Vol 52 Issue 5

NEWS | January 29, 2016

New opportunities for student involvement in Cure SMA fundraiser Lena Pontikes

News Writer fter having watched the studentcreated videos promoting each of the finalists, students voted on the organization for the school-wide fundraiser for this year: Cure SMA. This year, like last year, Maine South will be raising money through various activities and events. All of the money raised will go towards helping children who have spinal muscular atrophy and their families.

“The school has chosen Cure SMA and all of the proceeds and money will go to that organization,” explained Mr. Berendt. “The organization does research for SMA as well as support families who have children afflicted with it.”

Affecting 1 out of every 10,000 births, SMA has an annual conference where children with SMA and their families all come together to volunteer and help.

Maine South students have been involved with the organization for the last couple years. The fundraiser events and activities, which are starting very shortly, give everyone the opportunity to get involved any way they can.

“We thought, why not pool all the resources together and all come together for one common cause,” Mr. Berendt said. “It’s a way to unite the school and bring the school together for one common theme.”

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Students and staff will start to hear a little bit more about the fundraiser through the announcements and there will also be some information on the school website. Eventually, a website will be put up specifically for the fundraiser which students can access to see ways they can help.

Nothing is finalized yet, but the administration hopes to put up a Facebook and a Twitter account so that students can get all of the information they need.

To begin raising money for this cause, the annual Hawk Fest will be taking place on a Friday in April.

There will be inflatables, activities, and prizes that students can win.

Also coming up is the “pizza wars”—where local area pizza places serve small slices of their specialties.

Students can pay one entrance fee to try all of the different varieties. The NHS is also hosting its annual Color Run, which has been a huge success in the past.

Other organizations are also talking with the school about different activities they can do to raise money during the month of April.

It’s not too late for any student to e-mail in their ideas or plan a meeting with Mr. Berendt, because planning for the fundraiser is just beginning.

During February, there will be a fundraiser meeting that any student can attend to get more information.

“I’m really excited about this year’s

charity because it was a charity that a group of students rallied around and they’ve helped this charity out in the past and are excited to bring the entire Maine South community together,” said Mr. Berendt.

“This is what this is all about— rallying around a cause, and I think this year is going to be fantastic because we’ve got some motivated students that want to see us raise as much money for this charity as they can.”

SMA, or spinal muscular atrophy, is a genetic disease which affects the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord

and takes away the ability to walk, eat, and breathe.

In the United States, 10 million people carr y the SMA gene unknowingly, which puts a large percentage of the future generation at risk. With no current treatment, SMA is the leading genetic cause of death in children under two years old.

“I was thrilled when Cure SMA was selected as this year’s fundraiser,” said junior Georgia Slojkowski, who has volunteered with the organization for the past four years. “This exposure and support will only fuel more positive progress and research.

interviews in order to earn his position as dean.

“The interviews were challenging at times because many hypotheticals and ‘what if ’ questions are thrown at you,” said Mr. McGreevy.

“However, the interview process helped me realize how committed I am to Maine South and actually motivated me to do well for the betterment of all students, their families, and the school district.”

Mr. McGreevy is not unfamiliar with a dean’s responsibilities—he has served as the acting dean of summer school for the past three years.

“Working as acting dean these past summers made me realize that I was ready to move into an administrative role to help and guide students on a different level,” said McGreevy.

“Plus, I like new challenges, and the Dean position fits nicely into my longer-term educational career goals

at Maine South.”

Because of this new role, he will not be able to continue teaching sociology and the other classes that he taught at Maine South. Though he will not have a direct role in the teaching students anymore, he will be able to continue to assist students in a greater capacity than ever before.

“As dean, I will be putting forth my best efforts to help students address and correct behavioral issues that impede learning and inhibit them from reaching their full potential,” he said. “Anyone who has had any association with me over the years here at Maine South knows that I care about students and their wellbeing.”

Mr. McGreevy’s dedication to student welfare was one of the driving reasons behind his decision to apply for the dean position.

As dean, Mr. McGreevy wants to focus his efforts on preventing

students from indulging in selfdestructive behavior.

“Discipline is something a person does for someone, not to someone,” said McGreevy.

He hopes that students do not jeopardize the valuable education opportunity they have been given.

“As your dean, I want to be proactive and visible in the halls, in classrooms as necessary, and at events in the evenings,” Mr. McGreevy said.

“I want students to know me and I want to know them. I want students to know that I genuinely care and to feel comfortable coming to me on any matter.

“I h av e f ou n d i f s t u d e nt s have explicit, positively-stated expectations, more often than not, they will want to do well for themselves and their families. I want to be that voice inside their head that makes them strive to do their best.”

A HELPING HAND

PHOTO COURTESY MEGAN BESLER

Senior Megan Besler spends time with an SMA patient at the Cure SMA conference. She, along with the other Hawkettes, has volunteered for Cure SMA for the past several years.

Mr. McGreevy accepts dean position for 2016-17 school year Dimitri Speron

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PHOTO BY HALEY MECH

News Writer

r. McGreevy, a social science and world history teacher at Maine South, has accepted an administrative position, and will begin work as a dean in August 2016.

He will replace Mr. Thetard, who retires at the end of this school year.

Several candidates applied for the opening, and Mr. McGreevy had to go through a series of challenging

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PHOT

January 29, 2016 | NEWS

Maine South well-represented at Illinois Theatre Festival

Noah Balduf

News Writer n unprecedented five Maine South students participated in the Illinois Theatre Festival, which hosted an all-state production of “Rent” and numerous workshops for aspiring artists.

The festival took place at Illinois State University from Jan. 7 to 9.

Acting in the musical were seniors Jack Cahill-Lemme and Eamon Hurd.

Junior Ann Kapustiak and seniors Kiara Irizarry and Hannah Henley were members of the crew.

Maine South sent the largest group out of all of the schools who participated in the festival. 39 students were a part of the production of Rent, so Maine South made up about oneeighth of the whole production, a school record.

Over 4,000 students, teachers, university representatives and exhibitors put together the 25 performances and over 150 workshops. Workshops included speakers talking about their acting careers, vocal warm-ups, and improv classes.

Along with the workshops, students got to show their skills to college talent recruiters. This is a huge opportunity for them, as it allows aspiring actors to get a head start above others to reach their goal of becoming an actor, musician, or theatre technician.

“Maine South has had numerous students become successful

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professional actors, directors, stage managers, and theatre technicians,” said Mrs. Saurer, the drama director.

“ITF is where many of them got their start.”

The main attraction was the allstate performance of ‘Rent,’ a musical about young artists struggling to make a living in New York. This is where Maine South’s five students shone.

Getting into the festival was no easy task. Each student who applied had to be a thespian at Maine South and write an essay on how the experience would help them as an artist and in their career as a working person in theatre. The process went all the way from August until the festival in January. For the students who attended, it was definitely worth it.

“I had so much fun and made so many friends,” said junior Ann Kapustiak. “It was fun to perform our show in front of kids who love theater as much as we do.”

Cast and crew members alike thoroughly enjoyed the new social and dramatic opportunities at ITF. “Aside from the grueling hours of rehearsing for the all-state show, I had a blast,” said senior Eamon Hurd. “Everyone there was so nice and friendly, and they were all so supportive of ‘Rent.’”

In addition to the actors and crew members, 25 other students also attended the festival. They found it to be a rewarding experience.

“There was one workshop about a kinesthetic exercise called Viewpoints,

PHOTO COURTESY HANNAH HENLEY

IT’S SHOWTIME Seniors Eamon Hurd, Jack Cahill-Lemme, Kiara Irizarry, and Hannah Henley, as well as junior Ann Kapustiak, prepare for the ITF performance of ‘Rent.’ The cast and crew started to meet six months prior to the festival.

which was really eye-opening,” said junior Wesley Dziedzic. “It really helped you become aware of every movement you made, and there were only seven kids in the workshop so it was a very one-on-one experience.”

It is clear that the experience was very fun for the students, along with the college exposure and all the learning that takes place.

Not only is the festival about performing and learning, it builds a network between people who love and enjoy theatre, including the teachers.

The festival, hosted by the Illinois Theatre Association, is the largest and oldest non-competitive theatre festival in the world.

ITF was founded forty years ago, when drama educators wanted to bring the best theatre students from across the state together for an allstate production.

The festival brings together all of the artists in the state, who can discuss theatre programs and how to improve them so that students can have opportunities to express themselves and become theatre enthusiasts.

Dance, Winter Formal, Turnabout Dance, Snowcoming, and Snowball Dance.

Turnabout received the most votes, with 43.24%. Winter Formal came in second place, receiving 27.73% of student votes.

Overall, students agree that the name change will have a positive impact.

“I can see how the name ‘Girl’s Choice’ can put pressure on students to go with a date, because it’s basically saying that everyone has to have a date, and people who don’t have dates can’t go with their friends who do have dates,” said freshman Hala Halabi. “I think the name change would make me more likely to go to the dance because it’s more for fun, and you get to hang out with your

friends. You don’t need a date because it doesn’t say so.”

Junior Class Council even changed the theme of the dance to “Chicago” to make it more appealing to students who wanted to come with friends rather than dates.

“The original theme choices had more romantic and formal options, like ‘Midnight in Paris,’” said Junior Class Council President Will Olafsson.

“The new theme, ‘Chicago,’ is a lot more casual and will encourage people to just come and have fun instead of worrying about dates.”

“It’s been a really successful dance,” Mrs. Koshgarian says. “Other schools have dropped this dance and we have always been so fortunate to have kids come.”

Junior Class Council renames Girl’s Choice Amna Sorbun News Writer

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fter a survey submitted by students last year, the Junior Class Council has decided to change the name of Maine South’s winter dance from “Girl’s Choice” to “Turnabout.”

In the past, Girl’s Choice had a lower attendance than Homecoming, and the Council felt that it may have been due in part to the fact that the name puts pressure on students to come with a date. Those who were unable to find a date, or just wanted to come with friends, felt restricted from going.

“We thought that kids would worry too much that it was a ‘date,’” said Mrs. Koshgarian, the sponsor of

Junior Class Council.

“We wanted it to be on Valentine’s Day, which is kind of a romantic thing, and people freaked thinking that they needed to have a date and it had to be romantic.”

The name “Girl’s Choice” put pressure on girls who felt like it was their job to ask a boy out. Changing the name of the dance is an effort to show it is okay to not come with a date, but rather in smaller groups with friends.

With a name like “Turnabout,” it is even acceptable for the guy to do the asking, and the girl no longer has the responsibility of asking her crush or boyfriend to the dance.

Students filled out a survey last year with name choices for the dance.

The options were Sadie Hawkins

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COMMENTARY | January 29, 2016

STAFF EDITORIAL

Turnabout can aid gender equality

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tarting this year, Maine South is calling the Girls’ Choice dance “Turnabout.” While the name may be different, many still consider Turnabout to be a “once-a-year” experience, the one time that girls have the ability to pick their desired date.

Some might suggest that it is sexist to create a dance as the one opportunity for the ladies to ask the guys. Shouldn’t we encourage the girls to take the lead in any situation?

We are striving to teach girls that they are just as powerful as males and that they have the ability to accomplish anything their counterparts can.

Whether it’s in the workplace, at school, or in daily life, women deserve equal treatment and opportunity.

While it may seem to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes to host a turnabout dance (after all, one might infer that guys are in control for all the other dances), in actuality, we’re facilitating the movement for

social equality. traditional roles. The more people see it, By making a female proposal the more familiar with it they’ll become, public or by displaying it on and the more common it will be. social media, we’re Turnabout is not important nor ma lizing t he because it is tradition, and it is idea of switching not important because it’s the only time a girl is encouraged to ask a guy. Turnabout should be considered a tool through which we implement social equality, not strengthen societal norms. Without Turnabout, every dance would be considered a “Guy’s Choice” dance and the ladies would lose even more initiative to take charge.

Ladies, get to work. Be outgoing. Be confident.

Be proactive. At the same time, you are doing your fellow ladies a favor by familiarizing the concept of girls asking guys. But don’t let your confidence and power end with one dance.

“G i r l s’ c h o i c e” should be more than an ILLUSTRATION BY BASIA CHRUSCINSKI occasional occurrence.

We are family...so appreciate it

Kate Papciak

Editor-in-Chief hile I would have preferred to spend my first day of winter break with my friends, I had a holiday baking day with family scheduled. Fuming with frustration prior to the event, I worried about the annual interrogation from my aunts regarding my future. I was not in the mood to discuss the stress of college applications or my readiness to graduate in five months when I could have been ice skating with my friends.

I was stuck angrily mixing dough while counting the minutes until I would be released to go be with my friends. My eyes were focused on the lethargic arms of the clock, when I overheard my cousin Shannon’s announcement of moving to New York City. The cousin I have lived five blocks away from all of my life is now packing her bags for a new home that

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is over 800 miles away.

A few minutes later, I found out my cousin Marti is pregnant and my cousin Andrea got engaged— news I was glad to be there to hear in person. We spent the rest of the night updating each other on our lives and strengthening our bond as a family—an opportunity that I would have missed had I gone ice skating.

At some point in our lives, many of us are assigned to create a family tree project for school. By looking through old photo albums and interviewing family members, this project makes us reflect on the importance and history of our family at a young age.

However, as time goes on, we become preoccupied with engagements of our daily lives and tend to forget about the importance of family.

After holidays and events such as this one, I feel grateful to have people who will always be there to listen and be supportive. Even if my family does not fully agree with my pursuits, they still stand by me.

Of course, if my future plans seem unstable, they are the first to steer me into a better direction. And as my

aunts, uncles, and cousins offer advice and support for my affairs, I do the same for each of them.

There is some truth to the overused saying “friends may come and go, but family is forever.”

While a friendship is notable, it is not as strong as the unconditional love that is felt among family members. The moment we are born, we are immersed in our family’s unconditional love.

We must not resent attending family events. We cannot take this special bond for granted. Being surrounded with people who only want the best for you should be appreciated.

There is no formula for a perfect family; each comes with its quirks, both good and bad.

It is not easy to resist the temptation to pick our friends over family, but we should be appreciative of the gift of a family’s unconditional love that is always there to support us regardless of our personal endeavors.

Our family members make sacrifices to share time with us—we owe them the same.

Maine South High School 1111 South Dee Road Park Ridge, IL 60068 http://www.southwords.org

Signed letters to the editor should be delivered to the Southwords office, given to a member of the editorial staff, or e-mailed to southwords@maine207.org.

Southwords reserves the right to edit material for clarity and brevity and to reject obscene/libelous submissions.

Scan this QR code to e-mail Southwords Editors-in-Chief Monica Bielawiec Kate Papciak News Editors Anastasia Dalianis Rhyanne Noche Entertainment Editors Laura Cash Lauren Papp Olivia Post Features Editors Margaret Cahill Christina Johnson Bridget Yagihashi Commentary Editors John Sullivan

Mariam Zaki Sports Editors

Art Editor

Mike Greco Sam Tinaglia

Basia Chruscinski

Production Editors

Haley Mech Arden Sasak

Adviser

Mr. Stathakis

January 29, 2016

| COMMENTARY

The parking lot poses problems for students Rhyanne Noche News Editor

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sk me what my biggest fear is and I will most likely respond with, “Maine South’s student parking lot.”

Why? Because every morning and every afternoon it becomes a disaster zone. I have witnessed car accidents and almost daily see some really close calls in the student parking lot.

Maine South’s student parking lot presents many problems that pose great threats to the safety of its students.

The number one problem we face is obviously morning and afternoon traffic.

We rush to get in, and we are eager to get out; however, being in a hurry is no excuse to get into a car accident and potentially cause great harm to yourself and others.

The morning rush beginning at 7:30 a.m. is the worst time to arrive at school.

It is especially hard turning left into the student parking lot due to oncoming traffic. Often, this line is more than 10-15 cars long.

Patience is a virtue, though it is evident that some students simply do not display this ethic.

There are students who become impatient waiting their turn and speed around everyone to the front. There are students who are daredevils and

decide to turn left into oncoming traffic, hoping other drivers will stop for them.

Others turn into the parking lot exit labeled “Do Not Enter” because they can’t afford another first-period tardy.

These students perform risky maneuvers to avoid being tardy; however, their actions could also be prevented if traffic was enforced and regulated by some kind of authority.

Otherwise, we students must wake up 20 minutes earlier in order to beat the morning frenzy.

Parking lot problems after school exist more within the lot than on Dee Road. It is no surprise that students are eager to leave school and go home after a long, tiring day.

Once the final bell rings, students race to their cars, zoom out of their parking spaces, and head towards the exit—often driving carelessly and not watching where they are going. This puts both pedestrians and drivers in a dangerous situation.

To solve this problem, the onus is on the students. Students must drive with more caution and be more aware of their surroundings. Understand that traffic is a give and take, and honk only when needed.

Also, there is a reason why the parking lot is called the student parking lot. It is not prohibited for parents to drop off and pick up their children in the student parking lot; however, parent drivers contribute to the amount of traffic and increase the chance of accidents.

As a student driver, I sometimes find it frustrating to see parents in their cars parked along the sidewalk next to the A-Wing waiting for their children after school, knowing that they add to the parking lot congestion and occupy room and parking spaces meant for students.

It would be beneficial for all involved if students arrange with their parents to be picked up somewhere other than the student parking lot.

For example, parents can pick them up in the circle drive, jock lot, or the parking lot nearest the V-Wing.

Although the high-time traffic is unavoidable, distributing the number of eager-to-leave students throughout the numerous parking lots would save a great deal of trouble—specifically for the younger,

inexperienced drivers assigned to the student parking lot.

Attempts to correct these problems have been made in the past few years with the establishment of the “No Left Turn between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.” signs placed at the exits of our parking lots that empty onto Dee Road and Talcott Road. Despite these changes, there are still accidents.

Both students who walk and drive to school would benefit if new solutions were implemented.

If there were a traffic cop to help regulate the flow of traffic in the A-wing, it could ease the congestion and encourage students to drive safely.

Student safety should be one of Maine South’s highest priorities. It would be worth the added expense to have someone regulating the traffic to ensure everyone’s well-being.

I’ve watched my teachers get more and more snarky and bitter about these changes, and about how damaging the “improvements” (emphasis on those quotation marks) are to education. I can’t help but agree.

If you’ve taken any history or other social science classes at Maine South, you’ve probably heard the not-so-occasional jibe those sociallyconscious teachers make at the lunacy of the latest changes in the way they have to teach. I’ve never experienced a teacher outside a science class who uses “learning targets” as they were meant to be used. In fact, in many of my classes, seeing the learning target actually written on the board is a clear sign that the teacher knows they’ll be observed sometime that day.

The amount of stress teachers deal with the day of their observation can only be likened to that induced

by Dolores Umbridge in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

How can teachers be expected to teach under such conditions?

Furthermore, how can the evaluators honestly think they’re getting an accurate impression of what the teacher is truly like?

Teachers must be allowed to teach without having these ridiculous rules and guidelines set for them by government officials who know nothing about what education actually entails.

Our particular generation has been the guinea pigs for this country’s educational experiments.

The reason why our parents are so scandalized at the amount of homework we have compared to their experience of education is because America has just recently decided that students should be looked at as a sum of test scores, grade point averages, and extracurricular leadership positions. So they tried to make the learning process just as metered and methodical. The people creating these new systems know next to nothing about the psychology of a teenager, and most importantly, haven’t been trained in teaching.

As long as these structures are in place, students in the United States will receive a sub-par education and teachers will be unable to do what they’re here to do—teach.

PHOTO BY ARDEN SASAK

AFTER-SCHOOL MADNESS

Students eagerly rush to get out of the student parking lot. This frenzy poses many problems for student drivers.

National changes in education affect us all Bonnie Millener Commentary Writer

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ou may have noticed over the last few years that your teachers have been running their classes a little differently. New methods of schooling are slowly cropping up and growing in strength day by day. You may recognize these methods as “learning targets,” “Common Core Standards,” or by the one or two days a year when your teacher is especially on edge and on their best behavior because they’re going to be observed.

During my years at Maine South,

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COMMENTARY | January 29, 2016

Celebrating this year’s NYE in NYC Catie O’Rourke, Piotr Wojsiat and Madeline Hoffman

Commentary Writers fter numerous failed attempts to plan a trip for our senior spring break, we decided to try to plan a smaller scale road trip: to New York City for New Year’s Eve weekend.

Most seniors can’t wait until college to become independent people, but everyone should take the opportunity to experience that at some point during high school.

Most spring break trips have a few parent chaperones, but in planning our domestic travel to New York, we did not have any parents coming along; this element of our trip ultimately turned off the parents of our other friends, leaving only the three of us.

We booked a $50 bus ticket round trip from Chicago to New York City.

We then booked hotels. This trip was successful because we had at least one 18-year-old to take on the legal responsibilities of being an adult traveling with minors.

Knowing we could travel completely alone brought on a newfound sense of independence.

Our journey to independence began on the evening of Dec. 30 at the Chinatown library. We boarded a bus full of other eager travelers and we shared the same space for almost

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14 hours, after which we arrived in Chinatown in New York City the next morning, New Year’s Eve. The second day started with us being in the same place we started the night before—still on the bus. We awoke to a view of the skyline from our bus window around seven in the morning.

We stepped off of the bus onto a random Chinatown street in New York City with hesitation as the bus drove away. Our fear of being alone in the city turned to excitement as we quickly realized that Times Square was waiting for us to arrive.

After settling into our hotel and eating a few good Zagat-rated sandwiches, we were ready to watch the ball drop—or so we thought.

We reached the intersection of 53rd and 7th at 3 p.m., where we got a glance at the large sea of people already lining up to see the ball drop.

This intersection was the first of three security checks that we had to pass to get into the spectator area. All that was left to do was to wait for the ball to officially rise at 6 p.m. to signify the beginning of the New Year’s Eve festivities.

With no water and no bathrooms, we stood in the crowd of people frozen from the cold. Ordering from a delivery service app called Postmates, we received hot tea to endure the rest of the night.

Hourly countdowns reminded us of the anticipation of a single moment. Musical guests like Daya, Demi Lovato, Wiz Khalifa, and Carrie Underwood sang on stages too far away to hear or see.

PHOTO COURTESY CATIE O’ROURKE

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR

Seniors Maddie Hoffman, Catie O’Rourke, and Piotr Wojsiat celebrate New Year’s Eve in Times Square. They attended the NYE Ball Drop along with one million other people.

The entirety of the crowd screamed the digits of the final countdown as the declining ball was far too small to even notice.

Excitement flooded the crowd as the first moments of 2016 were spent in the best way possible: surrounded by friends in a city full of adventure.

With a request for a late check out, we woke up the next morning exhausted and ready for the only full day of the trip.

We walked to Central Park and ice skated at the Wollman Rink.

We took some time to shop at stores at t he Rockefeller Plaza, and later to an Apple Store open 24 PHOTO COURTESY CATIE O’ROURKE hours.

We took the subway at the Grand Central Terminal to travel to Brooklyn for dinner, and later rented Citi Bikes to get back to our hotel.

While we tried many different types of transportation, we mainly split the fares on multiple Ubers to get around.

The next and final day of the trip we drove from place to place to explore the different neighborhoods of New York: Soho, Tribeca, and Manhattan.

We explored the Museum of Modern Art, saw the Statue of Liberty in Battery Park, and ate gourmet TRAVELING IN STYLE The three seniors traveled the 790 mile journey desserts at the Dominique Ansel bakery. to New York in this coach bus. The trip lasted about 12 hours.

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After stopping at all the mandatory tourist sites, we headed to the airport to fly home.

On the plane we reflected on what had led us to the amazing trip we just experienced: our spontaneity.

Besides booking the travel and hotels, everything else was done on an in-the-moment basis.

Although we had our reservations about going on the trip due to our lack of planning, everything worked out in our favor.

In fact, it was what had allowed us to experience so much in only three days.

We h a d o u r doubts about traveling so far away from home, but this glimpse of independence gave us the best memories of all.

In short: live your ideal adventure.

Booking a $50 bus ticket to New York for New Year’s Eve may sound insane to some people, but to us, it is our version of adventure.

Don’t wait to make these memories when you’re older—you can make great memories now.

They can be as simple as going downtown to a cool place with your friends.

So be spontaneous, and live in the moment; each one has the potential to be amazing, so don’t just let it pass by you, or you may find yourself regretting it.

“In short: live your ideal adventure.”

January 29, 2016 | FEATURES

Simple scholarships for the everyday student Maggie Carey Features Writer

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ILLUSTRATION BY SAVINA MIHALOPOUS

or many students, one of the scariest questions to be asked is, “Where are you going to college?”

And for some, especially student’s parents, the even scarier question is, “How much does that school’s tuition cost?” However, while the future is a constant worry, there is one thing guaranteed to lessen the burden of financial worries: scholarships.

Each year, millions of dollars available to students for furthering their education goes unused. Many looking for financial help do not know what is available to them, causing unnecessary stress in their lives.

The trick to earning scholarships is finding them in the first place.

You don’t need to have any specific talent in order to be eligible for a scholarship. There is a scholarship for virtually anything and some can even come from just being yourself—no effort required.

One of these scholarships comes from Tall Clubs International (TCI), a non-profit organization with the goal of helping tall people. TCI offers the chance to apply for a

scholarship to any girl 5’10’’ or taller, and any guy 6’2’’ or taller.

Accepted applicants can receive as much as a $1,000 scholarship, and the possibility of additional grants from their local chapter of TCI. Applications need to be requested, and the final date to request is Feb. 15, with the actual application due March 1.

And for those on the shorter end of the height spectrum, fear not; for students who are shorter than 4’10’’ (or have a family member shorter than 4’10”) Little People of America offers up to $1,000. Application packets need to be sent by April 22 to LPA. DoSomething.org offers several scholarships worthy of a student’s time. Dosomething.org will award $10,000 to a student who teaches a grandparent or any older adult to text using words and emojis.

Dosomething.org is also awarding $5,000 to a teen who makes a card for a loved one to encourage them to quit smoking. These two scholarships end Jan. 31, so students need to move quickly to take advantage of these great opportunities.

The Gallery

Collection is offering $10,000 to the winner of a greeting card contest. The cards can be Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas or any occasion the artist desires, and a vote will take place to determine the winner. The deadline for submitting a card is Feb. 25.

For humorous students or those who often find themselves in embarrassing situations, type up that awkward encounter for a chance to win $1,500 from the Make Me Laugh Scholarship. The only rule for applications is the story has to be under 250 words, and the only goal for the application is to make the judges laugh. The Make Me Laugh Scholarship deadline is Aug. 31.

Students, heroes, and villains alike have the chance to win $2,500 in the Superpower scholarship offered

by UNIGO. The requirements are to write, in 250 words or less, which superhero or villain you would switch places with for a day and why.

Application deadline is March 31.

Students crusading against the injustices of eating animal products can be rewarded for their work from the Vegetarian Resource Group.

The Vegetarian Resource Group is looking for students who are

promoting peace in their school environments by living a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. The group is giving away two $5,000 scholarships and one $10,000 scholarship. Applications are due Feb. 20.

After applying for any or all of the scholarships above, students c an app l y for t h e D e bt . c om Scholarship Scholarship that is awarded to applicants simply because they applied for other scholarships.

Students can gain an extra $500 by applying for this, for work they’ve already done. The Deadline for the Debt.com Scholarship Scholarship is Feb. 1.

These scholarships are a small sample of all those available to students of all ability levels. Many other scholarships are still out there to be discovered. UNIGO alone offers dozens of unique scholarships worth thousands of dollars. Other helpful websites include Fastweb.com, Scholarship.com, and Niche.com.

Here you can find dozens of other scholarships and potentially save yourself or your family thousands of dollars in tuition—which is essential as college prices climb each year. Many of these scholarships are simple—the only catch is that they often require a little of res e arch to find them.

SouthwordS 7

FEATURES | January 29, 2016

Tommy O’Connor Features Writer

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ouTube is used by 81% of millenials, making it unsurprising that the site receives four billion video views per day. Interestingly enough, a number of those views, albeit relatively small, go to our very own Maine South students. These four students have the unique ability to teach, entertain, and even scare their fellow teens and adults alike. While everyone has their own unique talents, these Maine South students choose to showcase their talents for the world.

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large portion of YouTube videos are those centered around beauty.

Everything from makeup tutorials to fashion falls in this range. Junior Maria Iatrides started off her YouTube career by posting videos of her singing in 7th grade. As she grew older and interests changed, her focus shifted toward the beauty spectrum of YouTube.

When she first began her channel, Iatrides’s goal was 1,000. Now, boasting well over 25,000 subscribers, her

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uring elementary school, junior Jack McMillan and his group of friends messing around with a camera discovered this wonderful tool. Since then, McMillan and his friends have been releasing their creations to the public through YouTube.

Jack specializes in funny comedies he makes with friends and stick figure animation, but his serious film “The Lingering Darkness” is of the horror genre and was played at the Pickwick.

“There was a video project in eighth grade between groups on our core, and only the top 10 or 12 entries would be shown at the Pickwick for all of us to

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popularity has grown beyond her wildest dreams.

“I appeal to a certain demographic of teenage girls around my age, and post videos of what they would want see,” said Iatrides. “I do tutorials and DIY’s that a girl like me would want to watch, and by doing so, appeal to many people.”

Iatrides is signed with a network called StyleHall who compensates her for her videos. Her goal, however, when

creating her channel was not to make money, but to have fun.

Interacting with viewers is a very important aspect of running a channel.

Iatrides utilizes Twitter and the YouTube comment section to keep in touch with her viewers. This way she can find out what her subscribers want to see and appeal to those demands.

“With school every day, it can be very difficult to manage both YouTube and schoolwork,” said Iatrides.

Iatrides’s dedication to her channel is demonstrated by the amount of effort she puts into her videos.

“The amount of time I spend on a video depends on the video itself,” says Iatrides. “Sometimes, I can film, edit, and upload in three hours, but sometimes it takes three days.”

Clearly, her audience appreciates and loves her. To see latrides’s makeup or style tips, visit mariasmakeupxo on YouTube.

see,” said McMillan. “Mine was one of them. My film won Best Actor, and I just so happen to be the actor they gave it to. I was so enamored that when I went on stage for my speech all I said was, ‘In the words of Marlon Brando: Thank you’.”

McMillan has a more personal, moderate experience with YouTube.

His channel consists of just him and his friends with little to no outside influence.

“I’ve never monetized,” said McMillan. “I’ve been asked to multiple times, but it doesn’t interest me. I make YouTube videos because I want to. I

would never want to get to a point where I make videos because I have to.”

Refusing to monetize is not the only thing that makes McMillan’s channel so personal to him. McMillan also refuses to collaborate with other YouTubers, citing the necessity to create videos with close friends who enjoy what they’re doing.

“Most YouTubers became famous for doing what they wanted to do, not listening to mass groups and doing what they wanted,” he said. “If you do it to be famous, you won’t be because you’ll just be trying to impress the public and it will backfire.”

A huge inspiration for McMillan is Anthony Hinds, a famous movie producer from the 1950s. Jack made a video tribute to the famed producer and posted to his channel. Less than a week later, Jack was contacted by a relative of Hinds who had showed the video to him and said he was flattered. Hinds passed away a month after the video was released and Jack is overjoyed that he was able to enjoy the video before he passed.

McMillan does not plan to end his YouTube career any time soon. When it is no longer enjoyable for him, McMillan will not delete his channel.

January 29, 2016 | FEATURES

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aming accounts for a substantial amount of YouTube content at nearly 15 percent. 90 percent of this gaming content is created by fans, not companies. In November 2013, senior Jamaal Baki, an avid gaming fan, created his YouTube channel.

“I started my channel because I was really enveloped in the ‘Call of Duty’ eSports scene and wanted to post videos showing off my own game play from tournaments and such to a broad audience,” said Baki.

As with many other YouTubers, Baki

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simple way to improve the world we live in is to share laughter. This is Maine South junior Bridget Johnson’s incentive to create short films and post them to her YouTube channel.

“I started my channel mostly to make people laugh and inspire people,” said Johnson.

Johnson created her channel December of 2012. Since then, she has attracted over 1,000 subscribers and has 33,000 views on one video alone.

“To me, the number count doesn’t

monetizes his videos. For every view he earns, he receives a small portion of money from an agency known as Full Screen. Making money, however, is not the biggest motivation for Baki.

“I look at it as a hobby more than a job, and I’m having a great time,” said Baki.

Maintaining a “hobby” such as this is not an effortless task. Baki has to go through the process of creating an idea, filming the video, editing the video, and finally sending it off to YouTube with a catchy title. While balancing school

and a YouTube channel can be difficult, Baki’s greatest motivation comes from the support and feedback he receives from viewers “The fact that I can be myself to 2,193 people and have them support me keeps me going,” said Baki.

YouTube is a great place to meet new people and discover unique opportunities. Conventions and tournaments are places where “CoD (Call of Duty) nerds” (as Baki called them) come together to share and compete with each other.

Baki also has important advice for any students looking to pursue a career, or simply a hobby, through YouTube videos.

“Do it because you love it,” said Baki. “Don’t think about the money, but think about enjoyment. If you truly enjoy what you’re doing, everything else will come.”

Baki plans to make and keep YouTube videos for the “Jamaal” channel as long as possible, so his viewers can search for all of his signature gaming videos and analyses.

matter,” said Johnson. “If I inspire people or make people laugh, get scared, or just enjoy my videos, I am happy.”

Her videos bring her happiness and supporters as well as provide many unique opportunities to meet new people and go to unusual places.

“I’ve filmed in forests, vlogged in public, dressed up as a zombie, pranked people on Omegle, and filmed in a cemetery over the summer to make my full-length feature film,” said Johnson.

Movies that come out in theatres

cost millions of dollars and are handled by an entire cast and crew. Johnson films her movies with the help of a few friends, but, for the most part, completes them on her own. She certainly doesn’t have millions of dollars or a year to make them either, yet Johnson manages to create very interesting content.

Along with her scary or serious feature films, Johnson produces entertaining and even comedic videos as well. These can be some of the most fun to film with friends.

“We made my friend lick a piece of wood and I had to lick a plant. It was funny but pretty gross,” said Johnson.

Her short film “Depressed. Scared.

Alone,” an anti-bullying venture, received over 12,000 views. She is also thinking of submitting her feature— length film “Storytime” to film festivals for teenage film fanatics.

Johnson’s YouTube channel, moviemakerbridge12, has a variety of funny, scary, thoughtful, and informational videos.

What type of videos do you watch most often on YouTube?

“I like to watch a lot of funny videos, mostly on channels like Buzzfeed.”

-Claudia Kupczyk ‘19

“I enjoy watching funny dog and cat videos and covers of my favorite songs.”

-Marissa Trippiedi ‘18

“I like to watch videos like Maria [Iatrides]’s, and a lot of funny videos.”

-Jackie Beck ‘17

“I like to watch clips of old music videos and bloopers from TV shows.”

-Christina Mihalopoulos ‘16

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ENTERTAINMENT

| January 29, 2016

‘The Divine(rs)’ intervention PHOTO BY KATE PAPCIAK

Elena Sasso & Jack Cahill-Lemme Entertainment Writers

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SET-TACULAR PAINTING

Sophomore Savina Mihalopoulos (left) and junior Courtney Harrington (right) paint a set piece. The painting crew is working hard to finish the lavish scenery.

who is mentally challenged and has the ability to sense water, which coincides with his phobia of it.

One day, a stranger named C.C. Showers comes into town looking for work and food. C.C. and Buddy develop a rapport unique to their kind of disjointed friendship. Jennie Mae, Buddy’s older sister, starts to find herself developing feelings for C.C., which C.C. does not return. The town ultimately learns that C.C. is a former preacher, and has the ability to aid Buddy with his problems and help him confront his fears.

PHOTO BY KATE PAPCIAK

his February, the Maine South Fine Arts Department presents “The Diviners.” This play takes place in the fictional town of Zion, Indiana during the 1930s Great Depression era, and focuses on the lives of specific townspeople struggling to come to terms with a tragedy. The play begins and ends with elegies given by two of the townspeople.

Although the show’s student director, sophomore Grace Goble, is an underclassman, the drama department has confidence in and high expectations for the young student director. She has plenty of experience in front of and behind the camera to deliver a fantastic show and is working hard to make the show the best it can be.

“I applied to be the student director for a few reasons,” said Goble. “First, when I read the script I absolutely loved the show. The story and characters really interested me and it was a show that I knew I wanted to be a part of in some way. Getting to student direct is one of the most valuable experiences I could possibly have.”

The actors have been challenged with getting into character to take on such difficult roles and interpreting such complex and sensitive emotions.

“We’ve done a couple of activities to get into character and determine what our character is like and the history that isn’t directly written in the script,” said senior Kelly Bauer. “You have to be familiar with it so you how your character would feel and react to anything.” Kelly is playing the female lead, Jennie Mae. The play follows a young boy named Buddy,

OUT ON A LIMB

Junior Liam Finn digs through the large bin of props for a sword. Along with the other members on crew, Liam makes sure each scene has the right props.

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“I’m most excited about how the audience will react to the show,” said Bauer. “It has a lot of emotion to it and I think anyone who sees it will really be affected by it. It’s full of joy and laughter, but also a great deal of sadness.”

Freshman Jon Luke Lassa is taking on the challenging role of Buddy. This is Lassa’s first part in a Maine South play.

“I’m really excited because it’s my first real big show ever and it’s been a ton of fun and just really enjoyable in general,” Lassa said.

Sophomore Tommy Ortman is performing in his second winter play. Ortman plays townsperson Melvin Wilder.

“He’s definitely an interesting character,” said Ortman. “He’s an army veteran about 25 years old and a sleazeball. I try to imagine becoming a sleazeball who likes to drink with his buddies and brag about the old days.”

Ortman is excited about the winter play and has a great feeling about the reaction it will get from the audiences.

“Diviners is special because it shows the importance of family and friendship through the relationships of different characters, specifically Buddy,” said Ortman. “Buddy is a child with special needs who almost drowned as a child and has brain damage because of it. Our goal is to hopefully show the audience that it is important to face our fears and to be strong even when times are tough.”

You can see the finished product of the play when you watch Buddy, Melvin, C.C., and Jennie Mae in “The Diviners” showing Feb. 18, 19 and 20 in the Watson Auditorium at 7:30. General admission is $7, and tickets are available at the door.

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January 29, 2016 | ENTERTAINMENT

Brace yourselves for impact Luke Bechtel

Entertainment Writer

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irected by journalist and Hol ly wo o d nov i c e, Pe te r Landesman, and produced by the legendary Ridley Scott, “Concussion” is a story based on the real-life events of the discovery of the degenerative brain disease: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) within players in the NFL. When this discovery is made by Nigerian forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, the doctor is quickly launched into the spotlight as the NFL reacts with spite and disbelief towards the physician.

This reaction threatens his livelihood and career as payback for exposing the American football syndicate’s inhumane practices. Carried by

Will Smith’s stellar depiction of the controversial doctor, the film soars in its grounded emotional core and powerful visuals.

T he fe atu re b e g i ns w it h a shocking scene depicting former Pittsburgh Steelers center, Mike Webster, impoverished and mentally disabled after his career ended. This left him living in the back of his pickup truck huffing glue. This is the first of many gripping, disturbing visuals highlighting the tragic, if not dramatized, truth of how the NFL treated its players more like steel gears in a machine than human beings. While it can be argued that a lot of these visuals play off their shock value—former player Justin Strzelczyk attempts to assault his wife and children then crashes his car in a fiery explosion— in the end, their inclusion deepens the viewer’s emotional investment rather than detracting from it.

Despite “Concussion’s” story arc falling into the stereotypes of many other sports dramas like it, the strong, dynamic characters are the film’s saving grace. Few movie characters have been as interesting, well developed, or acted with such clear motivations as Dr. Omalu.

Motivated by his strong desire to become a naturalized United States citizen after facing bigotry and endless red tape, the Nigerian doctor acts as a “fish-out-of-water” character.

Standing out like a sore thumb, Dr. Omalu is portrayed as a stoic man of the Lord while facing a corrupt,

Decisively Indecisive by Lulie Duerkop

godless football empire. It would the whole film, displaying not only be easy for a character like his to the effect that CTE had on a onceact as an archetypal “Mary Sue”—a healthy mind but, on the flipside, character who saves the day through the corruption in the NFL that pits unrealistic abilities— but Omalu has brother against brother. his fair share of doubts and struggles For those going into the theater on his courageous path to have his expecting something in the vein scientific discoveries known. He is of “Hoosiers” or “Remember the repeatedly discouraged and verbally Titans,” they may be disappointed. abused by his peers and adversaries, While the story arc’s formula is very causing him to doubt all he’s worked similar to that of any other sports for on multiple occasions. In the end, movie of that sort, “Concussion” is Omalu’s character arc is ultimately less a film about the game of football satisfying and contributes greatly to and more an examination of the long the overall impact life that follows it. and emotional weight It’s a compelling CONCUSSIONS IN of the film. m o r a l i t y p l ay, ATHLETES Ot her characters Southwords examines how con- one of clear-cut of note are A l e c cussions affect our community. opposing forces Baldwin’s depiction See page 14 of good and evil, of Dr. Julian Bailes, with underlying a former Steelers team doctor who themes of religion (presented by becomes one of Omalu’s few friends Omalu’s devout Catholicism) that along the way, and Richard T. further strengthen the mythological Jones playing the role of former elements of the story. It may even turn Philadelphia Eagles safety Andre fans away from the classic American Waters, one of the NFL players sport because of the largely negative who commits suicide due to CTE. light that the League is portrayed In the scene, Waters, seemingly in, putting their business interests impoverished and in desperate need over the basic human needs of their of financial and mental help due to players.

CTE’s toll on his brain, approaches Overall, “Concussion” is a highly his former teammate Dave Duerson enjoyable and emotionally powerful (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) on the film that effectively highlights street. Duerson ignores Waters’ pleads the best and worst in people and for financial help even after Waters takes an interesting twist on the tries to sway him with sentimental standard formula presented by any rhetoric, pleading to have “the good other football movie, although it old days” back from when they were doesn’t come close to “breaking the “brothers.” This scene was one of mold” of the genre in any major the most intrinsically powerful of way.

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SPORTS | January 29, 2016

Hawkettes use goals to find success Julia Sirvinskas

Staff Writer s can be expected from one of Maine South’s most consistently successful teams, the Hawkettes have yet again had a very strong season so far this year. The varsity Hawkettes are coached

by Jackie Graney of Studio 22 High Tek, and led by senior captains, Lexi Basso, Isabelle Cho, Megan Besler, and junior captain Isabelle Austriaco.

The team’s four main goals included receiving blue ribbons at the UDA Summer Camp, becoming 27 best friends, earning a top two finish at Nationals in kick, and making it to finals in pom at Nationals, according to Basso. The team has already accomplished their first two goals, and based on their second-place kick finish and 14thplace pom finish last year, the second two goals are well within reach.

“This season has been awesome so far,” said Cho. “This team has been successful in both kick and pom, and the team has gotten very close. Not only have we been working hard in practice, but also have been bonding with one another outside of the dance studio.”

The girls have been practicing every day for three hours, with practices including cardio,

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stretching, and rehearsal.

“Our practices are very difficult,” said Basso.

“Stretching is very important and helps prevent injuries from happening. In addition to our practices, we have a trainer that comes to work with us twice a week to build up our endurance and strength.”

“We have very productive practices. We are always moving. We usually run our routines a lot to build up our endurance and make us stronger.

We will also work on certain parts of a routine to either fix or change parts to make the routine better,” Besler said.

This perfecting of the routines has paid off for the team, who placed first in the pom competition and second in the kick competition in the Florida Regional on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

The competition featured last year’s National Champions, Seminole High School. The trip to Florida also allowed the girls to watch the college national competition and get feedback from the judges on their choreography, better preparing them for their trip to Nationals.

Although the team did extraordinarily well at Nationals last year, they still have the bar set high.

“This year we will use last year’s finish to our

advantage because we get another opportunity to compete against [the best teams in the nation],” said Austriaco. “We use the title of second place to motivate ourselves to work hard to stay within the top 2 this year.”

“Last year’s second place finish is used as a fuel for our fire,” Cho added. “We are prepared to go to Nationals 2016 stronger than ever. This is a new year with a new team. Second place has been the sole basis of our drive this year to reach our goal.”

In addition to excelling on the dance floor, the girls also give back to the community through their work with the organization Cure SMA. The Hawkettes were one of the finalists for the American School Spirit Award, an award given to a dance team for community service projects. Basso’s cousin, who is affected by the disease, is the team’s connection to the organization. Over the past few years, the Hawkettes have volunteered at the SMA office and attended the annual conference, and they were a major factor in Cure SMA’s selection as the school-wide fundraiser.

“I was so excited to just be able to spread more awareness about this disease to other Maine South students who hadn’t even heard of SMA before,” Besler said.

Seniors lead cheerleaders to Finals

Jack Muno

Staff Writer ou have seen them cheering at football games, soccer games, and now basketball games. However, the cheerleading season doesn’t end here. The team plans to compete in eight competitions in total this year.

For the leaders of the team, they know that training in the summer is very important.

“The summer is when we get a feel of who works well together for stunt groups and such,” said senior Samantha Golbeck. “We mainly work on game day material and prepare for football season.”

“I believe [NCA Speed Camp] helped our team go over skills we needed to begin with,” said senior Maddie Rupick. “Camp was very hard. We worked from 8:00 in the morning to 5:00 at night with only one lunch break. All we did was stunts, so by the end of the day we were all very exhausted.”

“We not only work on our skills, but we also condition a lot in the summer to get physically prepared come competition season in the winter” said senior Clara Dylewski.

This year’s team has two main leaders, Rupick and Golbeck. However, both leaders agreed that almost PHOTO COURTESY JESSICA ALTMAN

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all the seniors have been on the team have experience and all the seniors show great leadership qualities and help keep the team focused.

Once competition season comes, the team has to make a tough decision on who to bring up from JV to compete on Varsity. Before the start of competition, freshmen Alyssa Faltin, Jenna Dolsen, Julia Brogan, Vanessa Micki, and sophomore Jenna Hartjen were all the JV players that have been moved up for competitions. Since there are very few juniors on the team, a lot of underclassmen are going to have to step up for next season. Some teammates, however, don’t see this as a bad thing for next year.

“The team will keep growing stronger because all of the underclassmen will have experience being on the varsity team,” said Dylewski.

There have also been some major injuries that have affected the team, causing some setbacks in the routine. Senior Christina Kachiroubas had an appendectomy, and sophomore Angelina Perrone sprained her ACL again this season. Both injuries sidelined the girls for the rest of the season.

The team suffered what they consider a loss to start competition

PHOTO BY ARDEN SASAK

CELEBRATION TIME

The girls’ cheerleading team celebrates together after winning the CSL Conference Finals at Maine West. It is the team’s second CSL Central Title in the last two years.

season, coming in sixth-place (out of 10). After the loss, the coaches decided to remake the entire routine for the next competitions.

“I think our success was due to not only changing our routine completely, but our determination, as well,” said senior Madison Muno.

We had to put in a lot of time and unscheduled practices in order to hit the cleanest routine we possibly could.”

With the team’s determination to reach their goal, they were able to fix their mistakes and place third (out of the 25 best teams in state) in their next competition.

“As hard as it was, winning that third place trophy definitely made it worth it, and it will only make us strive for first place next time,” Muno said.

This year’s team is much different from previous years. The cheerleaders cite this difference as being the large amount of confidence, senior leadership, and work ethic that the team possesses.

“This team is much more driven to work harder than last year’s team,” said Rupick. “The seniors on the team motivate everyone to give it their all and leave everything out on the floor. Our team wants to win.”

January 29, 2016 | SPORTS

Staff Writer oming into the home stretch of their season, the girls’ gymnastics team is looking to capitalize on an already successful year. Having only one loss in duals across all three levels, the gymnastics program has had a season to remember.

The freshman and JV teams will close the season with their respective conference tournaments, then the Varsity will continue into Regionals and the state tournament.

With only three seniors on the roster, the vast majority of the girls have practiced with each other for a very long time. Having been together for so long, the team has built great chemistry.

“This year’s team is like family— we’re all extremely close and can always go to one another for support,” junior Mia Vanella said.

While the seniors on the team have great experience, the team has many great, young prospects for the future.

“Every year there is something different with the team,” said junior Sara Ignoffo. “The really special thing about this team is the skill and age. We are a very young team and seeing how fast everyone improves amazes me.”

Many of the younger members believe that the team has a very bright future that will be guided by the newer talent.

“Something that separates this year’s team from the rest is the amount of new talent,” said junior Samantha McAllister. “Even though every year we have many talented gymnasts come in, this year there was a large number of very good gymnasts who are now on the team, and help contribute to the team every day.”

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Although the team has a large amount of young talent, they have achieved success through high, yet attainable goals.

“The greatest key to success for us this season has been knowing our goal,” Ignoffo said. “Knowing that if we achieve a certain goal could get us even more success down the line, [it] pushes everyone to work as hard as we can to help the team succeed.”

Two out of the three levels won; this marks the first time in a long while since such a feat has occurred. Having emerged victorious, this duel is certainly a highlight for the entire team.

“The biggest highlight of this season would be beating New Trier,” said senior Mina Sabanovic.“It took so much effort and hard work to finally accomplish this. I am proud to say, as a Hawk, we finally beat the Trevians.”

Younger members of the team have the same feelings.

“The biggest highlight of this season for me was beating New Trier,” said freshman Thea Simic.

“The amount of effort and hard work we all put in, building up towards that meet was excessive. That had been the team’s goal for quite a while, and to be a part of a team so driven and focused, yet so close knit and supportive, made me enjoy all the hours spent practicing, leading to that moment, so much more.”

With the state tournament in their sights, the team looks to make a run.

“Individually, this year I’d like to qualify for Regionals and place there,” said Ignoffo. “This year as a team, our biggest goal is qualifying for state as a team.”

Sabanovic has enjoyed her time training hard and looks back fondly on all of her experiences

PHOTO BY RHYANNE NOCHE

James Bednarz

PHOTO BY ARDEN SASAK

Girls’ gymnastics fueled by seniors

SWINGING TO SUCCESS

Freshman Olivia Johnson swings on the uneven bars during a routine against Glenbrook South. The girls’ gymnastics teams’ greatest strength is their team chemistry.

being a part of the Maine South girls’ gymnastics program.

“Being on this team for four years has taught me so much, mostly to stay focused and be positive, because the reward at the end will make it all worth it,” said Sabanovic. “Spending months and days and hours together in the gym working hard has its ups and downs, but being part of a team that is so driven and focused and, of course, fun, makes it all worth it.”

Boys’ swimming ready for conference meets Sophie Miller

Staff Writer MaineNOCHE South swimmers have PHOTO he

BY RHYANNE been performing well with a record of 2-2 in their dual meets, a tie for first place at the Maine East Relays, a 12-team invite, and a second-place finish at the Hawk Relay, a six-team invite.

Some of the best teams they will face include New Trier, Evanston, and Glenbrook South, all of whom are part of the Central Suburban League and consistently send swimmers to the state meet. Another member of the conference is Niles West, Maine South’s biggest rival, as they have consistently battled each other for the same place at the conference meet.

The team’s impressive record is a result of the intense work put in, not only during each practice, but also before the season.

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“I trained by swimming in the offseason at a club team, Des Plaines River Racers, and by lifting weights,” said senior sprinter Jason Giblin.

The boys face a heavy load of practice with two hours and 15 minutes of practice awaiting them after school every day. In addition, two or three days a week, they have an hour and fifteen minute practice in the morning.

“Over winter break, we have either three or five hours of practice a day in which Coach Kura works us with great intensity—this is our time to make the most improvement possible,” said senior captain Conor Brosnan.

Victor Sibiga is the team sprinter and a senior captain; this season, he hopes to break a record at Maine South.

“Currently I swim a 49.15 100 free and a 22.64 50 free,” Sibiga said.

“By the end of the season, I hope to break the 50 free record at 21.46 seconds.”

“I hope that this season the Medley Relay that I swim in with three of my teammates can achieve success at Sectionals,” said Brosnan. “A personal goal of mine is to live up to the predictions of some of my coaches and shave five seconds off of my 100 breaststroke time, from 1:09:5 to somewhere in the 1:04 range.”

“If we work hard in practice and swim like we’re supposed to, we should do fine at Sectionals,” said senior captain Patrick Folan. With the same work effort, we may have people swim fast enough to qualify for State in their races.”

As every member of a team knows to be true, hard work and skill are not the only ingredients for victory—a team must get along as well. The team seems to have some

silly traditions for bonding, which include watching Will Ferrell movies and “Cops” at pasta parties, going on “Speedo runs,” and having breakfast at Mrs. V’s. With several freshmen on the team, team bonding is essential to make everyone feel welcome.

“This year we have a lot of goodhumored members that contribute to the team with both their athletic capabilities and personalities,” stated Brosnan.

The team also has freshman willing to join the action. Sibiga expects greatness from them in the upcoming years.

“Although they are young, they have fit in incredibly well,” he said.

“They also have been able to hold their own in meets. In the coming years, these guys are going to evolve into a force of nature, so 2019 Maine South Boys’ Swimming is going to be spectacular.”

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SPORTS

| January 29, 2016

Concussions hit hard at Maine South Mike Greco Sports Editor

udiences watched in fear as they saw the devastating effects that Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (or CTE) had on the lives of former athletes in “Concussion,” starring Will Smith. Concussions are especially terrifying because they are a regular part of competitive athletics.

Concussions have always been a problem for athletes, but the topic has received a lot more attention as of late. This public awareness has caused many to fear whether they are causing long-term damage to their brain. Parents are also reconsidering whether they should allow their children to play certain sports.

Many people understand that a concussion is an injury to the brain, but very few actually understand what exactly a concussion is and how we cause it to happen.

“A concussion is usually a contusion, or a bruise, to your brain,” said Maine South Athletic Trainer Mr. Jerry Bornhoff. “So just as if you had a bruise on your arm, if you were to keep hitting that bruise it will continue to get worse. Depending on what portion of your brain is bruised will determine the type of symptoms you have.”

It can be difficult to tell exactly if someone has a concussion, but there are a wide variety of symptoms that people suffer from that can help to tell whether their brain has been injured.

“Some can be bothered by calculations, such as math, while others have visual problems such as an aversion to light, reading, computer work, or even memory problems,” Mr. Bornhoff said. “Balance problems as well as sounds and even terrible headaches are big symptoms.

Anything that is affected by the brain is affected by a concussion.”

Because of its violent style of play, the main sport that has often been linked to concussions is football. This has caused many parents to stop their children from playing the sport, and has others wondering about its future.

“As a football coach, the attention is worrisome because of the angle that is taken that football is the direct cause of concussions,” said varsity football head coach Mr. Dave Inserra. “But I think that the way the game

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ILLUSTRATION BY BASIA CHRUSCINSKI

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is being played nowadays, along with the precautions for the chance that a head injury might occur, the medical attention that players receive has made football an even safer sport.”

Football has not been the only sport that has received attention for causing concussions. Soccer has been cited for causing concussions as players head the ball repeatedly.

“You can never completely keep the guys in a ‘bubble’, but it is very important that they do have prior training heading the ball,” said varsity boy’s soccer head coach Mr. Dan States. “We are conscious of people getting concussions from heading the ball and during collisions, but there is not much you can do to stop guys from getting into jarring collisions. As far as heading the ball goes, we do not practice heading the ball for hours upon hours.”

Although the coaches at Maine South are aware of the possibility of concussions in their individual sports, they are aware of their players’ safety because of the extensive concussion protocol in our school.

“The concussion protocol with Mr. Bornhoff is great,” Coach States said. “We trust what the trainer’s office says as far as injuries and con-

cussions go because player safety is our most important concern.”

This sentiment is echoed by the Maine South football program as well.

“We strictly adhere to the concussion protocol,” Coach Inserra said. “When one of our players gets a head injury, they go straight to the trainer and whatever they say goes.

If they say that one of our guys can play, we will try our best to get them back out there, but we will double check first because safety is the main priority, no matter the sport.”

The athletes at Maine South consider their safety to be the most important thing, but for many, their love of the game makes them willingly take the risk of having future injuries.

“I had a concussion during my junior year,” said senior wide receiver Ryan Gibbons. “After having one, you definitely want to be more careful. But at the same time, you want to get back as soon as possible and you are willing to take those risks because you don’t want to lose your spot and sit out.”

While many athletes want to maintain their starting status on their team, Maine South coaches do

not want them to risk their health for one game.

“We always say we’re gonna play hurt, but if one our guys is really injured I don’t want them to make that injury worse,” said Coach Inserra.

In order for athletes at Maine South to come back after going down with an injury, they must go through the Maine South Concussion Protocol.

“When freshmen first start playing sports at Maine South, they take the Impact Test, which tests their knowledge on topics prior to having a concussion,” Mr. Bornhoff said.

“And the athletes retake this test each year in order to update the test. If we think that an athlete has a concussion, we send them to the doctor. Once the doctor says whether or not they have a concussion, we place them onto our concussion policy which has two portions: cognitive rest, which includes no homework, and the return-to-play program, for athletes who are in season. For the return-to-play we start a return to activity in a six-step program that gradually gives you more stress until you can return to play in a game.”

Despite the players, coaches, and training staff doing their best to keep the athletes at Maine South safe, statistics show exactly which sports are the most dangerous to play.

The American Journal of Sports Medicine undertook a study in 2012 to find out which sports caused the most concussions. Out of the 7,780,064 athletes who participated in the study, there were a reported 1,936 concussions. The study found that there were 2.5 concussions for every 10,000 athlete exposures.

Football had the highest concussion rate with 6.4 per 10,000 and boys’ ice hockey finished in second with 5.4 concussions per 10,000 athlete exposures.

While a concussion is a traumatic injury that’s finally getting public attention, the coaches at Maine South believe that improved safety measures and the benefits of participating make the risk worth it.

“I not only believe that the safety in football has improved, but what people can take away from the sport is so important compared to people thinking they will get a concussion every time they play,” Mr. Inserra said.

What does it take to be on the Southwords staff ?

T

he back page of this newspaper is the application for the 20162017 Southwords staff. Please look below for a job description for each position on staff.

The Southwords staff consists of editors-in-chief, news editors, features editors, entertainment editors, commentary editors, sports editors, production editors, graphic designers, artists and photographers, as well as several staff writers and freelance writers for each section.

It is necessary for editors to have strong proofreading skills and be able to work with students collaboratively.

Editors must always be approachable and never condescending. Editors should be familiar with Adobe products. As part of the Southwords editorial board, editors will come to a consensus on a topic in one well-written opinion piece that represents the newspaper’s view as a whole. Editors must be enrolled in Newspaper Practicum for the entire year, because this is where the paper is created.

All positions require enthusiasm and consistent contributions; students applying must be willing to spend time and put forth a great deal of effort on their work. Also, staff must also be able to work in a timely manner, as meeting deadlines is vital to being on a newspaper staff.

For more information on any staff position, feel free to e-mail an editor-in-chief or the faculty adviser, Mr. Stathakis.

Editor-in-chief Editor-in-chief is a position only open to returning editors. The editor-in-chief ultimately guides the vision of the entire paper and must be familiar with the editing process, as well as Adobe products, such as InDesign and Photoshop.

This position is also responsible for writing “Property of the Editors,” a column in Commentary section.

The editor-in-chief is also responsible for the cover page, so he/she must have knowledge of what will be published in the other sections of the paper.

The editor-in-chief must be in attendance at all extra paste-up

hours and offer assistance in any South. way possible.

Commentary writers need to be creative and opinionated. They News must be able to present an issue T h e N e w s s e c t i o n c o v e r s about which they are passionate, developing stories about issues that avoiding ranting and remaining directly affect students, both inside professional. and outside the school.

Commentary editors must be News writers need to be informed extremely careful, because editing about school and national issues and opinions can be problematic. Editors must be comfortable interviewing must also be open-minded, because a people. Staff and freelance writers wide variety of opinions will always alike must be able to write objectively exist in their section. and with finesse.

News editors must be up-to-date Sports on news inside and outside of school.

The Sports section covers all Editors must also be ready to fact- sports at Maine South. check articles.

Sports writers need to be up-todate on all sports at Maine South.

Features Sports writers should be creative in The Features section contains the their reporting on events. Accurate widest variety of articles. Features reporting is crucial. focuses on issues that directly affect Sports editors are responsible students, both in and out of school. for making sure that each Maine Features writers must be inventive; South sport is covered during a given finding an interesting topic to report season. about can sometimes be challenging.

Sports editors must be aware of A good features section focuses on varsity sports happenings, as well as relevance and interest. other sports included at school. A Features editors must be well- deep knowledge of sports—within the rounded and ready to condense and school and outside of the school—is edit articles fairly. Fact-checking is a necessary component of being an necessary, but the most emphasis is editor for the Sports section. placed on relevance.

Production Entertainment To help with the technical aspects The Entertainment section of putting together a newspaper, contains reviews and articles a production editor must be related to art, music, video games, knowledgeable in the maintenance literature, restaurants, and anything and operation of PC computers, else that might be considered a Windows operating system, as entertainment. well as have skill in InDesign and Entertainment writers must be Photoshop CS6. Most importantly, well-informed of the school’s fine art the production editor must be willing events. Unique to the entertainment to learn to use these programs more section, writers specializing in a proficiently and offer help whenever specific genre (music, TV, etc.) are necessary. welcome.

The production editor should Entertainment editors need to attend every meeting and pastebe knowledgeable about popular up—when the final components of events and recreational activities and the paper are added together—to open to writing and reading about provide the editors with technical different topics. The Entertainment assistance. staff also creates or assembles any games featured in the newspaper.

Graphic Designers Graphic designers are responsible Commentary for improving the layout of the paper The Commentary section is the and assisting the editors-in-chief and voice of the students at Maine section editors with the aesthetics of

the paper. They should be familiar with Photoshop and/or InDesign software.

Artist/Cartoonist Artists and cartoonists should be able to produce realistic and creative illustrations to accompany articles on a variety of topics. It is helpful for an artist to be familiar with Photoshop software, scanner software, and InDesign (or be willing to learn the software and hardware). Often, illustrations must be produced quickly and on demand.

Photographers Photographers should be comfortable with taking photos and skilled in doing so. Photographers must be ready to take pictures at any time and to take specific pictures by a set deadline.

Photographers must also have flexible schedules, since they may have to attend away-from-school events. Owning a digital camera is preferred but not required.

Staff Writers All writers must have a good grasp of grammar and be able to write concisely. Because writers aren’t in the Newspaper Practicum class, it is important that writers communicate frequently with editors. Staff writers should have the time necessary to complete their articles; they need to be consistent and dedicated to their work.

Staff writers will sign a contract to contribute a minimum number of articles. Though their primary contributions are towards their assigned section, they may also write for other sections.

If you or anyone you know is interested in joining Southwords, visit http://apply.southwords.org, and sign up for an interview outside of C130 (the English workroom) by Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Interviews begin Thursday, Feb. 4.

Due Wednesday, February 3

ALL STAFF MUST SUBMIT AN APPLICATION Staff

Application

There are two ways to apply for the 2016-2017 Southwords staff. PLEASE NOTE: online application is preferred, so please use the paper application below only as a worksheet to prepare for the online application. See the reverse side of this sheet for job descriptions, and feel free to contact Mr. Stathakis with any questions.

ONLINE: APPLICATION PAPER:

WORKSHEET

The easiest way to apply is to visit http://apply.southwords.org or to scan the QR code to the right. Your application will not be processed until you have also signed up for an interview outside the English office, C130. Current staff members do not need to sign up for an interview unless applying for an editorial position.

Use the form below as a worksheet to prepare for the online application.

Name:___________________________________________________________ Class of 20______ E-mail address:____________________________________________________________________ Freshman year English teacher:

My cumulative GPA is _______. My most recent semester GPA is_______. Sophomore year English teacher: Extracurricular activities I will be involved with next year:

Junior year English teacher: Art/Computer design teacher (if applicable):

Staff application:

Open to current and prospective staff members

Returning staff members must complete this form.

Please indicate your order of preference by numbering your choices (1st & 2nd). Select no more than two, but you may select only one if that’s your only section of interest.

Editor application:

Open to current and prospective staff members

ALL editors must take Newspaper Practicum (usually 8th period), which will earn you an elective English credit.

Please indicate your order of preference by numbering your choices (1st & 2nd). Select no more than two, but you may select only one if that’s your only section of interest.

­­_____News writer ­­_____Features writer _____Entertainment writer _____Commentary writer ­­_____Sports writer ­­_____Photographer* ­­_____Artist/Cartoonist* _____Graphic Design team*

*Please bring portfolio/samples to interview, if possible.

­­_____News editor ­­_____Features editor _____Entertainment editor ­­_____Commentary editor _____Sports editor ­­_____Production/Design editor _____Editor-in-Chief

(For returning staff members only. All Editor-in-Chief candidates must contact Mr. Stathakis.)

If you have any questions, please see Mr. Stathakis in C130 (the English Workroom).

TO COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION, YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR AN INTERVIEW ON THE SCHEDULE OUTSIDE C130 by WED., FEB 3