Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Ms. Lake reflects
Jack and Connor tribute
page 3
page 4
page 5
a student newspaper
the Talisman shstalisman@gmail.com
Sheldon High School 2455 willakenzie Rd., Eugene, Or 97401 vol. 46 Issue 5 March 11, 2011
Mr. Irish contestants get the final determinations The ten Mr. Irish contestants gave it their all and one came out on top Chasity Barnes features editor Something that senior guys, and sometimes in fact senior girls, look forward to every year is who the next Mr. Irish contestants will be. This year the contestants were named and were hard at work from day one: raising money and getting ready for the pageant that took place on March 5. Senior Corinne Cornwell commented that she likes Mr. Irish because it’s for such a good cause. The students who choose to participate do so for different reasons. By pageant night, however, they are all in it for one reason — saving lives. No longer focused on competing for the winning spot, these young adults have learned to look beyond their own teenage wants, needs, activities and social status and contribute to a vital community resource in helping to save premature babies’ lives. It’s been noticed that different people have different feelings on Mr. Irish. Joe Mancuso, a resource room teacher, said, “I love it! I think it’s huge and important to and for the student body.” Most people agree with Mancuso, and like our Mr. Irish tradition. Senior Nick van Eekeren somewhat agrees, yet also disagrees. van Eekeren said, “It’s a great cause, but the girls who vote turn this into a popularity contest instead of a charity event.” He also believes that during the pageant they should focus more on the Make-a-Wish part and not the senior girl popularity. The boys were working hard the past few months doing fundraisers, like the Mr. Irish vs. Mr.Axeman basketball game.
This pageant brings boys from all different cliques together, from the band boy to the football boy, they all come together and become really close. Mr. Irish contestant, senior Terry Cobain said, “Danny Herr is one of the boys I never thought I’d be friends with. We’re kind of opposites, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be homies.” While another Mr. Irish contestant, senior Ross Lindly said, “I never had a class with Justin [Carpenter] before the pageant, and I didn’t know who he was.” But by pageant night you could see how close each boy had gotten with the others and the brand new friendships that have formed over this great and wonderful cause. With the auditorium looking like it was sold out, the lights dimmed and everyone in the audience shushed each other to get ready for the entertainment, the boys started running through the aisles and kick started the night with a killer dance routine. Throughout the whole night there were cheers and tears, laughs and cries. Mr. Irish contestant, senior Colton Surcamp said, “The pageant was the best night of my senior year.” The boys raised close to $30,000! It can easily be said that the pageant was a success. Cobain commented, “I wish we had a bigger venue….More people need to see this thing.” With the success of the money raised and being close to sold out, the winner of Mr. Irish and Mr. Congeniality had to be crowned. As the boys sat impatiently, Nick Stringfield, Mr. Chasity Barnes photo Congeniality 2010, sashed Ross Lindly as Mr. Congeniality 2011 and then finally crowned The winner of Mr. Irish, Clark Fancher, and his coordinator Katy Cheung perform at a Mr. Irish pageant rehearsal. and sashed Clark Fancher as Mr. Irish 2011.
Irish Cultural Festival celebrates the Celtic heritage Heritage of Ireland has a strong influence on Sheldon as a whole Anthony Buchanan staff writer The Irish Cultural Festival is something that has brought together Irish families in this community for the last eight years. Even people who aren’t of Irish heritage who participate in the festivities feel welcome. This year’s eighth annual Irish Cultural Festival takes place on March 11 and 12. The daytime festival that takes place at Sheldon is on the 12th from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The evening concert takes place on the eleventh at Beall Hall at the U of O. The concert starts at 8 pm and tickets are $13 for adults, and $9 for students/seniors. Tickets for the daytime festival run $10 for adults, and $7 for students/seniors (kids get in free). Freshman Drew Dymock said, “Last year when I came with my family it was a wonderful time. From the music to the food it was very authentic and it was a great time.”
The featured music group for the festival this year will be Kevin Burke, an extremely talented fiddler, and Cal Scott who plays guitar with Burke. In years past people like Gerry Carthy, a very well-known artist in Irish music have come to play. Other instruments that you will see there are things like fiddle, guitar, flute and tin whistle. Freshman Bryson Baker said, “I was taught to play a little piece of an Irish folk song and the man who was teaching me was very good. It didn’t take me long at all to learn.” At the Festival people can find authentic Irish cooking with dishes like coddle, colcannon, and Sheppard’s pie. If you choose to go you will have the opportunity of learning a little Goidelic (main Irish language). People and their families can take part in activities such as basket
weaving, leather working, and a hurling match out on the turf. At each of the work stations people will have a chance to fill out a section on a worksheet, and when you finish you get presented with an authentic Irish coin to take home. Freshman Cody Koch said, “If I go I’d like to complete the worksheet to get a coin because I’ve never seen Irish money before and I have a lot from other places so it’d be nice to have one.” The festival is a non-profit organization that’s proceeds go to running next year’s festival so let people and their families know to go so it can keep it going for a ninth year. It is a great time with a lot of good people. If people choose to attend, they will not regret it. Anthony Rhoads photo
Vandalism bothers everyone who is affected by the inconvenience Vehicular vandalism is a growing problem in the parking lots for both students and staff at school Spencer Haugen staff writer The majority of the students here at Sheldon use the school parking lot on a daily basis. Whether they drive, walk, or take the bus, it is a familiar location that almost everyone must travel through to get to the school. Although the parking lot is a convenience for most, many students have reported vandalism and other mischievous activities taking place. Some of these acts
include: littering, car vandalism and reckless driving. Many students have expressed concern about the growing conflict and want answers as well as change. Senior Logan Burger said, “My car was vandalized last year. The window was broken and my backpack got stolen. This was a very unfortunate event that took place, but I still worry about it happening again.” There are many students like Burger who have similar stories and express these fears every day. Junior Kolte Rotherham said, “I am very worried about the wellbeing of my car’s safety in the parking lot. My car has never been vandalized, but I do see an amazing amount of littering going on in the parking lot. This seems to be an ongoing crime at our school that teachers and students need to take note of and take care of it.” Rotherham said, “The ditch
in the front of the school is a prime example of how people think they can just litter and get away with it.” Rotherham later went on to argue, “What’s the difference was between throwing trash in a ditch and throwing it in a trash can?” Junior Curran Mendez said, “My car has collected many door dings and unsolved scratches throughout this school year.” Many other students are complaining about these unsolved door dings and scratches on their car and they can do nothing about it. “People need to help other people and interfere if they see someone harming another person’s car. We all need to treat each other’s things as if they were our own and this could drastically decrease vandalism in the parking lot,” Mendez later said. Mendez had many solutions to fix this problem, but he believed that this one would work the best.