Rocky Mountain Highschool: 2014 February

Feb. 26, 2014 Vol. 41, No. 6

Inner turmoil: Student faces anxiety attack.Anxiety disorder is prevalent in 17 percent of females and 12 percent of males.

Rocky Mountain High School 1300 W. Swallow Rd.Fort Collins, Colo.

The Rocky Mountain

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HIGHLIGHTER

the

side show

High School Hijinks: A student from Clements High School in Alabama was recently in the spotlight for posting a controversial “selfie” on the popular social website Instagram.

The unnamed student took the picture while on a field trip to the University of Alabama’s Birmingham Anatomical Donor Program. The image, which featured the student smiling next to a corpse in a sheet, was taken down from Instagram and reported to school officials.

Quote of the Issue: “It is important for all students to have an equal opportunity in all aspects of the school, including athletics, despite the hand they have been dealt. The team gives integrated service students the opportunity to do what their peers do.”

-Jame Westyn, integrated services teacher, on the Unified Basketball team

Inside:

Photo Illustration/Emily Anderson

Anxiety disorder increases among teens

by Aaron Yucenter editor

Shortness of breath, dizziness and rapid heartbeat. These three symptoms along with severe anxiousness often make up the telltale signs of a panic attack, which leads back to an anxiety disorder.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, (ADAA) anxiety is the most common form of mental illness, affecting more than 40 million adults in the United States.

Though this is without a doubt a massive number of people, it only accounts for individuals who are over the age of 18.

The National Institute of Mental Health has published statistics which indicate that around 25 percent of teens have dealt with anxiety in their lives. An alarming rising trend of mental illnesses such as anxiety among teens has been noted in recent years, leading to the question of “why?”

Anxiety can stem from any number of things that cause stress in someone’s life.

“Family issues, identity issues, college situations, money; a multitude of different things,” psychology teacher Virginia Cox said. “There

Front special

isn’t one set thing that causes anxiety.”

The way that anxiety presents itself is usually in the form of a panic attack. When presented with a stressor, an individual may experience symptoms such as loss of breath, vertigo and hopelessness.

“What typically happens is that your sympathetic nervous system starts to get activated and you feel like you’re out of control,” Cox said.

“Like you’re going to die.”

Anxiety is a normal human feeling, often experienced before something considered important such as a test or job interview. Most people, however, don’t experience nervousness to the point of a panic attack.

Serious anxiety that results in physical and mental debilitation has seen a rise in youth all around the country, mostly in females.

“If you look at examples of mental illness, females far outnumber males,” Cox said. “I think that it’s because males operate on a more black and white kind of world whereas women tend to look at things a lot more grey.”

Changing standards of success have caused students to rank things in importance often resulting in a large amount of worry over a trivial

12% of male studen and 17% of femal ts students at Rock e been diagnosed wy have an Anxiety Disord ith er 10% of male stu dents and 13% of fe m a le students hav e b e e n put on medic a ti o n for it

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Jump to anxiety on A2

325 student surveyed

Students share their anxiety experiences

by Emily Andersoneditor-in-chief

Monsters under the bed, sharks in the pool, and unknown shadows in the dark.

Part of being a child is having irrational fears, and part of growing up is overcoming these mild anxieties and replacing them with more real and tangible ones, such as school, friends, health, and family life.

However, when moderate

concern turns into obsessive distress and panic over a given subject, this becomes less normal and conventional, and starts to move into the realm of an anxiety disorder.

“It’s not socially accepted, just because people always joke about it. They say they are having an anxiety attack, but they don’t really know what it means,” Matt Ernst, senior, said.

“It’s kind of frowned upon.”

Ernst, who suffers from a generalized anxiety disorder, understands the social stigma that comes with having the mental illness. Because its symptoms are diverse and its causes are still widely debated, anxiety remains a widely misunderstood issue.

However, about 10 percent of the United States suffers from an anxiety disorder, whether that be mild and generalized, or debilitating and crippling.

While Ernst knew he was an anxious person from childhood, his serious issues with anxiety did not appear until March of 2013 after a near-death experience involving an allergic reaction to a dye from a Computed Tomography (CT) Scan.

“I was having an anaphylactic response, and my throat was closing up. So I started having a

Index:

Girl scouts and their cookies: B1

Unified Basketball team promotes Lobo Way: A8

Urinetown leaks success: B8

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Jump to panic on A2

Suffering from phobias: B4-B5

News, A2 Opinion, A4 Sports, A8 Features, B1 Center Spread,B4-5 Limelight, B8

A2 Feb. 26, 2014

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

Banning tanning

New bill clouds tanning

Fields of Dreams Miriam Fields

Yahoo for YouTube

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by Noel Knostmanreporter

The Middleton Royal Mocha, the Cole Cappuccino, the Katona Carrot, the Pricey Pecan, even the Bleakly Burnished Bronze--take your pick.

Skin color has had and continues to have an unusual amount of importance in modern social culture. So many people willingly put their health at risk for the appearance of sunkissed skin. It’s yet another culprit of the modern vision of beauty.

The American Academy of Dermatology Association, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Indoor Tanning Association, National Cancer Institute, and the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, have each made recommendations regarding the use of tanning devices, specifically tanning beds.

“Frequent exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays for individuals under the age of 35 increases the risk of developing melanoma—the most aggressive and deadliest form of skin cancer— by 75 percent,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The American Cancer

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Courtesy of Robert Gauthier/Lost Angeles Times/ MCT

Burning up: Erika Greet, an employee of U-Tan, a tanning salon located near USC relaxes in tanning bed. There were nearly 9,200 deaths in 2012 from melanoma caused from tanning.

Society estimates 76,000 new cases and nearly 9,200 deaths from melanoma in 2012. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

More than 30 states regulate indoor tanning for minors.

California and Vermont have instituted a statewide ban on the use of ultraviolet tanning devices by anyone under the age of 18, despite the fact that tanning beds are not necessities when living in California.

Other state laws combine various restrictions. For example, Delaware, New Hampshire and North Dakota ban the use of indoor tanning by anyone under age 14 with the exception of it being medically necessary—consequently requiring parental accompaniment and consent for those between 14 and 18 years of age. This conduct is practiced

Anxiety

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thing. Rather than a rational process which selects the outcome of a situation, anxiety turns a normal situation into a downward spiral with worries branching out in every direction.

“We are so stuck in the mindset of ‘I want an A and I have to be successful at all times,’ so a lot of times we are not used to not being number one,” Cox said. “I think that we unfortunately put too much importance on things that we shouldn’t be putting importance on.”

Though serious anxiety can be crippling, there are treatments such as therapy and medication available to help individuals cope with the panic. Cognitive treatment and behavioral therapy

Panic

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lot of anxiety after that, because I felt like my throat was closing up all the time,” he said. “After you have a life-changing or a near-death experience like that, it gets more intense.

I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t function. I would just be shaking all the time. Two months after that I went to a doctor, and he said that this was the definition of anxiety, and he put me on medication to keep me from going over the edge.”

Panic attacks, the result of an anxiety disorder, typically occur when an individual feels so overwhelmed and stressed that they lose control of their body. They can last anywhere from a few minutes to hours, and can happen when the person least expects them.

“Anxiety attacks feel like you’re going to die, and nobody can help you. You shake

in theory in all tanning salons in Colorado, however has struggled to be upheld.

Rocky student Gaby Torres, senior, stated, “ I never once was asked to show any identification that said I was 18, even when I was younger.”

Colorado is one of the only states that has not yet put in place law limiting children’s use of tanning beds, but the senate is stirring and the winds appear to be changing.

The Colorado bill, which passed on a party-line vote with all democrats in favor, will ban people under 15 from using commercial tanning beds. The bill was strengthened to bar youth tanning even with a doctor’s recommendation.

Proposed House Bill 1215, the new tanning legislation, won initial approval in the Colorado

Legislature, and will require the Colorado Department of Public Health to develop a consent form for tanning businesses that details the health risks associated with the use of artificial tanning devices.

Only one tanning bed operator, Colorado’s largest, testified against the ban. Medical groups testified that dermatologists that prescribe phototherapy don’t send their patients to commercial salons.

If the bill becomes law, tanning business owners, operators and employees could face fines of up to $200 for each failure to comply with the law’s requirements.

The ban awaits a vote in the second House committee before being approved by the full house.

can both be employed to effectively help reduce anxiety and panic attacks.

Community options are also available such as Stress Management sessions that are offered by Rocky for free to those who may be interested.

“We have a lot of people here with a lot of resources that offer really helpful hands and kind of refocus things,” counselor Jo Locricchio said. “The biggest thing people can learn is to breathe, relax and reevaluate the situation.”

Students that want to learn about things such as reducing anxiety and stress are encouraged to speak to their counselor about the fourth term Stress Management session. There are a total of five sessions which cover subjects such as educational peace, yoga, visualizing and creating tools to relieve stress.

“I think it’s important that individuals reset their brains for what their perception of success is,” Locricchio said.

“When they can really do that, they don’t set themselves up for disappointment or high anxiety.”

Over-prioritizing and overstressing are key culprits behind serious anxiety.

Things that might be considered insignificant from another viewpoint become absolutely paramount leading to worry and panic attacks. While professional treatment is available, the first step is to simply rethink the way things and events are looked at, and reconsider the situation.

“Once we have awareness and realization that we are in the stress moment, we can make a decision on how to cope with that,” she said.

uncontrollably because you feel like you’re going to die and you’re terrified. It’s mainly shaking,” Ernst said. “The main thing I don’t think a lot of people describe is vivid images, and you imagine weird things happening. It’s almost like a weird high. But it’s kind of like you’re just scared. You can feel your adrenaline going.”

However, anxiety does not only occur with students who have had a traumatic experience. It can stem from early childhood and can simply be triggered by any kind of stress.

“I started realizing that I was stressed out in about 6th grade, but I haven’t been diagnosed. My mentor, outside of school, thinks that I have anxiety. I get really nervous, a lot more than normal people would,” an anonymous sophomore said.

“It’s hard to explain what is going through my head, because I’m so freaked out when it is happening.”

The sophomore, facing challenges both

at home and in school, does not think that anxiety disorders are socially accepted.

“It feels like you can’t really be happy, because so many people don’t understand the challenges. When I’m having an anxiety attack I get really angry. I yell a lot,” she said. “People don’t know how to react to that.”

Even with increasing diagnoses of anxiety disorders, and increasing attempts to foster awareness, the mental illness remains largely misinterpreted.

“Once it happens it feels like you’re alone. I’ve talked to people who have anxiety, but don’t know it. They have the symptoms and the attacks, but don’t understand what is happening to them,” Ernst said. “But what I’ve noticed is that when I talk about it, it helps other people.

When you help somebody else going through the same thing, it really helps guide you back to where you normally were.”

hat are this?

“This” is a miniature greyhound named Kermit. He continuously appears on a computer screen, flanked by two hands and a voice that sings, “what are this” over and over.

It happens to be one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen.

What are This is a video, and it’s created

by Jenna Marbles, a YouTube celebrity and blogger.

It is one of the many reasons Youtube is a fantastic website, no matter what sort of things other people tell you about how it is useless and only created for sucking your time.

YouTube does have its uses, I promise.

First is the educational value. YouTube is a gold mine for learning material. All you have to do is type in “put equations in point-slope form,” and...viola! You get a thousand results, a fourth of which are actually accurate.

I even found a brilliant channel called Vsauce, which is run by a guy named Michael. Each video answers a question that most people ask, but no one ever answers.

This includes titles such as Why are Things Creepy and What if the Sun Disappeared?

These are so interesting and awesome that I don’t get why more people don’t watch them.

There’s even a channel called Minute Earth, which explains basic science concepts in a few minutes or less. It’s helped me with science homework more than a couple times, and it’s easy to understand and utilize.

Not only are there some cool educational benefits of YouTube, but there is also the amount of music and TV clips available.

Music is incredibly easy to find, and looking up music videos, lyric videos, or fan-based videos (such as covers) is really easy to do. Almost every song you could ask for is posted on YouTube, so if your iTunes is down or you need a completely free way to listen to music, Youtube is totally the way to go. I’ve watched plenty of music videos on YouTube that I’m really happy I didn’t buy instead. It’s also a good way to preview things so you don’t have to pay. The same goes for TV clips as well. You can also watch some movies on Youtube for a small fee, so it’s easy to access a lot of different types of media for little or no money.

Finally, some of the most valuable entertainment and comedy in the world has originated on YouTube. Not only does it house such amazing YouTube personalities as Jenna Marbles, Ryan Higa (also known as Nigahiga), and Kid President (introduced on the channel Soul Pancake), but the channels are also easy to navigate, making it impossible not to find something you enjoy.

I really like being able to watch a comedic video about How The Hunger Games Should Have Ended with my friends, especially if I’m relaxing during lunch or I’ve had a bad day.

I personally think Youtube is one of the best resources for media on the internet.

You can look up virtually anything, and almost all of it is 100 percent free. There’s a variety of material, lots of entertainment, and even educational value.

If you have an extra minute or two today, I would suggest taking a seat, getting on the computer, and laughing away with your friends as you watch Kermit the greyhound pop up on the screen in What are This.

It can only be described as amazing.

‘

Miriam Fields is a junior and Features Editor for the RM Highlighter.

Rocky Mountain

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Feb. 26, 2014

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Oh dang, it’s AP Lang AP Lang. class to be offered

by Miriam Fieldsfeatures editor

As of next year, a new course called AP Language will take the place of the Pre-AP US Literature course, causing both students and staff to wonder what the changes will bring.

“It’s a radical change,” said Tom Smailes, language arts department chair. “The Pre-Ap US (Literature) was designed as part of a vertical program to lead into the AP. The AP Language class, in all likelihood, will look radically different.”

Many of the specific changes in the program for the upcoming AP Language class have not yet been established, though some guidelines have been put in place as a structure for what the new course will look like.

“It’s very different in the sense that it focuses on the styles of language and the rhetoric of persuasive techniques and manipulation in mostly nonfiction texts,” said J.D. Williams, English instructor.

Though much of the literature covered in the new course will consist of nonfiction works as opposed to the fictional texts from previous years, the class will still focus mainly on literary works pertaining to the United States.

“The balance of texts will probably skew a lot more towards the kind of informational and argumentative reading that students do in college,” said Paul De Maret, English teacher.

Miriam Fields

Balancing act: A student slacklines at the annual Wellness Day. With games and activities, the fair promotes healthy living.

Jessi Brokop

Transitions into the future: Language arts teacher Larissa Schendel lectures her Pre-AP U.S. Literature class about Maggie, Girl of the Streets. The book is frequently taught in Pre-AP, and may be dropped next year when the junior-level class transitions into AP Language, which focuses more on non-fiction writing.

Although a general framework for the course has been established, the curriculum has not yet been built.

To some, it may be confusing as to why the district is making such a profound change in the English department. However, the reason for the adjustment in the curriculum is simple: the school is the only one in the district which does not currently offer the AP Language course.

“The class has been the one gaping omission in our offerings,” De Maret said. “I think that, by and large, we have a broad spectrum of AP courses and students can graduate here and have a lot of potential college credit.”

Fortunately, many teachers are excited that the school will be offering the course, and are looking forward to the opportunities it will bring to students.

“I’m optimistic that everything will go well. We could have probably made the switch a couple of years ago,” Smailes said.

Williams is also looking forward to the benefits of the class in the coming years. “Sometimes you get a sense from students that taking three years of Pre-AP English is tough. While (the PreAP classes) are awesome courses, they don’t have an immediate college benefit, which is important to students. Especially in the twenty-first century, students want that instant gratification.”

Because of the addition of the AP Language class, many underclassmen are wondering whether to include it in their schedules for the future, especially if they have not taken any Pre-AP courses in the past.

“I have kids that take my AP course and they’ve never had a Pre-AP course and they do well,”

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Smailes said. If somebody wants a challenge and something just a little bit new, I think it’s a good opportunity.”

Not only is the new class seen as an opportunity for students to challenge themselves, but it is also a valuable asset for students looking to attend college. “(It will be) hugely more beneficial (than Pre-AP US Literature),” De Maret said.

“Especially because it focuses more on the college level argumentative writing that students will have to do. I taught as CSU and the University of Wyoming, and in both of those cases the freshman composition course that you have to take is based on argumentative writing, and has almost nothing to do with literature. So the AP Language course is really designed to approximate a freshman college composition class.”

Wellness Fair promotes health Wellness Day, an annual occasion held in the main gym and the commons, is a health fair focusing on healthy habits, exercise, and mental health for high school-aged teens.

The event was held on Feb. 20. The goal of each organization at the fair is to provide information and activities to inform students about general health. The event was a success, with students from all grade levels gaining knowledge of health topics ranging from athletics to dentistry.

In brief

Miriam Fields

▶Student Special: $3.50

Your choice of either pepperoni, cheese, or a mushroom slice plus a drink

(No student ID required. Deal runs all day, every day)

▶Mafia Meal: $22.99

One large two regular toppings, order of garlic bread, and 4 drinks (Substitute a 2-liter for delivery or carryout)

306 W. Laurel St. #113 Fort Collins, CO 80521

Located directly across from the entrance to the Oval at CSU Next to MUGS Coffee at the FLATS AT THE OVAL Hours: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Closed on Sundays

▶First Rocky student:

To show his or her Rocky Mountain H.S. student ID card will receive a gift certificate for a FREE large pizza of choice. The next 19 students to show their student ID will receive any slice available in the window and a drink for FREE!

Visit Celestinospizza.com/like us on facebook

3 big screens always playing sportsDiscounts for all high school sports teams and clubs Turn in March Madness bracket for a chance to win FREE PIZZAGluten free options

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

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OPINION

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Feb. 26, 2014

TheEmily’s Rocky Mountain Embellishments HIGHLIGHTER

Emily Anderson

‘Merica’ misconceptions

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here are myriads of valid reasons to protest at a school, but the rejection of a “Merica” spirit day is not one of them.

For those of you that are unaware of the events that transpired at Fort Collins High School in the first week of February, it can be summed up like this: Student Council proposed having a “Merica Day” for their spirit week, administration vetoed the idea, and Fox News, hearing about the story from angry parents, vehemently shamed the administration for “treating American school children like second class citizens.”

The fact of the matter is that the term “Merica” is derogatory. Anyone who has ever been outside of a gated community, or even on the internet, knows that. It is used in a ironic and sarcastic fashion to describe stereotypical redneck white people that are filled to the brim with blind patriotism.

When the administration called the proposed spirit day offensive, they were referring to the fact that it may be offensive to those that fit the aforementioned category (*cough cough*, Fox News).

They were not forbidding their students to celebrate America, or even trying to exclude students from other countries.

They were simply stopping what would be a day devoted to making fun of the American stereotype.

And yet, parents, students, and conservative news organizations blew it completely out of proportion. Surprising.

The main factor is that there was a miscommunication between generations. What is perceived as patriotic to one is seen as satirical to another.

There are myriads of valid reasons to protest at a school, but the rejection of a “Merica” spirit day is not one of them.

Emily Anderson is a senior and editorin-chief of the RM Highlighter.

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

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

In order to make the RM Highlighter as professional a publication as possible, important legal and ethical guidelines will be followed. Senate Bill 90-99, enacted by the Colorado General Assembly during the 1990 legislative session, declares that “students of the public schools shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press.” (Colo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 22-1-120) We, the staff of the RM Highlighter, are prohibited by law from publishing certain materials. We will respect these laws. No material which is libelous, encourages illegal acts, or causes material and substantial disruption to school activities will be published. Expressions which are obscene will not be printed. Profanity will not be printed unless it is considered absolutely necessary by the RM Highlighter editorial board to express the views of the writer or quoted person. Expression which is false “as to any person who is not a public figure or involved in a matter of public concern” will not be printed. “Expressions which are in violation of lawful school regulations designed to control gangs” will not be printed.

In the event of a potential controversial item, the editorial board —consisting of all the editors, the advertising manager, and the adviser —will meet to discuss the merits of the item and then decide whether or not to print the item. Coverage of deaths which occur within the Rocky community will be carefully considered by the editorial board. Natural or accidental deaths will be reported for clarifications of death and will contain a memorial. Except in extreme circumstances, suicides will not be

Dreaming of sleep I

t is no secret that teens desperately need more sleep than we are actually able to obtain each night.

Although it seems as if many school districts seem to just brush it off as a bunch of lazy teenagers not wanting to come in to school early in the morning, countless studies have come out stating that the neurology of the teenage brain does not allow teens to learn early in the morning, including a recent The Issue: study pubEarly school lished in start times are the Journal contributing to detrimental of Developamounts of mental and sleep in Behavioral students Pediatrics.

According to the study, a later school start time could help improve the amount of sleep teens get each night, and consequently, their mood. It is because of this study and many others that have brought forward similar findings, that we, the staff of the RM Highlighter, strongly believe that the Poudre School District should move high school start times back to a more reasonable time.

The study published by the Journal of Developmental

covered to reduce glorification of such acts.

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

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

Letters to the editor are welcome. They should be signed, and a home phone number should be included. The writer’s name may be withheld upon request, provided the editor agrees that the reasons for withholding a name are valid and compelling. Try to limit letters to 300 words and place them in one of the “Letters to the Editor” boxes, located in the Media Center and the Main Office, or give them to a RM Highlighter staff member, RM Highlighter adviser Stephen Wahlfeldt, or drop them by the RM Highlighter room, Room 528, during 4th period. Letters may also be mailed to the Rocky Mountain Highlighter, Rocky Mountain High School, 1300 W. Swallow Rd., Fort Collins, CO 80526. To talk with anyone on the RM Highlighter staff, phone (970) 488-7090.

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

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

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

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

The Rocky Mountain

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Kayla Brokop Kayla Brokop

and Behavioral Pediatrics found that when school start times were moved back by just 25 minutes, the number of students that slept eight hours or more each night increased to 44 percent from a disappointing 18 percent. Additionally, the average student slept 29 more minutes each night. The study also cited a decrease in daytime sleepiness, depression and caffeine usage when school start times were moved back.

The facts are clear: leep is a vital aspect in the growth and development of teens. When sleep is taken away, the impacts on teens can be devastating. Yet somehow, the PSD expects teens to be able to wake up at some absurd hour in the morning 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 970-488-7090 or 970-488-7091 for advertising information. Also the Rocky Mountain Highlighter staff is in Room 528, during 4th period.

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and come to school ready to learn. But the facts are not on their side. It is entirely unreasonable to expect that teens can come to school ready to learn in a rigorous academic environment after getting less sleep than the recommended amount.

One of the reasons that the PSD sets the high school start time so early is due to regulations regarding how late extra-curricular activities and sports practices can last into the evening.

However, this comes at a high cost. Yes, students participating in after school activities will finish earlier if school starts earlier, but the entire student body will suffer from sleep deprivation in the process, resulting in poor academic perEditors-inChief Emily Anderson news Megan Troutman limelight Ad Manager Tia Clark

formance. If student athletes are dedicated enough, they should be able be able to attend practices in the morning or stay later into the afternoon.

The facts are clear. High school students need sleep.

Numerous studies have proven that the teen brain has a sleeping schedule best suited to stay up later in the evening and sleep in later in the morning. PSD, and districts across the country, have neglected this fact at the detriment to students’ health.

It is time for a change. This is why the staff of the RM Highlighter affirm the position that the school district should reconsider starting times for high schools to better suit the needs of students.

Opinion Editor Madeline Zann Sports Editor Noah Fogelberg Features Editor Miriam Fields Center Editor Aaron Yu

All-Colorado-2013; 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.

Staff Mackenzie Bartzen Marissa Bonertz Jessi Brokop Kayla Brokop Reyna Thompson Noel Knostman Trey Jouard Tia Clark

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Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

Mad Maddy Madeline Zann

Power of teenagers

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henever I start gushing about how much I love politics, I’m usually in the minority, so there is nothing better than being in a room where you know that just about everyone is as much of a politics dork as you are.

Which is exactly where I was last Friday—in a Senate Committee Room at Capitol Hill in Denver with other student journalists, participating in a student-run press conference on education issues, an event that is most definitely not available to everyone.

Being able to interact with Democratic Senator Mike Johnston, who was obviously very passionate about what he does and seemed to really enjoy talking to a bunch of high school kids, was an absolutely amazing experience. Yeah, there was a lot of geeking out about oh my god I’m in a Senate Committee room at Capitol Hill and oh yeah these things do exist outside of The West Wing, but it was informative, and not just for the writing competition that happened after the press conference.

One of the things that has stuck with me most was when Johnston said that he had never seen any senators so scared as when they had real students—high school and college—testifying in front of a committee.

As teenagers, we can feel fairly helpless, like we can’t really do anything to affect the world, but I think the most important thing that came from that press conference was that yes, we can do something.

Anyone can go argue on the Senate or House floor for or against a bill, and maybe your testimony will do something; anyone can write a letter to the editor or an e-mail to your Congressman or woman.

Yeah, sometimes you just need to rant and complain to your best friend or the internet for the better part of an hour, but sometimes you need to get up and do something.

Teenagers do have power—just because most of us can’t vote doesn’t mean we can’t do anything—and I think we need to recognize that power and try and find the best ways to work what power we do have to our advantage. It doesn’t have to be related to politics either; do what works for you and do what you believe in.

Madeline Zann is a senior and opinion editor.

Bittersweet senior year Dear Editor, What started as the last back-to-school assembly quickly turned into the last homecoming dance, which turned into the last football game, which then became Letter to the editor the last basketball game.

So I find myself becoming a collection of lasts; I start holding on to every bittersweet “last time” and thinking back to when I would roll my eyes at seniors warning me of how I “better enjoy it while it lasts.”

It seems that senior year has become an actualization of every cliché I’ve ever heard.

The “don’t try to grow up so fast;” the “make every minute count;” and the “you’ll never get these years back;” they’re all coming true. And though I’m happy to start the next chapter of my life, the bittersweet taste of moving on lingers in my mouth. It’s only February and I already feel like I’m wearing a clock around my neck that’s ticking down the minutes until graduation. The thing is, I can’t decide whether it’s a good feeling or not.

High school brought me to realize that it can be hard to live in the present when the future is so tantalizing. But senior year taught me that when your future is staring you down right in the eye, when adulthood is just a diploma away, enjoying the spectacular now is effortless.

Rylee Thomas, senior

OPINION

Feb. 26, 2014

A5

Advanced anxiety

Despite workload, AP classes prove commitment

E

ver since first grade we have been classified as advanced, intermediate or beginner; whether that’s in sports, the arts, or more importantly, academics.

At a young age, students had to make a decision whether or not they wanted to be in Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Thankfully these difficult decisions were made early on so they seemed trivial.

The main difference between the AP and regular curriculum is the dramatic shift in workload.

Regular classes cover the basics over a semester whereas AP classes look at subjects on a deeper level.

It’s important to get the most out of your class, and AP goes the extra mile to ensure that students understand the material.

Even though more work goes into these classes, it comes with the title. Advanced classes should expect an advanced workload, which becomes beneficial in the long run. More work leads to a better

understanding of the given subject matter.

In addition to a developed education, there are more benefits to being an AP student than what meets the eye.

When applying for colleges, admission officers specifically look for advanced classes in schedules.

Having a schedule with all regular classes unfortunately sends bad connotations to schools; it comes off that work ethic and motivation are low in priority. However, with a schedule full of AP, it proves that students want to learn and advance their educations to a higher level.

These specific classes are full of self-motivated individuals willing

to learn, making an easier learning environment for the semester.

Regular classes typically have one or two students that are just going through the motions of public high school. Surrounding yourself with these individuals can lead to lower motivation or work ethic level.

Another perk with taking AP classes stems from different standards. Going into AP Literature and Composition, for example, you are expected to produce a research paper, read literature, and understand the curriculum. The standards start off high and continue to grow throughout the semester which prepares students for college.

Megan Troutman

Pro Con  AP classes cater to only select few

R

igor, stress, expectations - all words that conjure up the daily grind of school.

The monotonous cycle of four 90 minute periods spent cramming as much information as possible can seem overwhelming.

Now add the words Advanced Placement (AP), where classes seem to move twice as fast. If students leave to get a drink of water, they might miss a whole mini lesson. Make no mistake, AP classes have many positives, but there are challenges.

One challenge is the shear stress and anxiety that comes with AP classes. It takes a driven person to push himself to the limits when peers are taking regular classes.

Multiple hours of homework, and the dwindling social life that

Kayla Brokop

comes with it, can take a toll on a student that can sometimes be internalized such as increased stress, pressure, and anxiety. This takes away from outside activities, like extracurriculars, or a sport.

It’s not unheard of for a student to quit a sport because of simply too much responsibility. At some point, a choice has to be made about education versus sports.

And that choice is often influenced by the workload of AP classes.

There’s no doubt that AP classes look great on college applications, but this is not the only reason to take them. When taking AP classes, students are around students who have similar ambitions and work ethics.

While this is a valid reason to take the classes, too much of this

could be considered a bad thing, because they revolve around a certain group of people. Each time students walk through the halls, they most likely see someone they never even knew went to their school, let alone existed.

If someone is strictly on the AP track, the number of people they’ve never seen before might increase. Inevitably, AP classes are taken by the same group of students, and this leads to a type of isolation.

While being with students of similar caliber is nice, high school is about putting yourself out there and experiencing new things.

This can definitely be done by taking AP classes, but limiting yourself to only these classes may limit those experiences.

Reyna Thompson

photopoll

On average, how many hours of sleep do you get?

6 hours.

4 to 5 hours.

7 to 8 hours.

6 to 7.5 hours.

Cyprian Force, freshman

Katherine Neff, junior

Jonathan Brenner, senior

John Berg, teacher

A6 Feb. 26, 2014

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

S PORTS

Success breeds pressure

Madeline Zann

Practice makes perfect: On the first day of spring practices, Rocky baseball players utilize fielding drills to help prepare for the upcoming season.

In the shadows of prior great success, the Lobos prepare to play under pressure

by Madeline Zannopinion editor

The boys of summer are back.

After a long winter, Rocky baseball is ready to get back on the diamond.

However, unofficial morning practices have been going on since the end of holiday break, starting as early as 6 a.m. Official, mandatory practices began Feb. 18. After coming off of a strong summer, expectations are high for this year’s Lobos, who are expected to come into the season ranked within the top five teams in Colorado. Recent polling has also shown Rocky to be heading into the season No. 48 in the nation.

“My expectations are high for this group as far as wins and losses,” coach Scott Bullock said.

Last year, the team went 21-4 overall and 11-0 in the league, eventually losing to ThunderRidge High School in the 5A championship game. However, the Rocky Legion A team won the state championships this past summer, and many players have experi-

ence both in the Legion championships and last spring’s 5A state championship.

“We have a good group of guys coming back,” Bullock said. “So we have good experience.”

This year’s team is also expected to have a lot of depth, with at least 18 players ready to be competitive at the varsity level.

The Lobos begin their season March 20 at Coors Field against Chaparral High School before leaving for a tournament at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., the week after spring break.

“It’s a tremendous honor and experience for our players to get to go that,” Bullock said of the prestigious tourney.

The tournament will pit the Lobos against several top Arizona teams, most of which have had seasons that have been going on longer than the Lobos.

Records aside, “At the end of the day, I just want a good bunch of guys that play the game the right way and are good people when they’re not on the field,” Bullock said.

Baseball

Madeline Zann

Getting in position: Rocky senior Tyler Stevens fields a ball during practice.

Stars: Everyone is a star in their own way Who’s Next: Thursday, March 20 • @ Coors Field vs. Chaparral • 6:30 p.m. Looking forward to: Getting outside. Quote: “I’m really excited to see how this team pans out because I feel like they have a really good shot.” -Collin O’Donnell, senior

Looking forward to spring sports . . .

Girls’ soccer

Boys’ swimming

Stars: Kara Boldt, Mackenzie Garske, Natalie Graves, Patrice Quadrel Who’s Next: Friday, March 14 • Home vs. Arvada West • 6:30 p.m. Looking forward to: A successful season, spending time with the team. Quote: “I’m excited for some competition and to play with some great girls and to have a winning season.” -Patrice Quadrel, senior

Stars: Jackson Allen, Josh Collier Who’s Next: Tuesday, March 11 • @ Mountain Range • 4:00 p.m. Looking forward to: Having fun and getting closer as a team. Quote: “My ultimate goal is to make state along with the rest of my team so we can all travel together and do [well] at state.” -Duncan Schenkel, senior

Boys’ lacrosse

Girls’ lacrosse

Stars: Trey Jouard, Robbin Kelly Who’s Next: Tuesday March 18 • @ Prairie View • 6:30 p.m. Looking forward to: Seeing how the team has changed. Quote: “Scoring the goal and getting the glory is my favorite part.”

-Trevor DeBaere, junior

Stars: Dani Cox, Madi Creech Who’s Next: Thursday, March 6 • Home vs. ThundeRridge • 6:30 p.m. Looking forward to: Team Bonding. Quote: “[Lacrosse] is a good way to relieve stress and to just have fun with people from other schools.” -Chloe Debaere, senior

Girls’ tennis

Track and field

Stars: Natalie House, Hannah Manning Who’s Next: Wednesday, March 12 • Home vs. Legacy • 3:30 p.m. Looking forward to: The laid back aspects and team oriented activities. Quote: “I like tennis because it is a sport in which you can have fun, but you’re active.” -Jocelyn Gentry, senior

Stars: Alivia Ayres, Kelsey Bedard, Carly Lester Who’s Next: Friday, March 7 • Ralston Valley @ Jeffco Stadium • 2 p.m. Looking forward to: The big conference meets with good throwers. Quote: “I like track and field because I get to challenge myself.” -Max McDonald, senior

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

S PORTS

Feb. 26, 2014

A7

Standout basketball player faced with tough choice

by Marissa Bonertzreporter

“It would be the end of my basketball career.”

This moment, when senior girls’ basketball player Anna Ernst is confronted with either continuing her sport or moving on, is a moment no athlete looks forward to.

Ernst has spent day in and day out training, thinking and being a basketball player. Her life this far has had one consistent element: basketball; it is the one thing she truly knows.

Basketball has led to Ernst being one of the Lobos’ top scorers and a scholarship to play at Metro State.

Thus, when a concussion threatened her future in basketball, Ernst was left with the biggest decision of her life.

After one of her many practices in January, Ernst was well aware that she had broken her nose in an accident with one of her teammates.

But like any high school athlete who is inclined to think they are young and invincible, she continued to play.

A broken nose was no reason to be

spending her afternoon warming the bench while her teammates got to play the game she loved.

However, later that week, to Ernst’s dismay, she suddenly was unable to remember her name, where she was, even what she had done yesterday. Her initial reaction was outright embarrassment, because she mistook her inability to remember to be a mundane dumb moment. Ernst at first stayed silent and combated her loss of thought on her own.

However, as her symptoms continued, Ernst sought help.

In a single visit to Children’s Hospital she was diagnosed with yet another concussion. Her doctors alluded to their concern that this was her fourth concussion, but they left the final decision of continuing to play basketball up to her.

“I’ve always been identified as the basketball girl, and I just wonder who I would be without it. It scares me, but I also wonder what else I could be good at because I haven’t been able to try much else,” Ernst said.

Ernst also outlined the negatives

in her situation, “I would be losing a scholarship and it would be the end of my basketball career.”

Ernst for now is back in the game.

However, her concussion and past injuries may still affect her decision to play in college.

Ernst, when discussing her current situation, confessed that her incident does slightly affect her playing. The team, as a whole, suffered from her absence, which started in early January. During the period of time she was gone, the Lobos went 3-5. She returned to action Feb. 4 in a game against Horizon.

She had her best game of her return on Feb. 20, scoring 14 points in an upset win over Collins.

Ernst said that she now will often contemplates, “Is it worth taking that charge or is it worth diving on the ground for that ball?”

However, like any die-hard athlete, Ernst knows that in the moment the answer will always be yes.

“When you’re on the court it’s either on or off, there is no in between,” Ernst said.

Highlighter archives

Waiting for the shot: Senior Anna Ernst waits for her chance to grab a rebound during a game against Greeley West last season.

To wrap it all up...

Leverage: Senior Luiz Perez tries to gain the advantage in a state consolation bracket, 195-pound match against Fruita Monument’s Jacob Seely.

Perez lost the match, 9-1, but went on to win the 5th place match on Saturday.

winter sports are coming to an end; here’s how it all panned out Girls’ basketball

Wrestling from page A8

during the final seconds of the third period, Ortiz grabbed 2 points with a quick takedown, winning the match in a 3-1 decision.

“Once you lose you have to keep coming back and keep coming back,” said Ortiz, who first had to decision Pomona’s Cameron Gonzales, 4-0, to get to the 3rd place match. “If you lose, you have to come up again. Usually, when everyone loses, they put their head down and go to the next match and don’t play their hardest. The coaches came up to me and said I have to come back, and that’s exactly what I did.”

In the Lobos’ other 3rd place matches

on Saturday, Murphy worked over Grand Junction’s Isaac Rider in a 10-3 decision at 138 pounds and finished his season with a 38-4 record. Schmidt (2911) blanked Trenton Schultz of Regis Jesuit, 4-0, at 160s, and Klaer (32-11) lost 6-2 to Castle View’s Kaleb Geiger at 170.

Also, in his 5th place match on Saturday, Perez won a 4-2 decision over Smoky Hill’s Demarcus Curtis at 195 pounds to post a 31-10 season record.

In the team standings, Arvada West placed first with 179 total points, while Pomona was a distant second with 92 and Ponderosa third with 88.

The Lobos’ seventh place finish at 71 points led all city teams.

Record: 9-14 State: The team earned an 8th seed and played No. 9-seed Bear Creek (11-12) on Tuesday. The winner of that game is schedule to meet No. 1 seed Regis Jesuit (21-2) Stars: Everyone has their own strengths. Quote: “My favorite part about the season was getting close to the girls.”

-Kelsey Berdard, senior Trey Jouard

Contesting the rim: Junior Asiah Lawson goes in for a lay-up while a Loveland defender contends the shot.

Girls’ swimming Stars: Andi Johnson, Neele Kozac, Daphne Williams How state went: 33rd overall, 6 points Quote: “Getting to know the team and getting to know them - not only through exciting wins, but through loses as well is what I like most about swimming.” -Jocelyn Gentry, senior

Boys’ basketball Record: 5-18 State: Did not quality for the state tournament Stars: Riley Neal, Benji Williams, Wynne Wilson Quote: “Our best win of the season came against Poudre.” -Cameron Erickson, junior

I AM TAKING MY TALENTS TO...

Dean Lawson

Marc Bachman

Tyler Stevens

Carl Stadjuhar

Riley Couch

Signed baseball scholarship at the University of Northern Colorado.

Signed to play baseball at Dartmouth University.

Signed baseball scholarship at the University of New Mexico.

Signed baseball scholarship at the University of New Mexico.

Signed football scholarship at Black Hills State University.

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

S

SPORTS

A8

Feb. 26, 2014 Noah’s Nonsense

Noah Fogelberg

Coming out into a world of acceptance

I

n case you missed it, Michael Sam, All-American defensive end from the University of Missouri and current NFL draft prospect, recently came out as gay.

Obviously, this is huge. If he is drafted, which is a near certainty, he will be the first openly gay player in the NFL. To me, it has been encouraging to see the level of acceptance and respect Sam received in the media firestorm that occurred in the days after he came out publicly. Of course, there will always be those who eternally live 50 years in the past, such as former Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who made comments to the effect that Sam may not be welcomed in NFL locker rooms.

But to me at least, for every hateful tweet or comment I have seen regarding the issue, there are 10 others backing Sam. For those saying the NFL is not ready to have a gay player in the locker room, I must wonder how awful a sin homosexuality must be compared to other atrocities committed by very prominent football players. Let’s look at the example of Michael Vick. Vick himself executed eight dogs and supplied the funds to operate a dog fighting operation. Did the NFL tell Vick he was no longer welcome in the league after he spent 21 months in prison for felony animal abuse? Nope. Vick was welcomed back into the league and made upwards of $10 million last year playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. If a convicted felon who slaughtered dogs was welcomed with open arms back into the NFL, why shouldn’t a man who decides to love another man?

Overall, I believe NFL scouts and coaches will judge Sam based on his skill level on the field as a football player, and nothing more. Which is exactly the way it should be. In today’s society, the fact that anyone would judge another human based on his or her sexual orientation, or anything that makes that person different, is disturbing. Hopefully, Sam is the leader of a generation of players who celebrate their differences off the field, and play like a team on the field.

What I think makes sports special is the unity that evolves between players on a team. That can break down barriers between people despite their differences.

This unique element can be seen at Rocky through activities such as the Unified Basketball team. Through this program, students with learning disabilities can shine in the spotlight with their skills on the court. Despite their differences, students in the integrated services are able to overcome the obstacles they face in a sport that brings people together.

Noah Fogelberg is a junior and the Sports Editor for the RM Highlighter

Desire from disappointment Wrestlers fall short of goals; still finish strong

by Trey Jouardreporter

DENVER - With a total of eight qualifiers and team victories at the Warrior Classic, conference and regionals, there was no doubt the No. 3-ranked varsity wrestling team was in the mix for a state championship as well as individual first place finishes at the Pepsi Center Feb. 20-22.

Despite their impressive regular season resumê, the Lobos suffered several heartbreaking losses in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, eliminating the possibility of a state team championship as well as individual titlist.

Nonetheless, the team had an impressive second wind, with all five remaining wrestlers placing the next day, leading to a seventh place overall team finish.

“I’m extremely, extremely proud of the way they wrestled, especially [Saturday],” said head coach Ken Taylor.

“A couple of them, their goal was to be state champions and we lost a couple of really close matches [Friday]. And for them to come back, which is the hardest part of wrestling, really shows what they’re made of. It really shows

Trey Jouard

Upper hand: Junior Roman Ortiz (left) battles Arvada West’s Taylor Bergquist in the 152-pound third place match on Saturday at the 5A state championships. Ortiz won in a 3-1 decision to finish his season with a 39-1 record.

their character.”

Of the eight qualifiers, juniors Danny Murphy, Konnor Schmidt and Roman Ortiz secured third place finishes with match victories on Saturday. In addition, seniors Alex Klaer and Luiz Perez earned fourth and fifth place spots, respectively.

Ortiz, who entered the tournament with a flawless 35-0 record, endured perhaps the most heart wrenching loss when he was upset 3-2 in the semifinals on Friday by Gateway’s Dayaun Trueblood in his 152-pound weight class. “[He] was a really good wrestler and

Roman gave up one little takedown,” Taylor said. “Sometimes those matches between the really good wrestlers and are so close that they are determined by one takedown here or there. It was a tough one; Roman’s a good kid.”

Recovering from this devastating defeat, Ortiz battled from the loser’s bracket to the third place match.

In an exhilarating third place match, Ortiz and Arvada West’s Taylor Bergquist remained in a stalemate for most of the contest, tied 1-1. However,

,

Jump to Wrestling on A7

Unified basketball brings students together

by Marissa Bonertzreporter

Unified Basketball: bringing people together one game at a time.

The Unified Basketball team is made up of integrated service students as well as partners who help coach and lead the athletes on the court. Unifying these students is the goal of Jamie Westyn, an integrated services teacher and coach of the Unified Basketball team, which plays at home Thursday with a 6 p.m. tipoff. “[My goal] for the participants is just a sense of unity, a heightened selfesteem, empowerment, being able to represent their school,” Westyn said.

The motto of this team is “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” This motto pulls together the mission of the Unified Basketball team. It is important for all students to have an equal opportunity in all aspects of the school, including athletics, despite the hand they have been dealt. The team gives integrated service students the opportunity to do what their peers do.

“The best compliment that I can get is [that] last night at our game they couldn’t tell who were athletes and who were [the] partners. It’s just really empowering to see,” Westyn said.

The Unified Basketball team started at Fossil Ridge, and when Rocky caught wind of this, they decided they wanted to help make it huge. Now, all four schools in the district have a Unified Basketball team.

“We went slow to do it appropriately and do it right. It has been kind of difficult with facilities and scheduling games and all those kinds of things, but the end result is [that] we’ve got a Unified team and these student athletes are excited about being a part of a team and wearing a Rocky uniform and having friends, fellow students, cheering for them. It’s been a very positive thing so far,” Wayne Moddelmog, athletic director, said.

Each game consists of two 15 min-

Sports special

Trey Jouard

High fives: Matt McNeil celebrates with teammates Grady Bearden, Elijah Archuleta and Tristan Ream upon returning to the bench during the team’s Feb. 6 game against Fossil Ridge.

Unified basketball Don’t miss out: Home game • Thursday, Feb. 27 • vs. Fossil Ridge • 6 p.m. Quote: “I’m just really impressed with the Lobo staff and student population being so supportive.” -Jamie Westyn, head coach ute halves. There are three athletes and two partners on the court at the same time. The partners are peers who help coach and lead the integrated service athletes on the court.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to do it [before]; we just didn’t have the funds in the current athletic system in the district to support it,” Moddelmog said.

This program is funded by a grant from the Northern Colorado Special Olympics. Right now, there is only a Unified Basketball team. However, there is talk of a flag football team, a soccer team and a track program.

The Unified program is not just

a game, however. It is a chance for these students to have the opportunity to represent their school and for the school to unite as one and embody Rocky’s goal of unconditional support for one another.

“The support has been exactly what I have expected, overwhelming. It’s just super exciting to see athletes that struggle, achieve and work hard and be persistent in something because, normally, you see athletes [to whom] it comes easy, and it’s just so rewarding to see them be persistent with that.

I’m just really impressed with the Lobo staff and student population being so supportive,” Westyn said.

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

F

FEATURES

B1

Feb. 26, 2014

Fishing with Trout

Megan Troutman

Scouting for participants Tia Clark

Selling cookies: Girl Scout Troop 66, many of whom attend Rocky, sell Girl Scout cookies in the cafeteria to benefit their programs. Unfortunately, as scouts grow older, they often leave scouting by the wayside to pursue other interests.

Students recognize benefits of scouting

by Tia Clarkreporter

The decision to stay in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts through high school is one decision every scout has to make.

Scouting is one of those activities that everyone tries or at least thinks about trying. It is a fun alternative to sports or academic extracurriculars in elementary school. It gets kids out of the house with friends in an outdoor environment, teaches them how to set up tents and tie knots, and emphasizes all the safety protocols that come with being in the outdoors.

However, when students get into middle or high school, they often stop scouting.

“I did my Eagle project in eighth grade. I only had one badge left and it took me three years because I was just so busy with sports and school,” senior Zac Jennings said, who started Cub Scouts when he was in grade school.

School itself can be stressful and can give little time for many after school activities. Sports are also activities which play a huge role in the lives of many teens, leaving minimal time left to be part of a troop.

“I’m in sports and doing things like extracurricular activities,” said senior Connor Renn, who has participated in Boy Scouts since the age of 8. “It’s good for kids who are not really into things like that.”

Sports and academics are not the only reasons students leave scouting.

With the peer pressure to leave scouting later in high school, and the idea that it is too childish an activity planted firmly in high schoolers’ heads, a lot of teens leave do to other activities and pursue new ambitions.

However, not every person who participates in scouting leaves as a high school student. High school-aged scouts are occasionally seen sporting their uniforms outside of local grocery stores selling their cookies or popcorn. Some scouts even bring their merchandise to school, asking teachers and friends to help them reach the sales goals they have set for the year.

Although a lot of scouts leave, the ones who stay in the program say it benefits them in one way or another.

Features special

Tia Clark

Girl Scouts: Seniors Leina Hutchinson and Linda Baker, members of Girl Scout Troop 66, sell cookies at the school. Both enjoy the benefits they have recieved from continuing with Girl Scouts.

Just how the cookie crumbles

▶ABC Bakers has baked Girl Scout Cookies for 75 years ▶One quarter of all cookie sales are Thin Mints ▶Apps can be downloaded to pinpoint exact selling locations ▶20 million boxes of cookies are sold every year “It is kind of like one of those things that you think you would leave behind in middle school,” senior Catherine Bruning said. “ But you realize it can really benefit you in the long run.”

Some of the benefits of scouting

include the further consideration when applying for jobs and colleges, learning about different cultures and the environment, developing survival skills and much more.

Bruning spends a large amount of time teaching and helping younger girl scouts. She also enjoys helping with Power-Ups, which are programs to help scouts boost self-esteem and stop bullying.

Jennings also helps with younger boys in his troop. Currently, he is helping his little brother to receive his Eagle Award and plans to become a scout master.

Being in scouts does not only include the sales of cookies and popcorn, but focuses more about the experiences gained during scouting.

“My troop, we’ve gone to Yellowstone and St. Louis and I’ve also gone to meet girls all over the world when I went to Chicago for the Girls World Forum,” senior Leina Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson has been in Girl Scouts from the age of 6 and plans to continue participating in scouting through high school and beyond. Although many boys and girls leave scouting once hitting high school, there are still many that benefits that come from staying involved.

To ski or not to ski

E

very winter I look forward to that first beautiful snow fall–each flake its own unique shape and size, drifting to the soft ground in no hurry at all.

While snow itself is gorgeous in winter, it’s even better skiing on it in the mountains.

Skiing is one of my favorite sports, and one of the only sports I can actually do. Even though I’m stuck in powder or tangled in the trees more often than I am on my feet, it’s something I love and will never stop doing.

If you have not tried skiing yet, I would strongly recommend it this year. The rush you get propelling through trees is unlike any other.

Skiing is like a rollercoaster ride, except without seatbelts. Or a track you are attached to. Or really anything. Skiing is actually nothing like riding a rollercoaster.

The feeling is truly indescribable.

Some people are scared of skiing because you’re essentially attached to two planks, gliding out of control down a mountain in the middle of winter. Sometimes you find yourself in a blizzard and you can only see five feet in front of you. Then those sneaky little trees come out of nowhere and attack you. After that there is no recovering as you snowball down the rest of the mountain.

Not like I’m speaking from experience or anything.

It’s really fun.

One time I was skiing with my family and I veered off into the trees to explore. Suddenly an innocent detour turned into sitting in the middle of a foreign slope on the other side of the mountain. Needless to say, I was a little lost.

A nice little man came to rescue me as we cruised down the mountain on his snowmobile.

It would have been a little more enjoyable if I wasn’t upset that my family abandoned me.

Ski patrol took me to the base and dropped me off in a warm hut full of mittens and ski poles. I realized to my dismay it was “Lost and Found.”

It’s a sad day when you’ve been put in “Lost and Found.”

A half hour later my mom walked into the hut. I was found. In the end, it was a great ski day except for my little detour in the woods.

That’s what I get for refusing to wear my leash.

Even though 7-year-olds get lost on the slopes, it doesn’t happen to everybody. I would still recommend at least trying a few runs.

On a completely different occasion, I went skiing with a dear friend of mine. We were dodging trees and clumps of powder when my ski got caught in a tiny root and sent me flying.

Luckily, I landed in a giant bowl of powder under a tree.

However, I suddenly discovered that powder is more like quicksand; every time you try and escape its sticky grasp, it pulls you further and further down.

My friend took pictures and laughed along with everyone gliding by on the ski lift, ironically right above me. There was nothing else to do but chuckle as I slowly drowned in fluff.

Death by fluff. Awesome.

Skiing can actually be rather dangerous.

Then again, everything has some element of danger, right?

According to the National Ski Areas Association database . . .

Who am I kidding? Skiing is such a painful hobby. Just stay inside and drink hot chocolate under mountains of quilts.

Save yourself.

Megan Troutman is a senior and editor-inchief of the RM Highlighter.

B2 Feb. 26, 2014

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

FEATURES

High above competition: Junior Cameron Sandel samples a sandwich next to his Cheba Hut eating competition trophy. Sandel placed seven bites above the second place winner.

Trey Jouard

High level of eating

by Trey Jouardreporter

Two minutes and 20 seconds.

A mediocre time for the 800 meter race. But a good time for an individual to thoroughly brush his or her teeth.

Eating a foot long toasted peanut butter sub in that amount of time, however, is not a typical or easily completed feat.

But that doesn’t mean this stunt is impossible.

Last year on April 20, junior Cameron Sandel entered the first annual “Sticky Icky” eating competition at the local Cheba Hut on Taft Hill and Elizabeth.

Upon arrival, Sandel paid the required $5 admission fee. Two minutes and seconds later, Sandel was confirmed as the Cheba Hut eating champion.

“The challenge was to eat a 12-inch, toasted, extra peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” said Sandel. “The one who can eat it in the fastest time gets free Cheba Hut for a year.”

Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing a modest 170 pounds, Sandel does not have the typical frame most people associate with adept eating competitors. Even Sandel, finishing seven whole bites ahead of second place, admits he was uncertain about his odds during the competition.

“I was against six other people and they were all a lot bigger than me, like 300-pound, 40-year-old dudes,” Sandel said.

“Honestly, the toasted part was the worst because it hurt really bad because you have to eat it re-

Student feature

ally fast. And I [also] hate peanut butter and jelly.”

Sandel, along with his fellow competitor, junior Bailey Zimmerman, attempted some form of preparation for this arduous task, but eventually their plans fell through and they had to perform with food in their stomachs.

“I tried not to eat any food that day, but that didn’t work out very well because I was really hungry,” Sandel said. “I basically tried to starve myself but I ended up eating food (before the competition) so I decided to take other actions to become prepared. My plan [then] was not to chew at all and try to eat as much as possible and just swallow it.”

To say the struggle was worth it would be an understatement.

As part of winning the eating challenge, Sandel has enjoyed free Cheba Hut since last April and will continue to eat there for free until this year’s competition.

Both Sandel and Zimmerman frequent the restaurant and have eaten nearly every item on the menu.

“Well we kind of went through the sandwiches in two months,” said Zimmerman. “We pounded through all the sandwiches for sure. We wanted to save money and it was free.”

Despite the glorious perks of being a competitive eater, Sandel’s free meals will be up for discussion this spring on April 20, when the next challenge will occur. Sandel and Zimmerman, however, will certainly be there to defend the title.

“We’re definitely going to do it again,” said Zimmerman.

Noel Knostman

Devoted grandmother: Sharon Moddelmog, the secretary the language arts department, will be retiring at the end of the third quarter to take care of her granddaughter.

Devoted secretary’s promise to care for granddaughter leads to retirement

by Mackenzie Bartzenreporter

‘‘

Sharon Moddelmog owes a lot to her grandmothers.

Moddelmog, the secretary for the language arts department, comes by her family-oriented motherly qualities naturally, as she was fortunate enough to grow up having a close relationship with both of her grandmothers.

Related to this upbringing, Moddelmog has decided she is ready for retirement because now she has the opportunity to help care for her new granddaughter.

Moddelmog can most often be found in and about the San Juan office area. She greets each and every student who walks into the offices with a question, photocopies or even a chocolate bar.

She is the woman behind it all.

“She’s the glue that sticks us together,” fellow colleague and language arts teacher Monica Kauffman said.

Moddelmog said her grand-

Staff feature

,,

I’m going to miss the people the most. I work with a lot of nice people, and it’s a great place at Rocky.

mothers were her major role models during her childhood and still are as they inspired her to go into retirement, which will begin at the end of the third quarter.

“I’m retiring simply because I told my daughter, many years ago, that I would stay home and take care of my grandchildren, and now that I have a granddaughter, that’s what I’m going to do,” Moddelmog said.

Unlike the most others, who seek retirement because of a desire to live an easier life after a long career, Moddelmog defies the stereotype and, admirably, seeks to fulfill a promise once made to her daughter.

Moddelmog has high hopes for her retirement. Through her actions, she intends to make

Sharon Moddelmog, language arts department

the same kind of impression on her granddaughter as her own grandmothers once made on her. She wants her granddaughter to know how special family relationships are.

Still, Moddelmog said leaving the school behind is bittersweet.

“I’m going to miss the people most,” Moddelmog said. “I work with a lot of nice people, and it’s a great place at Rocky.”

However, Moddelmog is also “excited to be done with the everyday routine, just the getting up and coming to work, day after day. I will be able to fully dedicate my time to my granddaughter’s schedule.”

Kauffman, like many others, has stated that if she had it her way, she“would make her stay.”

FREE GAME Bring this ad into any of our Centers for 1 free game Laser tag coming soon!

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

FEATURES

Feb 26, 2014

B3

Library goes modern

Marissa Bonertz

Strike a pose: The Mr. RMHS competitiors pose for the camera. The competitiors are looking forward to showing off their skills and talents in the pageant. From left: Jason McCrary, Nick Ao, Jacob Munro, Dan Williams, Gabe Costanza-Chavez. Not Pictured: Trevor Anderson, Dennis Shi, Kyle Johnson.

Boys to strike a pose for Make-a-Wish at return of Mr. RMHS pageant

by Marissa Bonertzreporter

It is a competition, a new and exciting event, and a chance to show off the senior men: Mr. RMHS. This is a pageant for male students. It used to be an annual event at school but was discontinued, until now.

Eight senior male students will compete for the title of Mr. RMHS on March 7 on the rocks from 6-8:30 p.m.

All proceeds from the event go to the school’s Make-aWish fund-raiser to make the school’s Make-a-Wish child’s dream come true by sending him to Disney World.

“We contacted other student councils in the district and found that (Collins) and (Poudre) were both doing it and that it was a really highly attended event and students really liked it,” Shelby Mojahead, student body vice president, said on the reasons for bringing the event back.

This competition gives a variety of different senior male students the opportunity to represent the different aspects of the school.

The show will consist of a swimsuit competition, a talent portion and a formal interview. The judges will include a girl from each grade level and a teacher. There will be one

Jason McCrary

Dan Williams

final winner, gaining the title of Mr. RMHS. The participants include: Dan Williams, Dennis Shi, Jacob Munro, Jason McCrary, Kyle Johnson, Gabe Costanza-Chavez, Nick Ao, and Trevor Anderson.

This event used to be an annual occurrence. History teacher Todd Matkin participated in the Mr. RMHS pageant in 1995, the last Mr. RMHS pageant until this year.

“I remember the auditorium being packed; it was a huge ordeal to come and it was funny. It was neat to see people step out of their box but it brought everybody together,” Matkin said.

The Mr. RMHS pageant brings back memories for Matkin.

“Half the people, including me, didn’t really have a talent.

I still have a scar on my back, I fell off the stage,” Matkin said.

Nonetheless, with a permanent reminder, the Mr. RMHS pageant will forever be a memory for Matkin.

The pageant that Matkin participated in was very highly attended. This year, student council is hoping for the same.

“Especially for a new event, we can’t set the goal too

Jacob Munro

Mr. RMHS ▶Date: March 7 ▶ Time: 6-8:30 p.m. ▶ Where: On the Rocks ▶ Cost: $3 with an activity pass, $4 without one, $5 for adults high but we are hoping to get the students really excited to come and see it. It should be a lot of fun,” Mojahead said.

Senior Williams is one of the participants this year.

“I know pretty much everyone who got nominated so it will be kind of a fun sporty type competition thing,” Williams said.

When Williams heard about the show, he was excited to be nominated.

“I’m going to just try to have fun with it. I’ll take it a little serious,” Williams said on his expectations. “I’m excited; it will be fun. I feel like it will be kind of like the fashion show thing we did. I loved it [the fashion show], I would do it over and over again if I could.”

Nick Ao

Gabe Costanza-Chavez

Kayla Brokop

Exciting ebooks: Sophomore Ally Gunther reads an ebook in the Media Center.

Ebooks are now available for students to check out for free, and promise to be a valuable addition to the Media Center’s selection.

Ebooks bring diversity, more titles to Media Center

by Kayla Brokopreporter

It is quickly becoming a trend: more and more people have become accustomed to reading on electronic devices.

It is no surprise that the Media Center is now allowing students to check out ebooks for use on tablets, e-readers and computers.

Though not everyone prefers to read on a tablet/reader, there are many benefits to having ebooks available.

“The benefit for the students is that you can have them at any time on any device,” Media Center specialist Misha Bell said.

Students can check out ebooks using the website https://www. tinyurl.com/rockyebooks, and use them on any device, including the school-issued laptops. One ebook can be checked out at a time, and there is no fee for checking out books.

Because books are deleted off of a device two weeks after they are checked out, there is no need to worry about late fees or penalties which often come with borrowing a physical book.

The school will purchase more ebooks for students to use as more students become interested in the program.

“We would love for everybody to start viewing them, and if anybody has any suggestions on ebooks they would like to see, then we would love to hear their suggestions,” Bell said.

Ebooks are an excellent opportunity for teachers, as well as students. Teacher Mike Foster uses ebooks to read while traveling, and for convenience when he is unable to go to the library.

“I like the opportunity to explore books from home using ebooks. I’m more likely to try an

unknown author,” Foster said.

Ebooks can also be helpful when a book is extremely popular, because some ebooks offer unlimited checkout.

“If 50 kids in the school wanted to check out, say, Call of the Wild, they could do that, where as if we had the one book on the shelf, one person would be able to check it out,” media specialist Ben Johnson said.

Another benefit which ebooks offer is the ability to annotate and highlight the text inside the book to aid in its comprehension and understanding. This feature is helpful for students who wish to read an ebook for a class.

Ebooks generally cost the school about the price of a hardcover book through the program “Follett Shelf.” Follett Shelf also offers a tool called “tidalwave,” which gives a list of the most popular books for the high schoolaged teens. The library uses this tool, as well as recommendations from the Page Turner’s Club, which meets during lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to aid in the choosing of books for the school to purchase.

Ebooks can also help in saving the school money, because they are unable to be lost or damaged.

“We pay slightly more for them knowing that we can check them out forever and they’ll never be damaged or ruined,” Johnson said. “The idea is that they’re ours forever and we can check them out forever.”

Because the ebooks also do not use any physical space, they allow the library to have a broader selection of books.

As ebooks become more popular, more will be available to students to read for classes and for enjoyment.

P H O B I A & Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

Facing

FEAR

B4 Feb. 26, 2014

Options to fight phobias available

by Aaron YuCenter Editor

What are you afraid of?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, (NIMH) 19.2 million Americans nationwide have a specific kind of phobia.

A phobia is defined as “an extreme, irrational fear or aversion to something.” One must wonder why so many people experience deep terror when presented with things that might seem trivial to others. Not everyone has a fear of heights or small spaces, but the number of those that do is too large to ignore.

It must be clarified that a large dislike of something is not a true phobia. A true phobia is a fear that is so strong that one cannot function when exposed to the object or situation of their terror.

Psychology teacher Sara Lea explains a true phobia as the result of a frightening experience. When something similar to that experience is encountered later in the future, an association is made to the negative emotions in the past which essentially causes an individual to spiral into a panic attack.

“Your ‘big brother John’ shoves you into a cardboard box and sits on it,” Lea offered as an example. “You’re in this confined, dark space. You can’t breathe, he won’t get up. Later you’re claustrophobic.”

Claustrophobia, or the fear of small confined spaces, is one of a countless numbers of phobias recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) as a common mental disorder.

Phobias differ from fears in the sense that although one can “deal” with a fear, a phobia results in physical and/or mental debilitation.

“Phobias have to be irrational and intrusive,” psychology teacher Virginia Cox said. “You can fear something, but when it actually impacts the way in which you deal with people and how you run your life, that’s when it is considered a phobia.”

Because they are recognized as genuine mental disorders, there are several treatment options available for those that want to overcome their phobias.

Falling under the blanket of behavioral therapy, two common treatments are the courses of exposure treatment and counterconditioning. Exposure treatment usually employs a technique known as “flooding” which is immersing a patient in their fear until it eventually subsides. Many times this is done virtually due to the fact that an individual’s fear response can be too strong in a physical situation.

Lea considers this type of therapy as “facing your phobia and dealing with it head on.”

“I think it would be horrible at first,” she said. “You just have to overcome that fear and know that you’re gonna go through that, you survived and it was okay.”

For those who simply cannot endure “flooding”, counter-conditioning is usually employed. Counter-conditioning is essentially introducing a soothing or pleasant stimuli when an individual is presented with their phobia, causing them to eventually associate the two automatically. “[Individuals undergoing this therapy] are actually shown items or the item of which they are afraid,” Cox said. “They’re conditioned to not become afraid when they see it. This is because they’ve been shown it so many times that they get used to it.”

Along with therapy, medication is also available to assist with the process. Zoloft is one of several types of pills that can help people deal with phobias along with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It can help reduce, or completely eliminate panic attacks that may be a result of a fear response.

It is fortunate that so many comprehensive treatments are available to help individuals deal with debilitating phobias; Cox believes that phobias will become increasingly prevalent in the future.

“We’re starting to see interaction between students kind of being removed due to things such as technology,” she said. “Individuals are becoming more introverted. I think the more introverted people become, the more likely it is that phobias will increase.”

CENTER SPREAD

Feb. 26, 2014

B5

54% of students say they have a phobia ► 38% of those that do consider it to be a problem ► 31% of students do not try to overcome their fears ► Only 7% of students have been professionally diagnosed ► The most popular phobias are Spiders, Snakes and Needles

►

250 students surveyed

Student harbors interesting fear

by Jessi Brokopreporter

Nearly everyone has a fear they cannot seem to get over.

Most people fear things like spiders, or the dark, or low test grades. Senior Gaby Torres has a less common fear.

“The fact that you can’t see their face just freaks me. And they’re so much bigger than you, and they just freak me out. It’s really hard to put a finger on just why.” Torres said about her uncommon fear.

She has been afraid of mascots for as long as she can remember. “Even when I was little when I went to Disneyland I was afraid of them, unless they were princesses where you could see their face, when you can’t see

their face, that freaks me out,” she said.

She cannot figure out the whole reason she is so afraid of them , but the main reason is because she cannot see the faces behind the masks, “The fact that you can’t see their face just freaks me. And they’re so much bigger than you, and they just freak me out. It’s really hard to put a finger on just why.” She said.

She is not so afraid of mascots that she worries about seeing them everywhere, but it does bother her when she is too close to one of them.

“I just don’t like when they come near me, because normally they aren’t really near you, and in Disneyworld you can chose to go see them if you want. One time, though, I was at

this dance event thing that my dance team was dancing at, and the Chick Fil A cow was there, and it kept getting close to me, and my mom told it I was afraid of it, and it tried to hug me, and I wasn’t having it, I did not want to hug it,” Torres said.

Torres does not see mascots everywhere she goes, or everyday, but there is one place she knows she cannot go to without risking seeing one. “Most of my encounters are with the Chick Fil A cow, just because I go to Chick Fil A, not a lot, but I feel like every time I’m at Chick Fil A, the cow’s at Chick Fil A,” She said.

Although Torres’s fear is most certainly uncommon, the fact that she posesses one is not.

P H O B I A & Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

Facing

FEAR

B4 Feb. 26, 2014

Options to fight phobias available

by Aaron YuCenter Editor

What are you afraid of?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, (NIMH) 19.2 million Americans nationwide have a specific kind of phobia.

A phobia is defined as “an extreme, irrational fear or aversion to something.” One must wonder why so many people experience deep terror when presented with things that might seem trivial to others. Not everyone has a fear of heights or small spaces, but the number of those that do is too large to ignore.

It must be clarified that a large dislike of something is not a true phobia. A true phobia is a fear that is so strong that one cannot function when exposed to the object or situation of their terror.

Psychology teacher Sara Lea explains a true phobia as the result of a frightening experience. When something similar to that experience is encountered later in the future, an association is made to the negative emotions in the past which essentially causes an individual to spiral into a panic attack.

“Your ‘big brother John’ shoves you into a cardboard box and sits on it,” Lea offered as an example. “You’re in this confined, dark space. You can’t breathe, he won’t get up. Later you’re claustrophobic.”

Claustrophobia, or the fear of small confined spaces, is one of a countless numbers of phobias recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) as a common mental disorder.

Phobias differ from fears in the sense that although one can “deal” with a fear, a phobia results in physical and/or mental debilitation.

“Phobias have to be irrational and intrusive,” psychology teacher Virginia Cox said. “You can fear something, but when it actually impacts the way in which you deal with people and how you run your life, that’s when it is considered a phobia.”

Because they are recognized as genuine mental disorders, there are several treatment options available for those that want to overcome their phobias.

Falling under the blanket of behavioral therapy, two common treatments are the courses of exposure treatment and counterconditioning. Exposure treatment usually employs a technique known as “flooding” which is immersing a patient in their fear until it eventually subsides. Many times this is done virtually due to the fact that an individual’s fear response can be too strong in a physical situation.

Lea considers this type of therapy as “facing your phobia and dealing with it head on.”

“I think it would be horrible at first,” she said. “You just have to overcome that fear and know that you’re gonna go through that, you survived and it was okay.”

For those who simply cannot endure “flooding”, counter-conditioning is usually employed. Counter-conditioning is essentially introducing a soothing or pleasant stimuli when an individual is presented with their phobia, causing them to eventually associate the two automatically. “[Individuals undergoing this therapy] are actually shown items or the item of which they are afraid,” Cox said. “They’re conditioned to not become afraid when they see it. This is because they’ve been shown it so many times that they get used to it.”

Along with therapy, medication is also available to assist with the process. Zoloft is one of several types of pills that can help people deal with phobias along with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It can help reduce, or completely eliminate panic attacks that may be a result of a fear response.

It is fortunate that so many comprehensive treatments are available to help individuals deal with debilitating phobias; Cox believes that phobias will become increasingly prevalent in the future.

“We’re starting to see interaction between students kind of being removed due to things such as technology,” she said. “Individuals are becoming more introverted. I think the more introverted people become, the more likely it is that phobias will increase.”

CENTER SPREAD

Feb. 26, 2014

B5

54% of students say they have a phobia ► 38% of those that do consider it to be a problem ► 31% of students do not try to overcome their fears ► Only 7% of students have been professionally diagnosed ► The most popular phobias are Spiders, Snakes and Needles

►

250 students surveyed

Student harbors interesting fear

by Jessi Brokopreporter

Nearly everyone has a fear they cannot seem to get over.

Most people fear things like spiders, or the dark, or low test grades. Senior Gaby Torres has a less common fear.

“The fact that you can’t see their face just freaks me. And they’re so much bigger than you, and they just freak me out. It’s really hard to put a finger on just why.” Torres said about her uncommon fear.

She has been afraid of mascots for as long as she can remember. “Even when I was little when I went to Disneyland I was afraid of them, unless they were princesses where you could see their face, when you can’t see

their face, that freaks me out,” she said.

She cannot figure out the whole reason she is so afraid of them , but the main reason is because she cannot see the faces behind the masks, “The fact that you can’t see their face just freaks me. And they’re so much bigger than you, and they just freak me out. It’s really hard to put a finger on just why.” She said.

She is not so afraid of mascots that she worries about seeing them everywhere, but it does bother her when she is too close to one of them.

“I just don’t like when they come near me, because normally they aren’t really near you, and in Disneyworld you can chose to go see them if you want. One time, though, I was at

this dance event thing that my dance team was dancing at, and the Chick Fil A cow was there, and it kept getting close to me, and my mom told it I was afraid of it, and it tried to hug me, and I wasn’t having it, I did not want to hug it,” Torres said.

Torres does not see mascots everywhere she goes, or everyday, but there is one place she knows she cannot go to without risking seeing one. “Most of my encounters are with the Chick Fil A cow, just because I go to Chick Fil A, not a lot, but I feel like every time I’m at Chick Fil A, the cow’s at Chick Fil A,” She said.

Although Torres’s fear is most certainly uncommon, the fact that she posesses one is not.

B6 Feb. 26, 2014

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

L IMELIGHT

Games and Entertainment Sudoku Challenge The objective of the puzzle is to complete the 9x9 grid so that every column, row, and 3x3 grid within the 9x9 grid contains the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

Each puzzle can be solved with pure logic, so guessing should not be necessary.

Difficulty Level: Medium

(Puzzle solution posted on bulletin board outside of room 528)

Top Ten Ways to make it out of the third quarter slump

10. Bring a sleeping bag to class.

9. Have a stash... of candy 8. Make friends with the baristas at Starbucks.

7. Make everyday a sweatpants day.

6. Cry. Let it out.

5. Forget your social life.

4. Never remove your headphones.

3. Claim you are

narcoleptic.

2. Beg to watch movies in class.

1. Absorb Donald Chen’s energy.

Marissa Bonertz, Noel Knotsman, Madeline Zann, and Trey Jouard

Jack Ryan: Shadow recruit packs Friday night theater

by Reyna Thompsonreporter

If you plan on going to a relaxing Sunday afternoon movie, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is not for you.

One of the first scenes of the film is a helicopter being hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

As it should be, the scene was loud, but it got excessive to the point where it was unbearable.

As eardrums start to recover, the movie goes on and Ryan, played

by Chris Pine, is asked to be a CIA agent. The whole movie is an action packed and riveting account of Ryan’s attempt to foil the Russian Government’s plan to bring down the value of the U.S. dollar.

Ryan’s safety is constantly compromised throughout the movie, starting when his security guard leads him to his penthouse suite

Movie review

and proceeds to shoot at him in attempt to kill.

The audience is compelled to root for Ryan and worry about his safety, and the movie does a good job of causing viewers to develop a personal connection to the characters.

The constant stress on Ryan’s relationship with his girlfriend was ever present because she began to question if he was cheating on her. This added a more relatable conflict to the movie because members of the CIA don’t grow on trees.

There was never a lull in action, and not a single person left the theater in boredom. It keeps attention at all times. It’s only flaw was the fact that certain things in the movie (like the details of the Russian plan) are left for the audience to fill in which becomes confusing.

Despite this flaw, the plot remains intriguing and the movie has a satisfying conclusion. It is the definition of a Friday night action packed movie; but not for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Courtesy of Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/MCT

Oscars: Actor Chris Pine arrives for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on Mar. 7, 2010.

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

L IMELIGHT

Feb. 26, 2014

B7

Panino’s pleases patrons Old restaurant sparks interest over common lunch places

by Jessi Brokopreporter

Cane’s, Burger King, Subway, and Gib’s are only a handful of the common off campus lunch spots.

Students typically stick to fast food restaurants nearby for a quick and convenient meal; however, they quickly become stuck in a rut with the same restaurants each week.

It is high time they try something new.

Panino’s has been locally owned and operated for over 35 years. This quaint restaurant serves anything Italian from pizza to their famous panino sandwiches.

Although it is not a new restaurant to Fort Collins, the quality Italian food surpasses Cane’s any day. Unfortunately, due to its inconvenient location, most students are unable to venture out to Prospect within the lunch period.

Those who are able to make it across town will be able to enjoy a comfortable and secluded environ-

Food review

Jessi Brokop

A snowy day in Italy: Panino’s Italian Restaurant sits on Prospect between Shields and College. This cozy restaurant is home to the famous panino sandwiches, as well as common Italian cuisine.

ment. Booths are pushed together and some are separated by little curtains.

The polite staff at Paninos also contributes to the unique ambiance of the italian joint.

The pizza was drenched with cheese, which I personally enjoy,

but some may not like the cheesy quantity. I also had their dessert pie, but the frozen ice cream glaze made it hard to cut into two.

One complaint came at the end of the meal in the form of the bill.

Prices vary for each dish, but the pizza and pie turned out to be

quite pricey. If costs were not as expensive, this restaurant would effectively reach more high school students.

Other than one concern, Panino’s was a nice change from the usual restaurants I go to for lunch.

College

Musical

focus on (music) rather than having it be an additional activity I’m doing.”

After coming to this realization, Gines also made the commitment to apply for music programs in various universities. Her top choices boiled down to CSU, CU, BYU and DU. “For the most part CU has got everything I’m looking for. Musicians, faculty, prestige, and everything like that,” Gines said.

Even though the main difference between music and non-music students stem from auditions, there are more gaps than what meets the eye.

“I think the worst part was meeting all the deadlines because it’s kind of double all the applications that everyone else has to do,” Gines said. “So getting them all done on time and making sure you have all the required materials (can be stressful).”

Wellington has applied to six schools for music, and has written about eight different essays. Each school requires the general application, but the music application is supplementary; therefore most colleges require a separate essay for their music school.

While the application process is full of stressful auditions, essays, and dense application materials, this is only one small step for ambitious musicians.

“I’m excited to go into that environment where I get to listen to great music and talk about it with people who are also excited about it,” Wellington said. “My whole day will be just that and I won’t have to worry about anything else.”

off-the-wall show. McFall plays Joseph Old Man Strong, father of Bobby Strong, the protagonist in Urinetown, and has loved rehearsing with the equally zany cast.

“You get to work with other actors and an amazing production staff, and you just have a lot of fun working,” McFall said.

“It doesn’t seem like work, but we’re really working really hard.”

Whether you have a taste for “intellectual potty humour” (to quote Schendel) or are just in the mood to see something different, Urinetown is sure to be a hit.

“It’s one of the most contemporary shows I’ve ever been in,” McFall said. “If Mackenzie Bartzen you’re just coming to see a Memorizing lines: Gavin show for fun you’ll McFall rehearses with really enjoy yourself.”

from page B8

from page B8

Courtesy of Scott Schlup

Tuning for the future: Ivy Gines rehearses with Northern Colorado honor band. She plans on pursuing an oboe performance major with a prestigious music program.

his script for Urinetown.

Rocky Mountain HIGHLIGHTER

B8

Feb. 26, 2014 What’s in the Limelight?

Who’s in town for

L URINETOWN

LIMELIGHT

F e b . 28: School Gr e at Works , P rima , Si ng er s , Sy m p hony and Ch amb er, CSU -Al l D ay March 3: CD release- Imogen Heap-Sparks March 4: CD release- Lea Michele-Louder Concert- Miley Cyrus, Pepsi Center March 5: SchoolCBA Regionals, Summit and Winds, Fossil Ridge-TBA March 7: Movie release- 300: A Rise of an Empire Movie release- Mr. Peabody and Sherman March 8: ConcertZZ Top, Paramount Theater March 12: ConcertG-Eazy, Ogden Theater March 13: SchoolUrinetown, RMHS-7:00pm March 14: SchoolUrinetown, RMHS-7:00pm Movie releaseVeronica Mars Movie releaseBad Words March15: ConcertImagine Dragons, Pepsi Center March 16: Comedy- Jeff Dunham, Budweiser Events Center March 18: CD release- Foster the People-Supermodel March 21: Movie release- Muppets Most Wanted Movie releaseDivergent March 22: Concert- Lorde, Fillmore Auditorium March 23: Concert- Robin Thicke, Fillmore Auditorium March 25: CD release- Johnny Cash-Out Among the Stars March 28: Movie release- Noah School- Urinetown, RMHS-7:00pm March 29: SchoolUrinetown, RMHS-7:00pm April 1: CD releaseChristina Perri-Head or Heart

Unique musical strikes interest of cast and crew

by Mackenzie Bartzenreporter

This season, the theater department is mixing it up by putting on a musical that will both shock and entertain the audience.

“We’ve done a lot of traditional musicals in the last few years and we were ready for something a little bit newer, so we chose Urinetown,” said Larissa Schendel, the director of this zany show.

“In terms of musicals, it stands out.”

Breaking out of the pattern of wholesome, classical musicals the department has put on for the past several years, Urinetown is highly contemporary with somewhat risque humor.

“It’s edgy. It’s very edgy,” Schendel said. “It’s very funny, and has kind of a dark humour.”

Rife with political commentary, Urinetown will present a rather interesting and unique view of big business in poor areas of America.

“Big business is a company called Urine Good Company, and essentially creates these amenities which are public bathrooms,” Schendel

Mackenzie Bartzen

Eye for blocking: Director Larissa Schendel blocks a scene with the cast of Urinetown. Blocking consists of meticulously deciding where each character will be for each line in the script.

said, “and people have to pay to use the public amenity. And if they’re caught peeing elsewhere, they’re arrested and taken to ‘Urinetown.’ I can’t tell you what that is - you’ll find out in Act Two.” While the premise may sound silly to unknowing ears, Urinetown is more than meets the eye. Providing a balance

between slapstick comedy and more intellectuallyminded jokes, the musical is goofy and lighthearted, with a touch of cynicism.

“I think that’s important to a lot of people - the idea that it’s not just about big business, and that the common man can rise up and do his own deal. That’s very much the

message of this,” Schendel said.

Rehearsals for the show are lively and fun, which will make for an entertaining show with a passionate cast, pit, and crew.

Gavin McFall, a theater enthusiast, also has a lot to say about the

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Urinetown ►Where: Auditorium ►When: Mar. 13-14 @ 7 p.m.

Mar. 28-29 @ 7 p.m. ►Tickets: $8 - seniors, kids, activity pass $10 - students $12 - adults

Fine tuning for college Students pursue passion for music through rigorous application process

by Megan Troutmaneditor-in-chief

While college applications can be stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting, they are even more so for aspiring music students.

“Most people (say) college aps are so hard!

But they have no idea,” senior Selena Wellington said.

Wellington is going into college for a music composition major. She has been composing her own pieces for six years, and is excited to pursue her passion in college.

Her first daunting step however, is applying to prestigious music schools such as Boston Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and Berklee College of Music to name a few.

“As far as choosing a school for composition specifically, and music in general, it’s a lot harder for choosing a school for something else,” Wellington said. “I actually have to . . . meet the composition faculty and determine whether or not they’re people I can work with.”

Meeting faculty is only a small speed bump in the application process. The most unnerving task comes from the music auditions themselves.

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Most people (say) college aps are so hard!

But they have no idea.

Selena Wellington, senior

“The audition is the most behind the scenes thing that people don’t know. They hear about people auditioning but most people are like, oh college application stress is over, but not for a music student. They still need to practice several hours a day to prepare for their audition,” Wellington said.

Auditioning is nerve-racking for every music student, especially those who are looking for a performance major.

“For the most part I do pretty well,” aspiring oboe performance major Ivy Gines said.

“I mean I do get nervous, but it’s not really to the point where it influences my playing.”

Megan Troutman

Composing perfection: Senior Selena Wellington works on her most recent composition piece. She will be auditioning for multiple music schools in the next few weeks.

Gines decided to go into music performance about halfway through her junior year.

“I realized that I’m good at (playing oboe) and I really enjoy this,” Gines said. “I want to

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