March 2009 issue by Sycamore High School

leaf

the

sOME FIND THEM repulsive, others are desperate to become legal. Get the scoop on tattooing, and find out which teachers have gotten “inked” in this month’s minimag.

newsbriefs

Hoxworth Blood Drive total

In the final total, SHS gave 144 units of blood. Each unit can aid up to three people, meaning the school’s contribution will potentially help 432 lives. Paolo Gabriel, 12, placed first in the high school category at the Ohio Japanese Speech Contest held at the Ohio State University campus on Saturday, March 7.

will JOHNSTON associate editor

‘We want your dresses’

Sycamore Signs

The fourth annual American Sign Language performance will be held Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in the Little Theatre.

Dads’ cookout

Seniors will be treated to free hot dogs and hamburgers grilled by fathers on Friday, April 17 as part of this PTO-sponsored event.

SEE1 concert

The Sycamore Electric Ensemble will be teaming up with Mark Wood and Jeff Plate of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra once again on April 24 at 7:30 p.m. for the annual SEE1 performance in the auditorium. Purchase the $12 tickets online at www.sbob.org.

Prom, After Prom tickets

Tickets to both events will be sold during lunch the three days before Prom, beginning Wednesday, April 22. After Prom tickets can also be purchased on Saturday, April 25 at school. For After Prom, seniors can purchase their own “Wanted” poster for $20 by sending a wallet-sized or 4x6 image of themselves with a caption to starrfitch57@aol.com.

Ice Cream Sundae Fridays

Support the senior issue of The Leaf by purchasing ice cream on April 17 and 24 and May 8.

STUDENTS LEARN DANCE during Diversity Day two years ago. This year, instead of a day filled with activities and speakers, Diversity Day-like activities will take place during the entire month of April, with performances and food from around the world during lunch. “We want to celebrate diversity for more than one day,” said Mrs. Robyn Jordan, the event coordinator.

Diversity ‘Day’ extended to span all April Month’s worth of performances, day of presentations scheduled rashmi BORAH

business manager

n the past, Diversity Day has been a day devoted to celebrating the many cultures of SHS. Instead of attending classes, students attended workshops during the day. The event began and ended with school-wide addresses from keynote speakers. This year, however, Diversity Day coordinator Mrs. Robyn Jordan wanted to have diversity celebrated not just for one day, but throughout the entire month. “We want to celebrate diversity for more than one day,” said Jordan. “Hopefully, students will be more aware of it.” This year, Diversity Day will be celebrated throughout the entire month of April. Every Tuesday, various groups and students will perform during all three lunches. So far, dates have been secured for African drummers, salsa dancers, Indian dancers as well as cultural events hosted by SHS students, such as a

collaboration of the choirs and ASL, and a performance by the step team. In addition, the cafeteria will be coordinating the food it serves with the performance of the day. Local businesses will be giving demonstrations in the commons about the foods they produce and handing out samples. To emphasize the theme of Diversity Day this year, “One,” students will be selling ONE bracelets during lunch, with all proceeds going to the ONE Foundation, which is dedicated to fighting AIDS and global poverty. On the official Diversity “Day,” Thursday, April 23, the school will run on a pep rally schedule. Motivational speaker Calvin Terrell, will give a presentation to each grade in the morning. A number of teachers and students have also gotten involved in the event. Mr. Robert Seiple, environmental science teacher, has composed a song and intends to perform it during the closing ceremony.

advertisement 27 28 spotlight

During seventh bell, a 15-20 minute video centering on diversity will be shown to students This video, created by Tom Seiple, 12, for his capstone project, features in two parts: one part focusing on multiple individuals’ interpretation of diversity, the other part focusing on everyone’s unique qualities. “I hope people learn new things about the students in our school,” said Tom. “I feel the school is deadlocked in its ways socially, racially, and religiously. I want to see people leave and not be afraid to talk to someone taller, smaller, darker, lighter, younger, older, prettier, uglier, smarter, dumber, and so on.” Seniors Ben Rosen and Kevin Davies will emcee the opening and closing ceremony. Teachers have also been asked to incorporate various cultures into their lesson plan. “I hope students see that diversity impacts us at our school,” said Jordan.

After Prom will send students Globe trotting: Prom, to ancient Greece, Wild West catherine FARIST & elise GELWICKS staff writer

inside

2-3 news 4-7 opinion 8 fun&games feature 9-17 18-20 a&e 21-25 sports 26 calendar

‘I took their words and made them into a plan of action’ Student creates petition, movement to have senior event dates changed

Japanese student honored

National Honor Society will be hosting a Dress Drive during the week of April 6 to ensure that students can attend Prom despite financial hardships. On Monday, April 13, NHS will hold a dress swap after school.

THIS SCIENCE TEACHER, pictured here at his winter formal, married his high school sweetheart. Find out more on pages 6-7.

all photos by jeremy mcdaniel

DURING LAST YEAR’S After Prom, two students mock-battled in one of the many activities set up in the gym. This year’s After Prom will feature similar games, set to the theme of Wild Wild West. Read more about it on page three.

staff writer

The junior class of Student Council has decided that “Grecian Gardens” will be the theme for Prom, which held Saturday, April 25 at Paul Brown Stadium from 9-12 p.m. “I think this is a great theme,” said Ronald Rubin, 12. “It’s original, so people can get excited about it.” A new feature will be a photo booth. At the dance, there will be an area where students can have multiple pictures taken of themselves. “Prom is such an exciting dance, and this year sounds awesome. I like how they chose a theme that has never been done at dances, and how there is going to be a photo booth,” said Sophie Wall, 11. Student Council has made money for funding by selling hot chocolate, donuts, and, for the first time, hot cider – $1 each. “We have been planning for this event since freshman year. We have raised money through various events such as our T-shirt sales and an ice cream social,” said Danielle Linz, 11, junior class vice president. This dance is held exclusively for juniors and seniors, but they can bring a guest in the lower grades as their date. Tickets are $50 per couple, $30 dollars for a single ticket, and $1 for parking tickets.

>>PAGE 3: WILD WILD WEST AWAITS

After the repeated school closings earlier this winter, end-of-the-year activities were pushed back to accommodate the required make-up days. This included senior events. In response, senior Tamar Weiner has organized a movement to have the schedule of these events changed back to their original dates before graduation. “There are a lot of conflicts with the dates [June 1 and 2] currently chosen for the senior events. Many colleges have orientation on those dates, including mine, and there are a large number of families who have planned vacations for then,” said Weiner. Weiner is spearheading what has grown to be a considerable push to have these dates changed. She has begun a petition that currently has over 300 signatures on it, started a letter-writing campaign and a Facebook group to raise awareness and senior participation, and has the full support of Student Council. “We decided to support it because the senior events have been such an important tradition here for a long time,” said Nick Schlie, 12. “We don’t want seniors to have to suffer because of the date change.” Weiner attended the school board’s meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 25. “The school board meeting went really well, they were very supportive. However, I learned that they actually were not involved with that decision, it was Mr. Davis’ call,” said Weiner. Initially, she did not anticipate her drive to mushroom as much as it has. “It started out with just discussion, people talking about all of the problems that they have with it. Eventually, I got sick of people just talking about it and not really doing something, so I took their words and made them into a plan of action,” said Weiner. “I didn’t expect it to get so big, but I’m glad it has.” Weiner, with the seniors on Student Council, wants to meet with principal Mr. Chris Davis as soon as possible. This meeting will likely decide the outcome of her movement; however it has yet to yet to take place. In all likelihood, the dates of the senior events will not be changed. The schedule as it currently stands is a result of state laws that mandate students to be in school at least 180 academic school days, and was forced upon administration by the repetitive school closings. “They’re all legitimate and valid concerns. That’s why we had to make sure we completed all of the academic days before graduation, as it’s more reasonable to miss a picnic then an exam day or something like that. If you miss a day, you won’t be

>>PAGE 3: SENIOR PETITION

news THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Science Olympiad’s sweet victory: Now in possession of shiny, new trophy

NHS organizes drives, lock-in to benefit local community

ellean ZHANG news chief

Competition Results: Overall Rankings

For the first time in seven years, SHS took first place at the regional Science Olympiad competition on Saturday, March 7, beating out archrival Mason. “Winning regionals has never happened in my three years here—though my brother has tasted its sweetness,” said Gracia Ng, 11. “It was a reason for much wild cheering and celebration.” Students from 22 schools around the region gathered to compete for the top seven spots, which would qualify them for the state meet on April 18. Throughout the morning, students competed in groups of two or three in 23 separate competitions. The day ran smoothly, as new members of the Science Olympiad were able to gain experience from veteran members who applied their expertise. They were even able to scope out competition to get a better idea of where they were at. “As usual, Mason’s team included some extraordinarily intelligent Asian people, one of whom happened to also be extraordinarily tall,” said Ashvin Srivatsa, 11. “This tall Asian guy was a formidable foe, but assiduousness can overcome any obstacle, no matter how tall that obstacle may be.” Astronomy: third

Ben Lee, 11, & Ashvin Srivatsa, 11

Cell Biology: sixth

Jing Xing, 11, & Ellean Zhang, 11

Ecology: third

Gracia Ng, 11, & Eric Schwartz, 12

Elevated Bridge: sixth

Paolo Gabriel, 12, & Ellen Wang, 9

Enviro Chemistry: first

Gracia Ng, 11, & Melissa Wang, 12

Experimental Design: second

Juniors Sukhada Kulkarni, Hannah Rashkin, & Jing Xing

Forensics: third

Haruka Maeno, 10, & Kim Seymour, 10

Health Science: second

Ashvin Srivatsa, 11, & Ellean Zhang, 11

Herpetology: third

Hannah Rashkin, 11, & Melissa Wang, 12

Junkyard Challenge: fifth

Nate Eckman, 12, & Dan Tang, 12

Picture This: first

Gracia Ng, 11, Ashvin Srivatsa, 11, & Melissa Wang, 12

Technical Problem Solving: third

Nate Eckman, 12, & Ben Lee, 11

Trajectory: fifth

Nate Eckman, 12, & Eric Schwartz, 12

Write It Do It: first

Sukhada Kulkarni, 11, & Jing Xing, 11

rashmi BORAH

business manager

photo courtesy of ms. julie haverkos

THE JV JETS hold their first place award. JV brought home first place from the team competition. The varsity team, composed solely of seniors, placed third.

‘I really enjoyed seeing one of the potential applications for what I want to do’

JETS senior team takes third, juniors place first mary ann JIANG

editor-in-chief

hen anyone refers to engineering as a “difficult” or “practical” major, the full implications of these accounts can be undervalued amongst most students who only dabble in physics and calculus. For 16 juniors and seniors, “enjoyable” can be made into another descriptor. JETS, the Junior Engineering Technical Society, aims to promote the field of engineering, math, and science through providing real-world challenges faced by professionals. Each year, over 14,000 students gather to prove their skills and gain practical experience. “[The JETS TEAMS competition] was really fun; I liked my teammates and working with them,” said Bria Clough, 11. Recommended by physics teachers Mr. Mike Gutekunst and Ms. Julie Haverkos, two teams of eight juniors and eight seniors participated in the regional level JETS TEAMS competition hosted by UC on Wednesday, March 4. Seniors Blake Dewey, Danielle Ebstein, Negin Fallahi, Lindsay Fischer, Lauren Kley, Gautam Nagendra, Vlad Podolsky, and Dan Tang ranked third in the varsity league after Beavercreek and Lakota West. “I wasn’t disappointed in the fact that we did worse this year because it was harder than the year before. I still think we worked well together and

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achieved to the best of our abilities,” said Fischer. Juniors Dan Ashton, Clough, Briana Conners, Kevin Doherty, Ben Lee, Erin McClean, Sheena Patel, and Ashvin Srivatsa finished first in the JV league, earning a higher score than varsity. “I was really impressed with how our team performed and hopefully we’ll do the same next year,” said Ashton. Team members worked together to complete 80 multiple choice questions and four extended responses based on the theme “Behind the Scenes: Amusement Parks.” The multiple choice questions constructed the regional level evaluation; the second portion was the national level exam. “They’re freshman college engineering problems so they’re hard. [The students] go into [the competition]—they’re used to getting ‘it’—where some of the stuff they’ve never seen or heard of before and they’ve got to get through it,” said Haverkos. JV’s regional finish brings them into the national arena. Those results will be announced later this month. They can receive plaques, but only varsity team members can earn a $15,000 scholarship to UC’s Engineering College. “It was difficult but we worked together and it was a lot of fun,” said Kley. “I want to be an industrial engineer so I really enjoyed seeing one of the potential applications for what I want to do.”

The National Honor Society has organized three new drives as well as a lock-in for Operation Give Back (OGB) students for this spring. “It has been a goal of National Honor Society this year to increase its presence in the school and community,” said Abby Evans, 12, NHS president. The Book Drive, which was held from March 2-6, collected around 700 gently-used books for the OGB library, a tutoring organization for district students. The Dress Drive, which will be held from April 6-9, will collect gently used dresses that will be donated to girls who cannot afford a dress for prom. A dress swap will be held after school on Monday, April 13. “The Dress Drive just seemed like a really practical drive that could help students at the high school that maybe can’t afford to go out and buy a dress or maybe are just into recycling dresses,” said Mrs. Valerie Nimeskern, NHS co-adviser. “So many students spend top dollar on a dress they wear one night, why not swap and/or donate?”

>>PAGE 3: NHS EVENTS

March

This day

in history

leah BURGIN feature chief

1863

One of the most notable Civil War ship wrecks, the SS Georgiana, sunk on this day in 1863 and was found exactly 102 years later by a teenager, Dr. E. Lee Spence, who is now a noted underwater archaeologist. Originally, the Georgiana was considered the most powerful Confederate cruiser; however, after sinking on its maiden voyage with a valuable cargo (at the time, worth over $1,000,000) of munitions, medicines, and other merchandise, the ship was lost to history. In 1965, Spence revived the reputation of his new discovery with research that directly linked the Georgiana to George Trenholm, a Southern blockade runner and Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, who was believed to be the inspiration for Rhett Butler’s character in “Gone With the Wind.” The ship remains at the bottom of the ocean, where it has been turned into an underwater garden. Divers can still access the wreck today.

news

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

S T

tudents’ privacy rights in question: exting becomes new buzz word for teenage drama

kavya REDDY calendar editor

he proliferation of various devices and technologies on school property has put students’ privacy at greater risk today than ever before. Grade changing and network snooping are not the only threats. New types of cameras, classroom Web logs and the governmentmandated release of student records to military recruiters have all brought increased pressure to clarify and toughen policies students’ privacy. When a recent incident at Mason High School made headlines of this so-called “sexting” was brought into light, it again up brings the topic of student privacy. Nude photos of teen girls, found on a Mason boy’s cell phone have grabbed authorities’ attention and has now created an even bigger legal dilemma. “Picture texting is just a new problem in our society. People just have to remember to respect their body and know the consequences,” said Rachel Wolkoff, 12. It has caught the attention of prosecutors across the country who are charging students with child

pornography and other felonies. “As long as they [cell phones] are not a distraction, students should be able to have them in school. My phone is kind of a security measure for me and I hope cell phones do not get banned soon,” said Brielle Reiff, 10. The Student/Parent Handbook accordingly states: “students may not use electronic communication devices during the school day such as cell phones, beepers, and pagers…These items are not the responsibility of Sycamore Community Schools or Sycamore High School.” “The greatest challenge is determining whether it happened on school grounds. If it did, we definitely apply orderly school conduct,” said Mr. Chris Davis, principal. After all is said and done, many question who can be held responsible in these cases. Cameras, with their size and features, have become big schoolyard toys. Unfortunately, these new technologies pose an increasing threat to student’s safety and privacy. Some may feel that the use of a cell phone during school is a privilege, but with the many cases arising, it may prompt administrators to ban cell phones and/or any other electronic devices. DESPITE FULL AWARENESS of the consequences, some students, like Lina Cardenas, 9, run the risk of confiscation in order to text during school hours. Recently, the threats involved with cell phone use have escalated, with kids involved in “sexting” being prosecuted for child pornography.

photo courtesy of emma oh

‘If you want something you’ve never had, then you have to do something you’ve never done...’

DECA marketing students compete at state level tolu OGINNI staff writer

Marketing Manual DECA 2009 State Competition Columbus, Ohio Fri., March 13 Sat., March 14

Enrico DeLuca Juniors Ross Feldhaus Rachel Davenport Vishnu Hedge Taryn Imwalle Sydnee Hosler Stephanie Brittany Lintz McFarland Kristen Lintz Caitlin Palmeiri Aleks Marjanovic Brent Perlman Danny McCarthy Morgan Seip Tolu Oginni Andrew Solomon Steve Prather Brett Simek Seniors Donnesha Simms Adam Birkan Rijutha Vaidyalingam Sarah Brown Terrance White

image by mary ann jiang and jake newton

The Ohio DECA state competition took place from Friday, March 13 to Saturday, March 14. The DECA students who made it past districts frantically prepared for the competition in hopes of making it to the national competition, in Anaheim, California in April. “Preparing for state is a very exciting time. I didn’t think I would make it that far in the competition,” said Donnesha Simms, 12. With the amount of pressure mounted on this competition, not all students decided to go.

“I [just wasn’t] interested. It is too nerve-wracking for me,” said Brooke Gambriel, 12, who made second place in the district competition. The marketing students went to Columbus on Friday. In the competition students took a 100 question test and participated in role play. The awards ceremony was the next day. On Monday, Feb. 23, Mrs. Debbie Guttsweiller, the former SHS marketing teacher, came into school in order to go over role plays. She helped students build their confidence, address their weak spots, and explain how to address situations in a way that the judges would like. “If you want something you’ve never had, then you have to do something you’ve never done [to get it],” said Terrance White, 12.

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penalized,” said Davis. However, Davis is willing to hear what anyone with concerns would have to say. “I’m certainly open to listening to them if they have a better plan,” said Davis. “But my question to them would be: what would we put on these days [after graduation]? What would we do, and how would we do it? We’ve already tried to be as generous as we can. For example, we are counting graduation rehearsal as a day.” The complications caused by the snow days are not only a SHS issue, but one causing problems for other schools throughout the GMC as well. “Because of the extensive calamity days, there is no ideal situation with the senior days,” said Davis. “We’re trying to make the best of a bad situation.”

>>CONT. FROM FRONT PAGE WILD WILD WEST AWAITS After a night in the Grecian Gardens, juniors and seniors are invited to spend the early hours of Sunday, April 26 in the “Wild Wild West” at After Prom, held at SHS. “I really agree with the idea of After Prom and the parents putting so much work into providing a fun and safe atmosphere as an alternative for those other after Prom activities,” said Annie Roessler, 12. Students who do not attend Prom tend to show up at After Prom, as this event is much more casual and offers activities, like a carnival, hypnotist show, and line dancing, that students can participate in with their friends. “We hope to provide a safe, exciting event that you won’t want to miss,” said Mrs. Sarah Kapcar, After Prom chair member. “Come early and stay late because there will be so many different things to do.” In addition to activities, students can eat free food donated by local restaurants, and will receive a t-shirt to commemorate the event – all included in their $20 ticket. After Prom is organized and sponsored by the SHS PTO, district booster groups, athletic teams, community organizations, the staff of SHS, and countless parent volunteers. “We hope the students love After Prom. It is a big event that takes hundreds of volunteers and volunteer hours, but watching the kids that evening makes all the effort completely worthwhile,” said Kapcar. Like last year, After Prom will be held from 1-5 a.m. There will be no admittance after 2 a.m. and no student may leave before 3 a.m. Students need their school ID to enter After Prom and to have any guests, students from outside schools must be pre-approved by administrators. Forms will be available at the main office.

>>CONT. FROM PAGE 2 NHS SPRING EVENTS

P R O P E R T I E S RUSSEL C. MYERS

>>CONT. FROM FRONT PAGE SENIOR PETITION

ery R

tgom Mon

The Backpack Drive, which will be held from May 18-22, will collect backpacks that will benefit students at Lincoln Heights Schools in downtown Cincinnati. In addition to the drives, NHS has organized a lock-in for OGB. On Friday, April 3, NHS members will host games, sports, food, and learning sessions for OGB kids. “The Operation Give Back lock-in was created to establish positive relationships between students and mentors with both fun and learning activities. This event is different from the drives in that it allows members to personally interact with others and make a difference,” said Evans.

opinion

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

PoliticalDIS Service Give stimulus time to work before passing judgement mark RUBEO

staff writer

In politics, there is constant pressure to take sides. To some, every proposal is either guaranteed to be 100% successful or destined to be a complete failure. This polarization of views permeates nearly all of government, and even now attaches itself to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AKA the stimulus package), a bill that has not even had time to be put into action yet. It is one thing to think, knowing what we know now, that it is unlikely that the package will work. It is another thing entirely to claim with absolute certainty that you know the future, and that the future holds a failed stimulus. It is one thing to genuinely believe and hope that the stimulus package will work. It is another to dismiss the opinions of people who have real doubts about the bill as obstructionists with no alternatives to offer as a counter plan. It is true that the stimulus package was probably rushed to a conclusion. Congressmen were given only one hour to read the 1,027 page document before being called to a vote on it, even after a non-binding motion passed that asked for at least 48 hours to read the bill. Also true is that, despite its imperfection, the package is already saving jobs, as intended. President Barack Obama attended a graduation ceremony for 25 police cadets, whose jobs were saved by the stimulus’ passing, “For those who still doubt the wisdom of our recovery plan, I ask them to talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan,” said Obama at the ceremony. The truth is it is too early to know for certain whether or not the stimulus bill will be a success. Much of the money, including the $44 billion for education, will not make it through the system until the end of the month or later. Good citizens should keep an open mind and hold off on final judgment of the plan before it has time to work.

the

leaf

photo by jeremy mcdaniel

cartoon by charlie manion

staffeditorial

n this district, students are blessed with opportunity. Opportunity to learn in classes unavailable at other schools, opportunity to become involved with the community, and opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of different cultures on a daily basis. The students in this school hail from countries spread across the globe, representing numerous different cultures, and speaking as many diverse languages. But the benefits of interacting with such a population are not the only way in which students are able to experience a window into worlds very different from their own, the administration has taken the initiative to plan events designed to promote this goal. Namely, this means Diversity Day. Two years ago, students were able to experience a full day of activities representing dozens of different cultures and nations. Unfortunately, a startlingly large number of students elected not to attend the festivities that day. Diversity Day did not take place in any form last year. This year, it will be carried out over an entire month, due in part to these students who neglected to attend the event in 2007. It is important to note that this was not the only cause for change, but it was a factor. Undoubtedly, many students will be upset by this change. Some may feel it is unjust, that half the school was not even around to skip it and could argue that most of the current juniors and seniors were not the ones who contributed to this change (the seniors of 2007 were particularly notorious for skipping). One may say that by changing the format now, the wrong students are being punished and administrators are diminishing the effect of an opportunity that many have never gotten a chance to experience. Others may feel that it takes away the novelty of the event. Surely, having demonstrations a during lunch will be ignored by students, as few would really pay attention. These things may or may not be true. It could well be that it is unfair to reconfigure the event when half the school was not here when it seemed necessary to make the change. It also may be accurate to say that many will ignore such presentations. However, at this point these arguments are not what matters. The plan is set, and it will not change, despite how fervently some may argue. The change of Diversity Day should show students that their actions, should they become somewhat truant in nature, can have lasting ramifications. If the thought of breaking school rules is not enough (and it would seem that this is the case for many), students should at least consider all of the hard work that faculty, volunteers, and others put into events such as Diversity Day to make them possible. The seemingly widespread, organized nature of this skipping is particularly shocking. Students seemed not to care how hard anyone worked for their benefit or what kind of meaning it could have for them. Such behavior reflects very poorly upon the student body here at SHS. The Class of 2007 could be partly responsible for the change. Whether this is true or not is of no consequence now, but its implications should be heeded by students of all levels for the future. Student behavior today can have far reaching consequences, and negatively affect the students who will succeed the current classes at the high school. So be careful when acting: one never knows what kind of consequences could come down the road.

Sycamore High School 7400 Cornell Road Cincinnati, OH 45242

Mission Statement: The Leaf, the official newspaper of Sycamore High School, serves as an educational tool in the training of student journalists to provide information and editorial leadership concerning school, national, and world issues, to provide a public forum for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints, and to give coverage to newsworthy events directly related to the diverse school population. Editorial Policy: Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the content is ultimately determined by the student staff and should reflect all areas of student interest, including topics about which there may be dissent and controversy. Students cannot publish material that is obscene, libelous, or will cause “a substantial disruption of the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated debate or discussion is not included in this

definition. The Leaf operates as an open forum for the healthy, robust exchange of ideas. Opinions expressed in the editorials are those of The Leaf staff. Letters to the editor are encouraged. All letters must be signed. The letters, not to exceed 300 words, may be edited for clarity, spelling, and grammar. Letters may be placed in Mrs. Cheralyn Jardine’s mailbox, dropped off in room 115, or e-mailed to jardinec@sycamoreschools.org. The Leaf reserves the right to decide not to cover a death based on relevance, timeliness, and circumstances decided on by the editorial board. In cases that the editorial board decides not to cover a death, letters to the editor in regard to that death will be printed. The Leaf’s complete editorial policies can be found at www.goaves.com.

JEFF YALDEN WAS the keynote speaker at the 2007 Diversity Day. The format for Diversity Day has been changed due to several issues. It will now be held over the entire month.

leafing through the masses

“ “ “ “

I’m disappointed. I had heard nothing but good things about the day in the past and now I don’t have the same thing to look forward to

” ” ” ”

-Erik Johnson, 10

I dislike the idea of just having an assembly, I really enjoyed the day freshman year and would prefer a similar experience

-Trevor Thomas, 11

I had a great experience last time and I am disappointed it had to change

-Kelsey Beck, 12

I liked the way it was set up before, but I understand that it takes a great deal of effort, and it took up a lot of instruction time

-Ms. Julie Haverkos, teacher

Editor-in-chief: Mary Ann Jiang Associate editor: Daphne Hsu Associate editor: Will Johnston Managing editor: Libby Henning News Noa Belillti Ellean Zhang Opinion Matt Mendelsohn Jeremy Spiegel Fun & Games Brittanny Argyriou Feature Leah Burgin Rashmi Borah Libby Henning A&E Gabirose Keeton Michela Tindera Sports Ben Estes Jared Kamrass Calendar Jake Newton Kavya Reddy Spotlight Maria Marballi Webmaster Jacob Katz Mark Rubeo

What is your opinion of the new Diversity Day format?

Mini-Mag Editors Ben Dhiman Sam Cleary Staff Writers Jamie Alemagno Daniel Bayliss Emily Begley Jimmy Chau Chad Chessin Emily Cohen Daniella Cos S.M. Dipali Kelsey Drapkin Gabe Englander Catherine Farist Elise Gelwicks Alyssa Hoeper Elizabeth Hoopes Molly Johnson Bennett Kaplan Jacob Katz Ben Keefe Mandi Kipner Moriah Krawec Charlie Manion Toluwalope Oginni

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opinion

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

numbers 130,000

number of Ohio students that take the OGT each year

percentage of Ohio seniors re taking OGT

percentage of Ohio graduates who took AC T in 2008

21.7

average composite AC T score for Ohio students photo courtesy of act.org

ACT poses problems in graduation plan Exam switch may hinder governor’s proposition rashmi BORAH

business manager

he ACT is not a particular easy test for many, even those who passed the OGT with Advanced or Accelerated scores; yet, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland wants every high school student to take the ACT in order to graduate. In his State of the State speech on Jan. 28, Strickland proposed scrapping the OGT, and replacing it with a modified form of the ACT. Strickland asserted that the OGT was not rigorous enough. Recently, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that nearly 12,000 seniors in Ohio, or nine percent of seniors in the state, re-took the OGT (almost two years after taking it for the first time) and nearly 9,000 failed at least one test a second time. It might not seem like a large number, but seven percent of a class not being able to pass the graduation for two years after originally failing it does not support Strickland’s claim that the OGT is not “rigorous.” Now, I am not going to argue what the “standards” for graduation should be, nor chide schools for not preparing students for the OGT. What

must be analyzed now is Strickland’s decision in replacing the OGT, in the context of his speech. First, Strickland wants students to take a “modified” version of the ACT. He felt that students needed to be tested during high school for college readiness, and that they should be tested on how prepared they are to handle the challenges of college-level work. But how much would he “modify” the ACT, and how would one know how accurate of a measure the “modified” ACT is of college readiness? Already, the course curriculum for many schools does not prepare students for the ACT until the end of their senior year, when they have finished precalculus or trigonometry. When would they have time to take the new ACT? Next, there is the practicality argument. Structurally, the ACT is significantly different from the OGT, and does not test students over everything the OGT does. Refiguring the courses each school offered would take time and money—resources that some schools lack. Despite the flaws in the OGT, it did test every

academic subject. With the ACT, social studies and some science topics would not be tested at all, and if the ACT plus Writing is not offered, then writing skills would be left out as well. Finally, the usage of the ACT as the state’s annual skills test for graduation would mean that the scores students receive would have a bearing on their school’s Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) rating, as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Given both the difficulty of the ACT in comparison to the OGT as well as the significant restructuring schools would have to undergo, the AYP rating for many schools would probably decline for a number of years, resulting in some of the consequences that NCLB places upon “failing schools,” including shutting down the school. Is all of this worth it, just to ensure that only truly “qualified” students are graduating high school? While, theoretically, this would make sense, Strickland’s plan would be much more detrimental to the school system than beneficial to those who can get past it.

In orplansout-of-state? College affected by economy matt MENDELSOHN & jeremy SPIEGEL opinion chief

photo by jeremy mcdaniel

SENIORS OF 2008 enjoy cornhole at the 2008 senior picnic. This year, numerous cancellations have forced the event to be moved to after graduation. This means that the event may not be as heavily attended.

chool cancellations change senior calendar

lideshow, picnic held after graduation

daniella COS staff writer

Snow days are usually welcomed with open arms. This year has proven to be much different. The school is allotted five calamity days a year. However, SHS left this number behind long ago. Sadly, the administration has decided to move the senior picnic and slideshow to after graduation. Many are unhappy with this decision. “These are our memories of high school, and these celebrations should be done before we get our diplomas. Now, many people cannot go and are angry about it,” said Kari Hellman, 12. There are rumors of total cancellation of these activities because of

the lack of attendance. Parents’ hard work will have been for nothing and seniors will leave high school without the usual rewards. “It isn’t entirely fair. I have college orientation. I refuse to miss that, but I have worked hard my high school career and deserve to enjoy my last remaining days with my peers,” said Tamar Wiener, 12. There is still an ongoing battle and a petition has been drawn up by students to change the outcome of this decision. Seniors will have to wait for the final verdict, and if this resolution sticks, many will have to miss out on decade-old traditions.

opinion chief

As the warm weather approaches signs of stopping, this trend may and the countdown towards summer continue for future classes. intensifies, one date remains circled As a consequence of the falling on seniors’ calendars. economy, colleges have had to make By May 1, every senior must decide the tough decision of raising tuition what college he or she plans on atcosts. tending next year. While students who decide to stay This year, the decision may become in state are generally unaffected, even more challenging for students. parents have to make difficult choices Due to the nationwide economic for their children who go out of state crisis, schools across the country for college because of the increased have reported a higher percentage of costs. in state applications. One thing that Often, students colleges are doing in are left with a an effort to increase With the economy in tough choice: the is to accept constant decline, students revenue first-choice out more out of state may be left wondering of state school, students in the hopes or the more afwhether their top choice of that more will enroll, fordable in-state providing a way to school is too expensive. option. increase profits in According to such dire times. meritaid.com, However, tuition a scholarship website, 57 percent of costs are still at all-time highs, and seniors are now considering a “less with more limited financial aid, why prestigious college choice” due to would these out of state students still affordability and financial aid. In attend these respective universities? addition, the site reports that 20 As families across the United percent of seniors are now considerStates watch their assets continue to ing a public university over their top dwindle, the college acceptance date choice in schools when they applied. draws nearer. Admissions officers from both Ohio With the economy in constant deState and Ohio University report that cline, students may be left wondering this year, they have received more whether their top choice of school is in-state applications than ever. too expensive for an undergraduate As the economic crisis shows no education.

class of

Senior Corner Seniors must select amnesty carefully mary ann JIANG editor-in-chief

Former Mr. Harvard Freshman inthe-running Kevin Lin, ’07, enjoyed a lot of success in high school. He was a standout performer in the Variety Shows, stunning the crowd with his trained beat-boxing skills and killer looks. Girls swooned, teachers fawned, colleges beckoned for his statement of commitment. But truth be told, this National Merit Finalist’s greatest high school achievement? Knowing how to use the upperclassman advantage. I watched with simmering bitterness as Kevin walked into my Latin I class first bell freshman year for his Independent Study of Latin IV, late. I had received a Saturday School for hardly being within the doorframe. Kevin flipped a folded yellow sheet at Mr. Mark Torlone, Latin teacher, read the understanding in his eyes, and took his seat to rush through the remainder of his AP Calculus homework before diving into desperately needed shut-eye. Here’s the catch: it was just a folded yellow sheet. Moreover, Kevin is not alone in crossing the channel to most teachers’ softer sides. Sam Bedford, ’07, watched movies on a portable PlayStation in class. I could fill this entire column with stories; nearly all of us can relate at least one experience of simply getting past some more severe discipline or enjoying more favorable rapport as a senior. Recently, my exercise of senior amnesty has been texting in class. I tried to limit the usage to as-muchas-can-be-experienced-in-suburbia emergencies (like planning an outto-lunch). However, I have also become a shameless texter, finding the release so very tempting during certain hours of insipid lecturing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do not have disdain for the gravity of environmentally precocious dredging practices on the ocean floor. I just simply would rather read an FML (an explicit acronym derived from www.fmylife.com, which never fails to entertain) at times. Maybe you just feel the need to receive peer advice. This blessing of twenty-first century technology, like everything else, can become so destructive when made into a mindless habit. When the purposes are other than urgent, texting in public is simply a more discrete way of putting on headphones as someone else addresses you with something to say. Today, I am making my pledge in ink, to limit my usage of text to one-time birthday wishes and dire, “OMG, WE NEED MORE ICE CREAM FOR ICE CREAM SUNDAE FRIDAY” messages (Friday, April 17 if you are wondering, “btw”). Let’s be more selective about our dabbling in seniority’s perks, shall we? There are less disrespectful ways to circumvent the reality of age gaps and tradition-held relationships between teacher and student. Be creative….and don’t cite me.

opinion

High school relationships: THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Teachers, students offer advice, Why they work: R jimmy CHAU & emma OH staff writer staff writer

elationships have always been hard. Even if someone read the countless how-to books about getting dates and more importantly, keeping them, they still would not be able to crack the impossible code that is love. As difficult as maintaining a happy relationship is, they are possible. But add in the stress and drama of high school, and the task can sometimes become almost hopeless. Only a miniscule 2 percent of people end up marrying and staying with their high school sweetheart. For the optimists out there who hope to be that 2 percent, high school relationships do not all end in tragedy. While many of them do end in a tearful, melancholy break up, numerous people have beaten the odds and ended up marrying their high school sweethearts. Although relationships are neither magical nor anything close to fairy tales like the movies, they are successful because the people in them take the time and effort to make them work. “All relationships demand time and effort, but when the attention and determination is carried out against a background of mutual love and respect for on another working through the difficult times is all eminently worthwhile” said Mrs. Judith Klefas, English teacher.

experienced throughout the course of the occurrence. Dating around and going out with different people helps you learn more about other people as well finding out things about yourself. Having the label as someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend can be somewhat satisfying at times as you walk up and down the halls every day. It means always having a place to sit when all the lunch tables are filled up and never having to be alone when walking to class. A boyfriend or girlfriend means

always having someone to talk to about personal things friends are not supposed to hear. At a time when we are still finding ourselves, having someone to talk to is comforting. In the end, successful or not, high school relationships are learning experiences. With each one, we find out more about ourselves and who we aspire to be with in the future.

Benefits of dating

Dating in high school can be beneficial. It prepares you for what is to come after high school or college in the “real world.” Relationships act as opportunities to learn from or work on any problems that are

FROM TOP: CARLA Ibarra, 9 and Kyle Sess, 9 show affection for each other before class. Jenn Scheer, 9 and Max Riehemann, 10 enjoy each other’s company at a Halloween party. Mrs. Judy Klefas and husband, Mr. Jerry Klefas before a high school dance.

5 ways to maintain relationships

Relax, be comfortable and be yourself

As cliché as it sounds, you must be comfortable with all of your quirky habits around your significant other. You should always feel confident in yourself while with him/her. Being honest from the start ensures that your partner really likes you for you.

Give plenty of compliments

Compliments brighten everyone’s day. Make your partner feel good about themselves and tell them they are looking good today. The risk to this is over-complimenting which is usually a problem for guys. Keep the sweet talk at an appropriate amount and use discretion.

Be honest, open with each other

Have humility, give deserved apologies

Make sure you can talk to each other. Always tell one another if something is wrong or if something is on your mind. The biggest part of communication is listening. Pay attention to everything your partner says to ensure arguments do not arise later.

Arguments are inevitable in every relationship so rather than being stubborn and hardheaded about things, try to be the bigger person and admit you were wrong or reach a compromise as soon as possible because most arguments look petty in hindsight any ways.

Trust him/her

Intruding and controlling will only drive your partner away. Try not to be the boyfriend or girlfriend who keeps tabs on your other wherever they go. Give them room and trust them to be a faithful, loyal partner who will not fall in to temptation and cheat on you. Odds are, if they said yes to going out with you, they feel the same way you do. Trust is a major part of the foundation of a good relationship.

opinion

can they be successful? THURSDAY March 19, 2009

share dating experiences

Why they fail: Almost all high school students will experience at least one cute, puppylove relationship that starts with a kiss behind the bleachers and ends a week later with a text message or phone call. For years, teenage relationships have been a large topic of interest. Although movies like “Sixteen Candles” and “A Cinderella Story” do portray the rocky and rough sides of high school relationships, they almost always have a perfect fairy tale ending. Unfortunately, in the real world not all relationships work this way.

Stress, impulses

Most relationships formed during teenage years are based on hormones and impulses that the body is just beginning to process, thus explaining why they are so short lived. Often times, teenagers get bored of their new crush after only a few weeks or are not experienced enough to handle a serious relationship. “High school relationships don’t last long because people take them too seriously or not seriously enough, and then it just doesn’t work out,” said Ali Daniels, 9. Not only is high school a time for first love, but it is also extremely stressful. This mix of unknown territory and pressure from peers is not exactly the most nurturing or convenient environment for a relationship to develop.

“We’re still developing our minds in high school and we don’t really have the time to devote to each other. Plus all the stresses of school and relationships make it hard,” said Michael Tufts, 10. Most relationships are not easy to begin with. Every couple experiences rough patches where getting along is no longer as simple as it used to be. Also, relationships can be time consuming. Participating in one means having to worry about someone other than yourself and putting their needs before your own. Relationships can be hurtful and confusing as well. Because emotions and needs change so much during high school, teenagers often find themselves contemplating whether their relationship is even worth while. By the time these kinds of relationships end, at least one, if not both of those involved are left heart broken and upset.

Staying sensible

Despite these factors, high school relationships are inevitable. If you choose to be in a relationship, it is important to be rational about it. “I am skeptical that a high school romance today could result in marriage, but never say never. My advice is be wary of who you date in high school- you may wind up married to them, and with kids,” said Mr. Robert Seiple, Science teacher. Keep in mind that people change, especially through their adolescent years and just because your relationship seems like it will be everlasting does not always guarantee it will be. FROM TOP, JAMIE Alemagno, 11, and Ryan Whitney, 11, have fun on a walk together. Mr. Michael Geyer and wife, Mrs. Lynn Geyer pose for a picture at their high school winter dance. Nick Shlie, 12, and Rachel Pittman, 12, indulge in each other’s company.

5 signs that it is time to break up

Your self-esteem spirals downward

This may seem like a strange warning sign, but if your self-esteem has decreased since you started dating, it may be time to examine your relationship and make sure it is not the cause of the problem.

You keep wanting to change him/her

Many people will quickly develop crushes without taking the time to find out who their interest really is. If you find that you are constantly trying to mold your counterpart into who you thought they were to begin with, it may be time to reconsider your relationship.

You look for ways to get out of dates

Spending time with your boyfriend or girlfriend should be something you look forward to. If you or your significant other is always looking for an excuse to not be able to hang out it is probably time to call it quits.

Friends are dropping hints

Most of the time our friends can see our relationships falling apart before we can. If your buddies dislike your significant other or begin to tell you that he or she may not be worth your time, you might want to listen closely.

You no longer have fun

You may have already heard their jokes a thousand times, but people in a healthy relationship tend to be able to look past that. If your partner can no longer make you laugh, or if being with him or her is no longer fun, the relationship might not be worth it.

fun&games

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Easter Bunny:

Sudoku

Innocent creature or immoral teacher

molly JOHNSON

staff writer

here are many myths that surround the Easter bunny. I am not here to debate any of those claims; I am just here to bring up my own thoughts. The Easter bunny is usually portrayed as a large white rabbit that carries around a basket of colored eggs. If the Easter bunny is real, I do not want to meet it. What sort of mutation can occur that would cause an innocent little forest creature to be able to lay eggs- not to mention to be able to carry a hand basket? Not just your normal, run-ofthe-mill eggs. Oh no, these eggs are multi-colored surprises. These little packages of possibility can be filled with various candies and chocolate and sometimes even the sweeter commodity of money. I do not know about you, but I think that offering children a monetary reward only teaches them to value materialism…and keep checking their morning eggs for quarters. To me, that does not seem like the kind of meetings that should be going on between a beloved icon and the children who love him. I think that only logical creature that can be used to portray Easter and Easter eggs is the platypus, or the echidna. These mammals lay eggs. And really, who would not want to meet and hug an echidna?

brittanny ARGYRIOU fun&games chief

Laugh out loud: Q: Why did the rabbit have trouble hopping? A: Because he always kept one foot in his pocket for good luck.

image by charlie manion

Q: What is the difference between a crazy rabbit and a fake banknote? A: One is a mad bunny, while the other is bad money.

Fill in each box so that every row, column, and box has the numbers 1-9. Make sure that there are no repeats!

feature THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Prom alternatives

HIGHLIGHTS this month in feature

8 ways to have fun without attending prom mary ann JIANG

editor-in-chief

t might just be that you are an underclassman. Or, the whole concept of prom turns you off. Regardless of your reason for not attending the dance, there are other ways to enjoy April 25 in avoidance of the Prom night grind:

Cast a spyglass back onto Odd Couples Ball ‘09 on page 11.

1. Run for fun:

Gather other nonconformists and organize an evening of recreational games. Play “Bloody Mary” at a park (see “‘Bloody Mary’ how-to”) or midnight capture-the-flag, handball, or ultimate Frisbee.

A miracle plane crash - the scoop is on page 13.

2. See a show: Spring is the season for high school productions. For some novel entertainment, witness the unfamiliar stage talents of other local students.

5. Find your inner photographer:

3. Host a bonfire: If

a bonfire pit is available to use, gather a few friends for a relaxing evening roasting marshmallows—anything to relive “campfire memories” from the past. Make sure to check for any rules associated.

For the gas-saving alternative, a picture scavenger hunt can serve as a fun way to get out of the house and prepare one for the college and early adulthood lifestyle: transportation by human means. Buy one-time use cameras, set up some parameters (for example, never a repeated pose), and buy an album to capture the variations and silliness of every team’s final portfolio. Try not to get arrested –harassment and lewd conduct should probably be resigned to non-strangers and private places.

4. Scour the streets:

With responsible drivers participating, create a city-wide scavenger hunt, requiring teams to find out what movie is playing at the Esquire or how many samples you can request from a Graeter’s server until their body language signals start to suggest irritation. AFTER FRIENDS BLOW out the candles, Noel Ripberger, 11, gets caked at a birthday party in the park.

6. Cook a meal:

Good meals do not always come from the most expensive restaurants. Experiment in the kitchen to create your own (have a frozen pizza for safe keeping). Bigg’s carries a variety of ethnic foods for those who strive to be connoisseurs of flavor. Web sites (a few listed below) offer all types of recipes for beginners and experts alike.

Is paper becoming obsolete at SHS? Find out on pages 16-17.

“Bloody Mary” how-to: Best with 5-15 players, at dusk.

1. Whoever is “it” counts to some number as everyone scatters to hide (within a perimeter). When finished counting, “it” starts looking for hidden players. 2. If -and only if- “it” starts approaching someone in hiding, that player starts bolting towards base, yelling “Bloody Mary.” 3. The yell is the cue for everyone to start racing towards base before getting tagged. 4. If anyone is tagged, they are the new “it.”

7. Explore:

Make an excursion to a part of town that might break Cincinnati’s Boredom Haven stigma. An innovative Web site, www. space513.com, provides an animated view of the Ohio River tri-state area with cultural, lesserknown “hot spots,” some listed below. Look at the Events section of a CinWeekly Magazine or www. cinweekly.com. This publication provides events for various localities weeks in advance, so there is hardly a minimal number of concerts, exhibits, or shows to be found.

Explore the 513 Findlay Market Newport on the Levee historic Madeira Krohn Conservatory (Eden Park)

Minge’s Candy (Pleasant Ridge)

Playhouse in the Park (Eden Park)

Pendleton Art Center (downtown)

Manifest Gallery (in Pleasant Ridge

8. Pig out:

Enjoy the elasticity of your sweatpants with the best, fattest, most mouth-watering foods that corrode your metabolism in conjunction with sofas. A credit card and local Redbox movie dispenser, found at Walgreen’s, Walmart, Kroger’s and other convenient stores, gives way to a night of cheap flicks for high-cholesterol quality time.

image by dani tsevat

SHS SAYS:

Break out of norm

*based on a survey of 60 students

elizabeth HOOPES

Va ca

V ge Colle

isi ts

25 13 17 Work

Volunteer

With many shelters and organizations needing extra help, volunteering can be a great way to help people while having fun. Get a group of friends together and go donate blood, help out or donate items to a food bank, or visit a nursing home.

Road trip

sure

me o H

staff writer

n tio

Sta yin

What are you doing for spring break? Ideas for fun, eventful spring break in Ohio

image by jake newton

Staying in Cincinnati is not for everyone, so why not venture out with friends? There are many cities within six hours that can occupy one for a day or two. Try: Columbus, Jeffersonville, Louisville, Indianapolis, or Chicago.

Visit nearby colleges

Now is the time to get started visiting schools. Cincinnati and the surrounding area has many to choose from. Try: University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton, Xavier University, Miami University, Kenyon College, Cincinnati State University, Denison University, Oberlin University, and Wright State University.

Fun ways to exercise: Exercise is important to lead a healthy lifestyle, but it can also be fun. One can go ice skating, join a class such as yoga, pilates, or dance, or go swimming at a local indoor pool.

ON MARCH, 28, Jaimee Johnson, 12, came to SHS to help the PTO create the “Swashbuckler’s Bash” for Odd Couples Ball. Students find ways to volunteer at school functions or through off campus organizations. image by mary ann jiang

Recession-proof:

feature THURSDAY March 19, 2009

How to:

Spice up, Some jobs will remain unaffected by economic downturn revamp boring law education bedroom enforcement

ellean ZHANG

news chief

o one is quite sure when the current recession is going to start turning around, not even the experts. This economic twister could be over as soon as the end of this year, but then again, it could very well be another ten years before the economy fully recovers. Whatever the case, it cannot hurt for high school students, as they start thinking about their futures, to seek a “safe” career path. Though there is no way to guarantee a job, there are several industries that look promising in their resilience and ability to survive economic crises.

Teachers are essential to the growth of the nation’s future, regardless of its economic standing. There is a high demand for teachers in the fields of math and sciences, areas in which many believe America’s youth are less competitive on a global scale. Not only will kids continue to go to school, but many adults may also choose to return to school for a degree when times get tough. Due largely in part to a great number of retiring teachers, coupled with increased enrollment of students in grades K-12, the National Center of Education Statistics predicts that there will need to be 2.8 million teachers hired in the next eight years to accommodate these demands.

health care LOST: : Many people think “health care,” and immediately assume that one is referring only to doctors with degrees, but that is not true. The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that nearly half of the 30 fastest-growing jobs are in the health care industry. Nursing is the most popular career, always in high demand and with good pay, though it does require a degree. Many other jobs in health care, however, are technical jobs in which training can be received at a vocational college. These include medical records specialists, health information technicians, billing and insurance specialists, and transcriptionists. Other jobs with an increasing demand are pharmacists, physical therapists, and physicians’ assistants. With a growing elderly population, this industry is indispensable.

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Job Security

energy

Due to the high demand for energy in a world where the finite pool of such resources only diminishes, the energy industry is constantly seeking innovative minds that can help suggest more effective ways to use energy as well as effective alternatives. Many colleges even recently added an environmental energy degree to their list of options for

Increased paranoia has spread across America, as people become more concerned about border security, terrorism, airport security, and crime—not without reason. For those who enjoy films about secret agents and espionage, this means that pursuing that dream job with the CIA may come to fruition with less skepticism. On a more local level, police work will continue to be in great demand in the coming decades. Though the work of a city policeman is not for everyone, other jobs in security that are even more “behind-the-scenes” will be in high demand as well. These jobs encompass forensics, detective work, information security managing, and internet security.

students. Some professors even complained that those studying for a degree in environmental energy were snatched up by high-paying jobs before they even had a chance to graduate. Like teaching jobs, spaces in the energy field are bound to remain open for a while. The oil industry is facing the loss of 80% of its workforce in the next decade, as these people reach retirement age, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Thus, jobs related to oil, gas, alternative and renewable energy, and nuclear energy are predicted to increasingly become available.

maria MARBALLI spotlight editor

Are you getting tired of the way your room looks? Maybe it is time for a change. Here are some simple, fun tips on how to jazz up your bedroom. 1. Use cards to make a decoration. I know that I have plenty of birthday, Christmas, Valentines Day, etc. cards lying around my room. There is a simple, quick solution of what to do with these which I came up with only several months ago. Choose a wall in your bedroom that is free to hang something pretty wide. Then, cut a ribbon or string to extend across that wall. Take all the cards you can find and hole punch the top left corner of each so that they can be easily slid onto the ribbon. Slide each card, one by one, down the ribbon and arrange them in any way you desire. Then hang the ribbon on the wall. I did this by putting a tack on each end. 2. Hang cork boards. Stop by any store like HomeGoods that sells nice, solid, cheap cork boards that you can hang on your wall. Then, get a little sentimental. Dig through old photos, movie tickets, letters, awards, etc. Take all the items that you found and arrange them on the board in the way you think they look the most attractive. One way to step it up would be to find ribbon, charms, or other things to add to make it look more colorful and decorative. This tip should add a lot of excitement to your room and the best part is, whenever you get tired of it, you can redo the entire board whenever you want by just switching around some tacks. 3. If your room is messier than you wish it were, there is a quick solution: buy some boxes! Find boxes that you love that match your room, find good places for them, and fill them with all the loose ends that have no where better to be. 4. Paint a picture. Buy a canvas, probably a small one. Then, using acrylic paint to create a masterpiece. It is a great way to pass time and will look fantastic hanging on a wall. Ashley Locke, 10 makes them in her free time. “Personal touches like paintings or drawings are what make your room unique,” said Locke. 5. Use the wisdom of others. Find quotes that will inspire and motivate you, write them down on construction paper and hang them around your room. Use these creative tips to turn your space into a whole new room with all sorts of personal touches.

Kelly Michaelson- Bussard Jewelery Designer

Call for more information about jewelery specials for prom!

513.793.3517

feature

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Night of dancing, laughter Odd Couples ball success gabirose KEETON managing editor

‘I am so excited to see what college life is really like’

Juniors begin college hunt with visits over spring break ben KEEFE & matt SLOVIN

all photos courtesy of jeremy mcdaniels

PIRATES AND LANDLUBBERS alike enjoyed this year’s Odd Couples Ball. The completely transformed commons, which became a lavishly decorated pirate ship, was open for both students and parents to come aboard and dance to the music of the ReBops. Though most attendees were elegantly dressed in formal wear, a few very brave Blackbeard wannabes arrived to commandeer the ship in full-fledged pirate attire.

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staff writer

t is around this time of year when SHS seniors make their final decisions of where they will enroll in school next year. For the juniors, it is the time of year for preliminary visits to schools they are interested in attending. Along with taking the SAT and ACT this spring, some juniors will officially begin the vigorous process of picking colleges. With spring break beginning on Saturday, March 21, SHS juniors will be departing to go on visits to various colleges. “Tomorrow I am leaving to go visit various schools. I’m visiting my sister at Cal and then going and visiting other schools in California,” said Chris Culin, 11, who aspires to attend college on the Pacific coast. Culin, along with other juniors, will look for the perfect school this spring break. Visiting schools over spring break comes with many advantages. Unlike summer college trips, visiting over spring break offers the chance to view the student life on campus. Prospective college students will get the opportunity to sit in on classes, get the feel for the fast-paced atmosphere, and, for a couple hours, be part of the exhilarating university experience. “I am so excited to see what college is really like. This is going to be so fun, going and visiting colleges over break,” said Katie Reed, 11. College experts believe that spring break is the opportune time to check out potential schools. “Juniors need to make an appointment and spend a half to a whole day at the college. They have to try to visit classes and be sure that their parents are involved,” said Mrs. Kaye Gaffney, College & Career Center Director. Gaffney also sheds light on the fact that one day is usually sufficient enough for a student to gain a feel for a particular university. However, some students prefer spending the weekend to grasp the campus’ social life, too. A portion of the senior class has their college destination picked out and these students acknowledge how useful trips can be, especially at this time of year. “College visits are very helpful in deciding which college you want to go to. They help you get a better idea of what attending that college would actually be like,” said Brian Koesters, 12. Koesters is one of many seniors who spent part of last year’s spring vacation checking out schools. However, even after these tours, the process is far from over. Students may sift through countless amounts of books about universities, but it is a widely accepted fact that the best way to determine if a college is right is by spending time there and exploring all that the campus has to offer.

feature

Dart Wars: Student tradition target of excitement

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

DISCLAIMER: Dart Wars is NOT a school-sanctioned activity and is not associated with SHS in any way

josh SAMUELS

staff writer

HS, it is that time of year again. Starting at midnight on Monday, April 6, students’ attention will turn towards the annual rite of passage: Dart Wars. Anywhere from 40 to 60 teams of five people sign up for the game with their collective eyes on the annual cash prize that usually nears $2,000 – but most importantly, they play for the bragging rights and stories to tell for years to come. Dart Wars is an SHS tradition that has lasted over a decade. It is a no holds barred battle of wits and skill. Rounds last from Monday to Friday, when opposing teams clash in the hopes of getting a “kill”: shooting an opponent with a dart. Some students will go to any length for a kill. “Last year we followed a kid down to the airport to get a kill. It was a great team effort, and it was a huge rush,” said Nash Rademacher, 12, one of this year’s judges. Judges are selected by the previous year’s judges; the people who are selected are generally the highest performing juniors from the year before. This year’s judges are no exception, with Rademacher, Tyler Haigwood, 12, and Adam Samuels, 12, all having reached the semi-finals or better in the previous year. An annual struggle for judges is to maintain the integrity of the game as players look for any way to get their opponents disqualified. Judges have made it clear this year that disqualifications will be hard to come by, thus making sure the players settle disputes with their dart guns, rather than their cell phones, wasting time disputing calls with the judges. “DQ’s [disqualifications] are going to be hard to come by. We want teams to win on skills, not technicalities,” said Haigwood. Very rarely do teams have a chance to defend

image by daphne hsu

Digital TV transition postponed

Consumers allotted more time to make switch frank PAN

staff writer

photo courtesy of josh samuels

HIDING BEHIND A tree, Brian Kapcar, 12 takes aim at an opponent. Kapcar is a member of the all-senior team LCITD: Reloaded. They hold the place as the 2008 champions and are looking to win again this year. their Dart Wars Championship title, but the 2008 champions, Little Children in the Dark, are looking for the elusive honor. The squad has changed their name (LCITD: Reloaded), but neither their personnel nor intensity will waiver, as seniors Brian Kapcar, John Stucker, Drew Tappan, Daniel Hunsucker, and Greg Hunsucker try to achieve the impossible. “The one challenge we’re going to have to face

this year is that every team we go up against is going to give us their best shot because we are the defending champs,” said Kapcar. Everyone is encouraged to sign up as soon as possible. Students can print out a waiver at the official Dart Wars Web site, www.dartwars.moonfruit. com. To enter the competition, teams must bring their waiver and a $50 team entry fee to any of the judges by April 3 at the latest.

Dr. Mark Orso and Assoc. 9567 Colerain Ave. #210 (513) 741-8064 Cincinnati, OH 45251

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All the build-up about televisions going digital was all for nothing when the House of Representatives voted Wednesday, Jan. 29 to delay the analog TV shutdown until June 12. The country was originally two weeks away from the Feb. 17 digital transition, which would allow broadcasters to replace analog TV signals with digital ones. However, the Obama administration and many Democrats asked for the delay because millions of people were not ready for the switch. What needs to be resolved now is the funding needed for more coupons to help consumers offset the cost of converter boxes. That issue will likely be considered a part of the economic stimulus legislation. The converter boxes can still be purchased at local electronic stores like Best Buy, but with the government cash coupon, the $40 box can be received essentially for free. The only problem is that many Americans still do not know about the change and do not understand how to obtain one. “Truthfully I didn’t know that there was going to be a switch,” said Lauren Huber, 11. The government will now be implementing more advertisements and consumer information for digital converters for those who still use analog wave signals. The postponement was, however, well received by many who still use analog and were not ready for the change. This gives them a couple more months of “free” TV and more time to obtain the digital converter. “March Madness will still be watchable and so will some of the [NBA] Playoffs… however I’m going to have to switch because I want to see the [NBA] Finals,” said Jason Robke, 10. The transition to all-digital may be postponed, but consumers should not once again wait until the last minute to convert, as they have now been informed. “I may just upgrade my TV to an HD Plasma for my own viewing pleasure so I don’t have to buy that converter,” said Matthew Weber, 12.

Defined:

Analog TV: a system through

which pictures of a scene are taken, converted into rows and columns of pixels and transmitted onto another screen. Digital TV: a system providing better resolution through which images are compressed and sent through digital signals.

feature 13 Praise flies for Flight 1549 THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Pilot, crew honored for heroic landing in Hudson emily BEGLEY staff writer

oments after taking off from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15, the crew of Flight 1549 knew that the route, despite ideal flying conditions, would prove to be anything but routine. The Airbus A320 flew through a flock of geese just 90 seconds after taking off, knocking out both of the plane’s engines. The aircraft lurched directly over heavily-populated New York City at a height of 3,000 feet. Although immediately stricken with panic at the reality of what had occurred, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the captain of Flight 1549, suppressed this feeling and focused

on the crucial task at hand – salvaging the lives of the 155 passengers on board. “I had a job to do,” said Sullenberger in an interview with “People Magazine.” “I did not allow it to distract me. I knew the situation was bad immediately – losing both engines over a highly populated area.” With the plane rapidly losing altitude, returning to LaGuardia was quickly excluded as a viable option. Only one course of action remained – making an emergency landing in the Hudson River. Against all odds, Sullenberger was able to land the 80-ton Airbus A320 on the Hudson with nearly the

precision used on a routine flight. No lives were lost, and only one person received any injuries. The victim suffered two broken legs – a result of the hard impact when the aircraft hit the water. “I think what this pilot did was amazing,” said Emily Eckert, 12. “My uncle is a pilot, but I am always nervous about flying. Since this pilot was able to save the plane, I feel more comfortable.” In the aftermath of the unique landing, Sullenberger and his crew are being widely recognized for the heroic actions that they displayed in the midst of the crisis. “We’ve had a miracle on 34th

A case study in staying calm under pressure:

street,” said David A. Paterson, governor of New York, at a conference held in Manhattan. “I believe now we’ve had a miracle on the Hudson.” Recent weeks have been particularly busy for the group - in addition to attending President Barack Obama’s Inauguration and being praised at the Super Bowl, Sullenberger and his crew were given the keys to New York by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. As for the passengers of Flight 1549, the prospect of boarding another plane evokes a wide range of emotions. While some seem to have no problem doing this, others have begun professional counseling. “Each flight is getting more stress-

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III

When Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III realized that both of the engines on his Airbus A320 had been rendered useless, he was overcome with a gripping sense of fear. However, knowing that the actions he was now required to take would determine the fate of the 155 passengers

onboard, he did not let this feeling distract him. Sullenberger’s past was a significant factor in his ability to suppress his emotions - this graduate of the Air Force Academy flies gliders in his free time.

ful,” said Joe Hart, a passenger, in an interview with “People.” “It starts with an adrenaline rush. Then you start thinking, ‘Was that a normal sound or was it another bird going through the engine?’” A number of those that were onboard are currently contemplating filing a lawsuit against US Airways for emotional damages induced by the crash. The actions of Sullenberger and his heroic crew prevented Flight 1549 from potentially meeting a catastrophic end. As more time elapses since the landing, the group continues to be honored for salvaging the lives of the 155 passengers onboard.

WHEN THE ENGINES of his plane were destroyed, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger was faced with one of the most difficult decisions of his career. With all other options ruled out, he landed the aircraft in the Hudson River. Past training prepared Sullenberger for his heroic actions. all images courtesy of google

feature THURSDAY March19, 2009

‘It’s a twister, it’s a tw

Ten years blow by, students Ten F years of jacob KATZ & mark RUBEO staff writer

staff writer

riday, April 9, 1999 was a day that many Cincinnatians will never forget. At 4:20 a.m., during a night of violent thunderstorms, a tornado touched down in Ripley County, Indiana. Half an hour later, a touchdown was spotted in western Hamilton County. Just before 5:00 a.m., much of the county was awakened by the terrifying shriek of the civil defense sirens. Reports of possible tornados filled the airwaves, with all TV and radio stations giving dedicated coverage to the storm.

changes:

Changes within high school

Touchdown in Blue Ash

The fears of another touchdown were answered. At 5:17 a.m., a funnel with wind speeds of 260 mph touched down in Blue Ash. The width of the tornado was estimated at a quarter of a mile wide. The path of the twister was approximately 10 miles long. The tornado was only on the ground for 11 seconds, but during this time incalculable damage in property and human life occurred. The tornado was rated an F4 on the Fujita scale of tornado intensity, which measures damage done by tornados. This level of intensity can cause well-constructed houses to be completely leveled, structures with weak-foundations to be blown away, and cars to be thrown through the air. Only 1.1 percent of tornados reach this level of destructive ability. The storm was part of a larger outbreak originating in Nebraska that spawned at least 54 tornados in total. Of these, 39 were F1 or lower. There were no F5s, but three storms reached F4 magnitude, including the one that hit Blue Ash. Of all the storms in this outbreak, the Blue Ash tornado was the only one to cause more than one death.

Damage to surrounding community

The damage dealt by the tornado was nothing short of devastating. 91 residences and 37 businesses were outright destroyed by the tornado. 674 residences and 44 places of business were damaged. Damage to private homes and businesses exceeded 25 million dollars, with damage to public properties and other lands significantly higher. The Johnson nature preserve- the five acre tract of wild land on Cornell Road across from the high school - was almost completely obliterated. Damage to this public plot alone was estimated at 10 million dollars. In total, 82 million dollars worth of damage was estimated. In human life, the loss was infinitely greater. Four persons were killed within the district: Lee and Jacqueline Cook, Donald Lewis, and Charles Smith. The Cooks- a husband and wife who lived on Cornell Road opposite the high school - were

Much of the high school property has changed since the tornado. The EDC, or teacher education center, which was completely destroyed by the tornado, was never replaced. The athletic fields were redesigned and rebuilt, literally from the ground up.

Changes with tornados

image courtesy of www.cincinnati.com

SHS was in the direct path of the tornado. The main building itself did not suffer severe damage: however, other structures on the property suffered cataclysmic damage, such as the athletic fields and the EDC building. killed when their home was destroyed; Lewis and Smith were killed when their cars were thrown from the roadway. SHS was in the midst of the most heavily affected area. Of the four Hamilton County fatalities, three occurred within a mile of the school. The Cooks lived just opposite the school, and Lewis was killed on I-275 just behind the school. Forty-seven community members were treated in hospitals for injuries resulting from the tornado: many others received minor injuries.

Coming together to help

During the weekend after the storm, a volunteer troop of more than 200 parents and students assembled to clear the school property of debris. Some participants even wished to extend aid to those on the other side of Cornell Road. Lynn Kitchen, the principal at the time of the disaster, famously said “whatever you see, pick it up,” as a directive to the volunteers.

The Fujita scale: Scale Number

Wind Speed

Destructive power

40-72 73-112 113-157 158-206 207-260 261-318 319-379

Changes with alert systems After the storm, Hamilton County commenced bi-monthly testing of storm sirens, instead of just one per month. Several years ago, the manual siren system was replaced by an automated system, which sounds the alarm whenever a tornado watch coincides with a severe thunderstorm warning. Within the past year, changes have been implemented that allow sections of counties, instead of entire counties, to issue warnings and watches.

The Enhanced Fujita scale: Scale Number

Wind Speed

Destructive power

(mph)

F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6

Debris from the area, including items formerly belonging to the Cook family, travelled as much as six or seven miles. SHS served as a base for volunteer efforts to assist the victims of the storm. Volunteers made lunches for relief workers and storm victim alike. There was such a surplus of help that volunteers were turned away for lack of work available. Within two days of the tornado, the Red Cross was forced to stop accepting non-monetary donations and was able to close most shelters . Utility crews began work on the damaged areas the day after the tornado. Clearing away the rubble was necessary before repairs and reconstruction could begin. Debris was manually picked up or cut away with saws and carted off. Work began repairing and replacing utility poles and cables, and restoring power and other utilities wherever possible. The efforts of community members were critical in recovering from the disaster.

On Feb.1, 2007, the Fujita system of tornado rating was replaced by the Enhanced Fujita Rating System. The new system ties speed and damage together with greater accuracy, and assesses damage with greater precision. The former Fujita rating of F6 was discontinued as no tornados have ever been given the rating, and it was seen as unlikely that any would ever do so. No older tornados have been officially regraded according to the new standards; However, the 1999 tornado would likely have been rated an EF5, the highest rating on the new scale.

Limbs broken off trees Cars pushed off roads Large trees uprooted Roofs torn off most houses Cars thrown, houses leveled Houses lifted off foundations Area unrecognizable

EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 EF4 EF5

65-85 86-110 111-135 136-165 166-200 >200

Some gutter damage, limbs broken off trees Exterior doors of buildings lost, broken glass Cars lifted off ground, large trees snapped Buildings with weak foundations moved Well-constructed houses completely leveled

Reinforced concrete buildings severely damaged

feature

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

wister!’

remember whirlwind events After tornado:

photos courtesy of Trevor Cole

10 years later:

photo by jacob katz

The 1999 tornado destroyed many houses, (top) wiping out entire neighborhoods and subdivisions, such as the one across from SHS. Today, these homes (bottom) have been rebuilt or repaired. The field in the foreground was the former site of the EDC center, which the storm also destroyed. Two of the four deaths occurred in this neighborhood.

SHS recalls tornadic events:

“

“ ”

I was directly affected by the tornado, as it tracked right through my neighborhood, destroying my house. It is an experience that I will never, ever forget.

-Trevor Cole, 11

Remembrance:

The sirens didn’t go off [in my neighborhood]. the only way we knew was that my sister was watching TV. It took our dinning room and our kitchen.

”

-Jill Streck, 10

The City of Montgomery will be holding a ceremony honoring tornado victims at the monument located by the Aves, or athletics field, parking lot at 9 a.m. on the anniversary of the tornado, April 9. The ceremony will be hosted by Officer someone of the Montgomery City Police Department.

feature THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Technology trumps traditional texts Newspaper, book usage becomes limited while Internet, e-book dominates s.m. DIPALI & emma ROSEN staff writer

staff writer

nce a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” This famous quote by Stewart Brand sums up the mood of most of the world right now: the Digital Revolution is upon this generation, and those not willing to conform will be left behind. With the rise of the internet and ebooks, the printed word is becoming more and more scarce. Just recently, “Rocky Mountain News,” a respected newspaper, published its last edition after 150 years of reporting. Soon it is expected that many other newspapers will go the same route as Rocky. For many people, imagining a world without printed newspapers is pretty hard to fathom. The same goes for printed books. Say goodbye to Barnes and Noble, the sweet smell of a new book’s aromatic pages, and paper cuts. The e-book is gaining momentum, and is certainly not going to stop its climb through society now. Many people think that this kind of change is inevitable. It has been creeping up on the public for years, and will hit with full force sometime in the near future.

“I have no doubt that in the future that everything will be digital,” said Jackie Weber, 11.

Rise of Internet

Some say this new age of technology all started with the Internet. Starting in the 21 century, Internet has become an essential part of many people’s daily lives. The Internet is their world, and Google is God. It is mind-boggling to most how we have knowledge literally at our fingertips, 24-7. “Wikipedia is my best friend, it’s got everything on it,” said Nick Lo, 9. What most do not realize is that the so- called “revolution” has already begun. Every time a student uses a search engine they are exemplifying the extinction of print. Now, instead of looking up information in an encyclopedia or library, people can just Ask Jeeves for the answer. Internet has become such a huge part of life nowadays that it seems almost inevitable that it will only become more popular as time goes by. However, a number of people feel that using the internet is taking “the lazy way out.” Whether one opts to use the internet or not, it is undoubtedly only the beginning of this trek through technology.

E-Book overtakes written literature

In Mainz, Germany, circa 1455, on Feb. 23, the first book was printed. It was the Gutenberg Bible. 554 years later, we have billions of books in print and they have become a major part of daily life. Books are popular, no doubt, but there is no telling how long that will last. E-books are on the rise. An e-book, short for electronic book, is the digital equal of books in print. The difference? While someone may have hundreds of their favorite paperbacks stacked in their room, they only need one e-book reader to hold all of those, and more. As of 2009, only two e-book readers are dominating the market. They are Amazon’s Kindle 2 and Sony’s PRS-500. For more information on the Kindle 2, see page 17. A definite appealing aspect of ebooks is the reader’s ability to control how they see the written story. The reader can change the font, size, and brightness to their liking. “E-books, to me are much easier to use than regular books. They’re small and you only need one player for all of them,” said Kerry Verdier, 12. Although the e-book appeals to many, book-enthusiasts and environmentalists alike, there are some that

refuse to endorse. J.K. Rowling, author of the famous “Harry Potter” series, refuses to have her books read digitally. Her reasons are that she wants the reader to enjoy her books in print, and that she is concerned about online privacy. Online privacy is one thing that could possibly hinder the progress of the e-book. Will e-books be just as easy to download and share as MP3 music? Will there be a new program alongside iTunes called iNovel? Only time will tell whether this digital craze will catch on.

Impact on SHS

In a school where there are more smart-boards then chalk-boards, it is clear that SHS has already caught on to the hype. For years, there have been rumors and whispers about the district going “wireless.” Whether this is true or meaningless gossip has yet to be seen. Going wireless would entail that every student bring a laptop to school. Of course, this idea is bound to be met with skepticism. People must keep in mind student’s financial situations. Also, teachers would have to find a way to keep the focus on their lessons and off of Addicting Games. Going wireless would be one huge leap on the way to becoming a “paperless school.” With all of the

worksheets, flyers, and quizzes students are given on a daily basis it is hard for some to imagine this school sans paper. SHS students are already feeling the impact of this new wave of technology. It is, and has been, a requirement for all students to get technology credits in order to graduate. There is a wide range of technology courses available, such as Computer Lit., Computer Animation, Journalism Convergence, and Yearbook. These courses represent how quickly we are assimilating in to this new, digital society. While the classes may be changing, some things have not. For example, printed textbooks are still being distributed in most academic classes. Teachers still expect handwritten notes and “The Leaf ” is still being distributed. In a sense, we are no closer to becoming a paperless school then we are a private one. No matter what anyone’s opinion of this digital revolution is, there is no denying the fact that it has come, and is here to stay. Whether SHS becomes, wireless, paperless, or stays the same, it is evident that in many ways the school indeed has been affected.

. S V Goaves.com allows students to read “The Leaf” online wherever and whenever. Ali Schramm, 9, uses Goaves.com as an alternative to reading the newspaper. She thinks that reading the newspaper online is advantageous because there is not the inconvenience of having to lug a large paper around.

PRO

photos courtesy of sm dipali

Ben Rosen, 12, Always reads Charlie Manion’s, 12, cartoons in “The Leaf.” He enjoys skimming the newspaper during lunch in the commons. Rosen, as well as other students, likes being able to read a regular printed newspaper.

” ” I think it’s a lot more coinvent to have the news on the internet. I’m all for it.

-Maddie Williams, 11

Though the change will make me uncomfortable, I feel that the number of trees we will save makes up for it.

-Mrs. Beth LeBlanc, english teacher

”

Technology has become an important part of my life. Not only do teachers require the use of computers, but it’s much easier for me.

-Evan Cohen, 9

feature

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Say hello to Kindle 2 Amazon introduces new version of Kindle e-book reader

With a width the size of a pencil, as pictured below, the Kindle 2 provides a tech-saavy way to read books. Books available range from contemporary to classics, with titles such as “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen and “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. Newspapers, including the “New York Times,” and magazines, like “TIME,” can also be downloaded to the new Kindle 2.

photo courtesy of amazon.com

Kindle 2 Info:

Storage: Holds over 1,500 books

Price: $359.00 (plus shipping and handling)

Page Turns: 20% faster page turns than the Kindle 1

Width: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines Weight: 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback Wireless: 3G wireless downloads books right from the Kindle, anytime, anywhere without monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots. Amazon pays for it all.

Kindle 2 challenges Sony PRS-500 Both E-BOOK REaders appeal to those who love technology, but with the introduction of the new Kindle 2, pictured to the left, the Sony-PRS, pictured below, is falling behind in the reviews. The Kindle 2 is said to have faster page turns then the Sony-PRS. According to Suzie An, 10, owner of a Sony-PRS, it became sluggish and slow-moving as more and more books were added to her library.

New Features: Text-tospeech feature (Kindle can read every newspaper, magazine, blog, and book out loud), full image zoom, save personal documents, automatic library backup, built in dictionary, five way controller (enables precise on-screen navigation, bookmarks, and annotations), listen to music

image by sm dipali

Books: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds, no PC required

Selection: Over 240,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs

Sony-PRS Info:

Display: Reads like real paper, 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

Weight: Ten ounces

Battery Life: Four days with wireless on, two weeks with wireless off

Price: $399.00 (plus shipping and handling)

Features: Touchscreen, six inch display equipped with LED lighting

for more information visit http://www. amazon.com/

for more information visit http://www.sony. com/ image by sm dipali

image by emma rosen

CON

” ” I’m very disappointed. It’s sad to me that there will be no newspapers and books. I’m old school.

-Mrs.Valerie Nimskern, social studies teacher

I think this ‘revolution’ is sad because it not like you can curl up in bed with a ‘good computer.’

-Tess Plona, 9

”

Printed books and newspapers have been around for hundreds of years. Why change now?

-John Hill, 10

a&e

SEE1:

ichela’s musings

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

New tech: ‘Kindle’ better off as kindling

Star-studded show set for April 24

michela TINDERA

a&e chief

rashmi BORAH

business manager

Beginning in September, ten students began meeting in room 262 for two hours a week, rehearsing orchestral arrangements of common rock or classical pieces. These hours are all for one of SHS’s most anticipated events: the SEE1 Concert. Mitch Garner, 12, Matthew Kirkendall, 11, Olivia Smith, 9, Deborah Wu, 9, Joe Macheret, 12, Chris Mavriplis, 12, Nick Triantos, 11, Rashmi Borah, 11, Jack Henning, 9 and Ian Wilson, 11 have all been working under the direction of Mr. David Smarelli, who founded the Sycamore Electric Ensemble, Cincinnati’s first rock orchestra.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra returns

SEE1 will be performing with the lead violinist from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mark Wood, as well as TSO drummer Jeff Plate. This is their third time playing with the group. “I’m really excited to be performing back-to-back with an idol,” said Triantos. Wood is an Emmy Award-winning musician, and has played with the orchestras of a number of schools in the Cincinnati Area. “This is my first year in SEE1 so I've never played with Mark Wood or Jeff Plate, but I'm really looking forward to it,” said Smith. This year, SEE1 has already made two public performances, at the Variety Show in November, and at the Winter Orchestra Concert in December.

New song sets

Other pieces that SEE1 will be performing this year are arrangements of “Carry On my Wayward Son” by Kansas, “Pinball Wizard” by Elton John, and “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. Classical arrangements include “Ludwig’s Soul,” an arrangement of “Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig Beethoven and “Revenge,” and arrangement of “Rite of Spring” and the “Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravinsky. Preparation this year has been difficult for SEE1, particularly after missing six rehearsals in a row due to exams and snow days. Other rehearsals have had limited attendance due to SEE1 members also performing in “Parade.” But the group has still made tremendous gains this year; at a rehearsal, Smarelli expressed his delight in having the most “balanced” group this year. The concert will be held on April 24. Tickets will be sold within the next few weeks for $12 each, and can be ordered through a form that will be available in the front office and at lunch the week of the concert. Regardless of one’s taste in music, the concert will not be a disappointment. In the past, the concert has sold out before the actual date. “People should come see the concert because it is awesome. I was in the audience of last year's concert and it was a really worthwhile show,” said Smith.

photos by jeremy mccdaniel

FROM LEFT TO right: Josh Goldman, 11 as Leo Frank, Jameela Wilson, 12 a member of the ensemble, Kerry Verdier, 12 as Mrs. Phagan and Will Kiley, 12 as Prosecutor Dorsey performa during Wednesday, March 12’s dress rehearsal.

‘The message of this show is courage, faith, and hope in the eyes of adversity’

‘Parade’ tackles sensitive, serious subject matter while maintaining high caliber performance michela TINDERA & sohini SAMEERA

a&e chief

acism and anti-Semitism are not two topics generally covered in a high school musical. However in this year’s spring production, “Parade,” both of these touchy issues are covered, and tactfully so. “The message of this show is courage, faith, and hope in the eyes of adversity,” said Mr. John Whapham, theater director. Based on a true story, the play is set in Georgia in1913, a time and place that struggled greatly with a variety of prejudices. Leo Frank, a Jew, played by Josh Goldman, 11, moves from Brooklyn to the city of Atlanta where the play is set. When a young girl, Mary Phagan is murdered, the blame is put on Frank, who is innocent. “Parade” shows the path of Frank, the trial he is forced to endure, and the relationship between him and his wife, Lucille, played by Becky Caspersz , 11. The production is unique for its large cast and tech crew. The cast has around 65 members, the crew has around 20 members, and the orchestra has around 25 members. Whapham selected this show to

staff writer

be critiqued by the Cappies board, a group of student reviewers who nominate different facets of high school shows. This evaluation is done across the greater Cincinnati area for the Cappie awards night. For many, this is the first time they will be up for Cappie nominations. “Parade is a unique experience compared to a typical high school musical,” said Whapham. “It has serious subject matter and is structured more like a dramatic movie than a musical.” What really makes this show a hit is the wide variety of music that is represented. “This show has everything from blues to classical to ballads, upbeat, downbeat, short and fast tempos,” said Hannah Meagen D’Souza, 11, who is in the ensemble and played Mrs. Phagan in Saturday night’s performance. “All the songs are really deep with meaning,” said Kerry Verdier, 12. Three songs that stood out most in the show were “Where Will You Stand When the Flood Comes?” which is a fast-paced dramatic song taking place during a mob scene,

performed by Ben Rosen, 12, Will Kiley, 12 and the ensemble cast. Also “Rumblin’ and Rollin’” stood out to me as excellently done. It is one of the few blues songs in the show, and is performed by Jameela Wilson, 12, Courtney Love, 12, Austin Hoard, 10, Demetre Evans, 11. And “People of Atlanta” which takes place during the pivotal trial scene was another powerful song performed by Jeffrey Silverstein, 10, Rosen, and the ensemble cast. Along with the cast, crew members and teacher advisors exerted painstaking efforts to make the show’s extensively produced sets. “Building sets is always one of the hardest parts of producing a fantastic show. But they really matter,” said Austin Sirkin, 10. As the show’s run came to a close, students look forward to hearing back from the Cappie nominations and are very happy with how the production turned out. “As my first big show at school, I’ve really enjoyed getting to work with such a talented group of people,” said Maddie Williams, 11.

this month in

a&e

Not sure whether or not to go see “Watchmen?” Turn to pg. 20 for more info on Hollywood’s newest set of superheroes. Looking for some new indie music? Check out pg. 19 for more.

photo by jeremy mccdaniel

ATTRACTING MUSIC AND art enthusiasts, the 47th annual Pancake Day allowed students to showcase their aesthetic achievements. The event was held from March 7-8 and was open to students and public alike. After months of preparation, students consider the display a success.

Check out this month’s artist spotlight on pg. 19 and see how he is helping out kids in our district.

There are so many new technologies—some stranger and less useful than others—showing up in the world today that even I struggle to keep track of all the new releases. However one of the most interesting pieces of technology that has fallen under my radar is the Kindle. And that would be a ‘no,’ this column is not about firewood. As many of us head off to the beach for some classic Spring Break r&r, picture this. You wake up on a sunny, 85 degree weather mid-morning (okay—maybe late afternoon) day. Deciding to head to the pool, you throw in a bag some sun screen, a few dollars for snacks, oh, and your $359 book to read poolside. What. Sorry, that is not a misprint As ludicrous as that may seem, a new kind of gadget that was once purely for tech-geeks has now taken a turn for the mainstream. This new gadget boasts an electronic paper display that will not bother your eyes like reading a computer screen, utilizes the wireless capabilities similar to a cell phone (known as “Whispernet”), and can carry not only books, but also newspapers, blogs, and Word documents. You can do all this for an easy payment of $359. Though there have been rave reviews from the likes of Martha Stewart, something about using solely electronics to read a book is somewhat perturbing to me. There is something about turning the crisp pages of a novel fresh from the Barnes & Noble bestseller table or the worn, delicate pages of a biography from the Blue Ash library. Taking in the scent of that really clean papery smell you can only get when you open a new book, to even that sometimes frightening smell when you open an old library book that makes you wonder where that book has been before it found its way into your own hands. Sigh. How could people actually want to give all that stuff up? And just to make one other argument against the Kindle. If these gadgets were to take off in the way ipods and other mp3 player’s have, what will become of libraries. Will we just have virtual ones to go to on our Whispernets? How will we swipe our library cards? And plus, just to make an argument to with the recession, libraries have been cited as being busier than ever as more and more people try to save money by buying less books and borrowing more. Why hurt one of the few growing businesses in this economy? I can attest to the fact that is one heads over to the Blue Ash library on a weeknight around 5:30, that building is hopping. I often have to make two loops around the parking lot to find a spot. For me, I would like to stick with the old-fashioned book in this case. And believe me, I love new technology. Something about walking into a room filled with brand new out-ofthe-box 24 inch screen Mac Pro’s is very exciting to me. However I must make the suggestion to cherish the book, as it could beceome something your grandchildren could be asking you about one day.

a&e

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

with Evan Lind, 12 daphne HSU

associate editor

You recently introduced some art classes at Operation Give Back. Give me an overview of them. What we’re doing right now is we’re offering six classes. We have a class in painting, we have a class in poetry, we have a class in theater, one in photography, one in modern dance, and one in guitar. The kids are having a lot of fun, and it’s the kind of stuff that they’re just not getting enough exposure to in school. What’s your inspiration for this program? I feel like my gifts are in teaching, working with kids, and in art and things. And I thought this would be a really fun opportunity. I’ve been tutoring at OGB, and they’re wonderful people. The kids who benefit from the program are great. Poverty and education are really important issues to me, so this really was perfect.

Showcases best indie music with good cause meena THATIKUNTA

Are you going to have anything at the end of the program to showcase what the kids have learned? Actually, yes. What’s going to be going on is – I think the date is June 7 – we’re going to have an event, hopefully at Greene,. I know you’ve been doing a lot of volunteering sort of like this. You’ve been teaching at OGB, last year you went to Thailand, and next year, you’re doing something in Boston. It’s a program called City Year. It’s run

by the people who do the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Basically what I’ll be doing is living in Boston, and I’ll be teaching in inner-city elementary schools, doing pull-outs for kids who are really struggling.

kinds of emotions and thoughts that even in the most honest of conversations you can’t accurately describe. Art really gets to that core of who we are.

What does art mean to you? Art, to me, is a way for people to put down on canvas, put down on paper, the things we don’t have words for. I think that a lot of times there’s all

photo by daphne hsu

OPERATION GIVEBACK IS a local tutoring program that caters to students in the district. SHS students can go to 11335 Reed Hartman Highway, Suite 112, Tuesdays through Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. to tutor, and help out with the art classes on Sundays 3-5 p.m.

‘I’ll probably write poetry for the rest of my life’

Student enters poetry competition, risk worth it ellean ZHANG news chief

‘Dark Was The Night’ album proves monumental release

riting poetry is not a novel experience for senior Casey York—for years now, she has kept a neatly organized notebook of poems, with a table of contents at the beginning, which catalogues the poems by date and by page number. She is even creating a book of 85 to100 of her own poems for her senior capstone project; currently, she has 56. Winning the regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Gold Key for three poems out of her portfolio of eight, however, is a new experience for

York. A mere 10 percent of all the works submitted to the competition received the Gold Key at the regional level. Initially, York was only going to enter a photo portfolio, which was required by her AP photography teacher, but she saw that writing was also included as a category, and submitted a few works—some old, some new—on a whim. “I really didn’t expect much,” said York. “That’s why I was so surprised when I heard that three of my poems won.” Judging for a second round is currently taking

place at the national level. Only a handful—literally—will be invited to attend the awards ceremony that will be held at Carnegie Hall in New York. Invitees will be informed in April. In no way finished with poetry, York hopes to continue waking up again, and again, and again in the middle of the night (when her most creative thoughts come). In this way, she will pursue more poems, aiming to complete her book of 100. "Even if I don't get published, which is my eventual goal, I'll probably write poetry for the rest of my life,” said York.

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It is only fitting that the newly released album, "Dark Was The Night," smells so deeply of paper. There is this smell, a mixture of new and old books, that instantly attracts me to anyone in the library (however low their showering frequency may be). I have always sworn that if I ever met a gentleman who smelled like this, I would marry him instantly. I have yet to come upon this bookish smelling soul mate, but I did happen upon the supremely enticing smell of "Dark Was The Night." When I read the line-up, I screamed. It is truly epic. The album consists of two discs of all original songs composed specifically for "Dark Was The Night." Contributors to the record's momentousness include: Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, Beirut, Iron & Wine, and many others. It is difficult to even imagine a record that encompasses so many greats of the indie music all together. Oh, and get this; the record is for charity! There is now, officially, no reason that anyone could not buy this album. The album was co-produced by John Carlin of Red Hot which raises funds and awareness of HIV and AIDS. "Red Hot is one of the only businesses in the world that wants to go out of business. But the fight goes on because there is still no cure..." said Carlin in the liner notes. This altruism certainly inspired a beautiful song from each artist. I am partial to the second CD because it is more upbeat, but the first CD has this lovely, implacable melancholy about it. On the second record, I was immediately struck by the collaboration between Stevens, Serengeti, and Buck 65. Their song, "Blood Pt. 2" has unbelievable cohesiveness. Stevens' dark undertones lend a visceral brilliance while Buck 65's poetic lyrics are playful and innovative. "[Art has] the capacity...to inspire us to rise above the obstacles put in our path. Our nights may be dark, but music gives us hope and inspiration of brighter days to come." said Dessner in his concluding statement in the liner notes.

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a&e

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

‘Maybe someone’s picking off costumed heroes’

-Rorschach

jacob NEWTON calendar editor

locking in at an asfight, is eventually thrown out of tounding two hours his window and plummets to his and 45 minutes, death on the gray sidewalk. “Watchmen,” a graphic After the opening scene, the novel adaptation, directed by viewer is engulfed into a beautiful “300” director Zack Snyder, is and breathtaking title sequence sure to impress. This movie has telling the story of the Watchmen’s it all: intense mystery, steamy predecessors; the Minutemen. All romance, gruesome action, clever this is set off to Bob Dylan’s “The writing, and an eclectic sound Times They Are A-Changin’.” track reflecting the past 40 years. Critique The year is 1985 and the setting Overall, the cast of “Watchmen” is a dark and solemn alternate uniis respectable. The more prominent verse New York City where crime actors are Billy Crudup (“Almost is everywhere and a citizen cannot Famous,” “Big Fish”) playing Dr. cross the street without fearing beManhatten and Jackie Haley (“The ing mugged or even murdered. Bad News Bears,” Richard Nixon “All the King’s has just been elect- I believe “Watchmen,” Men”) playing ed into his third Rorschach. if they stay with Alan term as President For those who Moore’s story will be the and America read the graphic has just won the best movie of the year novel of the same Vietnam War with the help of Watch-Mr. Sean Pfirrman, name created by Alan Moore and men members Dr. English teacher illustrated by Dave Manhattan and Gibbons and John Higgins,, do not The Comedian. worry though, there are but a few An older man smoking a large minute differences from the two. cigar and wearing a robe with a All in all, “Watchmen” is sure to smiley face pinned on his lapel sits entertain movie lovers of all genres on his leather couch and flips on partly due to the fantastic cinemathe television. tography and direction of Snyder. He looks out the large window of But beware, this is not your averhis unlit penthouse and glares at age superhero movie, and there are the television. no bad guys in black and good guys Bam! The door is smashed in in white. and a dark, mysterious character It has a justified R rating; this appears, and so begins the twist is due to strong graphic violence, and turn, action filled plot that sexuality, nudity and language. defines “Watchmen.” The man with the yellow smiley face pin, after putting up quite the

RORSCHACH OVERLOOKS THE streets of New York City. Doing his best to fight for what is right in the city, Rorschach is obligated to go against his friends and world peace to do what is right. Rorschach is most commonly seen throughout the film perched on a building, monitoring the city for wrong doing.

all images by jake newton

”

Meet heroes of ‘Watchmen’

Night Owl Alias: Dan Dreiberg Played by: Patrick Wilson Significance: Night Owl takes his name from a member of the Watchmen’s predecessor, Hollis Mason. Dreiberg idolizes Mason so much that he eventually adopts his name, of course with Mason’s permission.

Silk Spectre II Dr. Manhattan The Comedian Rorschach Alias: Laurie Juspeczyk Played by: Malin Åkerman Significance: Daughter of Silk Spectre I, she is the youngest of the Watchmen. Throughout the film, she is involved in a messy love triangle including Night Owl and Dr. Manhattan.

Alias: Jonathan Osterman Played by: Billy Crudup Significance: Being the only superhero with superhuman powers, Dr. Manhattan is often referred to as God by his fellow people. His powers are, in short, anything and everything imaginable, such as constructing a working clock out of glass.

Alias: Edward Blake Played by: Jeffrey Morgan Significance: The premise of the film is, in a nut shell, who killed The Comedian? His character is a Vietnam veteran and is considered by Rorschach to be an extremist.

Alias: Walter Kovacs Played by: Jackie Haley Significance: Rorschach acts as the narrator for a large portion of the film/ novel. He goes through the story doing everything he can to restore justice and order back to New York City-and the rest of the world, for that matter.

sports THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Full

Court Economy infiltrates college sports; farewell to readers jared KAMRASS

images by ben estes

TWO SHS TEAMS in action from the Metro Basketball League. On left, Tim Andrews, 11, of the Killaz easily wins the tip over the opposing player. On right, Josh Samuels, 12, coach of the Squires, dishes some pointers to his players.

Metro Basketball League caps exciting season

Fans, players consumed in basketball craze ben ESTES sports chief

hildhood: a confusing, exhilarating, frustrating time for just about all who go through it. But one thing that helps people make it through is fads. SHS students remember fondly those crazes of days gone by. Whether it was Beanie Babies, Pokemon, or Pogs, these trends became unstoppable firestorms of capitalistic glory. The teenage years usually bring a slowdown in such phenomena; however, this school year has seen a craze envelop SHS unlike any other. Metro basketball. The Metro Basketball League has been in existence for over 20 years, and SHS students have long participated in it. For several reasons, though, this season has been marked by a huge surge in interest and involvement. For one thing, several regions of the city suddenly decided to drop out of the MBL before the season began. The reasons for their departure are unknown, as is the whole story of what became of them. Whatever the cause, Milford, Mason, and

Kings—previously three of the largest sources for Metro teams—left, leaving SHS as the dominant district. In fact, in the Junior/Senior Division, six of the eleven teams are from SHS (three are from Mariemont, one is from Rockwern and one is an Amelia squad). The result is that, with all SHS squads in the same division and all playing each other, excitement for and buzz about Metro basketball skyrocketed this winter. In addition, the boy’s varsity basketball team’s unfortunate struggles in 08-09 left many “b-ball” junkies desperate for some other sources of action. Thus, countless fans helped to pack the gyms at MBL games, doubtless setting attendance records in the process. “I loved going to watch Metro games. It was a great activity for a winter weekend,” said Alex Huller, 12. The aforementioned six teams (the Squires, And 2, the Hoodninjas, the Killaz, the Matzoballers, and the Honkeys) made for an exciting championship race.

However, it all came down to the season-ending tournament, which took place on February 28March 1 and March 8. The Matzoballers, Hoodninjas, and Squires failed to make it out of the first weekend. “It was really heartbreaking to have my Metro career end. I’m going to miss it a lot,” said Nick Schlie, 12, a member of the Hoodninjas. Meanwhile, controversy shrouded the play of And 2. The squad was forced to forfeit its second-round victory due to the use of an ineligible player (Lamar Passmore, 12). The Honkeys played the Killaz close in the semifinals but ultimately fell, setting up a Killaz-Mariemont Rogers final. The Killaz slowly erased an early deficit and eventually prevailed, winning the 2008-09 Metro Basketball League Championship. “This is one of the proudest accomplishments of my life. We truly showed that we were the best team out there,” said Tim Andrews, 11. As spring approaches, Metro Basketball action has come to a halt. The memories, however, will never fade.

JV, sophomore boys’ basketball squads improve despite adversity chad CHESSIN staff writer

& brandon SOSNA staff writer

this month in sports

on deck

A 6-14 record may not look good on paper, but when placed next to last season’s 3-17, it appears a whole lot better. When the season began, the JV basketball team was prepared to work hard and improve their position in the GMC standings. “A main goal of ours was to stay competitive with the top-tier teams around us,” said Jason Robke, 10. Five games into the season, the team’s objectives did not seem to become reality, as SHS dropped all of their matchups, including a 16-42 loss to Middletown. The boys’ next game proved to have a more promising result as they took down Hamilton at home 43-41. “Even though we were only 1-5, that first win took a lot of weight off of our shoulders,” said

Kevin Bogenschutz, 10. Following the victory, momentum halted as JV fell to Oak Hills 44-50 and Mason 39-59. The remainder of the year, though, saw progress and capability. This was most evident during a four-out-of-five win streak accomplished in a twoweek span. With a final record of 6-14, there is both a sense of satisfaction and plenty of room for improvement.

Sophomore success

They could have given up after starting 0-4. They could have stopped trying after two players jumped up to the JV team, or two more were placed on injured reserve. But not once did they succumb to those possibilities. Instead, they thrived on the challenges

Can the Varsity Lacrosse team win the state championship this year? Flip to page 23 for more info.

presented before them. “It wasn’t a big deal. We just went out and competed,” said Robke, who played on both teams. The lackadaisical start did not throw them off; instead, they overcame obstacles, they grew together, and they fought together. “We had a lot of fun,” said Joe Cleary, 10. With that sense of unity, they were able to transform a year destined for disaster into a season of success. “We had a good year so I guess we are happy about that,” said Brian Klonne, 10. In the end, success in sports is measured by wins and losses against the competition. Sure, their 7-10 record was not astounding or eye-opening. But when all else fails, the sophomore team can hang their jerseys on the fact that they were the best basketball team, record-wise, in the building.

Preview the Varsity Baseball team as it begins its season. Page 24

Jared and Ben give their takes on Lane Kiffin, give predictions on the MLB season, and more. Page 25

sports chief

The economic crisis has affected everyone in this country, and it is now trickling down to the world of college athletics. UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun receives over $2.1million a year, making him the highest paid employee for the state of Connecticut. Connecticut, like many other states, is beginning to cut spending and the issue, predictably, was forced on Calhoun during a recent postgame press conference. A New England-area freelance writer probed the legendary coach about the issue, ultimately leading to a sound bite that has been a mainstay over the airwaves. Pundits have taken sides, and I have personally gone back and forth as to who I think was right and who was wrong. But every time, I come to the same conclusion: both Calhoun and the reporter were wrong and right. The reporter’s question was a fair one to ask, but his timing was abysmal. Questions like that—those that do not relate to the game that was just played—should be asked in private following the end of the press conference. Calhoun was right in the point he was trying to convey to the reporter and let him know that the premise of his question was inappropriate for the given setting. However, he needs to understand the sensitivity of the subject and should have been smart enough to make his point in a more tactful manner. Questions about a coach’s salary are more well-received when approached with a respectful demeanor. Although made public, the salaries of coaches cannot, and should not, be questioned publically. Calhoun was right to be offended, but this fiasco could have also been avoided if he had kept his cool.

A farewell from Full Court

Next month will mark the anniversary of the beginning of two staples of The Leaf’s Sports section: “View from the Stands” by Ben Estes and “Full Court” by Jared Kamrass. Each month in 400-word-installments we delved into the hot topics in the world of sports and the core of human emotion. This will be the last “Full Court” as the seniors in Journalism begin work on the Senior Issue. I would like to thank each of you for reading and being part of “Full Court” over the past year. A column is nothing without devoted readers such as you and I am honored and humbled to have some of the best readers around. Thank you.

sports THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Girls’, boys’ teams both lose early in postseason Girls victorious in first game, fall in second

Trojans top boys in first round

emily COHEN

will JOHNSTON

staff writer

associate editor

espite having a .800 winning percentage in the regular season, the team fell to Glen Este 43-38 in only the second round of the post season. The girls wore down noticeably in the later part of the season, losing three of their last four games. “We wish that we could have done better in the tournament, but we are proud of our accomplishments this year,” said Amy Isaacs, 11. After a beating Walnut Hills 34-30 in the first round, varsity faced off against Glen Este, who proved to be a much stronger opponent than the Eagles. It was a competitive and physical game, but in the end, the defense could not make the crucial stop to win the game. Even with the early exit in the postseason, the team still had one of the best records in recent years. Varsity finished 17-5 and twice had winning streaks of over seven games. In addition, they were ranked in the top ten in the Coaches Poll after dominating divisional play throughout the season. “This was one of the best seasons we have ever had,” said Isaacs The high school careers for seniors Maureen Cron, Aly Riedel, Abby Cooper, and Mia Obiekwe will end as a result. The team will have to rely on the underclassman to play key roles next season. “We had a very strong senior class this year and the underclassman will have to step it up if we hope to be as successful next year,” said Isaacs. Players will start conditioning in the fall to strive for success in 2010. The girls hope to rebound off the post season loss and start next year off strong.

photos by jeremy mcdaniel

QUISIA DOCKERY, 10, PUTS up a shot (left), as Brett Simek (right), 12, drives to the basket. Both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams lost early in the postseason this year. The teams fell to the same opponent- Glen Este.

After the better part of three long months, the varsity basketball season is over. Varsity lost 45-54 to the Glen Este Trojans on Feb. 25 in the first round of the state tournament, finishing the season with a 6-15 (4-10 GMC) record. The game itself remained interesting until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Recovering from an extremely lethargic start and trailing by double digits nearly the entire game, varsity made a run beginning towards the end of the third quarter. Stephen Raithel, 12, hit one of two free throws at the 4:29 mark of the fourth quarter to make to score 36-41 in favor of the Trojans. The next several plays went in Glen Este’s favor, as the Trojans made several baskets, while varsity missed repeatedly and committed a number of turnovers. Glen Este’s brief run was capped with a lay up, foul call, and subsequent free-throw conversion to increase their lead to 36-46 with 2:55 to play. On the next play, Cody Sparks, 11, hit a big three- but then so did Glen Este. “They just couldn’t make plays when they needed to,” said DJ Donnellon, 12. The team started fouling with 1:22 to play, and the Trojans capitalized at the charity stripe to seal the outcome of the game. For seniors Raithel, Brett Simek, Miles Morrow, Josh Samuels, Tyler Haigwood, and Wes Denny, this is the end of the road. “I’m disappointed that the season ended in the first round,” said Alex Huller, 12. The loss ends what had been a forgettable season for the basketball program, though varsity expects to bring back several talented underclassmen next year.

“It’s a very bittersweet experience leaving the water”

Swimming wraps up year with OHSAA championships ben KEEFE staff writer

After a great district meet, six boys qualified to swim at the OHSSA Swimming and Diving State Championships. “We swam real fast at districts and it was awesome so many guys get the chance to swim at state this year,” said Matt Schramm, 10, who qualified as the breastroker on the 200-yard medley relay. This year, unlike unfortunate seasons in the past, the team qualified all three relays, the 200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle, and the 400-yard freestyle relays.

“Well we got to state, and we swam extremely well when we got to state, something that does not always happen all the time,” said Jon Hancher, 12. Hancher was the only individual qualifier on the boys’ team at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships, held on Feb. 27-28. Hancher ended up placing eighteenth in the 100-yard backstroke, just missing qualifying for the top sixteen finals. The 200-yard medley that consisted

of Hancher, backstroke, Schramm, breastroke, Ben Keefe, 11, butterfly, and Chris Culin, 11, freestyle, qualified eighteenth for state at districts. At state the relay qualified for finals in the sixteenth spot, and it was the sixteenth spot in which boys’ medley relay scored. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of Hancher, Steven Winkler, 10, Manuel Gutierrez, 10, and Culin qualified eleventh to state. At state, the team qualified eleventh to finals at state, but ended up placing twelfth. The final race of the meet the 400-

Senior tumbles to award LISA WU, 12, DOES a split atop a balance beam. Wu placed 6th with a score of 8.95 in the floor exercise event of the Southwest Ohio District Championships for gymnastics on Feb. 28 held at Lakota East high school. Wu’s performance earned her a spot on All-District team, which qualified her for the state meet on March 7. Unfortunately, Wu fell ill and was unable to compete at the state competition. photo by staff

yard freestyle relay team of Hancher, Winkler, Gutierrez, and Keefe qualified to state in the twelfth spot. In prelims, the relay qualified eleventh for finals. Places seven through eleven were three tenths of a second apart from each other. And places eight through eleven were thirteen one hundredths of a second apart. This made the 400-yard freestyle relay miss being able to place in the top eight and go on the podium by eleven one hundredths of a second. “It was immensely depressing of how unlucky we were by missing the

podium by eleven one hundredths, but nonetheless we swam tremendously,” said Gutierrez. The state meet was the end of a spectacular season for the boys swim team. “This year has been awesome for us. We swam incredibly; we made a name for ourselves again. I am so proud of our team and how far we have come this year. On a level of one to ten this year was by far a ten for us and for me personally. It’s a very bittersweet experience leaving the water,” said Hancher.

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sports

THURSDAY, March 19, 2009

“This class is the most outstanding part of our team this year”

Senior laden lacrosse squad ready to play paul PESCOVITZ

images by jeremy mcdaniel

TYLER DOWDALL, 11, EMERGED as a star a year ago. He, along with a solid group of seniors, will look to capture a GMC Crown.

staff writer

s conditioning and lifting come to a close and spring practices commence, perhaps no group is better prepared for their upcoming season than the boys’ varsity lacrosse team. Under the direction of coach Tom Nugent, the team has followed a rigorous conditioning program and is ready for the obstacles that lie ahead. “We have worked harder than any other team this off-season, it should show when we hit the field,” said Tyler Dowdall, 11. Returning a strong core of upperclassmen players from last year’s successful campaign, the team is led by senior captains Joe McLaughlin, Michael Guthrie, Blake Johns, and Daniel Krzyminski along with Dowdall. New to SHS, Chido Nyamayedenga, 11 and Kevin Carroll, 10 should help fill out a mid field position that lost five contributors to graduation. “The senior class with its leadership and work ethic is the most outstanding part of our team this year,” said Nugent. Utilizing a new strategy dubbed “Next Play” for this season, the team has lofty expectations and hopes to build on the successes of the 2008 team, which posted an 18-4 record. “Next Play is all about focusing on what is going

to happen, not what just did. If you just made a mistake, forget it, and don’t do it again, always keep focus ahead so that we can finish strong,” said Justin Kirschner, 11. This year’s team expects to compete for, and win, a state championship. After months of long preparation, the season is finally set to begin on March 24 against Turpin. “We’re just ready to get out there and play,” said Kirschner.

JV also plans for success

In addition to the varsity squad, both the JV Gold and Green teams are readying to begin regular season play. The Gold team opens on March 23 taking on Turpin, while the Green team begins their season with an April 1 matchup against Indian Hill. Also circled on the calendar for the teams are key dates with both Moeller and St. Xavier. “I believe the JV team will have a great year, we need everyone to step up this year to win games,” said Alex Knorr, 9. With a positive outlook from all levels of the program, the upcoming spring season at SHS should be filled with plenty of entertaining boys’ lacrosse.

restlers wrap up season in Districts eighing in for next year underway

jamie ALEMAGNO staff writer

After four months of monkey rolls, suicide sprints, sprawls drills, and hitting one shot after another, the season comes to a close. But it all ends with four wrestlers going to districts and no one going to state. All that hard work for what seemed like nothing, but then they remember that one little detail, that one necessity to survive on, but these athletes survived on little to none for four months… food! “I was kind of upset after my last match at districts, I lost a close one. But wrestling is always bitter, sweet no matter what because when it’s all over you suddenly realize: I can eat,” said Ryan Whitney, 11. Although no wrestlers made it to state, there

have been many changes. New head coach, a little different structure, new leaders and wrestlers have come to play. Coach Jeremy Pletz believes that 2008-2009 was a successful season. “The highlight of the regular season was the second place team finish in the Loveland Dual Tournament. We had several wrestlers that made sacrifices, moved to different weights, and still went on to win key matches,” said Pletz. Although the athletes did not make it as far as they hoped, the number of wrestlers advancing to districts doubled from last year; four wrestlers: two seniors, one junior and one freshman. “I think I had a good season but I wish I could have gone farther. I made it to districts last year,

and I was hoping that my senior year I could have gone to state,” said John Kurz, 12. Ryan Whitney and Caleb Whitcomb-Dixon, 9 were the two non seniors who made it to sectionals. Having two of the wrestlers underclassmen for the future. Pletz’s goal was to increase the number of wrestlers on the team, after finishing the season with 32 wrestlers, he sure accomplished that. The season may be over now, but the team never stops. Many of the wrestlers are part of round wrestling groups. The school will have an off season and lifting program and they hope 8th graders will get involved.

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View from the Stands

Final reflections ben ESTES sports chief

I’ve been writing this column for two years now, and with this being my last one for The Leaf, I’ve had plenty to reflect on in recent days. The sports world has had its share of ups and downs during my time as columnist. For every uplifting story (see: Josh Hamilton), there has been one which does quite the opposite (see: Michael Phelps). And the major sports seem to be slowly getting more and more commercialized, more and more focused solely on monetary issues. This is disheartening as a young fan, as someone who has experienced the extreme joy that comes with playing/following athletics, who’s interest with it lies in the magic it can produce, not the salaries. It’s certainly a disturbing trend, and one that I pray does not eventually completely take over sports. But I’m not focusing on that today. Instead, I feel the need to write about another development, which has the potential to be even more disastrous, for more than just sports fans. It began slowly. Last December, the two Detroit newspapers (the FreePress and the News) announced they would cut home delivery to only a couple days of the week. In February, Denver’s Rocky Mountain News completely stopped production after nearly 150 years in existence. Locally, we have felt it too, with the demise of The Cincinnati Post and the Enquirer’s reductions in the size and length of its products. The death of the newspaper business has seemingly gotten underway. To some, it appears inevitable that this is the fate of newspapers. More than a product of the atrocious economy, it is instead the fault of today’s 24/7 news cycle, the immediate gratification mandated by our culture, and the unstoppable rise of the Internet as a news/sports source. It saddens me. I have essentially grown up in the Internet generation, yet even the short time I lived while newspapers were still dominant was wonderful. Since I was a child, the first thing I have done after getting dressed was to sit down at my kitchen table with the Sports Section in hand. Honestly, I don’t care if I have already read or heard some of the info elsewhere. It is still gratifying to be able to read printed material, rather than staring mindlessly at some sort of screen. I fully realize that there’s simply no way of reversing the pace of news. It comes faster these days, necessitating the integration of the Internet. And no, I don’t have a solution in mind to save newspapers. In fact, I realize that to attempt such a feat might be futile. Usually, I’m the first to ridicule those that whine about the “good old days,” but with this issue, I’m one of those guys. All I know is that with the loss of newspapers and everything that comes with them (i.e. beat writers, etc.), I similarly will lose a significant part of my sports obsession.

sports

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Softball looks to rebuild with young talent emily COHEN staff writer

photos by jeremy mcdaniel

CATCHER JON LASOTA, 12, (left) and shortstop Michael Morris (right), 12, will be looking to turn many heads around the city this season. The senior-laden team is working to avenge the dismal 10-19 record that was posted last season. The season begins on March 30th when the squad will travel down Mason-Montgomery Road to take on rival Mason.

Varsity team works towards successful season

Tryouts allow senior-laden squad to build team unity, chemistry to avenge dismal 2008 campaign matt MENDELSOHN

opinion chief

fter a long four years, the varsity baseball program looks to reap the benefits of a team that has grown up together since freshman year. With as many as eight returning senior varsity players, and a possibility of several other seniors, varsity will have an experienced, senior-laden roster heading into the 2009 season. After a season of struggles last year, SHS has several talented players set to contribute in the tough GMC, where several squads are expected to compete for state. “The team with the best pitch-

ing staff will likely emerge as GMC champions,” said Brien Gearin, 12. With seven players returning who started in the field, and six pitchers returning who some saw action on the mound last year, experience will be one of the team’s strong points. Though the rosters are just being finalized, it has taken an extensive three weeks of tryouts to determine the rest of the roster. The first two weeks were only for pitchers and catchers, who report early to begin to stretch out their arms, work on their mechanics and fielding, and start to pitch off the

Sycamore Athletic Board Member Search The current Sycamore Athletic Booster Board is looking for energetic, hard-working, get-involved families to join the SAB board for the upcoming 2009-2010 school year. This is normally a three year term on a board that provides many items beyond what the school board provides for the athletic programs at the Jr. High and Senior High Schools. We are able to support the athletic department wish list items from proceeds brought in through concessions, membership dues, donations and fund raisers-all of which you can be part of the future success of these programs.

If you would like to submit your names and/ or find out more about the Sycamore Athletic Booster Board, please contact one of the following names on the Nominating Committee:

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We look forward to hearing from you!

mound. The cold weather has restricted the team from throwing outside, but a lot has still been accomplished indoors. The following week, all players were required to report, as position player tryouts were set to begin. With the sun shining, all players took the field for an intrasquad scrimmage on the first day, with seniors/juniors on the varsity field, and sophomores/freshman on the freshman field. Pitchers had an opportunity to continue to showcase their talent, while position players received a chance to

hit live pitching for the first time in front of the coaches. Each inning had a different pitcher, in order for the coaches to see as many pitchers as possible, and as long as the weather stays nice, tryouts will remain outside. After cuts and the rosters for all teams are finalized, scrimmages and opening day will come quickly. Scrimmages are scheduled for spring break while opening day is set for March 30 at Mason. “If we can all pull together as a team, we’ll have a successful season,” said Gary Banks, 12.

2009 Varsity Baseball Upcoming Schedule Mar. 30 at Mason 4:30 pm Apr. 1 vs. Mason 4:30 pm Apr. 3 vs. Oak Hills 4:30 pm Apr. 4 vs. Loveland 1/3:00 pm Apr. 6 at Oak Hills 4:30 pm Apr. 8 at Princeton 4:30 pm Apr. 9 vs. Princeton 4:30 pm

Apr. 13 vs. Lakota West 4:30 pm Apr. 15 at Lakota West 4:30 pm Apr. 16 at Turpin 4:30 pm Apr. 17 at Colerain 4:30 pm

With a new season approaching, players are excited to take the field. “I am excited to start the season because I have worked really hard in the offseason,” said Laikyn McClelland, 10. The team has been conditioning since the beginning of November. Players have gotten stronger and faster, and hope their hard work will pay off. “During the offseason you practice a lot on your swing to get it smooth,” said Carrie Tveita, 10. However, the team took a hard blow losing four very talented seniors, and their replacements will have a tough time performing at the same level. The graduations of the previous class have raised many questions defensively. Players will have to be moved around—especially in the infield—to replace the seniors. In addition, the team has very few experienced outfielders, resulting in players taking on new positions. Despite the inexperience, the team still has pitcher Shelly Pohl, 11, who got significantly better over the previous season. Pohl had half as many walks, more strikeouts, and pitched a lot more innings in the second half of the year. “During the second half of the season, everyone knew each other, and as a result, we played better,” said Pohl. Softball’s participation at SHS has steadily declined. Numbers have gone so low that there have not been cuts for the last two years. The sport is on the verge of extinction at SHS and will cease to exist if involvement does not increase. “Playing softball is a good way to be part of a team,” said Ellie Jordan, 9. The team looks to improve and be more dominant in the GMC. Without the leadership from the graduated seniors, players will have to step up and play at a higher level than ever before. The seniors set the bar high; the team will look to continue their excellence.

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sports

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

Pardon the Interruption

Jared and Ben discuss some of sports’ most controversial topics

Who will win the NCAA Basketball Tournament? Jared Kamrass

WBC

I like UConn. The Big East is one tough road to hoe and they have the veteran leadership and the defense to make hay come tourney time. It doesn’t hurt to have a coach who has been there before like the legendary Jim Calhoun. This team is built to compete down the stretch run and has shown it has what it takes to take down the best of the best. They can play with

JK: I couldn’t agree more. What’s more surprising is that it has captured the attention of the casual fan. BE: Yeah, all of my friends seem to have taken interest in it. How about the Netherlands? The upstart Dutch eliminated the powerhouse Dominican Republic.

Ben Estes

JK: That was great baseball. Good for the Dutch. They are finally getting some notoriety in the sport that they call “honkbal.”

Matt Mendelsohn

I’m going to go with North Carolina. The Tar Heels are just too loaded with talent, experience, and balance. Quite frankly, Tyler Hansbrough isn’t going to allow any team other than Carolina to win the title. Watch out for Pitt, though; Levance Fields and Dejuan Blair are one heck of a combo, and the Panthers are also a seasoned squad.

Evan Romansky

North Dakota State, in their first year as a Division I program, will be the cinderella darlings of the tournament. The Bison have a senior-dominated team and a superstar point guard in Ben Woodside, who scored 60 points in a game this year. Add in Academic All-American of the Year Ben Winkleman, and you have a champion.

Kavya Reddy

The Siena Saints. I’m sick of hearing North Carolina or Pitt will win, blah, blah, blah. Last year Cinderella struck in Davidson and your boy here was the only one in his pool to pick them to make the Elite 8. They called me crazy then and they’ll call me insane now because the Saints have what it takes to shock the world even more than Davidson was able to last year.

UConn huskies. Hasheem Thabeet is one of the best players in the country. Basically there is no big man who can match up with him. A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien will also be a big part of the Huskies’ run to the National Championship. Coach Calhoun and the rest of the team should have no problem running away with the championship.

BE: It’s good that this is not an event that the USA rolls over everyone. That’s one of the reasons that people are watching. The games are more interesting.

Readers We are officially signing off from the monthly Sports Opinion Page, more affectionately known as the SpOP. We have appreciated your readership over the past year and have enjoyed reading your many letters and opinions in our Take a letter feature. Thank you for all of your interaction with the page and we wish all of you good luck in your future endeavors.

MLB Predictions

Lane Kiffin

BE: Jared, I gotta tell you, the World Baseball Classic has really captured my interest this year.

JK: What a public relations nightmare. He’s been the coach at Tennessee for just a few short months but he has not been able to do anything right. BE: Frankly, Tennessee fans should be embarrassed, even though I’m sure they’re proud of their new reckless coach. JK: Well, to his credit, Kiffin fits in really well in the SEC. The conference is all about stabbing fellow coaches in the back and throwing opposing players under the bus. BE: Don’t forget about recruiting violations, which Kiffin has already come dangerously close to committing. JK: And don’t forget about poaching coaches from his rivals. I’m glad this sleezeball isn’t coaching my school.

BE: Alright, it’s almost April, meaning the MLB season is just about to heat up. How do you think 2009 is going to unfold? JK: Hopefully like 2007 and 2008. We love Cinderella stories in America. I’d love to see another Colorado or Tampa this season. BE: Hopefully, that Cinderella story is the Reds. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening. The Cubs look pretty strong. JK: As usual, I’m a bit more optimistic than you. The NL East is down and the Wild Card will probably come out of the Central. BE: It’s possible. I think a darkhorse is the Dodgers, having Manny Ramirez for a whole year along with their talented pitching staff. The Yankees will be tough, as well.

Thumbs up, Thumbs down Cincinnati Basketball

Mick Cronin and company looked to be in decent shape for an NCAA berth. Then, they dropped games to Big East lightweights Seton Hall and South Florida. To top it all off, they proceeded to lose in the first round of the Big East tournament to DePaul, who didn’t get a single win in conference play. Good luck in the CBI, fellas. It’s been a banner year.

Take a

letter If you would like to send an opinion to ‘Take a Letter’ about anything you have read or heard about at Sycamore or in the world sports community, please e-mail Jared Kamrass and Ben Estes at sycamoreathletics@gmail.com

Denver, CO

Let’s go down the list: the Rockies are disappointing, the Broncos are heartbreakers, the Nuggets are nothing special and the Avalanche are the worst team in hockey. Next time you think its hard to be a diehard sports fan in Cincinnati, turn your eyes to the horizon and know that it could be infinitely worse if you lived in the Rocky Mountain oasis of Denver, Colorado.

Columbus Blue Jackets The 8-year old franchise, which has long been mired in the cellar, is on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth. The crowds have been electric at Nationwide Arena as the fans have willed their teams to victory in hotly contested games such as the March 10 victory over Eastleading Boston. The fans are finally getting the winner that they deserve.

Dear Jared and Ben,

Dear Ron,

My two younger siblings and I are huge college basketball fans and obviously March is our favorite time of year; however, my brother, sister and I have differeing feelings about one part of this month. The issue of conference tournaments has been talked about for a long time, and while they are entertaining for a lot of fans, we just cannot see the point of having them. What are your opinions about conference tournaments? Do you like or dislike them? Do you think they should be discontinued? Thank you very much and we have really enjoyed reading the Sports Opinion Page over the past year.

Thank you for your letter. This is a debate that always comes up this time of year. We both feel that the concept of the conference tournament is superfluous and only serves to cheapen the regular season and the results of months of play. Take a gander at the Horizon League Tournament this year. Butler, the undisputed best team in the conference, was upended by Cleveland State in the finals of the tournament. The Vikings thus received a berth in the tournament that they most likely did not deserve as evidenced by their body of work over the course of the season. Like conference championship games in football, these events only serve to fatten the wallets of sponsors and conferences alike. The Big East is including all 16 teams in the conference tourney this year, but UC had already been eliminated and left New York before UConn and Pittsburgh had even shown up. In short, we think these events taint the integrity of the NCAA Tournament by not presenting us with a field of the most deserving 65 teams in America.

Sincerely, Ron Tortuga, 11

Sincerely, Ben and Jared

calendar editor

sunday

Word of the Week: gallimaufry (galli-maw’-free) n. a hodgepodge, jumble; a mixture of diverse things

Holiday: Easter History: Space shuttle Columbia first launched in 1981 crewed by John Young and Robert Crippen Word of the Week: algid al’-jid) adj. chilly, cold.

Word of the Week: haptic (hap’-tick) adj. relating to, or based on the sense of touch.

monday

History: North Pole established in 1898 SHS Event: Athletic Booster Meeting @ 7:30 p.m.

Famous Birthday: Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743

SHS Event: Sycamore Band and Orchestra Booster Meeting (SBOB)@ 7p.m.

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

Holiday: April Fool’s Day

Famous Birthday: Hans Christian Anderson was born in 1805

SHS Event: PTO Meeting @ 9 a.m.

History: First home phone installed

SHS Event: NHS lock-in

History: NATO established in 1898

SHS Event: 3rd Quarter grades distributed

Holiday: Passover begins at sundown

History: First public library opened in 1833 in Peterborough, NH

SHS Event: Market Day Pick up at SJH

SHS Sport: Boys and Girls Track Coaches Classic Finals at Fairfield @ 4:30 p.m.

SHS Sport: Varsity Girls Lacrosse vs. Anderson @7:30 p.m.

saturday

History: Titanic struck the iceberg SHS Sport: Varsity Girls Lacrosse vs. Mcauley @ 7:30 p.m.

friday

SHS Event: Early Release

SHS Event: No SchoolSpring Vacation Day

SHS Sport: Varsity Baseball vs. Princeton @ 4:30 p.m.

History: First Laundromat opens in 1934 in Fort Worth, Texas

SHS Sport: Varsity Boys Lacrosse vs. Colerain @ 7 p.m.

Weird Holiday: Administrative Professionals Day SHS Sport: Varsity Boys Lacrosse vs. Lakota West @ 7:30 p.m.

History: First McDonald’s opens by Ray Croc in Des Plaines, IL in 1955

SHS Event: Diversity Day SHS Sport: Varsity Baseball vs. Lakota East @ 4:30 p.m.

SHS Event: See 1 Orchestra Concert at 7:30 p.m. Holiday: Arbor Day

SHS Sport: Varsity Boys Volleyball vs. Hamilton @ 7 p.m.

30 SHS Sport: Varsity Boys Volleyball vs. Fairfield @ 7 p.m.

SHS Sport: Varsity Girls Lacrosse vs. Anderson @ 7:30 p.m.

april

april april april

aprilapril april april

april april april april april april april april april april april april april

april

april april

april april april

april

march

SHS Sport: Varsity Boys Tennis (Green) vs. Elder @ 4:30 p.m.

SHS Event: Prom @ 9 p.m.

april april

Word of the Week: turophile (toor’oh-file, tyoor’oh-file) n. a connoisseur of cheese; a cheese fancier.

calendar editor

april april april

SHS Event: After Prom from 1-5 a.m.

THUSRSDAY March 19, 2009

jacob NEWTON

april april

kavya REDDY

calendar

april

mar

advertisement 27 THURSDAY March 19, 2009

spotlight

PANGALLO RECEIVES ADVICE from Coach Jeremy Pletz at a wrestling match. “Wrestling is a huge part of my life,” said Pangallo.

THURSDAY March 19, 2009

MEMBERS OF THE JV lacrosse team proudly bear their third-place trophy after a tournament at St. Xavier last year.

WHEN NOT COMPETING at sports events, Pangallo likes to spend quality time with his girlfriend, Hannah Altic, 11, from Mt. Healthy High School.

‘If at first you don’t succeed, you are running about average’

Kyle Pangallo, 11, athlete with ambition maria MARBALLI spotlight editor

Q&A

with Kyle Pangallo, 11

What are three words you would use to describe yourself? Athletic, hard-working, and attractive. What sports do you play? Lacrosse, soccer, and wrestling. Which one do you enjoy the most? Wrestling. It is so much fun and winning is really inspiring. What is most important in life? Money. The more money you have, the happier you are. Great job, lots of money, happy life. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be and why? I would change the declining economy because it is going to affect all of us in the future. Less jobs and higher college bills. What are three things you want to do before you die? Go skydiving, get married, and win the lottery. Who is your role model and why? Donald Trump because he makes the dough. What is your favorite subject? Science, I love experiments. Who are you closest with? My girlfriend, Hannah Altic, 11, Mt. Healthy. We hang out almost everyday.

all images courtesy of kyle pangallo

PANGALLO AND MISAKI Okumura, 11 with friends on Halloween. “It was really fun. We just chilled and got tons of candy,” said Pangallo.

Any last words? “If at first you don’t succeed, you are running about average,” M.H. Alderson.