Rocky Mountain Highlighter: 2013 January

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Rocky pinball wizards // B1

highlighter Mental Health// B4-B5

Dermody’s last year//A6

rocky mountain January 25, 2013

side show the

Talent show //B8

//Rocky Mountain High School\\

Volume 40, No. 5

To Protect and Serve . . .

High School Hijinks:

A 15-year-old high school student is challenging a San Antonio school district’s new policy to require students at two campuses to wear their student ID badges which feature “locator” microchips.

In a lawsuit filed against the district, the student claims the ID rule violates her religious beliefs, saying the badge is a “mark of the beast.”

The chip allows administrators to track the whereabouts of 4,200 students with GPS-like precision.

Care About This: The

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola company began airing advertisements on Jan. 14 that target America’s obesity issues. The commercials highlight the way the company is helping to fight obesity by offering lower calorie beverage alternatives as well as smaller portions of its high-sugar content drinks.

Social critics have given CocaCola a mixed response for its efforts.

Quote of the Issue:

“When you alienate individuals and people don’t feel like they are part of a group, they are willing to take greater risks that will have a negative impact on others.”

-Psychology teacher Ginny Cox, pages B4-5

Violence and teach glorified in media New bill could arm teachers

Photo Illustration by Amanda Kriss, Concept by Cam Chorpenning

by Michelle Kennedy//features editor

Columbine, Aurora, Newtown.

These locations have become household names in the United States because of the tragedies they have played host to. While the media has swarmed around the victims, shooters and pain that these events have caused, many people are beginning to question the media’s tactics and protocols in covering such tragedies.

“I feel like the media sensationalizes tragedy, while making it appear that they are sad for the victims,” media analysis teacher J.D. Williams said. “Whether it be the Aurora shooting, or Connecticut or Columbine, there seems to be a fascination with sensationalizing the killer rather than focusing on the victims.”

In the case of the Aurora theater shooting on July 20, 2012, the shooter, James Holmes’s, face and background were plastered across nearly every news station in the country. Yet, for some people, the solution to growing violence is not to focus on the shooter, but to support the victims.

“What disturbs me is when the media says ‘we need to understand their motivation,’” counselor Pam Kilness said.

//Jump to Media,

on A2

by Cam Chorpenning//editor-in-chief

Teachers might soon be issued more than just an I.D. badge.

In the wake of school shootings such as in Newtown, Conn. and near Bakersfield, Calif., some have advocated a strategy of fighting fire with fire-- protect school children by arming their teachers and training them in the use of firearms.

Lately, gun control has been hotly debated nationally, with some declaring that more guns are the answer to increasing the safety of all Americans. Others maintain that strict control and regulation of firearms is the only route for the nation to take. Additionally, still others assert that guns are not the issue at all, but rather the country’s attention (or lack thereof ) to mental health

//news special//

issues, as well as the “culture of violence” perpetuated within American society.

However, the gun issue has the potential to impact students and schools much more directly than they might have suspected.

Senate Bill 13-009 has recently been proposed in the state legislature-- a bill that, if passed, would allow school boards to decide whether or not teachers with the proper credentials (i.e. a concealed carry permit) would be allowed to carry weapons in schools. North Carolina has proposed similar legislation, and a school district in Texas has already armed its teachers. However, the Colorado bill is not expected to pass.

“It’s a statement bill,” Government teacher Tom List said.

“It has no chance of passing.”

By a “statement bill” List said he means that the bill’s real purpose is to put the issue it

addresses-- in this case arming teachers-- in the minds of legislators and to provoke public debate regarding the bill, so that when there are enough people in the state legislature who support the bill, it can pass more easily.

“All that would have to happen is a majority of folks in the legislature that think it ought to happen,” List said.

Presently, the Poudre School District policy regarding adults and weapons in school dictates that nobody but “security personnel” or someone with “express permission from the law or a district official” is allowed to carry weapons within a school. This means that anybody with the proper training who is required to carry a firearm for their job is permitted to carry it within schools in PSD.

//Jump to Bill,

on A2

2 4% OF STUDENTS

SAID THEY WOULD F IF THEIR TEACHER EEL ENDANGERED S WERE ARMED

OF STUDENTS SU PPORT TIGHTENING GUN CONTROL

46%

320 student surveyed

news//highlighter

January 25, 2013 \ \ A2

Q \\ A

Bill//

from page A1 “If I was, by employment, security personnel, I may (carry a gun on campus),” said Russell Stapleton, dean of students.

However, certain members of the staff stand firmly by a belief that to solve such tremendous problems as school shootings, the solution is not as easy as handing teachers firearms.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction to a terrible tragedy,” List said.

“We don’t know what to do. I think this (solution) gets a lot of attention because it’s the easiest solution.”

Added Stapleton, “I think the most proactive way to deal with situations is to have an active student body and active teachers communicating well with each other–having a culture in our building that looks after one another. I think Rocky does

Media//

from page A1 “The people who commit these types of acts are mentally ill and delusional. We can’t understand them, and their motivation is not going to make sense to a rational person.”

However, in a capitalist economy, news stations and other media sources are forced to approach stories in a manner that increases viewership.

“I struggle because if we didn’t all watch these shows then they wouldn’t continue putting them on the news,” school social worker Kelly Glick said. “We are also responsible for our consumption and what we do with it. I think that if the news offered equal amounts of positive and negative coverage that would balance it out, but I also understand that is how they make their money.”

While to a certain extent it is human nature to be somewhat interested in tragedy, its constant place in the spotlight is cause for alarm.

For some people, such an excess of negative press can cause anxiety and stress.

“If you look at the social norms and perceptions versus reality on violence and drug use, especially younger people perceive that it’s more prominent than it actually is,” Williams said. “I definitely think that we perceive that there is more violence than there actually is, based largely on what is on the news: fire, killing, rape. It becomes a show and it doesn’t reflect a variety of news and what is actually happening.”

In a society where the impact of media is constantly growing, news coverage can drastically skew one’s view on the world. In fact, according

that very well.”

Administrator Jan Harrison agreed, but also asserted that arming teachers would actually endanger the school more than protect it.

“I think if we have more guns in schools, more people are likely to get hurt,” Harrison said. “I just profoundly disagree with the NRA (National Rifle Association) that the more guns we have, the safer we’ll be.”

Like many teachers, List said he doesn’t see carrying a handgun as part of his duty to protect his students. Instead, he believes it is his job to ensure their safety in school and into the future by giving them knowledge.

“The job of teachers is to raise up generation after generation with rational ideas about how to take care of each other,” List said. “I’m not fearful, because we are armed with the most powerful weapon of all—knowledge. Knowledge is power.” to Pew Research’s Annual Report on Journalism, nearly 23 million Americans watched one of the three commercial broadcast news programs on ABC, CBS or NBC. However, it is not just the negative press that is exhibited on news shows that is an indication of an increasingly violent society. Some maintain that it is also the violent culture of movies, video games and other media sources.

“We don’t really bat an eye with violence,” Williams said. “If somebody shows too much skin in the U.S. we are up in arms, but if someone gets their head blown off in a movie or video game, it’s just kind of accepted. I find it hard to believe that seeing people murdered every night on TV doesn’t have any effect on a culture-- it makes us desensitized to violence.”

Yet, at the same time, one has to acknowledge that the media also has the ability to initiate positive change. For example, according to the National Alliance on Mental illness, in 2010 Colorado spent only 2.2 percent of the state budget on mental health services. Additionally, the state only provides services to 15.9 percent of adults who live with a serious mental illness. Yet, the recent shootings have prompted a renewed call for increased mental health services and awareness around the country.

“I think one of the things that has come out of this is that people are more aware of mental illness,” Kilness said.

Added Glick, “All of a sudden, maybe it took the media coverage of this to prompt a response to this problem. As human beings, sometimes it takes a tragedy to create movement.”

FBLA/ DECA to play matchmaker Looking to find love? The FBLA/DECA clubs can make that happen.

As a fundraiser for the business clubs who are heading to state this spring, members are putting on the Data Match. The Data Match is a survey for students and staff to complete and find their “true love” based upon compatibility with other

//in brief//

participants.

FBLA/DECA students will be delivering surveys to homerooms on a date also still to be set and will be picking them up during the same class period. Surveys could also be left in Lyell’s, VanDalen’s, Papp’s, or Thiebaut’s mailboxes. If teachers would rather not have the interruption during class, they should let Lyell know.

- Lucas Boland

rm

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith on the passage of Amendment 64 and marijuana’s potential impact on youth

Q:

What are the possible repercussions this amendment may have on Colorado?

A:

There’s a lot of things out there. The actual part about the possession is really the limited thing.

Some of the repercussions people are already starting to talk about is how federal law and state are intertwined. You’re already seeing universities pointing out that any use of marijuana by students on campus could result in their expulsion from school. A lot of employers have drug free requirements and marijuana is a part of that. And those with commercial drivers licenses and things like that, who have employment with the state of Colorado, could potentially lose all of their federal grants because one of the things that’s a requirement on every federal grant that I know of is that governmental employees must abide by all federal law. So a lot of implications like that you’re certain to hear discussions about. The possession of marijuana is something the state has every right to not enforce laws against but if they actually get involved in setting up laws to regulate something that is federally illegal, technically that would put state employees in current violation of federal law. So these implications to that as well. So a whole lot of little things like that don’t have to do with the possession.

Q:

Can you explain how, under this amendment, marijuana will be regulated?

A:

That’s a thing completely unknown because the amendment said that the state was required to come up with those laws or the regulation scheme I believe by July and implement it by January of next year.

Nobody knows what that would look like; that would be up to wherever the legislative process might go.

It basically gives the direction that the state has to do it but it doesn’t necessarily say how it’s going to be done.

The legislature’s working through it, coming up with specifics because it’s now acknowledged as a constitutional amendment and a constitutional right.

It just says “make this happen” but it doesn’t state how that’s supposed to happen and it doesn’t address the implications of other laws that would be violated by this.

Q: A:

How will it affect high school students?

We’ll see over time. My belief is it will negatively, simply because even at the point we started seeing medical marijuana move to a retail environment the expulsions for drug usage in high schools have gone up, certainly in Poudre I know a lot. And all the studies that I’ve heard about and seen have shown usage by young people going up pretty drastically at the same time that most other offenses have been flat or a bit lower.

Q:

What advice do you have for high school students? What should they know about this law?

A:

The decisions you make early in your life have repercussions. And whether that’s use of alcohol or use of other drugs illegally, those things can come back to haunt you. I would caution them to be careful what they put in their body and always think about that.

Secondly, those decisions are something that might stick with them so they should think about that before they fall into some peer pressure.

Compiled by Emily Anderson

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//A3

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January 25, 2013

Surfing slowed

Hittin’ the books: Junior Tia Clark examines a book at the school library . Clark is one of many school of choice students who make up about 20 percent of the school’s population.

Aaron Yu

School of choice bolsters population

by Aaron Yu//reporter

Every morning, Tia Clark wakes up at 5:40 a.m. to get ready for school.

She walks to the bus stop near her home in Loveland and boards the FLEX bus to Foothills Mall. At 7:05, she boards the 1 bus then the 19 bus, eventually reaching the corner of Shield Street and West Swallow Road, and Rocky, at 7:45 a.m.

Clark is one of many School of Choice students; she doesn’t live in the Rocky attendance area, but chooses to go to school here anyway.

“I really like Rocky,” Clark said. “I’ve wanted to go to this school since third grade.”

Students like Clark make up over 20 percent of the school’s student population. Although it would be more convenient for them to attend their local schools, they choose to go the extra mile, both literally and figuratively, to attend Rocky.

“Currently, we don’t have a lot of high school aged students living in our attendance area,” Principal Tom Lopez said.

Although the number of high-school aged students in Rocky’s attendance area is declining, the number of enrolled students has stayed strong at the optimal population: 1900 to 2000 students.

One might assume that with a declining attendance area, student enrollment would follow suit and decline; however, this is not the case.

The number of enrolled School of Choice students at Rocky exceeds 400. Over one fifth of the student population is made up of people who don’t live in the area, but choose to attend regardless.

School of Choice students are one of the main reasons that

Rocky Mountain can maintain its wide range of teachers and support for students of all flavors. Many choose to come here for things such as the Art and Music programs; some choose to come simply for the more comfortable atmosphere. Without the 400 plus enrolled students, detriments such as budget and staffing cuts would occur, effectively reducing Rocky’s ability to cater to the needs of a diverse student body.

“With fewer students, bad things like staffing cuts occur,” Lopez said.

Theoretically, the student population should be declining, but it holds firm in an area with fewer high school students.

Statistically, upper middle class families are the most likely to have children, as seen in an area such as southwest Fort Collins, near Fossil Ridge High School. Rocky is at a geographic disadvantage when it comes to the demographic of high school aged students, but the student population never follows the same trend. There seem to be many reasons for this anomaly, the social environment itself being one of them.

“Rocky has talented student and staff that offer a safe and welcoming environment,” Lopez said.

Senior Tiana Martinez, president of the Japanese Culture club, chose Rocky because the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Society was offered here.

“A big reason I came here is because of (the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Society),” Martinez said. “They’re like a second family.”

Students like Clark and Martinez are a part of the hundreds that help the school maintain its optimal capacity, and its ability to be a landmark school.

Michelle’s Musings

Michelle Kennedy

According to an article by the Washington Post, 15 of the 25 worst mass shootings in the last 50 years have occurred in the United States.

The country with the second highest number of shootings was Finland with only two.

However, even one mass shooting is far too great a price to pay for gun control laws and a society that only seems to be becoming more violent.

In the wake of tragedies like the Aurora theater shooting, or more recently, the Newtown Connecticut shooting, gun

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Megan Shaw

Working with the web: (From left) Juniors Darla Billington, Kunten Tseker, Brody Knauer, and Ben Braley work in the library’s computer lab. With revamped internet filters some of the material that was previously available on the web is now blocked.

New filter changes how students use internet

by Megan Shaw//center editor

Page Blocked.

Access to the requested site has been restricted due to its content.

Appearing on computer screens schoolwide is a message notifying students, as well as teachers, that the internet sites they are attempting to view are being restricted due to a newly renovated Poudre School District web filter.

“There was technically nothing wrong with it (the old filter).

There was new legislation passed in the state of Colorado that took effect January 1,” head of media and technology, Crystal Boyd, said. “It required additional filtering for schools, and the old filter did not meet those requirements.”

This new system, called iBoss Security, creates a filter list that blocks certain websites based on content. This list can also be modified, however, by members of a committee for PSD. “They come up with a generic list of sites that people visit and they categorize it based on content of the site,” Casey Johnson, IT Technical Services employee for PSD, said. “We can also add or remove stuff from that list.”

The reasoning behind this newly updated system is to meet

state legislature requirements that the district was not meeting before. The old system could only filter a limited number of devices, and it is required that any mobile device owned by the district is filtered when taken home.

“The state legislature requires that if a device (owned by the district) is taken home, they have to be filtered to a minimum level of filtering,” Johnson said. “Basically, no porn; no inappropriate content. They should still be able to perform their basic educational tasks from home.”

If there is a certain page or site that is restricted and needs to be used for educational purposes, teachers are provided with a link that, once clicked, will send a notification to the district for review. If the district finds that there is true educational value, they can unblock it.

“We research it and say, ‘Is it educational value, or staff value only, or for student value? Is it for both?’ and then go back and unblock it,” Johnson said. “We usually have it [unblocked] in 24 hours.”

The only aspect of this new filter that is dramatically new, according to Boyd, is the clean version of YouTube. This clean version of the site does not exactly filter video content,

however. Its main purpose is to filter everything but the videos, especially for younger kids since the filter is district-wide.

“The clean filtering is actually just filtering the comments and the ads,” Johnson said. “YouTube tries to be very non-pornographic, so that’s a good thing, but then there is also some content like bloody pictures and things like that.”

Although the filter has changed, most feedback the district has received about the filter has been positive, according to Johnson and Begin.

“We’ve heard a lot of comments about how much faster the filter is working,” Begin said.

“We’ve had a lot of teachers respond back positively the fact that we’re able to open up specific sites or sub-sites without having to open the entire category.”

One negative comment they have received about the new filter, however, according to Begin, is the fact that they have not opened access to social media tools.

“We don’t have any plans at this time, but that’s an everchanging decision point,” Begin said. “We’ll take that under consideration on a regular basis and at some point we may choose to open that up.”

Gun control not the only component of solution to combating violence

control reform has finally come to the table in Washington. But, in reality, this is only a band-aid for a larger problem plaguing society.

Turn on the evening news and one is bombarded with images of violence; flip on a movie and you can see the hero killing countless “enemies”; Play Assassin’s Creed or Halo and you can “kill” fellow players.

Modern society is dominated by senseless violence in the media to the extent that many people have become desensitized to its effects. In fact, many people don’t even flinch when they see someone brutally

killed in a movie or on a TV show.

Although there is a clear need for change and ineffective gun control might be part of the problem, new regulation will not be a permanent solution. The “bad guys” will always find a way around the rules; no amount of regulation and restriction can prevent this.

Instead, it’s time to realize that the culture of violence in the United States can no longer be overlooked. It’s hard to argue that the constant violence experienced on a daily basis has no impact on one’s mental disposition.

For those who commit acts such as these recent tragedies, the focus should be on stopping this problem at its source and recognizing that this issue is not one of gun control, but rather mental health.

While gun control and regulation may be part of the solution to a seemingly growing issue of violence in society, its potentially positive impact can only be achieved with a simultaneous focus on other parts of the problem.

Michelle Kennedy is a senior and the Features Editor for the RM Highlighter.

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//opinionrm highlighter

January 25, 2012

Solving the gun issue with more guns A

shooter attacks the status quo.

Therefore, any added security measures are a reaction to the new normal.

Shooters always have the luxury of time and planning. If they want to get past a security measure, they will. Every single time. And it’s because they do get past the existing measures that we continually New state make new Senate bill ones, in the would allow hope that the next shootconcealed ing won’t be handguns on quite so bad school property or it will be stopped before it happens, or, even better, that there won’t be a next time.

In 1966, Charles Whitman climbed the University of TexasAustin Tower and killed 14 people. Police teams alone weren’t able to stop him quickly or efficiently, so SWAT teams were created across the country. In 1999, in the wake of the Columbine massacre, a wave of reactionary security tactics swept schools, including a proposed bill to penalize the sale of any violent or sexual media to minors. In 2009, following the shooting at Fort Hood, investigations swept the military, focusing on the fact that the shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan, had showed multiple warning signs including trading emails with a known alQaeda sympathizer.

Needless to say, the

The Issue:

//staff editorial// status quo failed in all these scenarios. At the University of Texas, police failed to stop the shooter in a timely manner. Columbine High School had an armed security guard on campus, who exchanged fire with the shooters. Fort Hood was a United States Army base. In every case, the shooters were able to circumvent the measures in place, and new security measures were created in reaction to the new normal.

Such is the case with nearly all of the 61 mass murders committed in the United States since 1982.

But if these shooters are consistently successful, what purpose do security measures actually serve? It should go without saying that something has to be done when people are murdered on such a large scale, and the case of the 27 victims killed during the course of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is no different. Whatever is done in reaction to the new normal, however, must serve at least one of two purposes: to increase the safety of Americans and potential victims, or to act as a psychological support against the reality of mass violence. The new Colorado Senate Bill 13-009, allowing the carrying of concealed

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Cam’s Chorner

Cam Chorpenning

I’m well aware that, in today’s media coverage, the issue of gun control is akin to beating a dead horse, and that various other articles and opinion pieces within this very newspaper address it.

However, I want to speak my peace in pertinence to a very specific aspect of this issue—an aspect that has surprisingly little to do with gun control itself, but everything to do with how politics is conducted and how opinions are expressed in America today.

Recently, the National Rifle Association (NRA) put out an advertisement in response to President Obama’s recent push for gun control that called him an “elitist hypocrite” and asked its viewers

National Scholastic Press Association National Critique

STAFF Editor-in-Chief// Cam Chorpenning Ad Manager// Opinion Editor// Sports Editor//

Sean Bray Emily Anderson Lauren Binder

Features Editor// Michelle Kennedy Center Editor//

Megan Shaw

Limelight Editor//Megan Troutman Staff// Lucas Boland Isaac Effner Amanda Kriss Artist// Adviser//

Raven Guerrero-Dixon Aaron Yu Amanda Kriss Stephen Wahlfeldt

RM Highlighter editorial policy //Amanda Kriss, artist

handguns on school property, does neither.

It makes us no safer to have an illtrained, psychologically unconditioned bearer of a firearm in our classrooms and hallways.

We trust our military and our police force to carry weapons, but only after extensive training, education, and evaluation. They are trained not only to know how to fire a weapon - but when not to. In fact, for most members of the police force, firing a

weapon is a last resort.

And yet suddenly, we expect a teacher to display a similar level of calm-headed reasoning in a crisis scenario after a brief training session over Winter Break? Put simply, our teachers are not qualified to be carrying weapons en masse, much less be able to use them responsibly.

So then, is it a psychological barrier, one which will make us feel safer, whether or not we are? Again, the answer

is a resounding no. We, as students of Rocky, feel no safer knowing that our teachers could be carrying a firearm. If anything, there is only an increased sense of danger, of the overarching permanence of gun violence in our everyday lives. We are not safer. We do not feel safer. And Senate bill 13-009 fails to accomplish anything but to propagate the sense of danger first sown by the tragedy in Connecticut.

New NRA ad crosses line of common decency, sense

why he was skeptical about placing armed guards in schools when his two daughters are supervised by guards constantly, using the phrase “protection for their kids, gun-free zones for ours.”

There are a few flaws inherent in the NRA’s argument, first and foremost being the assumption that more armed guards in schools solves the safety issue, but that’s a debate for another column.

It’s a fallacy to compare the daughters of the President of the United States’ situation to that of the average American child. The people protecting them aren’t just armed guards, they’re the secret service, whose sole purpose is to protect the President and his or her family.

Pacemaker Finalist-2012; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2012; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2011; Pacemaker Winner-2010; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2010; Pacemaker Finalist-2009; All-American, 4 Mark of Distinction-2009; All-American Hall of Fame Induction-2008; All-American, 5 Marks of Distinction-2008; Pacemaker Finalist-2007; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2007; Pacemaker Winner-2006; All-American, 5 Marks of Distinction-2006; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2005; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2004; All-American, 5 Marks of Distinction-2003; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2002; All-American, 5 Marks of Distinction-2001; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-2000; All-American, 4 Marks of Distinction-1999.

The Rocky Mountain Highlighter is published nine times during the school year by the newspaper staff of Rocky Mountain High School/1300 W. Swallow Road/ 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 Obama girls are a potentially more high-profile target for a deranged killer or even someone vehemently opposed to their father than, for instance, a random student from Rocky, thus more protection for them is in order.

However, my true opposition to the NRA’s ad comes not from a political stance, or even a rhetorical one, but rather a standpoint advocating common human decency. In my mind, by making an attack on the President through the vehicle of not only his children, but also the rest of the children of America, the NRA grossly oversteps a moral boundary.

The insinuation that any President of the United States, policies and politics aside,

Gold Medalist-2012; Gold Medalist-2011; Gold Medalist-2010; Silver Crown-2009; Gold Medalist-2009; Silver Medalist-2008; Gold Medalist- 2007; Gold Medalist-2006; Gold Medalist-2005; Silver Crown-2005; Gold Medalist-2004; Silver Crown-2004; Gold Medalist-2003; Silver Crown-2003; Gold Medalist-2002; Gold Medalist-2001; Gold Medalist-2000; Gold Medalist-1999.

CHSPA Newspaper Awards All-Colorado-2012; All-Colorado-2011; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2010; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2009; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2008; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2007; 2nd place, 5A Sweepstakes-2006; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2005; 2nd place, 5A Sweepstakes-2004; 2nd place, 5A Sweepstakes-2003; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2002; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-2001; 2nd place, 5A Sweepstakes-1996; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-1992; 2nd place, 5A Sweepstakes-1991; 2nd place, 5A Sweepstakes-1990; 1st place, 5A Sweepstakes-1987.

doesn’t care about the children of the nation whose protection and well-being they are ensuring is utterly disgusting.

The NRA is exercising its right of free speech, and its members are fighting for their beliefs, which is at the core of what this country is all about. However, the fact that they carry out their campaign for the Second Amendment in a manner that blatantly insults the leader of the nation and questions his care for the children of his country infuriates me.

There are mature, decent and fair ways to debate an issue, but with this advertisement, the NRA exhibit none of these.

Cam Chorpenning is a senior and the editor-in-chief of the RM Highlighter.

Columbia Scholastic Press Association National Critique

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.

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//A5

Censorship or protection?

50 Shades of Bray Sean Bray

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January 25, 2013

The solution to gun violence

With all this talk about how to address the gun control issue now facing America, I think a very simple solution, a compromise even, has been lost.

Let’s look at what both sides want: Everyone wants less murder; the Right wants to maintain the right to bear arms and the Left wants to change the way we deal with firearms in our country. And I’ve found the answer. Here’s what we do: We allow everyone to possess the assault weapons that have found themselves in the crosshairs, but all weapons must look absolutely, completely ridiculous. I’m talking hot pink AR-15s, furry AK-47s, bedazzled M4s. It’s the perfect solution to a serious issue—and I think it’s one we can all agree on.

After all, if your argument is for the Second Amendment, you’ll agree that nothing says “well-regulated militia” like a line of Care Bear adorned assault rifles. Because that Care Bear stands for something. He stands for America.

Imagine the dedication it takes to be ready to march into battle with Funshine Bear sitting on the barrel of your rifle, or the courage required to reload a magazine with Loves-a-Lot Bear emblazoned on the front. And at the end of the day, when our tired militia is ready to lay down their weapons, we know the Bedtime Bear carrying case will be there for them. Besides, it’s totally constitutional: The Second Amendment says “the right to bear arms,” not “the right to bear totally awesome killing machines.” So, we just make some teddy bear arms, and we’ve satisfied the Right’s desire to uphold the Constitution.

Or maybe your problem is with the perception of weapons in the media. I’d be lying if I said that guns don’t excite the long dormant hunter-gatherer in me, so the question becomes how we satiate him.

The answer is to make guns decidedly un-badass. As things are now, if you go up to an American teenaged boy and ask him if he wants a gun, he’ll say yes. Now I know, some of you might be saying, “Oh, 50 Shades, that’s not true! I would never say yes to a gun!” Yeah, right, and Swiper would never try to swipe from Dora. Come on. It’s in our nature, and we need to face up to that fact before we can repress our innermost desires like normal, civilized adults do. Making guns look silly is just going to expedite that process—and with the added bonus that even a trenchcoat can’t conceal the joyous laughter of a Tickle Me Elmo M16.

So there we go. Gun control debate solved. It satisfies the Right, because they get their deadly weapons. It placates the Left, because they get a comprehensive reform which will reduce gun violence. And I’ll be happy, because maybe I can finally get that Fraggle Rock Steyr Aug I’ve had my eye on. I’ll take my medal now.

Sean Bray is a senior and Ad Manager for the RM Highlighter.

Yes to SB 13-009 Dear Editor, I truly believe that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I believe teachers with a permit and concealed carry license are the key to safety in our schools. It would protect citizens, scare off future offenders and bring comfort to students and administrators in the school setting.

//letter to the editor//

Tyler Webb, senior

New web filter guards student innocence

While the new district wide internet filter implemented last Dec. has been met with animosity, the intended effects far outweigh any inconvenience to high schools.

The web filter’s primary purpose is to protect elementary school students from the corrupting influences lurking on the internet, and the district, which is required to have one universal filter for all schools, created it to avoid children being traumatized. A web filter (when successfully implemented) can block all sorts of obscenity, pornography and general filth from coming into contact with young children.

The new web filter covers more of the internet than the previous filter by blocking “keywords” instead of individual pages and by introducing a filter for YouTube specifically called “iboss”. The new filter also closed a loophole by making it difficult for a student to bypass the filter through a secondary search engine like Wikipedia as the filter recognizes and blocks the keyword rather than the site.

The added protection can help both teachers and parents

rest a little easier and use the internet as an educational tool without the fear of students coming across offensive websites.

While the web filter does not effectively block all harmful material and can be occasionally bypassed through Google images, it significantly reduces the amount of contact a student has with obscenity on the ordinary internet search.

Although non-obscene sub-

jects are inadvertently blocked by the filter and at times can appear obstructive to school work, this poses a small obstacle for high school students who are well equipped with smart phones that bypass the school’s internet.

Surely a minor inconvenience is a small price to pay for the protection of the mental wellbeing of the upcoming generation.

Isaac Effner

There are also serious inconsistencies with this system. The website nationalbreastcancer. org was able to be opened from a different computer and also when the link was opened from a source different than Google.

So, is it blocked or not blocked?

How will students know if it will open up or if it won’t? These things have not been specified.

Although it is understandable that the district has a certain responsibility to protect students and restrict the viewing of certain obscene images, where can the line be drawn between the subjects students search for crude entertainment and the subjects that may seem gruesome or anatomic but are necessary for research?

In another example, the government-created page for sui-

cide cannot be viewed, as well as a site that is related to the recent elementary school shooting in Connecticut, which were both being used for school-related research when it was discovered they could not be used. Additionally, the Wikipedia page about the 1948 novel The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer is blocked, yet there is complete open access to a website called sh*tbrix.com, dedicated entirely to crude and ignorant pictures that will “f**k your mind” for entertainment. So, again, where is the line drawn?

If there is a label that goes with the inconsistent system that is “filtering” the Poudre School District internet, it would be nice to know what we can and cannot see.

Megan Shaw

“I don’t think we need teachers with guns but maybe a guard or something.”

“Yes, because if a student was dumb enough to bring a gun a teacher could be like, ‘I’m packing, Bro’.”

Pro Con

 New web filter unnecessary, inconsistent

Let’s say you are researching breast cancer for a school project.

Type it into Google, and the new internet filter, which Poudre School District is required by the state to have, blocks many of the websites that come up under this research topic.

However, these sites are not just photos of breasts, for instance, that would be restricted for understandable reasons.

Instead, these sites are valid places where cancer information can be attained. For example, the entirety of the websites nationalbreastcancer.org and cancercenter. com are blocked.

photopoll

//Amanda Kriss, artist

Would you

feel safer at school if your teachers could carry concealed handguns?

Duylan Salas, freshman

“Yes, because if it’s in a safe lock where only they know the combination we’ll be safer.”

Sid Elder, sophomore

Charlie Royer, sophomore

“Yes, in fact I would prefer unconcealed fully-auto shotguns.”

Jack Shulteiss, junior

“No way, no one except the law enforcement and the military needs guns.”

Sean Kennedy, senior

sports//highlighter

January 25, 2013 \ \ A6

Four year all star

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Senior Dermody in final stretch of four years on varsity

by Lucas Boland//reporter

Eighty-eight games, three coaches, four years on varsity, six- feet-three-inches, and one great basketball player.

Add all those things together and senior Michael Dermody is the sum.

During his entire time at Rocky, Dermody has played basketball, varsity basketball.

For juniors, to play varsity is common, impressive for sophomores, and very unusual for freshmen to make the cut. Dermody, however, has the special talent in which he was on the playing level of 18-year-olds as a 14-year-old kid. While being on the top team as a freshman doesn’t leave much room for advancement, Dermody, who is often referred to as “Derm,” continued to excel through the ranks and is now the anchor for the basketball squad.

“It’s definitely been pretty crazy...a huge growing experience for me,” Dermody said.

With multiple head coaching changes and losing the majority of his teammates each year, nothing more adequately describes Dermody’s high school career than “crazy.”

“I’ve had three different coaches during those four years and I’ve seen a lot of players come through and leave Rocky,” Dermody said.

►Michael Dermody

Dribble down: Senior Michael Dermody (left) takes the ball down the court in the game against Denver South at am early-season tournament held at Fossil Ridge High School.

Dermody has been on the varsity team since his freshman year.

Boys’ basketball//

Record: 2-11/0-6 Analysis: The boys’ team is currently stuck in an 8-game losing streak that has placed it last in the Front Range League.

Stars: Senior Michael Dermody, 16.5 ppg./5.5 rpg.; senior Aaron Hines, 8.3 ppg./5.6 rpg.

Ahead: At home against league leaders Fairview (tonight, 6:30 p.m.) and Monarch (Feb. 1).

Focus: Improve everyday get better, and work hard.

Talk: “Ultimately we are beating ourselves, not others are beating us.” -junior Jacob Bruntz

All the while, Derm has remained a constant for the program, each day working to better himself and improve the team as well. As he is a constant for the program, basketball has been a constant for him, extending back to when he was young.

“He’s got a real knowledge of the game,” said Shon Dermody, Michael’s father. “He’s been playing it since he was a kid.”

Using that understanding of the game, Dermody has sculpted himself into a valuable asset for the program. His hard work and skill-set put him into a leadership role for the team.

“Mike has a lot of responsibility on our team,” said coach Jon Rakiecki. “For us to win basketball games, he has to be our primary scorer.”

Dermody more often than not does fill the primary scorer role.

So far this season, he is averaging 16 points per game in addition to five rebounds per game.

To get to this point, though, has not only been the result of his natural talent. Dermody is the leader of the team due to his dedication to the sport. Called by some a “gym rat,” he can be frequently spotted working during the off season, honing his skills and getting better.

“You don’t become a good player overnight. He spends a lot of time working on his game,” said Rakiecki. “He’s invested in the game, and the game is paying him back.”

The experience Dermody brings to the table also contrib-

Lauren Binder

utes to his position on the team, as he is expected to use it in game situations.

“Being around for four years, you see a lot of things and you can kind of take charge because you’ve had a lot of experience,” Dermody said. “When anything is critical in a game, I’m kind of the one to take charge or take the shot, just because I’ve been there for a long time and I think the guys know that and trust that.”

Rakiecki realizes this, and uses it to the team’s advantage.

“Last year, he was a good player on a good team. This year, he definitely has to fill the ‘best player on the team’ role, which he’s done pretty good with,” Rakiecki said.

There is no doubt that Dermody has improved as player, but there’s always room for additional improvement even if a player begins their career on varsity.

However, Dermody doesn’t simply have a better shot, better ballhandling skills, or footwork. In addition to those things, he has

stepped up and learned how to lead. Over the past four years he has matured in different aspects of life.

“He’s maturing, both on and off the court,” Rakiecki said.

“People that know Mike know he’s a great kid. He’s fun to be around, laid back, and he’s always got a smile on his face.”

Shon said he enjoys going to see his son play often and has also observed his growth over the years.

“He’s gotten better every year—his leadership abilities as well,” Shon said.

Dermody is looking forward as he goes through his senior year. He plans to play in college, with exactly where still to be determined. Three schools he is considering attending have already accepted his college applications.

“I’m not really sure where I’ll play yet. After the season, hopefully, I’ll know for sure,” Dermody said.

Coach Rakiecki sees Der-

mody’s energized approach and recognizes his efforts.

“He’s really thinking about the future and what’s next,” Rakiecki said. “Mike has done a good job being proactive and thinking about and applying to college.

But, I’m going to miss him.”

The end of a high school career will be bittersweet for Dermody as he prepares to enter the next chapter of his life.

“It’s been a huge part of my life for the last four years, and I’m going to miss it,” Dermody said. “I’m going to miss the memories and students and everything. But at the same time, you’ve got to move on in life.”

However, with college preparations well underway, Dermody is free to focus on ending his last season at Rocky with strength.

Half the season left leaves still more room for improvement and more games to be won.

The approach for Dermody and the basketball team is all about optimism and energy—like the first 88 games.

Girls’ basketball off to rough start, hopeful finish

by Lauren Binder//sports editor

The girls’ basketball is off to a tough start this season.

With a 5-8 record and 1-5 in the Front Range League, the team is looking to turn around its fortunes and climb up the league standings.

“As a team we are getting more comfortable together and handling the big spotlight better. I always think that I can work on things and improve,” said junior and leading scorer Anna Ernst.

With such a young and new team, being able to work together and get the wins is no easy task to accomplish. Senior Kelsey Hennig, the lone senior on the team, makes for a challenging leadership position.

“Well, with our team, we are having more bonding right

now, so we are getting along a lot,” Hennig said. “More people are stepping up as leaders.

Sometimes having only one leader can be stressful, so having a few more people stepping up is really nice.”

Often, people will define how well a season is going by looking at the wins and losses, but both Ernst and Hennig see it a bit differently.

“Winning plays a big role, but it’s overall about the experience that counts. We play to win, but also just for the experience,” Ernst said.

“Obviously, our record isn’t great, but we are still a really talented team even though we don’t always show it through our games,” Hennig said. “We do really well in practice. We just have a hard time transitioning it back over to the games”

Girls Basketball//

Record: 5-8/1-5 Analysis:After a tough loss to Poudre and Collins last week, the team plans on stepping up their game.

Stars: Kelsey Hennig, Anna Ernst Focus: The little things, and a tougher defense Talk: “We just need to make the best of it and keep fighting.”

-junior Anna Ernst

The team still has the opportunity to be in the playoffs this year with a strong stretch run. The biggest improvement element of the game, both girls said, is for the team to play tougher defense.

“I just remind myself that it’s just a game, and I can’t beat myself up for too long because there is another game coming up,” Ernst said.

Lucas Boland

Getting ready: Junior Anna Ernst waits for the ball after it was hit out of bounds at the game against highly ranked Poudre. The girls record is 5-8.

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Messed// from page A8

chance for success. Stemming from this, the smaller conference schools get the short stick and will forever remain small conferences. It’s a vicious, intentional cycle.

Another reason the BCS is flawed is because the best teams are determined by polls. Two polls are human-based and one is computer-based, which is programmed by humans, so essentially all three polls are human based. The human element obviously introduces the issue of personal bias, especially since the Coaches’ Poll is one of them.

These coaches, oftentimes of teams they are voting on, might vote a certain way in order the help their own team succeed, as voters in the Harris Interactive Poll might as well. Since the bowl games are dependent upon the ranks from these polls, it’s easy to see how the integrity of the postseason games can be skewed.

A new playoff system is set to take place in the 2014-2015 season. This is a four-team playoff where the top these teams are chosen by a selection committee.

Although this new reformation is better, an eight-team or even 16-team system would be more appropriate.

With the system set this way, conferences no longer matter as much and money allocation is more fair because any conference has just as good of a chance as the next. Hopefully, a result from this could be invigorating non-major conferences and making them more of national competitors.

Although the new system set to take effect the season after next does make improvements, there is still much more that could be done to re-energize the league and bring life and excitement back. The BCS simply must be eliminated. No more blowout championship games and no more SEC domination.

But hey, that might upset all the Katherine Webbs (Crimson Tide fans know who I’m talking about) out there who root for Alabama.

Lucas Boland is a junior and a reporter for the RM Highlighter.

CHAMP Taylor

by Lauren Binder//sports editor

What a champ, a CHAMP. Head wrestling coach Ken Taylor was honored and presented the Sonny Ken Taylor accomplishments Lubick Coach of ► 30 years of Characcoaching ter Award ► Coached Pouon Jan. dre from 1975 to 15.

1990 The ► Coaching Sonny Lubick Rocky since 2001 Coach of ► Dual record, Char278 wins,76 acter losses and 3 ties Award is ► 166 wins,29 presented losses,3 ties at annuRocky ally at the ► 16 individual Breakstate champions fast of ► 50 individual CHAMstate placers Pions to one outstanding coach in the Fort Collins community who focuses on character development while teaching life lessons through sports.

“To me, it’s exciting because I have known him for a long time.

I have the deepest respect for coach. I truly believe that he is the finest wrestling coach in the state of Colorado, no questions about it,” Principal Tom Lopez said. “Just want to say that from the bottom my heart that I hope this warms him up and makes him feel that a lot of things that he has done in his life are way beyond what we have all hoped that he would accomplish.”

Taylor has lived wrestling throughout his life from high school up to runner-up at the National Championships during his time at Adams State College

Injuries// from page A8

players, they’re more apt to communicate their feelings with you,” Brook said.

When helping students reach a decision about how they’ll handle their injury, Vardiman ensures that players also consider the long-term.

It’s different for everybody, but all

Stroking past: Junior Daffney Williams performs the back stroke at the City Meet two weekeds ago. The girls are getting ready for conference and working on faster times before the season is over.

Record: Defeated Poudre in last meet Stars: Adele Waites Shawn Kispick, Daffney Williams Ahead: Getting ready for the conference and doing their best

//A7

Wrestling coach receives character award

Megan Troutman

Girls’ Swimming//

January 25, 2013

Focus: Faster times, and beating the other teams around the city, especially Fossil.

Talk: “We want to make our best times and do as well as we can.” -junior Ashley LongoPeairs

Lauren Binder

Champ Taylor: Wrestling coach Ken Taylor (right) receives the CHAMP Sonny Lubick award for being a coach that promotes character when teaching his athletes. Principal Tom Lopez (center) gives a speech about how proud he is.

Wrestling//

Record: 8-1 duals Analysis: The Lobo wrestlers are ranked No. 2 in 5A, according to Colorado Preps Network, sandwiched between perennial state powers Pomona and Ponderosa.

Stars: Senior Tony Martinez (285 pounds) and Ben

in Colorado. When first presented this award a surprised Taylor responded with, “What? Did you run out of candidates?”

Athletic Director Wayne Moddelmog is no stranger to this award because his brother, Lyle Moddelmog, won the Sonny Lubick award back in 2010.

Wayne Moddelmog and Lopez

must consider: “Is playing on this injury worth it?” For some, the answer could be yes, for others, no.

“Yeah you think about their sport continuing, but you also have to think about life,” Vardiman said.

“It can’t always be the here and now, it has to be the later on, we have to keep all of that in focus.”

As a trainer at the high school

were the two who nominated Taylor for the award.

“All of us should know that this guy cares more about you guys [wrestlers] than anyone he could ever know, and, sorry I’m getting a little choked up, but he is the best coach that I have ever known,” Moddelmog said.

Character, Taylor said, is very

important to him when he coaches the team and also what he has focused on throughout his career.

Because of this, Moddelmog and Lopez believed that he would be the perfect candidate for the CHAMP award, and he was.

“I have realized that your athletic career is so short lived,” Taylor said. “So what are you going to do with your lives after?

What are you going to fall back on? It’s not going to be that winloss record, and it’s not going to be the state championship that you may or may not have gotten.

It’s going to be the character that you have developed that is going to sustain you and your career in business and relationships, so it’s everything.”

and collegiate levels, Vardiman has seen injuries affect people in all walks of life and how the consequences reach further than it might seem.

“Is that joint ever going to go back to the way it was when it was 100 percent healthy? No,” Vardiman said. “But we can get it pretty darn close. Sometimes it may never feel good again.”

Despite the volume of compounding injuries in sports today, it is an issue that the sporting world is taking steps in the right direction to fixing.

“In the grand scheme of things, if they realize ‘I really am injured,’m letting people down by not taking care of it,’” Brook said. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to get the player healed and back on the field.”

Drysdale (132 pounds) are rankied 3rd and 4th in 5A in their respective weight classes.

Ahead: At home against Poudre on Jan. 31; at regionals (at Loveland) on Feb. 15-16.

Focus: Winning Talk: “ We have the most potential for this season.” -junior Trevor Anderson.

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//A8//

Pushing Past Pain to Play Athletes willing to push injuries in order to play the sport they love

by Lucas Boland//reporter

It’s the last season playing for the high school team, the last game of the year.

There’s only 10 more minutes left. Culminating in the championship game. This is it.

Athletes get it. Time to play—no matter what.

Anybody who does something they love gets it. Sometimes, to do the things they have a passion for, they make sacrifices. Oftentimes, sacrificing the body is part of the job description.

“It’s just the passion,” said Kate Vardiman, the athletic trainer at Rocky. “It’s their sport; it’s what they love to do.”

Every season, regardless of the sport, it’s typical for athletes to get injured. In fact, it would be pleasantly unusual to have no injuries on a sports team. Depending upon the player, everybody will handle being hurt differently. There are many different ways an athlete might approach an injury.

A large portion of players handle injuries in what some might call a more “responsible” way, by recognizing and confronting being hurt and, then, fixing the problem.

However, it can be observed quite often, a player having something seriously wrong with their body, and instead of taking time off to heal and get better, they continue to play on the injury. Oftentimes, this compounds the problem already at hand and more damage is done to the athlete’s body.

As to why those who play sports choose to play on injuries, there are many explanations. For senior football player Austin Bengford, being in his last year of high school played a major factor in making decisions regarding his injury.

“It’s senior year. It’s not like I’m going to play football after this,” Bengford said.

//sports special//

“Why not go for it?”

An injured shoulder had already needed one surgery, and after the 2012 football season it was certain he was going to need another.

“I already knew I was going to have another surgery...so I figured I had nothing to lose,” Bengford said.

Ending a sports career strong is one reason to continue playing through pain. Football coach Mark Brook said he feels that in the end, athletes playing on injuries simply boils down to one thing.

“If there was one reason, it’s that they’d be afraid of not being able to play,” Brook said.

Not being able to play is the last thing a player wants to experience. After all, many times sports equal passion. Not being able to play means not being a force in games for the team, not competing alongside teammates and coaches, and not being watched by proud on-looking parents and others.

“You don’t want to let down your teammates,” Bengford said. “Getting hurt in a sport is probably the worst thing you could do just because you feel like you’re letting so many people down.”

Choosing to ignore an injury is one thing.

However, in some instances athletes don’t know that they’re injured or understand the significance of the pain they’re experiencing. Discerning between a “bump and a bruise” is not always easy to do.

“Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference,” Bengford said.

This is when coaching staffs come in to play a big role in the progression of an athlete’s injury.

Sometimes it’s possible for a bump or bruise to turn into an actual injury. At Rocky, coaching staffs like to emphasize their approachability to student athletes. From there, coaches can help make decisions for the betterment of the team and player.

“We expect them to communicate with us,” Brook said. “If a player is not normal, not who we know and coach every day, we’ll pull them out and have a discussion with them to see what’s going on.”

The football coaching staff likes to remain approachable by having a strong connection with the players.

“If you have good relationships with the

//Jump to Injuries,

►Austin

Bengford

on A7 Photo Illustration by Lauren Binder

IrresistiBoland Lucas Boland

\\

It took less than 15 minutes of playing time to clearly determine that Alabama would be the victor of the 2013 BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7.

The second best college football team in the country, allegedly Notre Dame, could not manage to put points on the board until the Crimson Tide had buried them in a five-touchdown deficit during the waning minutes of the third quarter.

This game, ending in a 42-14 score, is undoubtedly an embarrassment to Notre Dame, but not nearly as shameful to them as it is to NCAA Division

Time to boot old BCS system; fortunately, new format on the way

I football. Who can blame the Fighting Irish when they were set up to lose?

Consider this blowout to be Exhibit Z of just how big of a joke the BCS has become and how the ever so close, yet increasingly distant reformation where a playoff system will replace the bowl games couldn’t come faster even if it was approaching at the speed of sound,the sound of disappointed, angry, and frankly bored college football connoisseurs.

For a varied and extensive list of explanations, some of which is hard to understand, the BCS selection system is garbage. The league has become boring

due to utter domination by the SEC, with a team from that conference winning the BCS National Championship the last seven years. This makes college football simply boring to watch, as it’s easy to predict who will once again be the champions in college football. The strength of the teams in the Southeastern Conference is exceedingly greater than other conferences, with more money and attention giving them more chances.

Currently, the major conferences, Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and the Pacific-12 all automatically put a team, the winner

of the conference, into one of BCS bowl games, such as the Rose or Fiesta bowls. Even if other teams from different schools outside of those conferences are better, they might not make a bowl game because these conferences automatically take a spot. These conferences also receive huge payouts for playing in bowl games, which makes their programs stronger and stronger.

Thus, these teams dominate because the best recruits want to go to these schools where they will have a better

//Jump to Messed,

on A7

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January 25, 2013

//B1//

Shaw’s Law

Megan Shaw

‘Teendom’ not excuse for disrespect We are growing up.

As students in high school, we have a lot more freedom, the ability to make choices and more responsibilities to uphold. We are slowly becoming adults each and every day.

Sometimes, however, people confuse responsibility and freedom with entitlement. Becoming an adult does not mean that you can lose your sense of respect for other adults, including teachers.

I have seen several of my fellow classmates talk down to their teachers and treat them with little to no respect. They get visibly impatient, rude and make snarky comments. When the teacher tells them to stop talking over them, or asks them to put their cell phone away, they just laugh or roll their eyes.

Because you’re a teenager.

Because you do what you want.

Because, who cares, right? After one quarter or semester you’ll never have to talk to this teacher again, so it doesn’t really matter.

Wrong.

Even if you don’t particularly like your teacher or their teaching style, it is your responsibility as a high school student to respect them. They come to school every day to teach us, help us understand difficult subjects and learn interesting new things. Teachers are human, and regardless of whether or not it seems so, they have days when they’d rather stay at home instead of coming to school, just like you.

I can only imagine that rude students contribute to such a feeling. Granted, not every teacher is perfect; they have different teaching styles, personalities and ways to run their class.

However, put yourself in the position of a teacher. Listen to the comments your classmates make and watch the way they treat their teachers. Not everyone is disrespectful to their teachers, but sometimes it’s easy to disregard what they say when they ask you to shape up.

For the rest of your life, you will come across people that you don’t like, but there is often nothing you can do about it. You will have bosses, coworkers, college professors and many other people in your life that are not compatible but you still have to respect them.

Respect is a judgement of someone’s character, as is entitlement. Don’t think that just because you are in high school you are “all grown up,” and you can do whatever you want.

Acting like you are more entitled than your teachers is a childish act. If you are going to consider yourself an adult, you have to act like one.

Megan Shaw is a senior and the Center Editor for the RM Highlighter.

Local arcade an up-and-coming vintage hangout

by Michelle Kennedy//features editor

If you were just walking around Old Town, you could almost miss it.

Yet down a set of secluded stairs in Old Town Square lies one of Fort Collins’s hidden gems: Pinball Jones.

The bright lights and enticing sounds of pinball machines lure in passersby as each day new people discover this underground pinball haven. Despite its hidden location, this unique arcade is becoming a favorite hangout for youth and adults alike, including numerous Rocky students and staff members.

“It’s vintage, local and absolutely fun,” social studies teacher Scott Van Tatenhove said.

“It’s one of the few places you can go where you can have a good time for cheap. You get that downtown feel even though you’re not at one of the bars, and it doesn’t have a commercial feel at all.”

Since discovering his passion for pinball over the summer, Van Tatenhove has been working at Pinball Jones and has had the opportunity to learn about the machines by repairing them and playing lots of pinball.

“Playing free pinball is the best perk I’ve ever had for a job,” Van Tatenhove said. “I’ve worked a decent amount of hours, but I’ve probably played several thousand dollars worth of pinball.”

For junior and Pinball Jones employee Levi Fels, pinball and arcade games have always been one of his passions.

However, his path to working at Pinball Jones was somewhat unusual.

“I made my own arcade game a few years back, and then when I came down here, I thought that it was awesome,” Fels said. “I

//features special//

Michelle Kennedy

Mr. Fix It: Above, junior Levi Fels works on a pinball machine that Pinball Jones is restoring. Inset left, social studies teacher Scott Van Tatenhove and Fels challenge each other in a game of pinball on one of Pinball Jones’s 24 pinball machines. In addition to playing for fun, the arcade also hosts a Wednesday night pinball league.

always came and played and then one day, Kim (the owner of Pinball Jones) had to leave early and she left me in-charge for 15 min and since then I’ve been working here more and more often. Now I’m down here regularly.”

In an atmosphere where playing pinball is

part of the job requirement, it would be hard not to love your job.

“I like everything about working there,” Fels said. “It’s more fun than work. If I could do this for the rest of my life, I would be

//Jump to Pinball,

“

on B2

A passion for fashion

by Raven Dixon//reporter

Where’d you get that?

As America solidifies itself as a flagrantly consumerist society, concerns with name brand labels have placed an even greater reliance on mass produced clothing for self-definition. For senior Dana Brown, the answer may be very different from the majority of the masses.

Brown’s unique clothing and style are a testament to pure self expression. And, her clothing is completely unique, because she makes it.

Brown’s interest in sewing began at a young age.

“My mom always had her grandmother’s sewing machine just down in the basement and I thought that was really cool,”

//Student feature//

Raven Dixon

Fashionista: Senior Dana Brown poses surrounded by her own custom clothing creations. In addition to the clothing on the mannequins, Brown also made the shirt and embellished the jeans that she is wearing.

I like to

do more of the recycled clothing sort of thing by buying sheets and curtains and stuff from the thrift stores.

Dana Brown, senior

Brown said. “She didn’t know how to use it, but I wanted to learn how. I did 4H for a while and did some sewing with that, but then I got tired of following the rules of patterns so I decided to go off on my own.”

//Jump to Brown,

on B3

features//highlighter

January 25, 2013 \ \ B2

rm

Creating connections Connection Club forges enduring relationships

by Michelle Kennedy//features editor

If smiles were currency, then Connection Club would be making the world wealthier one person at a time.

Connection Club is a group at Rocky that unites students with and without disabilities to give them an opportunity to participate in activities together.

“Connection Club provides students with special needs the opportunity to engage in extra curricular activities with their peers on a regular basis,” club sponsor Stacey Dyer said.

In addition to weekly lunch meetings, Connection Club attends various events outside of school. This year, students have attended homecoming, football games, an ice show and gone bowling together.

“My favorite part is that it provides a great place for students with and without disabilities to socialize with each other,” club sponsor Amy McLean said. “Peers can be some of the best models for my students to learn how to socialize appropriately because we’re teachers, not teenagers, so I’d rather have them learning from their peers about how to fit in and be a part of the high school community.”

For senior Maria Elliott, participating in Connection Club has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her high school career.

“Personally, I got involved in Connection Club because I have a huge heart for kids with special needs,” Elliott said.

“My favorite part has been the fact that these kids find so much joy in the littlest things in life. They’re always super positive and they make everything fun.”

Connection Club is incredibly beneficial to all who are involved. In fact,

//club feature//

Pinball// from page B1

Photo courtesy of Amy McLean

Sharing smiles: From left to right, Connection Club members junior Roxy Erickson, sophomore Elli Wittenauer, senior Joanie Ellis, sophomore Miah Barrett, and senior Maria Elliott pose for a picture while eating dinner at Red Robin before Homecoming this year. Connection Club is a school-sponsored activity that brings together students with and without disabilities. The club meets every Monday in the San Juan Open Space for students to plan outings and socialize.

last year when the group attended prom, McLean had a student with a disability who attended that, previously, she didn’t think would have the ability to engage in such an activity.

“We would have never thought he would have been able to do something like that,” McLean said. “It was really cool to see that and for his parents to be able to see him go to the prom.”

Whether it’s the allure of making new friends or just a desire to help others, Connection Club is making a difference by creating lasting friendships.

“I like seeing people happy and by being in Connection Club I hope that I’m helping make my peers happy,”

“

Scott Van Tatenhove, social studies teacher

senior Joanie Ellis said. “I love that I get to see everyone each week and all of their smiles.”

Despite the fact that reaching out to one’s peers is a small action, the impact that the club makes is immeasurable.

For Elliott, her goals for Connection Club extend beyond simply attending activities with her disabled peers. In fact, one of Elliott’s goals this year has been to change the way that people view others with disabilities. She hopes that Connection Club will help her to accomplish this feat.

“I want to get these kids involved in the community,” Elliott said. “That way people who aren’t used to being around

people with a disability will have a better understanding of how to interact with them.”

The group meets every Monday in the San Juan Open Space for lighthearted socialization, laughter and event planning and is open to any student who wants to participate.

“People should get involved,” McLean said. “People can participate as much or as little as they want. Whether they just want to come to the lunch meetings or participate outside of school.”

Ellis added, “You will have the time of your life because it is the best thing ever.

It’s a lot of fun because all we do is laugh, talk and make friends.”

With most video games today, you

happy.”

For owner Kim Jones, opening a pinball arcade came about somewhat unexpectedly.

“I worked at an arcade in college and I had really kind of forgotten about how much I liked Pinball,” Jones said.

“Then a friend of mine about four years ago said that she was “My favorite game when I getting a pinball machine and was younger was Black Hole,” the next thing I knew, I was on Jones said. “It’s the most nosCraigslist trying to find a pinball talgic for me, but now it breaks machine; then it kind of went a lot.” from there.”

However, the cost of owning Jones started and operating pinout by putting ball machines isn’t machines in cheap. Between the Want to play? ► Pinball Jones is located various bars and cost of buying maat 107 Linden Street in Old shops around chines, maintaining Town Square Colorado before and restoring them ► Rocky students get 2 free games of pinball deciding to open and powering the ► Visit pinballjones.com her own location machines, Pinball for more information in Fort Collins.

Jones was quite an She started out investment. with 10 of her “The newest own machines and four from an machine is AC/DC and it was acquaintance, but her collection $7,000,” Jones said. “Brand-new has been growing ever since. machines are normally about Currently, the location that much, but sometimes I houses 24 pinball machines get really fortunate and people ranging in age from 1976 to are willing to sell machines for brand-new. much cheaper.”

play the same thing over and over again, but with pinball it’s always different.

Michelle Kennedy

Pinballin’: Social studies teacher Scott Van Tatenhove plays a game of pinball at Pinball Jones in Old Town Square. Since discovering Pinball Jones with his daughter over the summer, Van Tatenhove has been working at the arcade and has agreed to give any student that beats him in a game of pinball extra credit in his class

However, for patrons, the cost to play pinball is minimal.

Most of the games in the arcade range from 25 cents to $1 per game, but the entertainment that they provide is priceless.

Even though pinball is similar to a video game, many people find it to be much more satisfying than sitting in front of their TV with a joystick.

“With most video games today, you play the same thing

over and over again, but with pinball, it’s always different,” Van Tatenhove said. “You can play the same game 10 times and have a totally different experience each time, and that’s one of the reasons why I like it.”

Jones added, “I like everything about it. It’s fun and it brings all kinds of people together. I like video games, but I think that Pinball is tangible.

You know its not just a screen.

Each machine is different, so you can explore into different machines and figure out how each one works.”

Unlike a video game, in addition to the physicality of operating the flippers, you can actually shake the machine to try and manipulate the ball position with most pinball machines.

To encourage students to come to Pinball Jones Van Tatenhove, or “Scotty V.” as he is known at the arcade, offers a challenge to his students: Beat him in pinball and get extra credit. However, no one has beaten him yet.

“It’s people like Scott that have been real big supporters of this place,” Jones said. “He’s got great energy, a great smile and is always very positive about everything. You know, when you come into that atmosphere, you want to have fun, and he has that kind of charisma.”

Whether you’re walking into Pinball Jones for the first time, or if you come in on a regular basis, its vintage atmosphere, kind employees and plethora of pinball is sure to please all ages.

As Fels said, “Everyone should come play a couple games.”

rm Q \\ A

highlighter\\features

Chrystal Kelly, counselor

On the challenge of running marathons

Q: A:

►Chrystal Kelly

January 25, 2013

//B3

Fun with fatalities CSI forensics class expands experiences

by Aaron Yu//reporter

Michelle Kennedy

How did you get into marathons?

Well, I liked running but I hadn’t run a lot. My husband really wanted to do one, so instead of doing a bunch of short ones, we just went ahead and did a marathon.

Q: A:

Did you do any training beforehand?

We had done training, but we didn’t do half-marathons or anything like that.

We just decided that would be our goal. We decided just to try it. That was all it took.

Q: A:

Have you ever won a marathon?

You know, you have to be pretty elite to win. One of the big reasons I run is because my dad died when I was a senior in high school and he was only 51. He died of a heart attack, and even though he was a really healthy guy, he didn’t eat great or exercise consistently. One of the biggest reasons I run is to stay healthy, but within my age group and in females, I typically place top 15 to 20 percent. For me, it’s always been me against myself. I would never be elite enough to win a marathon. But I love watching the people that can.

Q: A:

How have marathons benefitted you?

Well I think the one thing is that it keeps me motivated to stay as healthy as I can; it keeps me eating well. But I feel like they just really help me as a counselor and working with kids, keeping a balance.

Because if I don’t get exercise, I’m crabby. So when I’m training for that and doing that and feeling really good, I’m doing a good job with students, with my family. And that just helps.

Compiled by Raven Dixon

Brown//

from page B1 Now Brown possesses over 30 pieces, and what started out as curiosity has become something of a commitment.

Each article of clothing requires between two to four hours to complete, “depending on how elaborate it is,” said Brown. Her creations include anything from blouses to her homecoming dress, which she crafted for the dance last year.

But, aside from budgeting time, Brown has also found a way to indulge her stylistic creativity without breaking the bank. Instead of purchasing

There’s blood everywhere.

Crimson droplets and pools surround the head of a man lying dead on the floor. Groups of investigators come in, examining the morbid scene, taking notes and making observations.

Luckily, this crime scene is just a simulation, one of several hands-on labs in the new forensic sciences class taught Darcie Fedak, by science Forensics Sciences teacher Darteacher cie Fedak.

Just like the shows and movies, this crime scene investigation class explores things such as toxicology, blood splatter and more.

Fedak came up with the idea when she realized that “as far as science electives went, we had a lot that were catered towards students that were really good at math like chemistry and physics, but we didn’t have a lot for students that were maybe less interested [in those subjects].”

Activities and labs in the class have included murder crime scenes, using the science of toxicology to determine drugs and their effects, guest speakers and other activities.

“We had some guest speakers come in,” Fedak said. “We had an investigator with the coroner’s office that we’ll definitely have talk again.”

Along with investigating crime scenes and the things associated with them, the class also takes a look at case studies, such as those of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy and the local Tim Masters case.

Student reactions to the class have been generally positive; they find it a fun experience that manages to teach them interesting information as well.

“My favorite unit was Toxicology,”

“

This

class is based on a lot of labs.

It’s very handson, and it’s similar to how a true crime scene investigation works.

supplies from pricey fabric stores such as JoAnn’s, Brown has found other ways to bring her designs to fruition.

“I like to do more of the recycled clothing sort of thing by buying sheets and curtains and stuff from the thrift stores,” Brown said.

With an expanding closet, Brown has de- veloped a sense of style that can reflect her personality.

“Classy” and “colorful” are words that she hopes to capture within her wardrobe, as well as mirror her unique character.

Senior Katie Clark, who is a longtime friend of Brown, has been inspired by her peer.

Ed Kennedy

Real life insight: Senior Jana McBeth takes a picture of a “dead body” during a crime scene investigation lab while junior Tia Clark (far left), junior Alec Dotson (middle) and Paige Hangen (far right) investigate other aspects of the crime scene. The forensic sciences class is new to Rocky this year after teacher Darcie Fedak noticed a gap in the elective choices for students who may be interested in a topic like CSI.

junior Tia Clark said. “I enjoyed learning about how certain drugs affect the body.”

For students expecting a traditional learning environment with nothing but notes and listening, this class is not for them.

“This class is based on a lot of labs,” Fedak said. “It’s very hands-on, and it’s similar to how a true crime scene investigation works.”

The “investigators” proceed in a manner very similar to actual police work when they first arrive at a crime scene. Using knowledge that they gain in class through interactive labs, presentations and guest speakers, they assess the situation addressing the evidence on hand. Due to the class focusing on science that is more applicable

“I definitely try to put more things together that I don’t think would match because of what I see her wear,” Clark said.

“We’ve made some stuff together but I’m not as patient as she is with it. You need a lot of patience with that kind of stuff.”

Though her ingenuity has only begun to take notice, Brown has no plans to pursue a career in fashion or design.

“I think of it more as a hobby,” Brown said.

Though her interests in fashion have no place in her future, Brown plans to pursue industrial design, and, of course, create more clothing.

to real life, those enrolled may want to further research this career path.

If students decide after taking this class that this is something they want to pursue, Front Range Community College offers a course on law enforcement. For the students that enjoyed toxicology, they can further their understanding by taking a chemistry class.

For the ones that enjoyed the crime lab environment and autopsies, they can enroll in an anatomy class.

Forensic Science is a well-rounded class for nearly any individual that finds crime shows entertaining. For those that enjoy CSI and Criminal Minds, crime scenes and finding the truth, enrolling in the Forensic Sciences class is a fun and interesting option.

B4 \\ January 25, 2013

rmhighlighter\\center spread

Seeking

salvation for the

Professionals look for reasoning behind acts of violence, suicide after recent tragedies

by Emily Anderson//opinion editor Starting in 1999, the National Threat Assessment Center studied 37 separate school shootings, each initiated by one or multiple students.

While the perpetrators were all males and the majority were described as “loners with some kind of grievance,” they came from myriad ages, races, ethnic groups and family situations.

There is not one specific type of demeanor that causes someone to be more or less likely to go off the deep end.

“Due to past experiences and media coverage, we all have created a picture of who ‘the kid who would commit a school shooting’ is and we will constantly reference that image when we hear about these tragedies,” psychology teacher Ginny Cox said.

There are numerous and various factors that contribute to someone committing an act of homicide. The individuals who do so are so diverse in their mental states that it is difficult to pinpoint one type of “shooter personality.” However, there is a common trait among the people who initiate these crimes: suicide. Whether through self-inflicted harm or through death-by-cop, the majority of school shooters commit suicide after their massacre is over. Rarely does a killer enter a school or a public place with the intention of getting away with it.

“There are environmental indicators and warning signs, so the factors of a person who is at risk of doing this (committing a shooting) interestingly line up with the warning signs of somebody who is suicidal,” school psychologist Meg Griffin said. “It’s not just one thing. It’s a combination of several factors that can unfortunately contribute to a perfect storm.”

According to a 2008 federal survey, 1 million Americans have made an actual suicide attempt. The majority of these people have not attempted suicidal murder--the killing of others before oneself-- and do not have homi-

98% of all people who commit suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental disorder.

Everyday there are approximately 12 youth suicides in America.

Male youths are four times more likely to commit suicide than females.

In the average high school class an average of three teens will attempt suicide.

In 2000 there were 29,350 recorded suicides in America and in 2010 there were 38,364 recorded suicides.

More people die by suicide than by homicide in the United States.

An estimated 18.8% of Americans currently suffer from depression.

Courtesy of World Health Organization, American Society of Suicidology, Center for Disease Control

cidal tendencies that are particularly described in shooters. Then why do some desire to take others down with them? Psychologytoday.com suggests that in some cases the killer feels that he/she needs to make a mass spectacle, a sign of power. Sometimes the killer wants revenge on particular people and intentionally victimizes them--such as in the Columbine massacre or the recent shooting at a California high school where bullying was believed to be a significant motivating factor.

Similar to those with suicidal tendencies, the majority of people with mental illnesses are nonviolent. In fact, according to the Washington Institute of Medicine, people with psychiatric disabilities are far more likely to be victims of a violent crime than perpetrators. But there is still a correlation between mental diseases and those that commit horrendously violent acts, so, while unjustified, it’s not difficult to make generalizations and assumptions.

“I know there are a few little pieces of information out there saying that the shooter in Connecticut was diagnosed with autism or an autism spectrum disorder,” Griffin said.

“When figuring out what that ‘why’ is, it’s easy to make that generalization that because this one individual, who was obviously very disturbed, had these qualities, maybe the

people with similarities are predisposed or at risk of doing the same thing which is not necessarily the case. A couple of years ago, unfortunately, there was the Virginia Tech shooting and the shooter was Asian, so for a long time that was something that was brought to our awareness in terms of assessing people who could potentially be at risk.”

In 2003 the US Air Force published a study in the British Medical Journal clearly indicating that an intense suicide prevention or mental health program dramatically reduces violence of all kinds. There is a definite link: prevention in suicide through training and awareness results in prevention of suicidemurder.

“I’m on the suicide prevention team. We go out and train every single staff member in terms of recognizing risk factors, of environmental or behavioral factors of someone that could be at risk of committing suicide,” Griffin said.

In several cases, such as Virginia Tech, the shooter, Seung Hui Cho, exhibited evident signs of a mental instability prior to his rampage. The Virginia Tech review panel of the shooting concluded that there was an inadequate amount of mental health service.

In another example, the University of Colorado’s psychiatrist had alerted the

emergency assessment team of a potential threat regarding James Holmes, Aurora movie theater shooter, but they did nothing because he had dropped out of school.

“What could have been done instead? I think that, of course, we as professionals have steps that we can take,” Griffin said.

As well as internal mental factors, such as paranoia in a mentally unstable person, there are also theories of external factors contributing to an individual becoming violent.

Columbine is believed to have been caused, or partially caused, by bullying from other students. Bullying and abuse of any kind lead to increase stress levels, which can lead to an already borderline person to take drastic measures, as illustrated in multiple cases.

“When you alienate individuals and people don’t feel like they are part of a group, they are willing to take greater risks that will have a negative impact on others,” Cox said.

When asked about increased desensitization to violence (such as TV and video game violence) she added, “There are multiple reasons why this occurs, and I don’t think we can just blame video games.”

There is a common misconception that the school shooter suddenly “snaps” due to an outside force. In reality, the majority of the perpetrators spend weeks, months, and in some cases, years preparing. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kept journals and videos of their planning process, and Holmes even set up booby traps in his apartment to further injure people after he committed the shooting.

But, with Holmes in custody, there may be hope in learning more about these individuals and their mental states. “(Holmes) is very different from his peers, but he allowed the authorities to take him into custody. In the pictures of him he just really looks like he’s got some struggles, so I don’t know if he would ever get to be in a state of mind or have enough lucidity where he could speak clearly to that. That would be really interesting. So I think we could learn something from him,” Griffin said.

Mental illness should not be viewed as social stigma

by Lauren Binder//sports editor

“

Charlie Ross, Government teacher

A boy sits in his room, staring at the gun in his hands.

He contemplates everything that has happened that year.

His grip tightens, and he gets up.

Too many lives have been lost due to the tragic events involved in shootings that are happening in the places we feel safest. The shooting in Aurora where 12 lives were lost, and Sandy Hook, where 26 lives were lost, 20 of those casualties being children, has caused the government to realize that there needs to be a change.

Debate still exists as to whether gun control is needed to solve these sort of problems, or if guns are even the issue.

“In the last few years and with the serious cases of violence outbreak with automatic weapons there is a big crack in mental health suffering,” government teacher Charlie Ross said. “There are a lot of people with mental issues that are getting a hold of these weapons and

They get those things due to no

choice of their own and that is something we need to stop putting into the shadows of our society.

that’s a big issue and we need to mend it. Some people don’t like it, but its going to take some regulation. If people are opposed to this I think that they are opposed to solving the problem to violence.”

Principal Tom Lopez makes the point that some families don’t have the money or the support to help family members or kids obtain the right resources to help them mentally and emotionally. Kids tend to spend most of their time at the school and they need to feel that they are safe and healthy there. The assailant of the Sandy Hook shooting was 20 years old, not much older than a high school student. He decided to open fire in a school, a place most children feel secure and safe.

“If health insurance could ensure more families access to the health support they need, that would be great,” Lopez said. “But guess what, most health insurance is talking about physical help, not mental. Not unless there is a threat to society.”

Lopez helps pay more money towards mental health resources at Rocky in order to help students reach their full learning potential.

“Mental health is extremely important in our society right now,” Lopez said. “I really believe that the resources in the community are becoming less and less which is putting more pressures on the families. I really believe that the schools have an obligation now. Social

workers are trained in being able to help students with substance abuse, with anxiety, maybe to help them with anger management, maybe we need them because of grief, so it’s huge to have them around.”

Both Lopez and Ross agree that there may be a gap with mental health between our generation and the generation of our parents.

“In my era, people were in denial about the mental health issue. It was always ‘Get over it!’ and times have changed. Now we know that we need to take the real responsibility and do something about it,” Lopez said.

“Back in the day, you know, ‘crazy’ people and this and that, and those visiting a mental help professionals were stigmatized for being weak. But therapy involves talking for most people, and they just have different ways of coping,” Ross said.

There is a realization that people with these chemical imbalances are either born with it or gain it over time.

Ross says that, in his opinion, having a chemical imbalance seems a lot like cancer; you can’t blame someone for having cancer, much like someone with a chemical imbalance.

“They get those things due to no choice of their own and that is something that we need to stop putting into the shadows of our society,” Ross said. “You have people that aren’t getting help and then you give those people weapons... whoa, bad combination.”

January 25, 2013

//B5

B4 \\ January 25, 2013

rmhighlighter\\center spread

Seeking

salvation for the

Professionals look for reasoning behind acts of violence, suicide after recent tragedies

by Emily Anderson//opinion editor Starting in 1999, the National Threat Assessment Center studied 37 separate school shootings, each initiated by one or multiple students.

While the perpetrators were all males and the majority were described as “loners with some kind of grievance,” they came from myriad ages, races, ethnic groups and family situations.

There is not one specific type of demeanor that causes someone to be more or less likely to go off the deep end.

“Due to past experiences and media coverage, we all have created a picture of who ‘the kid who would commit a school shooting’ is and we will constantly reference that image when we hear about these tragedies,” psychology teacher Ginny Cox said.

There are numerous and various factors that contribute to someone committing an act of homicide. The individuals who do so are so diverse in their mental states that it is difficult to pinpoint one type of “shooter personality.” However, there is a common trait among the people who initiate these crimes: suicide. Whether through self-inflicted harm or through death-by-cop, the majority of school shooters commit suicide after their massacre is over. Rarely does a killer enter a school or a public place with the intention of getting away with it.

“There are environmental indicators and warning signs, so the factors of a person who is at risk of doing this (committing a shooting) interestingly line up with the warning signs of somebody who is suicidal,” school psychologist Meg Griffin said. “It’s not just one thing. It’s a combination of several factors that can unfortunately contribute to a perfect storm.”

According to a 2008 federal survey, 1 million Americans have made an actual suicide attempt. The majority of these people have not attempted suicidal murder--the killing of others before oneself-- and do not have homi-

98% of all people who commit suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental disorder.

Everyday there are approximately 12 youth suicides in America.

Male youths are four times more likely to commit suicide than females.

In the average high school class an average of three teens will attempt suicide.

In 2000 there were 29,350 recorded suicides in America and in 2010 there were 38,364 recorded suicides.

More people die by suicide than by homicide in the United States.

An estimated 18.8% of Americans currently suffer from depression.

Courtesy of World Health Organization, American Society of Suicidology, Center for Disease Control

cidal tendencies that are particularly described in shooters. Then why do some desire to take others down with them? Psychologytoday.com suggests that in some cases the killer feels that he/she needs to make a mass spectacle, a sign of power. Sometimes the killer wants revenge on particular people and intentionally victimizes them--such as in the Columbine massacre or the recent shooting at a California high school where bullying was believed to be a significant motivating factor.

Similar to those with suicidal tendencies, the majority of people with mental illnesses are nonviolent. In fact, according to the Washington Institute of Medicine, people with psychiatric disabilities are far more likely to be victims of a violent crime than perpetrators. But there is still a correlation between mental diseases and those that commit horrendously violent acts, so, while unjustified, it’s not difficult to make generalizations and assumptions.

“I know there are a few little pieces of information out there saying that the shooter in Connecticut was diagnosed with autism or an autism spectrum disorder,” Griffin said.

“When figuring out what that ‘why’ is, it’s easy to make that generalization that because this one individual, who was obviously very disturbed, had these qualities, maybe the

people with similarities are predisposed or at risk of doing the same thing which is not necessarily the case. A couple of years ago, unfortunately, there was the Virginia Tech shooting and the shooter was Asian, so for a long time that was something that was brought to our awareness in terms of assessing people who could potentially be at risk.”

In 2003 the US Air Force published a study in the British Medical Journal clearly indicating that an intense suicide prevention or mental health program dramatically reduces violence of all kinds. There is a definite link: prevention in suicide through training and awareness results in prevention of suicidemurder.

“I’m on the suicide prevention team. We go out and train every single staff member in terms of recognizing risk factors, of environmental or behavioral factors of someone that could be at risk of committing suicide,” Griffin said.

In several cases, such as Virginia Tech, the shooter, Seung Hui Cho, exhibited evident signs of a mental instability prior to his rampage. The Virginia Tech review panel of the shooting concluded that there was an inadequate amount of mental health service.

In another example, the University of Colorado’s psychiatrist had alerted the

emergency assessment team of a potential threat regarding James Holmes, Aurora movie theater shooter, but they did nothing because he had dropped out of school.

“What could have been done instead? I think that, of course, we as professionals have steps that we can take,” Griffin said.

As well as internal mental factors, such as paranoia in a mentally unstable person, there are also theories of external factors contributing to an individual becoming violent.

Columbine is believed to have been caused, or partially caused, by bullying from other students. Bullying and abuse of any kind lead to increase stress levels, which can lead to an already borderline person to take drastic measures, as illustrated in multiple cases.

“When you alienate individuals and people don’t feel like they are part of a group, they are willing to take greater risks that will have a negative impact on others,” Cox said.

When asked about increased desensitization to violence (such as TV and video game violence) she added, “There are multiple reasons why this occurs, and I don’t think we can just blame video games.”

There is a common misconception that the school shooter suddenly “snaps” due to an outside force. In reality, the majority of the perpetrators spend weeks, months, and in some cases, years preparing. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kept journals and videos of their planning process, and Holmes even set up booby traps in his apartment to further injure people after he committed the shooting.

But, with Holmes in custody, there may be hope in learning more about these individuals and their mental states. “(Holmes) is very different from his peers, but he allowed the authorities to take him into custody. In the pictures of him he just really looks like he’s got some struggles, so I don’t know if he would ever get to be in a state of mind or have enough lucidity where he could speak clearly to that. That would be really interesting. So I think we could learn something from him,” Griffin said.

Mental illness should not be viewed as social stigma

by Lauren Binder//sports editor

“

Charlie Ross, Government teacher

A boy sits in his room, staring at the gun in his hands.

He contemplates everything that has happened that year.

His grip tightens, and he gets up.

Too many lives have been lost due to the tragic events involved in shootings that are happening in the places we feel safest. The shooting in Aurora where 12 lives were lost, and Sandy Hook, where 26 lives were lost, 20 of those casualties being children, has caused the government to realize that there needs to be a change.

Debate still exists as to whether gun control is needed to solve these sort of problems, or if guns are even the issue.

“In the last few years and with the serious cases of violence outbreak with automatic weapons there is a big crack in mental health suffering,” government teacher Charlie Ross said. “There are a lot of people with mental issues that are getting a hold of these weapons and

They get those things due to no

choice of their own and that is something we need to stop putting into the shadows of our society.

that’s a big issue and we need to mend it. Some people don’t like it, but its going to take some regulation. If people are opposed to this I think that they are opposed to solving the problem to violence.”

Principal Tom Lopez makes the point that some families don’t have the money or the support to help family members or kids obtain the right resources to help them mentally and emotionally. Kids tend to spend most of their time at the school and they need to feel that they are safe and healthy there. The assailant of the Sandy Hook shooting was 20 years old, not much older than a high school student. He decided to open fire in a school, a place most children feel secure and safe.

“If health insurance could ensure more families access to the health support they need, that would be great,” Lopez said. “But guess what, most health insurance is talking about physical help, not mental. Not unless there is a threat to society.”

Lopez helps pay more money towards mental health resources at Rocky in order to help students reach their full learning potential.

“Mental health is extremely important in our society right now,” Lopez said. “I really believe that the resources in the community are becoming less and less which is putting more pressures on the families. I really believe that the schools have an obligation now. Social

workers are trained in being able to help students with substance abuse, with anxiety, maybe to help them with anger management, maybe we need them because of grief, so it’s huge to have them around.”

Both Lopez and Ross agree that there may be a gap with mental health between our generation and the generation of our parents.

“In my era, people were in denial about the mental health issue. It was always ‘Get over it!’ and times have changed. Now we know that we need to take the real responsibility and do something about it,” Lopez said.

“Back in the day, you know, ‘crazy’ people and this and that, and those visiting a mental help professionals were stigmatized for being weak. But therapy involves talking for most people, and they just have different ways of coping,” Ross said.

There is a realization that people with these chemical imbalances are either born with it or gain it over time.

Ross says that, in his opinion, having a chemical imbalance seems a lot like cancer; you can’t blame someone for having cancer, much like someone with a chemical imbalance.

“They get those things due to no choice of their own and that is something that we need to stop putting into the shadows of our society,” Ross said. “You have people that aren’t getting help and then you give those people weapons... whoa, bad combination.”

January 25, 2013

//B5

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One-Acts// from page B8

aganza with Helen Rawlins underestimated the work load put into directing a play.

“A lot more work than I think both of us were anticipating.

And then on these guys they have to learn it a lot quicker. We only have a couple weeks to do this so they have to throw it all together in a matter of weeks,” Allen said.

The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza is a play summarizing

Greek mythology in 30 minutes or less. The directors chose this play for its lighthearted humor.

“It touches on modern day jokes about false facts… where one of the narrators is on an iPhone and the other one’s in a big history textbook and they’re arguing over what actually happened,” Rawlins said.

The cast of eight talented actors must play over thirty characters, adding to the humor of the overall performance.

“We have a lot of actors from forensics which is really cool because they kind of bring a fresh

take to it, not really nailed down to something they’ve been doing for so long so they really get to discover how they want to act,” Allen said.

Each cast has to save a huge chuck of their time to rehearse and put on the plays.

“The cast is here (rehearsing) three days a week for about an hour and a half as well as putting other thought into it throughout the day. It’s not a small task for sure,” Haase said.

The directors definitely feel the pressure of putting on a play with only a script for guidance.

“With athletics, you have your own pressure to perform and that’s just what drives you every day,” Haase said. “So with this, I want to put on a good show, so it’s kind of my own drive to make it be the best.”

Not only the pressure of putting on a play, but the stress it takes to direct their own peers.

“At times, it’s hardest when they’re really rowdy and we want to talk with them and realize we have work to do,” Rawlins said.

The different casts all have a lot of fun rehearsing. They are excited for the result but enjoy-

ing the process.

“I’m just excited to see all my friends and family in the audience and just make everybody smile,” Feist said.

With all of the work put into creating four short performances, the results are bound to create a night to remember.

“I’m excited to make people laugh,” Haase said. “We’re constantly laughing, constantly cracking jokes, so we’re having a lot of fun with this. I’m excited to see people see us having fun with it, which will make them have more fun too.”

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January 25, 2013

//B7

Humor peeks out of violent shell in Django Unchained

by Sean Bray//ad manager

While it may not be Quentin Tarantino’s best work, Django Unchained is still a phenomenal cinematic experience.

First things first: if you’re adverse to extreme language and depictions of slavery, violence and nudity, this is probably not the film for you.

The film follows the exploits of Django (Jamie Foxx), an ex-slave turned bounty hunter, and his German partner and rescuer Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in their attempt to rescue Django’s still enslaved wife from the evil plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

With its plot revolving around rescuing a slave, Django Unchained is, primarily, a movie about slavery, it does not shy away from showing brutal scenes of violence, from the protagonist being whipped

//movie review//

to a man being ripped apart by a pack of vicious dogs. This violence (which has proved a mainstay of Tarantino’s style) provides much of the film’s drama and its humor, so it’s important to make a distinction between the two.

Tarantino treats slave violence with respect-- the most tense and hard-to-watch scenes being the most serious-- while violence against the white, Southern aristocracy provides the audience with both an object for ridicule and hilarity.

In general, that is a common theme, with the slaves and heroes of the film being intelligent and serious characters, and most of the white characters being ridiculous caricatures of a racist society.

The humor is impeccable. In fact, the film is funny enough that labeling it a comedy (if a dark one) wouldn’t be out of place. In particular, a scene in which a proto-KKK lynch-mob argues over the necessity of their white hoods before descending on Django and Schultz brilliantly ridicules the racist mob, in a way not often seen in modern

That’s So Raven Raven Dixon

The Academy Awards is a night of celebrities, glamor and pure entertainment.

But who exactly is being entertained?

It seems that every year the films nominated to receive awards are targeted toward an older audience. In other words, even to the most cinematically enlightened teen, most of the film nominees fall under the foreign category.

Even for those who, like me, rent

\\

cinema.

The only humor at the expense of the slave characters comes from Django, after his freedom, and usually built upon his character’s intelligence, and Samuel L. Jackson’s character, the head house-slave of Calvin Candie, and a despicable human being.

It’s worth noting that the acting in the movie is one of its greatest draws: Foxx and Waltz play off each other brilliantly, with Waltz delivering another Oscar-worthy performance, playing a character much the opposite of his last win, Nazi officer Hans Landa of Tarantino’s last film, Inglourious Basterds.

DiCaprio, for his part, sells Candie amazingly, most notably in a scene where he inadvertently cut his hand open without breaking character. He is completely believable as an abhorable slave owner throughout every scene in the movie.

The movie is not without it’s flaws, however. At 2 hours and 40 minutes long, it at times feels as though Tarantino didn’t

two young, star crossed lovers in a completely fresh and entertaining way.

Brilliant writer and director Wes Anderson, with the assistance of a star-studded cast, was thought to have created surefire award-nominated film from any of the award categories, but alas, the film garnered no such distinction.

If the Academy Awards were truly “recognizing the year’s best films,” then

New Fierce Bad Rabbit album exhibits growth, experimentation Local band Fierce Bad Rabbit has been growing rapidly as of late, with not only the decision to become full-time musicians, but also a new fulllength album, The Maestro and the Elephant, a piece of work which powerfully exemplifies the band’s development.

Fierce Bad Rabbit defines itself as an “indie pop” group, and The Maestro and the Elephant carries on the alternative-rock poppy sound that the band’s previous releases have, however the new album’s songs are, in a word, grander.

One of the new pieces, “Carry On,” a much larger-sounding piece than the group has ever produced, is evident of the move in a new direction.

It assumes an entirely different feeling than much of what the group has previously created, with instrumentation that gives it a sweeping, symphonic, yet poppy feel beyond the somewhat garage-ish sound the band has maintained.

This said, the group has not become a commercial pop band by any means; in fact, the tracks “Better Days” and “The Devil Smells Like Country” have a folky sound that Fierce Bad Rabbit hasn’t experimented with on previous albums, and “In and Out of Mind” offers a more raw sound through both guitar and vocals reminiscent of Jack White’s work.

These deviations from the band’s previous albums don’t make up all of The Maestro and the Elephant, but they afford the album a feeling different from those found on the group’s earlier

//CD review//

cut anything, leaving the movie somewhat bloated and prolonged. It simply isn’t as engaging in its details as Pulp Fiction or Inglourious Basterds, and its scope leaves something to be desired.

To compare it again to his previous work, the soundtrack falls short of his usually perfect track lists. It’s not that the songs in the movie are not good or do not work - the title theme (from the film’s inspiration, Django) sets the tone for the rest of the movie perfectly - but it is often cluttered.

The film does mark Tarantino’s first use of rap and hip-hop music, including a mashup of James Brown’s “The Payback”

and 2Pac’s “Untouchable,” but few of the tracks really get time to breathe, often feeling misplaced or cut short. It is a far cry from Pulp Fiction’s surfladen soundtrack, or Inglourious Basterds’ contrast of consistent classical scoring (including Beethoven’s Für Elise, reused in Django) until the David Bowie of the climax.

Overall, the film consistently feels as though Tarantino got caught in being Tarantino, and failed to make another of the lean, mean, consistent films that have built his career, but none of the flaws are enough to completely detract from its enjoyability, and is still an engaging and entertaining piece of cinema.

Academy Awards directed toward adults or teens?

every single film available after the list of nominations is released, still found that, though great films, were directed more towards my parents than me.

It is frustrating when truly great films that appeal to teens are passed over for accolades.

Moonrise Kingdom, for instance, is a spunky film that presents the ages-old tale of the forbidden romance between

by Cam Chorpenning//editor-in-chief

Andrew Cooper/The Weinstein Company/MTC

Two bounty hunters: Dr. King Schults (left) walks with Django (right) shortly after Django gains his freedom.

records.

The Maestro and the Elephant is not without its flaws, however. Certain songs sound far too similar to one another, and the group’s poppy sound can become almost trite and predictable at times.

Though these faults exist, they can easily be tempered by multiple listenings to the album. As the songs become more familiar to listeners, just as with most music, hidden gems--a hook that gets stuck in listeners heads, particularly profound lyrics, or even an appreciation for the group’s musicianship--reveal themselves and give the album infinitely more value.

The crux is this--The Maestro and the Elephant may not be exactly the kind of album Fierce Bad Rabbit has created in the past, but that is a wonderful thing; the group is growing and experimenting, and it sounds extraordinary.

Local band, Fierce Bad Rabbit’s new album The Maestro and the Elephant.

films such as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises should also be among the list of films given a fighting chance at taking home the top prize.

Yes, highest grossing does not necessarily mean highest quality. But, it is a valid representation of what the dominating age group in America finds entertaining.

\\ rmlimelight highlighter

What’s in the Limelight?

Today: Movie: Hansel & Gretel- Witch Hunters in 3D Movie: Movie 43 Movie: Parker January 28: CD: The MavericksIn Time CD: Indians- Somewhere Else January 29: CD: Local NativesHummingbird CD: Colton DixonA Messenger January 30: Concert: Styx @ Paramount Theater

February 1: CD: Will.i.am- #willpower Concert: Macklemore @ Red Rocks Concert: Ellie Goulding @ Ogden Theater Movies: The Haunting in Connecticut 2- Ghosts of Georgia February 2: Rocky: Chamber Festival @ RMHS February 4: CD: Pure LoveAnthems February 5: CD: Tim McGrawTwo Lanes of Freedom Concert: Ed Sheeran @ Broomfield February 8: Movies: Identity Thieft February 11: CD: Darwin DeezSongs for Imaginary People Rocky: Band Concert @ RMHS February 12: CD: Tamar BraxtonLove and war CD: Azealia BanksBroke with Expensive Taste CD: Bullet for my valentine Concert: The Who @ Pepsi Center

January 25, 2013

//B8//

One-Acts come to life

Annual humorous short plays hit the stage running

by Megan Troutman//limelight editor

Will Date for Food. Penny and the Adventure of Tickle Me Elmo.

The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza. Bake off.

The titles for the upcoming One-Act plays are the first clue that it will be a night full of laughter and one amazing performance after another.

The short comedic plays are put on each year by a selection of senior direcGrace Feist, tors. They freshman cast, costume, and choreograph their plays to perfection.

This year is full of talented directors, actors, and scripts prepared to make audience members fall out of their seats laughing.

Most of the directors are returning actors and actresses from school productions or other local theaters.

Senior Jake Haase, directing Will Date for Food, is one exception.

Most students know Haase as an excellent athlete.

“People will ask me about it (directing) and they’re shocked I’m doing it. Usually, athletes don’t do this thing, but I want people to know that I’m not just an athlete,” Haase said.

The only experience Haase has in acting is a sixth grade play and video announcements.

“I never really had time to act,” Haase said. “I always loved it but

“

ONE-ACTS

I’m just ex-

cited to see all my friends and family in the audience and just make everybody smile.

Cam Chorpenning

Will Date for Food: Senior Jake Haase (left) directs his cast during an afterschool rehearsal. Austin Druse (right) studies his script while getting feedback from his director.

never had the time and this year, enough time opened up for me to do it.”

After looking over a few scripts, a comedic play caught Haase’s attention. This particular play is about two antisocial kids who are forced to go to prom by

their parents or else they will stop being fed.

“I knew I wanted to do a comedy, so I looked through a couple of scripts, and that one just really came out to me. I had a vision when I read the script so that made it an easy choice,”

Got Talent?

►Where: Mini Theater ►When: Feb. 1-2 ►Show Times:

7 p.m. Friday and Saturday ►Tickets: $5 (sold in the Mini

Theater box

office before shows)

Haase said.

It was then an easy choice to select the perfect cast.

In years past, cast members have been chosen for being in school plays or having additional experience in the acting department. Not a lot of freshmen are chosen based off the fact that they do not have an acting reputation at the school.

Haase envisioned each of the characters with different personalities, so when freshman Grace Feist auditioned with the best personality match, she made it.

“I decided I wanted to be a part of One-Acts when I heard it on the announcements,” Feist said. “I thought it sounded pretty fun, so I thought I’d give it a shot because you never know unless you try.”

Feist has had past experience in musical theater and other small plays, and is excited to be part of Will Date for Food.

A lot of work goes into putting on each play.

Senior Austen Allen co-directing The Greek Mythology Olympi-

//Jump to One-Acts,

on

Eleven acts performed in the Talent Show for peers and family

February 13: Concert: Carrie Underwood @ World Arena February 14: Movies: Beautiful Creatures Movies: Safe Haven February 19: CD: Beach FossilsClash the Truth CD: BuckcherryConfessions Rocky: Choir and Orchestra concert @ RMHS February 20: Movies: The Gatekeepers

Michelle Kennedy

Talented troop: (left to right) Sophomores Katherine Walter, Lauren Buchanan, Halie Patrick, and Rachel Morley sing “Some Nights” by Fun. The Talent Show was on Jan. 17 and included eleven acts, mostly musical talents, ending with a magic mind-reading act. (A1: Sophomore Kira Pratt perfroms during the Talent Show.)