March 2008 issue

Page 1

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ADAM DUNN AND the rest of the Reds have had disappointing seasons for most of the decade. However, after a busy offseason, during which the team acquired several new players and a new manager, will they be able to turn things around? Check out pages 36-37.

TUESDAY March 18, 2008 Volume LV Issue VIII 7400 Cornell Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 513 686. 1770 ext. 3089

Want in on the high school’s secret locations? Climbing from the legendary third floor onto the roof, Mr. Jim Skoog, associate principal, sheds light on the most legendary places in the school: the penthouse, spaceship, catwalks, and bowling alley. Uncover the secrets on page 18.

newsbytes

Senior nomination

Aly Mazzei, 12 recieved a nomination to the Merchant Marine Academy and letter of recommendation to the United States Coast Guard by Ohio Senator George Voinovich.

Special Olympics

Arielle Bachrach, 10, was chosen to attend the Special Olympic World Winter Games next winter. If she decides to accept this honor, she will attend a training camp in Colorado this December and the 2009 World Winter Games in Idaho in February.

Dance team on BET On March 5, Jesse Doris, 12, and Kathleen Hegyesi, 10, were given the opportunity of a lifetime: to compete live on national TV with their hip hop dance team, the Southern Ohio Rebels. These students competed on BET’s 106 and Park Wildout Wednesday against two other schools and received the highest number of votes, winning the chance to represent Jamfest at the 2008 Dance Worlds.

Science Olympiad The Science Olympiad team had its best performance in more than 10 years with a 2nd place finish in the regional tournament. The team will move on to the state tournament in April. Award winners were: Lizzy Wei, 12, Melissa Wang, 11, Becca Tsevat, 12, Dan Tang, 11, Kim Seymour, 9, Eric Schwartz, 11, Hannah Rashkin, 10, Gracia Ng, 10, Gabriel Ng, 12, Haruka Maeno, 9, Ben Lee, 10, Paolo Gabriel, 11, and Phil Brodrick, 12.

Governor’s Art Show

Photos by Alyssa Hoeper, 9, Daphne Hsu, 11, Melodie Jeng, 12, and Mackenzie Stevens, 12, are regional finalists in the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition. They will move on in hopes of being selected for display at the Ohio Department of Education and the Governor's Office in Columbus from April 13 to May 15.

Prom 2008

What: “Shanghai Nights” When: April 26 9 p.m. - 12 a.m.

After Prom 2008

What: “It’s a Jungle Out There” When: April 27 1 a.m. - 5 a.m. Tickets: $15, $20 non-students

2-3 4-6 fun&games 7 diversity 8 feature 9-24 26-31 a&e sports 33-38 calendar 39 40 spotlight

inside

news opinion

all images by casey manning

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Samy Sekar, 12, Anna Habib, 12, Vlad Podolsky, 11, Kavya Reddy, 11, and Rohan Chaudhary, 12, discuss the upcoming World Wake Up Week, which will take place April 14-19. The week is dedicated to raising awareness of the issues of poverty, global health, the environment, and world conflicts.

World Wake Up Week: JENNIFER LEE

S

Students plan event to raise awareness of poverty, health, environment, conflicts

editor-in-chief

amy Sekar, 12, wants to save the world. Sure, it’s a tall order. But Sekar, who is an avid social activist, treasurer of National Honor Society, and founder of Environmental Club, believes that she—that everyone—can make a difference. “So many people don’t give teenagers enough credit because we’re supposed to be selfish and self-centered,” said Sekar. “However, this is the age when we can be inspired and optimistic. This is the age at which we can dream to change the world; someone just needs to inspire these dreams.“ With her mission in mind, Sekar came up with the idea for World Wake Up Week, a weeklong event dedicated to raising student awareness of important global issues. “When I was thinking of projects for Environmental Club at the beginning of the year, I realized that one thing I wanted people to understand is that the environmental problems we face are connected to millions of other problems,” said Sekar. “Then I realized

that awareness needs to be raised about all of these issues, and that’s when the idea of World Wake Up Week came.” The first of its kind at the high school, the event, which will take place on April 14 to 19, will focus on “waking” students up to the realities of poverty, global health, the environment, and world conflicts. The event has the support of several different school organizations-- National Honor Society, Environmental Club, Key Club, and Invisible Children Club have joined together to support this cause. Over 40 students have been actively organizing the event; other students are encouraged to participate by e-mailing (worldwakeupweek@gmail.com) or posting suggestions on the Facebook group. Each day is assigned a different theme: Monday will be Poverty Day, Tuesday will be Global Health Day, Wednesday will be Environment Day, Thursday will be World Conflicts Day, and Friday will be World Wake Up Day.

Throughout the week, students will watch various videos and participate in lunchtime activities. Donations will also be collected. “World Wake Up Week is a great opportunitry to raise awareness about things we hear about all the time but never really understand,” said Jessa Ramsey, 12, head of the global health committee. By raising awareness, the organizers of the event hope to encourage students to become more involved in global issues. “One key point we hope to get accross is that making a difference need not be an inconvenient, time-consuming act,” said Sekar. “It could be as simple as recycling or not being afraid to talk to a person who has been diagnosed with HIV.” Saving the world is no small task. Through this event, Sekar hopes to accomplish the first step: getting others to wake up to reality. “It’s time we start thinking of ourselves as citizens of the world, where we have the responsibility to care for everyone else in the global community,” said Sekar.

New law heightens school safety Discussion club holds education panel Students, educators express concerns RASHMI BORAH

feature chief

On December 19, 2005, former governor Bob Taft signed into effect “Jarod’s Law,” a schoolsafety measure that was enacted after the death of Jarod Bennett, a six-year-old student from Lebanon, who was killed by an unstable folding table. Jarod’s Law has recently been updated to have more stringent monitoring in science classrooms. Starting Monday, March 3, no student will be able to eat or drink in a science-lab classroom. All food and drink items found inside the classroom must be left out. In addition, an extensive number of chemicals used in classroom experiments have been banned in public schools and public universities in Ohio, including tannic acid, which is used in tea, sodium fluoride, found in toothpaste and potassium, found in bananas. “I think it’s really lame that they’re putting schools through

all this trouble without at least testing possible consequences, like, with the banned chemicals,” said Annie Xie, 10. This particular clause has upset many science teachers and students in secondary schools and universities, as it will hinder hands-on studies in AP level courses and for science majors in universities. The reaction to the law here was no different. Especially in chemistry classes, teachers and students expressed indignation at the law, which will hinder hands-on activities, especially in AP-level classes. “I am very disappointed that future chemistry students will not be allowed to experience the wonders of certain chemistry labs,” said Paolo Gabriel, 11. “I understand that safety is important, but I do not believe that safety issues should interfere

>> JAROD’S LAW: PAGE 2

ROB FRIEDMAN

fun&games chief

On the first week in April, the Discussion Club will be hosting a panel discussion. This panel, organized by Jessa Ramsey, 12, will consist of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Their topic of discussion will be education. “We’ll be talking about what education means to us at

Sycamore—how to improve the system we have, what we are already doing well, etc.,” said Ramsey. They are hoping to have a panel of 12 or 13 members. The demographics will hopefully be six students, two parents,

>> DISCUSSION PANEL: PAGE 2

Fashion

for the Cure

What: Fashion show featuring

clothes from local designers Why: To raise money for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition in honor of Mrs. Sue Koehler, counselor When: March 19, 2008 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Where: SHS Commons Tickets: $8 advance, $10 at door, $15 adults; sold at lunch

photo by jeremy mcdaniel


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