Issue 1

mong the new faces entering the high school this year is principal Joann Karetov. Karetov replaced Rob Metz after he became district superintendent.

Karetov said although her role entails challenges, she is open to listening to input and will have a huge commitment to the job.

“Metz left big shoes for me to fill,” Karetov said. “I like to talk to people, and I’m open to listening and supporting in any way I can.”

ith the introduction of the new head football coach Ben Wolfe, the team hopes to turn this season into a winning one.

Wolfe said he is confident the team will win more games.

“I have what it takes to take the team to a winning level,” Wolfe said.

The team will play its next game Sept. 6 at home against Fridley.

nollwood Mall hopes to draw in new customers with a redevelopment plan that changes the mall entirely, according to Kevin Locke, director of community development in St. Louis Park.

The plan includes demolishing much of the interior and building a new parking lot. Some of the smaller stores in the mall will be replaced with four larger stores.

City Council still needs to approve the plan before any construction begins.

tanding in a crowd of fellow activists at an Aug. 10 rally, Safety in the Park supporter Jeff Roy hoped to show the negative effects of a freight reroute near the high school.

Safety in the Park is a group that opposes proposed reroutes through residential areas in St. Louis Park.

According to Roy, the upcoming construction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) is the reason the freight trains might be rerouted.

The new route may cut through the neighborhood surrounding the high school and Park Spanish Immersion (PSI). Roy said one of his biggest concerns is increased noise pollution.

“The noise, which will be increased because of the elevation of the train, will cause disruption of education because teachers will have to stop instruction while the

trains are going by,” Roy said.

According to Superintendent Rob Metz, one proposed route cuts through the high school’s football field while the other runs above the PSI playground.

“Both routes would have the train in the air 18 feet high, and the trains would be long, with 85 to 100 cars that carried coal and other resources,” Metz said.

According to Metz, it is less likely the Metropolitan Council (Met Council) will select one of the routes near the high school rather than in the Kenilworth Corridor in Minneapolis.

SWLRT communications manager Laura Baenen said the project engineers have not announced the likelihood of a route’s selection.

Senior Jozlyn Wandersee said she would find it annoying if the train ran through the football stadium.

“I just find it a little irritating that it will be going through our new turf that took quite a bit of money to have done,” Wandersee said.

Metz said the PSI building may be rendered unusable with a freight train traveling so close to it.

o longer is there a need to spend hours getting ready for the Homecoming dance this year.

Student Council adviser Sarah Lindenberg said the dance has been moved to right after the football game Sept. 20.

The dance will take place in the Fieldhouse.

“The Homecoming dance

“We would definitely have to move the playground,” he said.

“We aren’t sure if we can even have school in that building with the train going that close.”

Bonnie Blumberg, who attended the rally, said she is concerned the increased rail traffic would deter potential residents.

“Children should be able to feel safe where they live, and I’m afraid that with the reroute they won’t anymore,” Blumberg said.

“People don’t want to live some-

will be informal and have a Park pride theme, since it’s right after the game,” she said.

Assistant principal Scott Meyers said students can enter and leave the dance more easily this year.

“The game would most likely not be done by (8:30 p.m.), but some students don’t go to the game and this way students can come as they please,” he said.

According to athletic director Andy Ewald, the date of the Homecoming football game was changed because of a scheduling

where dangerous with their kids.”

However, Baenen said she is not concerned the increased train traffic will drive away Lenox and Sorenson neighborhood residents.

“Many people live along main active freight lines in the Twin Cities,” Baenen said. “It’s not unusual in the Twin Cities to have trains going frequently in any number of communities.”

The Safety in the Park website states Met Council will announce its decision 4 p.m. Sept. 25.

conflict in the conference.

“We had an original conference schedule set, and that’s what I communicated to Student Council. At some point after that our conference schedule got changed around,” Ewald said.

Sophomore Alexis Baker said she believes it will affect attendance.

“I don’t think as many people will come to the dance this year,” Baker said. “I don’t think many people will like the change.”

Tickets will be sold the week of Sept. 16 in the cafeteria.

he school is full of new murals, but one stands out.

Students completed painting the Oriole Code of Conduct mural in the C1 hallway July 16. The mural depicts the student-made code. Both the design and message of the mural were made by students.

Twenty-five students created the Oriole Code at the end of last year, guided by support staff Chris Weaver. The student code provides five principles to follow: respect, be an upstander, success, integrity and diversity.

his fall, the theater department will feature the production “Once Upon a Mattress” by Mary Rodgers, a musical retelling of “The Princess and the Pea,” according to director Jodi Hatzenbeller.

“In this version the princess is a little more Katniss Everdeen than Cinderella,” Hatzenbeller said, referring to the protagonist of the “Hunger Games” series.

“It’s a little funkier.”

Sophomore Albie Sher said she is excited about the production and looks forward to being involved.

“I’m really excited because I love the camaraderie of being in theater,” she said.

“We’re all really close and have a lot of fun together.”

Hatzenbeller said she chose this particular musical because of its large, female-heavy cast.

“It’s a fun show with strong female parts, and a really good fit for this season,” she said.

Sher said she agreed and hopes this production will allow talented females in the theater program to display their best qualities on stage.

“Strong female parts are always good because most of the musicals we do there are a lot of male singing parts,” Sher said.

“Having lots of female songs will be a good change and will showcase a lot of the girls that are involved in theater.”

An informational meeting for students interested in participating in the show will be Sept. 4 after school in the auditorium, with auditions the following week.

The students of the summer art elective painted a section of the mural for each principle. The elective was led by Aimee Orkin.

Orkin was selected to lead the course because of her background and experience in mural making. She previously worked for a mural company and teaches art at Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day-School.

Orkin suggested the idea for the class to then-principal Rob Metz at the beginning of the previous school year.

“Ever since I walked in, I was startled by the lack of color in the building and the lack of student art,” Orkin said. “I wanted it to be a more beautiful place for my kids.”

Though Orkin lead the class, the mural was made by students, including her daughter sophomore Ora Raymond.

he Jewish Studies club will be replaced by a new Jewish Student Union this year under the direction of seniors Isaac Greenwood and Isaac Stone.

Greenwood said the new club came about because of shifting leadership and poor attendance in past years.

“There was a void left by Rabbi Cohen’s departure, who left due to decreased attendance,” he said. “Isaac and I felt the need to create a new group to learn about the Jewish faith.”

Mary Norris, the staff adviser for the new club, said she looks forward to continuing the tradition of cultural diversity at Park.

“Judaism is an important part of the history and fabric of St. Louis Park as a community,” she said. “This club allows a segment of our student body to explore their identity.”

Greenwood said he hopes the club will attract a varied group of students to provide an interesting discussion about religion in daily life.

“We hope to have Jews and non-Jews alike to represent viewpoints from all groups,” he said. “The Jewish Student Union is at its heart a national organization, so it will be more structured and focused on a lot of the questions modern teens have.”

Norris said she is excited for the new club to begin meeting. “I love the discussions they have,” she said.

Meetings will be after school Tuesdays in room C351. Contact Isaac Greenwood or Isaac Stone for more information.

“Some students were really confident,” Orkin said. “Others needed more guidance.

I only helped as much as people wanted.

They helped each other as well.”

Raymond said she painted the word “diversity” by writing the word and surrounding it with different religious symbols and people of many races.

Freshman Daniella Etzion said she drew the word “respect” with a high-five and the words “Live, Give, Earn it. Regardless.”

“You need a quality of friendship to have respect,” Etzion said. “The high-five shows the friendship.

The mural benefited both the artists and the school, according to Etzion.

“I met kids from different grades,” Etzion said. “It also helped me learn my way around the school.”

St. Louis Park Senior High School 6425 West 33rd Street St. Louis Park, MN 55426 Ari Weinstein Brenna Cook Josh Scal Claire Steffenhagen Gabe Bichinho & Emma Weisner Cole Bacig & Carter Green Khadija Charif & Conner Wickland Lucas Kempf Noah Betz-Richman Josh Anderson Suh Koller Artis Curiskis Sten Johnson Isaac Greenwood Maddy Bremner, Sean Cork, Ori Etzion, Shoshi Fischman, Gila Grad, Malik Grays, Noa Grossman, Carolyn Guddal, Meagan Hein, David Hope, Brita Hunegs, Peter Johnson, Ivy Kaplan, Zoe Kedrowski, John Kinney, Madisen Lynch, Emily Melbye, Josh Mesick, Nasro Omar, Noa Raasch, Noah Robiner, Alonso Ruiz-Shimada, Natalie Sanford, Sara Tifft, Natalie Vig, Daniel Vlodaver, Amira Warren, Erin Wells Jonah Resnick Joann Karetov American Color Lori Keekley

The Echo is the official student-produced newspaper of St. Louis Park Senior High School. It is published tri-weekly for the school’s students, staff and community.

The Echo will not be reviewed by school administrators prior to distribution, and the adviser will not act as a censor. Content represents views of the student staff and not school officials.

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NSPA All-American and Hall of Fame member; NSPA 2007 Pacemaker Finalist, 2010 National Pacemaker Award Recipient and 2011 Pacemaker Finalist; JEM All-State; CSPA Gold Medalist; 2012 CSPA Silver Crown, 2013 CSPA Gold Crown.

lthough Southwest Light Rail Transit’s project would be beneficial for the economy, transportation and environment, its construction negatively will affect the St. Louis Park community.

The Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) project will cause the freight rail to be rerouted. The Metropolitan Council (Met Council) is in the process of deciding where the freight rail route will be moved.

Two of the three possible relocation plans being considered in the Met Council would reroute the freight rails through either the high school football stadium or the playground of nearby Park Spanish Immersion School.

In order to build the light rail, the freight rails must be relocated because the corridor isn’t wide enough for collocation. This reroute would be detrimental for the city. It would take time to find new locations for some buildings and could leave students without a school or athletic field.

According to a SWLRT proposed route illustration, the freight rail also would be directed through local businesses. If a local establishment is in the way of the freight rails, the business would be removed and not necessarily relocated. The city would be reimbursed for any relocation losses by the Met Council.

Along with destroying some places of business, the freight rails will be more disruptive to students. According to the April 2011 study by Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH), the architect and engineer consulting firm for St. Louis Park, approximately

10 trains pass by the school per week. After the proposed plan, around 30 trains will go by the school. Also, according to the SEH study, the trains will be longer; 60 to 132 cars will pass compared to the current 10 to 25. These trains’ noise could distract students and make it harder for them to learn.

The best relocation proposal suggested is the Kenilworth Plan, because it relocates the freight rail out of St. Louis Park. The plan

The Echo is a student-produced newspaper of the St. Louis Park High School. Its primary goal is to be the voice of the students to each other, the staff and the community.

Its purposes are to inform and persuade its readers, to provoke thought and discussion, to entertain, to serve as a public record of news-worthy events and to provide a designated open forum for the free exchange of ideas.

In these goals and purposes, the Echo will strive to adhere to high standards of journalism and will look to the best of the professional press as its model.

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The Echo does not necessarily endorse the products or services offered in these advertisements.

To the C3 mural. I want the sea turtle back.

will relocate the freight rail through the Kenilworth Corridor in Minneapolis, allowing the Park community to be unscathed by the light rail project.

Students should get involved in choosing the best relocation plan by contacting local officials and recommending the Met Council pursues the Kenilworth Plan as the route for the freight rail. In this way students can ensure their voices are heard.

The Echo will resist any attempt at censorship from people or organizations outside the newspaper staff. The staff will take into consideration guidance from its adviser, but will make its own decisions, striving for accurate, unbiased and well-rounded coverage.

The editor in chief will be responsible for all final decisions on specific policy issues that may arise during the year and is the person ultimately responsible for the overall paper.

Opinion pieces not found on the opinions page (excluding sportsand features-page columns) will be labeled as such. These bylined pieces are the opinion of the individual writer.

Staff editorials, which will appear in the space above, are the opinion of the majority of the editorial staff, arrived at by discussion.

Staff editorials will consistently argue for the welfare of the entire student body and/or the high school as a whole.

The Echo encourages its readers to write letters to the editor whether in response to specific coverage in the Echo or to another topic. We will not necessarily publish all letters received.

Letters should be concise and well written. If we believe the author of the letter has misinterpreted what the Echo had written, we allow the writer a chance to revise the letter.

Letters should be personally submitted to the editor in chief or the adviser in room C275, or emailed to slpecho@gmail.com; they will then be verified with the writer for authenticity and intent.

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Anonymous letters wherein the Echo does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed.

To Homecoming in the gym.

Now I can show off my best tracksuit and tie.

To no senior boys’ dance.

Now what do I do with my bra?

C.G., J.M., S.J.

lthough some may conjure images of Italian painters and sculptors when they think of the 15th century, the annual Renaissance Festival has added activities such as cupcake battles and interactive mermaids to change this popular belief.

Cassandra Beckmann, marketing representative for the fair, said the goal is to have activities for people of all ages to enjoy.

“We hope to attract more visitors this year than last year,” Beckmann said.

“We’ve added more activities in order to do that.”

At the cupcake show, amateur and professional bakers submit their cupcake recipe for a chance to win a prize and bragging rights.

The $25 entry price for the baking contest also includes a daily admission ticket. The competition takes place Sept.

14-15.

Sophomore Jack Hollinger, who attended the festival last year, said the new activities make him want to return.

“The people were friendly and the events were fun to do,” Hollinger said. “I would definitely go back for the cupcake show.”

In addition to the new attractions, Beckmann said the fair offers an uncommon array of shops.

Country singer Taylor Swift performs twice at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul as part of her nationwide Red Tour. Swift has garnered numerous accolades since 2008, with more than 200 award nominations and seven Grammys. Swift is known for her mix of pop and country themes in her songs. Pop singer Ed Sheeran will open, and tickets start at $69.

“The festival provides a unique shopping experience,” Beckmann said. “Artisans sell handcrafted wares all throughout the park.”

Senior Leah Seal-Gray said she enjoys shopping at the booths because the merchandise is unique to the fair.

“I absolutely love all the fantasy artists that open shops,” Seal-Gray said. “I especially love the fairy sculptures and all the sparkly glass.”

Additionally, Beckmann said the festival offers 16 live entertainment stages as well as street acts throughout the festival grounds.

Senior Caitlin Glennon said she went to the fair last year and was impressed by a street act.

“There was a lot of knife throwing,” Glennon said. “It was a creative way to entertain the crowd.”

Beckmann said another aspect of the fair that draws in many people is the Royal Joust. It occurs three times daily and is a free event. Participants can pick a side and root for their knight to win the joust.

“Mostly everyone loves the Royal Joust,” Beckmann said. “It’s one of our biggest attractions.”

Glennon said the lively spirit of the fair impressed her.

“People really got into the spirit of the fair,” Glennon said. “Some had really elaborate costumes, and it was fun to watch them.”

Beckmann said the festival is a good place to go to spend a day walking around and participating in the various activities the fair has to offer.

“It’s just an overall great place to hang out with friends,” Beckmann said.

Seal-Gray said she is looking forward to returning to the fair this year, but recommends it to a specific crowd.

“It’s fun if you enjoy dressing up or role playing, and enjoy a good laugh,” Seal-Gray said. “I will definitely go again this year, because I love the general atmosphere, love interacting with all the other fantasy geeks, and love shopping there.”

“Grand Theft Auto V” (GTA V) releases for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, with a PC version to be announced. “GTA V,” which follows the open world chaotic play style of its predecessors, will feature newer weapons as well as more customization options. The game will be available at all major video game retailers for $60 and is rated M for mature.

Cirque du Soleil’s “Amaluna” comes to the Mall of America parking lot as part of its nationwide tour.

“Amaluna” features acrobats and dancers dressed in animalistic attire who perform acts ranging from a peacock dance to swinging on aerial straps. It will show six times during four days, and tickets are available starting at $50.