Issue 4, the Black & Gold, Volume 93

&

February 4, 2014

Volume 93

Sports

the

Pages 4 and 5 feature game coverage of Central’s boys basketball game with West, a farewell to Cody Inglis, profiles on top-notch athletes and an editorial on Trojan tradition

Issue 4 Writing

Black Gold

2013 MIPA Spartan Award Winner

Traverse City Central High School 1150 Milliken Drive, Traverse City, Michigan 49686 Graphic: S. Kearney

Photo: S. Hardin

Turn to page 3 for the scoop on a new student-led anti-bullying club called “Freedom Writers 2.0,” and two profiles—with excerpts—on aspiring writers

Quarters to replace trimester schedule Feature Editor

S

tudents can expect more trips to the counseling office after the TCAPS Board of Education recently approved the implementation of a quarter schedule starting next fall. Most course offerings will be on a semester schedule.

“At the start, the schedule will look at lot like semesters,” TCAPS Board of Education Vice President Julie Puckett said. “We are starting out with fairly traditional, year-long semester classes with a few quarter classes.”

From semesters to trimesters: costs and considerations In 2008, the district switched from a semester schedule to a trimester schedule in response to new state standards implemented by the Michigan Board of Education that required more core credits for high school-

Student effects

After only five years, the TCAPS board has replaced trimesters to boost disctrict scores Lia Williams Schedule translation: Credit value: Exams: Exams scheduled for the end of a semester.

Proposed: quarter courses will schedule their own exam times

Most 2-trimester classes will be all year, including core classes.

Some 1-trimester classes will be one semester. Some will be one quarter, including some electives

ers to graduate. The rationale for the change to trimesters five years ago was that with so many core credits required, students would not have enough time for a wide variety of elective offerings.

Both Puckett and Principal Rick Vandermolen admit the return to a semester-like schedule may impact opportunities for electives. There is likely to be less elective offerings, but more opportunities to take different elective classes.

“With this change to quarters, the

AP classes: Shorter class time than a trimester schedule allowed

conversations still revolve around how to offer students that rich elective culture,” Vandermolen said. “With some of the elective classes going from a trimester to a quarter, you take the course in a quarter, which opens up another slot to take another elective.

You can have the option of taking more electives than you would if we went straight back to semesters.”

In ‘08 TCAPS spent $1 million to implement trimesters. Sustaining trimesters costs roughly $400,000 more per year than a semester schedule because it requires additional staff.

Number of credits to graduate: 24

Class duration: 6 classes per day, approximately 56 minutes each.

Zero and seventh hour classes also available

TCAPS estimates that the switch to quarters will save the district anywhere from $100,000-$250,000 annually.

No one would say whether the switch is the result of two successive failed millages. “The reality is, our school district is currently in a 1.1 million dollar structural deficit,” Vandermolen said. “We’re required by budgeting to reduce that deficit. When we went to trimesters, we took on an additional cost. When we go back to a semester-like schedule, we reduce that cost.”

Puckett said the district will have to

Central stomps West The Trojan hockey team smashed West up and down the ice Jan. 25, defeating their cross-town rivals, 4-1, in spectacular fashion. Parker Hebden ‘16 boxes out a West player as he drives to the net. Hebden accounted for three of the four points: two goals and one assist.

“The first one Alex Oliver [‘15] took a hit and made a really nice pass,” Hebden said. “I put it toward the net and the West goalie accidentally hit it and put it in.”

Goalkeeper Jack Boyce ‘17 was extremely happy with way his team played throughout the entire game.

“We had a great first period, and really capitalized on our opportunities in the power play,” he said.

“Winning the game the way we did, with the whole city watching, was just an amazing feeling.”

0.25 credit for one quarter class 0.5 for one semester class

decrease its staff numbers, a process ideally achieved through retirement and minimal layoffs.

“Essentially a teacher is teaching eighty percent of the day in semester classes, versus trimesters where a teacher is teaching eighty-three percent of the day,” Puckett said.

“There’s an added three percent staffing cost in that $400,000, so we will have to reduce somewhat.”

Puckett said when TCAPS changed to trimesters, there was a “movement” among schools to do the same.

continued, page 11

New athletic director

Citizens of the TCAPS district gathered to deliberate on previous AD, Cody Inglis’ replacement

Margo Hoagg & Dylan Huey Staff Reporters

Photo: S. Hardin

Over 50 concerned parents, staff, and coaches, gathered in Central’s cafeteria on Jan. 15 for a public forum regarding Central’s open athletic director position. Due to financial and time allocation issues, there will not be a full time athletic director during the second half of this school year. Administrators also believe there will be a better field of candidates available at the end of the year. Vice Principal Jay Larner has been appointed interim director to fill in for Cody Inglis, who took a position with the MHSAA. Larner served as athletic director at East Middle School.

“Larner came to me and said, ‘I think I can do this,’ so I took him up on his offer to help out during this interim period,” Head Principal Rick Vandermolen said.

Vandermolen and Chief of Schools Sander Scott led the forum that served to gather public opinion regarding the role and scope of the athletic director. Attendees were asked to voice their opinions on past successes, current concerns and future hopes as it relates to the department.

Although Larner’s responsibilities as a vice principal and special education principal are significant, he is confident he can fulfill all his roles.

“My expectation is that I will be holding coaches to the same standards,” Larner said. “I will give coaches the attention they are used to and that they deserve. Are there going to be differences? Of course.

But, when a coach comes to me with an issue that needs to be addressed, I’m going to do it.”

Photo: A. Smits

Chief of Schools Sander Scott frames the agenda for the public forum regarding the scope and role of future athletic director who will fill Cody Inglis’ now open position. “There are times when gaps are created in the middle of the year.” The administration team is not planning on hiring a full time interim director.

However, coaches and parents still worry that the level of oversight will decline, since Larner is working as athletic director part time for nearly two seasons of sports, on top of the demands of his principal duties. Larner also arranges and organizes a personalized curriculum for each special ed student.

In lieu of hiring new staff, current faculty are slated to lend a hand to the athletic department.

“We will have a ‘Game Manager’ that is in charge of after-school activities,” Larner said. “They will handle much of the logistical responsibilities on game day. We’ve also brought on some department leadership from teaching staff. I will help guide them, but they will take some work off my plate.”

In addition to those helping hands, other administrators are

Brief 2013 Advanced Placement testing scores earn district honors TCAPS was honored as one of just 477 school districts in the U.S and Canada to make the Advanced Placement District Honor Roll. Only twenty-eight school districts in Michigan made the list.

“I am proud to be associated with a group of educators and students who live out the TCAPS motto to ‘Reach Higher’ each and every day in our classrooms,” Chief of Schools, Sander Scott said. “Dedicated teachers and staff inspire our students to reach new heights of learning.”

Of all the Central students who took an AP exam, 73% scored a three or above. The test is scored 1-5, with 5s being the highest.

AP Language Arts and Composition teacher Joelle Kolody broke a district record with 25 students out of 67 scoring

Advisory: Undecided: may have two days of Advisory instead of three, may not be on Tuesday/Wednesday/ Thursday

perfect 5s. “You can teach the kids the skills, and then the kids can use them in any situation,” Kolody said. “The difference between an AP and regular class is really skill-based test strategies. Students prepare through focusing on real life situations and numerous practice tests and activities.”

Anna Poertner ‘15 took the AP World History exam last year. To prepare she used old AP notes and tests. “We did review a few weeks before, and it really helped,” Poertner said. “This gave me more experience, and made the test more comfortable.”

Dillon Drossart ‘15 feels he will be ready for the AP Government exam.

“I think I’ll do well. The teachers are preparing us, in spite of all the snow days,” Drossart said. “When we go over

court cases, it allows us to critically view topics from different views, and helps us analyze all of the info given.”

Olivia Fleet ‘14 also said that all the analysis is helpful. “Going over the cases, especially the Supreme Court cases, made it easy to apply to. A lot of the AP exam is focused on real-life application, so it’s important to know how to apply them to situations, and to questions expected on the exam.”

AP Government teacher Paige Paul says the curriculum is a lot of hard work. “But it’s not as much about the test as it is about becoming good citizens,” Paul said. “We learn the real workings of government and how accessible it can be. It’s in the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear. Everything.”

Photo: M. Caldwell

continued, page 11

AP Government teacher, Paige Paul feels the simulations in her class make the difference as to why students score well on the exam. “We take the concepts we are learning in class and apply them to real life situations and real life court cases.

For federalism, we analyzed the topic of same-sex marriage on a state-bystate basis in real time.

This makes the dry topic of federalism real, relevant and memorable.

2 Opinion

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

E-cigs are deceiving

Graphic: B. Johnson

As teen use of e-cigs rise, we question the advertising techniques that market to a younger audience. It’s disturbingly similar to the way the mid nineteen hundreds featured cigarettes as chic

The Worst Generation Graphic: M. Caldwell

Love is in the air...ugh Ivy Baillie

EIC & Production Editor Nothing says “I love you” like an Instagram collage commemorating the one month anniversary of a young couple with the appropriate #boyfriend #cute #inlove #teenlove hashtags. Nothing says “I love you” like getting to second base in the freshman atrium while your second and fourth hour teachers look on. Is this truly the essence of a high school relationship?

Maybe it’s just because I’m a cynical and bitter adolescent, but when I see the grossly public displays of affection between those around me, I don’t see love.

I see a competition. I see an MTV reality show being played out in the hallways and online, like Jersey Shore, where it’s so horrible I just can’t look away.

And like a reality TV show that panders and competes for more viewers, students in high school relationships try to attract maximum attention. If not more discreet, they should at least be about a romantic connection. A significant other isn’t a piece of bling—they should be more than an accessory.

Instead, one’s social media relationship status has become an accessory that you can show off to your peers. Whoever gets the most likes on a photo of two lovers nuzzling or looks the cutest and happiest in public, wins a feeling of satisfaction and superiority over their peers. And then it gets extreme—the all too public hall humping, and visible tongue is just a way to step up the game, to proclaim: “We are in love. We have someone. Do you?”

This ostentatious display of affection is silly, worse, it trivializes something that should be cherished between two people—not the whole school. Young love isn’t the summit of of one’s social status. And I’ll admit, in my own relationship I’ve flirted with the show of sucking up some sort of self worth from it. But all that I’ve found that is hollow satisfaction.

There is no ribbon or trophy for being the most known, up liked, or commented on couple. All this trivializes something that should be special. . . and a bit more private. Enjoy each other, but save the competition for soccer, or whatever.

E

lectronic cigarettes, or ecigs, are battery operated devices that convert nicotine into an odorless vapor. Some are designed to pass as a bona fide cigarette and even contain a little red light at the end to mimic a flame. Others look more like a thick pen with a refillable vial of vegetable glycerin, flavors, and nicotine.

We at the Black & Gold feel that the practice of marketing e-cigs to teens should be banned. It is obvious a much younger audience is being targeted when one notes the ‘fun’ flavors and rainbow colors of the cigs glamorized in ads. This has caused e-cigarette use among youth to double in one year, from 4.7% to 10%, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control. And while research is limited and the FDA is still waiting to announce their approval, several studies have revealed that certain e-cigs contain dangerous chemical byproducts.

For long-time adult smokers, e-cigarettes were introduced as a ‘healthy’ alternative, hoping to curb smokers’ nicotine use altogether. However, for teens, e-cigarettes are having the opposite effect; rather than ending smoking, due to the proliferation and easy access of e-cigarettes, the practice is increasing. Even those who wouldn’t smoke regular cigarettes are picking up e-cigs and flooding their bodies with Grap hic : I. nicotine. This is dangerous, and can easily Ba illie lead to nicotine addiction, and then to the extremely harmful use of traditional cigarettes.

E-cigs are actually becoming a gateway to the habit

David Reinke

EIC & News Editor

the Black & Gold

Relationships in high school are not about bonding. Yes, we date, we learn more about each other, we even fancy ourselves as something special, but approximately .0001% of us are expecting it to turn into Bella and Edward.... Princess Buttercup and Westley... Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon; life isn’t a fairy tale.

I won’t pretend to understand the complex inner workings of a high school girl’s emotions. I can attest from both observation and experience, though, that these relationships begin because we like someone and we want to have as much fun with them as we can, while we can.

The kind of relationships my colleague is calling for—the kind you find in Taylor Swift songs— generally don’t exist in high school because they shouldn’t. Those kinds of connections require serious life experience, commitment, and more class than most of our peers can muster. In fact, the only class our mates have is the one that appears in the word “classmates. . .” Since there’s no experience for any of that yet, they’ll settle for a three month fling because, “hooray! kissing,” and also looking mature is so haute/in/sexy/superior.

It’s best not to limit oneself so early on in life. If you’ve made your decision, you could be losing out.

You know how there are plenty of fish in the sea?

Well, you’re stuck with a guppie, and you could have had a whoppin’ bass. No matter how many fortune tellers, Ouija boards, magic eight balls, or ominous potato chip shapes tell you that he/she is the one, keep your options open.

So when you look around the halls of Central and don’t see “love” betwixt the insufferable kiss-me/ hug-me couples, it’s because there isn’t love there.

There is only “extreme like.” Unfortunately for the weak-stomached, that “extreme like” manifests itself in spit-swapping sessions. Let me be clear; I do not condone public displays of affection, but there is nothing wrong with having a bit of fun. Carpe diem.

Editors-in-Chief Ivy Baillie David Reinke

News Editor

David Reinke

Production Editor Ivy Baillie

Opinion Editor

Graphic: A. Korson

they were intended to curtail.

We are an easily manipulated group, and advertisers know that.

They model smoking e-cigs as a hip and safe alternative. One advertisement for the e-cig, Blu, splays the catchy and reassuring phrase “Rise from the ashes” over the suave and sexy movie star, Stephen Dorff breezily smoking on a beach.

We believe this is extremely problematic: this company has a right to advertise, but they should not make their product glamorize smoking. This backtracks the 50 years of scientific research that showed just how deleterious the effects of smoking are.

Any product that promotes smoking should be approached with caution, as just a generation ago, cigarette ads claimed: “For digestion’s sake, smoke Camels, ” “My throat is safe with Craven A,” and “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” It’s these parallels between the glamorization of traditional cigarette ads with the e-cig ads of today that concern us. The rapid acceptance of the e-cig, especially by a younger generation is frightening, especially when so little is known about its long term consequences.

The increase of teens using e-cigs opens the doors for a lifetime of nicotine addiction, which is ironically what many of the older e-cig users are trying to get away from.

And we doubt that many adults struggling with their nicotine addiction—who are actually trying to quit—are purchasing the “Pulsar Buck Naked Pen Oil Vaporizer” in pink lemonade flavor. It is evident that these ads are targeted as hip and cool, just as they were glamorized by Hollywood stars in the 1940’s. They are so cute and toy-like that they give the illusion of being safe.

Although we concede that e-cigs may be the lesser of two evils in this smokey situation, we cannot in good conscience condone the much touted “healthier alternative” when e-cigs are targeting a teen/young adult demographic.

E-cigs by the numbers 1963: The year Herbert A. Gilbert invented the first “smokeless non-tobacco” cigarette to provide a “safe and harmless” way of puffing.

2011: The year e-cig use with high school students was half of what it is now.

10: The approximate number of known chemi-

cals in e-cigs that contain carcinogens and toxins.

$890,000: Price of one of the most expensive e-cigs ever. It was decorated with gold, diamonds, and Swarovski crystals.

“Peer pressure forces certain kids that would not usually use e-cigs to Photo: M. Caldwell use them.

The nicotine in them has negative effects and is a stepping stone to drugs.”

-Alex Everts ’16

“I’d rather have kids do ecigs then actual cigarettes.

Both are Photo: S. Hardin addictive and neither are healthy, but e-cigs aren’t as bad as regular cigarettes.”

-Maitland Adams ’15

“E-cigs are fine for highschool kids.

They’re so much Photo: A.Olson better for you than cigarettes.

You’re not actually smoking, it’s just water vapor.”

-Sam McGinnis ’14

Save the whales from exploitation

Blackfish documentary gains momentum; SeaWorld’s practices have negative impact on orcas

Emma Caldwell Opinion Editor

Few creatures in nature are more majestic than marine life in the wild—dolphins leaping in and out of the ocean water in rhythm with their pods, manatees grazing with tranquility along the shoreline, massive orca whales gliding through the great blue water with speed and agility. However, breathtaking as they are to behold, not everyone has orcas’ best interest in mind, especially SeaWorld.

The flaws of the franchised oceanarium, where orca whales are the main attraction, have surfaced with a splash in the documentary Blackfish. It opened the eyes of millions to the notso-entertaining side of one of America’s beloved vacation spots.

Mature adult male orcas can grow up to be 32 feet long. In the wild, vast oceans, they swim up to a hundred miles, daily. Yet, in the name of entertainment, orca whales at SeaWorld are appropriated as much space as a human

A&E Editor

Fiona Muha

Sports Editor Erin Lipp

has in a bathtub. SeaWorld doesn’t even give their breadwinners enough room to swim in a straight line. And when the orcas become aggressive, they have nowhere to swim away. They rake one another with their their teeth; they bite and beat. Bored due to the lack of stimuli, orcas chew on the metal gates that separate pools, breaking their teeth. But SeaWorld takes this exploitation even further.

Orcas are extremely intelligent—they stay with their family for life and develop highly emotional bonds, and parts of their emotional brain are even more developed than humans. Yet for the sake of our delight, SeaWorld throws away any consideration of these family ties, cramming orcas from around the world together, despite their lack of ancestry or connection. SeaWorld has even separated young orcas from their mothers—the most known incident being in 1990. Blackfish features footage of the mother orca wailing and

Photo Editors Meg Caldwell Scott Hardin

Graphics Editor

Focus Page Editor

Alex Korson

Leek Editors

Mady Basch Jeff Comerford Fisher Diede Connor Hansen Margo Hoagg Dylan Huey

Allison Taphouse

Emma Caldwell

Scott Hardin Jake Myers

Feature Editor

Business Manager

Lia Williams

“E-cigs put kids in a ranking category.

If you have an e-cig, then you’re Photo: A.Olson cool, and if you don’t, then you’re not cool. They’re promoting something that is unhealthy.”

-Kendra Nietz ’17

Graphic: A. Korson

Zach Egbert

Staff Reporters

shaking, obviously in distress, after her baby is taken away. It’s a depressing thought, realizing that these should-be wild creatures are being exploited for a show with the petty goal of impressing tourists and putting money in SeaWorld’s already swollen pockets.

SeaWorld claims that showcasing an array of sea life in captivity educates

physical abuse. There has never been an orca in captivity that lived its maximum life expectancy and, in fact, they rarely even make it to mid life expectancy. They’re dying before their time; how can anyone argue that SeaWorld is inspiring a love for the ocean when even they don’t respect the awe-inspiring creatures that inhabit it?

Orcas in the wild are not performing for us; they rarely interact with humans. Places like SeaWorld skew the respect we should have for those who inhabit the earth with us.

Other parks exist where marine life is only kept when they’re unfit to live in the wild.

These places teach us to respect and care for these creatures, instead of making them slaves to us.

and inspires a love of the ocean at an early age, and therefore, inspires conservation.

But this is hypocritical. SeaWorld is not conserving the orcas it keeps.

Instead, they’re subjecting them to emotional Graphic: I. Baillie trauma, as well as

Bri Johnson Shaine Kearney Hunter Kelly George Madison Maddi Miller John Minster Sean Monnier Anders Olson Carl Rasmussen Josie Robbins Hayley Rozema Joel Six Aaron Smits Julia Vannatter

Some Corrections

-On page 4, the “Pickle wish” and “CherryT ball drop” storys’ graphics and headlines were switched -On page 1, we said Dominic Farmer’15 was in brass, when he’s actually in percussion -On page 5, we spelled Brooke Corso’s ’17 name wrong

Send us an email at theblackandgold.opinion@ gmail.com or drop off a letter to the editor

Writing

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

3

Motivated by the Advisory Olweus anti-bullying program, David Hendrix’s English class formed a modern-day “Freedom Writers” group to address relevant personal issues teenagers grapple with today

Graphics: I. Baillie

Margo Hoagg & Maddi Miller Staff Reporters

T

hey are inspired by The Freedom Writers Diary. They hail from C-218, David Hendrix’s first trimester Honors Language Arts class. They call themselves “Freedom Writers 2.0.”

“The start of Freedom Writers 2.0 was the perfect storm,” Hendrix said. “It was the combination of an amazing group of students, a book they really enjoyed and the bullying issue. Students wanted to somehow make our school a better place.”

The original “Freedom Writers” played off the name of the 1960s “Freedom Riders,” who bussed in droves to the south during the Civil Rights movement to end discrimination. The Freedom Writers Diary is a collection of nonfiction journal entries from 1999 written by high school students and their teacher Erin Gruwell. Freedom Writers 2.0 share their journal entries with the overriding goal of challenging bullying.

“The original Freedom Writers wrote about their experiences in gangs, witnessing murders, or smaller things that still impacted them,” Emma Simon ‘16 said. “It taught us how we all have our own, different struggles. We want to have the same kind of effect on other students as the Freedom Writers had on us.”

The Olweus anti-bullying program sparked Freedom Writers 2.0 to look at injustice in their midst. Cassidy Merten ‘16 said the class felt students didn’t take Olweus seriously and that it was bettersuited to a younger audience.

“The bullying problem became a joke through Olweus because students not affected started mocking it, instead of realizing it’s there to help,” Merten said. “The real solution isn’t to stop bullying directly because that’s impossible, but to help students with coping mechanisms.”

Hendrix’s class viewed Olweus as an opportunity to create an anti-bullying program based on personal support. The students’ first step was to write and share their own stories, just as the original Freedom Writers had.

“One person in our class became confident enough to share her story about how suicide almost took her life,” Merten said. “Once she shared her story, another student started talking, and then

Photo: E. Simon

Photo: E. Simon

another. We took a couple days to just write, and then scattered our stories in the room to read anonymously.”

Claire Beutler ‘16 said hearing peers’ stories has profoundly affected her.

“It hit home that this was real,” Beutler said. “I’ve known some of my classmates since elementary school, but hearing their stories caught my attention. You can really learn from others. Everyone’s story was different but they share similar qualities.”

To spread the message and aid bullying victims, the Freedom Writers 2.0 students have started a group which meet two Thurs-

(Above) David Hendrix’s third hour Language Arts class formed a group called “Freedom Writers 2.0.” The group meets for informal peer-to-peer counseling. “It’s a place for people to be heard,” Hendrix said. The idea for Freedom Writers 2.0 started in first trimester with students sharing personal journal excerpts, an experience Rio Lopez-Wild ‘16 found eye-opening. “Before my third hour began, I didn’t think bullying was a big deal at this school,” Lopez-Wild said. “What changed my mind was listening to my classmates’ stories about how horrible bullying made them feel.”

(Left) Lopez-Wild and Cassidy Merten ‘16 attended the first official meeting. “To meet with everyone again was really fun,” Merten said. “We definitely just picked up where we left off.” The next meeting, open to all, is Feb. 6 in David Hendrix’s room, C-218.

days every month. The group includes the originals from first trimester, plus any other students who want to share their stories, written or unwritten.

Student Senate has granted $500 for Freedom Writers 2.0 to create T-shirts for student mentors. All students are welcome to join Freedom Writers 2.0. The next meeting is Feb 6.; see David Hendrix’s room, C-218.

“The hope,” Hendrix said, “is that students may open up to other students versus an adult.”

Journal excerpts by students of Freedom Writers 2.0. Excerpts are anonymous for authors’ privacy have a small amount of guy friends, I hang out with girls and I also do not dress “normal” for most guys. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have been called gay. Then it went further, people started believing it. I had names placed on my back that I never realized were there.

I can live through the worst verbal abuse and walk away unscathed. When it comes to defending myself, I am not prepared. But you will never be seeing me sad because I refuse to give in to what they say.

or half the movie Freedom Writers, my mom and I were sobbing.

Ever feel so inspired you just feel like crying? After the movie, my mom told me stories from her childhood. She said when her dad was alive, she was always filled with what she called her “fire.” Her dad died when she was ten, and she lost her fire. She was no longer eager for change. The Freedom Writers Diary showed me that no matter how many close-minded people you come across, don’t let them take your ambition. Your fire.

t amazes me how much a smile and laugh can cover up.

I’ve been a faker my whole life. In elementary school, I was always the ugly, fat one who got left out. The concept of hating myself only built throughout those years. Going into freshmen year, I got my braces off, grew my hair out, and starved myself.

All the girls wanted to be my friend. I was still alone, with my fake friends and fake everything.

Feeling unwanted is covered up by fair laughs and smiles. One day, they’re going to run out.

y perception of bullying used to be a scrawny kid getting pushed into a locker.

Real bullying is the stuff that causes kids to become depressed and mentally unstable.

Every program and assembly we’re forced to sit through is the same thing: bullying is bad, it needs to be stopped, and everyone needs to work together to solve it. It’s a good message, but students don’t understand the true meaning of it. I now understand the impact and humanity of the degradation of a person.

Students defy the traditional bounds of teenage writing Cassandra Fields ‘15 and Allyson Hentschel ‘14 fabricate realms of horror and adventure through books Cassandra Fields ‘15

Photo: A. Olson

Maddi Miller Staff Reporter

The soft strum of violin strings and resonance of drums bring Cassandra Field’s ‘15 words to life.

“Once I’ve written my story, I finish it off by listening to music to create more intense scenes,” Fields said.

“When I write, I’m not able to focus on what’s going on around me. I become part of another world, one where I can do or be anything I want.”

Fields has been writing her whole life, but it became a passion in the third grade when she realized how much she enjoyed the writing assignments teachers gave her.

“Back then, seven pages would be considered lengthy for a school assignment, I would always write over twenty,” Fields said. “Now, I typically limit my writing to a minimum of five hundred pages.”

Fields has written over 20 fantasy adventure stories— seven being full novels and the others short stories. She is most proud of one of her recent series where she planned to write five books, but completed only three.

“I based the series off of a famous British character, Merlin’s daughter,” Fields said. “It was set years ago, in a world where Merlin and King Arthur existed. It was a series of adventures.”

Fields draws inspiration from literary works, music and occurrences from her own life.

“I create my characters by doing research so I don’t create a character with a similar

personality to other works,” Fields said. “My stories also reflect my life because characters often go through similar events and struggles, and have the same bases of right and wrong as I do.”

Depending on the story, Fields tries to convey moral messages through her characters’ opinions. “I try to have the reader stand at a different viewpoint, to hint there’s a different way to see things that’s not a stereotype in society,” she said.

Fields typically writes at least two days a week, generally for over an hour at a time, if the story is something that she can envision to its fullest. “I consider myself a part time writer now,” she said.

Fields wants to become a history teacher, but may pursue writing as a career.

“Writing has helped me identify a lot of feelings about family and relationships that I didn’t realize I was feeling,” Fields said.

“Being the author, it teaches more about yourself because it’s using your mind and ideas to come up with a story.”

hen I crush the head of a clover bloom, the scent carries me to that far off field where my weed battered knees cut trails by the blackberry bush. Where the old man let us feast on his sweet-tasting jam flavored crop of wild fruit, and told tales of when his hair was crowned with dandelion fluff. Where the overhead hum of power lines cursing the summer heat was the only thread we used to find our way back home. Back then, the trash of ditches was pirate swag, or royal treasure best fit for whoever had grabbed it first.

- Passage from “Childhood Scent Memory” English 11B assignment

Allyson Hentschel ‘14

Photo: A. Olson

George Madison Staff Reporter

Allyson Hentschel ‘14 labors away at her computer, diligently writing scenes that have been bottled up in her mind for days.

She’s working on a horror piece, creating images designed to make her readers shudder.

“I turn my nightmares into stories,” Hentschel said. “When people read my writing, they remember my graphic descriptions.”

Hentschel is an author and aspiring publisher who has been writing her whole life in the genres of fantasy, fiction, and horror. “I wanted to be able to escape, so I created my own world,” Hentschel said.

She has already finished a short fiction piece, “Ireina,” which she is hoping to get published. Presently she is rewriting her horror fiction piece, Intertwined, a novel involving three alternate worlds. The idea for Intertwined originated from Hentschel’s elementary school

er eyelids felt like lead as they opened, seeing a dim room. There was a tar-like, silk quilt covering her.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw more. Next to the bed she was on there was two small coffee tables on each side, both with a modernized black lamp. The carpet looked like black shag. All this was seen from above her; the ceiling was covered in mirrored glass. She noticed she was pathetically chained by wrist to one of the bed posts. Attempting to stand, the realization hit her that she was not alone. Jordan sat, watching from a dark corner in the room.

“So you decided to join me” His dark voice rang in her ears. She looked up at him in fear.

The amused look on his face terrorized her.

She broke the chain from her wrist and got up ready for a fight. Jordan looked at her completely un-alarmed. “Yeah, you’re real threatening...” He said nearly laughing.

- Passage from Intertwined days, where she would create stories for her friends to act out.

“I came up with this really weird heaven and hell scenario and what it would be like in modern day if they were real,” Hentschel said. “When I got older, it developed into a much more intense story plot.”

Hentschel didn’t begin writing Intertwined until sixth grade. By the end of ninth grade, her 170-page novel was ready for professional editing.

“I had a publisher lined up and was ready to send it in, and then the computer fried,” Hentschel said.

Her first two copies were ruined.

“When all that work and time

just disappeared, I got frustrated and didn’t want to ever touch it again. So, I didn’t for a good two years,” Hentschel said.

“After a while the characters clogged up my brain, so I had to write the story out again.”

Hentschel is currently 67 pages into her Intertwined rewrite, which she hopes to finish by graduation. Hentschel also plans to indulge in her passion for literature by becoming a publisher.

“When you’re publishing you get to work with books all day, and I love to read as much as I love to write,” Hentschel said.

“I would get to work with other authors for a living, which is a dream of mine.”

4 Sports Graphic: C. Hansen

Central falls to West in a close game After a close chaotic contest, the Trojan boys basketball team lost to cross-town rivals, the Titans, out-scored by seven points Shaine Kearney & John Minster

Aside from Central’s tradition of being successful, each team has their own traditions that continue off the competitive field. Here coaches and players discuss their traditions

Staff Reporters

T

Erin Lipp

Sports Editor As captain of the Trojan girls downhill ski team, Molly Whiting ‘14 is always on the slopes whether she’s racing, cheering on her teammates, or inspecting the courses.

When Whiting hits the hills, she dons an old black knit beanie festooned with big white hearts around the middle, and smaller white hearts on either side. This hat is special to the team because it has been passed from captain-to-captain for two and a half decades.

“The passing of the hat started back in the late 80’s with an athlete named Jenny Dunsmore,” Head Coach Jerry Stanek said.

“It’s been a tradition ever since.”

To the team, this heart hat represents a chain of excellence and loyalty, and a generation of hard-fought wins. Traits exhibited by all athletes, yes, but this hat is symbolic of their athletes’, season after season.

“I feel very honored to be captain this season and privileged to get to wear the captain hat,” Whiting said.

The crowning of the new captain with the heart hat is downhill ski team tradition. Whiting was chosen as captain by last season’s captain, Paige Pfannenstiel.

“To me it means that I am responsible

Photo: S. Hardin

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

Photo: Photo:courtesy of M. Whiting

Captains’ traditions: the boy’s sweater and the girl’s beanie with white hearts.

for my team,” Whiting said. “It means that not only am I supporting them and being like an older figure for them to look up to, but that I’m always encouraging them. It means that I am there for them no matter what, after a bad run or a good run.”

While Pfannenstiel chose Whiting for girls, Kalvis Hornburg selected Danny Madion ‘14 to be the boys’ fearless leader. At races Whiting sports a snazzy, near sacred hat, but Madion also has a sartorial item: a sweater to help him go out with a bang at the last BNC race of the year.

Like the heart hat, the sweater has also been passed down for decades. “It’s an honor to help represent such a long history of our team,” Madion said.

Armed with his sweater of champions, Madion and the rest of the team, is vying for the 20th state championship. The boys’ team invokes a knighthoodism with their motto: “the quest for 20.”

Madion said that whether for races or practice, as a captain, he tries to uphold the team’s standards by example, and to motivate them to prep properly so they are race-ready.

“During race days, Molly and I make sure kids are ready for call time,” Madion said. “We encourage kids to pay attention to what coach has to say while slipping the course.”

The boys’ race sweater has been done continuously since ‘98, the year skiers started wearing speed suits instead of sweaters. And so the sweater, just as the hat, has been passed from captain-to-captain, in a continuous journey. It is passed ceremoniously each year at the banquet when the captain for the next season is announced.

Madion said he honors the team’s longstanding tradition. “But it also means it’s an end to my ski career,” Madion said. “It’ll be a bittersweet race for sure when I wear the sweater at the last BNC.”

he light from the fluorescent bulbs rebounds off the polished wood floor of West Senior High’s gym. The two sides, West in all white and Central in their traditional black and gold, stare intently at the basketball as it pops into the air for the tip off.

In a tense and chaotic exchange, the silence is ripped apart as the Trojans win the tip.

Central’s boys basketball team lost a nail-biter to West 36-43 on Jan. 16. Hosted by West, the game featured a fast paced, back and forth contest, where neither team garnered any significant lead. Despite the loss, Central Head Coach Jeff Turner felt his team played well.

“Overall, I would rate our effort really high,” Turner said. “Our offense was a seventy-five percent, and defensively, I’d say we were about eighty-five percent.”

The tip off foreshadowed the game’s tempo, as both teams scrambled for the ball in a wild sequence. After a few empty possessions from both teams, Central point guard Nate Schlusler ‘14 drained a three off an out of bounds play.

Central’s bigs, Mitchell Wynkoop ‘14, Max Knoblock ‘14 and Jackson Schraeder ‘16, dominated the boards for much of the first half, controlling the paint and constantly getting second and third opportunities to score.

“I think we had a lot of energy and played hard throughout the entire game,” Wynkoop said.

While Central did get a lot more scoring opportunities, that didn’t always translate into points.

“Early in the game we had a few chances for easy shots inside,” Turner said, “but because of the presence of the big kid, we rushed some of our shots and didn’t get some of those easy opportunities to fall.”

Defensively, the Trojans wanted to contain West in the post, and prevent the dribble drive.

“West Center Thiyo Lukusa ‘16 is a big post presence for them,” Turner said. “He’s a person they try to direct their offense through. We contained him in the first half and got him in foul trouble, but he had a nice second half. He ended up with eight second half points. We also had trouble with Alex Scott ‘15. He got to the rim and made 10 free throws and that’s a big telltale sign of the game right there.”

By the end of the first quarter, the Trojans lead 10-7.

Coming in, Central wanted to get on the fast break as often as possible.

“We were looking to run because we thought that we could take advantage of some of their slower post players,” Turner said. “A couple times we got that, and a couple times we couldn’t take advantage of it like we should have.”

The second quarter was largely similar to the first, though Central wasn’t able to control the paint quite as well as they did early on. Knoblock had six of the Trojan’s eight points in the quarter, with Schlusler also contributing with a couple free throws. Going into half, West led 19-18.

Girls: six State Championship titles, 12 time runners-up in the last 20 years Boys: 19 State Championships since team started Girls: 18 skiers Boys: 18 skiers

3. Average Training Time Girls: eight hours per week Boys: six-eight hours per week

Graphics: C. Hansen

2. Number of Skiers

Mason Houston ‘16 (right) drives past a West defender with help from a pick by Mitchell Wynkoop ‘14. “We came out soft in the second half,” Houston said. “We tried to come back but we just didn’t have enough fire left.” Houston ended the game with a total of five points.

“I think we felt pretty good being down by only one or two points,” Wynkoop said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game.”

The close scoring continued into the third quarter, though Central was able to regain the lead through jumpers from Schlusler and guard Austin Podsaid ‘14, putting the score at 24-19.

“Our offense got better in the second half and our effort on defense was still there,” Podsaid said, “but there were just a few times where we were not in the right place at the right time.”

The momentum shifted once again though, as West went on a 14-6 run, largely fueled by the Trojans’ inability to retain the ball. The Titans closed out the third quarter up 30-33. As the game got deeper, Central’s turnover problems began to take their toll. While they were present early in the game, they started to run rampant as things went down to the wire.

“Turnovers are something we have struggled with all year and it was there again last night,”

“There were just a few times where we were not in the right place at the right time.”

-Austin Podsaid ‘14

Turner said. “They have gotten better, but the timing of them was super critical. We turned it over a couple of times in the fourth quarter when it was only a one or two possession game, and those couple turnovers led to baskets for the other team.”

And turnovers were what may have ultimately killed the Trojans’ chance to win. With West up 36-39 and the game within a possession, Central had the ball. But on that fatal possession, they turned the ball over once again and that lead to a West layup on the other end. That put the Titans up 36-41 and from there, Central just ran out of time. When the buzzer rang, the board read 36-43 West.

Despite the loss, the Trojans still have some positive things to build upon.

“I think this matured our team a little bit, playing a more intense game,” Wynkoop said. “If we always play with this kind of intensity, I think it would definitely benefit our team.”

With this vital experience, the Trojans look forward to their next encounter with the Titans.

“Being in a close situation versus West helped us,” Podsaid said, “so when we play them next time, we know what we need to do to win.”

Step inside the cage with MMA fighter Chad Pipkins Mixed Martial Arts combines boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu techniques to produce one of most intense fighting sports—it proves even more arduous when the fighter is only 17 years old

John Minster & Sean Monnier Staff Reporters

Photo: courtesy of C. Pipkins

Pipkens celebrates his second career victory

1. State Performance D1

Photo: A. Taphouse

Broken, battered, and on the brink of exhaustion, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Chad Pipkins ‘14 pushes to finish the fight. Despite a broken nose, black eye and many strikes to his body, Pipkins won’t quit.

“I enjoy fighting. It’s a natural human instinct,” Pipkins said.

“Most people are only able to fight someone out of aggression or hate, but I think of fighting as a sport, just like when I go out on the mat and wrestle for sport.”

Pipkins is an amatuer MMA fighter, fighting in the light heavyweight division (205 lbs) of the Aggressive Fight League. He’s 2-2

at 205 lbs, and also has one fight at heavyweight (206lbs-265 lbs).

MMA involves multiple martial arts fighting styles coming together into one fighter. The most common martial arts techniques a fighter learns are Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The sport is generally contested inside a cage, though some promotions also use boxing rings.

Pipkins first got into the sport through one of his old wrestling coaches.

“We had an assistant wrestling coach who was a fighter, and I thought mixed martial arts was always interesting and I’d always wanted to get into it,” Pipkins said.

“I started with wrestling, and it kind of branched off into MMA because I wanted more. I wanted to take it to the next step.”

Though MMA is a very difficult sport, brutal even, it is also elegant.

Pipkins enjoys it thoroughly.

“I just love the extension and snapping of my arm punching the guy in the face,” he said. “It’s such a fluid motion and everything has to be so smooth and timed perfectly for it to work.”

What happens inside the ring stays in the ring. “You go out there and beat someone up, but after, you still talk and are friendly to one another,” Pipkins said.

Before a fight, not only does Pipkins go through rigorous training, he thoroughly scouts his opponents by watching videos of their past fights. “I see if they drop their hands or shoot in for a takedown right away,” Pipkins said. “You just watch their movement and style like

Photo: courtesy of C. Pipkins

Chad Pipkins ‘14 fights at the Ground Zero Nightclub for the Aggressive Fight League. Pipkins won the fight by first round TKO (technical knockout). “I bucked and rolled him. I got him on his back,” Pipkins said. “I saw an opening so I started grounding and pounding him.”

you would for any other sport. The only difference is you’re watching one man, not a whole entire team.”

Pipkins’ scouting is always a must.

One fight, Pipkins punched his opponent in the mouth repeatedly, ending the fight in a technical knockout (TKO). “It was just another win,” he said, “but the fact that he didn’t land a single punch on me made me feel really powerful.”

In MMA, strategy is crucial to victory. Pipkins often has it planned out before he enters the cage.

“We’ll touch gloves and circle around. As soon as my opponent is in my starting corner, I’ll usually bum rush him,” Pipkins said. “That way, when it goes to the ground I can hear my coaches and my corner men telling me what to do.”

Of Pipkins’ five fights, many of them have been against much older fighters. While this may intimidate other young MMA fighters, Pipkins is undaunted. “I try to be positive about it,” he said. “I try to think of disadvantages they may have, like being old and slow or them gassing quickly.”

Pipkins has been training daily at Seung-Ni martial arts for three years, along with lifting weights on his own time and wrestling on the school team.

“I think I’ll continue to fight until after college and see where it goes,” Pipkins said. “I might also take some time off to learn some new martial arts to help improve my game.”

Sports

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

5

Central celebrates former AD Cody Inglis

“I leave Central with so many memories, almost all positive. The best is the people I’ve been able to work with and see them do their best in a first class way. It’s who you surround yourself with. I’ll take a little bit of everyone with me, and they have made me better. When I leave Central, I will always be a Trojan at heart.”- Athletic Director Cody Inglis

Photo: courtesy of R. Sack

(Top) All the student athletes and coaches of Central gathered to take a tribute picture for Athletic Director Cody Inglis. “Inglis helps keep coaching in perspective,” Head Basketball Coach Heather Simpson said, “He also treats every sport like it’s the number one sport. He will be dearly missed.”

(Center) Inglis stands with his wife Carrie Inglis and their three young boys Reed, Nolan and Ty. “The fact that my kids are still able to move and that my wife supported me wholeheartedly, I felt like it was meant to be,” Inglis said. (Right) Inglis stands with a referee at halftime of the girls varsity basketball game against West.

A

lthough Athletic Director, (AD) Cody Inglis says that he will forever be a Trojan in his heart, Jan. 21 was Inglis’ last day at his post. During his tenure over the last seven years, Trojan athletics has thrived, with over 50% of our students playing at least one sport.

Inglis will be moved up to the Assistant Director position at the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). “In a field of over 100 state and national candidates,” Executive Director Jack Roberts said, “Cody has vast expertise that separated him from a half dozen other highly skilled, highly respected and highly qualified administrators.”

Inglis will be working with athletic directors and running state tournaments in cross-country running, track and hockey. He was the AD at Suttons Bay for thirteen years before coming to Central in 2007.

“That was a natural step, with the advantage of not moving, so that’s been interesting and fun to stay in northern Michigan for 20 years,” Inglis said.

From the start of the season speech to arranging the last playoff charter bus, Inglis has striven to get out of his office and reach out to every athlete, every coach, every season.

“Cody is extremely passionate about the life experiences students learn from participating in sports,” Carrie Inglis said. “It is important to Cody that not only does each student athlete learn the nuances of his or her sport, but they also learn life lessons: perseverance, compromise, and teamwork.”

Inglis feels a big key to his success at Central was quality coaching.

“I truly believe that we have not only some of the best coaches around, but in the state.” Inglis said. “Their leadership, passion and commitment to making this place great is evidenced every day. Their friendship, excellence and daily interactions will be missed, but they have left an indelible mark on me.”

To Inglis, building relationships was important, wherever Central competes. Whether it be a cross-town rival, a BNC match-up or playing teams around the state, communicating and competing in a first class way was his priority. With a region as geographically challenged as the Big North, and the athletic budget heavily depleted, his relationships with conference ADs was crucial.

“The BNC is a unique conference full of caring characters who have forged that ‘we are in it together,’ bond,” Inglis said.

West AD Patti Tibaldi had a great working relationship with Inglis and wishes him the best. “I think MHSAA is a real calling for him,” Tibaldi said. “He wouldn’t have left Central for any other job. But now we have a voice in Lansing, which we have never had before.”

Of paramount importance to Inglis always is the students. “Our student athletes are special,” Inglis said. “What you guys do on the court, on the field is valued by the public. We know you work hard.

We honor your excellence and your honest best effort. We love to see you grow in your skills and enjoying what you do. I hope our athletes remember this time with fond memories. The opportunity you have right now is something you will never have again. The fact is, these times are special, and trying to make them special for kids has been my life’s work.”

Photo: courtesy of C. Inglis

Photo: A. Taphouse

“After a tough loss that prevented one of my teams from getting a share of the league title, I watched him address the team and tell them how proud he was of them and how they represented our school in a first class way in a tough situation. He gave the players the advice that competing at the highest level is the ultimate test of an athlete and putting your team in a position to win is what all athletes need to remember.” -Basketball Coach Jeff Turner

“We’ve had instances where kids had been teetering on the edge with grades, and since he knows coaching too, he was an athlete himself, he’d bring kids in and have very frank discussions with them. He’s almost got a fatherly tone to him, and he has the ability to connect with students in a way that a lot of other adults don’t have. He cares about them as students, as athletes, and as people, and that’s a big reason as to why he’s been such a success.” -Hockey Coach Chris Givens

“Whenever someone starts believing that you can beat a team or ski better than they ever have and they show up at a meet or a game, it’s contagious. Not only did the athletes feel it but the coaches feel it too. He was like that, he always believed in every team that they would give it their all, whether they came home with a first place or not. He was definitely a huge supporter of the nordic team.”

-Cross Country Ski Coach John Kostrzewa

“My best memory of how Mr. Inglis connected with cross country runners was at camp in 2012. He drove out to camp and shared with the team an awesome write-up of special learning moments. It was really cool for my athletes to listen to him and realize he was one of them. It was a bonding moment for both me and my runners.”

-Girls Cross Country and Track Coach Lisa Taylor

“I knew who he was and he knew who I was.

He knew what sport I played. Last year me and Jessica Budz did a thing where we were going to change up the trophy case a little bit and he helped us with that so I had a couple sit down meetings with him, but other than that just talking in the hallway and seeing him at athletic events.” -Rhys Adle ‘15 “I always remember playing him in floor hockey and bodying him up, so I would say we have a good relationship. I would like to play some pond hockey with him. He is always watching and supporting us and he also gives us a speech at the beginning of the soccer season.”

-Chris Chang ‘14 “He made an impact on bowling because some people think bowling isn’t a real sport, but Inglis really helped in publicizing us, supporting us, and treating us like everyone else.”

-Hope Eshleman ‘16 “When our coach retired, he took a ton of time out of his day to make sure we got what we needed.”

-Taylor Cobb ‘14

“He is an honorable man and he will do anything he can to help coaches so that the team can be successful. He made me feel that saving the wrestling program was priority number one.”

-Wrestling Coach Dave Haughn “Mr. Inglis was always a huge supporter of the volleyball team. He came to the majority of our games and was just always positive, even if we loss. I think everyone respected and appreciated him as an athletic director. He is just so committed and always willing to help. He will definitely be remembered for being so committed.”

-Devon Dotterrer ‘14 “Mr. Inglis is so dedicated to his job. He care so much about our team. I’m sad to see him go, but he’s made playing high school sports enjoyable and worry free. It’s scary to think about him leaving-who’s going to arrange our transportation in the spring? I’ll miss him.”

-Jalyna Cisneros ‘14 “He was very interactive with the tennis team. He would always come to our meets and watch us and give us words of encouragement. And at one meet, he was needed to be a line judge, so he stepped in and was a judge.”

-Abby Palisin ‘14

From the sea to the mountains, Lili Lockwood covers it all on skis Lili Lockwood ‘15 is nationally ranked in both water skiing and downhill skiing, spending a lot of time traveling to train and race

Josie Robbins Staff Reporter

Most downhill skiers might end their season and wait until the next batch of snow comes around, but not Lili Lockwood ‘15, who races on Central’s Alpine Ski Team. She wastes no time slipping on a different pair of skis and, within days, going from the snow of the slopes, to the warm waters of the tropics to shred it up on the water. This past summer, Lockwood made it to the Water Ski National Championships held in West Palm Beach, Florida. But just a mere three days before, she was tearing up the snowy slopes of Mt. Hood, Oregon.

“The schedules work out great because the water ski season ends in September,” Lockwood said. “They don’t usually overlap, but sometimes I do camps in the summer for snow skiing.”

In waterskiing Lockwood is ranked 19th in the nation, 3rd in the region and 1st in state. Most water skiing competitions are set into three different skill events: trick, slalom, and jump. Lockwood focuses most on slalom, holding three state championships over the past three years.

In alpine skiing Lockwood is currently ranked 11th nationally in super G. Without official state rankings out, Lockwood is unofficially 1st or 2nd in both slalom and giant slalom.

“She’s very studious of the game of ski racing,” Head Ski Coach Jerry Stanek said. “Besides what she does on the hill with her training, she watches a lot of films, lots of videos of herself racing. She continually pushes herself harder to

make her a better ski racer.”

Lockwood says she works so hard because she grew up in a really competitive family. Her uncle was on the U.S. ski team, and qualified for the 1980 Olympics; her aunt is an alpine score-keeper for the Sochi Olympics because she raced in high school, and her two children, Lili’s cousins, were state champions at West.

“Doing my best gives me a sense of accomplishment,” Lockwood said. “When I focus on something and I have a goal and I carry that goal out, its fulfilling, because I just want to be the best I can be.”

Lockwood said that she’s successful in both sports because there’s so much crossover.

“There’s a lot of techniques that are closely related,” Lockwood said. “The only real challenge is you’re supposed keep your hips forward when skiing downhill, but when water skiing, you have to keep them back,” Lockwood said. “Both of them are the same body positions, technically.

They both use the same muscle groups, making it a lot easier for me to condition for them both at the same time.”

Both sports have gates. Downhill racing is all about the racer’s speed through the course; whereas, water skiing is weighted more on stamina. The water skier must zigzag around 6 turn buoys (gates) for each pass through the course. With each consecutive pass, the boat is sped up by 2 mph until the maximum speed 34 mph is reached, and the rope is shortened at specific increments to make it more difficult to reach the buoy width. In a tournament, the boat

Photo: courtesy of B. Lockwood

Photo: courtesy of B. Lockwood

(Left) Lili Lockwood tucks past a gate while skiing giant slalom. (Right) Lockwood cuts through a slalom waterski course. “When I focus on something and I have a goal and I carry that goal out, it’s fulfilling, because I just want to be the best I can be,” Lockwood said.

speeds up or the rope shortens until the skier fails to complete the slalom course by falling or missing a buoy.

During the summer Lockwood trains before sunrise an hour a day on a six buoy course, plus launching in and out of Cedar Lake. “It definitely can be stressful training at 6:00 a.m. for waterskiing,” Lockwood said. “Especially since it’s summer and there have been times where I want to go to bonfires with my friends.”

Post high school Lockwood will continue her skiing career. “I think I have a better chance going pro in waterskiing, just because there’s less competition and I’m already at a point where if I

pursue it any further, I can get there,” Lockwood said. “But then again, in snow skiing I’m at that same level. There’s just a lot more competition.”

From her commitments as a Central athlete, to what it takes to grab her gear and catch a red eye flight across the country, to early morning hours on the water each summer, Lockwood excels at two sports.

“I love them both, and I can’t even choose between the two,” Lockwood said. “This becomes a huge issue now, because I’m looking at colleges and finding a place where I can do both water skiing and snow skiing is really difficult.”

6 A&E

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

Graphic: A. Korson & C. Hansen

Here we profile three alternative artists and entertainers as they work to beautify the world with their individual talents

Sewing Fiona Muha A&E Editor

Carl Rasmussen Staff Reporter

For Maverick Cook ‘14, a light is more than just a piece of equipment. It is a tool, an instrument, a means by which to deliver art and beauty. After a three month internship at the historic Traverse City Opera House,

Photo: courtesy of Doug Stanton

Tagging Fiona Muha A&E Editor

stage in order to prepare the overhanging lights for the upcoming show.

“None of the lights at the Opera House can be electronically moved,” Cook said, “you physically have to get up there and adjust them. For colors, you have to put these gels over the lights, so each light can only be one color, you can’t just change them instantly on the light board or anything.”

Cook plans to study film in the future.

“I think that being able to use light is pretty important when filming,” Cook said.

“Although I wish that the internship would have had me working with sound as well.”

When the lights die down, the curtain drops, and the patrons go home, it’s not just the speaker who made the show, or the musician, or the dancer, it is Maverick Cook, with a spotlight to his left and a lightboard to his right that made the show.

“Sometimes you can see better in the shadows,” Cook said, “than you can in the

Although Scriver struggles to express the source of his inspiration, he derives a sense of freedom from his art.

“There aren’t any boundaries,” he said. “With spray paint, you keep adding more, so if you mess up it’s okay because you spray over it.”

Beginning with simpler objectives, Scriver’s skills and techniques have evolved as he works.

“With spray paint you can start making something easy,” he said.

“Then you move on to settings and eventually you end up with something more complicated.

You want to angle your spray hand so it

doesn’t leave a huge puddle of paint.”

One tool Scriver employs is paper. “Depending on the desired look,” he said, “you can crumple paper or smear the paint with your hand. It gives the paint texture and mixes the wet paint.”

Scriver’s finishing touch, while unorthodox, is effective.

“I use circle objects and a torch,” he said.

“When I light the painting on fire, it gives the painting a smooth texture.”

Although with practice Scriver’s overall proficiency in graffiti art has improved, he still feels his best piece was his first.

“The first painting I ever made was the most realistic,” he said. “It was the universe and had lots of planets and vibrant colors.”

The reactions Scriver receives from his peers and their families motivates him to continue his artistic endeavors.

“People basically say, ‘holy cow, you made that!’” Scriver said. “That makes me feel awesome because I can make things that people like to look at.”

Graphic: I. Baillie Photo: M. Caldwell

Staff Reporter

Jake Myers

light.”

Leek Editor

Choir students enter Solo and Ensemble Performers prepare for assessment on how to improve their singing Staff Reporter

Accompanied by a vocal judge and her family, Sarah Gibson ‘17 hesitantly makes her way into the West Senior High classroom, replacing her nervous butterflies with confidence.

Gibson performed two foreign songs at Solo and Ensemble, a program designed to improve students’ vocal and performance skills.

“Although I have a private voice teacher, I wanted someone else’s feedback on my singing,” Gibson said. “The highlight for me was to become more confident with my singing.”

Choir student Anthony Miller ‘14 also thought Solo and Ensemble offered a fresh perspective on his singing.

“It’s really nice to sing a solo classical piece,” Miller said.

“They’re fun and different than what you would normally sing, like pop and newer genres of music.”

Emmalyne Tarsa ‘17, choir student, performed “The Water is Wide,” and “Carl Mil Den,” an Italian song. Tarsa found

learning the Italian song trickier.

“Pronouncing the vowels correctly was hard for me,” Tarsa said. “But once I got the flow of the words, it became easier to sing it in Italian.”

Miller sang an Italian piece, “Sebben Crudele,” by Antonio Caldara that interested him because of its dark aura. He had only been practicing Italian for two years and struggled slightly with pronunciation.

“The Italian language can be tough sometimes because you really want to pronounce some of the words the way you would pronounce English words,” Miller said. “But you have to remind yourself that it’s wrong to pronounce them that way.”

Choir student Rachel Creamer ‘15 prepared “Batti Batti O Bel Masetto,” an advanced Italian piece by Mozart.

“Italian is a really easy language to sing in because of the vowels,” Creamer said. “For me, memorizing it was the hardest part.”

After performing, students received a score out of 30 and feedback on what they could do to improve their voices. Singers who received 24 or above

advance to states. Judging and scoring are based upon breath support, tonal quality, dynamics and musical interpretation.

“The judge said I needed to work mostly on my breathing,” Tarsa said.

“When I go into high notes, I should make sure I have a big enough breath, so that I sustain it through the entire phrase.”

Gibson and Creamer both received positive feedback. Creamer’s feedback was about dynamics and contrasting.

“When I say certain phrases over and over I need to make sure that I sing them differently,” Creamer said.

Although the judge thought Miller’s Italian and English songs were stylistically correct, Miller desires to improve.

“I feel like I gave it my 100 percent best effort, but they

didn’t exactly come out the way I wanted them to,” Miller said.

The judge suggested Miller use more vibrato, a pulsating change of pitch used to add expression, because it is the appropriate way to sing an Italian Aria.

Overall, the

Photo: B. Johnson

Julia Vannatter

Childish Gambino

because the internet Even if you don’t want to like Childish Gambino’s latest release, you have to respect it. In his second studio effort, Gambino, aka Donald Glover, incorporates elements from pop, psychedelia, experimental, and electronic music to form his most ambitious entertainment venture to date.

Lyrically, Gambino has remained relatively the same.

His hooks are catchy as ever, and his verses are filled with slanted and internal rhyme; it’s clear the lines were scrutinized and perfected.

Compared to the feature-heavy Royalty mixtape, because the internet seems to take a u-turn into more mature and unconventional musical dogmas. He has several introduction and bridge tracks on the album that are as short as five seconds long (see “the library (intro)”). Gambino also numbers several sets of songs that run together. “I. the worst guys” through “V. 3005” all sort of flow as one long track, though they could also work as singles.

Gambino aimed to create not only an album, but a multimedia experience. In August, Gambino released two versions of a short film, showcasing a typical day at his house. Clips of production from the album are featured, and there are surreal and strange occurrences. Also, there is a 75 page screenplay that is meant to be read alongside the album while listening. The script is full of Internet slang and emojis for stage directions. The dialogue is scarce, but the message seems to make the album a cohesive, put together package of songs.

Overall, the album is jumbled beauty. Gambino reveals his musical maturity, his knack for rap, and his willingness to boldly experiment in a world of cookie-cutter hip-hop.

Whether you like it or not, Gambino puts forth a truly committed effort to his craft, and he opens the door into his convoluted thoughts so we might be able to understand. If nothing else, because the internet is an album about growing up, reinventing yourself, and coming to terms with your true self.

Graphics: C. Hansen

Kyle Scriver ‘15 splatters paint across his masterpiece—an artist in his element.

A poster board is his proverbial canvas, his paintbrush. . . a spray can.

“I just grab paint and go with the flow,” Scriver said. “It’s a way for me to be different.”

After watching a Youtube video about graffiti art, Scriver attempted the unconventional art form.

“All you really need is spray paint and newspaper,” he said. “Zero skill, you just need imagination.

I create what I see in my mind.”

Cook has the training and skill to light up not only the stage, but the world.

“For some, lights can be blinding,” Cook said, “but for me, they are enlightening.”

Working alongside Joe Bearss, a former student of business teacher Pat Rutt, Cook became the first student in Central history to intern at the Opera House.

“Everything came surprisingly naturally to me,” Cook said. “If there was something that I couldn’t grasp, Joe would be there to teach me it.”

“Working in front of a live audience can be scary when you start,” Cook said. “I did a spotlight on one show, and I didn’t know the names of the people that I was supposed to be following. So that was nervewracking, but fortunately, I got it down within a few minutes.”

Cook performed a variety of tasks interning at the Opera House: unloading trucks, setting up backstage, updating the light board, and operating the spotlight. In the “prep” stage of the show, Cook often climbed the catwalks, over 30 feet above

Our resident music connoisseurs bring you the latest and greatest in this issue’s music

Aaron Smits

ic: I. B aillie

Lighting

“It makes me feel good about making a difference,” she said, “and helping people out.”

Although it disappoints Blanchard that others her age rarely sew or quilt, her youth allows Blanchard to aptly portray her peers, and gives her the power to immortalize those most important to her.

“When my friend passed away,” she said, “I made a quilt for his parents out of material with photos printed on it.

They cried and hugged me so tight, and they hung it in the school. I will never forget it.”

Because of her art, Blanchard is empowered.

“I feel like I can change the world,” she said, “and make a difference, even if it’s one person.”

Graph

Snipping the last thread on her purple, blue and green masterpiece, four years in the making, Autumn Blanchard ‘14 revels in the relief of completing her quilt and the pride she derives from her success. The $2000 she received for it simply trims the pretty package.

“I love showing off my work,” she said.

“When people see it, they’re astonished.”

Blanchard’s greatest effort—a an eightsquare quilt—was both a pleasure to create and to sell. She admits to being surprised when she was approached with the $2000 offered price.

“I spent about one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars making it,” Blanchard said. “But the more effort you put into it,

the more expensive it’s going to be.”

While her talents with a needle are lucrative, she also values the self-sustaining lifestyle sewing promotes.

“I like proving the point that you don’t have to go to the store for stuff you need,” Blanchard said. “You can live off the land and make your own clothes.”

Blanchard has been hand sewing since age seven, and machine sewing since she was nine. She also learned the skills of reupholstery, embroidery, and staining glass, not only as an art form, but as a necessity.

“My grandma taught this stuff,” Blanchard said, “because it was important, and I’ve used it. Sewing especially is a great skill that will be gone in a few decades.”

In addition to creating her own clothing and jewelry, Blanchard donates crocheted and knitted scarves and hats to the children at St. Jude’s Hospital.

Graphic: A. Korson

CHS participants received high scores and constructive feedback.

“The feedback definitely helped me to improve,” Tarsa said.

“Now when I practice, I work on those areas to ensure I’m doing them right.”

Hiss Golden Messenger Bad Debt

In much the same fashion of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, the mythos surrounding Hiss Golden Messenger aka MC Taylor’s Bad Debt is steeped in mystery. Recorded with only an acoustic guitar in his kitchen, Taylor poured his soul into a portable cassette recorder during a particularly cold winter at the height of the financial crisis. Bad Debt had a limited CD release in 2010, but all official copies were destroyed in a warehouse fire during the London riots. Now, Bad Debt is experiencing a proper re-release with an addition of three previously unreleased songs.

This mythos adds to the eeriness of the album. “Are you with me now?” Taylor whispers at the beginning of “Balthazar’s Song,” his voice covered in cassette hiss; a ghost being risen from the fire’s ashes. Taylor timidly sings over gentle guitar strums, and his field recording style captures the natural reverberation of the guitar bouncing off kitchen walls, the tapping of his foot, and missed notes which decorate these songs with intimate authenticity.

But the elegiac lyrics are what makes Bad Debt feel like a lost psalm. Taylor’s earnest elegies are heavy as he mulls over existential muses, God, and debt, as if he is holding a heartto-heart with anyone who will listen. Although drenched in Biblical imagery, Bad Debt isn’t religious in meaning.

Many of these songs have been fleshed out on other Hiss Golden Messenger albums, but other iterations won’t ever touch the hauntedness of Bad Debt. However, the lack of variety on Bad Debt can make the album grow stale, as it never alters from it’s simple strumming pattern and low fidelity sound. For as short of an album as it is, listening to Bad Debt grows stale earlier than it should.

Bad Debt’s minimalistic folk is easy on the ears, yet heavy on the soul, a sobering testament to hard times.

David Reinke

EIC & News Editor

The War on Drugs

“Red A band called The War Eyes” on Drugs releases a single titled, “Red Eye.” No one Albums: courtesy of Spotify blames you for expecting a “cool-because-it’s-ironic” electric folk group tossing up the highs and lows of being high, instead of a slack-jawed Americana soul romp like it actually is. But what follows defies all hopes and expectations anyway, considering the success of 2011’s Slave Ambient.

In an ultimately deceptive intro, the track kicks off with softly textured synths, a conglomerate of guitar strums and harums, some barely noticeable throbbing, and a simple charge of drum scrambling to create order in a quick-topass, albeit heady, bout of confusion. As soon as each instrument finds its reserved spot, though, it disappointingly disappears for the rest of the track.

“Red Eyes” goes on forever without a change in anything other than volume. Even when a thick wobble substitutes as backing for more of vocalist Adam Granduciel’s punchy, double-tracked echoes, there’s a sense that nothing is building, nothing’s growing. The action may be getting thicker, but the mood is hardly palpable.

This kind of looped tracking complements atmospherical genres like dream pop, electronic, and occasionally folk rock, but with this Springsteen throw-back, it comes off more as a prolonged, where-do-we-go-from-here? recording session.

The answer, apparently, is nowhere...

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

Year in Review

2013 Above: Commonly used terms of 2013

News

Page Credit: Hunter Kelly and Hayley Rozema

Pop Culture

Graphic: I. Baillie

Obamacare

George Zimmerman

Miley Cyrus

October 1 (Implemented): ObamaCare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, was implemented so all U.S. have health insurance. The day of the website’s launch last October, it repeatedly crashed. And it still is not functioning.

Only 2.2 million people had successfully signed up in 2013.

July 13: Across America heads turned as George Zimmerman was found not-guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter. Zimmerman was accused of murdering 17 year-old Trayvon Martin.

“When I found out what George Zimmerman did, I was disgusted and outraged. I watched the trial every day it was on and when I found out he was innocent, I was really shocked. They let a guilty man walk free, and I felt like the justice system let a lot of people down.” -Keisha Bell ‘15

Boston Bombings April 15: Just steps from the finish of the Boston Marathon, two pressure cooker bombs detonated, killing four and injuring 263; at least 16 people lost limbs. Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev are suspects in the terrorist attack. Tamerlan died while police tried to capture the brothers. Currently, U.S. prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Dzhokhar.

August 25: Miley Cyrus’ provocative dance and attire were the talk of the Video Music Awards and social media. Cyrus’ performance included twerking on Robin Thicke and provocatively rubbing a foam finger. The former Disney star started the performance wearing a teddy-bear inspired ensemble, which she ripped off to reveal a nude colored bikini.

“I think the intentions of the Health Care bill is good to deliver insurance to people. When I heard about the website not working correctly, I had to make sure that I heard it correctly. My initial thought was if you’re going to implement a law like that, aren’t you going to be doing multiple checks to make sure everything is working correctly and make sure it can handle the traffic that it’s going to be receiving? People opting out of insurance or being able to manage it more willingly are now going to be limited to what they can have for coverage. Now, employers are going to be going back to what they’re going to be offering.” -Bryan Burns Assistant Principal

“I have been a fan of Miley Cyrus since she was in Hannah Montana, not for Hannah Montana, but just because I liked it when the character was Miley. Her VMA performance was definitely different and unique. She made the performance that way to get her name out there. I give her big props for not caring about what people think. Though I did like her long hair better, her new hair is what makes her an individual. It’s more her.

A lot of kids and parents take Miley the wrong way based off of her performances and lyrics.

But, she’s showing that it’s okay to be yourself.”

-Becca Stagman ‘14

Splash Pad

“When I found out about the Boston Bombing through media, I was sickened. They had the names and addresses of hospitals that victims who has lost limbs were at. I wrote between five and ten letters to victims and sent them to those hospitals. Many innocent people who thought they were doing something healthy, and were out spending time with their families were hurt or even killed during the attack. ” -Polly Walker Physical Education Teacher

Day Weekend.

Typhoon Haiyan

June 25: The Splash Pad opened for the first time but was shut down due to improper permitting. Two days later it reopened.

After a sewage back-up on Jun. 30 sent sewage surging onto children, it was closed for the rest of the summer and reopened Labor

Beyoncé January 21: The “Star-Spangled Banner” is sung at every Inauguration. When President Obama was sworn into office for his second term, Beyonce sang our National Anthem. After being accused of lip synching, she confirmed she had.

Her excuse: she didn’t have sufficient time to practice for the important event.

“The Splash Pad downtown was open for a short time because of the sewage overflow, it will be nice to go down and have something to do in place of the train. People in town said it was a rushed job so they could get it done before Cherry Fest, perhaps they didn’t account for that problem. I’m not ready to condemn anyone for it yet.” -Courtney Mazurek English Teacher

“When I found out Beyonce was lip syncing the National Anthem, I didn’t really care. A lot of singers lip sync, and messing up the National Anthem on live television in front of the president would be really embarrassing, so my view on her didn’t change. If I was in the situation, I would probably do the same thing.” -Dylan Jewell ‘15

November 8: Clocking wind speeds of over 200 miles per hour, and wind gusting up to 235 miles per hour, Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. Communication in the hardest hit areas was knocked-out, more than 6,200 people died, and there was widespread flooding and power outages throughout sections of the country.

“I thought the typhoon over in the Philippines was horrible. To help with the efforts, in Key Club, we are planning on raising money to send over to the Philippines to help with the efforts to rebuild after this terrible disaster.” -Claire Moen ‘14

Fast Facts Apple sold over $10 billion dollars in the App Store in 2013.

Lance Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing drugs on Jan. 14 to Oprah.

Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke topped the Billboard Top 100 Charts for 12 weeks straight.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire topped sales $418,182,152.

Bitcoins were worth $800 a piece at the end of 2013.

Paul Walker 1973-2013; Age: 40 Fast and Furious star Paul Walker died in Santa Clarita, California, in a car accident that left his Porsche GT unrecognizable. His vehicle was driven by a friend at speeds that exceeded 100 miles per hour; both occupants died at impact.

“I was downstairs drawing when my dad came down and said that Paul Walker had died. At first, I didn’t believe him. He told me to turn it onto Channel 14. I dropped to my knees and started balling. Paul Walker movies are literally all I watch.” -Tyler Wiegel ‘16

In Memoriam Margaret Thatcher

1925-2013; Age: 87 Margaret Thatcher was Britain’s Conservative Party leader who became Prime Minister of Britain in 1979. She was the first woman to hold the position in the history of the country. Thatcher modernized conservative politics and made massive reforms that changed the face of the country. Thatcher is an icon to conservatives all over the world.

“I think it’s hugely impactful that a woman was not only Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but that she stayed strong. Female politicians are so often attacked for being aggressive or even being passionate, despite the fact those are the job requirements for being a politician. She proved that women can both get the job done and do it well.” -Clara Trippe ‘14

Nelson Mandela 1918-2013; Age: 95 Nelson Mandela served as South Africa’s first black president from 1994-1999. For 27 years Mandela was imprisoned for being an anti-apartheid activist. Apartheid is the legal separation between blacks and whites.

“Nelson Mandela was remarkable in the sense that he had served for something he believed in, which is a tremendous amount of sacrifice. And, sometimes when you do that, it’s the ultimate test of your beliefs. The end of apartheid is going to have the biggest impact on the South Africans. This is also going to shine light on the world. He gave up years of his life. When he got released from jail that must have been a huge moment of joy for him.” -Eric Schugars World History Teacher

7

Fashion This year inspired 90s flashbacks with high waisted shorts and crop tops; we also saw the proliferation of infinity scarves and combat boots.

“Retro high-waisted shorts are extremely comfortable and I like the way they look.

My favorite thing to wear with my high-waisted jeans is my royal blue sweater.” -Katrina Salon ‘17

Nov. 26, 1995

May 31, 2013 Photo: Courtesy of Allen Kent Photo

Owen Williamson We honor Traverse City native and friend Owen Williamson, who would have graduated in 2014 at West Senior High. Through Owen’s attendance at Central Grade’s TAG program, his choir and theatre connections, he was friends with many Central students. Williamson drowned while swimming at Twin Lakes last summer.

“Owen, his brother Ross, and my brothers Marco and Gabe and I were very close as children because our moms were great friends. He was like family to us.

Owen’s death strongly impacted my life because it made me realize how lucky I am to be living today.

I never thought he wouldn’t make it to graduation.

It was completely unexpected. I am now so much more thankful for everyday and I try to live life to the fullest, because that’s what Owen would’ve wanted from all of us.” -Elena Morcote ‘14 All Photos: Courtesy of gettyimages.com

Describe 2013 in one word: “Exotic.” -Jennifer Burfield ‘15 “Horrible.” -Cameron Faught ‘17 “Terrible.” -Madeline Kemp ‘15 “Challenging.” -Freeman Phillips ‘14 “Exciting.” -Fayth Lautner ‘15 “Complicated.” -Olivia Porter ‘14 “Powerful.” -Karlee Corwin ‘16 “Chaotic.” -Alex Burris ‘14 “Unremarkable.” -Mary Corning ‘16 “Unique.” -Raymond Burley ‘14

8 Film

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

TC’s newest movie palace

1.

Page Credit: Scott Hardin, David Reinke, Anders Olson, Margo Hoagg

Featuring first run major motion pictures, Traverse City’s new movie palace changes the theater landscape

Scott Hardin

2.

5.

Leek & Photo Editor Despite that there are theater venues far more accessible, movie goers wait outside in freezing weather, staring anxiously towards the warm, bright theater marquee. It seems they will persevere through anything for a seat in the new Bijou By the Bay.

First time for first run:

4.

In 2013 we saw the saw the release of everything from superhero reboots to black and white independents, and the year’s best films were jaw dropping. We at the Black & Gold have taken it upon ourselves to bestow our Black and Golden Globe award upon ten of the most outstanding films of 2013.

3.

Best Drama: Fruitvale Station.

Fruitvale Station’s tale of a man’s last twenty-four hours of life is the most powerful tale of 2013. Ryan Coogler’s directorial debut is equal parts moving and infuriating.

Best Action: Pacific Rim. An answer Best Horror: The Conjuring. James to every man’s “giant robot vs. giant Wan’s Amityville-esque horror is monster” fascination, Guillermo del significant not only as a well done Toro’s Pacific Rim is a spectacle of both visual effects and mind blowing horror film that flawlessly channels sound. These two impressive features the atmosphere of it’s eighties counterparts, but as a film that enhance the impact of every steeldelivers all of it’s terror without knuckled fist on muscle-heavy lizard an ounce of gore—coming flesh, alongside the treat of Charlie from the director of Saw. Day as a lead.

Best Animation: Despicable Best Comedy: The World’s End. Few films Me 2. While aimed at a young- this year managed to pull out the underlyer audience, Despicable Me 2 is ing sense of tragedy in a character quite the sort of film that will get like what was done with The World’s End’s a chuckle out of anyone. The Gary King, and in a robots-take-overridiculousness of Gru’s min- the-world scenario, no less. It’s gritty ions was not toned down for when it’s funny, crowded with hilarithe sequel, nor should it have ous hijinks, and remains relatable been—Steve Carrell’s interac- in the thick of spotlighttion with costars and minions eyed robot action. alike is as fun as ever.

Best Screenplay: The Wolf of Wall Street. It will tastefully break the fourth wall one minute and draw out a cocaine fueled scene for no other end than physical comedy the next. The portrayal of Jordan Belfort’s exploits and the dialogue between Dicaprio and Jonah Hill are hilarious, but serious in a way that only Martin Scorsese and Ter-

Best Effects: Gravity. The first fifteen minutes is a mind blowing, white knuckle experience. The realism of Sandra Bullock flying into space is terrifying, the loneliness of Bullock floating along past Earth is melancholic, and the intensity of debris ripping I.S.S. to shreds is riveting. Director Alfonso Cuarón presents this in the most effective

Best Picture: American Hustle. Boasting one of the year’s most talented casts, David O. Russell’s Abscam comedy weaves an intricate plot with some of 2013’s most interesting and gaudy characters. The onscreen chemistry between Christian Bale and Amy Adam’s lover-thieves, accompanied by stylish voiceovers, is fully matched in quality and spontaneity by supporting roles from Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, with the latter’s performance delivering the year’s most impeccably written and hilarious dialogue—her banter with Bale over a “science oven” (microwave) is especially memorable. American Hustle was clearly created with character depth as a priority, and these characters play out their lines in an artfully crafted atmosphere that makes American Hustle a standout period piece in every sense. Russell finds excuses for his characters to walk through smoke and dress lavishly simply because it looks cool. American Hustle is sublime.

Best Film Score: Her. The film’s eclectic bunch of soft songs is instrumental is texturing the notso-traditional heavy hearted tale of a man in love with his operating machine. With artists such as Arcade Fire and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, what better bands to illustrate the humble future than these constantly-evolving new-agers and others of

Best Director: 12 Years a Slave.

With only two films beforehand, Steve McQueen pushes 12 Years a Slave uphill into lore-worthy heights. And to do so without any sort of embellishment of emotion or truth is a reflection not just of the actors, but the man behind them who was often the only comfortable presence in a journey through a

Student Choice Awards

Graphic: S. Hardin, C. Hansen and A. Korson

Students share their favorite films from 2013 and what made them memorable Max Copeland ‘14: World War Z. “What was cool about World War Z was that they killed off the good professor who was supposed to fix everything right in the beginning, so you’ve got a lot of questions. The zombies were Photo: A. Olson insane, how they piled up on eachother and climbed walls. Brad Pitt was great.

He was the hero of the story. He was indestructable, the zombies seemed to have no effect on him.”

Abbey Green ‘16: Saving Mr. Banks. “It was a heartbreaking story, even though I don’t remember Mary Poppins, it was a really deep story that sticks to you like glue. I really liked the beginning scene when she’s with Photo: M. Caldwell her dad and he’s playing with her in the grass. It’s nice to hear the piano music. It was unique in the fact that it was a movie about a movie, one that so many people know.”

Cate Young ‘16: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. “The movie was so good I read all the books the next day. The movie has so many role models in it, and the mix with the action and relationships and how it was filmed was Photo: M. Caldwell really cool. The actors and the complicated plot represents so much about the government and future of America and everything.

It’s just a really interesting thing to think about.”

Zach Fisher ‘17: The Conjuring.

“It was really creepy and it made me think a lot about it afterwards.

There was a lot of pop-out scenes and it was very suspenseful, but they didn’t just use popout scenes. The characters were Photo: M. Caldwell mysterious and they did a good job at portraying fear. There was a lot of suspense and eerie music and the paranormal things that were happening made it that much better.”

The Bijou, located in the renovated former Con Foster Museum, is Traverse City Film Festival’s newest volunteer run theater, in the same vein as the State Theatre.

The Bijou, however, allows movie goers to see first run, wide release films that can’t be screened at the State Theatre, due to a deed restriction that prevents wide release films being screened until 2025. Until then, the State can only show films that open on two hundred screens or less.

“That basically means art films or limited release films,” Deb Lake, Traverse City Film Festival’s Executive Director, said.

“We’ve always wanted to screen first run movies at the State Theatre. Now we can show films that opened on more than two hundred screens, which are great.”

The films are mostly selected by Michael Moore, programmer for both the State Theatre and the Bijou, who spends a tremendous amount of time watching and picking films, sometimes pre-release.

“He picks the ones he thinks people here in TC will like the most,” Lake said. “The best films, the great films. Those are the ones that he puts into the theaters.”

The Bijou experience:

The aim of the Bijou is not limited to providing previously impossible screenings but to present them in an awe-inspiring way, as well.

“We’re classic movie theaters, movie palaces, the way we think movies are supposed to be seen,” Lake said. “The best possible sound, the most attention to detail, affordable concessions. Our greatest concern is that people have the greatest possible movie experience. We don’t run films that we don’t think are truly great.”

Photo: S. Hardin

After an evening showing of American Hustle, the last of the crowd exits the Bijou. American Hustle is the third major film Bijou has screened, following The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

The quality Lake is attempting to achieve does not go unnoticed.

“Bijou sound is state of the art,” Grayson Lowe ‘15 said. “It’s awesome. It made a documentary sound beautiful.”

Lowe’s Bijou thrill stems not only from high quality sound and movies featured, but from the value he feels he gets. A student price at the Bijou or State is $6.50, whereas commercial theaters may charge as much as $10.50 for a weekend showing—a price that has been steadily on the rise for years.

“I will continue to afford it less and less,” Lowe said. “The increase in prices is supposed to reflect an increase in services rendered or a decrease in supply. Neither of those are true.”

To offset costs, Community volunteer theaters incorporate a volunteer model, many of whom are high school students acquiring community service hours.

“The volunteer model is really critical,” Lake said. “The volunteers set the tone for the theater. The volunteers are there because they want to be. They’re choosing to be there. They feel it’s a good way to help the community.”

Structural limitations:

In spite of lower prices, bigger seats, and newer technology, the State and Bijou are limited in both seating capacity and the amount of movies they are able to screen at once, giving the two Traverse City Carmike Cinemas complexes a decisive advantage.

More often than not, they will be the only option for people looking to see a specific film.

“There’s no way you can compare a single screen theater to what Carmike is able to do with their big theaters,” Lake said.

“It’s a very different experience. We’re a different animal.”

The single screen found in Traverse City’s small theaters helps them coexist within the community alongside commercial multiplexes.

“I think Bijou’s one screen will be its greatest asset and it’s greatest enemy,” Lowe said. “Obviously they’re going to have a narrow number of screenings, so they’re going to make sure that what they pick will be widely relevant. Whereas Carmike kind of works on a shotgun principle, Bijou works more like a sniper rifle.”

Changing theater landscape:

Carmike is hoping to update their Horizon location with a fourteen-screen multiplex at the Horizon Outlet Center, boasting an additional four screens.

According to The Ticker, TC Center Partners LLC, owner of the center, plan for Carmike’s new complex to eventually become part of a all-in-one dining and shopping experience. This multiplex would replace the Old Navy and some other nearby businesses and, if the project is approved by Garfield Township, may be open for summer 2015.

The Bijou hopes to affect the community as well.

“I think we have a long way to go before we see the full impact,” Lake said. “We feel movies can change people’s lives, and we’ve seen it happen many, many times in the ten years we’ve been showing movies. That’s really important to us.”

Magazine

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

Cabin Fever

9

Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Hebden

Photo: A. Olson

Photo: S. Hardin

1) While urban snowboarding, Justin Cutler ‘15 board slides down a hand rail at The State Hospital. 2) Thomas Hebden ‘17 displays his 31” Northern Pike. 3) Bravely running through the brisk cold are Zoe Gerstle, Ashley Ko, Kalina Pfannenstiel, Graceanne Tarsa, and Hannah Keyser, all ‘15. 4) Tyger Bell ‘14 nose grabs while snowboarding in his backyard terrain park. 5) Brandon Smith ‘15 rides his snowmobile through the arctic tundra. 6) Grant Dulude ‘16 does a 180 over “The Wall” at Mt. Holiday.

Page Layout: Mady Basch, Anders Olson, and Meg Caldwell

Photo: M. Caldwell

5.

1.

3.

2.

1.

Photo: S. Hardin

Photo: Courtesy of Dashiell Dryden

4.

6.

10 Video Games

Xbox

Top five hardest games We consult Central students and get their picks for their most frustrating games. We also give our top pick

Graphic:

A. Korso n

Playstation

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

Photo: A. Olson

Final Fantasy; Gwen Stricker ‘14

PLAYSTATION/XBOX RULES “I’m a big Sony fan. I started with a PS2, and then later on I got a PS3. So, the next step was, obviously, to get a PS4. The PS4’s got a 500-GB hard-drive, so it’s got more space to do more things and it’ll keep getting better and better. I wanted to just stick with Sony, rather than switch to the Microsoft Xbox thing. It’s a hundred dollars cheaper. The PS4 in a way is somewhat more user-friendly. The launch titles for the PS4 were somewhat better. They got my attention more than the launch titles for the Xbox One. There’s more different game genres that are more broad and a lot more different types of games.

For example, I feel like there’s a lot more sport games, rather than Xbox’s hard core first-person shooter games. There’s more kid-friendly games to play on Playstation.”

-Vincent Ellul ‘14 (PS4)

“Xbox One has more multi-tasking capabilities, like being able to watch movies or Netflix while you’re gaming. Plus, most of my friends are getting an Xbox One. Features I like, are the voice-command and the interface. The voice controls are helpful- they speed up navigation. I see why they put so much emphasis on the features. I like the controller because it feels better. It’s got a more ergonomic design and I’m more used to the Xbox controller.

It feels more natural. The rumble triggers are my favorite feature because they provide additional tactical feedback during gameplay.The main deciding factor for me was the controller and the games.

I don’t really have a specific genre I like more than others. FIFA’s the only sports game I play and a lot of racing games.”

-Jack McKay ‘15 (Xbox One)

BEST FEATURES ON THIS SYSTEM “I like the PS4 because it has a cool design and shape. It’s got a lot of memory, and it’s really powerful.”

-Spencer Schulte ‘15 (PS4)

“The best features on the system are the video chat with friends, the challenges and the playing online. It takes time to get used to the controls.”

-Grant Lesoski ‘17 (Xbox 360)

THE ABSOLUTE SUPREME GAME “I think Grand Theft Auto V is the best PS game because it’s every game put together into one. I think it’s better on Playstation because the controllers fit my hand better.” -Zane Becker ‘16 (PS3)

“I like playing Call of Duty Zombies because the zombies pop out and it’s funny because my friends and I freak out and scream and the zombies just come out of nowhere.” -Brenna Argue ‘15 (Xbox 360)

“Because there aren’t clear instructions on what to do, the hardest games I’ve played were the first and second Final Fantasy. In the newer ones, there is advice or instructions that lead you in the right direction. But you really have to figure it out yourself in the older ones.”

“You can get killed really easily in Dark Souls. The most frequent way I die is definitely the boss battles. Once you die, it’s over so you have to restart.

I keep getting stuck.

The only strategies to beat those guys are to just dodge their attacks. There isn’t any other way.”

Photo: A. Olson

Pac Man; Marshall Anthony ‘14

Photo: A. Olson

Dark Souls; Dillon Coyne ‘14

“There’s a limited space, and four different things trying to kill, or eat you. If you eat the bigger dots in the corner of the map, the ghosts trying to eat you can no longer harm you. It’s harder than newer games because each round gets faster and you can only move in four directions.”

“You need to be aware and cautious of your surroundings. There is no time to slack off, or you’ll miss something. The controls are difficult to learn and memorize. But, the game gives you a Photo: M. Caldwell lot of freedom, and not many restrictions. You Assassin’s Creed; have to interpret limited Hanna Helton ‘16 instructions.”

Flappy Bird; Our Pick We have yet to encounter a more finicky mobile game. The goal here is to guide your ‘flappy bird’ through a series of green obstacles by only touching the screen. The super sensitive touch screen and the patience required make the game nearly impossible.

Within 5 minutes you’ll want to chuck your phone.

Graphics: A. Taphouse

2.85 million hours of Call of Duty have been played online, that’s longer than the entierty of human existence

Mario was originally named Mr. Video, but his name was changed to the owner of Nintendo’s warehouse

World of Warcraft has netted $10 billion since it’s release. It has more subscribers than the population of Austria Graphic: A. Korson, C. Hansen

2/3 of American households play video games; 58% of parents play games with their children at least once a month

40% of gamers are female, as well as 12% of the game industries professionals, but they recieve 27% less income than men

The world record for most mouse clicks a second is currently 10, and is held by a Major League Gaming professional Information provided by: didyouknowgaming.com and mygamertalk.com

During the development of Halo 3, 20,000 Ibs. of pizza and 24,000 gallons of soda were consumed

Zelda Majora’s Mask was produced in one year, and its existence is the result of a bet placed on a programer

Little Sisters in Bioshock were originally slugs until they were changed to little girls, so the player would feel sympathy

Page Credit: Allison Taphouse, Jeff Comerford, Alex Korson, Connor Hansen, Joel Six

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014

Ads

Quarters Continued from front page

Inglis’ replacement Continued from front page Athletic Administrative Assistant Leanne Foote will be facing a higher workload in light of the temporary changes.

“As a team, the building administrators and others will be able to work together and get the job done during this interim stage,” Scott said. “We aren’t considering the current interim model as a long run solution. Job sharing cannot be done in the long term. It’s just not sustainable over several years.”

Plans for the athletic department are still being refined.

“What’s started now is the research,” Larner said. “We have other things to consider at this point. The district and the state are facing budget reductions. When someone leaves the district, we look at it as an opportunity to evaluate the efficiency of the current model. Right now, the options are wide open. The information we

gathered at the forum will be taken to the administrators and executives from the building and downtown and we’re going to discuss it.”

The current fiscal zeitgeist in the district and in the state is jittery, and that will be taken into account when weighing the options for the 2014-’15 school year. Scott suggested forum attendees contact their legislators regarding the fiscal inequalities in Michigan schools.

“There is a disproportionate amount of funding from here to southeast Michigan.

Walled Lake High School, for instance, has 40 million more dollars per year to spend than we do, even though our student numbers are comparable. We need a more level playing field in that aspect.”

As for next year, no decisions have been made.

“What the athletic director position looks like in the future is yet to be seen,” Larner said.

“The goal is to have a plan ready by April or May because that is when people start deciding if they’re going to take another job.”

“The trimester schedule met the needs of our students for the five-year period when we were in flux,” Puckett said. “The curriculum had changed, the requirements had changed and we didn’t yet have the opportunities at the middle school and high school available now.”

Opportunities that allow students to fulfill credit requirements include online and summer school classes, as well high school credit for middle school classes. With these opportunities, Vandermolen said, students can free up time in their schedules to take electives.

“Trimesters are great for the opportunity to take electives,” Vandermolen said, “but in terms of the core learning and college readiness, there’s not enough time to cover the content and the skills students need within the twelve weeks.”

From trimesters to quarters; addressing failure rates Vandermolen said the main rationale for a change to a semester schedule with quarter offerings is to help academically at-risk students.

“The data across the district indicates that every year student failure rates in the four core classes continue to go up by percentage points,” Vandermolen said.

TCAPS believes increasing failure rates can be attributed to gaps in instruction and discontinuity of teachers between trimesters.

For example, Vandermolen said if a student takes Algebra 1A first trimester and has to wait to take Algebra 1B until third trimester, “that’s a significant time students aren’t applying those skills on a consistent basis,” he said. “I want to ensure all students have equitable access to teachers in courses, to be able to pass, receive credit or get a good grade the first time around.

In trimesters, that’s a concern for me.”

In terms of financial considerations, high failure rates are expensive; Vandermolen said the district ultimately spends more money to have courses re-taught.

Continuity in curriculum: According to Vandermolen, since trimesters have been in place, some teachers have said curriculum is rushed, not giving students time to thoroughly learn the material. “However,” Vandermolen said, “students that had the same teacher for year-long classes had very good academic performance results because there’s only one teacher, and they have more time to learn the concepts.”

Allie Shumate ‘15 thinks the length of trimesters and quarters each have their own advantages.

“I like trimesters because classes are long enough to learn something, but if you don’t like the class, it’s over soon enough,” Shumate said.

“The quarter schedule will be better educationwise, but I think students will be upset having

11

to take core classes all year because we’ve gotten used to having them only two-thirds of the year.”

Mitigating the potential loss of electives: zero and seventh hours Administrators are trying to mitigate loss of elective offerings by establishing zero and seventh hour classes, based on student demand.

Zero and seventh hour classes will also offer additional flexibility for student schedules.

“A student could have a zero hour period and then attend only periods one through five,” Vandermolen said. “They would end their school day around two o’clock, and could leave to go to their job, work experience or career internship.”

Vandermolen estimates 20-25% of students will enroll in zero and seventh hour classes.

TCAPS’ total savings from a quarter schedule will depend on enrollment in these classes, as well as in the district’s Early College program, NMC/Ferris State dual enrollment and TBA classes.

Dual enrollment, TBA and Early College: NMC and TBA classes—non-district programs that continue to attract more students—better align with a quarter schedule.

“I take a Spanish class at NMC,” Shumate said.

“I can see how it would be easier because the college is already on semesters. My class didn’t start until the middle of January, so I had a few weeks of doing nothing.”

Implementation: After student course selections for the next school year are processed, administration will build a master semester schedule with quarters.

The scheduling committee will evaluate on an ongoing basis.

“Continuous improvement will be part of the whole process,” Vandermolen said. “If the quarter schedule morphs into something different than a semester-like schedule, we’ll allow it as long as it’s to the students’ advantage in terms of learning and outcome.”

Puckett predicts the change to a quarter schedule will be an easier transition since schools already have experience with semester scheduling. However, many students accustomed to trimesters, like Shumate, still worry about the transition.

“I was upset because I already knew what classes I have to take next year to have enough credits to graduate,” Shumate said. “It messed up my whole plan.”

Vandermolen said the administration will strive to make the quarter system work to the benefit of students, in both focusing on academic success and elective course offerings.

“Initially, it’s a big change, so the natural inclination is to not want it to happen, but as we get more information out, people are understanding it more,” Vandermolen said. “More students are beginning to see that it’s not as drastic as what they believed.”

12 The Leek

Traverse City Central High School Black & Gold February 4, 2014 real stories, real people

Basketball diplomats shamed

When modern politicking failed, the State Department called upon exbasketball heros to save an American political prisoner held in North Korea

Aaron Smits Staff Reporter

Disclaimer: You should

know by now this isn’t fact.

News in Brief Jake Myers Leek Editor

Signs guide students

F

ormer Chicago Bulls hero and NBA Allstar Dennis “The Worm” Rodman was admitted to an alcohol rehabilitation center on Jan. 14, after returning from North Korea. On his trip, Rodman was expected by many to inquire about U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae, who is being held as a political prisoner by North Korea. The charges against Bae have not been released.

However, Secretary of State John Kerry approached Rodman at his undisclosed rehab center with an “opportunity even he couldn’t turn down.” Kerry asked Rodman to venture back to the sneaky dictatorship in order to properly negotiate the release of Bae. After a multilateral effort from five other countries failed to free Bae, Rodman was the last resort.

He was to pick his diplomatic dream team of former NBA stars, take them back to North Korea, and convince Kim to release Bae from his custody.

Though Rodman initially denied Kerry’s request, he eagerly accepted under the condition that he would be privy to an open bar at all times during the trip.

Henny in hand, Rodman traveled around the country to recruit former teammates and rivals alike. By the next day, Rodman had rounded up Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Shaquille O’Neal, and former teammate Michael Jordan. This cabal of negotiators took the next Gulfstream 6 to North Korea.

The geriatric and misshapen ex-NBA allstar crew was greeted in Korea with little fanfare.

Rodman was personally greeted by Kim, and they went to the Supreme Leader’s Palace to discuss Bae’s imprisonment.

After emerging from the palace’s inner sanctum, both men issued official statements from the palace balcony.

“Bae will be freed under one condition,” Kim announced to the hysterical crowd.

“Dennis and his band of has-beens must outperform our national team in a classic game of NoKo streetball.”

“I’m with Kim,” Rodman said. “Bae deserves to be eaten by 120 hungry attack dogs for his treason, or whatever. Dunno, like, priorities and all that stuff. I’m responsible!

I’m doing this for the great of America and all that! Don’t talk about me!”

Rodman then trailed off into an atrocious string of expletives and vulgarity.

Thusly, a historic basketball game ensued.

Both teams entered stadium stage right.

“Well, there were two weird things,” AbdulJabar said. “First, there was no audience—a

Graphic: J. Myers

Graphic: J. Myers

In a completely unaltered photographic depiction, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un displays his streetball swagger. “I play ball, you already know,” Kim said “It’s ya boy, Jongy!” Game commentators dubbed Kim’s devastating maneuver “Ying and Yang.” It is rumored that, long ago, this dunk once equalized the ancient forces of good and evil in the universe.

couple soldiers, and I’m pretty sure the rest were just cardboard cutouts. Second, I don’t think we were playing against humans.”

Kim had constructed a team of the most enormous Koreans in his entire nation. Each weighed more than 300 pounds and, at more than seven feet tall, towered over everyone.

The corpulent Supreme Leader Kim captained this team of monolithic beings.

“We’re starving!” a North Korean peasant said outside the stadium, while being brutally beaten back. “Our Benevolent Leader fed all of the food in Korea to these bless-ed beasts, by the power of Kim, let them prosper.”

Abdul-Jabar, age 66, broke his hip during the tip off when he took his first step, sans walker. The game proceeded uninterrupted, as he writhed on the floor. O’Neal collapsed soon after, apparently suffering from a heart attack.

“Get me my Icy Hot!” O’Neal exclaimed.

“When the heat is on, the pain is gone. Am I right?”

With the game now three-on-five, the North Korean team was racking up the points. As a final nail in the coffin, the Korean giant known only as “Po” proceeded to slam down a nasty dunk, which the ecstatic North Korean commentators called “Sweet and Sour.” Rodman called a timeout.

“I’m out,” Rodman said. ”I’m hittin’ the bench and hittin’ the drank. Know what I’m sayin’?”

Johnson quickly left the game after receiving a “dire business call from Magic Johnson Enterprises.” A frustrated Jordan finally made a break for an exit.

“I need Bugs, man,” Jordan said. “I can’t do this basketball thing without Bugs Bunny, man. Not since Space Jam.” North Korea was victorious by default, and Rodman’s team returned stateside embarrassed and in shambles.

“Well, looks like I’m goin’ back to rehab,” Rodman said through much phlegm and tears. “This one’s for all the good times.”

Rodman said through the bottle.

Political analysts are calling it “an unprecedented breakdown in traditional basketball diplomacy.” Rodman fans are appealing to the State Department to strike North Korea after the humiliating loss to one of the poorest countries in the world.

“Dennis was such an upstanding citizen before he went to Korea,” Bill O’Reilly said.

“I can’t believe Obama would let this happen to a national hero. The commies must have messed with his mind, or something.”

At press time, the petition to strike North Korea had three signatures.

A Valentine’s Guide: The Taphouse System Boys, resident love expert Allison Taphouse is in, ready to give away the secrets to a flawless Valentine’s Day

Allison Taphouse Focus Page Editor

T

attoo: Before Go Time shave your head and skip on over to your local tattoo joint.

Scroll your girl’s Instagram on the way to find her latest selfie; hopefully, she has good ‘gram taste because this one will be with you. For life. Location? Nowhere else but the back of your head, so that she will always be one step behind you. nger: It’s common knowledge that every girl enjoys a little bit of verbal abuse on a first date. Make sure you immediately criticize her looks. Help her out so next time she knows what to do better. Female subordination is so in right now. edal: Pro tip: ride your bike to her place.

The ladies love it when a man takes control, especially out on the open road. She will

A P

love the chance to ride on your handlebars in February’s sub zero polar vortex. and feed: Boys, you gotta take care of yo’ girl. She doesn’t just want to be called baby, she wants to be treated like one too.

Ignore her petulant, “I’m on a diet,” wails.

She isn’t tonight. Order the fattest steak on the menu. Don’t worry about the cost-you weren’t planning on paying anyways. Leave the tab for her. ver-do: Today, L-O-V-E is in the air.

Your girl will be longing to hear those three little words, even if you did just meet two hours ago. Overdose her with words of love. You can even blithely broach the idea of marriage. What’s the point of taking it slow? nwind: As the night unfolds, consider carefully what you want to ask her. Be sure to use a whispery voice. Make her come closer. You are the man. core: Intimate contact is a vital part of

H

O

Global Perspectives

Graphics: J. Myers & S. Hardin

DEADLINE UPDATE

“Who’s ready for another stimulus!”

Stacy Muff Freeloader “The American Dream is only for those who can afford it, or import it.

HUUOOOWW!”

Tokyo Mitsubishi The Boss

“Let them eat cake.”

Wanda Phoenix Denizen

Photos: Courtesy of Reuters

Operation: Red Out

Graphic: A. Smits & C. Rasmussen

Photo: J. Myers

Drake Guttersnipe

Staff Reporter

E

Despite an increase in spending on social programs over the last 50 years, results of a recent study conducted at Harvard found that economic mobility has not changed, and the American middle class has decreased. What do you think?

“Started from the bottom and we still here.”

Carl Rasmussen

your date. Wipe the sweat from your hand, so it’s ready for hers. Remember, hugs are supposed to be light--leave room for Jesus. njoy: You are now an expert on women.

U S

As the school year approaches the halfway mark, Central administrators have released the results of a classified Pew Research Center study conducted to analyze the effects of new signs in academically stimulating areas, such as the atrium and student bathrooms, and their effects on student attitude and performance. Erected at the beginning of the school year, the signs aim to promote positive messages, and to remind students that: “This is a No Bullying Zone,” and to “Keep Calm and Listen.”

“Students are very susceptible to Pavlovian signage,” Head Principal Dr. Rick Vandermolen said. “The Central High School student is a smart and adaptive specimen. It sees “learn” and it learns, the data proves it. The data never lies. ” Because of the success of the signage, Central administrators plan to vamp up the the sign campaign to include an influx of new signs for the third trimester. Unofficial preliminary designs ascertained by Leek interns in a dangerous pursuit for the truth, hint at large dramatic portraits of Central administrators donning masculine fu manchus with the caption: “Big Brother is Watching You.” “We want students to never forget we’re always watching. We never sleep,” Assistant principal Brian Burns said. “Because TCAPS cares.”

There is an apparent direct correlation of sign placement and a decrease in bullying. Students once deemed “bullies” by administration reportedly have gone missing, only to reappear in their classes a few days later.

“I love Big Brother,” reformed bully Pohn Jiatek ‘14 said.

A new sign has been hung in the atrium that counts the number of days since the last bullying incident, which at press time was an impressive sixty-four days.

“It appears that our strategic placement of OLWEUS signs has nearly eradicated the bullying epidemic,” OLWEUS director Jay Larner said. “I’m glad I didn’t have to get my hands dirty.”

Since the potential for signs shaping students is endless, administration hopes to replace 37.4% of teachers with a rotating system of signs before 2018.

“A sign is simple yet powerful,” Vandermolen said.

Classes postponed indefinately as Central’s turf war rages on for control of the boy’s bathrooms

Student Senate president Livia Ouciani ‘14 issued a decree ordering the reinstatement of a fabled tradition: the school dance. Held Jan. 31, operation ‘Red Out’ was a slight adjustment from White Out, “a revolution, if you must,” Ouciani said in a press conference.

“For starters, address me as Empress,” Ouciani said.

“Empress Livia the Dragon IV. Yes, I like that.”

For the feeble price of 50 “volunteer” hours, students were granted entrance to the dance as well as provided a unique crimson bracelet bearing the golden crest of a mallet and scythe.

“It’s very fashionable, really,” Ouciani said. “Crimson and gold is in this season. You will be the envy of all your fellow inmates, ah… I mean, comrades, yes, your comrades will adore you.”

To ensure maximum dance security, Chief Labor Enforcer Dick “Steel Fist” Townsend reformed the ways of old into a “glorious new guard forged in blood, and iron.”

“Those imperial dogs have no power here,” Townsend said, regarding the police officers who once roamed Central’s grounds, sniffing out trouble that was afoot. Instead, Townsend personally hired new security that he claimed were “currently in deep slumber,” calling them “sleepers,’ and the “cure to the Bourgeois scourge.”

Behind the small gym’s doors, dubbed the ‘Iron Curtain’, students found traditional welcoming Chinese New Year decor, and a wide array of activities; including pin the tail on the donkey, duck duck goose, and Chairman Mao face paintings.

“I think that the students appreciated the changes,” Ouciani said, whilst stroking her thick, black mustache.

“At least, for their sake, I hope they did.”

New dance policy abolished “grinding,” instead, comrades were instructed to “fall into rank” and begin a ceremonial march.

“The dance was red hot!” Ouciani said. “Rise up comrades! The world is mine to be recreated, and I am not one to disappoint; for I am fire, I am death.”