\ olume 32, Issue 9 kJanuarv 27, 1995
SouthwordS
Maine South H.S Park Ridge, XL
A.P. Hawks take State
by Steve Zibrat The A.P. Hawks Constitution team took first place in the State Constitution Competition held Jan. 6 at Illinois State University. The day before the competition the 29 seniors on the team made the trip down to the campus. After spending several hours relaxing and eating dinner, the team met with their coach and eighth period AP. government teacher, Mr. Patton Feichter, and their adviser, Mrs. Nancy Canova, in order to begin final preparations for the next day's appearance before a panel of judges. Team members stayed awake until early Saturday morning trying to perfect prepared speeches and to discuss possible free-response questions. The team was split up into six groups, called units. Each unit is comprised of four or five people, who are given a topic to work on, such as civil liberties or federalism. Three Ktions accompany each topic, for each of th the unit must prepare a four-minute oral presentation that all the members participate in. They then have to be knowledgeable enough about all three aspects of their topic to endure a six-minutefree-responseperiod after the formal presentation. The team's work culminated at the state competition as the judging began. The judges, a mixture of professors, lawyers and others knowledgeable on the subject of the Constitution, sat in panels of three to question the units. Even though they were the only school present at the competition, the judges comphmented the A.P. Hawks on their ability
to respond to questions and offered advice on areas where improvements could be made. Witnessing his team's performance led Feichter to say that 'This is the best team I ever had," a statement supported by the scores given to this year's teams, the highest out of any previous AP. Hawks team. The Constitution Team will travel to Washington, D.C. in April to compete against the best teams from every state, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The A.P. Hawks will face at least two days of competition, and possibly a third day on Capitol Hill if they score as one of the top ten teams. When questioned about his team's chances in Washington, Feichter said, "This is the team of destiny, the team that can win the championship." During the time not spent in competition or
preparation, the team will take a tour ot the capital, including areas of the Capitol Building and the White House which are closed to most tourists. Feichter hopes to arrange meetings with such public officials as Congressman Hyde, Senator Paul Simon, members of the Supreme Court and Abner Mikvah, counselor to the President. The A.P. Hawks might also have the chance to meet with the First Lady, South graduate Hillary Rodham Clinton. In addition. Congressman Hyde is planning to volunteer his time to come to Maine South and help the team prepare for nationals. Several team members will also appear on a television program called The Hyde Report, seen on local cable television stations.
by Steve Chiagouris bv Steve Chiaeouris Thurs., Jan. 4 marked the end of a longrevered tradition at Maine South: M-Club initiation. The day began with the school's top male athletes singing Christmas carols and wearing suits, knowing that they would not be allowed to speak for the rest of the day. As the day wore on, the vow of silence was removed, since ; who were already M-Club members had lethod of punishing those who talked. The end of this tradition was handed down by the administrative council. Mr. Adamo, vice-principal of South and a member of the
council, cited several reasons for the initiation' s demise, including lllinois's hazing law. (Hazing is defined as the act of initiating or disciphning fellow students by means of horseplay, practical jokes and tricks, often in the nature of humiliating or painful ordeals.) Adamo also cited incidents of initiates in dresses, of broken windows and of unmentionable pranks, as well as the fact that some students might not join the club due to the initiation. M-Club sponsor Mr. Dave Inserra agreed, saying "Each year there are five or six atheletes who tell me they won't join because of the ini-
I • initiation has helped tiation." He argued that to perpetuate negative views of athletes. The third reason cited by Adamo regarded the M-Club's lack of activity during the year. Inserra added that he disliked the fact that the focal point of the year had become the initiation. M-Club president Ray Albin said, "the initiation provided a dose of humanity to athletes to help keep 'em in place." Several athletes complained they felt disappointed at the end of a tradition they had looked forward to with anticipation.
M-Club initiation dropped