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AP students take 3rd in nation •by Eric Eichin Members of Mr. Pat Feichter' s third period AP Government class recently took a trip to Washington. D.C. to be part of the National Bicentennial Competition on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. , where they took third place overall. The team, which won the Illinois State Title in February, was only two points behind the winning Oregon squad. During an emotional speech by Mr. Feichter at the Spring Sports Assembly on April 25, the team was recognized for its incredible dedication and determination. "Some of these kids would be getting out of athletic practices or games, and then would go directly to my room for the two hour study sessions that prepared us for the state competiton, which we won, "commented Feichter, proving the team's dedication. Before leaving for Washington, Mr. Feichter had this prediction: "At the state level, we won by an exceptionally high margin. We've worked very hard preparing for these competitions, and I think that we have a very good chance at winning the national rounds. The team departed for Washington on Friday the 26th at 9:20 A.M. While in Washington, they toured the Washington area, and met Illinois Senator Paul Simon. Also part of the gala event were formal dances and award banquets. By late Sunday night, the team had been notified that they had made the fianal round of
competition, where teams from ten states remained. This information was relayed to MS officials, who were obviously pleased. On Monday morning, a bulletin was announced over the loudspeaker explaining the team's success. After further grueling competion, the team was honored as winning third place, a mere two points behind the champions, Lincoln High School of Portland, OR and one point behind the runner up, East High School of Denver,CO. Arriving home on Tuesday the 30th, the team was obviously pleased with its efforts.
and was welcomed home by excited parents. The team's success was featured in two articles by the Chicago Tribune, considered by many as one of America's best newspapers. The team consisted of the following seniors : Karen Bott, Katie Carison, David Hartwig, Jill Howard, Jason Ichen, Brian James, Katherine Kougias, Lee Kuehn, Tom Lin, Margaret Metzinger, Mary Michal, Nate Meyers. Lauren Ofenloch, Kristi Sigg. Mike Szwed, Al Tseng, Susan Wiatr, and Kim Wiederer.
MS writers win Journalism Awards Four Maine South students won top honors in the 1991 Suburban Press Club High School Journalism Contest and were honored at a banquet on April 18. Additionally, two students won first place awards from the American Scholastic Press Association, and Southwords was awarded a First Place Award from the ASP A. Seniors Lisa Lanzafame, Tera Siwicki, and Cindi Wilk were awarded the first place award for feature writing for their story, "A shocking exhibition: the disturbing upsurge of indecent exposure in Park Ridge," which was published in Southwords on December 7, 1990. The feature writing category received the greatest number of submissions of all eleven categories honored.
The judges were particularly impressed by "the legwork and research necessary to tackle such a story," which focused on several cases of indecent exposure during the summer of 1990 and included eyewitness accounts, police reports, and expert testimony, as well as secondary research. Editors of other student publications praised Maine South for its courage to allow the writers to address a sensitive topic with good taste. Many felt that their own school might not have allowed the article to appear in their newspapers. Senior Tonie Cameron won her first place award in the Best Column category for her article. "The child left in alcohol's wake." published in Southwords on December 21.
1990. The article was a true account of Tonie's growing up in a family with two alcoholic parents and the heartbreaking trail of abuse and neglect before she was adopted into a family that gave her love and stability. The judges were particularly impressed with Tonie's work, calling it "a powerful story of a long journey back to normal, and the painful road that was taken to get to that place." Tonie's article was further honored by being the only one reprinted in the program for the Journalism banquet held on March 18. The American Scholastic Press Association also honored Tonie's article with an Outstanding Story (Non-School Related) award, Continued on page six