March 2012

Too close

Chardon Lakewood

for comfort

Is Lakewood safe? p.4

Lakewood’s refugee’s p. 13

The hunt for the perfect dress p.24

Vol. 91, No. 5 . March. 2012 • Lakewood High School • 14100 Franklin Blvd. • Lakewood, OH 44107

The Times thanks our Patrons: Silver Grant & Annette Graber

Bronze Kefah Suleiman Your name could be here! See Times Staff about buying a Gold, Silver or Bronze Patron Ad

Cover Illustration by Julia Houska and Gwen Stephans.

2

A neighborhood shop full of world wonders!

216-529-2328 15106 Detroit Avenue Lakewood Ohio

A Lakewood High french class shows support for Chardon by wearing red and black.

To read more about the Chardon tragedy see page 4.

The Lakewood Times

contents

Vol. 91 Issue 5 March 2012

Times staff 2011/2012 Managing Editors Julia Houska Gwen Stephen Lily Pollack Victoria Chesmar Juan Amador

News

Sports Editors

Jon Cropper Sabrina Suleiman

Business

Illustrators

Adviser

Casey Miller Brett Brown Alan Mika

4. Safely Secure 6. Chardon’s aftermath 8. Gaga for respect 9. Billowing Budget 10. Principal of the year 11. The wonders of voting/True Roman

Focus

12. Refugee’s in America 13. Education for Refugee’s 14. A day in teh life of a Refugee 16. Around the world 17. A blast from the past

Karen Ballash

Opinion

Bushra Harba

Staff Writers

Maddy Kane Brandy Davis Khalil Cormier Brandon Reid Dylan Dombroski Becca Houp

Sabrina Suleiman The ELL students pose for a picture. To learn more about these students check out p. 12

Copy Editor

18. Republican race 19. R[evol]ution 20. Staff Editorial

Lakewood Life

21. Devastating dances/DJ choices 22. Time line 23. Dress the part 24. Irish dancing

Sports

27. Baseball preview

A blast from the past. Check out all the dancing fun, starting on p. 21

Times Editorial Policy

As preservers of democracy, our schools shall protect, encourage, and enhance free speech and the exchange of ideas as a means of protecting our American way of life. The Times and its staff are protected by, and bound to, the principles of the First Amendment and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution and the various court decisions implementing those principles.

It is the mission of The Lakewood Times, the official newsmagazine of Lakewood High School, to serve as a public forum that promotes the gathering and exchange of ideas, and uphold high journalistic standards for the purpose of enriching the lives of our readers.

The Times is established as an open forum for student expression and as a voice in the uninhibited, free and open discussion of issues. The Times will not be reviewed or restrained prior to publication. Content of the Times, therefore, reflections only the views of the student staff or individual students and not school officials. Students may use online media to educate, inform, and entertain their readers. Both the school and the cyber community are entitled to the same protections and subject to the same freedoms and responsibilities, as all other student media outlined in this policy. Online media are forums for self-expression and are similar to traditional media, in their freedoms, responsibilities, and professional obligations. As such they will not be subject to prior review or restraint.

Student journalists may use online media to report news and information, to communicate with other students and individuals, to question and consult with experts, and to locate material, to meet their newsgathering and research needs.

The Times, and staff, will strive to avoid publishing any material determined by student editors or the student editorial board to be unprotected, that is, material that is libelous, obscene, materially disruptive of the school process, an unwarranted invasion of privacy, a violation of copyright laws or electronic manipulations changing the essential truth of the photo or illustrations. Other obligations can be found in the handbook available to each student. The Times adviser will not act as a censor.

If questions arise over specific copy as defined within this policy, student journalists will seek the advice of the communications attorney from the Student Press Law Center. The Times editorial board as a whole will be responsible for determining editorial opinions, which represent the opinions of a majority of the editorial board. No single member of the Times can be held responsible for editorial content decisions. The Times is a tool in the learning process of journalism and operates as a learning laboratory. Any student may be a member of the staff, with or without prior journalism experience or enrollment on the staff for credit. As a forum for student expression, the Times will publish all letters to the editor, provided they are 300 words or less and contain the author’s name, house, and address. On occasion, we will publish letters using the “name withheld” providing the Times editor, or a team editor, knows the author’s identity.

We reserve the right to withhold a letter or column and return it for more information if we determine it contains items of unprotected speech as defined by this policy. Letters will be edited for spelling and grammar. Should a letter contain errors in fact, excessive grammatical errors or be too long, it will be returned to the author for re submission. Deadlines for letters and columns will be no later than ten days before the next publication date. The Times may choose to report student, staff, faculty, and alumnus deaths as he editorial board is made aware of them. We reserve the right to decide not to cover a death based on relevance, timeliness and circumstances. In cases where the editorial board decided not to cover death, letters to the editor in regard to that death could be printed.

March 2012

8 8

contents 3

Security tries to prepare

By Victoria Chesmar

The week of the Chardon High School shooting brought lots of controversies and more threats at other schools. Two days after the shooting in Chardon, Rocky River High School had a bomb threat. Rocky River is only a few miles from Lakewood and it worried many students. Any of these threats can happen anywhere so students need to prepare themselves. Each year at LHS the school practices 3-4 code Rangers (lockdown), and a fire drill every month.

What if a threat really did happen at LHS? How would we know if the source of the threat is credible? John Crane is the head of security of the district of Lakewood and he tries to be prepared for every situation that could possibly cause a threat to the school. Crane is also in charge of the LHS hotline. Anytime a student calls the hotline and leaves a message Crane instantly gets the same message from the hotline to his cellphone. “I encourage kids to call the hotline because we really don’t know what’s going on in school or outside of school unless someone tells us.

Once we find out the information

John Crane works effciently at his desk.

4

news

we follow up on the investigation,” Crane said. The hotline is a great tool to help prevent incidents like Chardon. Students need to get over the term tattling. It’s one issue if a student tattles on another student copying homework but it’s a major issue if there’s a threat to the school.

If anyone see’s any suspicion of a student acting oddly and you feel uncomfortable go ahead and call.

The hotline isn’t just for threats.

It’s for everything from bullying to a missing child. “We can only take action on what we’re aware of,” Dr. Wagner said. Students can leave their messages anonymously or if they do leave their name, their name will never be revealed to keep them protected. “When someone calls the hotline they get the option of leaving it anonymously by having a label code (ex: 123). If they do leave a name, their name will never be revealed. Lately, more calls have been coming in, ever since Chardon,” Crane said.

After the shooting in Chardon there was a terrifying picture of T.J. Lane holding two guns and posted

it to Twitter. Maybe the students at Chardon didn’t notice it or they were too scared to tell someone because of the risks. We’ll never understand why the students didn’t stand up for themselves or why Lane shot and killed students. Incidents like these gives schools to practice new drills, enforce security, and better ideas to keep school safe. “Students need to speak up more and build relationships with people. These students can look out for each other and observed any unlikely behavior,” Wagner said.

If there ever were a threat to LHS everyone would go into lock down.

Police and the school train the procedure A.L.I.C.E. Alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate. If there is a substitute in the classroom (without a key) then the students go to the nearest classroom to go under lockdown. The police are called when Crane or any administrator finds out information about a threat to our school. “They can arrive to the school in about one minute. We also work with S.W.A.T. too, ” Crane said. “Teachers are supposed to

All photos by Victoria Chesmar.

The Lakewood Times

for every emergency

John Crane watches the cameras that connected through LHS,

keep the students calm and relaxed. If there were a real shooter in the school and they got into the classroom. Teachers are to barricade the door and fight back,” Crane said. It makes sense, if there’s a shooter they are there to shoot, it’s best to attempt to fight back then to sit there and get shot.

“If a teacher sees a shooter in the school then they have the ability to call over the PA system and call for lockdown,” Dr. Wagner said.

If there is a student in the middle of crossing the street from the MODS and there is a real shooting confirmed, Crane and Dr. Wagner recommend that you run away from that area. “The student can call a parent or even knock on someone’s home and ask to use their phone to call the police. If there were a bomb threat to our school then everyone would evacuate the building just like a fire drill,” Dr. Wagner said.

There are many steps of checking to see if a bomb threat is cred-

March 2012

ible. Most bomb threats are usually called into the school’s office.

“Whoever answers the phone must keep the conversation going. We then call the police and then they arrive to the school in about a minute. The call is then traced with the help of AT&t and finally we prosecute all,” Crane said. “When it’s safe to re-enter the building is a close call. The police search the building and make the decision. If they are not convinced that it’s not safe to go back inside then students are sent home,” Crane said. The scary part about evacuating from a school is getting every single student out of the building. According to the emergency procedures reference guide, it states that all staff members should have their class roster with them whenever outside of the building.

“Anytime students are taken out of the building teachers to have a roster,” said Crane. The question is, since there are more inci-

dents like Chardon happening more often lately shouldn’t we practice more of these drills?

“We only practice 3-4 drills a year because we don’t want the students to be worried that these drills are true. Most of the time students usually know that the drills are just for practice but we still practice them to prepare ourselves,” said Crane. Most teachers and administrators at LHS said that Chardon did an excellent job in evacuating the building and their process. “It’s a proven fact that locking down is the safest way,” said Crane.

news

5

Chardon creates ripple effect

By Gwen Stephen

After the school-shooting tragedy at Chardon high school on February 27th, schools across Northeast Ohio and beyond were subject to multiple bomb-threats, lockdowns, and shootings as security concerns heightened across the country.

The ripple effect reached to Rocky River, to North Royalton, and Garfield Heights. Though broad coverage of the events appeared to be avoided by most media outlets to, students, teachers and parents became alarmed at the ripple effect.

February 27th:

Convicted gunman, 17-year-old, T.J Lane fired, his uncle’s .22 caliber-gun, at Chardon high school Monday morning. Five students were shot, three of which were sent to MetroHealth Medical Center, two sent to Hillcrest Hospital, all in serious condition.

The first victim, 16-year-old, Danny Parmertor died due to injury from the shooting.

Later that night, 17-year-old, Russell King Jr. was pronounced brain dead at MetroHealth Medical Center and died early Tuesday morning.

February 29th:

Cleveland Central Catholic schools were evacuated due to a bomb threat.

Litchfield middle school in Akron added a new security guard, as a Facebook message allegedly threatened a few middle school girls.

North Royalton high school was on lockdown due to suspicion of weapons in the school building. The threat was a false alarm.

6

news

M o n d a y T u e s d a y W e d n e s d a y T h u r s d a y

February 28th:

Demetrius Hewlin, a 16-year-old Chardon victim was pronounced dead early Tuesday.

Government teacher and football coach, Ron Lewis explained that his daughter at Willets middle school in Brunswick, was sent home with a letter. It informed parents that a student had made a “Kill list,” and was removed from school.

March 1st:

Rocky River high school was issued a lockdown due to a bomb threat.

The same day during a Chardon memorial in Bay Village, a boy made a threatenting gun gesture, shouted and was detained and later arrested.

A 16-year-old student in Wisconin was arrested due to his “death list.” No evidence showed he brought a gun to school, but he did have access to guns in his home. The list included 26 names.

Westlake high school disciplined a student who posted a picture of himself with a BB gun on Facebook.

The Lakewood Times

Rangers reach out to Hiltoppers

By Gwen Stephen

On Friday March 2nd students and teachers at Lakewood High dressed in black and red. They held fundraisers and prepared to send Chardon words of comfort and support on “Hiltopper Day,” due to the tragedies that took place earlier in the week.

West Shore Career Technical‘s Cisco Networking program held a bakesale to raise money for the families of the Chardon victims.

“We felt kind of related to them and wanted to help out their families.”said senior Ryan Sarkiss. “One of the students that died was in the Cisco Networking Acade-

Students wear red and black on “Hiltopper Day.”

my, just like us. Also the other two that died were in other career technical classes,” The day before “Hiltopper Day,” pages were sent around the seventh period classes so that students could share their thoughts and give words of sympathy towards those affected by the shooting.

“Pictures that were taken throughout the day and after school were sent to Christine Gordillo who runs the [Lakewood schools] website,” said Alison Breckel.

“They were printed out and posted on two tri-fold boards, and made into cards with all the seventh period signatures pages,”

Breckel said.

Other than celebrating “Hiltopper Day,” students at LHS kept Chardon in their thoughts throughout the week.

At the AYF Talent Show, the student EMCEE’s held a moment of silence for the victims of the tragedy and those affected.

As the week went on and stories were further developed regarding the incident, students and faculty alike kept Chardon in their thoughts.

A Networking student chows down for Chardon. All photos by Gwen Stephen.

Wagner believes LHS remains vigilant about potential threats

By Lily Pollack

Lakewood High is full of students from every walk of life. Due to the recent events that took place in Chardon, the high school has got it’s eye out for any potential threats.

“We had people saying inappropriate things, and posting things on websites,” said, Principal, Bill Wagner. “We were busy troubleshooting and chasing things down.

I think that helped dissolve things very quickly.”

Wagner revealed that during the week

March 2012

the shooting took place, quite a few calls were made to the security hotline Lakewood has.

“We have a very strong culture… a culture where people take care of each other.

I think our response as a population [in that situation] would be very similar to Chardon’s. The community immediately wrapped together around the school. We have the protocol to do this. We’re strong,” said Wagner.

But Wagner advised students to be vigi-

lant. “That gut feeling goes a long way.

Don’t hold back reporting something.”

“The way to prevent tragedy is to build support. A culture where people are excepting of each other is the best prevention that can be developed to avoid a tragedy like this,” said Wagner.

Wagner believes that if anything like this ever happened at LHS, “We would have people coming out of the woodwork to help us.”

news

7

Going Gaga for kindness Lady Gaga launches foundation based on anti-bullying

Photo courtesy of ladygaga.com

By Jonathan Cropper

Superstar Lady Gaga has the most Twitter followers in the world. Now she is using the internet to promote her new organization.

Gaga spoke in front of thousands of students at Harvard University on February 29th, about the Born This Way Foundation. It is aimed toward empowering youth and standing up against bullying.

Gaga’s foundation isn’t solely focused on bullying. It has a much broader message. Gaga said she created her foundation in order to, “Find a way to ease the trauma of adolescence for other kids.”

The Born This Way Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2011 by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia

8

news

Germanotta. They are focused on youth empowerment and issues like self-confidence,wellbeing, anti-bullying, mentoring, and career development.

The Born This Way Foundation is based on three philosophies: safety, skills, and opportunity. The official website states, “By having hands on these three pillars, you will help Born This Way Foundation create a braver, kinder world.”

Gaga knows how it feels to be bullied, she was a victim of bullying as a child, and said bullying started to make her depressed, and caused her school work to suffer.

In an interview by the New York Times Gaga said “I was a straight-A student, so there was a certain point in my high school

years where I just couldn’t even focus on class because I was so embarrassed all the time. I was so ashamed of who I was.”

On the Born This Way Foundation’s website, the mission states, The Born This Way Foundation was founded to create a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.

Gaga’s hope is to not just stop bullying, but to change the entire culture of youth America.

She hopes that kids all over the world understand how horific bullying can be and that, kids in general learn to be kind and accepting of others. During her Harvard speech, she urged students to go back to their communities and do simple acts of

kindness, to help foster acceptance, tolerance and individuality.

As Gaga traveled the world on tour for her music, she has spoken to countless adolescents and listened to their stories of bravery.

Scan this QR code with your phone to learn more about the Born Way This Way Foundation.

The Lakewood Times

Is Lakewood stretching their dollar too thin?

By Jimmy Matthiesen

Art by Maddy Kane

There are few people who consider themselves more informed on the events of LHS than the students. However, in the larger Lakewood community there’s one issue that is overshadowing everything: the budget. be either The Lakewood schools reduced, or cut altohave always been vigilant gether. concerning monetary man- ners. As However, the necessity of these cuts does presented by Superintendent Jeffrey Patnot mean that the community lacks input. terson, in a community budget meeting For several months, Patterson has been orlast month, the Lakewood Board of Eduganizing community meetings throughout cation has already taken many proactive the city, in which parents and concerned steps to remain financially stable in an unresidents were invited to voice their opincertain economic time. ions on the cuts that are impending.

In the past three years, through efficient To focus the discussion, Patterson asked cuts and for input on spending four quesreduc“At the end of the day,” Patterson said, “the tions that are tions, the school system still needs to cut an addition- of the utmost L a k e importance wood City al 4 million dollars from its spending in order to the future S c h o o l to remain economically solvent.” of Lakewood System City Schools: has cut -What criteapproxiria will you use to judge the wisdom of our mately fourteen million dollars from the ultimate plan to balance the Lakewood City school budget. These cuts have been relaSchool District’s budget? tively unobtrusive. In a normal fiscal year, -What district characteristics, programs these kinds of cuts would be more than and services make your school district enough to allow a school to function propspecial to you? erly. However, the economic climate of the -As we cut the projected expenditure by recession is anything but normal.

4 million dollars, what should be the last “At the end of the day,” Patterson said, things affected by reductions? “the school system still needs to cut an -What rumors or assumptions about our additional four million dollars from its school district must be addressed in order spending in order to remain economically for us to maintain the respect and support solvent.” According to Patterson, these of our community as we go through this cuts, by nature, will not be comfortable. budget-balancing process?

In the next school year, the student body These questions are critical because they should expect to see substantial cuts in give a clear view of the priorities of those key scholastic areas. In order for these who care about Lakewood School Syscuts to occur, some programs will need to tems.

March 2012

The opinions of these parents at the meeting seemed to mirror that of the student body.

Lakewood was continuously praised for it’s excellent system, diversity, wonderful educational opportunities, and fantastic performing arts.

All of which seems to echo the opinions of many students.

On March 8th, there was a citywide presentation at LHS to present the conclusions that were reached by the community meetings.

Student participation was also sought.

There was an in-school meeting in which Patterson gave a similar budgetary presentation to the Student Council. This begins the school’s attempt to inform and prepare students for the changes that will occur.

news

9

Every period, every day:

The relentless pursuit of excellence

By Julia Houska

A few weeks ago Wagner got a call explaining that for the 2013 school year, in the state of Ohio, he would be the Principal of the Year. His reaction to the news was similar to that of the students and staff around him. “I was very surprised. It’s an exciting thing to hear.” said Wagner.

Senior Allison Owens said, “He does a great job. He finds a way to connect to the kids while still being someone to look up to.”

House 3 principal Brian Siftar was the one who nominated Wagner last October. In his letter of recommendation, Siftar touched on three major characteristics he believes make Wagner a good candidate.

“Dr. Wagner exhibits the highest degree of professionalism and has the personal qualities that resonate with everyone with whom he works,” said Siftar.

In the eight-page essay Wagner had to submit with his application, he talks about the many aspects that make LHS great.

The essay focuses a lot on the success of the school and how to make it even better.

“We have a lot farther to go. We have more challenges than other school districts.”

Wagner said.

In the essay he talks about the impact of the race and diversity in our school com-

munity and also talks on different technological successes. He explains how everything the students use, and have at their disposal, such as Moodle, Progress book, and things like these give the students an opportunity for success.

For the 2010/2011 school year, accelerated or advanced scores on the OGTs were at it’s highest from the past five years. The graduation rate from 2011 was at its third highest in seven years at 91.4%. Also, according to Wagner’s data sheet, sent in with the application, the attendance rate has increased since Wagner became principal.

Many do not see the hard work that goes on from behind closed doors. Dr. Wagner runs a tight schedule yet was even seen in the school talent show. Lakewood has been honored to have two assistant principals win the Assistant Principal of the Year Award, and now has the honor of having the Principal of the Year walk along the halls of LHS. In July, he’ll be entered among the national finalists for principal of the year. Then in September the National Principal of the Year will be announced.

“I was very surprised.

It’s an exciting thing to hear.” said Dr.Wagner.

Each day as students walk through the halls they witness the work that goes behind running the school. Often this amount of work is over-looked and under appreciated. For the 2013 school year, principal William Wagner will be far from overlooked.

In the fall of 2011, there was an open invitation for nominees for the Metlife/NASSP Principal of Year award. The selection committee goes over all the applications and essays. Usually the committee would then do interviews of all the candidates, but according to Wagner this process was bipassed because of the outstanding application submitted with Lakewood High School.

“I think that with Dr. Wagner receiving this award, it shows how our school is headed in the right direction thanks to great leadership.”- Marcel Dunay, freshman

10 news

“It is really awesome that Dr. Wagner received this recognition.

People have no idea how hard he works.” - Barbara Comienski, English teacher

“I think Dr. Wagner has been a great principal and has done a superb job in making this school such a diverse place of learning. He definitely deserves this award!”Harrison Werner, sophomore

The Lakewood Times

Passage to the polls-- a right

By Victoria Chesmar

It’s your right to make your vote count.

The 26th amendment declares that any American citizen, of the age of 18, is allowed to vote.

All students that attend high school in Ohio must have a government credit. At LHS, seniors have the option of a regular one-semester government class or they can apply for AP government, a full year class.

Every semester the government teachers, Ron Lewis, Norm Murphey, and Don Murrey explain how to register and how important it is for people to vote.

They have voter registration forms for the seniors to complete. The teachers also remind seniors to fill out their forms or pick up a form through the P.A., flyers in the hall, and reminders during class. Each year

there are about 150-200 seniors that they register. Lewis is very proud of that amount.

What many seniors many not realize is that any senior that has been registered before Super Tuesday, they can vote even if they are 17. (Super Tuesday is when ten states elect for the primaries.) For this years’ Super Tuesday, Ohio and Georgia were the most important states for voting.

“It’s really exciting to have my government classes this year and next year because it’s in the same time as the election. It starts class conversations and i enjoy when students get involved with politics,” said Lewis. For next year the whole school will vote in a mock collection. A mock collection is a fake election when you vote online for the candidates that are running for president.

“Every vote counts, think positively,” said Lewis.

Art by Casey Miller.

Mr. Kimmel: A true Roman

By Dylan Dombroski

The final bell rings as the last student sneaks in through the door. Strange words are written on the board. Though the words seem vaguely familiar, the student doesn’t know what the words mean. Luckily, there is a teacher behind this enigmatic language called Latin. His name is Alex Kimmel.

Kimmel grew up in Conneaut, OH, which is in northern Ohio, near Pennslylvania. In high school, he played ice hockey. Kimmel then went to Kenyon College majoring in biology. “I went to Kenyon because it’s a family legacy. My cousins, uncles, and dad all went to Kenyon College.” said Kimmel.

“At first, I wanted to be a doctor, but then I fell in love in the Latin language and culture.”

Kimmel came to Lakewood because he heard great things about the school and its students.

Kimmel is also advising the Latin Club, a small club dedicated to the Roman culture and everything associated with Latin. The Latin Club participated in the Boat Regatta with their boat, the S.S. Defecta(Fail).

Kimmel’s favortite food is pizza, because that’s everyone else’s favorite food. His nickname in college was “Kim Slice” and

March 2012

“AK-47”. All the Latin club kids call him “MK”.

If he could have three people over for dinner, dead or alive, he would have Darth Maul, Julius Caesar, and Edward Norton.

Then Edward Norton and Darth Maul would start a Fight Club, with Caesar presiding over the fight, and then Darth Maul would win the fight.

Mr. Kimmel is a long-term substitute for Dr. Laura Abrahamsen, who is on a longterm leave. Senior Mick Jones said, “Mr. Kimmel has the ability to reach to any student and always has something interesting and fun for us to do.”

“I like how he understands the students’ pop culture references,” said junior Tommy Ebner.”

Latin students like him for his vast knowledge on pop culture and his love of the Roman language.

“It’s great how Mr. Kimmel creates a fun learning environment. The knowledge I gained from [him] I will remember for years to come,” he said.

Kimmel came, saw, and conquered the Latin curriculum on the fly.

Photo Credit: Dylan Dombroski

news

11

Refugee life in America

By Bilal Shah Photos by Khalil Cormier

With over 52 refugee students in Lake- familiarizing themselves with American life. school as well as work.

When migrating to a new country, immiwood High School, the majority of students Many of the subtle aspects of a culture that and staff have come into contact with refu- we have grown up around are completely grants often face some form of backlash from the community, often in the form of gees at some time. However, what most unknown to them. have not done is Along racism. Ar Sha says, “Usually people are taken the time to with this is very nice when I walk around in Lakeunderstand the “Due to my English, some people a clash be- wood.” But, he also says, “Due to my Engtype of lives that were mean.”- Ar Sha Rat tween their lish, some people were mean.”

Even with all of these overwhelming isthey live. original The term “refuB u r m e s e sues that the refugee children face coming gee” refers to an individual who migrates culture and the culture of America. Ar Sha to America, they are still kids. Just like evinto a country in order to escape prosecu- Rat, a refugee student at Lakewood High ery teenager they like to have fun. Ar Sha tion back home, whether it is on the basis School, says that, “it was very hard to get and his friends enjoy watching movies and of their religion, ethnicity, or political views. used to” the culture shock that he and oth- playing soccer in their free time. They see soccer as a way to bond to each other, and Although these problems are alleviated in ers faced upon coming to America. a country such as America, new problems While most students may work a job for movies as more of an opportunity to learn arise, which many refugees have to face. extra money to spend, the refugees work to about the culture in America.

Despite all of these problems in their The United Nations Refugee Agency says support their families. Because the parents that in 2011, there were over 10.5 million are forced to take low paying jobs, they are home lives, the refugee kids are happy to refugees of concern. Although Lakewood often unable to fully support a household. be in America. “I like America because we only has a very small percentage of that, it These children must take similar jobs in or- have freedom,” Ar Sha says expressing his gratitude. is still an important issue. der to help bear the burden.

In the past years Lakewood has seen an Ar Sha works six days a week at Around influx of refugees coming, mostly from Bur- the Corner. With this kind of responsibility, ma, who are aided by organizations such it soon becomes very difficult to balance as the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

These organizations help them relocate and assimilate to American life; however this transition is not completely smooth.

According to a report done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a non-profit organization that works towards solving health problems, the issues that refugees (and other immigrants) are confronted with include: •A lack of formal education or opportunities for education •Difficulty finding good jobs •Isolation in immigrant communities and •A backlash from the communities where the refugees relocate Within Lakewood, isolation is not a substantial issue due to the general diversity of the community. However, isolation may be a problem within Lakewood High School itself.

In minutes spent walking the halls of LHS, the number of cliques and groups becomes apparent. It is tough for anyone to fit in. Not knowing a great deal of English and having little to no experience with formal education, these students must quickly adapt Samia Shaheen,Samantha Bobik, and Butros Shenouda pay close attention to the lesson during class. to a new learning environment while also Photo by Khalil Cormier.

12 focus

The Lakewood Times

Education for Refugee Students

By Kyla Rable

Photos by Khalil Cormier

Have you ever walked past a group of people speaking in a foreign language?

Did you fell uncomfortable and lost? These are the refugee students of Lakewood High School. This is what the refugee students at LHS go through every day.

Some of these students arrive with little to no education. Others’ education wasn’t interrupted, yet they don’t know English well enough to communicate.

Upon their arrival, they take a test that helps the teachers decide how well they know English. Afterward, they are placed in either Pre-functional, Beginner, or Intermediate groups.

The Pre-functional group is for the students who barely know English. They focus on speaking it, learning the vocabulary, and writing sentences.

Beginners are the kids who know some English. They focus on putting sentences into paragraphs. These students also continue learning the vocabulary.

Intermediate students know higher levels of the English language. Their main focus is to write full papers. They also keep learning the more advanced English words.

These students don’t have the privilege of having a translator, but their surroundings are helpful to them in their learning.

They hear English everywhere they go, including school or the store. Watching TV is a very helpful learning technique.

When they first come here, feelings of

isolation and loneliness surround them. They don’t know anybody, and they have no friends. It’s also very difficult for them, because how different the American culture and language is compared to theirs.

Some students with prior education actually feel that our school is much easier than the schooling systems they came from. Other students, with interrupted education, find it much harder.

LHS teachers are sensitive towards these students because they know how much pressure they are under.

Often, lessons will be modified and made much easier for them to understand. Outside of that, many students are accepting, and try their best to Nanda Bista takes notes during class. refugee students get an “R”, meaning remake their refugee peers feel welcome.

“People are nice to me. And when I asked stricted. A restricted grade means the stufor help, they help me. It was hard at first, dent doesn’t really understand English, but because I had no friends here, but I have that they are actually trying to learn the curmade some,” explained sophomore Farah riculum.

Not many of these students take the ACT Jomaa.

These students have a normal schedule. or SAT tests, but they are required to take This is because they still need to learn the the OGT’s.

“I don’t like that they are required to take same curriculum, despite their troubles. In order to learn certain subjects, they take them. We have many more foreign immidifferent ELL (English Language Learning) grant students than Rocky River. It counts classes for English 10, British Literature,and more against our school,” ESL teacher Math Foundations. They also use a website Becky Havel explained.

The No Child Left Behinf Act, “added new called Khan Academy, which gives them an easier way to learn the mathematical requirnments for schools in math and readmaterial that’s ing assessments, annual improvements in student performance on assessments, required.

Teachers highly-qualified teachers and paraprofesdon’t often sionals, and parental involvement, posneed to disci- ing additional challenges for schools with pline these stu- large numbers of immigrants and limited dents. Usually, English proficient students,” according to they are very the NCSL(the National Conference of State quiet and re- Legislatures). Refugee students often conspectful. A rea- tinue taking ELL classes in college.

There are approximatley eight colleges son these kids wouldn’t want in Ohio that offer ESL/ELL programs for all to get in trou- foreign immigrant students. There are hunble, is because dreds of other colleges in the United States they feel as that offer them as well.

These programs are important because though it would make them an earning a college degree is almost a reembarrassment quirement for success in the U.S. Altough, according to the NCSL website, “Immigrant to their family.

How well they teens in some ethnic groups suffer a [high do is based on school] dropout rate much higher than the what level of national average.”

English they know.

Often,

Shereen Abuzahriyeh and Bishoy Fanous share a table together in

March 2012

focus

13

The promised land:

lessons taught by

By Derek Dashiell

Early on, I made the decision that this article wouldn’t be as much about the students themselves. (They, and their families, might not appreciate the prying.) The article was going to be about us. And them.

How we treat them, and how they coexist in what really is “our” world. I didn’t know much about the subject, except for what I’d overheard in the hallways.

Two guys told me that they had run into a few of the Burmese boys in the bathroom, speaking rapidly in another language, and christened the bathroom, “Mumbai Marketplace.”

Another student was walking past a few of the girls after lunch and said to a friend something about green food, and that “poverty has a smell.”

A final student, a friend of mine, found out that I was writing this article and told me that he loves the immigrant kids in his gym class. He informed me that they get really into it, and he didn’t see what the problem was.

to him the Greenland-Iceland paradox.

(For those that don’t know, the country Greenland is white with snow, and Iceland is green with grass from outer space.) We began to talk.

His name was Mohmood Al Shiekh Mueen. He came to America as recently as 2010, and Lakewood even more so.

His family originated from Palestine, and he was born in Iraq.

He spoke English about as well as anyone else. Soon, though, the girls arrived, and the class was split up into groups for their first period. I was sent off with Ambika.

The specialty teacher, Kelly Brion, was just as engaging as Havel, absentmindedly performing gestures as she spoke. They were helpful, but if she was aware of them, I’d be surprised. She was describing the things you’d find in each room of the house, Beginning of Day With that background, on Monday, March and passed out a worksheet. The people 5, 2012, I spent a day shadowing two im- speaking on the worksheet represented every race that could migrant girls, Tej be represented withBasnet and Amout having to shade in bika Karki. their faces.

The two girls They made a few shared much of sacrifices along the their schedule, way (apparently, beginning their “desk” and “table” day with their are the same thing), ELL teacher, but otherwise all of Becky Havel. the kids were comAs she was getpletely with it. Ambiting me ready ka, for her part, spoke for the day, she with her friend under took a break to her breath for most of answer a stuthe class, and spoke dent’s question just as softly and about Greenslowly when answerland. He was ing questions, but she taller and bulkier always answered corthan the rest of rectly. them. Most were Around the time Burmese, with a student walked in a second highwith a chic sweater, est population laptop bag, and conof Nepalese (As servatively gelled hair Tej and Ambika Kut Thay looks at her notes to ask a question. were). As she walked away, I explained (if that’s possible), I realized just how Amer-

14 focus

ican their clothes were. No one looked culturally confused. The only times I remembered they weren’t thoroughbred American were when Brion said that “Americans eat too much bread,” and that “[her] showtunes are wasted on [her] foreign land friends.”

On my way to second period, I started noticing the looks these immigrant girls were getting as they walked down the hall.

Namely, that they weren’t.

Most people just got a little extra out of the way as they walked, if they took any notice. In fact, I got more confused looks from my friends than anything else.

English class The girls had English 9 next. The majority were immigrant children, and the two or three white kids sat on the opposite side of the room and spoke with the teacher. He was friendly to everyone.

The girls immediately started helping each other figure out how to use their language programs. Tej started typing on Ambika’s computer almost before anything else. Another girl, whose name I never caught, underlined the words on the screen with her cursor as she read. When she got one wrong, she underlined “incorrect” and stared at the screen for a small while.

After class, the girls collected from all of their classrooms around the mods before heading to Physical Education. I almost didn’t notice it happening, it happened so quickly. They stayed fairly huddled, uncomfortable to form a single-file line in the high traffic, and spoke rapid Nepalese, lapsing into English only to include me. Their interclass changes were just as smooth as anyone’s.

Gym class Gym was in the pool, and the only people who came prepared (and excited) to swim were the immigrant girls and four other girls. Only three girls could swim in the deep end. It was interesting to see that even though they all dressed together, the immigrant girls came out wearing shirts

“The girls immediately started helping each other figure out how to use their language programs. “

The Lakewood Times

immigrant students and shorts to swim in.

The gym teachers divided the class, making a “Shallow Hal” reference to the shallow-end swimmers who, ironically, didn’t get the reference. The teachers ran drills on the deep-enders, while one lifeguard tried to translate through Tej to the rest of the group instructions. Tej seemed to be telling the girls to dunk each other.

The immigrant girls kept looking over at me whenever they surfaced above the water, giggling. Around this time Gwen Stephen showed up with the camera I was to use for the day, and the shallow end erupted with laughter. I tucked the camera away fast.

After class I spoke with the lifeguard who had been trying hard with them to no avail, Ryan Bell. He said that Tej and the rest didn’t seem that bent on swimming; he believed they could, if they tried, but he thought the same as me: they kind of used swim time to take a break. Just like many of us did. (Sorry, gym teachers.)

Study Hall

The girls waited for me after Gym, shaking. They had study hall next, which was silent, so I took the time to grab some lunch briefly. When I left, I saw that Tej may have been sneaking in a game of Temple Run. I spoke with a couple of people I knew then. When I explained that I was following a few Nepalese girls, one guy asked me, “Lebanese?”

As I was leaving lunch, one girl asked me where that was. I explained, South Asia.

She laughed, “Do they look Chinese?”

World History

She came in and sat, speaking to no one.

After a while I saw Mohmood come in and sit across the classroom. He smiled, and I heard him say “Derek” as he nodded to me.

Throughout class he looked over at Tej a lot, and at me smiling.

Someone asked Tej what the homework was. She responded, “I dunno…” nervously, but he just asked someone else.

Their lesson was on the Middle East. Almost immediately, someone asked if India

Photos by Khalil Cormier

front of me, who was nice enough to Tej, asked the teacher, “Why would they name their country after a food?”

The teacher was confused. “What?”

“Turkey.”

Lunch

The girls had lunch next, in a pretty crowded East Cafeteria. There was a cluster of packed tables, a few tables either empty or with single eaters, and then in the corner, the immigrant girls’ table. They packed Tupperware lunches, sharing pasta and a stir-fry and eggs in the containers and on top of the lids. They spoke mainly Nepalese rapidly, and one Muslim girl kept asking, “What’s that mean?” to them. She was keeping up way better than I could, even when they tried to explain jokes to me.

After a while, I searched out Mohmood and shadowed him for half of his art class. He spoke English fluently, with only a slight accent. He could have passed for an American-born Arab. I spoke with him a little as he collected art supplies, mainly asking about his life. He spends most days after school at the Y, or hanging with his Parma friends, also Middle Eastern but American born.

“What did you have to change most?” I asked at one point.

“What did you have to change most?”

I asked at one point.

He looked at me seriously. “Everything.”

After study hall, they congregated from all over campus out front of the East Cafeteria. It was almost impressive how they always met up, in this case for World History. The girls split again. Tej had it now, and Ambika had study hall, whereas the opposite was true 8th period.

As we walked, I asked Tej, “Do you like this class?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Are you good at it?”

“No,” she said, still smiling slightly.

March 2012

Ka Le Mar shows her happiness with a big smile.

was in it. Another girl said that she knew Palestine, and the teacher corrected her that it was Israel now. I flashed my gaze over to Mohmood to catch him rolling his eyes, and he saw me and cracked up.

As the class split to work on a worksheet naming Middle Eastern countries, the teacher assigned a girl to help Tej. Both her and Mohmood asked the teachers more questions than anyone else, and turned in their worksheets early. The same guy in

focus

15

He looked at me seriously. “Everything.”

Science

On their way to Into to Physical Science, a bigger guy hit on the crowd of girls as they passed: “Hey, how you doin’?” They walked on. I couldn’t see their faces, but I saw him keep looking at them even after he passed. I took it as a good sign.

Their next class was fairly uneventful.

They sat in the front, together but amongst others. I spoke with a teacher sitting in on the class in the back of the room, then spoke with Tej briefly. She laughed and mimicked my hand motions as I spoke.

Apparently, Brion had rubbed off on me.

Since the girls were just in study hall and a class I’d already seen, I decided to shadow Mohmood again.

Mohmood was a different experience from Tej and Ambika. He fit in fairly well, but you could also tell that he wasn’t as sheltered. There was a quiet seriousness about him, like he understood what my being there meant more than the girls did.

I think he appreciated my interest in him, too.

He participated just fine. The only time he didn’t was when he couldn’t pronounce “distinguished,” but the entire class hadn’t known the definition of “subdued,” so he didn’t stand out anyways.

My last class with Tej and Ambika, ELL Math Foundations. The teachers were attentive and available. I helped Tej where I could, and she picked up my convoluted explanations on proportion multiplication much quicker than I would have. As soon as the teacher left, too, she turned to Ambika and showed her how to do something with the program she’d just learned. For every bit that Ambika was friendly and quiet, Tej was bright in every sense of the word.

When I spoke with the teacher during their 7th period, I found that what I was telling her met her suspicions about the immigrant experience here. I explained that essentially, Lakewood is a live-and-let-live place. You look at places like Mentor, with such high teen bullying suicide rates, and you realize that Lakewood is nothing like that. We have bullying, yes, but it’s generally on an individual basis. And even

though it can get horrible, it is rarely a unified, prejudiced front. I heard these horrible things throughout the day, and throughout my days, but I’m under the impression that they rarely reach these kids. People have their prejudices and racisms, but they keep them to themselves for the most part.

Which isn’t to excuse them. Even though the immigrants don’t get harassed, and on an individual basis get included, there’s still a lot of inherent ignorance about their lives.

They’re friendly, they work hard, and they laugh, and watch YouTube, and go to the Y, and dunk each other in the pool and (maybe) play Temple Run when they shouldn’t.

Just like I’ll probably never know what these immigrants have been through, I’ll probably never know what they’re saying in Nepalese. But I’m glad that now, I can smile at them in the halls, and trust that we’re on the same field, on the same page.

Their lives have been, and will always be, pretty alien to me and almost everyone else. But there’s always that overlap, that shared space where we both laugh at the same things. And it’s worth fighting for.

What we should know about our refugees

By Anna Rudin

About the camps

Refugee Camps are typically built and run by a government, and are generally set up to meet basic human needs for only a short time. Most refugee camps are dirty and unhygeinic. Although camps are intended to be temporary, it is possible for camps to remain in place for decades.

Why they leave

Most refugee camps are made up of women and children. They have taken long journeys from their conflictridden country. Most of them arrive badly malnourished.

They’re shelters are domelike huts made from sticks, plastic sheeting and discarded cartons. The camps can separate families and loved ones, it’s very traumatizing. Many refugees lived in damp areas with no heat; some never even experienced running water after being there from 5-30 years.

The camp population

Refugees leave their family, community or country because of war, political upheaval, persecution, environmental disaster and poverty. War and political repression have caused over 40 million people to be displaced from their homes.

Men, women and children are uprooted with little warning and are forced to flee. Half of these refugees are children under age 18. They become refugees when they cross borders and seek safety in another country.

The adjustment

Burmese and Nepal refugees travel to the United States for a second chance. Here they are provided a new home and education. Student refugee Dambar Poudel, a student at Lakewood High School, came to the US from Nepal in 2009.

He’s in 11th grade and lives on Clifton with his family, 2 brothers and a sister. Dambar says “adjusting to our school and city was a struggle at first, but everyone is really patient and supportive.”

By Mackenzie Rivera

Burmese Superstitions/ Rituals

Burmese Clothing

There’s a saying that when a crow cries out, that it means that there is a guest coming. If there is an eclipse of the sun and the moon, there are predictions of great evil. When the sky turns into a reddish color like sunset are signs of bad omens. Some Burmese people have when they have to yawn or sneeze. They turn their head the other way and don’t sneeze or yawn in the open.

There are three types of Burmese clothing. There are the Gaunge baung, Hnyatphanat, and the Longyi.• The Gaunge baung is a traditional head wrap; this is worn at ceremonies and formal get togethers. This head wrap has no design on it and no color it is white and round. •The Hnyat- Phanat is a sandal the words HnyatPhanat literally means Clip footwear. These shoes were originated in upper Burma.

The designs on the sandals are very plain with no patterns or anything, and the sole on the shoe is very flat and are not permitted to wear in the rain or any wet areas.• The last type of clothing is the Longyi. This type of clothing is just a sheet of clothing. This sheet of clothing is worn around the waist and is 6 ½ feet long (80 cm). Patterns and colors are all different kinds, worn in multiple colors.

16 focus

The Lakewood Times

Where are they now?

By Sabrina Sulieman

Chambika Khadka 10th grade Nepalian (1 year in America) She’s a swimmer and enjoys all the stores and boutiques in the United States.

Khadka loves school and homework, likes to write a lot. She hopes to become a famous writer in the future.

The weather here is entirely different and wilder than in Nepal where it rarely changed from the heat.

“I love the different classes you can take here; we had little schools, and not many activities.”

The diversity is what Khadka really enjoys the most about LHS.

Mikael Nazimov 10th grade Turkish (5 ½ years in America) Originally from Russia, he grew up there attending poor schools.

He barely has family in America “I miss them, even though I know I can’t go back. I try to have at least a little hope that I’ll see them again one day.”

Education and technology amazes him. He’s gotten a scholarship from the science department.

Nazimov was kicked out of his home country because he wasn’t Russian.

And at the time, it was a communist community.

“Yours always concerned about what you left behind and how people are doing?”

“I felt torn leaving my family.”

Deo Dahal 9th grade Nepalian (1 year in America) Dahal has lots of family here. She plays soccer for fun.

She has been bullied though, “They told me that I should go back to where I come from, but I knew that I wasn’t the only one who was foreign.”

Astonished by all the different foods and clothing, “The cultures are beautiful and colorful in America.”

“The time differences are a little confusing and hard to get used to, I always forget that.”

Dahal is thankful for all the family she has and all the friends she’s made.

Elvaid Rexhaj 12th grade Albanian (2 ½ years in America) “When I came to America I liked it, but like everyone else, I would go back any chance I got.”

“I’ve cried a lot thinking of my friends and family left behind.”

Rexhaj grew up in a village, where everyone was friendly and knew everyone. He watches tons of movies and enjoys the Sports Channel.

School is hard for him and the different languages are a struggle for him.

“I don’t know as much people here as I had back home.”

“I like how here at LHS, there are so many clubs and sports people could watch live, and even join.”

“Time travels way too quick, I remember when I first arrived I never could’ve believed I’d graduate.”

March 2012

focus

17

Race to the White House

By Julia Houska

For about the past six months many Americans have followed polls, debates, and commercials to get to know the Republican candidates for president. The well known candidates are Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, John Huntsman, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Michelle Bachmann, and Mitt Romney.

There is a pattern with these candidates that is really interesting to me as a Democrat. It seems every time a candidate is leading the party they stick their foot in their mouth and crash and burn. For Rick Perry all it took was an uttered “oops.”

Where did this pattern start? Where will we go from here? Who will run up against Obama in the November Presidential election?

From the beginning of the political race for the GOP nomination, we have seen Michelle Bachmann take the lead in polls among tea partiers, as of July 19th. She had a strong showing at the Ames Straw Poll. By September 6th, a shakeup in her staff and the entrance of Rick Perry to the race dropped her poll numbers from 20% to 7%. By then Perry had jumped to 32% of those polled. After poor showings in the debates and the infamous ‘oops’, his poll numbers dropped to 12% by November 14th. After a poor finish in the Iowa Caucus, Perry contemplated leaving the race, which he did on January 19th.

As Perry was dropping, Herman Cain was rising in the polls. On October 13th Cain was leading the candidates with 38% of the Republican support. Over the next few weeks he dealt with controversy with television ads and accusations of sexual impropriety. By December 3rd, he had suspended his campaign.

Again, as one candidate would fall, another would rise. This time it was Newt Gingrich. After entering the race in June, Newt dealt with jewelry and vacation issues, his senior staff all resigning and most pundits predicting the end of his candidacy.

Fast forward to December. Herman Cain is dropping fast and Gingrich looks appealing to the GOP voters. On November 30th,

18 opinion

Gingrich had taken a 45%-43% lead over Romney. Now come the debates and new information released that Newt had accepted 1.6 million dollars as a consultant of Freddie Mac, there is also the issue of his second wife revealing the he asked her for an ‘open marriage’. By late January, a cash strapped campaign and his desire to create a colony on the moon had caused his poll numbers to plummet.

Here comes Rick Santorum. With Romney and Gingrich splitting primaries in New Hampshire, Florida and South Carolina, Santorum made a splash winning three primaries at once in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota, thus vaulting his popularity.

Polling data shows that Mitt Romney has been the steadiest through the last year. As almost every candidate has been in the number one spot, Romney has held the position of maintaining the lead or near lead.

Other candidates, such as Ron Paul and John Huntsman, have never been considered a threat to the party leaders.

Even though Ron Paul has strong and long lasting support, he hasn’t once won a primary and is a distant trailer in the electoral vote count.

That basically takes us to today.

As of Super Tuesday, Santorum and Romney are the front runners in the race.

Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead in the electoral vote totals due to his prior showings in recent primaries. What are we to make of the state of the Republican party? After seeing five challengers rise and fall, all the while

Romney holds steady, one has to believe that Mitt will end up the nominee. Many of the Republican supporters have held the notion ‘anyone but Mitt’. But, whenever someone steps up to the plate, Romney holds tough by using his financially strong campaign.

It seems that Romney will be the man to oppose Barack Obama. He won in Ohio by 1%. As a Democrat, I have to feel a bit confident with the situation. It appears that the Democratic Party has been geared to a contest with Romney all along. I feel that at this point none of the Republicans are strong enough to beat Obama.

They have put their foot in their mouths too many times a n d even with recent heat on Obama he still seems to be the strongest.

From left to right Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, and Rick Santorum.

Cartoon by Casey Miller

The Lakewood Times

Join the Ron Paul R[EVOL]ution

By Adam Mitchell

The future of our country is in the balance, and you have the ability to make, or break, who will run out country.

What many of us forget is how much our President affects not just the present, but also the future. For example, the Presidents supported the mandatory public education, thus making it free to all Americans.

President Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law in 2000, which is why we have to take the OGT test in order to graduate.

Those are only some examples.

So you believe that you can change the world with a check placed on a piece of paper?

You can.

Soldiers fought and died for your right to vote, remember that.

This election’s options are slowly slimming down. President Barack Obama is the only contender for the race for the Democratic Party. On the Republican side, there are four options. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul.

Ron Paul is commonly the most underestimated candidate, but his following is immense.

Many of Paul’s supporters believe that the mainstream media is censoring coverage of his campaign simply because they disagree with his views. Some reporters, like CNN’s Larry King, have let it slip that they believe that Paul is being censored simply because of how he is a threat to the establishment and the profits of large businesses. The truth is, Ron Paul really is a threat to the establishment and what they

March 2012

stand for.

Ron Paul is a special candidate called a “libertarian,” or ‘liberty advocates’. They believe the government should have almost no control or influence in our daily lives.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “The government which governs the best is that which governs the least.” Ron Paul has made it a point that he agrees with this statement and made it a fundamental ideal of his campaign.

Libertarians are also anti-war, anti-taxes, proequal rights, along with advocates of strengthening the U.S. Dollar and decreasing our role as “world police.” However, the main point of libertarianism, as far as the economy and money goes, is called “laissez-faire”, which in French is literally “hands off”. This means that the government should not bail out any companies, banks, or corporations, and just allows businesses to compete against each other for the consumers.

Ron Paul shares these beliefs, but he goes further. He believes that the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) (the officers at the airport who pat you down) should be abolished,and that the Federal Reserve (who determine what the dollar is worth) should be abolished. He also wants income tax abolished altogether.

According to Paul, this should make a government that is much more “streamlined” and small, as compared to how it is now under President Obama. According to Paul, this is what the Founding Fathers

wanted for our country.

Ron Paul is also the only candidate running for President who is vehemently opposed to all three wars we are currently engaged in. Most are only aware of two: Iraq (which is winding down, but there are still over 20,000 U.S.), and Afghanistan.

However, many of us forget about the “War on Drugs”, which has been going on since the late 1960’s when President Nixon declared it. In 1960, before President Nixon declared his “Drug War”, there were less than 250,000 people incarcerated in American jails. Now, there are over 2,500,000 and rising. Over 50% of those jailed are convicted of non-violent drug offenses.

Ron Paul has a simple solution to this.

Pardon those non-violent criminals and release them, as they take up a too large portion of the national budget, as they must be cared for through our tax money. Also legalize cannabinoids (Marijuana, hashish, etc.). Ron Paul holds that states should be able to decide if they want to legalize cannabis, as “[the] kids are going to get it either way”. He also believes that the private sector can make money through the legalization, as has happened in states where medicinal marijuana is sold.

He himself is pro-life. However, he believes that it is the right of the states (and thus, the people) to decide whether or not they want abortion to be legal. This dedication to the Constitution earns him the nickname “The Champion of the Constitution”.

Ron Paul is also pro-LGBT rights. He believes that the states should always have the ability to legalize gay marriage, as it is not “a business the government should be in”. He is the only candidate with proLGBT marriage views.

Remember that you must be the change you want to see. November 6th is not far away, there is still time. Join the Ron Paul Re[EVOL]ution. Question authority, question the establishment, and think for yourself.

opinion 19

Staff editorial Dear Staff and Students, Dance attendence in the last year has decreased to the point of cancellation. If the school administration is upset by the lack of attendance at school dances, maybe they should try making the dances for us and not just another event to prove their authority over the students.

The rule that the dress must come to one’s knee is absurd to kids today. Of course there would have been no objections to this rule way back when. Today, showing leg is in.

We are sorry to authorities that our generation dresses inappropriately. But by whose standard is it inappropriate?

Not to most of the students. To the students, it’s life. It’s what our generation is doing right now. It’s how it is.

The school making rules about not wearing short dresses isn’t going to get us to stop wearing short dresses, it’s only going to get us to wear them somewhere else.

Not playing the music we actually listen to is not going to get us to stop listening to it, it’s going to get us to listen to more of it somewhere else.

We don’t need school dances to have fun. It would be nice though, to be able to have fun at school dances. If the dances were geared towards good times instead of generating massive complaints.

To have fun, we don’t need chaperones awkwardly watching. That makes it uncomfortable, rude, and unpleasant.

Even if our dancing is inappropriate, it is inappropriate by mostly adult standards. Adults, who don’t live our day-to-day lives.

They don’t know what it’s like growing up now. They don’t know what it’s like to have these pressures of being “cool” by wearing skimpy outfits and listening to songs with “f-bombs.” They don’t know what it’s like to be one of the lame one not showing up drunk to the dance.

What they need to know is our generation is growing, and evolving, just like their generation had a chance to do. Restrictions on dress code and songs, isn’t going to stop it from happening. Just because the adults blind themselves from what our generation is doing, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

On another note, students need to stop holding themselves back. The dances might be lame, but a big part of the reason why they are lame is because some one convinces you they are.

Having a good time dancing is not lame. Having a good time talking with your friends in a social setting is not uncool.

And if some one says it is, it’s

only because a “leader” of a closed minded group of people dubbed it so.

Get over yourselves. Dancing is fun. Dancing is a wonderful thing about being a teenager.

Who cares if you look stupid dancing, it doesn’t matter. Well, it might matter now to those who think looking “cool” is the most important thing. But it won’t matter in ten years when you are in a completely different point in your life.

Let go. Stop caring what people think about you. Stop missing out on fun opportunities because “ no one else is going.”

No one else goes to bed with you at night, and you manage

Students dance to the beat of the music.

20 opinion

to wake up everyday.

Here is something for the student body to think about.

Is it the school making dances lame? Or is it the fear of some students that putting on a knee length dress and dancing to music with out swear words will ruin their reputation of being a cool kid. Not drinking alcohol one night to go to something that may be a good time, will not immediately result in a loss of all your friends.

Why not define the new “cool?” People are doing it everyday.

Photo by Maddy Kane

The Lakewood Times

Dances drive students away

By Becca Houp

LHS students are constantly complaining about school dances. Kids say they don’t like the music, and the dress code is getting too strict.

As a result of the student’s dissatisfaction, last year’s annual Snowball dance was cancelled, due to lack of ticket sales.

Student Activities Director Allison Breckel claims that the cancelling of the Snowball dance only hurt seniors. Last year, instead of having just juniors and seniors attend the dance, all classes were invited. Breckel claims that the upperclassmen were not happy about it. “They ended up boycotting each other, and nobody went. The reason all classes were invited was because we didn’t have enough funds for prom in previous years.”

With the staff cracking down on dress code, it is becoming harder and harder to find dresses for girls. The most recent dress code requirement to attend the Snowball semi-formal is that all dresses must be knee-length, no exceptions. This is a result of the lack of cooperation from students with the dress code at the Homecoming dance, Breckel claims.

“Student Council came up with the guidelines for Homecoming dress code, and students were forewarned that if they didn’t follow these rules, stricter rules would be enforced. More than half the girls that went, had to be pulled aside to be told their dresses were too short,” Breckel said.

It is no doubt that it is a challenge to find dresses that meet requirements, and

though the department stores are unforgiving when it comes to the new requirements, Breckel stated her opinion on dress-hunting among teenage girls. “Girls have to realize that this is a semi-formal dance. They get angry because they can’t wear dresses that are more like club-wear.

Unfortunately they have to choose between what is fashionable, and what is formal, and with the dresses they have to choose from, most of the time, fashionable wins.”

Snowball will determine whether students can look beyond what they don’t like about the school dances in order to have a good time together. Will students arrive together, take pictures, dress up, and dance the night away?

The

D.J. Factor

By Brandy Davis

You’re listening to the announcements and you hear them say that there will be a school dance in the near future. You’re amped about it, but then you remember a few things that might get in the way, such as the dress code and the type of music being played.

There has been a debate about whether the DJs that are being chosen to handle the turntables, are also a factor of why kids don’t want to go to these dances. Does the DJ and the music chosen really affect students’ decisions on going to the dances? Why might that be?

“I would like them to play more Hip-Hop and other types of music that you enjoy, while dancing”, -Cierra lewis

“I feel like the DJs play ok music, but they don’t play the music that we listen to now. They should spend more time figuring out what we want to listen to.”

–Sade Vega, 11th grade

March 2012

“The DJ choices are unfavorable, along with the music they play.” –Alicia Patton12th grade

“I don’t think they’re up to date with the music they play. They don’t consider a variety of genres.” –Tianna gray 12th grade

lkwd life

21

Address the dress

By Lily Pollack

‘30s

It was all about the elegance during the ‘30s.

Dresses were often floor length, and could be found adorned with sequins or glass beads. Velvet and lace overlays were popular as well, along with metallic fabrics, adding a little bit of sheen to the dance floor.

‘50s

The hem lines got a little bit shorter for the ‘50s, but not by much. Dresses were often made of tulle and sheer layers of fabric to look flowy and very feminine. Boatneck and off the shoulder necklines became very popular, and anything ruffled and poufy was the way to go. Pastel colors were a given.

‘70s

Anything chiffon was sure to grab some attention.

Mini dresses had been popular at the beginning of the decade, but once disco came on the scene, slinkier dresses that clung closer to the body were more popular, although most tended to be longer in length.

‘90s

Spaghetti straps and choker necklines were sure to be seen. Dresses tended to be very shapeless and clingy, and mostly respectable in length- not quite as short a mini dress from the late ‘60s. Embellishment was minimal, and so was the sparkle.

Simplicity was embraced.

22 lkwd life

‘40s Belted dresses made their way during this time, along with taffeta and embroidered details. Everything was very nipped at the waist.

‘60s Mod dresses with very short hemlines came into play

during the ‘60s. Miniskirts had been the trend, but they were still allowed to be worn at school dances. The prints and colors had been bright and bold, sure to add some zest to the dance floor.

‘80s

Shoulder pads and big sleeves, hot pinks and teals, crazy prints and big skirts to match the hair were all popular during the 80s. Strapless dresses with deeper necklines were in the picture, along with big bows and tassels.

‘00s

Hemlines have reached an all time high as body con dresses make way. However, sometimes these hemlines are monitored by school officials. And it seems to be happening more, despite the fact that stores are selling dresses that just aren’t long enough. Despite hemlines, anything adorned with sparkles and glitter let’s girls truly shine on the dance floor.

The Lakewood Times

?

? ? ?

The hunt for the perfect dress

By Emma Brady

The hunt for that cute Snowball dress can be difficult, but having length requirements can make it almost impossible.

At Lakewood High’s previous Homecoming dance, inappropriate behavior was taken into account and now the dress code is even stricter.

The Snowball dress code stated that traditional dresses are allowed. They must fit properly,and can not be backless, have cut outs or see-through patches, nor expose excessive cleavage or midriff area. Most importantly, it must reach the knees.

So I set out to see how many dresses I could actually find that were both in compliance and attractive.

I went to South Park Mall, in Strongsville and visited a few different stores in hopes of finding some reasonable dresses. I went to stores most girls shop for dresses, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Delia’s, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, and a few more. It wasn’t surprising that out of the hundreds of racks I searched, only 16 total dresses were in compliance with the dress code.

The problem with making the dresses come to the knee is that not everyone is built the same. Shorter girls have an easier

March 2012

time finding a dress that works. A girl that is built very tall will struggle trying to find a dress that is still consideredappropriate.

Sarah Gabay, from Strongsville High School, accompanied me on this almost impossible search. Once I told her what the requirements were, she was in shock. “At Strongsville, we have more liberties and don’t really have a dress code. It’s nearly impossible to find a dress that’s cute and reaches the knees”, says Gabay.

Being 5”7’, I had a very difficult time finding a dress that reached the knees.

Sarah, at 5”4’ had an easier time finding a dress that worked. Howevermany were not to her taste.

Out of the 16 dresses we were able to find, only about three were appealing.

It is very hard to find a dress that isn’t too tight or “traditional.” No matter what the dress code is, girls will still find a way to work around the rules.

A relaxed dress code is more accepted to the students. The knee length requirement, isn’t fair when you take a gander at the racks of the mall.

You will findfewer dresses that measure up.

lkwd life

23

Dancing with the

By Victora Chesmar

Tiptoe, tapping Maddie Gowan is a joyful Irish dancer at The Leneghan Academy of Irish Dance in Westlake. Gowan has been dancing since the age of 6 and still dances today.

Her Godmother inspired this Irish girl to start. Gowan who is half Irish has had Irish dancing in her family for many years now.

Even her younger sister Emily and her younger brother Jack are Irish dancers, so are her cousins.

Practicing until her feet are swollen, Gowan goes to her lessons a few times a week, 2-3 hours per lesson.

Gowan said, “I have gone though many pairs of shoes throughout my years of dancing.”

She owns a beautiful Irish dress that is bright red and has shiny, gold-imprinted flowers all over. Gowan owns the red dress herself, but she rents two other dresses for her team and her school, The Leneghan Academy.

Gowan puts her practice to the test at a competition

24 lkwd life

The cost of just one dress is usually around 900 dollars. That’s one of the many difficulties of Irish dancing, the cost of the dress and the lessons. Gowan had waited four months and two weeks for her red dress to be made.

Every year on March 17th The Leneghan Academy performs during the annual Saint Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Cleveland. They are judged with their classmates. Gowan and her classmates create a whole new dance routine every year for this special day. They dance through any kind of weather unless it’s a blizzard or pouring ran out. But with their Irish luck, it never rains.

A competition for Irish dancing is also called a feis, and it is very difficult, but it is a great opportunity. Gowan has been to Gowan smiles with pride at competition. many feis’s all around Ohio. She’s been competing for over 7 years and has traveled to Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, in Canada. A Feis is also a huge time comTennessee, and even out of the country mitment. Gowan first competed for nationals in the summer of 2011 at the GaylordOpryland resort. She and her friend drove to Tennessee to compete with their team.

Gowan is so committed to her team that they missed the 4th of July in Ohio.

For nationals she danced with her team instead of a solo performance.

“The hours are worth it, but I’m always sleeping in the car. I love my mommy for driving,” Gowan said.

Gowan prepares herself a week ahead of time for a feis. She practices long hours all week and let’s herself rest one day before the competition. You can either compete by yourself, or with some friends from class in a team. “I prefer to dance solo because if I dance with a group of friends I will be unfocused and mess up,” said Gowan.

No matter what the score is, students receive a certificate for just trying. If the judges give you a high score, they receive a medal. If a dancer earns first place they receive a trophy. Gowan has earned forty medals and a few of them were first place. “After noticing all of these metals, Photos courtesy of Maddie Gowan.

The Lakewood Times

luck of the Irish I am very proud of myself,” said Gowan.

Luckily for Gowan, she has only had one injury, a broken ankle. The concerns of an athletic hobby are broken bones, sprains, or surgeries.

Gowan would like to go to University of Cincinnati, Ohio University, or Cleveland Institute of Art to study photography. She

may continue dance in the future or may even teach a class of students. “Yes, I will still dance as I get older even if I’m not in a class. It would be my daily exercise.” In the future, she might even want to help out an Irish dance class for fun. The main reason she loves her art is because, “It brings me happiness, and the chance to meet some

new friends. It presents a challenge to me and not too many people Irish dance.”

By Lily Pollack

Spray tan? Check. Hard shoes? Check. Wig? Check.

Glitter? Check. Red lipstick? Check.

Irish Dancing is something that comes second nature to Moira Horn, a junior. In fact, she can often be spotted randomly practicing her steps throughout the day, all with good reason though. It’s a lot harder than it looks.

“I don’t think people realize how much endurance and athleticism it requires to actually be a successful dancer,” said Horn. “At every class we do warm-ups, drill, and stretch before we even get to our actual steps. We also have workshops every few months where we do other types of conditioning, mostly with core-strengthening exercises and drills.”

Horn started dancing in 2003 at the beginning of her 3rd grade year, and currently takes classes with The Brady Campbell School of Irish Dance under the instruction of Patrick Campbell, Rebecca Brady-Campbell, James Crawford, and Kevin O’Malley. “They are all fantastic teachers and I really love the atmosphere at class.” said Horn.

Horn tries her very hardest to practice at least an hour a day at home. “Sometimes it’s a lot more if there’s a competition coming up, but I really try to make it a priority even if I’m busy.”

Her talent is showcased at various Feis competitions throughout the year.

“A feis is, to say the least, chaotic. Everyone is frantically getting ready around all of the stages, throwing on

March 2012

lkwd life

25

dresses and makeup, running to the stage, warming up, practicing, checking results.

I love it, though,” said Horn. “ I think the chaos sometimes makes it more fun. Or stressful. I guess it depends on my mood.”

It’s a fine art to prepare for a feis though, seeing that it takes a ton of planning and prepping. As far as getting ready goes, it usually takes Horn and her sister, Freshman Maggy Horn, about an hour. Horn has to straighten the front part of her hair, put on her curly bun, a sparkly crown, apply dark foundation to match her spray tanned legs, shimmery purple eye shadow, tons of eyeliner, silver sparkles, and to top it all off, dramatic red lips, to match her dress.

“If you know my sister and I, then you know how naturally pale we are.” said Horn. It’s absolutely necessary that legs are spray tanned- it helps them stand out on stage.

For Horn, preparing herself mentally to compete in a feis is the most challenging thing. Focus must be maintained, and although competition is stiff, Horn keeps her eye on the ball.

“One time, I was standing in line to go onstage. I think I was about twelve years old, and this girl in my competition turns to me and says, ‘Hey, so, I really need to win this first, so can you just try to win, like, fourth or something?’ There are some huge egos out there, and you just have to have

Horn prepares for competition.

26 lkwd life

that same confidence in order to measure up,” said Horn.

It’s all worth the practice, chaos and hard work though, especially when a crystal is taken home. Girls can be awarded crystals among a variety of other things for placing in the top three in Preliminary or Open Championships. “For most of 2010 and 2011, I had been trying to qualify for Preliminary Championships. I finally won my last first place award that I needed to move up in August 2011, and it was such an incredible feeling, knowing that my hard work had paid off.”

Horn recently won third place at the Pittsburgh Winterfeis this past December, taking home a sash and a snowman vase.

So what inspires Horn to stick with all of this?

“My inspiration in dancing is Mary Maloney, my aunt. She and my mom both danced throughout their entire childhood, and Aunt Mary went on to place 2nd in the Moira and Maggy Horn, early in their dancing career.

National Championships when she was a teenager. One time, she had to get sur- to Irish Dance, and it’s been passed down gery on her feet, and she wasn’t allowed through generations at this point. Her to dance at a competition because her feet grandfather, Jack McNeely had been an were still all bandaged up. Even though her amazing dancer. It’s easy to see why dancfeet were killing her, she took off the ban- ing is in her blood. “Now, my sister, Maggy, dages, danced in the competition, and still my little cousin, Nora, my brother, Matthew, placed. Her perseverance is so inspiring to and I all dance with the same dance school and carry on that tradition.” me.”

She couldn’t do it all without an immense It’s definitely a tradition in the Horn family amount of support though.

“My mom has been a huge support in my dancing, considering she pays for classes, dresses, feis fees, and everything else. All of my teachers are also extremely encouraging and supportive, as are the girls from my class, including my sister,” said Horn.

“I’ve made some great friends through Irish Dancing, which makes it so much fun.”

The Horns love of performing is what truly drives her to do her best. But her respect for the art of the dance is what truly sets her apart.

“My favorite part about Irish Dancing is the powerful yet graceful nature of it. Obviously, you have to have some power to make noise in hard shoes and to jump high in your soft shoes, but you need grace to make it look beautiful.

Photos courtesy of the Horn family.

The Lakewood Times

Varsity Baseball: heating up for the new season

By Brandon Reid

Under the new coaching of Mike Ribar, the Lakewood High School boy’s freshman, junior varsity, and varsity baseball tryouts.

The 2012 Baseball season is starting soon and Lakewood has made some good changes to the team.

The biggest news for the baseball team is the return of Varsity Coach Mike Ribar. Ribar was brought in last year.

A new addition to the team this year is Chase Miller, a sophomore from Kentucky who has the potential to start varsity this upcoming season.

“We have a great overall team this year and hope to improve last years record,” said sophomore Attison McCarthy, who plays on Junior Varsity.

March 2012

One player to look out for this year is Junior Marquis Tyus who has already proven himself with an outstanding sophomore year.

The varsity’s team record last year was 3-24 overall, but they hope to at least triple that this year. “If we can win our conference games then it will definitley help to improve our chances of making sectionals,” said McCarthy. Lakewood’s star could indeed be rising with the Varsity players Andre Cartagena and Chris Goodwin

Photo from Times archives

Scan to see Lakewoods Varsity Baseball schedule

sports

27

Final Word

By Lily Pollack

It’s sad to think that the only way something can truly be addressed is if something tragic happens.

Maybe he’s acting a little weird. Maybe he’s saying some unsual things. No big deal, right? It seems as if maybe teenagers don’t want anything to do with other teenager’s problems. We’ve all been told to mind our own business and to not ‘snitch’ but no one really realizes how serious things can get until a tragedy occurs.

What happened at Chardon High School on Monday, February 27th is an example of this. Something went too far, and no one cared enough to possibly prevent the events that took place on that chilly winter morning, even though signs of trouble were there.

Your peers know you best and there’s no denying it. We know the “ins and outs” about each other, even though sometimes we wish we didn’t. We interact with one another for a majority of the day, crammed into classroom upon classroom. We hear gossip about other students. We see each other more than our teachers do. We see each other more than some parents do. We see each other’s Facebook confessionals.

So, what’s the point?

Students need to step up and look out for one another, and it isn’t hard to do. All that’s required is a heart and the ability to form a sentence.

When something doesn’t seem right, it’s usually pretty easy to tell. It’s just a matter of being aware, and being active about it.

Simply lending an ear or a hand can truly change someone’s life, and might potentially prevent something as drastic as what took place in Chardon. You never really know.

Although what TJ Lane did was wrong in every way, you have to wonder what made him feel so desolate. And what justified doing what he did in his own mind. Although nothing can justify his actions, it’s clear to see the consequences that resulted from simply not being aware.

Lakewood is strong, and we have a unique community.

We’re here to build each other up, not cause people to crumble. Although it seems like nothing good can possibly be gained from the events at Chardon, there is one thing.

Awareness. Have a heart. Stand up to help that one person.

It could change their life and save yours.

March 2012

focus

29

John Crane works efficiently at his desk,

30 focus

Photos by Victoria Chesmar

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

focus

31

32 focus

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

opinion 33

34 opinion

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

opinion 35

36 lkwd life

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

lkwd life

37

38 lkwd life

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

lkwd life

39

luck of the Irish

40 lkwd life

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

lkwd life

41

42 sports

The Lakewood Times

44contents

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

contents 45

46contents

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

contents 47

48 focus

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

focus

49

50 news

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

news

51

52 opinion

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

opinion 53

54 lkwd life

The Lakewood Times

March 2012

lkwd life

55

56

The Lakewood Times