tackle two sports with same season

by Jeanelle France Contributor

The Reger sisters are pulling double duty.

Both Molly and Raychl Reger (juniors) have attempted to do the impossible for the past two years: play two high-demand sports in the same season. They each participate in Rocky’s track and field team as well as play lacrosse for Thompson Valley High School.

Molly is the goalie for the Eagles lacrosse team and does the long jump and triple jump for the track team.

“I go right after third (to track) and I practice before anyone even got dressed and leave about 45 minutes early to get to lacrosse. It’s just nonstop motion,” Molly said. “The challenges I have are missing information when I’m not at a specific sport.

Also, at track, since lacrosse is my primary, I have to miss some meets. Balancing the athletic abilities between the two can also be hard. ” Even though both sisters share some common ground in their daily routines, they both have two very distinct workloads to deal with.

As if school and two sports wasn’t enough, Molly also has found some extra time to squeeze in a part-time job.

“I work eight hours on Sundays, and if I don’t have a game or a track meet on Saturdays I’ll work then too,” Molly said. “I just stay up really late to do my homework and do some of it on the bus (on the way to games and meets) too.”

Raychl plays low defense in lacrosse and does the 300 hurdles and 400 relay in track. In place of employment, she chose to take up yet another sport.

“I have fourth off so that’s when I do my homework,” Raychl said. “After that I’ll go in early to track and stay there until like 3:45 and then I’ll go to lacrosse until 6:15 and then after that sometimes I go practice with the CSU field hockey team. On a bad day I’ll get home at about 9:00. It’s hard but I can’t stop.

I just love being a part of all of these things. I do feel like I’m

Alex Creighton

Kickin’ off the Season: Junior Kait Eden takes the ball away from a Mountain Range opponent in the game last Saturday. The girls took a tie 1-1 in the end after a 30-minute double over time.

High hopes

Girls’ soccer tears up playing field

by Michelle Kennedy Reporter

Lauren Binder

Jumping the distance: Junior Molly Reger jumps from the take-off line of the long jump during the regional track meet last Saturday. Reger does two out of the three types of jumping offered for track and field: the triple jump and long jump.

Molly has always been a super great goalie, and Raychl is really fast so she’s really good to have.

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Kennedi Conradson, senior lacrosse player

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losing out on some of my social life sometimes but I make up for it by seeing people in my sports and getting to know all of them.”

Although both athletes may seem to have an exhausting schedule, teammates have remained supportive and optimistic about their situation.

“They’re on top of their game all of the time,” senior lacrosse

Lauren Binder

Racing Raychl: Junior Raychl Reger races the 400 meter end of the girls’ medley at the regional track meet last Saturday. Reger balances track and lacrosse, and both sports have the same season.

teammate Kennedi Conradson said. “I don’t think it affects them at all, in their play at least. Molly has always been a super great goalie and Raychl is really fast so she’s a really good player to have for transitioning the ball and stuff like that. They’re both really great lacrosse players.”

Their tough decision to remain enrolled in both activities stems from a need to take advantage of the opportunities the high school athletic environment offers them.

“When my body kind of just breaks down a little bit and I just get super tired, but when I play or jump I think it’s worth it,” Raychl said. “It took a lot of preparation to get where I am now. I knew I was going to be exhausted so I had to work really hard in the off-season to get myself to where I needed to be to do everything I needed to do in this season.

“After high school I’m not going to have any of the opportunities that I have right now. I’ll probably not be able to do track and lacrosse at the same time so I want to make the best of it now.

(For anyone considering playing two sports in the same season) go for it, try it. The sky’s the limit.

Just remember to relax, take time for yourself and be organized.

You’re in high school, do as much as you can.”

With the season off to an undefeated start, the girls’ soccer team is hoping to go far.

They started off the season with a 4-2 victory at home against Grandview High School and followed with a 1-0 win over Lakewood. Last Saturday, they pulled a 1-1 tie against Mountain Range High School in their first conference game.

“I am excited about the team,” Coach Ron Clark said. “I think it’s going to be a great team. Everybody gets along really well. Everyone seems to trust each other and seems to want the same thing, so that’s awesome.”

The team enters the season with five returning seniors as well as six other returning players, setting up the Lady Lobos for a successful season. With 11 players returning to the field, the team has an immense amount of experience in crucial positions.

“We have a lot of speed and we have a lot of good experience in all the important positions,” Clark said. “I think the only real weakness is that we don’t really know each other yet, but we’ll get there. So that’s why I’m excited—I don’t see any glaring holes anywhere.”

However, the team’s high level of experience is not to overshadow the promising talent from incoming players, making many team members eager for what the season will hold.

“I’m really excited for what this season has to offer,” senior defender Shelby Bowden said. “Along with a lot of strong returning starters, we have a lot of new young talent.”

Junior mid-fielder Kassidie Joseph added, “I’m excited to see how we can come together as a team. I think

Girls’ Soccer Record: Current, 2-0 Last season 12-5-1, 6-4-1 Front Range League Stars: Megan Avery sr., Libby Looft sr., Lindsey Guice sr., Shelby Bowden sr. Avery, Bowden, Guice and Clark have all been signed to play soccer for the college that they will be attending next year Ahead: Greeley West dual and Warrior Classic Tournament Working on: Team chemistry, trying to find a good balance Talk: “A dream without a goal is only a wish.” - Assistant Coach Jenn Morris “I’m really excited for what this season has to offer.” - Senior Shelby Bowden

that we are going to do really well possessing and stuff this year and score many goals. I think as the season goes on we will be able to stay calm a lot better and have a good speed of play.”

Even with the loss of seven seniors last year, the team has come out strong. According to Clark, the team has a vast amount of talent all over the board, but raw talent is not what makes a team great.

“The talent is as good as it’s ever been,” Clark said. “With talent I always have to add an addendum because talent never really means much. You know, if you don’t have all that other stuff—the trust and the teamwork.”

In fact, he added, “The one time in my history as a Rocky soccer coach that we were out in the first round of the playoffs, that team had more talent than any team I have ever seen us have, and it didn’t even matter. So I don’t care that much about talent.”

More than talent, it is chemistry and teamwork among the players that Clark believes will help them win games. The promising prospects for the season have inspired the players, but they will have to wait and see where the season takes them.

the sports rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

March 30, 2012

A11

Staying in play Head trainer works hard to help athletes

by Ed Kennedy Reporter

There is no doubt, an athletic trainer is an athlete’s best friend.

Since attending Woodland Park High School, in Woodland Park, Colorado, Kait Vardiman has known that she wanted to be an athletic trainer.

“Back when I was in high school, I was Training managing sports at the time and got to staff see what he did (the Head trainer: trainer), like taking Kait Vardiman care of injuries, and Student being around things,” trainers: Vardima, new head ► Sydney Rios ► John Travers trainer for Rocky, said. ► Shelby Mojahed “I figured out that I - Kiara Loucks like to help people, to - Cammie Palimino make people feel bet- Dominic Carnley - Joey Kolbert ter, and injuries don’t - Hanna Cross bother me.”

Vardiman left high school for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, pursuing an undergraduate degree in athletic training.

There she fell in love with the sport of rodeo and continued to grow her training talents as she aided the rodeo team, as well as the other sport teams.

During the USA wrestling championship in 2005, Vardiman met her current boss from the Orthopedic and Spine Center of the Rockies, and she eventually landed a job as a casting technician. After a while as a casting technician, she knew that she wanted to go back to athletic

Ed Kennedy

Checking up: Junior baseball player Connor Haugen receives an ultrasound on his shin by head trainer Kate Vardiman. She works and attends to all of the Rocky athletes to help their injuries. She dedicates her time to these students after school, and at almost every game. Although her duties may be very time consuming Vardiman has a love for what she does.

training.

“He said, ‘Well, would you want to be at a high school?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think that would be okay’,” Vardiman explained.

She took the job at Rocky this last year, but it isn’t as easy at it ,ay seem “Probably the biggest challenge, to put it into one word, is communication. Communication with coaches, communication with parents and communication with athletes,” Vardiman said.

“You’re going to get that in any setting,” Vardiman continued. “I think sometimes in high school you have it a little more difficult because you have so many more people you have to communicate with.”

Vardiman is also very popular with her

Waiting for the catch: Junior Cale O’Donnell waits at the shortstop position, ready to field a ball. The baseball has started the year 2-3 after a 1-3 record playing the best high school teams in Arizona.

Baseball

Highlighter Archives

Base

from page A12 hopes to bring the state championship title back to Rocky. The Lobos won titles in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and finished tied for sixth a year ago with a 17-7 record.

“I don’t think it will affect us (that they’re gone). It’s not like we don’t know how to play,” Allen said.

Carl Stadjuhar, the only freshman in varsity last year, realizes how valuable those seniors were last year.

“They helped us out a lot. I mean they did really good. I mean Jess, Bonk, they were two key players,” said Stadjuhar, “The goal is just to get to play well and get to state. Then after you get to state, your expectations are always to win it, so hopefully we can start the tradition over.”

We can definitely be a good team.

We have the capabilities of being a good team. We’ve got all the tools.

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Cale O’Donnell, junior baseball player

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Junior Cale O’Donnell said he thinks that the players playing this season have improved from last year, and even though the team is young, people will be surprised about their

student trainers, who are now learning in the same setting that she once did, back in high school.

“She is really nice, really good at what she does, knows a lot, and is really helpful to whoever needs her,” junior athletic trainer Sydney Rios said. “I learn a bunch from her because she explains things in a way that’s easy to understand.”

Vardiman has created strong bonds with her athletes, and recently nominated senior Ryan Fergen as the 2012 Colorado Comeback Player of the Year, recognized

by Denver Nugget’s athletic trainer Jim Gillen. Two years ago, Fergen was tackled on the football field which ended up as a torn ACL, but as of these past seasons was

outlook

Record: 2-3 Stars: Sophomores Carl Stadjuhar and Cory Richer and junior Cale O’Donnell.

On the team’s Arizona trip, Stadjuhar went 2 for 3 at the plate in the Lobos’ 9-0 loss to Brophy Prep while O’Donnell had 5 strikeouts in 3 innnings of pitching work in the March 21 game. Richer struck out 8 in just 3.2 innings in a 5-4 victory over IMG Baseball Academy on March 23.

Ahead: After winning just 1 game in 4 against top-flight opponents on the Arizona trip and being out scored 33-8, the baseball team returns to Colorado for pre-conference play. After playing Greeley West on Thursday, the Lobos host Pomona on April 3. State powers ThunderRidge and Valor Christian will test the team prior to the Front Range League opener at Mountain Range on April 10.

Working On: Coming together as a team and focusing on being in the game.

Talk: “I feel like its going to ba solid season and we have a lot of talent as a team.” -Marcus Bean

skills.

The team faces a challenging schedule from top-ranked Arizona schools to the team which won state last year, Regis. This summer, though, the Rocky Legion A team won state.

“We can definitely be a good team,” O’Donnell said. “We have the capabilities of being a good team. We’ve got all the tools. It just depends if we want to go out there and try to win it or just sit back and let it take us for a ride.”

able to play football and basketball. As a result of this award, Vardiman received $1,000 for her training room.

“Kate was awesome, she was incredibly helpful (throughout the rehabilitation process),” Fergen said.

“I was really surprised when I won the award,” Fergen continued. “I knew she nominated me, but she never really said much about it. One day she just called me into her office all excited and told me that I won. I was really pumped, and she won $1,000 for the training room.”

While being here for only a year, Vardiman has made an impact on athletes, and will surely continue to help all of the sports team to continue to stay healthy.

Bats

from page A12 don’t have to be as perfect with their pitches.”

The BBCOR bats are different, no doubt, and players around the state and the nation are putting in extra time to figure out exactly where that bat barrel sweet spot is. Most nonBBCOR composite bats have a sweet spot that spreads across a five-inch inch area, but BBCOR bats only have a sweet spot of three inches.

“You know, the way I look at it is it’s not quite the same as wood bats, but they are still better as far as the ball comes off the bat better with the BBCOR than it does with wood bats,” Bullock said. “But they aren’t as show-stopping, for lack of a better word, than the old bats.

“It is definitely a different game that’s for sure. And it’s a good game. I always tell everybody I like the woodbat game, and I like the way the bats used to be, and I like it now. It’s just a little bit different.”

It can be hard to avoid any type of danger in high school sports.

Those unpredictable events and splitsecond-in-time moments are always a possibility. But because of ball exit

speed, composite, non-BBCOR bats in general have a higher risk of danger for defensive players, especially pitchers.

“I haven’t ever personally felt that they were a danger, but we would always read articles about kids getting broken faces and things,” Bean said.

“I saw them as more ‘juiced,’ almost like a corked bat in the MLB.” “To be honest with you, even a wood bat, which is the most dumb-down bat we could possibly use, could be a little bit dangerous,” Bullock said. “If someone hits it and it comes right back to the pitcher, there is always that possibility for injury–no question. And with the old metal bats, there was a little bit more of a chance.

“I do think that it was a good change (using BBCOR bats). It was a change that was needed.”

Because all teams will be using BBCOR bats, Bullock sees a level competitive playing field.

“The bottom line is that I still think the team that has the best baseball players, the team that is most disciplined, the team that is the best coached team is still going to win. It doesn’t matter what kind of bat you are using,” Bullock said.

March 30, 2012

sports A12

the rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Frozen Fun

Teachers Katie Volkmann (far right) and MacKenzie Mushel (middle right) pose with friends and try to keep warm at this year’s Frozen 5k Run held on March 3 at Spring Canyon Park. First place winner, junior Ryan Doner, finished the run in 19:21.

Sarah Hatch

Ed-sclusive Ed Kennedy

Bounty no more You want to go out there and de-cleat them–hit them so hard their cleats come off.

The football mentality is inherently brutal. It’s not a contact sport; it’s a collision sport. Your goal is to pound the other team into submission, and make your “victim” remember your number.

This is the norm from the mind of a football player. But these aggressions should never cross the line into that of intentionally injuring someone, or trying to take them completely out of the game. As a football player, you try to hurt the other person, but never try to injure.

When I say hurt, I mean that you are aiming to psychologically, almost more than physically, make that person fear you, and remember the pain that you inflicted. You want to hit them so hard that they leave their feet, they hit the ground and fear runs through their veins.

This is the sport of football.

So it surprised few when the NFL’s New Orleans Saints were severely punished for running an illegal bounty program, paying players bonuses for targeting, hitting and, yes, injuring certain players.

Although this type of system is wrong, being rewarded, in one way or another, for a spectacular hit is as old as football itself and is part of the sport starting at the pee-wee level and continuing all the way up through the pro ranks. That’s why football is a game played with pads–so boys and men can run into one another at full speed and get up uninjured to do it again. It’s called “fun.”

And part of that fun is being singled out as the player who delivered that crazy hit, the one where everyone “Oohs” and “Ahhs.” and the coaches play that part of the game tape again and again.

Still, there is a fine line between getting an “atta-boy” and a bounty bonus.

Ed Kennedy is a junior reporter for the RM Highlighter and an offensive lineman on the varsity football team

ack to Bat Basics

Lauren Binder & Ed Kennedy

Bat construction: Seniors Nick Komar and Marcus McKinney, and juniors Spencer Ibarra and Marcus Bean “carve” their new BBCOR bats in a lathe. This year, the baseball team has converted to using these BBCOR standard bats instead of the composite bats due to safety reasons. BBCOR bats feature performance characteristics similar to wood bats.

Team’s new outlook on 2012 season

by Cammie Palimino Reporter

Sixth place in state: a disaster or a great season?

The baseball team is ready to move on from last year and try to make this baseball season a memorable one. This varsity team will consist of five seniors, six juniors and five sophomores, only nine of them being returning varsity.

Returning senior Matthew Allen is excited about his senior season and ready to play.

“I just want to go out there and play hard every day” Allen said, “I expect to have a good season and hopefully make it to state.”

Allen played with the four-peat group for a spring season and a couple of summer seasons.

The four-peat guys include Jess Amedee, Chris Bonk, Eric Ferguson, Kyle Westhius and Tyler Weins.

They graduated last year with at least one state championship.

This year Allen

BBCOR bats replace traditional composite bats due to safety issues

by Lauren Binder Sports Editor

Beyond the right field fence at Gabe Pando Park sits a tin equipment shed.

On close examination, that shed features several impressive dents thanks to the power hitting of former baseball players Andy Burns, Marco Gonzalas, Jake Stewart, Pierce Trumper, J.R. Lopez and Bryan Peters as the Lobos won four straight state 5A titles 2007-2010. sports from But starting this year, that shed pecial abuse will more than likely stop.

Not because the Lobos won’t have players who can send the ball deep but because Colorado high school baseball, along with the nation, will play under guidelines which will only allow bats that behave more like wood bats. That means a smaller sweet spot, less overall pop and fewer home runs.

The new bat guidelines come from the The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the governing body of high school baseball, and match the ones now used by the NCAA. Instead of using explosive composite metal bats, all bats must now meet the Batted Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) standard. These type of bats act more like wood bats, creating less of an energy transfer when the ball collides with the bat to ball, or reducing the Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR).

According to Elliot Hopkins, NFHS Baseball Rules Editor/National Interpreter, the move to the BBCOR standard connects to the safety of the game.

“I am glad it is being heavily enforced because we feel it is a safety issue,” Hopkins said. “Today’s high school baseball player can gain the longevity from a non-wood bat and have the speed of the ball coming off the bat controlled to a reasonable speed.

Obviously, our member state associations feel that

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Lauren Binder

It was a good change; it was a change that was needed.

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Scott Bullock head baseball coach

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this rule is a great rule to adopt and they have done so accordingly. Needless to say, we write rules for four reasons: one, maintaining the balance between offense and defense; two, risk minimization; three, increased participation; and four, uphold the sound traditions of the sport.”

Lobos’ head coach Scott Bullock said he has had to make a few adjustments to his coaching this year because of these new bats.

“You have to coach the game a little bit different because the ball isn’t going to travel as far,” Bullock said. “You’re not going to have as many hits, you’re not going to have as many balls in the gap and you’re not going to have as many home runs. That’s it. That is just the bottom line.”

“There will be less home runs and we will have to utilize the bunt more often,” junior varsity player Marcus Bean said. “And on the defensive side, the pitchers Jump to BATS, page A11

March 30, 2012

TCAP Tasties

features B1

Sophomores Gabe Chavez, Kylee Hoeye and Jacque Rickett take breakfast provided by StuCo members to help students feel energized for testing. Testing took place on March 22, 23, 26 and 27.

Cassa Niedringhaus

Technology changes, teaching styles grows

Generation technology creates big impact

by Christine Gravelle Features Editor

For years, YouTube has been known to make people laugh, become famous and more recently to make an impact on the world.

On March 7, YouTube and social networking sites exploded with the name “Kony.” The organization Invisible Children put together a movie explaining their work to end Africa’s longest-running armed conflict involving Joseph Kony and his army of child soldiers. Kony is one of the world’s worst war criminals and is known for his crimes across Uganda. In 1987, he took over leadership of an existing rebel group and renamed it the Lord’s Resistance Army.

United States military advisers are currently deployed in Central Africa on a “time-limited” mission to stop Kony and disarm the LRA. However, if Kony is not captured by the end of 2012, the window will be gone. This is where Invisable Children stepped in with their video.

When the video, titled “KONY 2012,” hit the web, it received over 40 million views in under 24 hours.

Senior Jason Tran was one of the first to be impacted by the movie and was surprised to see the response from people in such a short time.

“I was shocked by how many views the video got so quickly,” Tran said.

The thirty minute video, filled with powerful images and words, touched the minds and hearts of millions of people around the world.

“It’s important because Americans are so lucky to have what we take for granted everyday,” Tran said. “Seeing the video inspired me to try and do something to help.”

But it wasn’t until the video was released on YouTube that their plan to stop Kony took off. Junior Shelby Clark was one of the millions of people who took notice of the video and was inspired to do something.

“I’ve been a local all my life, and I really want to see something like this reach

by Michelle Kennedy Reporter

YouTube is no longer just for watching cats and people making fools of themselves.

Although many people view YouTube strictly as an entertainment provider, there are numerous educational resources provided on the site. Lately, YouTube videos have been finding their way into classrooms, as teachers are beginning to see their educational merit.

“It’s all about providing opportunifeatures ties for pecial the visual learner,” history teacher Charlie Ross said. “It’s also another way of bringing in a greater variety of expertise. It creates and it brings in variety to my classroom, so it’s not just me. It just provides so many opportunities of examples of the concepts that I am trying to teach.”

YouTube gives teachers an opportunity to break out of the monotony of lecturing and a greater chance to connect with their students.

“It changes up We can see literally the way that we around the country, learn, so it’s not just somebody around the world talking the whole that the concepts time,” junior Kassidie Joseph that I am trying to “You have teach are displayed said. different materiright there, and they als to learn from. can see it and hear I think you can relate more to it from real people. what he (Ross) is teaching, and Charlie Ross, with history essocial studies teacher pecially, you can see what actually went on during that time period and you can empathize with the people that were there.”

Various math classes have been utilizing YouTube and online videos to enhance learning as well. Math teacher Todd Pfeifer has used YouTube in the past through a unique teaching style called the inverted classroom.

Pfeifer recorded his math lessons for his Calculus III class and posted them online. Students then learned the lesson at home as “homework” and did their actual homework in class the next day,

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the rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Photo Illustration by Christine Gravelle

Jump to KONY, page B2

Math teacher to visit Cambodia, help locals, experience culture

by Christine Gravelle Features Editor

There are no words that can explain the experience that is gained through travel outside of a classroom.

While many people experience this with family trips and school groups, math teacher Laura Hogan has been given the opportunity to travel over 8,000 miles to the country of Cambodia on a trip with the Global Explorers Youth

Leadership Program.

“I am so excited to go,” Hogan said. “I’ve never been to south east Asia. I can’t wait to learn about the culture and the people.”

Hogan has traveled in parts of Europe, Egypt, Mexico, Australia and Ecuador, but was unsure if this year she would get her chance to go to Cambodia. At first she was turned down for the trip.

However, three months later, Hogan received an email informing

her of the good news.

At first, the all-expenses paid trip funded by the U.S. State Department, did not enough funding for Hogan to attend.

“I was originally turned down to go on the trip in November,” Hogan said.

Counselor Mark Reedy was shocked when Hogan wasn’t given the position at first. “I was very Jump to CAMBODIA, page B2

Christine Gravelle

Excited to travel: Above, math teacher Laura Hogan holds a map showing Denver to Cambodia. She will be there for about a month.

Alexander the Creight

Alex Creighton

Eye-opening experience Over spring break I had the opportunity to go camping on an island in the Florida Keys, the ultimate tourist location.

While I was down there I was forced to leave my cell phone at home. I had to spend a week with no electronics.

To my surprise, it was great.

It really got me thinking about how connected our world is and how stressful always being connected is. When I was down there I had absolutely no responsibilities. Everything was so simple.

I had no clue what day it was, what time it was or even what was going on in the outside world.

There was one night where I sat and looked up at the sky (sounds like one of those life-changing settings) and realized that I come from a “tourist state.” People fly from other countries to come and look at things like Long’s Peak or Horsetooth. They hike them and Tweet about them and take pictures to share on Facebook.

To me, that’s just life.

As I thought more about it I began to realize, I can set my phone down at the house and go outside and admire our city.

It’s full of life and awesome things. Yeah this is where I live, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful. Just because I have a cell phone on me, or a movie to go see, or even a column to write doesn’t mean that I should ignore the immaculate scenery all around me.

How many times have I driven past Horsetooth without looking up at the mountain? Or gone to hang out at the park without looking at the wide open space around me with all the prairie dogs? Too many times.

When I was in Florida, things clicked for me. I came to the ultimate realization about Colorado.

I live in a tourist state and I might not live here my whole life, but while I’m here I should take advantage of it.

It’d be stupid not to.

Alex Creighton is a junior reporter for the RM Highlighter.

B2 March 30, 2012

the features rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Save the Tears saves life with fundraiser

by Cassa Niedringhaus Editor-In-Chief

When social studies teacher Blair Berg first shared stories from his world travels, he had no idea the immense impact that his stories would have.

Berg spent most of his life living overseas, and club eature during his travels he witnessed the horrors of the sex-slave industry in Thailand and Cambodia. He met young girls trapped in the industry who were brave enough to share their stories with them. Berg said after meeting them, he made a vow to them and to himself to help raise awareness and get them help. As a student teacher for an AP Human Geography class, he shared stories and videos about the things he observed.

“It was a really emotional thing,” senior Christine Gravelle said of the lesson. “So, I went home that night and looked into making a club, or it wasn’t even a club at that point, it was just doing something. I did some research and I came back the next day and talked to Mr. Berg and he asked me to talk in front of the class so I did.”

In that action, Gravelle started what would become the club, Save the Tears. Gravelle, now president of the club, has worked with the club to organize various fundraisers since then to help rescue women from the sex slave industry.

Now, the club is working with The Sold Project, a nonprofit organization that helps to provide education for children in Thailand who are at risk of becoming sex slaves. The club sold buttons and stickers to raise money for the or-

F

ganization. Specifically, the money raised will fund the education of a 13-year-old named Sajika.

She is currently living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and is identified as high risk for being pulled into the sex-slave industry. Her mother is trapped in the industry, her father is not a part of her life, and she lives with her grandmother, who makes just $1 a day.

Education is the key to helping Sajika be successful in a career and avoid being pulled into the sex slave industry.

“Education will break the chain,” Gravelle said. “If she is well educated, she can share that with her children and protect them from the sex slave industry too.”

Added senior and Save the Tears vice president Dani Hailey, “We are all human, and it is our responsibility to care for those in need. The Sold Project is an excellent organization because, not only do they fund the at risk youth’s education, but they also provide mentors that teach the importance of education and they educate the villages about the truth about prostitution. Most of us are not born with a threat of becoming a sex-slave, but in Thailand the culture accepts it as a reality, and the idea of childprostitution is a normalcy. Sajika’s mother is a sex-slave worker and without our help giving Sajika an education, she will be forced to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

We can’t stand by and let her dreams fall to pieces when it is so simple and inexpensive to help.”

Berg said that he is completely shocked by the action that his stories were able to inspire. He said he never imagined the way

Tech

from page B1 which is called the inverted classroom. However, now, instead of YouTube, Pfeifer uses Blackboard to post his videos.

“What I didn’t like about YouTube was that I couldn’t monitor who was watching the videos,” Pfeifer said. “But on Blackboard I can set it up so that it tells you who goes in and gets that file.”

Blackboard allows him to post entire lessons and gives greater freedom to students to manipulate them.

“They felt like they were in control of the lesson,” Pfeifer said. “If it was going too fast they could pause it, or if they missed something they could rewind it.”

There are many benefits to this method of teaching in addition to the increased power that it offers students.

“I think the greatest benefit of it is teachers having more time to interact with their students one-on-one in the classroom,” Pfeifer said. “If you think about it, a lot of times the lessons are pretty passive, so why couldn’t you just do that off of a video at home? It would be pretty much the same wouldn’t it?”

Who is Sajika?: Above starting left, seniors Abbey Edwards, Kennedi Conradson and vice-president Dani Hailey sell buttons for Sajika; below senior and president Christine Gravelle speaks with Patti Smith, a guest, about Sajika and their project.

students would take the cause to heart and make such an immense difference.

“It’s an unbelievable cause that was all spawned from students at Rocky,” Berg said. “They never

Pfeifer said that the majority of his students enjoyed the inverted classroom approach, and those that didn’t were indifferent.

“I found the inverted classroom to be very helpful and an excellent way to learn,” said senior Brennan O’Grady who was in Pfeifer’s Calculus III class. “The online videos were extraordinarily helpful because as a student you don’t always catch something or understand something the first time. Having the videos at your fingertips allowed for rewinding to take notes and go over a topic again. It was a very neat technique, and I definitely would love to be in a classroom with that structure again.”

YouTube is proving to be and incredibly versatile tool in the classroom, and can be applied in a huge variety different subject areas.

“I think that it has brought in more relevance, just those real life examples of the concepts that I am trying to teach,” Ross said. “We can see literally around the country, around the world, that the concepts that I am trying to teach are displayed right there, and they can see it and hear it from real people. YouTube gives me the opportunity to have many teachers in the classroom at one time.”

Cambodia from page B1

surprised when I heard,” Reedy said. “I thought she was the perfect candidate for the group.

But with airfare costs lower than expected, Hogan was later accepted into the group. In mid-February, Hogan received an email that they could afford another educator.

I knew how much she wanted to be a part of it, and now that she’s made it, I’m really proud of her,” said Reedy.

Cam Chorpenning

Along with Reedy, senior Meghan Loury is also very excited.

“It’s the coolest thing in the whole wide world that she’s going,” Loury said. “That is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she definitely deserves it. She’s one of

the most caring people I’ve ever met.”

The group is picked from students and staff across the country and includes an extensive application process as well as several interviews. Three other students from Poudre School District will join Hogan on the trip, hoping to learn about environment, political, and social aspects of Cambodia.

“We want to help create a more sustainable life style for indigenous Cambodians in the

had to do this; they could have just completely ignored it like 99 percent of people do in the United States because they don’t really worry about it. And they could’ve ignored it and gone on with their

perfect, Fort Collins lives, but they decided to make a difference.

And they stood up and have made a difference. That speaks volumes for what they have been able to accomplish.”

Kony

from page B1

has been involved with Invisible Children and has supported Fort Collins,” Clark said. “Even if Kony’s arrest for over seven years; a bunch of people don’t do Cover however, she was not surprised the Night (Invisible Children’s to see the success that Invisible plan to stop Kony by covering cit- Children had with YouTube. ies with posters to raise awareness) “It amazes me how easily at least my friends and I will use people can communicate and my action kit and put some post- share ideas with each other,” ers around.”

Mushel said. “People that didn’t The video encourages viewhave a voice now have a voice.” ers to purchase an “Action Kit” Senior Dani Hailey was also that contains posters, stickers and interested in the video and the bracelets, that all spread the name movement as it took off online.

Kony. Invisible Children’s hope “Everybody uses YouTube from the video was simple: make to find out about current issues Kony famous. today,” Hailey said. “I thought The KONY 2012 campaign’s the movement was cool, but I was purpose is to make Joseph Kony not surprised famous, not to celebrate him, but to see the to raise support for his arrest. Their response hope is that infamy translates to to help public support. If the people know people.” about the crimes that Kony has been committing for 26 years, hopefully they will unite to stop him.

P.E. teacher, Mackenzie Mushel,

midst of political, economic and environmental turmoil that the citizens have and had to endure recently or in the past,” Hogan said. “It’s exciting to be with 30 adolescents that are going to experience this trip with me.

Teenagers are the strongest and most influential advocates for social change.”

Teaching and learning about social change does not have to be purely within social studies classes. Although Hogan is a math teacher, she believes she will learn

and gain perspective that will change her as a teacher.

“Just because I’m a math teacher, doesn’t mean I just teach math,” Hogan said. “It’s important that I not only teach kids that math is everywhere, but also to teach them about things that are around the world. I think that’s part of my job as an educator.”

For more information about the Global Explorers Youth Leadership Program, visit www. globalexplorers.org.

the features rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Parent teachers

March 30, 2012

B3

Some students have part of their home at school

by Cammie Palomino Reporter

Christine Gravelle

Royalty walking the halls

Q&A

Tim O’Grady Senior Tim O’Grady won the title of Mr. RMHS in this year’s pageant, which served both as a form of entertainment and raised funds for Matthew’s House, a charity that provides assistance to at-risk teens who may need help with food, shelter or transportation to school.

Q:

What did you do to prepare for the competition?

A:

It wasn’t too much preparation. You had to prepare a talent, so I spent some time figuring out what talent I was going to do and then practicing for that. And then other preparation would be just figuring the answers to your questions. They gave us questions ahead of time, so I had to prepare an answer for those.

Q:

Have women taken greater interest in you since your victory?

A:

This school year, some students will run into their parents more often than normal.

There are a total of 22 students who share the building with their parents who are faculty in the building. However, one student has shared the building with her parent in middle school, as well.

Sophomore Jacque Rickett and her mother, Julie Rickett, have been in the same school since Jacque’s seventh grade year at Webber Middle School.

“I was quite worried at first that she would be all up in my business, but I was also excited that I got to know the teachers before I had them,” Jacque said. “Now I am indifferent about the matter.”

Jacque and Julie have a loving mother/daughter relationship, but like every relationship, time apart from each other is important.

However, when asked if she would change her situation, Jacque responded, “No, it would be way different because I wouldn’t have a ride to school every morning, and I wouldn’t have as many good relationships with a lot of teachers.”

Junior Austin Druse is also the child of a teacher. His mother, Laura Druse, is an English teacher who has been in the building for 17 years. She has experienced sharing the building with her two oldest children who have graduated, and has two children who will attend Rocky in the upcoming years.

Both Austin and Laura appreciate the fact that if anything is needed from each other, they can just walk down the hall to get it.

So far Austin has been in the same building as his mom for three years and has now gotten used to the situation.

“I wouldn’t have it any other

Students with parent teachers: ► Lynn Lyell – Business – Clay and Patrick Lyell ► Terra Theibaut – PaCE – Kayla and Karlee Theibaut ► Robert Ufer – Technology – Katie Ufer ► Matthew and Kim Nigro – Science and Integrated Services – Sam Nigro ► John Berg – Integrated Services – Oliver Berg ► Patty Haugen – Integrated Services – Connor Haugen ► Tom Smailes – English – Lauren Smailes Larissa Schendel (step-mom) – English – Lauren Smailes ► Ron Clark – English – Danny Clark ► Laura Druse – English – Austin Druse ► Julie Rickett – English - Jacque Rickett ► Stephen Wahlfeldt (step-dad) – English – Adam Trousil ► Todd Pfeifer – Math – Cole Pfeifer ► Robin Pettinger – Music – Andy Pettinger ► Michelle Bartholomew – Science – Zach Bartholomew ► David Swartz – Science – Lydia Swartz ► Satini Liufau – Social Studies – Tao Liufau ► Robin Gravelle – French – Jessie and Christine Gravelle ► Susan Takahashi – Counseling – Hayley Takahashi ► Berenice Nelson – ELA – Avery Buser ► Charlie Ross (step-dad) – Social Studies – Jesse Kerns

way,” Austin said. “I love Mama Druse, and it’s nice to be able to ride to school and see her every day. I would never change the situation.”

Laura agrees. She loves being able to see her kid at school and loves the fact that there are not many secrets in her house about school.

“Sometimes I can inadvertently embarrass my kids and it’s like ‘oops’,” Laura said. “They are pretty tough skinned though.

They’ve had me for a mom their whole lives.”

Senior Lauren Smailes is in a whole different situation than most of these students. Smailes is taught by both her dad, Tom Smailes, and her step-mom, Larissa Schendel.

Tom teaches her AP Composition and Literature class, and Schendel is in charge of the Musical Theater Production, which Lauren is a part of.

Tom appreciates the opportunity that he gets to experience his daughter in a school environment.

“You have an opportunity to

see her in an academic setting,” Tom said. “She’s respectful by nature. I don’t think there is any difference from how she treats other teachers.”

Lauren is used to this situation and likes the fact that both her parents work in the building and the advantages that it provides.

“My parents are always just right here,” Lauren said. “I also know everybody, too. I have close relationships with all my teachers because of the fact that my parents work here.”

Even though Tom tries not to make it more awkward for Lauren, sometimes Lauren feels that her dad can sometimes slip out an embarrass-

ing comment.

“I know it’s not intentional, not to hurt me,” Lauren said. “It’s not really awkward, it’s just embarrassing.”

Sophomore Jessie Gravelle and senior Christine Gravelle also experience having their mother in the building.

“It is so fun to have my mom at school,” Jessie said. “I love seeing her here and saying ‘hi’ in the hall.”

Robin Gravelle feels the same.

“It was so much fun getting to see my daughters everyday, as well as their friends,” Robin said.

“I also appreciate how hard my girls and my colleagues work and how intense the block system is.

You don’t understand the difficulty of the block system until you go through it yourself.”

Although embarrassing moments occasionally occur, the advantages of having a parent in the building are much greater.

Christine Gravelle

Home away from home: Senior Lauren Smailes (above) gets help from language arts teacher and father Tom Smailes. Austin Druse (left) walks with language arts teacher and mother Laura Druse in the hall.

They’re all over me, I can’t do anything about it. It’s just an onslaught of attention from females.

Student forced to move back to Korea

You were named Mr. Band. How did you earn that title?

It’s hard to imagine graduating high school and moving away for college, but try to conceive moving to a new country, joining their milistudent tary, and relearning eature an old language.

Senior Jimmy Lee is about to end the high school/ childhood era of his life and begin a new one in South Korea, where he moved from in the summer of 2001.

He will be applying for college on return and eventually Lee must join the military due to South Korea’s required service of every male citizen.

“I wish I could stay here, but I have a commitment to South Korea just like every other citizen,” Lee said. ► Jimmy Lee Lee is your average student, involved in track, enjoys skateboarding, road biking and above all spending time with his close friends. Lee plans on returning to Korea in mid-June this summer.

His father, who still lives in South Korea, wants his son to move home sooner rather than later, although there’s no time limit for joining the military.

“The government is pretty strict about every guy completing their service to the country,” Lee said.

Lee will attend college in Korea for a year or two and then take a

Q: A:

So the committee that was organizing the competition picked a handful of students that were participating in band, so we were on the ballot and the students voted from there.

Q: A:

Who was your biggest competition?

There was some great competition. There were a lot of real great guys there. You know, you’ve got Ethan Karp in there, you’ve got Brandon Short. It was good.

Q:

What do you see in your future in terms of beauty pageants?

A:

I foresee a long future in beauty pageants, I expect to go from here onto Mr. Colorado, perhaps even Mr. America and Mr. World, I can definitely see that in the next few years.

Compiled by Cam Chorpenning

by Grant Rotman Reporter

F

break to try out for the military, at which point the government will decide which branch of the military he is most suited for. Air force and navy recruits must serve for two years, marines and army soldiers serve for a year and nine months, and special force units require three years of service.

Lee has two older sisters, one in Colorado and the other in South Korea, but since he is the only male in his family, he must be the sibling to serve in the military. Lee’s father was also the first son and was recruited into the army while his younger brother worked with computers for the government instead of in a combat position.

“I can visit my friends in the U.S., but if I want to stay I would have to get a visa and a green card, which is very expensive,” Lee said.

Although Lee spent the first eight years of his life in Korea, he has forgotten the language and will have to relearn it upon returning. It is a large shift in life to move to a country that you haven’t seen in ten years, much less join the army, always waiting for their neighbor to the north to attack, but Lee seems to be mentally prepared and surprisingly calm about his complicated life.

“Jimmy has the ability to look forward to the future, no matter what it is,” said senior Ryan Campbell, a close friend of Lee’s.

“I’ll find the meaning of happiness wherever I go,” Lee said.

MARCH LOBOS OF THE MONTH

SENIOR - Tessa Gress JUNIOR - Kat Rock SOPH. - Audrianna Saunders FRESH. - Kyle Barkey STAFF - Scott Schlup

center in-depth

B4 March 30, 2012

88%

of students were not surprised to know that local statistics indicate a sharp increase in teen drug-use.

March 30, 2012

the rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

21%

of students do not think marijuana is bad for your health.

73%

44%

of students believe there is a drug problem in today’s society among teens.

of students think drug testing should not be allowed at school.

332 students surveyed

New regulations on drugs will not put a stop to teen usage today

by Conor Schrader Reporter

Poudre School District’s been numbers have been rolling up a little too high.

Poudre School District is just one of several Colorado school districts to notice an increase of drug incidents over the past few years. From the 07-08 school district to the past year, the Colorado Board of Education has noticed a 170% jump in drug violations.

In 2009, medical marijuana regulation was changed so that growers could sell legally through dispensaries instead of illegal exchanges. In the 07-08 school year, the year before dispensaries went widespread, there were 74 total drug violations in high schools. Last year, the 10-11 school year showed 200 violations. The numbers of expulsions and referrals to law enforcement also increased by over 400%, from six to 33 and 14 to 82 respectively.

Some are surprised by this number; others not so much.

“I don’t know if it’s a mystery why drug suspensions are up,” Dean of Students Russ Stapleton said.

“It’s based from the legalization of marijuana.”

Senior Jeanelle France disagrees with Stapleton.

“It didn’t affect high school students at all,” France said. “Students aren’t the clientele for dispensaries; you have to be 18 to even go into one.”

France argues that, since Fort Collins is a college town, marijuana will be available regardless of dispensaries.

“It’s just about whether it’s on the streets or in a

shop,” France said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries closed in Fort Collins on the Feb. 14 due to the passing of an ordinance in Nov., but they have not taken medical marijuana along with them. Caretakers are allowed to grow six cannabis plants for themselves and six plants for someone they are providing for. Campus security officer Steve Armstrong doesn’t think the disappearances will change anything.

“We may not have dispensaries in Fort Collins anymore, but is medical marijuana gone? Absolutely not,” Armstrong said. “Will it change the rate we’re suspending kids at school? No. There’s still marijuana, there’s still kids that want to get high, and the code of conduct is unforgiving.”

Armstrong mentioned a possible need for the Code of Conduct’s tolerance with marijuana to be reviewed. Several different perceptions of marijuana have been recently brought into light. Marijuana being pegged as “medical” may have impacts at home.

“At home, their parents might be telling them (their kids) it’s medicine,” Armstrong said. “What kind of message are we really sending and is expulsion the right message?”

As policies stand currently, the school district is facing another uphill battle. The Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act will be on Colorado November 2012 ballots. This proposed act, if approved, will legalize the use of marijuana and other cannabis products for adults over 21. It will be taxed in a manner similar to alcohol and enforced with similar rules; this means no purchases without ID, selling to

minors is prohibited, and driving while intoxicated will not be tolerated. Stapleton think the act will have a detrimental effect on school suspensions.

“If you legalize something, adolescents are going to gravitate towards it,” Stapleton said.

Supporters of the Legalize Marijuana like Alcohol bill disagree. The campaign’s website argues that dealers could lose their identity if they sell to a minor, and drug dealers don’t ask for ID. They also cite Britain’s drop in teen marijuana use since the end of most marijuana possession arrest there. France argues that it would make the inevitable safer.

“It would be safer if it was regulated,” said France, arguing that shady backdoor exchanges can lead to a gateway effect, meaning the buyer might go on to try harder drugs.

“Everything would have to be documented,” France said.

France thinks the bill is sound in theory, but won’t pass this November.

“In theory it sounds like a good idea, but I don’t think the community as a whole would embrace it,” said France. “There are so many horror stories about marijuana. Fort Collins is a really family oriented community.”

Rollin’ Out

The consistent push and pull of both sides will see resolution this November when the Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act will be voted on and decided. Regardless of the end result, it’s becoming more apparent that something needs to be done about the future of this “medicine.” Society’s perception of marijuana is changing fast. From the FDA to education, the real question is if our systems will change with it.

the truth about drugs

Teens not fully understanding the consequences on drug usage today

by Fahey Zink Center in-Depth Editor

Teens today are living the high life.

Drugs have been a significant part of society for years. In the past, users have been segregated into groups categorized as a ‘druggie’ or ‘stoner.’ However, those people are starting to appear in many other groups of teens as a rise in drug use over the years has been prevalent.

“I think that there is a serious problem with drugs in our society,” senior Courtney Urban said. “Almost everyone I know has done some type of drug.”

One of the more popular drugs to use among teens today is Marijuana.

Marijuana has been a part of teenage culture for quite some time now and usage has been escalating in the past five years according to abovetheinfluence.com. Just like trying alcohol for the first time, it has become a rite of passage for some. But it today’s case, it’s now becoming just the normal thing to do; trying it just once doesn’t seem to be the standard anymore and smoking weed has become the least dangerous of drugs to experiment with.

“Definitely more teens are trying out more drugs,” Urban said. “When my mom was in high school, the people who did weed were considered really weird and had no life; it’s completely different now. Drugs are everywhere.”

According to a recent study by drugabuse.gov, about 27% of seniors in high school were smoking weed in the month before the survey was taken and 17% of 10th graders were as well. The rise in marijuana has been prominent for the past few years now, but the question remains on why teens have Photo Illustration by Alex Creighton and Fahey Zink

B5

I think that there is a serious problem with drugs in our society. Almost everyone I know has done some type of drug.

“

Courtney Urban senior

”

not only decided to become frequent marijuana users, but to experiment with other drugs as well.

“As teens, we have so many things put on us,” senior and Peer Counselor Nicole Leinhart said. “Pressure to do well in school, to do well in athletics, to have a good social group, and so on. We feel like we don’t have control. I think drugs are a way to cope. It makes the teen feel in control of at least on part of their life.”

Added school counselor Pam Kilness, “They’re looking for fun, an escape, or because other people are. But although some might think you’re too young , some teens are already addicts.”

When smoking weed, the person smoking gets a short term effect of a “high” caused by dopamine being released in the brain by the THC within the drug. One might lose coordination and can affect memory, judgment, and decision making, something that would seem not to be problematical

side affects for someone who wants to try or continue to use marijuana.

However with the long term affects, THC can harm certain parts of the brain that can permanently interfere with memory and learning. According to drugabuse.gov, marijuana can also increase the heart rate on an average of 20 to 50 beats a minute. While some might believe that these effects can cause no harm, overtime they can cause serious consequences for some.

“I don’t think teens understand the consequences for the most part of anything,” Kilness said. “The teenage brain is still developing. Thinking ahead about something fully doesn’t really develop until 20. Here at Rocky, the way a 14-year-old student and an 18-year-old think ahead is really different.”

Added Leinhart, “We have been taking health classes since 7th grade, but a teen brain is wired differently than kids or adults so they want to try things out and ‘rebel’ and see for themselves what can happen.”

Today, many teens don’t fully understand the consequences of using and abusing drugs. The mental perception of ‘nothing can happen to me’ when smoking weed or doing other drugs will always be there for some, but there is plenty of evidence that people can become psychological dependent on these drugs. These dependencies might not have the biggest effect on someone right now, but can put huge limitations in the future.

“Teens underestimate what weed can do to you,” Urban said. “It doesn’t necessarily make you go psycho but it is a gateway drug to really bad drugs.

Weed can be very simple and not a big deal, but with some people it can turn into a nightmare of drugs.”

center in-depth

B4 March 30, 2012

88%

of students were not surprised to know that local statistics indicate a sharp increase in teen drug-use.

March 30, 2012

the rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

21%

of students do not think marijuana is bad for your health.

73%

44%

of students believe there is a drug problem in today’s society among teens.

of students think drug testing should not be allowed at school.

332 students surveyed

New regulations on drugs will not put a stop to teen usage today

by Conor Schrader Reporter

Poudre School District’s been numbers have been rolling up a little too high.

Poudre School District is just one of several Colorado school districts to notice an increase of drug incidents over the past few years. From the 07-08 school district to the past year, the Colorado Board of Education has noticed a 170% jump in drug violations.

In 2009, medical marijuana regulation was changed so that growers could sell legally through dispensaries instead of illegal exchanges. In the 07-08 school year, the year before dispensaries went widespread, there were 74 total drug violations in high schools. Last year, the 10-11 school year showed 200 violations. The numbers of expulsions and referrals to law enforcement also increased by over 400%, from six to 33 and 14 to 82 respectively.

Some are surprised by this number; others not so much.

“I don’t know if it’s a mystery why drug suspensions are up,” Dean of Students Russ Stapleton said.

“It’s based from the legalization of marijuana.”

Senior Jeanelle France disagrees with Stapleton.

“It didn’t affect high school students at all,” France said. “Students aren’t the clientele for dispensaries; you have to be 18 to even go into one.”

France argues that, since Fort Collins is a college town, marijuana will be available regardless of dispensaries.

“It’s just about whether it’s on the streets or in a

shop,” France said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries closed in Fort Collins on the Feb. 14 due to the passing of an ordinance in Nov., but they have not taken medical marijuana along with them. Caretakers are allowed to grow six cannabis plants for themselves and six plants for someone they are providing for. Campus security officer Steve Armstrong doesn’t think the disappearances will change anything.

“We may not have dispensaries in Fort Collins anymore, but is medical marijuana gone? Absolutely not,” Armstrong said. “Will it change the rate we’re suspending kids at school? No. There’s still marijuana, there’s still kids that want to get high, and the code of conduct is unforgiving.”

Armstrong mentioned a possible need for the Code of Conduct’s tolerance with marijuana to be reviewed. Several different perceptions of marijuana have been recently brought into light. Marijuana being pegged as “medical” may have impacts at home.

“At home, their parents might be telling them (their kids) it’s medicine,” Armstrong said. “What kind of message are we really sending and is expulsion the right message?”

As policies stand currently, the school district is facing another uphill battle. The Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act will be on Colorado November 2012 ballots. This proposed act, if approved, will legalize the use of marijuana and other cannabis products for adults over 21. It will be taxed in a manner similar to alcohol and enforced with similar rules; this means no purchases without ID, selling to

minors is prohibited, and driving while intoxicated will not be tolerated. Stapleton think the act will have a detrimental effect on school suspensions.

“If you legalize something, adolescents are going to gravitate towards it,” Stapleton said.

Supporters of the Legalize Marijuana like Alcohol bill disagree. The campaign’s website argues that dealers could lose their identity if they sell to a minor, and drug dealers don’t ask for ID. They also cite Britain’s drop in teen marijuana use since the end of most marijuana possession arrest there. France argues that it would make the inevitable safer.

“It would be safer if it was regulated,” said France, arguing that shady backdoor exchanges can lead to a gateway effect, meaning the buyer might go on to try harder drugs.

“Everything would have to be documented,” France said.

France thinks the bill is sound in theory, but won’t pass this November.

“In theory it sounds like a good idea, but I don’t think the community as a whole would embrace it,” said France. “There are so many horror stories about marijuana. Fort Collins is a really family oriented community.”

Rollin’ Out

The consistent push and pull of both sides will see resolution this November when the Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act will be voted on and decided. Regardless of the end result, it’s becoming more apparent that something needs to be done about the future of this “medicine.” Society’s perception of marijuana is changing fast. From the FDA to education, the real question is if our systems will change with it.

the truth about drugs

Teens not fully understanding the consequences on drug usage today

by Fahey Zink Center in-Depth Editor

Teens today are living the high life.

Drugs have been a significant part of society for years. In the past, users have been segregated into groups categorized as a ‘druggie’ or ‘stoner.’ However, those people are starting to appear in many other groups of teens as a rise in drug use over the years has been prevalent.

“I think that there is a serious problem with drugs in our society,” senior Courtney Urban said. “Almost everyone I know has done some type of drug.”

One of the more popular drugs to use among teens today is Marijuana.

Marijuana has been a part of teenage culture for quite some time now and usage has been escalating in the past five years according to abovetheinfluence.com. Just like trying alcohol for the first time, it has become a rite of passage for some. But it today’s case, it’s now becoming just the normal thing to do; trying it just once doesn’t seem to be the standard anymore and smoking weed has become the least dangerous of drugs to experiment with.

“Definitely more teens are trying out more drugs,” Urban said. “When my mom was in high school, the people who did weed were considered really weird and had no life; it’s completely different now. Drugs are everywhere.”

According to a recent study by drugabuse.gov, about 27% of seniors in high school were smoking weed in the month before the survey was taken and 17% of 10th graders were as well. The rise in marijuana has been prominent for the past few years now, but the question remains on why teens have Photo Illustration by Alex Creighton and Fahey Zink

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I think that there is a serious problem with drugs in our society. Almost everyone I know has done some type of drug.

“

Courtney Urban senior

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not only decided to become frequent marijuana users, but to experiment with other drugs as well.

“As teens, we have so many things put on us,” senior and Peer Counselor Nicole Leinhart said. “Pressure to do well in school, to do well in athletics, to have a good social group, and so on. We feel like we don’t have control. I think drugs are a way to cope. It makes the teen feel in control of at least on part of their life.”

Added school counselor Pam Kilness, “They’re looking for fun, an escape, or because other people are. But although some might think you’re too young , some teens are already addicts.”

When smoking weed, the person smoking gets a short term effect of a “high” caused by dopamine being released in the brain by the THC within the drug. One might lose coordination and can affect memory, judgment, and decision making, something that would seem not to be problematical

side affects for someone who wants to try or continue to use marijuana.

However with the long term affects, THC can harm certain parts of the brain that can permanently interfere with memory and learning. According to drugabuse.gov, marijuana can also increase the heart rate on an average of 20 to 50 beats a minute. While some might believe that these effects can cause no harm, overtime they can cause serious consequences for some.

“I don’t think teens understand the consequences for the most part of anything,” Kilness said. “The teenage brain is still developing. Thinking ahead about something fully doesn’t really develop until 20. Here at Rocky, the way a 14-year-old student and an 18-year-old think ahead is really different.”

Added Leinhart, “We have been taking health classes since 7th grade, but a teen brain is wired differently than kids or adults so they want to try things out and ‘rebel’ and see for themselves what can happen.”

Today, many teens don’t fully understand the consequences of using and abusing drugs. The mental perception of ‘nothing can happen to me’ when smoking weed or doing other drugs will always be there for some, but there is plenty of evidence that people can become psychological dependent on these drugs. These dependencies might not have the biggest effect on someone right now, but can put huge limitations in the future.

“Teens underestimate what weed can do to you,” Urban said. “It doesn’t necessarily make you go psycho but it is a gateway drug to really bad drugs.

Weed can be very simple and not a big deal, but with some people it can turn into a nightmare of drugs.”

B6 March 30, 2012

the limelight rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

Dabbling in the Duckpond

by Amanda Kriss Aren’t you guys excited!? My favorite holiday is finally here!

Oh no! How can it already be April Fool’s Day!

Games & Amusements Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.53)

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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Sun Mar 25 15:24:06 2012 GMT. Enjoy!

Say, what’s that over there?

Male teachers surrender toes

and feel a need to express.

“Everyone who’s writing slam poetry is usually passionate about what they’re saying, and they want to say it because they want it out there,” Hammond said.

“Slam poetry is definitely an activist medium,” sophomore Ananda Wimberger added. “You never see, like, a lazy person writing slam poetry.”

While all art forms offer an outlet for personal expression, few do it in the way that slam poetry does, by providing the

Short

from page B8 and he’s always comfortable performing,” Pam Short, Brandon’s mother, said.

When Brandon is not writing in his tree house it’s easy to say he’s probably reading some Silverstein or watching videos of

opportunity for artists to write their work but also to imbue it with passion through performance.

“In a lot of respects it’s almost like rap because it allows people to be able to express themselves.

It’s an art form,” Dukart said.

“They’re able to get it out there to a broader audience. Whether people agree with you or disagree with you or whatever the case might be, you’re able to express that, and I think that’s invigorating, I think it’s liberating, I think that’s why a lot of artists do their thing.”

other slam poets to be inspired to better himself and his own poetry. He now has six slams but says he only likes four of them and is planning on performing his slams at the next Alleycat Coffee House slam night, which is the first Friday of every month.

Top Ten

10. A freshman prom date.

9. Running into your mom at Planned Parenthood.

8. Mitt Romney’s root beer keggers.

7. “Hey, Mom? I mean, Ms. Otteman?”

6. Getting denied from FRCC. 5. Passing gas in an elevator.

4. “When are you due? Oh, you’re not?”

3. Being Tim Tebow.

2. Not being able to think of something that’s more awkward than a sophomore prom date.

1. Making a cruel joke about Rylee Johnston to make us feel better about ourselves.

Cam Chorpenning

from page B8

(Puzzle solution posted on bulletin board outside of Room 528.)

Things More Awkward Than a Sophomore Prom Date

Pretty Pedicures: Nikol Neff (lower right corner) applies nail polish to teacher John Robinson’s toenails. Robinson and many other male teachers consented to have their toenails polished and displayed after a highly successful shoe drive.

Slam

The objective of the puzzle is to complete the 9 x 9 grid so that every column, row, and 3 x 3 grid within the 9 x 9 grid contains the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. Each puzzle can be solved with pure logic, so guessing should not be necessary.

(Conor Schrader, Cam Chorpenning and Fahey Zink)

thelimelight rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

March 30, 2012

B7

Hunger Games lives up to massive hype Film offers action, unique story, romance

by Lauren Binder Sports Editor

The Hunger Games has been released into theaters as of March 23, and the odds have been ever in its favor.

Starring Jennifer Lawrence movie (Katniss Everdeen) eview and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) this dramatic, action-filled Sci-fi has the attention of the audience from the beginning credits.

The movie is based on the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and takes place in the not-too-distant future when North America is split up into 12 districts. Based on the district that people live in they are given a defined social status, with the Capitol at its heart and highest ranking.

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Each year, the Capitol puts on an event in which a young man and woman from the ages of 12-18 from each district are selected in a “reaping” and sent off to the Hunger Games, where they must each fight to the death until there is only one survivor left. Katniss and Peeta receive the great “pleasure” to partake in these games, fully knowing that any chance of their survival.

Director Gary Ross takes audiences through an epic journey of hope, death and the sheer will to survive.

Besides the fast and confusing fight scenes that were, at points, hard to keep up with, this movie has all of the right components to be great. One of those that makes you want to go back in the theaters to see it again. It had love, action, even a little bit of gore and was able to produce a tear or two.

The film’s casting was some of the best since the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, following closely to the images of characters that readers had created in

their heads from the book. The Hunger Games presents a very original idea to keep generations to come interested in reading

howls of life, love and the in-between are layered with guitars, basslines and drums, among several other percussion elements including clapping and what seems to be a tambourine.

It doesn’t get much more personal than “It’s Only Life,” Mercer’s personal plea to those who have given up. Mercer admits his own acceptance of defeat at one point, but assures the listener that there’s always a “glass half full” approach. Mercer believes it’s in the power of

the individual to change things with lyrics such as, “Open up your parachute/Something’s gotta stop the freefall.”

Port of Morrow will both entice new fans and remind old fans why they loved The Shins in the first place. The peaks of the album are album opener “The Rifle’s Spiral,” upbeat “Bait and Switch” and captivating “40 Mark Strasse.” Port of Morrow does a lot of things right. It has not only exceeded many fans’ expectations, but maybe even raised them.

artists and professional artists can mingle and show their works.

He said that people reacting to the gallery have commented on its fun and exciring atmosphere, and that the owners have taken a unique business approach by selling art, having artists lease space in the gallery and renting the space as a venue for parties and concerts.

Ibanez said that he enjoys being able to share this passion for art with his students and the community, and that he believes art holds an immense power.

Beyond its ability to spark

creativity and imagination that might otherwise be forgotten, Ibanez said that, from the earliest of human existence, art has enhanced communication and expression that can’t be found with words.

“Art helps us talk about the things that are really hard to talk about with just words,” Ibanez said. “There is so much in our lives that is just ineffable; we can’t vocalize it because it’s too complicated, too simple, too beautiful, too ugly, and yet we have to speak. We have to try to talk about it. Art is for that.”

Courtesy Murray Close/MCT

Femme fatale: Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Katniss Everdeen, prepares herself for action in the annual Hunger Games. The Games pit 12 boys and 12 girls ages 12-18 against each other in a fight to the death as a bloody spectacle that is watched throughout the nation.

Album exceeds high expectations

by Conor Schrader Reporter

It must be difficult to be James Mercer.

How do you release an album after a five year hiatus and expect fans to be satisfied? album Especially after eview releasing three albums which have set the bar so high that even humoring fans seems impossible.

After a few side projects and collaborations that left much to be desired, The Shins’ future seemed dim. James Mercer, who is at this point synonymous with his band The Shins, has found success in reinvention, consistency and, most importantly, nostalgia.

Port of Morrow, The Shins’ fourth album is more than a solid addition to the Shins’ catalog. It’s almost a summarization of everything good about The Shins. The skin and bone lyrical foundation from indie classic “Oh, Inverted World,” the addicting, pop-rock meat and muscle from “Chutes Too Narrow” and the masterfully produced sound that gave “Wincing the Night Away” a soul are all very much alive in Port of Morrow.

Album single and highlight “Simple Song” blends the beautiful production of Wincing the Night Away with the contagiously optimistic pop feel of Chutes Too Narrow. Mercer’s

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Art

from page B8 clude them in the gallery after its opening. Senior Reanna Nelson had her artwork displayed in the gallery the night it opened.

“Having art in the gallery has been amazing, both in the opportunities it has given me and being surrounded with such accomplished artists,” Nelson said. “It’s definitely inspired me to work harder because my art is in a real community setting, not just a high school, and it’s great.”

Ibanez said that the gallery is unique in that both student

Port of Morrow Album Cover

the book and/or watching the movie.

Go and watch Lawrence and Hutcherson fight for their lives

and for a chance to return back home, away from the utterly sadistic and unforgiving Hunger Games.

March 30, 2012

Preparation is Key

limelight B8

Junior Austen Allen, senior Emily Guyor and junior Dana Brown rehearse a scene from the musical Annie. The musical was performed to packed houses on March 22, 23 and 24.

the rocky mountain hiGhliGhter

What’s in the Limelight?

Today: Movie Release: Mirror Mirror Concert: Straight No Chaser @ Lincoln Center Mar. 31: Concert: The Ting Tings @ Ogden Apr. 3: Concert: Fun. @ Aggie CD Release: Rascal Flatts: Changed School: Concert Apr. 4: Concert: Passafire @ Black Sheep Movie Release: Titanic in IMAX 3-D Apr. 6: Movie Release: American Reunion Concert: Band of Skulls @ Ogden Apr. 10: School: Pre-Festival Concert Concert: Death Cab for Cutie @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House Apr. 12: Wicked @ Buell Theater Apr. 13: School: Prom Movie Release: The Cabin in the Woods Apr. 17: CD Release: Train: California 37 CD Release: Adam Lambert: Trespassing Apr. 18: Concert: Celtic Woman @ Wells Fargo Theater Concert: Ingrid Michaelson @ Boulder Theater Apr. 19: Concert: Slaughterhouse @ Fox Theater Apr. 20: Movie Release: Think Like a Man Apr. 24: CD Release: Jack White: Blunderbuss Concert: Nero @ Ogden Apr. 25: Daniel Tosh @ Pikes Peak Center Apr. 26: Gabriel Iglesias @ Paramount

poEts Slam poetry regains popularity among youth

Meleena O'Neill

Slam down

Short explores slam poetry, self-expression

by Cam Chorpenning Limelight Editor

Convention is rarely welcome when it comes to art, and slam poetry is certainly no exception “A lot of people don’t realize the range, I mean a lot of times you think poetry and you think rhyming type stanzas, and you think doom and gloom, or you think love poetry,” limelight art teacher and pecial former slam poet Jay Dukart said. “Some of it’s very comedic; some of it’s very intense. It’s a very, very broad range. It bashes people’s traditional ideas of what poetry is, and that’s why I was always drawn to it.”

The art form combines theatrical elements with the writing associated with poetry.

Slam poets write their own material and present it before audiences in a style that incorporates a great deal of emotion and some rhythm, taking a form that somewhat resembles rap. Slam poetry has recently resurfaced as a popular art form, especially among teens and young adults.

“I think that it’s so popular among the youth because they are finding that it’s a way to get their point across,” sophomore Addie Hammond said. “It’s like a new way to have their voice.”

Like many art forms slam poetry often contains political and societal messages, messages based on opinions like those that many young people are forming for themselves

by Grant Rotman Reporter

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Jump to SLAM, page B6

Photo Illustration by Cam Chorpenning

Urban Dictionary defines slam poetry as, “The only thing known to man that makes anyone under the age of 30 like poetry.”

Senior Brandon Short may be under 30, and he may be involved in slam poetry, but his inspiration and devotion are deeper than meet the eye.

His passion has been the stage whether through theater, choir or forensics, but he has truly found his niche in this new age poetry at which he is very adept.

Short discovered slam poetry his sophomore year in Doug Cole’s English class and was instantly hooked.

“Slam poetry is really cool because it’s so emotional and purposeful,” Short said.

After Short learned about slam poetry he began downloading mp3s of slams, streaming YouTube videos of onstage slams, attending slam standups, and creating his own poems.

Short bases much of his poetry on his favorite poet Shel Silverstein’s works. He uses metaphors to express himself while keeping his poems lighthearted.

One of Short’s slams portrays a store that sells questions and another is about a girl named Love.

“Deep slams are awesome, but I’m young, so I don’t want write about how hard life is,” Short said.

He keeps his poems fun and entertaining but doesn’t

Grant Rotman

Pensive poet: Senior Brandon Short sits outside of the treehouse in which he writes and rehearses his slam poetry. Short will be performing at the Alleycat Coffeehouse slam night.

struggle to make his audience think. When he performs a slam, it’s smooth and fluent; he makes it look easy and effortless.

“The thing is you don’t have to write about personal in-depth topics,” Short said.

Short describes writing poems as “constantly evolving expression” which is why each one of his six slams took so much time to write. Short writes and practices his slams exclusively inside his tree house. He writes out a rough draft of his slam and then reads it out loud to himself while constantly changing the vocabulary and structure of each line. He admitted that sometimes he falls victim to writer’s block which only makes his work all the more tedious.

“He’s found a niche where he can really express himself, Jump to SHORT, page B6

Teacher opens art gallery with vision, purpose

by Cassa Niedringhaus Editor-in-Chief

On Feb. 29, art teacher Daniel Ibanez excitedly helped to reopen the Rendition Gallery in Old Town.

Ibanez is a co-owner of the gallery and said that while he initially was not interested in taking it on, he felt that if he didn’t help to save the gallery, no one would. Now he is enjoying the benefits that owning his own gallery allow him.

“I knew that it (the gallery) was just going to die,” Ibanez said.

“But, I also knew that I didn’t have all the skills or time myself to do it. I contacted a couple friends, got a bunch of people together and we divided up the responsibilities and the debt burden and we moved forward. I did it more for Fort Collins than I did it for myself.

“But since I have been involved, there are some benefits. I can craft the style of the gallery, the feel of the gallery, the caliber of

Raven Dixon

Artist with a mission: Art teacher Daniel Ibanez (second from right) greets art enthusiasts at the Feb. 29 opening of the Rendition Gallery. Ibanez owns part of the gallery and has featured students' artwork in it.

the work in a way that I appreciate, which is just a benefit, but it wasn’t the reason I got involved.

I got involved for the artists at large.”

Ibanez’s appreciation for art led him to save the gallery, and is something that started at a very

young age for him.

“I was drawing before I could walk,” Ibanez said. “I had a greatgrandfather that wouldn’t let me have coloring books and so I was drawing pictures with pencil and paper when I was just a baby.”

Ibanez wants to share this love

of art and his new gallery with the students in his art classes. As he was shaping and redesigning the new gallery, he led discussions in his classes to gather student opinions and include them in the process.

Amanda Kriss was a student in his digital design class and said that Ibanez is one of the most passionate teachers she has ever had and that it was nice to be included in his new gallery.

“He was bouncing around ideas for names (for the gallery) with us and was really trying to get us included in the process of opening it,” Kriss said. “He asked about fun locations and themes and really tried to keep us included in this decision and kept us informed about it, so that was really nice.”

Beyond including students in the process of reopening the gallery, Ibanez has also striven to inJump to ART, page B7