The Royal Page March 2013 issue

page theROYAL

Thursday, March 21, 2013 Volume 31 Issue 7

www.royalpage.org

the FOOD FIGHT C-spread 8-9 C-spread 8-9

Students forfeit the joy and opportunity of learning because of the intensity placed on them from the growing competition in the world.

-Phoebe Cohen

opinion 4

Anderson commits to UConn

sports 15

Girls basketball team pulls off three peat The Royals dominate again for the championship title

By Eli Badower Sports Editor After winning their third consecutive State Championship on Saturday night, the girls basketball team danced in celebration at Lindbergh Center, unaware of the unprecedented nature of their accomplishment.

They were the first Class AAAA team in Minnesota state history to win three straight State Championships.

“I didn’t know that we were first. Oh, okay, that’s amazing.

I had no idea that we were the first one to do that, so it makes winning that much better,” said Nia Coffey, senior.

Coffey, the 24th ranked player in the 2013 class according to espn.com, was dominant in her third straight State Championship game. To chants of “overrated” by the Bloomington Kennedy student section, she recorded 25 points, 16 rebounds,

Top: The team poses with championship plaque, showing the “3 peat” symbol with their hands.

and 4 blocks in the 68-45 victory. After winning three championships and recently being named the Metro Player of the Year by the Star Tribune, she is arguably one of the best players in Minnesota history.

“She’s right up there. She’s a McDonald’s All-American and we have only had three others.

She’s probably one of the best ever,” said Mr. Brian Cosgriff, head coach.

However, the Royals are far from a one-woman team. Erin O’Toole, senior, and Taylor Anderson, senior, joined Coffey on the All-Tournament team.

Mikaala Shackelford, senior, is playing Division One basketball at the University of Illinois next season.

“The key to winning the state title was playing as a team.

We had to remain a fist in order

Bottom Left: Nia Hollie, freshman, Taylor Anderson, senior, and other teammates huddle before the game.

Bottom Middle: Nia Coffey, senior, goes for the layup.

Bottom Right: Taylor Anderson runs up to the basket.

By the Numbers

1 loss to Centennial 3 time state champions win over 60 point Minneapolis South

72

point average per game

Photos by Cole Feagler

-GIRLS continued on page 15

Muslim students stay faithful to their culture

By Joe Greene Business Manager Edil Ibrahim is an American high school student who faces the same challenges as any other high school senior – standardized tests, social acceptance, college applications, life plans – and along with that she proudly manifests her devotion to Islam.

Reflecting the Muslim value of modesty, Ibrahim wears a headscarf called a hijab and a long dress, called an abaya.

Although this may make her stand out, Ibrahim welcomes

questions about her dress. “I like when kids ask me about the headscarf. Islamic dress is all about what is in your heart,” Ibrahim said.

Originally from Somalia, Ibrahim moved to Minnesota when she was in eighth grade.

She attended Eden Prairie High School and was involved in their Muslim Student Association before attending HHS. “I liked what they were doing. When I got here my sophomore year, I wanted to bring the club to HHS,” Ibrahim said. So

she and HHS graduate Ikram Osman founded the Muslim Student Association (MSA) last year at HHS. The MSA is a national organization with the core purpose of helping Muslim students adjust to the culture of American schools.

“We want students to feel comfortable talking about various problems or questions they might be having about practicing Islam,” said Liena Hamza, senior and current co-leader of the MSA.

The club, open to both Muslim and non-Muslim students, holds discussions on a wide variety of topics from the appropriateness of nail polish to acceptance of homosexuality.

Mr. Terrall Lewis, Equity and Integration Specialist at HHS and MSA advisor, views MSA as a crucial step towards embracing HHS’ increasingly diverse population.

“We have to create and accommodate spaces to people that contribute valuable insights through culture, religion,

and varied world experiences,” Lewis said.

Adjusting to American culture while still remaining true to the principles of Islam can be challenging.

“One favorite topic of discussion at MSA is who or what does Islam look like in western society? Who decides what’s acceptable in accordance with religious and family tradition, while assimilating with the HHS culture?” Lewis said.

For non-Muslim students, the MSA can be an important

place to clear up misconceptions.

“The MSA is a forum for students to engage with each other in a safe and welcoming environment; to create conversations that may otherwise not have happened,” Lewis said.

Hamza sees some misconceptions about Islam. “One thing that is misunderstood about Islam is that it is a peaceful religion. Islam means “Peace” in Arabic. People judge Islam by -MSA continued on page 10

2 news

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

Students ProPEL towards possible future careers

By Tobie Soumekh Staff Reporter While students are struggling to maintain focus in the classroom, Kayla Nelson, senior, is engaging in the community and preparing for her future.

With an interest in the medical field, Nelson spends fourth block all year studying, following, and observing an orthopedic surgeon by virtue of the ProPEL program. Providing experience and allowing students to engage in their fascinations, students find ProPEL a satisfying end to a busy day.

The class is intentionally designed for juniors and seniors with advanced knowledge in a particular field of study.

The ProPEL program services a variety of career fields and strives to match the student’s interests with the best professionals accessible in trade, service, academic, medical, le-

gal, executive, or creative career areas. In the past, opportunities have varied from using math formulas to determine how an elderly person could swing a golf club without exerting much energy, to being responsible for the appetizer menu at the Dakota Jazz Club on Nicollet Mall.

An application and interview process is necessary to participate in ProPEL. “The application process was really easy,” said Emily Costa, senior. “The interview is not bad because if you belong in the program I think it’s definitely manageable.”

Nelson agrees with Costa’s opinion. “Applying for ProPEL was really easy because it was simple, non-time-consuming questions,” Nelson said. “Considering I had a junior workload, it wasn’t much.”

Recently, interested juniors completed the application process and dedicated themselves

to this program. The application consists of four questions analyzing the applicant’s leadership skills and accomplishments. “The interview is nerveracking, but Mr. Theirl and Ms. Slinde are really nice and make it less intimidating,” said Ali Freie, junior.

During the application process, Ms. Kristen Slinde and Mr. Jesse Theirl, ProPEL advisors, search for consistency. “For this program, you’re essentially interviewing every single day,” Theirl said. “Students may act a certain way in the interview, but we also discuss their character, work ethic, transcript and attendance with their current teachers.”

Requirements for admission to ProPEL go beyond a high GPA; candidates are also assessed by their ability to go into the community and converse with potential mentors. “One of the reasons why this program

was developed at Hopkins was to present opportunities for kids besides the super mega high flyers. Throughout the five years of its existence, we’ve had a very diverse group concerning GPAs, academics, and extracurricular activities,” Slinde said.

Slinde and Theirl encourage students to participate in their program. “I would recommend highly motivated, responsible, mature students to apply,” Slinde said. “If you can’t do school, then we have a hard time allowing you to leave school and go out.”

Although many students have explored their interests, most students have zero experience in their desired occupation.

“When you go to college, you’re preparing for a career that you’ll eventually commit to. With this program, you receive experience in order to decide whether you want to enroll in college preparation courses,” Theirl said.

Participating in the ProPEL program has allowed students to develop their interests and justify their future decisions.

“When a student returned from her actuary internship, she felt bad because she was no longer interested,” Slinde said. “We were excited because she was able to discover that her senior year in high school instead of her junior year in college.”

Participants of ProPEL have utilized HHS curricular resources and have an interest in collaborating with a professional in their field. Because Ethan Friedman, junior, said he has used every opportunity at HHS and wants to explore his interest outside of school, he has registered for ProPEL. Members of ProPEL program also display curiosity in their subject and pursue their interest in several ways. Max Wolk, junior, volunteers at Methodist Hospital and Patient

Discharge, works as an aid in the emergency room, took the Exploration of Health and Medicine elective, and is now expanding his research into ProPEL. In addition to visiting and experiencing their occupation of interest, students are required to complete projects, write essays, interview professionals, and attend field trips. These curricular essentials yield opportunities for points and academic assessment.

ProPEL prides itself on equal opportunity. The program offers scholarships to students who would be accepted into the program but do not have the necessary financial means.

“ProPEL provides the real life hands on experience, and I am constantly amazed by the opportunities and things that our students are exposed to,” said Slinde. “Everyone’s experience is very unique, cool, and interesting in its own way.”

National Honor Society makes blankets for the homeless

By Kyle Makey Staff Reporter As the snow continues to fall, many are wishing for a snow day. Others are wishing for a warm blanket just to make it through the winter.

The National Honor Society (NHS) is helping out people who depend on donations, cheap goods, and other resources to stay safe and healthy by making blankets.

“The officers get together and decide what their theme is and what events they want to do. This year the theme is the young, the old, and the needy,” said Ms. Dawn Hansen, Reading and NHS Adviser. “They’ve

tried to come up with service opportunities that all of us can participate in as a large group.”

The latest project that the group has been working on is making blankets for the underprivileged and sick. The project was introduced to last year’s seniors and worked so well that this year’s seniors decided to bring it back.

“This project was one that they decided would fit the theme this year and they wanted to continue it. The fleece blankets made will go to Project Linus, which helps the needy in town,” Hansen said.

Project Linus is a nationwide organization that gives blankets to sick children, according to

their website. They provide new, handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18.

The project for this year’s seniors was a similar experience to last year’s. For Mark Grayson, senior, it was a fun way to help out people in need. “It allowed the entire chapter to get involved in the project. I thought it was a really fun way to help people in need through the cold Minnesota winter,” Grayson said.

But not just anybody can join NHS. Students who wish to join must have a cummalative GPA of 3.667 through term three of their junior year. They

also must have at least 30 hours of community service before joining, and fill out an application online.

Hansen says that the service hours are necessary for people wishing to join because the NHS is a service organization. “We don’t want people to be shocked when they enter it.

We want them to be aware that that is a part of who we are,” said Hansen.

Grayson says that joining NHS was about helping out others, and taking a break from focusing on just himself. “It is a great group of students, and there are a lot of fun activities and projects,” Grayson said.

“You get to make a difference in

the community.”

A difference in the community that can warm a sick child’s heart is something that many people would do without personal benefit. But, in NHS, you do get something back for your service and volunteering.

Grayson thinks that the

2 news

NHS is a great club that can go on a college resume and he learned from his sister and older friends that his thoughts were true. “I knew it would enhance my college resume, and it would be good to do community service on behalf of my school,” Grayson said.

NHS By The Numbers

2,990,517 Dollars raised by NHS chapters

590,912 Hours

400,000

Pints of blood donated

of service

7

Million pounds of food donated through food drives Source: 2011 Service Report-NHS.us

Photo illustration by Kyle Makey

Ceramics fights hunger with the Empty Bowls fundraiser

By Stefanie Gedan Staff Reporter Ceramic students used their artistic talents to combat hunger as they participated in the 15th annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser.

The Empty Bowls Fundraiser was held at the Hopkins Center for the Arts on March 12 from 11-7. Bowls created by both student and professional artists were sold. At least 150

bowls were made specifically for this event. “[The fundraiser] helps families that live in our area,” said Ms. Terry Chamberlin, Art. Proceeds from the Empty Bowls Fundraiser went to the local Intercongregation Communities Association (ICA) foodshelf and ResourceWest.

The Imagine Render Group started Empty Bowls to fight hunger on an international scale.

According the the Empty Bowls website, one in eight Americans struggle with food insecurity every single day. “[Empty Bowls is] something I like to do and it helps people out. It’s kind of a nobrainer,” said Matt Chinn, senior.

It was required that ceramic students of all levels participate.“[Students] each had to make two bowls, and one of

[the bowls] they had to donate to Empty Bowls,” Chamberlin said. “Some of [the students] decided to donate both of their bowls.”

All of the the bowls made by amerture artists were then put on display and people had the option to buy them. The amerture artsits ranged from elementary students from the Hopkins School District to adults in different education programs.

Professional artists also donated their bowls which were then placed in a silent auction.

After someone made a donation, they could get soup and some bread to eat which is a staple at Empty Bowls fundraisers.

Students also helped adults create their own bowls to be donated. “I helped teach the superintendent [of Hopkins School District] how to make a bowl,” Chinn said. “I made one for

him to thank him for coming in since it’s kind of a big deal that he found time.”

According to Chinn, the Empty Bowls Fundraiser typically raises about $15,000 a year, but this year they were shooting for $80,000. They made $81,400 this year.

“It was a really nice experience and I felt like I was giving to people,” said Hannah Wolfson, junior.

news 3

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

Grading practices stir discussion among staff

By Josh Gallop News Editor Mr. Douglas Dart, language arts, believes the standard grading system encourages students to work for points instead of learning, so he uses a grading system modeled after one of his college classes.

HHS has a unified grading scale correlating percentages with a grade, but teachers have autonomy with how they arrive at those percentages. Some teachers will weight specific categories; others use total points.

Dart’s Honors Humanities class has 11 assignments that go into the grade book: each accounting for a particular per-

centage of the total grade. The assignments don’t get points, instead they receive a letter grade.

These grades are then averaged out to a final percentage as opposed to a total points system used in some other classes.

“As a teacher I like it because it doesn’t limit me. The number of points doesn’t always fit with the letter grade a student deserves,” Dart said. “If there is a ‘C-’ in for a reading quiz, that tells you way more than an 8 out of 11.”

Administrators are looking into unifying evaluation methods. “Grading isn’t uniform across the building, but a lot of the time it is unified across

departments. We need to have representatives from all departments come together and discuss [unifying grading] or see if it’s not a good idea at all. We might decide that,” said Ms. Patty Johnson, principal.

If they decide to make the change, Johnson estimates it would take three years to implement. “In the next year or so I’ll ask a committee to come together. There are theoretical and emotional ties to methods of grading, and this isn’t going to happen overnight. But I want to open the discussion up to teachers,” Johnson said.

Ms. Felicia Homberger, language arts and staff devel-

be different from each other so it shouldn’t necessarily be the same for every class.”

The teachers in the Spanish department have slight differences in their focus. “In Spanish 1 through 4 teachers use similar standards for assessment about 80 percent of the time, according to Ms. Stephanie OwenLyons, Spanish. “Some teachers emphasize speaking, some emphasize writing, some grammar, and some pronunciation. We all have our own personalities with about 20 percent of the class,” Owen-Lyons said.

Homberger believes grades should reflect how well the student has mastered the subject,

opment coordinator, would be involved in developing a unified system. “First you have to decide what grades should reflect. Different teachers have different opinions on what they should reflect: effort, ability, attendance,” Homberger said.

A committee will have to decide how strict the unification would be. “Within a course, grading policies should be fair and standard so what teacher you have won’t impact your grade. As a school we might come to an agreement on extra credit and late work policies,” Homberger said. “What phy. ed., language arts, culinary, or AVID are assessing is going to

and they should never be related to bringing in Kleenex or anything financial based.

“You shouldn’t get points for effort,” Homberger said. Although, she does acknowledge a gray area. “What if a kid works super hard in class but can’t do the math? It’s a really hard decision.”

CIS classes would remain exempt from a unified standard as they follow evaluation protocol set by the University of Minnesota.

“Grading systems are very personal; teachers give grades a lot of thought which makes it very hard to unify,” Homberger said.

DECA sends record number to international competition

By Danielle Fogelson Staff Reporter Daniel Grayson, sophomore, competed in the DECA State Conference, where his experiences ranged from presenting a business plan to a panel of judges during the day, to a giant dance party at night.

Grayson, along with over 1,000 other high school students, spent March 3-5, 2013 dressed in business attire at the DECA State Conference, hosted at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis. Out of the 56 HHS students who participated in DECA this year, 32 students advanced from the District Conference to the State Conference.

In preparation for conferences, DECA participants occasionally stay after school to register and practice for the events they will compete in. Mr. Jesse Theirl, business education teacher and DECA advisor, runs the meetings and gives students tips and strategies for success at competitions.

At the state conference, each student competed in two to three events, and some events were completed with a partner. The events that take place on the first day of conferences are situational and involve students problem solving or role playing for a panel of judges. The events on the second day consist of writing projects, interviews, sales dem-

onstrations, and public speaking.

One of the events Grayson competed in was titled Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making.

“For my event, I did a role play where we got a business plan that needed promotion,” Grayson said. “We got 30 minutes to think of a pitch or presentation to show the judges. They evaluate you on how well you did.”

Carly Coats, senior, and her partner, Sonya Rosen, senior, also competed in an event requiring the marketing of a company. This event qualified Coats and Rosen to move onto the international conference, where they will compete in the same event.

“It's a lot of thinking on our feet and it's hard to balance who talks when, but we work really well together,” Coats said.

Coats also competed in an individual event titled Advanced Interview. In this event, Coats had to prepare a resume, an application, and a job description of a job she was hypothetically applying for. Coats then did a mock interview for that hypothetical job.

“You have to be able to think on the spot and answer pretty intelligently, and hopefully honestly,” Coats said.

After long days of competing, students spent the evenings of the state conference with some sort of entertainment. On the first night of the conference, students were amused by

the performance of a hypnotist.

“The hypnotist at state was really funny. He made someone forget their name,” Grayson said.

The dance party on the second night of the conference was a highlight for many of the students. "My favorite part of DECA would probably be all the pretty girls at the conferences,” said Wyatt Mekler, senior.

On the last day of the state conference, students attended an award ceremony where they discovered whether or not they qualified for the international conference taking place in California later this year. Seven HHS students qualified, and will be attending the the international conference from April 24-27, 2013.

HHS DECA recently achieved success outside of the state conference as well. For the first time, the school store was entered into DECA’s School Based Enterprises (SBE) program which awards school

stores either bronze, silver, or gold. The school store at HHS won the gold award.

The process of entering a school store into the SBE program is long and time consuming. Students must spend time creating a document that explains all aspects of the store that fall into ten specific categories, each category containing subcategories as well.

“It took a lot of hard work and many hours to produce a document of 50 plus pages that listed everything we know from the school store. This included analyzing all different types of documents, expressing our knowledge of taxes, different types of promotions, and six more categories,” Mekler said.

Once students have finished their document, they send it to DECA to be evaluated and wait to hear back to see if they got the gold award. “When Mr. Theirl told us the good news, all the hard work felt like it had

paid off,” Mekler said.

Mekler, along with the help of Isaac Fisher and Justine Walker, seniors, is in charge of running the school store. Students who work in the school store have many responsibilities such as selling merchandise, planning promotional events, and evaluating cash flow statements.

Theirl works alongside the students to help out and teach new strategies. He also created an electronic system over the summer for monitoring inventory and profit which helps the students greatly. "Without [Theirl], the store would not be nearly what it is today," Mekler said.

Like Mekler, all students who participate in DECA gain first hand experience with many aspects of the business and marketing industry.

“I value DECA because it’s a time kids can actually apply what they know,” Theirl said.

“Rather than sitting in a classroom to just learn things, they’re actually applying what they know to real situations with people that do this for work everyday.”

Despite the focus of DECA being on the business and marketing industry, the skills students acquire are transferable to other career fields as well. “It helps you improve your critical thinking, communication, leadership, problem solving, planning, and I mean, you need to do all of those things in any career,” Theirl said.

Although Coats plans to major in business in college, she agrees that DECA is useful for students who plan to do other careers in life.

“It's really fun and it's such a great group of people who run it and a great group of students who do it,” Coats said. “It really prepares you for lots of other stuff in life.”

HHS students who qualified for DECA Internationals

Isaac Fisher, senior

Wyatt Mekler, senior

Carly Coats, senior

*Nicolai Selness-Whitehead, junior, also made it to internationals but is no longer attending HHS.

Sonya Rosen, senior

Sam Parker, senior

Sam Bloomfield, senior Photos by Roxanne Krietzman

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

the

4 opinion

What happened to the current generation?

Until a few years ago, I totally thought that by age 16 I would be out every night at an assortment of parties and with tons of friends. I watched “Grease” and thought I would be like Rizzo, I saw “Mean Girls” and thought I would be like Gretchen Wieners.

But in reality, my phone only vibrates because my virtual Tamagotchi pet needs food.

I am usually tired, stressed, and ready to cry real tears at the next teacher to assign me more homework. This is an accurate description not only of myself but of many students at HHS. We have all heard that the ages ending in ‘-teen’ are the “best and the worst years” of our lives. This is because we are learning and growing a tremendous amount every day. Every teenager has a ton of life-altering decisions to make, and our brains aren’t even fully developed yet.

With brains that are still fresh and impressionable, our generation is taking on the world. The images and standards we face every day have a large impact on us. We constantly get mixed messages from a large variety of sources.

We see contradicting ideas from all components of society: media, adults, and most importantly, our peers. Is a girl a “slut” or a “prude”? Is a boy too “sensitive” or too “hardcore”?

According to Yankelovich, a market research firm, a person living in a city 30 years ago saw 2,000 advertisements in a day. Today, one sees almost 5,000 advertisements in a day. This intense media exposure alone doesn’t create bad body image but it promotes it like never before. There is huge pressure on the young people of today to be the hottest and the coolest.

Most of this pressure comes from what we experience daily: our society at HHS. After winter break, how many girls came back sporting new Lulu’s? I know I did. How many boys came back with some new sick Nike footwear and socks? About half of the HHS population.

However, this pressure from our days here can be more than a new style craze. As I was meandering around the hallways, one message stood out on a locker. “Eat less. Weigh less. Look better.

Society killed the teenager.”

Eating disorders among young people everywhere are on the rise. “We are seeing a lot more eating disorders than we used to and we are seeing it in people we didn’t associate with eating disorders in the past -- a lot of boys, little kids, people of color and those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Dr. David Rosen, a professor of pediatrics.

With fashion models thinner than 98 percent of Americans, it’s not hard to see why eating disorders have never been as common as they are today. Our society is at fault for this, and it is our responsibility to fix it.

Lily Goldfarb is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

A student perspective of the teenage society written on a locker in the south wing.

Photo by Phoebe Cohen

iGamed, iLearned and iConquered Phone games. Not going to lie, some of the games have taken over my life. I, Joel Ratner, admit that I am a phone game addict.

It took years for me to understand my addiction, but now I can use it to my advantage. Before, I was playing games like “Clash of the Clans” where the player has a clan and goes around trying to be the strongest clan by attacking others. The more my clan thrived, the more I had to play.

“Clash of the Clans” was not a game I should have been spending my time on. I should have put more of my effort into games like “Ruzzle” or “Words With Friends” and expanded my vocabulary.

Phone games can actually be beneficial.

For AP Government and Politics, there was a phone game to learn the material. I played the game all day without even realizing that I was learning. You need to know the information to be good at the game.

On the day of the test, because of the game, I knew the material and felt great afterward.

More classes should incorporate games as a way to learn.

Hopkins junior high schools now use iPads to get students more involved. This is a great idea and should be brought to HHS. Generally speaking, the American public has a hard time maintaining attention. This is due to all the T.V and video games that Americans consume. Every decade the attention span of a teenager

gets worse and worse.

The average persons’ attention span in 2000 was 12 second. The average persons’ attention span in 2012 was 8 seconds. The average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds.

Even old movies that were classics to my parents and thought of as the best of all time seem to get boring. The long dialogue, which was probably very interesting, didn’t have enough action, suspense, and overall graphics that a newly made movie needs to succeed these days.

The same concept applies to school. When a class has long lectures, which might be interesting, students get worn out quickly and don’t retain as much information as they could. Whereas if the class had “breaks” that included interactive learning, students would enjoy and get more out of the class.

Many people go through school not to learn, but to get the grade. They will simply study hard the night before a test, do well, and forget all the information they learned the next day.

When learning is done through gaming, the retention of the information seems to be greater and lasts well beyond the class.

Having fun while learning is a winning combination.

Joel Ratner is the opinion editor for the Royal Page

Saving your education from high school I like knowing things. I like being able to look at the periodic table and understand what I’m seeing. I enjoy finding the hidden symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath or To Kill a Mockingbird. And United States history is one of my favorite dinner table conversations.

Yet, I am just like the general student population who would say, “I hate school.” How is it possible to dislike school so much when learning and knowing things is one of the things I enjoy most?

Schools were put into place to teach students how to succeed in the world. However, as the world continues to become a more competitive place to find success, education becomes more intense as well.

The United States is constantly trying to keep up with, and even “show up” the rest of the world. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space, science and math quickly became a focus and requirement for American school-aged boys. Today, we fear other countries taking the jobs of Americans due to their higher standard of education.

Students also feel competition and pressure to succeed in school, get into a good college, and go on to make a living in the field of their choice.The competition never ceases to intensify.

I agree that education is the key to success in life and that it is important to continue to stretch and improve our education sys-

tems. Nevertheless, I fear that many young Americans are beginning to under-appreciate their education.

Don’t tell me that you’ve never sped through an assignment to try to finish it without actually paying attention to the material. Too often, students get so wrapped up in their grades and the pressure to succeed that they forget to learn.

This is a major flaw in the American schooling system. Students forfeit the joy and opportunity of learning because of the intensity placed on them from the growing competition in the world. Mark Twain once said, “Don’t let school interfere with your education.”

I think this sums up the problem. Today, the competition of our school system overrides the importance of an education. Everyday, students sparknote a chapter for English class or write very, very, very, very, very long sentences to fill the space on a DBQ. And shout out to teachers for putting answer keys on Moodle for students to copy. All these things get the work done and often times earn you your A, but they sacrifice the remarkable things that are being taught.

I’d come up with some great moral or solution to this problem but I’m on a strict deadline, and let’s be honest, I’m only really writing this for the grade anyways.

Phoebe Cohen is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

Letter to the Editor: The pepfest on Friday, March 1, was an interesting study in human behavior. I refer specifically to the young men miming “stripper dollars” to the young women dancing.

As an English teacher, I understand dancing is an art form and an act of expression. As an older person, I understand there is a youth culture for which I am merely a spectator.

And as a woman, I understand the objectification of women.

I wonder what the young males in the audience believe about those female dancers---or perhaps women in general. I wonder what message the young women believe they were communicating with their dancing. I am concerned that neither understands the less obvious, more subconscious message their actions send.

I know neither believes what they were doing is wrong or they wouldn’t have done it. I’m equally certain in their minds

it was just “fun.” But art can miscommunicate, and youth culture doesn’t always foster what is right or what is humane.

The “bigger” message the males send by treating the dancers like strippers and the “bigger” message the females send by appearing to enjoy that treatment is, I believe, unhealthy for both.

I see Friday as a teachable moment---for the young men, for the young women, and for the culture of our school. We need to have a discussion about the boys’ reactions and the girls’ intentions as well as what it means for women to be objectified.

Ms. Bethany Ocar, Language Arts teacher The Royal Page encourages signed letters to the editor. Published letters do not represent the opinion of The Royal Page, HHS, or Independent School District #270

opinion 5

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

The Adventures of “Detective Dorshow” and “The Fish”

Part one: just a para cones, more episodes to come from these detectives It was an average day at HHS: students sat attentively in their classrooms, lunch was outstanding, and the soothing tone of a rap battle filled the mall. Me (Detective Dorshow) and my sidekick (The Fish) had just bought our ice-cream cones after lunch at the HHS Depot, as we do every day.

As usual, the hall paras were doing their job and protecting the classrooms from frozen yogurt.

There they stood, where the Garden of Eatin’ becomes the mall. There were two of them, walkie-talkies in hand, and they were eyeing passing students, looking for those who wielded ice-cream cones.

We had gotten our cones later than usual, and the bell was going to ring shortly. On one hand, we were both one sweep short of detention. On the other hand, our cones were twist cones; we couldn’t just throw them away. Fish and I, being born rebels, figured there would be no harm in sneaking our cones past the paras, just this once.

Little did we know our dangerous adventure was about to begin.

Our hearts began to pound as we got closer

T

op 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

:

and closer to the hall paras. We put on hipster glasses to blend in with the crowd.

Terrible thoughts filled my mind as we moved forward. The thought of detention; the thought of a twist cone hitting the bottom of a garbage can; the thought of that poor boy last week who tried to eat his whole cone in one bite. He was rushed to the hospital for severe brain-freeze and hasn’t been heard from since.

We were steps away from the paras now. I held my cone behind my back, as did The Fish.

My heart was pounding so hard at this point, I swear the paras could hear it. I felt their eyes on me. We walked passed them slowly, staring at our feet, making sure to avoid all eye contact through the empty frames of our glasses. They didn’t say a word as we passed.

We had done it! Or so we thought. We were a few steps past the paras, when there was an uproar from the rap battle nearest us: someone had just busted out an icy rhyme to their Adidasclad opponent. I never heard the rhyme itself, but based on the volume of those gathered, it had to

Best ways to ask

someone to prom

Write prom on your chest and rip your shirt off during a family dinner Hijack a local billboard Ask before killing her in assassins Cut your fingers off and spell out prom Write prom on a rock and throw it through her window Pop out of her closet while she is sleeping Put candles in her drive way and accidently burn down the house Give her a pair of socks and say it would sock if you didn’t go to prom with me Write prom on your butt and say I wanted to ask you in the moonlight Phoebe Cohen, will you go to prom with me?

be pretty icy. Everyone in the mall turned, including the paras.

After turning around, one of the paras noticed our cones, which we still clutched behind our backs. The chase was on.

“Code red!” he yelled into his walkie-talkie.

The Fish and I took off through the crowded mall, desperate to get away. I heard one of them call for backup. We dashed around a corner and hid behind a vending machine.

“We lost ‘em,” said one para to the other.

“We’re gonna need more backup.”

Through the speakers in the school, we heard a serious voice say, “This is a lock-down. I repeat, this is a lock-down.”

Students cleared the halls within minutes, and we realized that these paras meant business.

At this point, we could hear over 50 hall paras searching the halls for us. We heard sirens from outside, and even an ice-cream truck (though we were not sure why).

Then, we heard the booming voice of who we believe was the Chief of Paras giving orders to the rest. “We are looking for two young men who may or may not still have ice-cream cones with them. Bring them to me.”

Another voice, quieter than the last, asked, “What do these two men look like?” The Chief wisely replied, “They aren’t wearing Jordans.”

In a split second, we heard the sound of what must’ve been a thousand men disperse throughout the school, looking for us. They began searching classrooms, gymnasiums, and any unlocked bathrooms they could find.

After nearly two hours, they called in more back up. We heard the sound of a chopper in the air, and the barking of dogs filled the school.

They were only poodles, but they could smell a twist cone from a mile away. We knew that if we waited any longer, we would be found. We had no choice but to make a move.

“Hold my cone,” I said to The Fish, as I took a black sharpie out of my back pocket. I took my shoes off, which happened to be white, and began carefully drawing the Air Jordan logo on the side of them. “That’s brilliant, Dorshow, just brilliant!” said The Fish. Next, I drew the same thing on his shoes. Although the drawings were terrible, they could be believable at a distance.

We hid our cones behind our backs and stepped out into the hallway. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

There were paras, policemen, pink poodles, and even the CIA. Obama stood by the office in a circle of bodyguards.

All of them turned towards us at once. The

poodles were stretching their leashes in our direction and barking loudly. I turned my left foot to show off the fake logo on the side.

“Get back to class! This is a lock-down!” yelled one of the CIA agents after seeing the logo on my shoe. We began to walk towards the nearest classroom. That’s when we heard a familiar voice yell, “Wait! Stop them!”

I should’ve known Obama was a sneaker-head when I had seen the flawless retro Jordan 3’s he was wearing with his suit, but for some reason I just didn’t connect the dots.

Nonetheless, he recognized our fake Jordans, and the chase was on again.

We dashed back into the Garden of Eatin’, dodging authority as we ran. We turned right and headed for the Depot. All of Obama’s guards were wearing Jordans as well, so they were gaining on us rapidly. We passed the Depot and ran out the door.

We stopped in our tracks. Two choppers shined spotlights down upon us. The school was surrounded completely. We were tackled by Obama’s guards.

We heard a voice through a megaphone command, “PUT YOUR CONES WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM. I REPEAT, PUT YOUR CONES WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM.” We did what they said. They told us to slowly hand our cones to Obama.

That’s when we all realized, the cones had melted a long time ago. Anger built up in Obama’s face as he took the melted cones from us, crushed them in his hand, and threw them on the sidewalk.

He then called off the chase, got into a helicopter, and left. All the other members of authority departed as well, besides the two paras who had been there from the beginning. They looked as confused as I was about this whole situation.

Although we didn’t get into huge trouble, we both got detention for running in the halls. The Fish can’t get over the fact that Obama never showed up for detention (he had been running even faster than we were). I heard he skipped and went bowling instead.

We remain unsure as to why the school cares so much about keeping ice-cream out of the mall, but we are determined to find out.

Isaac Fisher is the copy editor and Ryland Dorshow is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

Check out additional stories at

royalpage.org

6 variety

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

Team Rabet takes a walk for arthritis

By Julia Burke Staff Reporter

Rachel Abraham (also known as “Rabet”) junior, woke up determined. In addition to her usual breakfast, she was preparing for the 15th Annual Juvenile Arthritis March ( JAM) at Mall of America on March 2.

Abraham was named this year’s JAM Honoree, nominated by her friends and family.

At the beginning of the event, a row of people gave food and beverages to the participants. This station was made to fuel up the teams so they would be ready for the march.

Following that, the event had several people speak, the most important speaker being the JAM Honoree. Abraham told her story to many people during the march and opened up about how the disease affects her and her experience.

Abraham spoke about her life with Arthritis since she was diagnosed at the age of two. Arthritis is a painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.

“We all feel stiff in the morning, kind of knowing what the Tin Man felt like until Dorothy gave him his oil,” said Abraham in her speech before the march.

The goal of this march was to raise money and awareness for those struggling through Arthritis. The money would go toward research for new drugs and a cure. “[What was most important was] raising awareness, because of course raising money was important so we could continue research and the camps and all that, but raising awareness and letting people know that there are 300,000 kids with arthritis, 13,000 in the upper Midwest. It just really shows this is

something that is all around our schools, our community. It’s an invisible disease, no one can see it so you don’t really know when somebody is in pain but people are in pain and people need to know that,” Abraham said.

During Abraham’s speech she talked a lot about how her first JA event and the affect it had on her and her parents.

“My parents were mortified.

They saw kids like us in wheelchairs, you see crutches, children with blue faces due to the side effects of Prednisone. They couldn’t imagine that I could look like that one day, only one of my joints was affected at this point so the unknown was just too scary for them,” said Abraham in her speech.

In Abraham’s case, Arthritis is a disease that cannot be seen.

She has stated that her biggest struggles are as simple as walking to class during passing

time and having to stop after a few stores when shopping with friends because her body gets exhausted quicker.

“A lot of things you don’t even think about doing you use your joints for, so to not be able to do that, just doing everyday tasks becomes really hard,” said Abraham.

Abraham opened a Facebook group to friends before the March inviting them to come support as a part of Team Rabet. “[Abraham] is always talking about camp and how much she loves it and I wanted to be there to support her,” said Lily Marcelius, senior.

Throughout the event Team Rabet was seen wearing shirts that said, “Fight Like A Girl”.

They also wore rabbit ears and chanted different cheers throughout the entire march.

Team Rabet took home first place for spirit during JAM.

Photo by Roxanne Krietzman

Rachel Abraham, junior, is shown here speaking to hundreds of people at the Juvenile Arthritis March.

Tame Impala delivers

By Roy Grossmann Staff Reporter

After getting my hands stamped and buying a t-shirt, I walked up to the front row with my friends almost an hour before the opening act was scheduled to start, unaware that the concert I was about to watch would stick with me forever.

First Avenue was built in 1937 as a Greyhound bus station. However, the station transformed into one of Minneapolis’ most notable nightclubs when it was purchased by 27 year olds Danny Stevens and Allan Fingerhut, the original owners of the club.

Since then, First Ave has hosted a large variety of artists, recognized from the outside by the 531 stars each with the name of an artist that has performed there. Most notably Prince, who in the 80’s made First Ave his main stage and recorded many scenes from his movie Purple Rain there.

The club has the main stage across from the dance floor, with a full bar opposite and a VIP club overlooking. The stage was blocked from view with a large projector screen showing music videos while the crowds filed in and the bands set up.

When the clock hit 8:00 the

lights dimmed and the screen rose to tumultuous applause.

Slowly the opening band’s six members (which consisted of two drummers, a keyboardist, a guitar player, a bassist, and the lead singer) walked on stage and prepared to perform.

The Growl had a very rustic rock sound throughout most of their performance minus one song where the singer kicked everyone off stage to play a song he wrote about being the only drunk person at christmas.

With crunchy guitar, complex loud drum beats, and a smooth bass with a dirty fuzz effect, The Growl’s name certainly fit with their colossal wall of sound leaving an almost ironlike taste on your tongue as they walked off stage.

The anticipation was almost palpable as the projector screen rose again as the light hum of small talk shattered, being replaced by deafening roar of the nights sold out concert.

The bands opening song, “Solitude is Bliss” combined a mix of new age guitar with thunderous drums, a free sounding bass, and of course the vocals of lead singer, and creator of Tame Impala, Kevin Parker.

“They were as good live as in their recordings, and they had

an awesome visual display. It was just a fun time to hang out with all my friends while hearing some great music,” said Alex Tuthill-Preus, junior.

Playing songs from their two albums Interspeaker and Lonerism, Tame Impala had a great set comprised of most of their most popular songs strung together with breaks and jams.

Their set, which lasted almost two hours, was ripe with anticipated classics and unexpected new pieces.

I felt trapped by wonder as everyone was dancing as their melodic tones rocked out. All while a neon green circle gyrated, swelled, and shook all in perfect synchronization with the smooth tones blasting out of the amps stacked high like skyscrapers.

“It was my first time attending a show at First Ave, and I loved the experience. The smaller space at First Ave provided an intimacy with the band that cannot be realized in larger venues,” said Ed Koleski, senior.

Five minutes after their set had finished they came back on for their unavoidable encore . When the the screen lowered back down it marked the end of a concert that was certain to be remembered.

variety 7

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

Internet sensation shakes up students at HHS

By Maddie Shaw Variety Editor In an open office full of colleagues, one woman dances by herself for fifteen seconds as the rest of the room remains engaged in work. Once these fifteen seconds are up, the entire room comes to life with intricate dance moves and bizarre actions. This is how the Harlem Shake craze began.

From this one video, videos across the world are surfacing.

Among the many, there is an underwater rendition done by the University of Georgia swim team, a bizarre interpretation by the Miami Heat, and even a rendition on stage during a concert by Scotty McCreery.

Thomas Heegaard, senior, was the first at HHS to join the craze.

“I made a Harlem Shake with my friends at Ty Johnson’s house after we finished practicing for Heart-o-grams. Eric [Huss’] brother had shown him a Harlem Shake and he heard it was going viral, so we figured it would be fun to make one ourselves,” said Heegaard.

Matt Koopmeiners, Ty Johnson, Rory Ritts, Jt Denhartog, Eric Huss, Will Chizek, Chris Rozek, and Nick Johnson, seniors, were among the group that made a video. The video has over 700 views so far and is still growing.

“When I first watched the video, I didn’t know what the Harlem Shake was so I didn’t know what to expect. I burst out laughing when the beat dropped and all of the boys were doing different actions and wearing different costumes,” said Maddie Bolatto, senior.

Soon after, another Harlem Shake surfaced from Mr. Kirk Shogers, science, Physics class.

“We were working on a lab and a student suggested we make a Harlem Shake. They kept pestering me and I kept saying no. I went to the office and saw a beard and a hat and decided that as long as the students were responsible for their own work, I would be fine with the class making one,” said Mr. Shoger.

Ben Dustman and Ryan Davis, seniors, offered to film it for the students in the class. “[We got involved because]

students from the class came to the video production room looking for cameras and we offered to film it. Ten minutes later it was on YouTube,” said Ben Dustman, senior.

The video began with Mr. Shoger dancing by himself in the middle of the classroom with a beard and hat on. After the beat dropped, the class went into a complete frenzy doing different actions, wearing interesting outfits, and following the overall basis of a Harlem Shake video.

“From start to finish the video probably took 15 minutes to make. The students chose to do it and they were still responsible for their lab work. I don’t regret doing it because the classroom was controlled and it was exciting for everyone,” Shoger said.

Word quickly cycled around the school as more and more students began watching and hearing about it.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting the reaction it got. I thought it was fun to make but didn’t think it would turn out as funny as it did. I just ended up spinning in circles,” said Tessa Ruff, junior.

A few days after the video was posted, Dustman was called into the office to discuss the video with Mr. Adam McDonald, Associate Principal.

“McDonald told me that the video was considered offensive to both parents and staff members. I was told that because certain people weren’t wearing shirts and parents were complaining. I still believe that it was harmless fun, but with the account being connected to the school, I decided it was best to take it down,” Dustman said.

The concluding agreement was that the video would be taken down. Mr. McDonald understands that the Harlem Shake is popular among students and supports it in certain environments.

“One of the things we ask is how we are using our academic time. We want to make sure it is productive. A club or outside of school activity is different, but we anticipate that [students] are working on academic items,” said McDonald.

The administration also had a conversation with Shoger, informing him of the worries they had about the video. They

explained that Dustman was asked to take it down and that he was planning to.

“They said they were concerned about the image of the district and the fact that the video included the name Hopkins. They weren’t super mad, just worried, and I understand their position. However, I still believe it was harmless fun especially because people reacted so positively,” Shoger said.

Like McDonald, other school administrators are taking action against Harlem Shake videos. For example, Mound Westonka had an incident during a lunch period. Students were dancing on tables and chairs, and the video supposedly contained inappropriate “hipthrusting.”

Because of the video, six Varsity hockey players were suspended for two days, given a $75 fine, and not allowed to play in their section playoff game. Additionally, the team lost the game. They were supposedly “engaging in riot like behavior,” however, there were no allegations of vandalism or damage to property.

In addition, 16 Eden Prairie students were suspended for a Harlem Shake video that involved students standing on lunch tables. Wayzata also banned 15 students from the weight room for recording a Harlem Shake there.

The last Harlem Shake to be produced at HHS was again created by Heegaard with the groups that participated in Heart-O-Grams on February 15. This video has received the most heat out of all three videos.

“On Heart-O-Gram day all of the groups were sitting in the auditorium during passing time waiting for the next block, and Ty thought it would be funny to make a Harlem Shake while we waited. [He] sort of shouted out that we were doing one, and since I already had my camera from filming the groups sing, I set up on the stage. Mr. Brown had nothing to do with it, and I wanted to make sure we couldn’t get in trouble [with] the school so I asked everyone to keep their clothes on and not do anything sexual or that would violate school policy,” Heegaard said.

Heegaard posted the video a few hours after school and

two days later it had over 2,000 views. Much of its popularity was due to word of mouth and an array of retweets on Twitter. “[That] Sunday night Mr. Brown called me to ask to take the video down after having heard about Mr. Shoger’s Harlem Shake. I set the video as unlisted, and emailed Mr. Lawson letting him know that I had put the video up. [I said I] would like to keep it up as it didn’t violate any school policies and wasn’t posted with anything affiliating it with Hopkins aside from word of mouth and the fact that it was in the auditorium,” Heegaard said.

The following day Heegaard was asked to speak with Mr. McDonald during lunch. In this meeting, McDonald informed Heegaard that he too was planning on making a Harlem Shake video with the staff but decided against it after Mr. Shoger’s Harlem Shake surfaced.

“I made it clear that [my] video was well within the school policies, and was shot, as well as edited using my own equipment. He asked me to take it down in fear that it would give the wrong idea about [HHS] to people watching it,” Heegaard said.

After the Physics Harlem Shake was taken down, there was a controversy over whether or not the Heart-O-Grams Harlem Shake should stay up as well. It seemed as though both videos conflicted with academic time.

“Heart-O-Grams is a day for joy, and a way to raise funds for the school. It has always been accepted because it gives opportunities to recognize students and staff. The video seemed like an abuse of time, and if it comes off this way to us, than other schools start to question how our time is being used as well,” McDonald said.

Heegaard told McDonald that he would speak with Mr. Brown in order to assure that he was okay with it and that he would get back to him. The next day he returned to deliver the news to Mr. McDonald and Mr. Lawson where he was again asked to take it down.

“Mr. McDonald [said] it was my decision on whether or not the video stays up, but he viewed the video’s that circulated during

Heart-O-Gram Day (including my Harlem Shake) as damaging to the reputation of the school and that my decision to keep the video up could threaten the Heart-O-Gram tradition for next year,” Heegaard said.

Heegaard felt strongly that the video was not violating any school rules and that it did not affiliate with the school since the name Hopkins wasn’t associated with the title of the video.

“I understand why he did it and I can’t force him to take it down because it would be violating his First Amendment rights. However, the time was not used well. The message was clear that any other time would have been fine and our second

meeting stressed that,” McDonald said.

Ultimately, Heegaard decided to keep the video posted.

The video has over 2,400 views.

“I would prefer that the video be taken down. Overall, academic time is most important,” McDonald said.

In the end, Heegaard is content with his decision.

“I can understand where the administration is coming from, in that they want to protect the reputation of the school, but pushing for the removal of videos that are generally well appreciated and thought to be a harmless student expression, is only going backfire,” Heegaard said.

the

FOOD FIGHT For most people, eating is an automatic and enjoyable activity.

However for some, it can become an all-consuming, day-to-day struggle. Zoe Goldstein, senior, knows this first hand.

“All you want to do is shrink up so you just are invisible,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein started struggling with her relationship with food during the summer before eighth grade at an overnight camp. She started feeling anxious about being away from home, so she started eating less and running more often.

“It was a way for me to have some kind of control. I almost rewarded myself with food after I exercised, and I wouldn’t eat unless I did that,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein didn’t realize there was a problem until she got home from camp. “I looked in the mirror and thought ‘Oh my gosh, what did I do to myself ?’” Goldstein said.

Eating disorders have become more common among young people both locally and nationwide. The Emily Program, a primarily Minnesota-based treatment center, has grown by 50 percent in the last four years in order to accommodate all their patients.

The Emily Program serves about 2,500 patients each year. Ten percent of their clients are male, and 90 percent are female. They offer inpatient and outpatient care, typically covered by health insurance.

Inpatient care includes working with a therapist and dietician, group art or yoga, and downtime. There are three meals and snacks each day, all monitored by a dietician. Inpatient stays range from a week to nine months.

Outpatient care typically involves once a week meetings for a year; however, sometimes longer support is needed. “We have a client who has been coming for 20 years. She’s doing well but wants somewhere to check in with and talk to,” said Keri Clifton, Community Outreach Coordinator at the Emily Program.

Who they help How they help

2,500 patients per year: Patients may: • Work with a dietician or therapist • Do yoga • Participate in group art 250 males 2,250 females

See top right for contact information

[dis·or·de

Eating disorders and disordered eating have increased in youth. They have the power to consume the lives of students, teachers, and families. The stories of those in this article represent the worldwide struggle with eating disorders.

Several eating disorders are characterized by distortion of body image. “An eating disorder is absolutely a mental illness,” Clifton said.

“Once you get to a certain point when you do have an eating disorder, you are thin enough that you start to have distorted images of yourself and really distorted thoughts because your brain is just not nourished,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein made an effort to gain the weight she had lost over the summer at camp, but when the school year started, she fell into her old patterns.

Since Goldstein could not reverse her actions alone, she went to the Eating Disorder Institute, now called Melrose, at Park Nicollet.

“They didn’t diagnose me with anorexia or bulimia, which I thought were the only two, but they diagnosed me with ‘eating disorder not otherwise specified.’ When you think of an eating disorder, you think someone is either anorexic or bulimic, but there’s a lot of grey area in between,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein was put in an outpatient program where she saw a pediatrician, therapist, and dietician every week. “I told everybody that I was fine, and then I just kept getting worse and worse, and then they figured out I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing,” Goldstein said.

She was then hospitalized for two weeks where she began a strict eating plan and had little privacy. “They take away all your rights basically, but that’s what they have to do. A lot of times in society it’s almost glamourous to have an eating disorder, but then I got there and you’re in this hospital with all these people that are just skeletons,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein had three friends who were particularly supportive throughout her entire battle. Sonya Rosen, senior, remembers Goldstein’s time spent in the hospital.

“The thing that hurt me the most was knowing she would be there during her birthday. How much does that suck? You’re in a hospital with people you don’t know. We visited her and made her a Build-a-Bear. It was our way of telling her we really missed her,” Rosen said.

Watching her best friend go through this was not easy for Rosen. “I always wanted to say, ‘This just isn’t you. I know you.

You’re perfect so how does this happen?’ I know emotionally she was just battling a million things,” Rosen said.

Once she was released from the hospital, Goldstein went into a partial day program for six weeks where she continued to miss some school but didn’t have to spend the night. She also went to doctor’s appointments for at least two years after her disorder began.

“It never really goes away. It’s still in the back of your mind, and you really have to be careful because, for example, if I skip a meal one day, it could trigger those same thoughts. I can’t put any restrictions on my diet, even for religious holidays,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein was a member of the cross country running and track teams. Returning to her sports after struggling with an eating dis-

verb

excessive d hungry, ea meals and over-proce nience foo

[eat·ing d noun

any of var nervosa or severe dist

1 million Ame

order was difficult.

“They said if I got to a certain point, then they could evaluate me for going back to sports or even just being able to go on a walk.

You had to take really small baby steps and have a lot of patience, which is something that I struggled with a lot,” Goldstein said.

“I always looked for why I was running, and I wanted to make sure it for the right reasons: to be with my friends and to challenge myself. It was a nice reward when I got back to it,” Goldstein said.

Her cross country coach, Anne Sateren, held Goldstein’s health as her top priority. “The cross country part of it, I made clear [to Zoe], and I’ve made clear to past athletes, doesn’t matter. The most important thing is that she figures out her relationship with food, and she finds a healthy relationship because the running can come later,” Sateren said.

Sateren discusses healthy eating habits with her team. “As the girls’ coach, I think it’s really important to empower the decisions that [athletes] are making and to say having a chocolate chip cookie is not a terrible thing. In fact, after you do a hard workout, they say within the hour after you workout, you need to be replacing those calories,” Sateren said.

Disordered eating also affects families. Ms.Terry Chamberlin, Art Department, has two daughters who both struggled with eating disorders starting at a young age.

“I didn’t know they had eating disorders. I was divorced from their dad, and at my house, everything seemed normal,” Chamberlin said.

I didn’t know they had eating disorders... everything seemed normal.

-Ms. Terry Chamberlin

Chamberlin’s older daughter started struggling in fifth grade, and her younger daughter followed. They both had an eating disorder now recognized as binge eating.

Chamberlin’s older daughter went through the Emily Program where she found some relief. “It’s been an up and down struggle with her, and now she’s back to where she’s really struggling with it again,” Chamberlin said.

Her younger daughter found relief earlier on through a nutrition class and learning about healthy lifestyles. She is now a nurse and fully recovered.

“It was so weird for me when they told me they had this because, as a parent, I didn’t know that they hid this so well. When

I found what t their c “As to the Chamb Ms ing, no resourc studen trusted able.

Alt studen “An attenti violenc I need Pointe “W lot of c As eating “Fo it for a does. I It’s an “I’m health health Rosen Go talk to with th happy greatfu Go could b “I r orders. bulimi diet, it Goldst

Where to find help:

ered eat·ing]

dieting, eating when not ating in secret, skipping d primarily eating fattening, essed, “comfort” or conveods.

dis·or·der]

rious disorders, as anorexia r bulimia, characterized by turbances in eating habits.

www.emilyprogram.com 5354 Parkdale Drive (651) 645-5323 St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Individualized treatment for anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating and binge eating disorder.

95%

15 - 8th Ave S (previously WSTC) Hopkins, MN

(952) 474-3251 55343

of those with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25

erican men & 7 million American women suffer from eating disorders

Photos by Lydia Wilson Source: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders,South Carolina Department of Mental Health, Collins, M.E. Utensil image by Nemo, used with Creative Commons license.

d out, I had a lot of guilt. I think a lot of parents, no matter their kid’s going through, don’t want to believe that about child, and so they live in denial,” Chamberlin said. s a teacher, if I notice someone is getting really thin, I go nurse. We look for that and notice that as teachers now,” berlin said. s. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse, sees a lot of disordered eatot necessarily eating disorders, among students. She provides ces for students and their families. In some cases, she refers nts to their primary care doctors. Other times, she acts as a d adult, talking to students and making them feel comfort-

though not legally obligated to report eating disorders among nts, Pointer feels that morally she must help. n eating disorder is a mental health disorder. With all the ion mental health is getting these days, with shooting and ce, it’s a moral obligation. If I’m concerned about someone, d to let someone know, and that is global for mental health,” er said.

We have great resources in this community, many more than a communities have,” Pointer said.

Goldstein became healthier, it was easier for her to see her disorder from a new perspective. or a long time I was really ashamed of it. After thinking about awhile, I realized that it’s a disease that kills people like cancer It’s like I had this thing, and someone else could be diabetic. illness that I shouldn’t be ashamed of,” Goldstein said. m just happy to see her get healthier, especially her mental almost more than her physical health, because her mental is her sanity. Once you lose your sanity, you lose everything,” said. oldstein advises not to try and help someone yourself, but to o a trusted adult. “Nobody here our age is equipped to deal hat unless you’ve dealt with it yourself. They might not be that you talked to an adult at first, but they will be very ul for you in the long run,” Goldstein said. oldstein realized that by being open about her experience, she benefit others. really want to erase a lot of society’s depictions of eating dis. I think that people throw around the words anorexic and ic as insults. It’s not something to judge people on. It’s not a ’s not something to make you pretty, it’s a real medical issue,” tein said.

Rachel Alter and Naomi Borowsky are the feature editors for the Royal Page

Artwork by Sarah Klecker

...you are thin enough that you start to have distorted images of yourself and really distorted thoughts because your brain is just not nourished.

-Zoe Goldstein

10 feature The Royal Page 2012-2013

Editors in Chief Ursula Arhart Lydia Wilson

News Editor Josh Gallop

Opinion Editor Joel Ratner

Feature Editors Naomi Borowsky Rachel Alter

Variety Editor Maddie Shaw

Sports Editors Sam Bloomfield Eli Badower

Back Page Editor Casey Pasko

Photo Editor

Roxanne Krietzman

Copy Editors

Domitille Biehlmann Tarina Gartner Isaac Fisher

Business Managers Tarina Gartner Joe Greene

Web Czars

Thomas Heegaard Sam Hromatka

Staff Reporters

Julia Burke Phoebe Cohen Ryland Dorshow Alex Felemovicius Danielle Fogelson Stefanie Gedan Lily Goldfarb Roy Grossmann Bradley Kaplan Daniel Larson Kyle Makey Sam Niedorf Max Ostenso Nate Pasko Caroline Ravits Kelly Rhodes Dan Sheldon Callan Showers Tobie Soumekh Katherine Swenson Isabella Weisman Brian Yu

Adviser

Mr. Kocur The editorial represtents the opinion of the newspaper staff. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the administration, the student body or the advisor.

Signed viewpoints represent the view of the writer. The Royal Page operates as an open forum student publication, and student editors make editorial decisions regarding content.

Advertising information available by mail, fax and phone Annual Subscriptions are available for $20.

The Royal Page encourages letters to the editor. Letters are not guaranteed publication, are subject to editing for content and length, must be signed and meet deadlines. Compliments and suggestions are also welcome.

page theROYAL

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

Muslim students stay faithful to their culture MSA from page 1

what’s happening in the Middle East.”

Members of MSA come from many different countries including Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Morocco and Somalia many hold conflicting views.

“The topic of the hijab is most controversial. Everyone has a different view and the discussion usually gets heated,” Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim says that because her clothing indicates that she is Muslim, many kids are hesitant to say things to her. “They don’t want to offend me by maybe making a ‘terrorist joke.’ I just go about my day. I don’t want special treatment,” Ibrahim said.

Kaafi Ugas, senior, admits that the issue with Muslim dress is more challenging for girls than boys. “For girls, it is very hard. The qamis is classic male attire, but I don’t need to wear it. I wear it when I go to the mosque. I feel free. It’s much easier,” said Ugas.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is the formal worship of Allah five times a day, and the HHS MSA makes it a priority.

“One of the main things we discuss is how to pray five times a day during the school day. Sometimes teachers had a hard time understanding students leaving at the same time each day – something they have

Photo by Joe Greene

Edi Ibrahim and Naimo Mohamed, members of the Muslim Student Association, are praying in room 110. Praying five times a day is an Islamic custom. learned to work around,” Hamza said.

Lewis admits that it was a serious challenge providing a consistent open space for students to pray. “Part of the challenge was conveying the importance of prayer to the administration,

and also committing time, and scheduling,” Lewis said.

Muslims can pray anywhere as long as they are facing the sun, a task that might be difficult in a classroom with no windows. But Hamza adds, “There is an app that shows where the

sun is.”

Muslims look to the Quran, Islam’s central text for guidance.

“If I do things I’m not supposed to, I repent. What I love about Islam is that there is always a verse in the Quran that gives you answers,” Ibrahim said.

Lewis is looking towards the future of the HHS MSA. Ideally, he would like student leaders to be co-advisors of the club. “I want the MSA to be recognized within the fabric of the HHS learning community,” Lewis said.

Denuit and swim team support orphan abroad

By Katherine Swenson Staff Reporter At 16 years old, Olivia Denuit, junior, is already a godparent.

Denuit is a sponsor for Friends of the Orphans, an organization that works to support the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”) network of orphanages throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

NPH takes in disadvantaged orphans and children and gives them a permanent, stable and loving home.

Sponsors are known to their children as their “godparents”.

Sponsors receive a picture and background information about

their orphan, and are able to be in contact with them. For Denuit, the decision to become a sponsor was an unexpected one.

“I took Psychology and saw the emotional and physical effects of being in an orphanage without someone to take care of you or bond with. So I initially set out looking for a volunteer program that worked with orphans, but I ended up stumbling upon the Friends of the Orphans program,” Denuit said.

Friends of the Orphans is the association in the United States that works to support the efforts of the NPH. They have regional headquarters in six states; the nearest one is in St. Paul. They offer many ways in which people can help them and NPH, including donating,

volunteering or sponsoring a child.

Denuit thought that sponsoring a child could be a great group effort, so she took the idea to the girls swim team, who agreed to help her.

“I think that what Olivia is doing is so cool. I would never have known about this opportunity without her, and I love being able to help out,” Margarita Lyadova, sophomore and member of the girls swim team, said.

“So far, I've been the one who has been handling the sponsorship,” Denuit said. But the swim team has plans in place to start fundraising to support their child.

“Right now I'm trying to set up a booth a lunch and it’s going to be a raffle,” Denuit said.

Denuit also contacted Erin Woodyard, regional manager at Friends of the Orphans. She helped the team make the decision to be assigned to a child that needed them the most, as opposed to picking a child themselves.

Denuit’s godchild is Alejandra del Carmen Gonzalez Fajardo. She is 12 years old, and joined NPH in September of last year.

She was abandoned by her father, and her mother lives in poverty and is unable to support her.

Denuit has been in contact with Fajardo. Although they have never met, they have a strong bond simply because Fajardo knows that Denuit and the swim team are giving her a

life.

“It’s so amazing knowing how much of an impact you can have on someone who needs it the most. Growing up without a parent is hard, I know, but growing up without both must be extremely hard,” Denuit said.

Denuit has no regrets about becoming a sponsor. “It actually is a lot of work! But when I got that letter from the 12-year-old child saying how happy and thankful that I was her ‘godparent’, it just made everything so worth it.”

Denuit also encourages others to look into becoming a sponsor themselves, because it is such a rewarding experience.

She is filled with satisfaction knowing that she is providing for someone who truly needs it.

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013 feature11 Leyva finding strength and gaining confidence

Combating stutter through theater and help from teachers, friends

By Callan Showers Staff Reporter Vanessa Leyva, senior, didn’t say her first word until she was four years old.

“I think it was probably because I knew I couldn’t talk right,” Leyva said.

Leyva speaks with a stutter.

She also works on homework, participates in extracurriculars, and hangs out with friends. For Leyva, her stutter is just another part of life.

Nonetheless, Leyva’s stutter adds complications and challenges that her peers do not have to deal with. “Overall, I’m afraid to talk to people. That’s why I’m really quiet in the classroom, because I was made fun of a lot when I was in elementary school,” Leyva said.

Leyva’s stutter has gotten better as she has grown up.

HHS has primarily been a good, supporting environment for her, but she admits that some of her classmates still treat her differently.

Recently, in her Honors Humanities class, Leyva participated in a play. “[After the play] I went home and cried my eyes out. I heard people laughing and I didn’t know if it was at me, but it still made me feel horrible about myself. It really hurts me inside, because I am trying to talk and be more open about it, but people are still laughing at me. That really hurts,” Leyva said.

“It might have just been me being weird,” Leyva said. Honors Humanities teacher Douglas Dart, Language Arts, agrees that from his perspective people were not targeting Leyva.

“I don’t think anyone reacted negatively to [her stutter]. If

they did, they’d have a problem with me, but it’s a pretty friendly crowd in that class,” Dart said.

Leyva credits much of her openness about her stutter to her group of friends that serve as a support system to her.

“She takes it all in stride, and accepts that part about her. [Her stutter] is a real challenge, and it’s amazing that she is able to overcome that every day,” Renee Weeks-Wynne, senior, said.

Weeks-Wynne has been friends with Leyva since seventh grade at Hopkins North Junior High and has never had a problem looking past Leyva’s stutter. “Sometimes [her stutter] makes it take a little longer to have a conversation with her, but other than that I find it like a character-building kind of thing. She doesn’t try to keep anything perfect in front, she just is who she is, and everyone

accepts that and loves that about her,” Weeks-Wynne said.

Weeks-Wynne is not the only one who acknowledges the strength and security Vanessa possesses.

“Right from the beginning, on the second day of class, we were doing a roundabout and it came to her. She was struggling to get her words out through the stutter, but she persevered beautifully, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I like this kid.’ She has a very pronounced stutter, but she does not let that stop her from participating in class,” Dart said.

Leyva does not confine herself to the boxes her stutter builds around her. She has found her voice through an unlikely outlet: theater.

“I love to act, it’s really fun.

But it is hard because I am held back- you need to talk to be in theater. I do think I am doing

better, though, and it gives me confidence to really be who I am,” Leyva said.

“She is a go-getter. She is really good at putting herself out there, and letting people see the real her, so I really think [theater] is going to propel her forward,” Weeks-Wynne said.

Ms. Bethany Ocar, Language Arts, taught Leyva in a second quarter Theater Arts class.

“During her first performance, some of the more immature students in the class giggled at first; within that first minute, they were silenced by the sheer power of her ability to transform herself into the character.

She gained confidence after that, and her final performancein front of a full house it was stellar!” Ocar said.

Leyva auditioned and hopes to do tech for the spring play

at HHS. It came with plenty of apprehension, but when she felt the pride and empowerment afterwards, she knew that the nerve-racking audition was worth it.

“Anyone who has the opportunity to see her perform will be impressed,” Ocar said.

Dart admires her for her self-assurance. “She is an inspiration to anyone with an insecurity,” Dart said.

Growing up with a stutter has not been an easy feat for Leyva. She has had to overcome many obstacles that have shattered her faith, but they have helped her grow to the point where she is confident enough to speak for herself.

“I can do it. I want to be who I am, I don’t want you to tell me what I am or what I should think or what I should say,” Leyva said.

Shoger family works with dogs to make man’s best helper

By Brian Yu Staff Reporter As Bruce, a quadriplegic, who is confined to a wheelchair, strolls down the aisle, his face is solemn and his story life changing. Regardless of his situation, today is a day of excitement because it marks a new beginning.

He has gone through so much after he became paralyzed in a diving accident.

His journey began after he had realized his life would never be the same self-sufficient journey it had once been. Opening a door or turning off the lights became a hassle and life became more and more difficult.

He sought help when he applied for a service dog through the Helping Paws nonprofit organization. This is when he crossed paths with Mr. Kirk Shoger, Science. On this day they didn’t meet face to face, but Shoger was unknowingly beginning to train this physically disabled man’s new best friend.

Shoger’s experience began when he and his wife were inspired to make a difference. “We were looking for opportunities to volunteer and my family and I love dogs, so it seemed to be a good fit,” said Shoger.

According to Helping Paws Minnesota’s webpage, “The need for service dogs is greater than ever and we could not provide these wonderful services without our volunteers,” Scott Dunlop president of the board said.

Shoger and his family soon received an eight week old Golden Retriever, Bella, to train.

She was the first dog the family trained. “Service dogs are typically either Golden Retrievers or Labs because they are able to transfer their alliance easily from the trainer to the new owner. My personal preference is training Golden Retrievers,” Shoger said.

For the Shoger’s, training their service dog is only slightly different from the training of family pets all across America.

“The main differences are our dog can’t climb on furniture or bolt out the door, everything is systematic to enable to dog to be successful in any setting,” Shoger said.

Bella is being trained to help one of the many people in Minnesota who suffer from a physical disability. Most commonly, the recipients of the dogs are in wheelchairs and often have M.S. or Cerebral Palsy.

Service dogs are designed to not only be companions but essentially an extra pair of hands.

The process of training a dog is very time consuming but straightforward. “Once a week I go to class with our dog and I learn everything that I’m supposed to train her in order to be successful,” Shoger said.

Although training a dog is a family affair, it is necessary for the dog to have one main owner to simulate life when they are serving their new disabled owner. The Shogers choose to train one dog at a time. They are in charge with training their dog for about two and a half to three years until the dogs are matched with someone in need.

“The training is definitely stressful at times because you want to make sure you are training the dog to be the best it can possibly be. Eventually its production will be very important to someone’s everyday life,” Shoger said.

The organization that Shoger teams up, HP, is a nonprofit based out of Hopkins.

“Training a service dog is a very expensive task usually requiring $25,000 to $30,000 over the course of three years, but it is extremely rewarding and I would

definitely recommend others to join the program,” Shoger said.

On the day of Bella’s graduation from training, Mr. Shoger’s path will finally cross Bruce’s, the man who became paralyzed in a diving accident. They do not know one another but, they will forever share a connection

through the service dog.

The ceremony is special for both Shoger and Bruce because it is the moment when all Shoger’s work will pay off, and Bella will be officially given to Bruce. “ It was a tough day, but you cannot become too attached to the dogs you train, it is a

mindset,” Shoger said.

One of his fondest experiences while participating in the program was when another trainee brought her dog to class with a bow around its neck, to the group she stated, “This is the best gift I’ve ever given anybody.”

Photo provided by Kirk Shoger Mr. Kirk Shoger and his family train service dogs including Bella. Bella is being trained to help someone with a physical disability.

12 feature

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

Madden off the spectrum Won’t allow Asperger’s to dominate his life

By Ursula Arhart Editor in Chief At age seven, Reid Madden, senior, sat at the Knollwood Mall Applebee’s with his family like any other day. With a smile and a concerning, “Reid, we want you to have this,” his parents handed him a book called What It Means To Be Me. That day, Madden learned that he has Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. “Now that I remember, it didn’t really hit me over the head,” Madden said.

Although diagnosed at age three, Madden wasn’t fully aware of his Asperger’s until that day at Applebee’s.

“When you’ve been living your life this way, [finding out] just reinforces a few things about you. It’s more like an experience where you always knew something was that way, and then you get the exact term that helps bring the point home,” Madden said.

Autism is unique in that each case is affected differently, and that’s why Asperger’s is considered a spectrum disorder of autism. It’s typically characterized by difficulties in social interactions and repetitive patterns in behavior.

“When it comes to autism, it’s sort of a weird, cosmic gamble. You never know how it’s going to turn out,” Madden said.

In Madden’s case, it often causes difficulties in living life and interacting with others as a normal high school student.

Madden works through these problems with Ms. Sue Molzhan who teaches Strategies for Success, a term-long class

designed for students on the spectrum. “[Madden] and I work on a lot of the give and take of conversation and the day to day student skills,” Molzhan said.

In junior high, the struggle of managing his disorder and finding his place intellectually took a toll on Madden. “When I got to ninth grade, that was the breaking point where this image of myself as being one of the smart kids sort of began to crash down on me. It was a tough pill to swallow.”

Madden was able to get assistance from various specialists at school and his family, but the experience was personal as well.

“I have had to work at this a lot.

One thing that helps people, or at least helped me, is just accepting the fact that you do have this disorder,” Madden said.

While ninth grade proved to be a difficult year, Madden believes it was influential, “It was a great teaching moment that I could power through things like that.”

Molzhan has worked with Madden since sophomore year, and is impressed with the progress he’s made. “I’ve really enjoyed working with him, and I think he has a really bright future,” Molzhan said.

Now, Madden keeps himself motivated by staying involved in the community. Madden is involved in various activities, including the board at the Depot Coffee House in Hopkins, Comedy Club and Boy Scouts.

His mother, Jo Clare Hartsig, is involved in grant writing and fundraising for the Depot, which encouraged him to join the board. She believed it would

Image by gsagri04, used with Creative Commons license

be a positive way for Madden to interact with others.

Freshman year, Madden took a class on improvisational comedy at North Junior High.

He wanted to continue this experience, so he joined the HHS comedy team.

Though it may be typical for those with Asperger’s to encounter stress in social situations, Madden finds himself surprisingly comfortable on stage with his comedy team. “A lot of people get stage fright, I don’t know why I don’t,” Madden said.

This experience has also been a positive way to interact with others. “The majority of the team is seniors, and we’ve seen each other’s strengths and weaknesses and been able to learn from each other that way,” Madden said.

In addition to the Depot and comedy club, Madden is also a Boy Scout. While this was “not an easy activity to get into,” Madden has been working to become an Eagle Scout.

“I guess the big thing was sticking with it, and I was really inspired by my dad to continue because he was in Scouts as a kid,” Madden said.

Through Scouts, Madden has traveled to northern Minnesota, New Mexico and the Florida Keys. These are the three “major high adventure bases” where he went winter camping, backpacking/climbing and sailing, respectively.

The most profound experience Madden had was climbing the 12,000 feet. Mount Baldy in New Mexico. “It was really the reward for sticking with it,” Madden said.

Madden plans on attending a liberal arts college in the Midwest. He’s had a glimpse of this through a program called the College Living Experience at Denver University, where he lived in the dorms for three weeks alongside other students with autism last summer.

Madden wants to live his life as any other teenager does, and through all of the experiences he’s had, it’s clear that he can. “I don’t want to be seen as different just because I have this condition,” Madden said.

sports 13

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

“Yuma” makes tough call to leave for IMG Academy

By Dan Larson Staff Reporter For almost anyone, moving away from their family to live in Florida for a year by yourself would be a scary thought. Not for “Yuma.”

Fred “Yuma” Schroeder, junior, has committed to play football for IMG (International Management Group) Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his senior year. On March 14, he left to stay in an apartment in Florida for the rest of this year, and will be living in a new dormitory next year.

new surroundings before. He moved from Yuma, Arizona to HHS when he was a sophomore and acquired the nickname “Yuma” immediately.

“Three weeks into the season someone asked for Frederick Schroeder and I was like ‘What do you mean?’ I didn’t even know what his name was until then, everyone just called him ‘Yuma,’” said Mr. Rick Rexroth, defensive line coach and Social Studies.

While it may help Schroeder’s individual game to move, it would be an understatement to say that the team will be

IMG Academy is a private training institute for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes. To help students reach their athletic and academic goals, workouts are woven into a student’s schedule, so that classes and training will alternate.

IMG is similar to HHS in the opportunities it provides academically to students. For example, Honors and Advanced Placement classes, as well as the National Honors Society, are offered through IMG. Schroeder has adjusted to

IMG Academy

hurting without the star offensive tackle as both a leader and a player next season.

“He’s a positive player that gets everyone excited, so it’s a huge loss. He was encouraging to everyone,” said Dion Brown, senior.

Schroeder has been playing tackle football since he was a freshman and has been starting on varsity since he moved as a sophomore. He also was a rare junior to make the all-conference team this past season.

“He led by example and did things right. His demeanor was calm, he was a very smart player,

Famous Alumni

Christian Ponder, Quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings

Photo by Kevind810, used with Creative Commons License

arterback Russell Wilson, Qu awks ah Se le for the Seatt

Photo by Larry Maurer, used with Creative Commons License

Photo by Mike Morbeck, used with Creative Commons License

ide Receiver Randall Cobb, W Packers y for the Green Ba

Fre d Tac “Yum klea futu ” Schr re A oed lum er, O ffen sive Photo provided by Hopkins Royals Football

Cam Newton, Quarterback for the Carolina Panthers Photo by Pantherfan11, used with Creative Commons License Infographic by Dan Larson

and he was probably our best athlete. We’re already short linemen; we need ten linemen and he was the best of our ten and now he’s leaving,” Rexroth said.

Schroeder now has to focus on what he can bring to the IMG football program.

“Hopefully I’ll bring versatility and the ability to play multiple positions to the team at IMG. The coaches here at Hopkins have taught me that you have to not stick yourself into one position and to be prepared for anything. My first position will obviously be offensive line, and my second position on the IMG team will be tight end,” Schroeder said.

As it is very well-known for its top-notch sports program, the institute attracts 12,000 athletes each year in seven sports.

2013 will be the first year that IMG will have a high school football team, and the team will be coached by St. Paul native Chris Weinke.

Weinke is very experienced when it comes to football, or for that matter hockey and baseball as well. He was a three sport varsity athlete in high school and played AAA baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system for six seasons before deciding to attend Florida State University.

At Florida State University, Weinke was the starting quarterback as a sophomore and led his team to win the National Championship in 1999. The following season, Weinke re-

ceived the Heisman trophy, becoming the oldest player to do so. In 2001, Weinke was drafted by the Carolina Panthers and played seven years with Carolina and San Francisco.

Along with Weinke, IMG Academy drew NFL combine athletes that wanted to improve their vision quickness with a vision training system used by Air Force pilots. The academy has trained NFL athletes such as Cam Newton, Christian Ponder, Russell Wilson, Randall Cobb, Kyle Rudolph, and Josh Freeman, just to name a few.

Although Schroeder may not be at the level that these athletes are at, he is on his way to becoming a great player.

Schroeder wants to improve his game even more, and IMG has been known to take athletes to that next level.

“Me and my family sat down and decided that IMG gave me a greater opportunity for me to be where I really wanted to be. Not to say it wouldn’t have been possible here, but these opportunities don’t come by every single day,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder hopes people respect his decision to put himself in a better position to chase his dreams. He thanks the HHS Football coaching staff and players for how they embraced him coming from Yuma, Arizona.

“In the end, I consider myself lucky for coming to Hopkins and meeting such great people,” Schroeder said.

Youthful golf team looking forward to successful season

By Nate Pasko Staff Reporter Playing golf well requires skill, patience, and mental toughness. Professionals make millions of dollars on the PGA Tour, and many thousands of high schoolers around the globe play golf for their school.

“Golf is a hard game. We practice a lot together. Many people don’t realize how much time you need to put into golf to be a good player. You don’t just walk up to the first tee box and start whacking away,” said Luke Nelson, sophomore.

Nelson and Paul Vogt, junior, the captains for the upcoming season, both have high

hopes for themselves this year.

Vogt will be competing in the U.S. Open Qualifier on May 13 at Oak Ridge Country Club, the home course for the varsity team. “[The Qualifier] is at my home course, which gives me confidence, but my main goal is to get more exposure to college recruiters and to compare my game to the top competition in the area,” Vogt said. “It’s a long shot for me to make the Open, but on the outside chance that I do, great things will happen.”

Vogt is one of the team’s top players, making all-conference and leading the team in scoring average last year as a sophomore.

“Paul is a true golf fanatic,”

said Mr. Gary Westman, varsity head coach. “He has grown immensely, both physically and mentally, in the last two years, and through all his hard work he has become one of the top players in our section as well as in the state.”

Nelson is also one of the team’s best golfers, playing many varsity meets and qualifying for the sectional team last season as a freshman.

“Luke performed well last season with limited competitive experience,” Westman said. “He has spent the whole off-season working very hard on his game, and I expect him to have a very good season and to continue to get better.”

Since Nelson and Vogt are both underclassmen, they are eager to prove themselves as worthy captains.

“I’m honored to be considered a leader by my teammates and coaches, and my hope is that the other kids will see how much time Paul and I put into practicing and becoming better golfers. I just want to set a good example and make sure that our players start the season on the right foot,” Nelson said.

“It’s definitely an accomplishment and an honor to be voted a captain, but it’s going to be tough since Luke and I are both young. Hopefully, through our successes and through the way we play the game, we can

show we’re worthy of the captainship,” Vogt said.

Both Vogt and Nelson feel confident in their ability to lead the team, and they are not alone.

“I feel we have two great captains in Paul and Luke,” Westman said. “A captain has to be a leader on and off the course, and both Paul and Luke have displayed the passion to do just that. They are very good role models and willing to do whatever they can to help their teammates and make their team better.”

Through the team leadership shown by the young captains, the team has developed a very tight-knit community.

“We spend a lot of time on

team bonding and have a lot of fun, but when it comes down to our big meets, we’re able to get serious,” Vogt said.

Although the team is very young and the Lake Conference is considered one of the most competitive in the Midwest, hopes are high for the next few seasons, partly because of the team’s loose atmosphere.

“These kids have been thrown into some intense competition the last few years and have learned very much from it,” Westman said. “We have numerous younger players that are very hungry and will push the rest of the team to get better, and I look for us to be very competitive this season.”

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

the

14 sports

O’Neil’s leadership skills beyond her years

By Dan Sheldon Staff Reporter

The most honorable and respected position on a varsity team is the captain. This person needs to be a leader, even when they might not want to step up.

This person need to help keep their team’s spirits high, even if their own may be down.

Erin O’Neil, junior, has been doing exactly that in not one, but two varsity sports. She is a captain of both the hockey and softball varsity teams at HHS. She is the starting goalie and catcher.

“She brings maturity and athleticism,” said Mr. Mark Peterson, softball coach and hall para-professional. “Obviously when you’re the captain of two teams, you have the respect of your peers, on the field and off, which is what you want in a captain. She leads by example, and does what is asked of her.”

O’Neil has played hockey for 13 years. She also started playing baseball from kindergarten until sixth grade, when she made the decision to switch to softball.

“I try not to have a priority.

I try to do my best to make it to both activities. It gets pretty crazy, especially in the spring with softball starting up and all of my extra hockey stuff, but I

try my best to make it to all my activities,” O’Neil said.

For O’Neil, both these sports have been mutually beneficial.

“As a goalie you always have to be using your hand-eye coordination, and with softball you have to track the ball all the way in, so that helps me out,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil’s biggest hockey game this season was against the number one team in the state, and the eventual state champion, Minnetonka. She collected 45 saves in a game where Hopkins was outshot 46-8. She earned the Player of the Week award for the Star Tribune for the week of Jan. 22 for her efforts.

“I wasn’t shocked,” said Mr. Vincent Paolucci, hockey coach and Physical Education. “As a sophomore there is no way she would step up for a big game like that, she wasn’t ready for that. But leading up to that game you could tell she was ready for that moment. I was really proud for her because she had worked for it.”

O’Neil had six shutout performances in 25 games this season. She had a save percentage of .929, which was 17th best in Minnesota. She also had 17 wins, which was ninth best in the state.

For her successes, O’Neil

was featured in the Feb. 4 issue of Sports Illustrated.

“It was really, really, really cool. For me, I’ve read Sports Illustrated my entire life, and being able to flip through and say ‘Oh my gosh that’s really me’ is really cool. But to say it was just me; it really was my team, so it was attributed to my team as well,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil has her eyes set on college play. With only 35 teams, and two to three goalies

per team, making it as a goalie in Division One womens hockey is very difficult.

“I’m going to work really hard this summer, and if everything goes well, hopefully I can commit next year,” O’Neil said.

For softball, this is O’Neil’s second year as the starting catcher, but it is still secondary to hockey.

“I love softball, but I play mostly for fun,” O’Neil said.

“Softball is great because I get

to be around a whole different group of girls than hockey, and it’s my favorite part of the spring.”

After the varsity season concludes, O’Neil plays club softball for the Renegades. She also plays club hockey for the Ice Cats.

“I train usually two to three hours a day once softball gets going, and usually an hour or so of hockey stuff thrown in there a couple times a week,” O’Neil

said.

Despite the fact that she is already a great athlete, O’Neil knows that there is still room to improve.

“Erin is a great athlete but is also very coachable. That’s a good combination. You want to see that attribute in many athletes, but not all of them have that. So when I talk to her to make adjustments to get better, she’s open-minded enough to do that,” Peterson said.

Photo provided by Erin O’Neil

Erin O’Neil, junior, saving a shot. O’Neil is both the starting goalie for hockey and the starting catcher for softball.

Charlesworth-Seiler seeking to make boys baseball team

By Sam Bloomfield Sports Editor Since ninth grade, Emma Charlesworth-Seiler, senior, has kept score for the boys baseball team. This year, she will attempt to play with them.

Last year, CharlesworthSeiler wanted to keep score for the varsity team, however, that job is customarily given to a senior who did not make the team. So, Charlesworth-Seiler kept score for junior varsity, but as senior year approached, she decided she wanted to be involved with the varsity team.

“My main goal is to make the team, and I would love to play for them,” CharlesworthSeiler said. “But if I don’t make it, I would still like to be a part of their program.”

According to Mr. Neil Le-

rner, varsity head coach, he has never had a girl try out for the Royals baseball team while he has been with the program.

Charlesworth-Seiler will be the first.

In an attempt to make a strong showing at tryouts, Charlesworth-Seiler has been putting in the work to be prepared for tryouts and make the varsity squad. She has gone to all of the player meetings, as well as helping out at the clinics, giving her a chance to meet some of the coaches and other players.

Throughout the winter, Charlesworth-Seiler has been fielding ground balls and going to the batting cage to prepare for tryouts. In addition to honing in on her baseball skills, she has been seeking advice from an old junior high acquaintance:

Mr. Eric Beal, freshman head coach.

“I looked at her, and I said ‘Emma you are an athlete, it’s about time you did the tryouts.’

Emma will not embarrass herself, she is really a student of the game,” Beal said.

In ninth grade, Charlesworth-Seiler originally contacted Beal about becoming involved with the freshman baseball team. Beal asked her if she wanted to tryout for the team, but she was not comfortable to do so, and instead she chose to keep score for the team.

Not only did she do that, but she helped Beal coach the team, including giving advice to the players based on prior tendencies that she kept track of.

“Emma was a phenomenal statistician from that point, and I knew that she really loved

baseball,” Beal said.

After ninth grade, Beal put her in contact with the sophomore coach, and she was able to keep stats for Mr. Jon Gallop, former sophomore coach, and then did the same for the junior varsity team, constantly looking to help in any way she could.

“She loves being around the game,” Lerner said. “She has a passion for baseball and wants to continue to learn more about the game.”

Her passion for baseball began well before high school, however. For years, she has had a passion for watching and learning about the game, but there was one central event that set it all in motion.

“I did a Jackie Robinson report in second grade, and I got really interested in it, so I started learning about it, and it just took

off from there,” CharlesworthSeiler said.

Charlesworth-Seiler played in her first organized baseball league in third grade, a Minneapolis coach-pitch league.

In sixth grade, she played Little League in Golden Valley, however, she hasn’t played in a league since.

“I actually have not played organized baseball since sixth grade,” Charlesworth-Seiler said. “That makes it a little bit nerve racking, I guess.”

Despite her hiatus from baseball, Charlesworth-Seiler has worked hard in order to develop the skills necessary to make the team.

“She is a really strong athlete when it comes to baseball, and she is doing everything she can to really make a strong showing out there,” Beal said.

Charlesworth-Seiler and Beal have stayed in contact constantly throughout the winter, and Beal has helped train her, in attempt to get her comfortable for tryouts that began this Monday, not only physically, but mentally as well.

“From what I’ve seen she is very good,” said JT DenHartog, senior. “She throws well and hits well also, and I believe that she would be a great addition to our team.”

As tryouts wrap up this week, Charlesworth-Seiler will hear whether she will be playing with the Royals, or if she will be keeping score for them. Either way, it has been an experience that she will always treasure.

“I think it will be a really good experience, and I really don’t have anything to lose,” Charlesworth-Seiler said.

sports 15

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013 Anderson looks to break new records at Uconn

By Sam Niedorf Staff Reporter Taylor Anderson, senior, has permanently etched her name into the HHS record books by setting the state record in the 4x200 relay.

Her brother, Isaac Anderson, played football for the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Her father, Melvin Anderson, played in the NFL and ran track. Her mother, Lisa Anderson, was a member of the University of Minnesota track team in the 1980’s.

Anderson committed to the University of Connecticut (UConn) to run track, following in her family footsteps. “I definitely grew up in the atmosphere. I was basically born on the track. I was an athletic baby,” Taylor said.

Her father is also the coach of the club track team that Taylor runs for during the sum-

mer. Melvin has helped Taylor through the process of recruiting and choosing the right school for her.

“We’ve been through the whole process, but at the same time, getting a scholarship makes this process easier. We’re not begging to get in, they’re begging you to come in. We always tell our kids we’ll buy you a car if you get a free scholarship,” Melvin said.

Being that Taylor is also the starting point guard for the girls basketball team, she had to decide between the two sports.

Some schools, like Princeton, wanted Taylor to play track and basketball, but in the end it came down to her passion for track.

“I definitely take more pride in track. I sort of fell out of love with basketball,” Taylor said.

Taylor has ran varsity track since seventh grade, and has

Spotlight Athletes

Elli Nelson

Jimmy Paske

Grade: 12

Grade: 12

Sport: Lacrosse

Sport: Track & Field

Athletic Idol: Kelly Amonte

Athletic Idol: Usain Bolt

Favorite Memory: “My first goal freshman year in our section game against Wayzata.”

Favorite Memory: “I ran my first 100m dash and I realized I could fly.”

improved from year to year. Mr. Jarrin Williams, hurdles coach and Language Arts, says Taylor’s work ethic has rubbed off on her teammates.

“For one of our sophomores, just being around Taylor has influenced her to get better, and she has big expectations for herself. It’s nice to see Taylor lead by example,” Williams said.

Taylor made it to state four years in a row, last year winning the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.71 seconds, breaking the 26 year old state record in that event. In 2011, she finished second in the 100 meter dash.

Taylor is also a part of the relay team that currently holds the Minnesota State High School record for the 4x200 meter relay, which was set in 2011 with a time of 1:40.25.

When looking at colleges, Taylor had various offers based on her athletic success, but her

Photos by Jarrin Williams

Left: Taylor Anderson, senior, dribbling the ball up the court. Anderson has been a key part of the team’s recent three-peat.

Right: Anderson running in a track meet. She has been a part of HHS Track & Field since seventh grade.

college decision was dependent on one factor in particular.

“They definitely need to have my major, which is math or electrical engineering,” Tay-

lor said.

Taylor said committing to UConn will encourage her to work harder at track and academics in the future.

“With her athletic and academic ability, I think she will be stronger in college,” Williams said.

Girls basketball team pulls off three peat GIRLS from page 1 to win,” O’Toole said.

Even though the result was a lopsided victory for the Royals, it was a tightly contested game in the first half. The Royals were only up by two points at halftime before going on a 15-1 run to start the second half. “[At halftime] I told the team, ‘alright we’re shooting 21percent, we’ve given up eight offensive boards, we’ve turned the ball over 12 times, we’re shooting less than 50 percent from the foul line, and we’re still up two. Life isn’t too bad. We will have a better second half and we will be just fine,’” Cosgriff said.

The Royals were even trailing late in the first half, but they were always confident that they would win.

“I was never concerned. It was just the first half, we always do better in the second half.

We knew that they couldn’t run with us,” Anderson said.

The Eagles of Bloomington Kennedy struggled all night long against the Royals’ full court pressure defense, which they converted into many fast break opportunities.

“It came down to defense, free throws, and finishing at the basket. We weren’t making our layups in the first half, but then we came out and turned it around,” Anderson said.

The causes behind the Royals’ continued success are simple.

“Hard work, teamwork, discipline, and a good attitude. We took no days off when other teams did, and in the end, it paid off,” O’Toole said.

For Cosgriff, the victory was due as much to mental skill and preparation as it was physical.

“The kids really worked hard

and had a great attention to detail. They are wonderful athletes, but they also really study the game,” Cosgriff said.

While Cosgriff has coached many championship teams, this one will go down as one of his favorites.

“This might be one of my favorites. The pressure was on us all year to try and do this, and we overcame a couple devastating injuries,” Cosgriff said.

All of the seniors have been apart of all three State Championships, in some form or another. However, this one feels a

little bit more special.

“Now that I’m a senior, it’s my last time. It just made winning this year that much better,” Coffey said.

According to Cosgriff, there is one pretty important reason for the Royals recent success.

“We have had good players that work hard,” Cosgriff said.

Despite the fact that they were the overwhelming favorite all season long, the Royals were still ecstatic after the game.

“There are not words to describe how I’m feeling right now,” Anderson said.

16 back page

the

RPThursday, March 21, 2013

1

4

2

3

5

6

1. “Midnight Dessert,” created using Sharpie and colored markers.

2. “Wild Race,” created using Sharpie.

3. “Peanut Butter,” created using charcoal.

4. “Childhood Never Comes Back,” created using Sharpie and colored markers.

5. “Forgotten Companion,” created using pencil.

6. Winner of the Gold Key award, “5 O’Clock Shadow,” created using charcoal.

Photos provided by Michael Semahge

HHS senior’s lifelong artistic passion nationally recognized

After developing his drawing abilities since a young age, Michael Semahge’s hard work pays off with a Scholastic Art Award Casey Pasko Back Page Editor

Michael Semahge, senior, was a recent recipient of the Gold Key Award, a prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Award presented to high school art students. The award is the highest level of achievement at the regional level.

“I’m very proud of ‘5 O’Clock Shadow,’ which won me the Gold Key, especially because I didn’t anticipate winning anything for it,” Semahge said.

As a result of “5 O’Clock Shadow” winning the Gold Key, Semahge’s piece is now eligible for competition for the American Vision & Voices Medal and

the Gold Medal, which honor the most outstanding works in the nation.

Semahge has been drawing almost continuously since he was four years old.

“When I was about four everyone told me I was bad at drawing, so I practiced a lot to get better,” Semahge said.

He continued to practice, and Semahge progressively got better. At six years old, others began to take notice of Semahge’s artistic talents, but he didn’t stop there and continued to strive to be better.

Semahge deviated from art for a few years to pursue soccer.

“When I was 11 I stopped drawing because I started playing soccer, and I lost interest [in drawing], but when I quit soccer freshman year when I came to Hopkins, I started again,” said Semahge.

Semahge stopped drawing for about five years, but he had no problem picking it up again.

“When I quit soccer I needed a hobby again, so my family encouraged me to continue to draw, and it came naturally,” Semahge said.

Semahge’s peers also recognize his talent.

“He has a really cool, graphic style. It’s very crisp,” Izzy Korab,

senior, said.

Since ninth grade, Sehmage has continued to take art classes throughout his high school career. Semahge’s topic for his current concentration project for AP Drawing & Painting is gun violence.

“Usually I don’t draw this type of stuff, but there’s a lot of gun violence in and related to America so I decided to showcase the different types,” Semahge said.

Semahge was inspired by Michael Moore’s documentary “Bowling for Columbine” and the Sandy Hook shootings, which occurred around the time

Semahge was beginning his concentration.

Semahge does not have any artists in his family to look up to, so he looks to other artists for inspiration. His favorites include graphic designer Shepard Fairey and England-based graffiti artist Banksy.

“I usually like to draw portraits, self portraits, friends, family, and celebrities to practice,” Semahge said.

Drawing is Semahge’s preferred medium, although he enjoys painting as well.

“It’s amazing that he is able to draw with a Sharpie on his first try and doesn’t mess up,”

Lauren Poppie, senior, said.

Semahge plans to continue to develop his talents, pursuing a career centered around art.

“The reason I want to do something with art is because I think it’s the only thing I have the attention span for because I’m the type of person where something really has to capture my attention for me to stay interested. I feel that it’s the only thing for me,” Semahge said.

People are, in many cases, surprised when they see what Semahge has created.

“They don’t think I’d be good at drawing, and I like to shock them,” Semahge said.