0405-4

“Custer should have been a lawyer. He would have had a better chance when he got Siouxed.”

Blood Drive: They made their donations.

Will you make yours? pg. 12 Vegan for the holidays: A nice warm turkey on the table. Wait, what if you donʼt eat it? pg.3 November 19, 2004 Volume XVI, Issue 4

Dexter High School 2200N. Parker Road Dexter, MI 48130

JD and NYC: Jarrod Dillen reflects on his trip to the city that never sleeps. pg.6

Journalism trip to Atlanta doesn’t go as planned Sarah Craft editor in chief

Seventeen students from the newspaper and yearbook classes traveled to Atlanta, on Nov. 18 with advisor Rod Satterthwaite, video production teacher Matt Martello and principal Glen Stevenson for the Journalism Education Association’s fall convention.

At the convention, The Squall won sixth place for the Best of Show for the 12-16 page category. And according to Satterthwaite, that was one of the largest categories.

“I heard there were 80 to 90 entries nationwide for that category,” he said. “We have a really great newspaper, especially compared to other schools, although, I am a little biased.”

However, Satterthwaite said the trip didn’t end up being as successful as he had initially thought. Once the group got back, Satterthwaite said he heard rumors about some of the activities that went on during the trip.

“Some of the students were bragging (in other classes) about drinking in Atlanta,” he said.

After Satterthwaite notified administrators about the rumors, he spoke with the students who attended the trip.

Five students confessed to drinking alcohol and were suspended for three days.

However, Satterthwaite said he believes there are still students who haven’t come foreword.

“Mr. Stevenson and I are in the process of investigating exactly what happened,” he said. “We found out that some students wrote about what happened in their (online) Xanga journals but were deleted once the administration found out about the activity.

Satterthwaite and Stevenson are working to contact the Xenga company to find out if they have access to the deleted pages and use the pages as evidence.

Additionally, Satterthwaite said he and Stevenson are trying to discover where the alcohol was purchased and if possible, see the surveillance cameras in the store.

Satterthwaite said he was very upset when he found out his students were participating in an illegal activity at a school event.

“All through the trip, we got nothing but praise about our behavior,” he said. “But then once we get back I find out what really went on, and it’s really upsetting.

“I also think it’s really unfortunate that the people who were honest and confessed right away were punished, which they should be, when the people who weren’t honest are getting away with it. To me, that’s the worst part.”

Photo by Kendall Goode

Administrator: Social Studies teacher Ken Koenig will become new assistant principal, spending part of his week at the high school and part of it at Mill Creek.

Koenig becomes administrator

Photo by Mike Vickers

Spreading the word: Dan Leonard speaks to students about his experiences with HIV/AIDS during AIDS Awareness Week. The G.L.O.W. club sponsored the event, trying to teach students AIDS awareness.

Awareness saves lives

Sarah Craft editor-in-chief

Social studies teacher Ken Koenig was notifoied that he will be the new assistant principal taking place of current assistant principal Andrea Glynn.

Although Koenig said he loves teaching, he wanted to see what education was like from a different point of view.

“If there’s a way to make a change, I’m the type of person who wants to be in on the change,” he said. “I want to help get things done for the best of the students.”

Since he will be replacing Glynn’s position, Koenig will also be splitting his time at the high school with time at Mill Creek.

This, he said, will be a very new experience.

“I’ve never really had to deal with any kids at that age level, and it will be challenging having to adjust,” he said. “In a week, I’ll be dealing with kids as young as 12 or 13 and as old as 18.”

Although it will be a change from what he’s used to, Koenig said he’s excited to take on the challange for the upcoming semester.

“I’m nervous but excited,” he said. “I know the staff will be there to help me through the transition, and I hope it will go well.”

Enviromental Club sells In order to make donations to save the rainforest, the Environmental Club is selling fair trade chocolate and decorating the chocolate with recycled holiday cards. According to club advisor and science teacher Amanda McLenon, buying these chocolate bars helps to preserve the rainforest trees the coco beans are grown under. “If the coco bean farmers were not paid a fair wage for the beans,” McLennon said, “they would sell the rainforest trees to be cut down instead.” The chocloate bars will be sold at lunch for $3.

Hilary McCown copy editor

Dan Leonard, a member of the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project, was 24 years old when he received the worst news of his life.

“I remember the exact date and time,” he said. “I remember the doctor comming in and saying, ‘Mr Leonard, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, you are HIV positive.’”

Leonard, who was invited to speak to HIV is not all students by the GLOW club for about dying. Life AIDS Awarestill goes on. ness Week, was strongly affected by this piece of news.

Within a -Dan Leonard year, he was fired from his job because of the HIV, a common but illegal action.

He then entered a state of depression.

Never believing he would live to see his 30th birthday, Leonard never went to college or got a degree.

He contemplated suicide, and it took a positive attitude and therapy from his friends to overcome his initial shock.

Through talking with other infected people, he said he was able to realize that “living life would be better than not living it.”

For the past 10 years, Leonard has dedicated the majority of his time to helping people with HIV/AIDS. And though he’s spent a great deal of time teaching and re-telling his story, it is still a very emotional topic for him.

While informing students of the history of HIV/AIDS he had to pause to collect himself before telling the story of a little boy named Ryan White who aquired HIV though a blood transfusion in 1988.

“All he really wanted to do was go

“

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to school,” Leonard said.

But in Indiana, where the boy lived, he was told that he couldn’t go to school because he “could give it to the other students.”

The case went to court and ultimatly made its way through the system until it reached the Supreme Court, who finally told the school that White was allowed to attend.

“That was probably about the first point when the Regan Administration started to talk about AIDS,” Leonard said.

He also said the world ignored the epidemic when it was first discovered in gay men.

They ignored it when it was found in HIV drug users. And they ignored it when it was discovered in AfricanAmerican women.

According to Leonard, it wasn’t until an innocent white child and a rich white female named Marry Fisher that “people started realizing that HIV can affect any of us.

“It’s not just a disease that you catch and someday you might get sick,” Leonard said.

“There’s also red tape, paper work, dealing with the government, dealing with your employer, being sick.”

Leonard’s employer doesn’t offer health insurance, which he said is exceptionaly discouraging for someone with HIV. Consequently, Leonard is forced to ask the government for money to pay his bills.

“Three doctors visits over the course of the last four months, that cost me $900. That’s not cheap,” he said.

Leonard also recalled a time when he was taking 30 pills a day, three times a day.

Fortunately for him, there is a program in the state of Michigan that pays for HIV medications for those who can’t afford them.

“That’s most of us,” Leonard said.

“One pill can cost about $1000.”

It’s not just because of the HIV though that infectees are required to buy so many expensive medications.

“It’s all those other ugly diseases

that come along with HIV,” he said.

“Once your immuse sysetem starts to become depressed, the other forms of disease are pretty much what take over.”

Skin cancer, dementia (a disease similar to Alzheimer’s), and CMB which can cause overnight blindness are all illnesses that come along with HIV. Along with these diseases, which are all deadly, AIDS patients also have more common ailments such as diarrhea and vomiting.

“It’s really hard to contol when both ends are going at the same time,” Leonard said.

Though students laughed at this remark, Leonard made it clear that even though it may sound amusing, it is not a laughing matter.

“When you’re an adult and you cannot control your bodily functions due to your illness or the fact that you’re taking some really costly medications,” he said. “It’s really kind of embarrasing.”

While Leonard said he still suffers daily from issues related to his HIV, he seems optimistic about his future.

This is due to new technologies that can raise the life expectancy of an infected person by about half.

As for his remaining 10 or so years, he said he plans to go to college and is hopeful that science will uncover a possible way to extend his life even further.

“HIV is not all about dying,” he said. “Life still goes on.”

And though he still struggles from day-to-day, feeling like a “leper” and suffering the discrimination received by many infected with HIV, he is able to maintain a positive attitude.

“I’ve got (HIV),” he said. “But I’m not going to let it get me.”

Drawn attention: Staring at the speaker, senior Kevin Vlasney sits with his friends and learns about the risks involved in sex and sharing needles.

Fifteen Pioneer flood the parking lot during school Students attempt to start fight with junior Corey Beneke during A lunch hour Kyle Muse news editor

As a large group of Ann Arbor Pioneer students headed toward DHS from the parking lot on their half day, senior Cassie Thompson happened to be heading out to pick up her cap and gown.

“I was leaving to get my cap and gown and saw a group of kids talking to (senior) Sarah Simmons, so I went over and talked with them,” Thompson said.

“They asked me if I knew Corey Beneke, and I told them yes. They told me to get him.

“When I told them to get him theirselves, they told me if I didn’t get him they would kick my a--,” Thompson added.

Although the two groups and

Beneke never met, it was apparent why the Pioneer students were here.

Even though Beneke attended Pioneer his freshman year, “It started about a week or so ago,” he said.

“They wanted to fight.”

School liaison officer Paul Mobbs said the group of students told him they were visiting a friend who attends DHS. Unfortunately for them, superintendent Evelynn Shirk walked into the school the same time the group of Ann Arbor students began to congregate.

“When Mrs. Shirk walked in, she saw the group and asked me if they were ours,” principal Glen Stevenson said.

“She asked me if they were our kids grouped outside. We went and checked. “We walked outside, and when they saw us, they walked to

their cars and left.”

Thompson said that on her way back from getting her stuff, “There were a bunch of police that had a car blocked in that I had talked to before I left.”

Stevenson said, “The police caught a car full of kids, spinned them around a little bit and sent them on their way.”

Senior Max Harris also ran into the Pioneer group as he was leaving to go home for the day. He stopped and rolled his window down.

“When I stopped to ask who they were,” Harris said, “they immediately started talking trash about how they wanted to find trouble, so I looked at them and said, ‘You just found trouble.’

“As I was about to drive away, two of the kids came over and kicked my car, and I just left.”

“We are still trying to get to the bottom of the situation,” Mobbs said.

This seemed like the end to the story, but it was far from it.

When the schools got wind of this encounter, DHS immediately called the parents of the student they believe was involved.

As for Beneke, he gave up and went inside, but talked to the main Pioneer student later that day.

“He said that he got in trouble with the school and that they want us to talk together with an administrator,” Beneke said.

“I guess people told him they heard he pushed me into a locker and ripped my shirt off.”

Stevenson said he wasn’t allowed to comment in detail on the situation, but he did confirm that the Pioneer student who was the leader did

Prepared: After Pioneer students came to Dexter, junior Corey Beneke said he was expecting his former classmates.

“They said they were coming to the school to fight,” he said.

get in trouble with his school and this student and Beneke might meet to discuss their problems with each other, adding this meeting is still in negotiation and planning process, “The rumors are ridiculous,” Beneke said. “I just hope we fight and get it over with.”

Student’s car stolen from parking lot during school When she walked to the parking lot after school on Nov. 15, junior Cherie Durham noticed her car was missing. According to Durham her car was stolen by her former boyfriend, Gary Fritz, also a former DHS .

“The day I found out he (Fritz) took my car, he was found on Strawberry Lake Rd, but I later found out he has done this before and usually went to Ypsi,” Durham said. Although Durham got her car back, she said it wasn’t in the shape that she left it. She said her car came back with less gas in it and had cigarette burn holes in the seats along with bent rims.

“I just want people to know the truth. People think that I knew he took it, but I didn’t,” Durham said. Fritz refused comment and school liaison officer Paul Mobbs has yet to finish the police report about the incident.

2

the Squall

news Theives hit it big at school

Friday, December 17, 2004

Michelle Svetkoff managing editor

Slowly opening the classroom door, a person creeps along the carpeted floor of English teacher Deb Marsh’s classroom. Jerking the locked top drawer open, the person finds a set of extra keys inside. With the keys, the person opens a cabinet containing the speech activities money box and takes $50 in ones, $50 in fives and $40 in quarters.

Although this scenario is only one of the many possible ways the theft of Nov. 5 could have happened, Marsh said this is most likely the way it was “When I got to school on Monday, I noticed that the top drawer where I keep my extra set of cabinet keys was forced open,” she said. “The lock was still in the locked position, but the drawer was open.”

On Nov. 11 Marsh went into the cabinet where she keeps the speech activities money boxes and noticed the missing money.

“The drawer was obviously opened to get the keys out to steal the money without me realizing it,” she said.

When Marsh realized what had happened, she was very upset. “I try to be fair and up front with kids,” she said. “So stealing from me is like a double slap in the face.”

And this wasn’t the first time Marsh had something stolen from her. She also had $100 stolen from her wallet during the school day which upset her even more than the theft from her cabinet because she was going to use the money to go shopping with her daughters.

“The day that the money was stolen right from my purse was the worst,” she said. “Honestly, I wanted to call for a lock down and search every student for my money.”

But Marsh isn’t the only teacher who has experienced robberies.

English teacher Andrew Parker had a cord for his laptop and the remote to his projector system stolen.

At first, Parker thought it was a joke but soon realized it wasn’t.

“At first I thought it was just a prank,” he said. “So I questioned all my classes, and I said if it was just a prank to just bring it back (no consequence).” After no one brought the cord or the remote back, Parker filed an incident report. The items have not been returned, and the remote alone is valued at $250.

Math teacher Jason Miller had something stolen of even a higher value, a projector unit. In room 403, a projector unit was stolen about a month ago. According to Miller the projector unit is valued at $1000.

At first, Miller was unsure whether or not the unit was stolen or just being worked on by the technology department. But when he spoke with the tech workers, they told him they had not taken the projector.

Although Miller has not filled out an incident report, he plans to do so very soon.

Incident reports are usually handled by school liason deputy Paul Mobbs. But Mobbs said that when thefts occur, there is only so much that can be done.

“How much time and effort is reasonable?” he said. “We can talk to people, look at cameras. It all takes a lot of time.”

He added that when common items like i Pods or money is stolen, the time it takes to figure out who stole the items is even longer. And according to Mobbs, one to two thefts occur in a day at school.

Mobbs said that the main reason for the high number of thefts is that people are too trusting.

“People aren’t going to (necessarily) take care of each other in Dexter,” he said, “People will bull face you and say you’re wearing a pink tutu. They have no qualm about it.”

Stevenson named Assistant Superintendent

Photo Illustration: Brandon Mayotte, Photo: by Sara Newell

Caught in the Headlights: A deer tries a quick get away across the road. “I screamed at first but once I hit it, I started laughing,” junior Kim Sullivan said.

Deer destroy students’ cars Sara Newell staff writer

It was 5 a.m. and senior Christina Sarnecki was on her way to swim practice.

“It was dark out still,” she said.

“I was still in my half awake state, listening to music and preparing for practice.

“As I turned off my brights for an oncoming car, a deer seemed to appear in the road, five yards in front of me. I was in a state of shock from the time I saw it, hit it and pulled over until I stopped screaming and called my mom.”

Sophomore Kelsey Schultz was in the passengers seat.

“We were driving on Dexter-Ann Arbor Rd, and I looked away for a second.

“When I looked back, there was a deer in the road,” Schultz said. The damage done to Sarnecki’s car was irreversible. Because of the impact, her car was totaled.

“I was sad the ‘red bullet’ (her their cars after a run in with a deer. mini van) was gone, but I felt even “I don’t think I’m going to get my car worse about the deer,” she said. fixed,” junior Kim Sullivan said.

The cost for a new car ran Sar“I slowed down enough so that the impact wasn’t that bad. The front necki’s insurance company $3,500. bumper is However that seems small just a little c o m dented.” pared Though Sulto junior It was really gray out livan M i k e was Cappo’s lucky that and a deer jumping out e x the damage pense of wasn’t mainto the road is just not jor, a run in $4,500 something I was expecting in damwith a deer age bewas an unexpected cause of his recent shock. deer inci“It was -junior Kim Sullivan dent. really gray “The out and a deer jumpd e e r ing out into smashed my front bumper, shattered the road is just not something I was both the headlights and cracked the expecting,” she said. “It really scared hood and pushed it up,” he said. me.” Sarnecki feels the same way. “It Some students choose not to fix really shook me up,” she said “I’m so

“

”

much more cautious and attentive when I drive now.

“I’m always scanning the road and second guessing myself.

“When I called my parents, I was sobbing so they just tried to comfort me. They knew it wasn’t my fault, so we we’re just going to talk about it later.” For Schultz, however, being in the car while Sarnecki hit the deer, has prepared her for when she drives alone.

“I always look around to help look for deer,” she said. “I looked away for one second, and there it was in front of our car. Since then I’ve been a lot more aware of whats going on around the road as I drive.”

According to school liason officer Paul Mobbs, more people hit deer in the fall than any other time of year.

“People get distracted and forget to scan the whole road. That’s when accidents happen,” he said.

“And a lot of times those people are teenagers or inexperienced drivers.”

Cheating becomes easier year to year

Teachers crack down on cheating as technology advances for both students and teachers Jenny Heldt feature editor

Sitting at the lunch table, senior Bridgett Riehle’s friends were laughing and joking around when she noticed two of them shouting back and forth across the table.

She stopped talking, and tried to hear what they were talking about.

They were cheating, shouting answers to each other for their English homework that was due in 15 minutes. “(The kids at the lunch table) frustrate me,” Riehle said.

“I spent time on my homework when I could’ve watched TV. “I could do what they do. It would save hours of work.”

The staff has been working to prevent cheating Assistant principal Patrick Little said, “Cheating has become more sophisticated along with technology.

“Teachers have really been stepping up.

“They are more aware and are using tools like turnitin.com.”

Turnitin.com is a site on the Internet that teachers can access for a set fee to prevent plagiarism.

However, not all methods of cheating involve the Internet.

They can be as simple as stealing the exam out of a teacher’s file cabinet.

Last year a group of students got caught cheating after their teachers noticed that some of the answers on their exam matched answers from their peers’ exams and exams from year’s past.

As it turns out, the exam was stolen right out of math teach Randy Swoverland’s file cabinet.

Senior Jen Hill, one of the students caught stealing the exam, said, “If I would’ve known what the consequences would be, I wouldn’t have done it.

“I got suspended for 10 days, but there was only nine days of school left.

“So the 10th day (senior) Erika Johnson and I had to come to school

and do community service for the whole school day.”

Scott said his cheating policy is simple. “If I catch students cheating, I give them a zero on the assignment whether it’s a quiz, homework or a test,” he said.

“Then I write a referral to the administration and let them do what they see fit.”

Scott wasn’t only angry when he found out the exam was stolen, he was disappointed.

“The kids who got caught were students I considered trustworthy,” he said.

“If they got caught cheating, who am I supposed to trust?”

With more and more pressure to do well in school, some people consider the pressure kids feel these days are overwhelming.

“I think that technology allows more cheating, like graphing calculators and cell phones,” Scott said.

“Kids are also feeling more pressures to improve their grades for colleges and things,” he said.

Although math teachers don’t use such tools as turnitin.com, they have taken their own measures to prevent

their students from cheating.

“I make sure to change all my tests and quizzes,” Scott said “And I always lock my file cabinets.”

“It’s tempting when I am taking a hard test to glance at someone else’s paper,” Riehle said.

“The real test is whether or not you can stand up to (the pressure),” she said.

“I feel bad for kids who have to cheat, because it always shows up in the long run.”

Principal Glen Stevenson accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent and will move to the Copeland administration building starting Jan. 1. Stevenson said he accepted the offer to extend a helping hand to Superintendent Evelynn Shirk.

“We have a great staff and a great bunch of kids, but I just thought I could do more for the district and help out in some other areas,” Stevenson said about accepting the job.

Filling Stevenson’s shoes, current assistant principal Patrick Little will take over as interim principal. Assisting Little will be Andrea Glynn.

The German teacher who turned assistant principal for both the high school and Mill Creek, will no longer be doing double-duty but will focus her attention on DHS. “On the one hand, I’m excited about (the new job) and happy to focus my attention on the high school,” Glynn said. “On the other hand, Mr. Stevenson is a great guy, and we’ll miss him.”

Garage Sale Gallery offers cheap Christmas Gifts Thats right kids, Christmas is just around the corner and once again it’s time to start thinking about presents.

For mom and dad, brothers and sister friends and aunts and uncles. The list is so long you might wonder how you will be able to mange this finical and time consuming task.

The answer my friends, isn’t far off. In fact its on Jackson Rd. and its name is Garage Sale Gallery. Imagine, if you will, the largest garage sale you’ve been to, Full of used furniture, CD’s, records and anything else you could fantasize over. Not only do they have used merchandice, but other amazing thrift items. Yes but the amout of enjoyment you can get for such a cheap price is unriveld.

Sound to good to be true? Well it’s not. This relatively unknown treasure chest of merchandise is ready and waiting to help you through all of your christmas plights. You may ask “How have I missed it though all these years?” The real issue is how can you make up for all this time lost. Simple, get over there buy your mom an interesting new gift and save some money on top of it all.

7120 DEXTER-ANN ARBOR RD, DEXTER, MI, 48130 (734) 426-4611 Dexter Chevy takes pride in its community!!

Go Dreads!!

Friday, December 17, 2004

the Squall

3

features

JD in NYC

While most students spent their Thanksgiving break eating turkey, members of the drama club toured New York City Mike Vickers design editor

Photo Illustration by Mike Vickers

With two tooth picks hanging from the side of his mouth, senior Jarrod Dillen spent his Graph X time diligently scraping red paint out of a white plastic tray. He didn’t hesitate to pause his work in order to recap the previous weekend, a weekend he called an adventure.

Dillen went to New York City.

“Yeah, it was an adventure,” he said. “Or maybe more of a quest.”

Dillen went to New York with a group of drama students guided by French and drama teacher Harry Wilcox and video production teacher Matt Martello.

“Well, I’m in (Wilcox’s) drama class, and I had the opportunity to go,” Dillen said. “(After being there once), I really wanted to go to New York again and see Broadway shows.”

The group saw three Broadway shows, “Hair Spray,” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

“I have to say, a lot of preparation goes into that stuff,” he said. “(There’s) a lot of good acting and singing.”

Along with the three shows, the group also saw the Macy’s Day Parade that marches down Broadway Avenue Thanksgiving morning.

At seven o’clock, the group woke up to join the thousands of people who were waiting for the parade to begin.

“The Macy’s Day Parade was pretty kick a--,” Dillen said. “But the waiting before kinda sucked.”

The group also took a trip to Central Park, which, according to Dillen was a little less than pleasant.

Photo by Harry Wilcox

Fun in New York: Posing in Hotel Edison, drama students enjoy NYC. (From left) seniors Mike Vickers, Jarrod Dillen, sophomore Andrea Wolverton, junior Erin Cable, sophomore Amanda Forrester, junior Sebastion Gerstner, senior Emily Pheils and sophomore Kelsey Schultz get ready for their first Broadway show.

“Walking through Central Park was fun, but then it started to rain and we had to wait for the girls to catch up,” he said. “Then we took a cab back to the hotel. The cab part was fun but getting wet sucked.”

Even after the unfortunate Central Park incident, Dillen still found New York to be a very pleasant place.

“There’s a lot more of a variety of people,” he said. “And there’s a lot more to do and see. It would be sweet to live in New York, just way too expensive.”

Dillen’s trip to New York for him was just another visit to a city he loves.

“We checked out some of the old buildings and stuff I’ve seen before.

(We) just got a feel for what New York was like.”

Where to be in NYC • Empire State Building • The Statue of Liberty • Broadway Avenue • The NBC Building • Central Park • MTV Studio

Dying to be thin: the reality of society A student’s guilt causes unhealthy mind-set, sickly body Sarah Craft editor in chief

She carefully inserted pictures of painfully thin runway models, with their bones sticking out of their sides, into her journals for inspirationShe scribbled nutritional facts and her weekly consumption of food on the pages.

She spent countless hours searching the Internet for pro-anorexia sites so she could get more tips on how to eat the bare minimum without anyone noticing. She was consuming fewer than 500 calories a day.

“It was really bad for a long time,” sophomore Amy Smith (whose name has been changed for privacy) said.

“My whole life was dedicated towards being thin.”

However, it wasn’t always like that. Smith said her eating disorder began as a fear of eating.

“When I was nine, it was the first time I had gotten really sick from food poisoning, and I had a constant fear of eating after that; it wasn’t necessarily to lose weight,” she said.

When puberty hit, though, Smith said she didn’t take her body’s changes very well. That’s when her eating disorder became a bigger problem.

Her parents noticed she was losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time and quickly took Smith to a psychiatrist to get her help.

After seeing five psychiatrists, she said none of them seemed to help.

By eighth grade, her condition was getting more serious.

“In gym class we had a free day and could do whatever we wanted,” Smith said. “I went into the back room and did curls the entire hour.

One girl came in and blurted out to everyone that I was anorexic and she could see my bones sticking out.

“That was one of the worst days of my life,” she said. “I know she probably didn’t do it to hurt me, but it really did; I was so embarrassed and angry with her. That’s not something to share with everyone if I don’t want them to know.”

Her parents were noticing too; they started to do what they could to ensure their daughter got enough nutrients.

“My parents would watch me eat dinner, and when I was at school they arranged for me to eat with the counselor so they would know I was eating,” she said. “It was horrible. At the end of the day, my mom would sometimes make me stand in front of her when I was just wearing underwear so she could see how thin I was and if I was gaining any weight.”

But her parents monitoring her weight wasn’t helping her either.

Smith said whenever she felt like she had eaten too much, she punished herself by cutting her lower stomach and chest as self-mutilation.

“I can’t remember exactly when I started cutting,” she said. “After I got yelled at one night, I was feeling really bad about myself, and I guess I started scratching myself as punishing myself for things I thought I did wrong. It started as scratching, then cutting with scissors, then razors. I didn’t cut my wrists like some people do. I was really ashamed of it so I would cut in places people couldn’t see.”

But it got even worse; she continued to punish herself by combining

ice and salt on her skin. After repeatedly doing the process on one spot, Smith said the spot was almost as bad as a third degree burn.

At the end of her eighth grade year, she was so sick, her parents sent her to the hospital for help.

“I was required to go to one group which actually ended up helping me a lot,” Smith said. “There were people there who didn’t necessarily have the same problem as me, but it was nice to know that other people have problems too. I felt pretty comfortable in the group, and I started to open up a lot more and not keep so much stuff inside.”

Even though she has been through discussion groups, psychiatrists and medication, Smith thinks only parts of her condition have gotten better.

And although she no longer keeps her journals filled with anorexic ideas, being thin, she said, is always on her mind.

“I still feel the same way I felt when I was younger,” she said. “I constantly think about it. I don’t cut myself anymore, and it’s easier to deal with the eating disorder sometimes because there are people to support me, but I still feel the same way.”

“I just take it one day at a time,” she said. “It’s been going on for so long. For so many years it has been the main focus in my life, and I don’t think it’s really easy to overcome it.

There’s always something, a voice in the back of my head, I guess, that’s telling me not to eat. I’ve gone through lots of treatment, and I’ve had a lot of support, but I don’t think I’ll ever fully get rid of it.”

Hidden Realities • One third of girls and one sixth of boys have significant eating disorder symptoms.

• 12 percent of girls and three percent of boys reported vomiting in the last three months to control their weight • Seven percent of girls and six percent of boys reported binge-eating at least once a week • 30 percent of girls and 16 percent of boys displayed eating disorder symptoms which were severe enough to investigate.

All information from www.mentalhealthscreening.org

Students weigh in on their body image problems and discuss at forum As more thatn 40 girls filtered trying to increase student awareinto the CPA on Nov. 16. Forum or- ness. ganizers, seniors Whitney Holmes “It seems like body image and and Jessie Priestly, were shocked eating disorders are a really big whey they saw the outcome of their problem for a lot of high schoolers, Body Image forum. especially girls,” Priestly said. “With “Okay, umm, how about everyone the Forum, students can have a betcomes up to the stage so we can all ter understanding of how others see sit in a circle,” Holmes said to the themselves to know that they’re not group. Slowly the girls started mov- the only ones.” ing to the stage and formed a lopsidAccording to a psychiatrist at the ed circle that took up the majority of Therapy Center of Ann Arbor’s Amy the stage.

Pershing eating disorders such as “Yep, come on you guys; this is anorexia commonly start during the supposed to be a discussion,” she pre-teen ages. said.

“A lot of times girls get really Nervous upset with side conversathe way their It seems like body tions trailed bodies change image and eating throughout the during their group. No one adolescense,” disorders are a reknew exactly she said. “Runally big problem ... what was goning parallel ing to happen, with that time -Jessie Priestly, including the is where the senior directors. early stages of “There were so many people there most eating disorders begin.” we weren’t sure how we were goAware of the threat of eating dising to make the discussion work,” orders in high school girls, Priestly Priestly said. “It was really great and Holmes began planning the fothat everyone had something to say rum. and questions for the group, but we “Whitney and I were both doing didn’t cover everything we wanted our big research papers for Advanced to because there were so many com- Comp. on a related subject and ments. We really were only prepared learned a lot about the topic,” Priestly for about 20 people.” said. “Being girls, we know what it’s Priestly and Holmes knew they like to have trouble with body image wouldn’t change anyone’s attitude and we wanted to let girls have the towards body image; they were just chance to talk about it.”

“

”

4

the Squall

features

Friday, December 17, 2004

Waiting for the call

Friend of the Court not family friendly

Local Marines hold their breath unsure of their final fate Thomas Leonard co-sports editor

Teri Chiado photo editor

Happy Tree Friends Sitting patiently in the lobby of the court house, I waited for our case worker to take me back into her office where we could talk. In a way, I was terrified of her, but in another way, I loved her; I knew the power she had in the system.

My family is currently in a custody battle for my younger brother, John.

I figured it would be just a little argument over John; Mom pulling his left arm as Dad pulled his right, while Friend of the Court would be doing what’s best for John.

But that’s not the way it happened. It was more than just a little argument. My father and step mom have been fighting to get custody of John for three years.

They pay more and more money and each time they try to fight harder, but the courts keep returning John to my mother, and Friend of the Court has not helped.

Friend of the Court’s job is to help divorced parents settle visitation schedules and child support. When parents cannot agree, the judge may direct Friend of the Court to conduct investigations. Friend of the Court is supposed to help a family with their tragedy and negotiate with parents who have no ability to.

Well, that’s not the case anymore.

Not in our situation at least. My family has had to deal with Friend of the Court a plethora of times. We keep our hopes up that something will finally change. Although it never does.

The last time I went to Friend of the Court, I thought I would get my wish and my father and step mom would win custody of John. My brother is not a trophy or something to win and show off; I just want to be able to live with my only blood sibling as well as my step-relatives.

I waltzed into the courthouse with high hopes because I knew the case worker, Friend of the Court would finally listen to me.

When she and I went to talk, she was on my side. She listened to me and talked to me like an adult. I knew that had to be good news.

We conversed about everything that I saw happen during the time I lived with my mother and her boyfriend. We talked about things that were different between the two households. She asked my opinion as to what would be the better household to place my brother in, and I thought that had been obvious already.

The message I got from her was that my brother would not be returning to our mother and that he would be leaving with my father as soon as we stepped out of the building.

I should’ve known this fantasy was too good to be true. I felt that she lead me to believe that my father and step mom would finally be able to get custody of my brother.

But that’s just it. She lead me to believe. I put my faith in the Friend of the Court, thinking they were all about helping kids, and I got nothing out of it. Due to Friend of the Court’s reccomendations, the judge ended up ruling against my father and letting my mother take John home with her.

Friend of the Court says they are here to help, but my family was left feeling more hopeless than they had been before the battle even started.

Photo courtesy of Valerie and Rodger Alford

The few, the proud: After spending two years at Washtenaw Community College, 2001 Dexter graduate Nate Alford joined the Marines. He is awaiting deployment to Iraq.

Sitting in front of TV and watching the evening news isn’t usually suspenseful. Unless you’re a soldier waiting for duty to call.

“Watching troops getting called up on CNN I kinda got the feeling my time would come,” Dexter parent Steve Haas said. “I heard that we were one of two air units from Michigan that hadn’t been called up.

“I was told that we were supposed to replace the guys who have been there since the start, so they can be home for the holidays.”

“There was talk in the news that you have 12 to 18 hours when called up,” Haas said, expecting a similar fate. Part of the uncertainty with his holiday plans makes Haas think twice.

Communicating with his family, especially if he gets called up before Christmas, concerns him because of a deployment he said “could be a year or more.”

Luckily for Haas, talking with his family won’t be a problem any more. Hearing about what Key Clubs have done for other soldiers, Haas contacted Dexter’s Key Club and informed them of his predicament.

“The Army has cyber-cafes, with a charge,” Key Club adviser Amy Raus said, “so we wanted to give (Haas) another way to communicate.”

Although the Key Club was going to raise money for a laptop, Raus said, “I got one donated from a friend I went to high school with.”

She had sent an e-mail to her many contacts to find a match for Haas.

Now Haas has his computer and is set to go.

Haas said he appreciates the solution to what could’ve been a holiday of disappointment.

Haas, the father of two Dexter students, including sophomore Jason Haas, says he will stay busy loading and unloading aircraft at an aircraft base in Kuwait or Germany.

“We will be dealing with food, medical supplies, body bags and lots of humanitarian supplies,” he said.

He says specific positions will be doled out on the base. “We will have different personnel that we will get,” He said. “We’ll see when we get there.”

Haas, who graduated from Chelsea in 1982 has settled in Dexter after 20 years in the service . “I’d always wanted to (be in the military),” he said. “I spent four years in active duty out of high school.”

Far removed from his active service days, Haas’ membership in the Air National Guard was frozen recently, so he knows his deployment is imminent. Haas’ voice dropped slightly when he ventured that he might miss this

Christmas. That isn’t the worst part though.

“I’m ready, and I joined to serve my country.

As far as not knowing when or where, that’s disappointing.”

Ready to enter the war zone Steve Haas may be unique among Dexter parents for his deployment to Iraq, but various Dexter graduates have already served there. 2003 graduate Ben Howison currently serves in Iraq and 2001 graduate Nate Alford will serve soon.

Haas and Alford may both deploy overseas in the next year and will be participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The life of a combat Marine awaits Alford.

“I’ll be deploying to Kuwait and then to Fallujah, Iraq next August,” Alford wrote, who is stationed at Camp Pendleton this winter.

Alford and Haas both began as enlisted men, but Alford’s short tenure has been quite rocky.

“Since then I’ve been to various training commands,” writes Alford said, “including Combat Training and two tech schools to learn my job.”

He is now stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California.

Alford has much more security in his plans, “In Iraq we’ll mostly cruise around in Humvees and gather intelligence, in support of infantry units,” he said of his role in the Marine’s 1st Radio Battalion.

“I honestly can’t tell you what I expect to learn from seven months in a combat zone. Only to expect the unexpected.”

By Thomas Leonard

Holmesless for Christmas All the Holmes family wants for Christmas is to have their dad home for the holidays Stehpanie Rushlow business manager

The lights on the Christmas tree are warm to the touch, and outside the snow falls like rain. The sound of reindeer bells fills the house, and young Whitney Holmes sits in disbelief. It’s Christmas Eve 1994 and reindeer have come to visit.

Upstairs, Whitney invisions her father ringing bells as a reindeer and giving his three daughters a Christmas they won’t forget. But now, 10 years later, Christmas is different.

No more bells. No more reindeer. No more dad. Of the 13 years Holmes’ father, Bill, has been a pilot for American Airlines, almost half the time he hasn’t been able to be home for Christmas.

“I still have Christmas with my dad. It’s just not on Christmas day,” Holmes said.

“I’ve never been upset he couldn’t be home with us because we have our own

Christmas with just our family on a different day.”

Every year the Holmes family sits down and decides their Christmas date so they can spend their holiday with their dad. “We turn the phone off and have our Christmas,” Bill , Whitney’s father, said. “That’s our day to be together.”

When Dec. 25 comes around, Whitney and her family spend the day with extended family, and Bill spends the day with the airlines.

“I don’t get lonely when I’m flying because there is always someone with me,” he said.

“And typically the hotels that we have layovers at do nice things for us because they know that we don’t get to be with our families on that day.”

Although Whitney misses her father on Christmas day, she enjoys having two Christmases.

“Last year when my dad was home for Christmas, it was a little weird, but not in a bad way,” she said. “ He has been a pilot for my

whole life, so I’ve kind of gotten used to it. And I kind of like having two Christmas’. My dad calls a lot on Christmas too, so I don’t miss him as much,” she said. “ I know my mom wishes he was home with us because they used to spend every Christmas together.”

Even though being away from his family on Christmas day can be difficult, Bill tries not to dwell on it.

“I don’t mind flying on Christmas day too much.

“When I am up there flying, and am away from my family, I just think about how someone else can be with their family because I’m here.”

Illustration by Samantha Harris

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Friday, December 17, 2004

the Squall

entertainment

5

Photo from massconcerts.com

Rockin’ out: Jim Adkins, the main vocalist from Jimmy Eat World, performs one of the songs from their set. Jimmy Eat world was one of the bands featured in the 89X concert lineup the night they stole Christmas.

Photo taken by: massconcerts.com

The night 89X stole Christmas ... again

The Used, the bad news, and the slightly abused - Sam’s story on The Night 89X Stole Christmas Samantha Harris entertainment editor

For the past seven years a rogue and bold rock station has stolen Christmas. Also known as “89X”, this radical station released a plague of rock and roll fever on Dec. 1 at Cobo Arena.

Hundreds upon hundreds of fans packed into the arena anticipating an amazing show. And that it was. Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Franz Ferdinand, Jimmy Eat World and (unfortunately) Good Charlotte were the featured bands.

Twenty minutes into the drive towards Cobo, my father called to inform me that I had left my tickets behind.

Like a mad chase scene, my friend, Junior Kyle Baskin, sped through traffic and reached the destination where we would swap the tickets; Country Market.

We made a mad dash back to Detroit while making rude comments at all of the Good Charlotte fans. We parked in the structure and made our way to the arena, just in time to see the second band, The Used.

Opening with a 25 minute set, The Used caught fire along with their fans and grabbed the bull by its reproductive organs. “Take It Away”, “The Taste Of Ink” and “I’m A Fake” released such an intense energy throughout the crowd of the swaying bodies I nearly soiled myself.

There was a meet and greet with Taking Back Sunday in a private room where I got to take pictures of their main Vocalists Adam Lazzara. It was refreshing seeing them again after their last sold out show in October at The State Theater.

Lazzara is notorious for performing wicked acrobat moves with the microphone cord, hanging himself and slowly raising his body from the stage by the cord. It’s always entertaining.

While on our quest to find The Used backstage, we got to talk to Franz Ferdinand and greeted the main Vocalist from Jimmy Eat World. Although I’m not a huge fan of these bands, it was interesting to meet them in person.

It would have been a perfect night until we ran into the two most arrogant beings I have ever met. One was a “rent-a-cop”, unsurprisingly on a power trip, and the other was an intern working for 89X. Before I get into the whole controversy we encountered, I must first explain a couple of things.

Baskin and I purchased “The Used Nation” membership package which includes a backstage pass for wherever The Used are playing and a one year membership for a certain fee. I brought my receipt with me for I hadn’t received mine personally yet and bringing some sort of proof with me was a good idea.

Now, concerning the “rent-a-cop”, all of his coworkers are shown pictures of the valid “V.I.P” passes prior to the concert to ensure an understanding among all of the “rent-a-cops” and to my amazement that was the last thing they accomplished. Only a few “rent-a-cops” actually knew what this pass was and the advantages of it but

were no where to be found in this time of need.

After several minutes of debating with the intern and “rent-a-cop” they threatened to call security and the “rent-a-cop” shoved me against a wall out of his way, which is assault. We knew our rights.

“Dude, don’t touch her!” Baskin said assertively.

“It’s not duuuude, it’s sir!” The “rent-a-cop” yelled.

Finally other members of the crowd acknowledged what was going on and began to hassle the “rent-a-cop.”

“Is this Old Man Smithers bother you?” A crowd member asked me. “Hey, look dude, you’re clearly upsetting the girl here.”

The man proceeded to roll up Baskin’s sleeves indicating he should strike the “rent-a-cop.”

The “rent-a-cop” pulled out handcuffs and proceeded to ask us if we’d like to be arrested for possessing a counterfeit pass.

There was no way in the world they were going to confiscate the pass, especially since we paid for with our hard earned money, and the fact that it was real.

“Look, I need to talk to the band manager or someone of importance,” I said to the intern. ” Go talk to The Used, and they’ll verify exactly what this is.”

“No, I’m sorry. I can’t,” she replied.

The fact that the band was nearly 30 feet away drove me crazy, and I began shouting.

“Bert! Jepha! We’re from the-” and I was cut off by the intern with more threats bubbling from her mouth.

The “rent-a-cop” violently pulled a black, see-through curtain in front of my face. I was enraged.

“I can still see and here you,” I said sarcastically.

Finally security called in some kind and understanding woman who didn’t have her head in her nether regions, unlike the people we dealt with in the past few minutes.

“Here, let me see your pass and receipt and I’ll go talk with the Production Manager. I’ll be back in about 10 or 15 minutes,” she said.

After about five minutes of obnoxiously breathing through the curtain at the “rent-a-cop”, I decided to take a seat and wait patiently.

The woman approached me with the verdict.

“It is legit but unfortunately not for tonight. There is only a meet and greet for 89X. I’m sorry. But it isn’t a fake.”

“Ha!” Baskin laughed in the “rent-a-cop’s” face. “It’s legit! l-e-g-i-t! That’s fine, I understand. I just wanted to prove that this wasn’t forged.”

“But it’s not legit for tonight.” The “rent-a-cop” had to get a last word in.

“I’m sorry. I hope you’ll understand,” she said.

“All right, well thanks for all of your help,” I said and began to walk away.

I wasn’t going to leave without giving the “rent-a-cop” a piece of my mind. A quick gesture and a mouthing of a word, and we were heading home.

Although the night didn’t turn out as planned, it was still was an eventful one. Regarding the authorities, I have sent several letters to Cobo and The Used Nation requesting some sort of replacement for this inconvenience and misunderstanding.

I crawled under my sheets and went to bed drenched in sweat. Another night, another concert.

Authentic south of the border food defends its honor David Ager staff writer

Poncheros: A whole lotta spice and everything nice Located on the south campus of the University of Michigan, Panchero’s, a cult classic Mexican joint, is a magazine cut out of a college campus restaurant.

The indoor design is laced with tacky Mexican apparel with southwestern colors of burnt red and sand covering the walls in its faded glory.

An over all feeling of authenticity is lost when the customer walks through the door.

The Hispanics that work there are the only representation of anything remotely Mexican.

Oh yeah and the food.

Though this is a Hollywood portrayal of something that is sold as Mexican, a warm feeling of ambiance is felt.

This restaurant is all about the food. The menu is based off five meals and five meals alone. To some this may seem to be a downfall, but

others embrace this simplicity and love Poncheros for it.

The five items you can purchase are a burrito, quesadillas, tacos, fajitas and the El Gordo, the five basic meals of any Mexican restaurant on the planet.

Though the menu consists of five items to choose from it leaves me wondering about the flexibility of the food.

But little to my dismay, there are hundreds maybe, just maybe, even thousands of combinations you can have created right in front of your eyes.

The only reason why anybody should go to this restaurant is because of the El Gordo. This is a giant burrito that is filled with rice, beans, chicken and anything else you can imagine.

Though the other options on the menu are decent, the El Gordo tops them off in taste. Also, the customer gets more food for his/her money.

Plus, with the right combinations, you can make this burrito the best tasting thing you will ever have.

This is a truly great restaurant, with very few things wrong with it. I like the attempt to make an authentic looking Mexican joint, but it is a little to plastic for my taste. But the food makes up for the flaw.

Zesty food, tasteful comments: Big Ten Burrito tops ‘em all according to burrito junkie David Ager

photo by David Ager

Small and zesty: Panchero’s is located on S. University St. in Ann Arbor.

Although Panchero’s isn’t widely known, it’s a common favorite of the locals.

My good friend, and fellow burrito junkie senior Nick Bensinger, pointed out this Burrito joint to me one day during a football practice.

He said this place was better than my favorite restaurant at the time, Poncheros.

Well, of course, I had to find this out for myself, to see if this bold statement was actually true.

It was after a morning football practice when I decided to venture to Ann Arbor to try this place out.

Located on State Street in down town Ann Arbor, Big Ten Burrito is pretty small and discrete.

My first impression was bleak.

The place was the size of a closet and only one table sat in the room.

I had to assume this was mostly a takeout restaurant.

Though it was small, the prices were reasonable. You have your choice between a regular, deluxe or giant burrito.

It is $5 for a regular, six for a deluxe, and eight for a giant.

The giant is by far the best deal.

This burrito is massive.

On my first attempt to eat it, I shamefully dishonored myself.

If you don’t eat a lot, then I would suggest eating a deluxe. It is the perfect size to fill you up right.

What you get in these burritos is pretty standard. If you order a regular, it comes with chicken or steak, rice, beans, cheese and salsa.

If you order the deluxe you will get additional sour cream and guacamole. The giant is just an oversized deluxe.

Though this seems standard, it is put together in a way that will satisfy any burrito lover’s taste buds.

The best part is the chicken; marinated in a crazy mixture that tastes glorious.

All the ingredients are top notch and tasty.

You can also order a number of other meals here as well. They have quesadillias, tacos, nachos, and fajitas. All of which are delicious.

Overall, Big Ten Burrito is truly the best burrito restaurant in town.

Its only downfall is that it is located in a small building, where you have little to no dining space.

But it sure is good.

6

the Squall

entertainment

Friday, December 17, 2004

Cheap stuff to do John Willimson staff writer

As the snow falls it brings the undeniable feel of Christmas with it. A time of joy and love. A time that has a rather harsh effect on the old pocket book.

How are you to supposed to entertain yourself during a season that grosses the most sales annually when you wallet regurgitates the least.

Well, I propose a cheaper solution.

One that will provide you with all the fun you can handle and for 7 dollars or less.

Here is a well-coordinated day that will not only indulge your imagination and let you live out your wildest fantasies, but it will also leave you with enough gas money to drive yourself home.

Start out the night at the internationally famous high-class restaurant, McDonald’s.

Hungry for a fine cut of steak or a juicy rack of lamb? Well, you cant have that.

The first rule of living cheap is you have to make sacrifices. That being said, order yourself a delectable plain double cheeseburger, a steaming hot medium fry and a cool refreshing ice

cream cone. Total price $3 plus tax.

With your stomach satisfied (well sort of) it is now time to start entertaining yourself.

My suggestion: head down to what some have termed. “The cheapest strip mall in town.”

This strip mall plays host to such infamous stores as Value World, The Dollar Tree and the cheapest movie theater in town Fox Village.

These store provide enough savings to satisfy all your penny pinching desires.

Any one of these stores can not only fulfill your wildest dreams, but they will also save you money while you’re doing it.

Not enough you say. Then head over to Meijer where you can indulge yourself in a world of cheap items screaming to be purchased.

So take your feeble, barren wallet, throw it in your pocket and have no fear.

Because you don’t need to spend 10 bloody dollars on a movie or 30 on a dinner to have a good time. You can have a perfectly delightful evening for a lot less then you think.

Photo Illistration by Mike Vickers

Techno blows your ear drums with mind numbing beats Eric Wilkinson & TJ Larosa staff writers

Photo from www.music4u.ru/u2-wall.htm

The Band: Irish band U2 released their latest album “How to Dimantle an Atomic Bomb” on Nov. 23. It has made the top of the charts in a few countries and sold 750,000 albums the first week after being released.

U2 ignites with brand new album ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’

U2’s new album explodes the charts Dan Monson staff writer

Great music. It’s what we listen to in order to calm, excite, or entertain us.

It could also be defined as U2’s new album, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.”

Yes, the most popular rock band on the planet has done it again. With “Atomic Bomb,” U2 has surpassed even the wildest imaginations of how good an album can be.

The foursome from Dublin started making music as far back as 1979. Proclaimed the “Band of the Eighties,” by “Rolling Stone,” the group continued their success both in Europe and in the United States throughout the 90’s.

But what makes U2 so appealing to so many? All four members are in their mid-40’s, old considering today’s music industry. But there has been one constant throughout the years: great music.

Sure, most of us have heard “Vertigo” on the radio or in the iPod commercial in the past month, but the album goes a lot deeper than just that one song. It’s astonishing again and

“

Yes, the most popular rock band on the planet has done it again.

”

-Dan Monson

again to hear the consistency of the music that is on the album. There is not one song that could be considered a weak or “filler song.”

The best song? Pick one. On any given day, one song may sound like the best on the album. “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” is a sad yet beautifully-written song for Bono’s father, and was performed at his funeral in 2001. The guitar echo by guitarist “The Edge” after the memorable lyrics “sometimes you can’t make it on your own” really makes this song stand out.

“City of Blinding Lights,” a song written about New York City, makes the listener feel as though they’re really there. (“A city lit by fireflies,

they’re advertising in the skies”) Their last album, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” which was released in 2000, had four or five great songs, such as “Beautiful Day,” “Walk On,” and “Elevation.” But the rest of the tracks could not be considered among U2’s best. They lacked the original and inspiring lyrics that had been U2’s staple throughout the years.

The new album is really more about relationships than peace, although there are several songs, including “Love and Peace Or Else” that plays toward the title. One of the pleasant surprises of the album is its slower style. There are exceptions, including “All Because of You,” “Love and Peace Or Else,” “City of Blinding Lights,” and “Vertigo.” The reflective and insightful tone of many of the songs is unbelievable; it’s what makes the album work.

The bottom line is that this album is just music at its best. The album lives up to the prerelease hype it drew, even surpasses it. The consistency and overall quality of the music makes “How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb” a must-have for any music collection.

The Songs 1. Vertigo 2. Miracle Drug 3. Somtime You Can’t Make it on Your Own 4. Love and Peace or Else 5. City of Blinding Lights 6. All Because of You 7. Man and a Woman

When one buys a ticket to Battle of the Bands, he has in mind, a few hours of rock ‘n roll, ska and the occasional freestyle rapping. But on Nov. 11, students were exposed to a new type of audio entertainment.

As students felt the first blows of repetitive bass and synthetic melodies, their heads turned to the traditional center of attention, only to find an empty stage.

“I had no idea how they would react,” junior Adrienne Pierre said, “I was nervous because this was the first time my music had been publicly exploited.”

Pierre, known to many as “DJ Frenchie”, was the creator of the techno music that was played off a pre-recorded disc at the last Battle of the Bands.

Many may think that Peirre is a pioneer of this trade, but a deep investigation reveals the amount of youth involved in orginal music creation.

A new wave of confidence has come over many young composers with the help of modern technology. Here in our own environment, skilled music makers are not hard to come by.

“I know a lot of kids who make techno music as a pass time,” junior Andy Kish said.

“A lot of people don’t realize it, but there are a lot of skilled music makers here at DHS.”

Today, programs cater to the beginner as well as the expert, with mixing utilities such as Garageband(for mac) or AcidPro(for PC). Pierre, who is an avid mac user, sad, “ I’ve been making (techno) music ever since my dad got Garageband last spring, I’ve had a lot of fun with it.”

Although Garageband is a popular and simple program, some skilled audio technicians venture out to operate more enhanced software, and at times, hardware.

“Recently I’ve been using a lot programs like FruityLoops, Rebirth, and some others,” junior Ian Williamson said.

For the people who don’t make the music themselves, the enjoyment is still there.

“Techno music is good stuff, it’s really the only kind of music I can listen to for hours straight, because I just like the way it feels.” Pierre said.

Although Pierre listens to techno for personal enjoyment, others like it in a community environment. “I like hearing techno when I’m at a club, it really gets me going,” senior Max Harris said.

But why do they do it? Why spend so much tme making music? According to Kish, it isn’t about the fame and the glamour, but about bringing people together.

“Techno music is for everyone, young or old, black or white,” Kish said. “It brings people together, regardless of other interests, and that’s what true techno is really about; unity.”

8. Crumbs From Your Table 9. One Step Closer 10. Original of the Species 11. Yahweh Opening week: 750,000 copies sold

Illistration By Eric Wilkinson

Movies

Cdʼs/ Music

Games

Concerts

Alexander Incredibles Closer National Treasure Blade Trinity Oceans 12 Flight of the Phenix The Aviater Spanglish

Lakdi Ki Kathi Genre:Children Songs Frequencia Extrema by Calzones Genre: New Wave/Rock/ Pop Eveningland by Hem Genre: Alternative/Punk/ Rock

NBA Live 2005 Metroid Prime 2 (PC Game) Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault

Friday, Dec. 17 Bobaflex, Magna-Fi, Sevendust - Harpoʼs Robbers On High Street, The Dears - Magic Stick John Heffron - Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase Saturday, Dec. 18 Spongs - Harpoʼs Barenaked Ladies - Masonic Temple Theatre

Sunday Dec. 19 Dead To Fall, It Dies Today, Most Precious Blood, Remembering Never - Alvinʼs Wednesday, Dec. 22 George Winston - Symphony Hall Monday, Dec. 27 Skafest - Magic Stick Thursday, Dec. 30 Suicide Machines - Clutch Cargo

Thursday, Jan. 6 Diecast, Hatebreed, Love is Red, Autumn Offering - Harpos Saturday, Jan. 15 B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland - Fox Theater Saturday, Jan. 22 Ron White - Fow Theater Dec. 17 - 26: “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” Fox Theater Information from pullstar.com

Q: What do you find most interesting about art?

A: That it is always changing and you can interrupt it your own way.

a little more SQUALL

Senior Tate Stark goes to the art room every morning.

Here she creates art in her mind.

To her, art is more than a class, it’s a lifestyle.

B

Section

Brandon Mayotte photo editor

Seeing her art work on exhibit at the Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor, Senior Tate Stark realized she knows for sure what she wanted to do after high school.

Stark wants to go into graphic designand said she found a new love for art after joining Graph X. “The hands on part of (Graph X) and the job opportunities are just so big, I know I can pursue whatever I want,” she said.

However not everything has gone smoothly for Stark this year. Her main job or company job in Graph X is making screens and printing tshirts.

“I mispell things when I print shirts sometimes,” Stark said. “I have spent close to $100 in misprints. It was 36 shirts, including ink and screen,” she said.

But making shirts is not her only problem. Sometimes she starts her art absent mindedly.

With her chalk drawing, she started with the border, making it difficult to finish the rest without smudging her work.

The Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor supports the arts by holding a gallery of the works of local high school kids.

“I wanted to get my art shown so I could put that on my college applications,” Stark said.

The piece of work she made took a

total of one create to make and a day to frame it.

Stark made the entire piece during school for a project.

“We had to choose between three mediums oil painting, chalk or oil pastelles,” she said.

“I just tried chalk, and then I found out I loved it.”

Although Stark did not sell her work at the gallery, she did show it.

The show is a good opportunity for students to make money for their work.”

“Artists don’t just show there work in galleries and shows but sell them too,” art teacher Autum Campell said.

“It gets students ready for being artists in real life.”

photo illustration by Mike Vickers

No animal for me, thanks Taking away meat was easy enough but junior Erin O’Brien wanted more Molly Brewster morale manager

With the help of counseling one student gets his life on track

After smoking pot since seventh grade, his addiction is finally over and ‘Tommy’ has a life he didn’t think he would ever have again Samantha Harris entertainment editor

Seventeen-year-old Tommy (whose name has been changed to protect his privacy) was born and raised in Dexter with his mother and father.

Like many other teenagers, Tommy had a close relationship with his parents but soon began to separate, hoping to establish his independence. Habits and friends soon began to change, and Tommy found himself surrounded by a whole different crowd.

“I first smoked pot when I was in eighth or seventh grade,” he said.

“After awhile it became a daily event.

I didn’t see smoking pot as harmful to myself because it felt good. It made me happy for the meantime.

I didn’t stop to look at what had become of me, but my parents sensed something was wrong. My grades began to drop. I had no ambition, and all I did was sleep and lay around.”

Tommy’s story is not uncommon among millions of teenagers. As a part of separating themselves from their parents, many teenagers experiment with drugs and false illusions, according to psychologist Dr. Jason Bynum of the University of Michigan Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“My new friends seemed to care about me but after awhile they just became drug buddies,” he said.

“That was their only concern: getting high, and if I could help them get there. My money I was saving up for college was wasting away and I didn’t care. Finally my parents caught on and took me to a shrink after they had

searched my room. I was challenged to stay sober for a month and nearly drowned in problems. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get out of bed. I’d lay down and cry. I felt hopeless.”

Seasonal affective disorder, also known as S.A.D, is a disease where one’s mood is decreased, especially during the winter months.

“It is most seen in the teenage and elder generation,” Dr. Bynum said.

Tommy said, “Depression kicked in especially during the winter and only added more of a struggle.

“It got to the point of where I didn’t want to live anymore. I’d come home high and stumble into my room and wallow in self pity. I knew that everything that I was doing was wrong but I wouldn’t let my loved ones try to help me-the drugs had control over me. I did Coke, E, acid, PCP, vicidin, and tried overdosing on prescription drugs. I didn’t want to care. Everything that was happening in my life seemed to turn for the worse. I was so selfish, I broke my mother’s heart.

I had the choice of turning myself around and getting help but instead I turned away.

“Finally the law whipped me back into reality, and I was legally forced to stop. Although the substance abuse ended, I was suicidal. I was a ticking bomb. Something as simple as my mom looking at me would set me off. I was hypersensitive to the world. I was fighting an internal war against myself. Kids have no idea what they risk. Drug addictions sneak up on you.

“During months of counseling I saw how drastically I had changed.

Taking a step back and looking at all

you’ve done wrong gave me a slight sense of motivation.”

After several years of rehab and counseling Tommy has kept himself on a somewhat cleaner route.

“I still party once in awhile but nothing compared to what I used to be like. I learned my lesson and try to avoid ever going down that path again. You can’t learn a lesson by being lectured. You have to experience life and trials to truly understand the lesson.”

Survey says...

Survey results ( 528 students) 12 students have experimented with acid, coke, PCP and heroin 87 percent say of the students who have tried drugs say they were peer pressured into it.

The smells of delicious holiday cooking welcomed junior Erin O’Brien as she entered her grandma’s house. Each year O’Brien looks forward to her favorite holiday food, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. But while other students’ meals consist of milk, eggs and butter, O’Brien refuses to eat meat or dairy products during the holidays or at any other time of the year.

For nearly a year O’Brien has followed a strict vegan diet. Not only does she eliminate meat and dairy products from her diet, she also doesn’t wear clothing made from animals, such as wool and leather.

Becoming a vegetarian on her 13th birthday was O’Brien’s first step towards veganism. “I did a lot of research and was upset by the animal cruelty in the food industry,” she said. “In the food industry animals are raised purely for profit. They are raised in small spaces and no thought goes into their comfort, or that they are living beings.”

But being a vegetarian wasn’t enough for her. “The more I read and researched animal cruelty, the more I wanted to change,” she said.

“I also work with several vegans and have friends in debate that influence my decision. I learned that some calves never see their mothers.

“They are also forced to drink blood to get protein instead of milk,” O’Brien said. “Because companies want all the milk possible to go to the consumers to make more money.”

O’Brien finds the biggest challenge in following her diet comes at school. “It is really hard when we have parties at school and people bring in all kinds of food that looks really good,” she said. “Most of the time I can’t have the food people bring because the flavoring or some of the products used.”

Another challenge comes at home as O’Brien has a separate grocery shopping list from the rest of her family. “At first my family didn’t encourage my choice because they didn’t want to have to buy separate groceries for me,” she said.

“I first became a vegan for Lent because I figured that my parents

couldn’t tell me that I wasn’t allowed to do it because it was part of our religion.

“My parents’ main concern about my choice was that I wouldn’t get all the right nutrients with the gap created by eliminating meat and dairy from my diet,” O’Brien said. “My dad is a doctor so he assessed my diet for a week, and we figured out I would get enough of the nutrients I needed. My parents are happy because I am happy. I feel good about my choice, and am much more healthy as a vegan.”

A common misconception is that vegans lack protein, but that isn’t a problem for O’Brien because she uses peanut butter as a main staple in her diet. She also takes a multivitamin to get the rest of her nutrients.

And although they didn’t like her choice at first now on holidays and non-holidays alike O’Brien’s family goes out of their way to make meals that she can enjoy.

“For the holidays my mom and grandma just substitute ingredients I can’t eat with ingredients that I can,” she said.

“Most times it is as easy as replacing regular milk with soy milk or eggs with egg replacements.

Usually I am the only one that knows there is a difference.”The next step in her diet is to completely switch to organic products. “Last weekend I bought organic sugar and made sugar cookies,” she said.

“My parents think that is a little extreme, but once I am on my own I plan to buy and use mostly organic products.

I feel hypocritical because the more research I do the more I realize I am eating products that are created at the expense of animals.

The first organic food I started to use was ketchup because if it isn’t organic, it consists’ of crushed lady bugs as one of its ingredients.”

O’Brien isn’t bothered by others eating meat.

“I just try not to pay attention because when I see people eating meat I think of the cruelty behind it,” she said.

“If people want to become educated I will talk to them about being a vegan, but I am not going to force my beliefs on anyone.”

Food alternitives for a vegan lifestyle:

• Milk alternatives: Silk products

• Egg alternatives: Ener-G Egg replacer

• Extra alternatives: Miso, nutritional yeast, aoy margarinie, Tahini.

• Meat altenatives: Smart bacon,deli Slices, Gimme Lean (lightlife),

information from Veganoutreach.com

8

the Squall

opinions

Letters to the editor Magyar extends gratitude to others for support Dear Editor, I would like to thank the many DHS freshmen, upperclassmen, parents and teachers who were so strongly positive in response to my marching band featured baton twirling performance during one of the 2004 football games and during the Homecoming Pep Rally.

There are many talented freshmen and upperclassmen at DHS! The cool thing is that we are able to pursue our own interests, hopefully finding areas in which each of us can excel.

The article, “Breaking Boundaries,” in October’s Squall referenced labels, such as “gay” if you are pursing something not traditionally dominated by your sex (although historically baton twirling was a male dominated sport, until 20 years ago) and the label “overachiever,” such as when you excel in more than one area of interest.

Using labels can be narrow-minded and is often times wrong. Labels can be wrongly applied and don’t let us see the person for who they really are.

I hope we respect whatever any of us choose to personally pursue as a positive interest and talent, without resorting to labels or stereotypes.

There’s too much talent and energy at DHS to label someone because of interests, sports, hobbies or even friends.

When someone is able to balance a lot of activities and do well, let’s commend their efforts and accomplishments and encourage others to do well too. DHS needs the talents and commitment of everyone.

Sincerely, Nathan Magyar, freshman People need to relax and have more fun Dear Editor, Jolly juniors are what you could call my group of friends. We’re happy, we’re crazy and we’re noisy.

We’re definitely not afraid to have fun. The only problem with our extreme joy in life is that other people often find us loud and annoying.

There have been many times where we’ve been yelled at and given scornful looks due to our raucous behavior.

Running into the theater to see the new Spongebob Squarepants movie, my jolly junior friends and I were shrieking from sheer excitement. Some high-schooler who looked vaguely familiar and maybe even younger than us looked at us in a contemptuous manner and told us very loudly to, “Just shut up.”

Being the wonderful people that we are, we took it in great fun and told him, “No thanks.”

This is not the first comment that I’ve heard in regard to the present subject. It makes me wonder about the quality of life of others around me.

Do others really enjoy life? Sure, life is hard. Everyone has bad days.

But that is why we have friends.

They’re there to provide support, to listen to you complain and whine.

They are there to help you cram for your test next hour and to share their lunch with you when you forgot your lunch money at home. I’ve found that at the end of the day, unless I’ve helped out another person, I feel like the whole day was a waste.

So you’ve got to remember, dear students of Dexter High School, you’ve got to dare to jump, dare to achieve, (Dare I say it?) dare to have fun! Don’t be scared to lean on God, your friends, and your family when you’ve got it tough.

They’ll help you get through this jungle that grownups call Dexter High School. These four years are precious, and they’re not going to happen again (unless you flunk).

Next time you see a group of loud and noisy, insane, crazy and yes, mostly female high school juniors, shout my name; it will probably be my friends and I. Sincerely, Joan Wolfe, the jubilant junior

Letters continued on page 9

Friday, December 17, 2004

Halo 2: It’s just not the same game Seth Porinsky staff writer

As the final bell tolled signalling the end of sixth hour, senior Miles Hayes’ eyes narrowed.

“You ready for this?” he asked.

I nodded my approval, and we took off like bolts of lightning through the cramped halls, dodging the shrill pitch of the freshmen and informing everyone along the way that Halo 2 was released today.

The thinnest of smiles reached my lips as I recalled my devious deed of the day: I had parked in the visitor lot in preparation of this after-school event. Connie and Klein, awestricken by the black beauty of my tiny Escort, thought nothing of the Kentucky license plate.

We sped off for Electronics Boutique to pick up our reserved copied of Halo 2, the most highly anticipated game of 2004 and possibly ever.

My first experience with Halo 2 was not as I foretold and even a bit frustrating. The interface is nothing like the original’s, but one thing I quickly learned was that Halo 2 is nothing like the original.

Arguments can be made that it is still the same character, many of the weapons and vehicles are the same, but an outsider without knowledge of the series might assume that Halo and Halo 2 were made by two very different companies.

It is very evident that Bungie (The makers of Halo) wanted it to be so.

They made so many drastic changes because they wanted them to be two separate games. Many avid Halogamers may not have wished Bungie to change the game so much. They wanted a “Halo 1.5”. In theory, Halo 1.5 would have been Halo but with different levels.

To say that I was originally dissapointed with Halo 2 would be an understatement. Halo 2 certainly leveled the playing field, and I found myself getting killed by such Halo 1 noobs as sophomore Danny Jackson; if you were good at the original, it didn’t matter.

While the original Halo was about strategy, about thinking and making every bullet count, Halo 2 seemed to be a contest to see who could spray more bullets the fastest. However, after spending a significant amount of time playing Halo 2 online (as my parents will attest) over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I quickly adapted to Halo 2’s fast-paced action and began to like it.

“It’s Halo 1. Only it’s Halo on fire, going 130 mph through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas, and the ninjas are on fire too,” said Jason Jones, director of Bungie Studios, of the game back in the latter portion of 2002.

In essence, that is is Halo 2. Halo 2 is thinking on your feet; it is “Which weapons should I grab?” “Where is my opponent going to be next?” or “How can I call my opponent a noobasaurus-rex over my Xbox Live headset while I taunt his corpse and still remain oriented with the game?”

Which brings me to the best change about Halo 2: online play. Bungie heard the cries from fans about Halo not being supported by Xbox Live, Microsoft Xbox’s source of online gaming, and delivered Halo 2 with online capabilities. Live’s system is pretty amazing, with the game experiencing less lag, an online ranking system and even the ability to check stats online from previous games via Bungie.net.

Photo by Seth Porinsky

Taking him to school: Teaching sophomore Danny Jackson how to play Halo 2, senior David “Pedal Face” Ager barks out orders through his headset as senior Lex Williams looks on. “Halo 2 is much easier for noobs like Danny to pick up,” Williams said.

The online portion certainly gives Halo 2 a one-up on the original, but comparing the two is like apples to avacados. They certainly are two very different games with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Another strength of Halo 2 is its single player or campaign mode. Awhile back, Bungie spokespeople said Halo 2 would focus more on single player, and it’s evident it does.

While a major complaint about Halo 1 was the repetitive levels and enemies, every new level in Halo 2 is a completely different environment and battlefield. A medal ceremony in your honor is cut short after you discover the Covenant are attacking the space station where you are currently residing, and you are put right back in the action, already sweating your first day back on the job.

“I need a weapon.” Masterchief’s deep voice breaks the tension like an icicle. Another excellent improvement in Halo 2 is the story, and the talented voice acting adds to that quality.

Most of the original cast is back, and Keith David attributes his voice as The Arbitor, the Covenant Elite who you are oddly forced to play as throughout the game.

The pieces of the puzzle start to fit together and The Arbitor and Masterchief, once bitter enemies, are forced to work together. While the idea of pairing enemies together seems cliche, which it probably is, it goes along nicely in this scenario. The queer ending draws comparisons to “Matrix: Reloaded” as it seems to leave more questions than answers, making way for a third game in the series.

Halo 2 shines like its predecessor in two oft-overlooked categories: sound and graphics. The already impressive graphics and sounds of Halo 1 are sharpened even more as Halo 2 pushes the capabilities of the Xbox.

Halo 2 cannot be compared to Halo 1. Its actionpacked gameplay makes a new name for itself and certainly establishes itself as one of the best multiplayer games ever created. With the online play and ability of Bungie to release new material via Xbox Live, it certainly has the ultimate in replay value.

Halo 2 easily deserves an 8.5/10 rating overall. Despite this, I don’t think anyone will soon be forgetting the original Halo: Combat Evolved. But for such a groundbreaking game, I would have expected more from its successor.

Halo sold over five million copies Halo 2 sold two million copies before it was even released Halo 2 made $125 million in one day

Religion being sold like kitchen knives Bling blingin’ all the time Aaron McLean opinions editor

With everything up for sale these days, it seems fitting that religion is no exception.

The purpose of religion has changed from being for spirituality and faith to being for other reasons such as profit and domination of the religious worlds.

Religion in Dexter is forced on students from an early age, and there

is no choice given to many kids.

Students in the high school are predomenently Christians because we have not been exposed to other options. And who doesn’t love options? But when it comes to religion, choice is negated.

When I was little, I wondered what religion is right. Was mine?

Was yours? Was his or hers?

These questions have no answer, but they do have an answer for an individual if he has the chance to experience other religions.People don’t find their religion today. It is given to them or sold to them.

On Saturday I like to sleep in and

eat cereal when I get up, not hear a doorbell and stumble to the door to see a cute toddler in a bowtie and his two Morman parents ready to preach their religion to me.

Like knife salesmen, they stand in front of me and try to get me to buy into their religion. There is nothing wrong with presenting a choice, but when the persuasion is mixed in with sales tactics, things get messy.

Getting a person to join a religion by luring tactics is like stealing someone’s individuality by essentially tricking them or luring them in with false hopes or persuasion.

People use fear to get people to join it. No one wants to burn in hell for eternity, so missionaries who

travel to other countries essentially scare people into giving their lives to an idea that is driven by fear.

If I had my own religion, I would want people to join it because they have similar beliefs or a true passion for our beliefs. In my humanities class we have been taught about two religions: Islam and Catholicism.

The Muslims who came into our class were very respectful and very open to other religions. The Catholic priest who came in had a preachy feel to him. He came in with cards that would give us information on joining the church and the religion as well as some prayers.

I found it really ackward that he was asked to come speak to our class

and rather than that, he preached to us.

It confuses me that so many people complain about church. Not only do kids complain, but it seems that parents aren’t so into it either. Rather, they seem to go out of habit. If religion is so spiritual, it’d make more sense if people would act with more enthusiasm when church comes around.

If you aren’t leaving your church, synogogue, or mosque feeling spiritual or somewhat inspired, you should re-evaluate your spiritual stance.

I am uneducated in religion and don’t pretend to be otherwise, but even I can see that we need to take a look at how we treat our faith.

Tackling da buck pole: Not for the weak of stomach Kendall Goode photo manager

As I began my regularly scheduled drive to school on that cool November morning, I saw a sight that I’d rather have missed: a mass of dangling deer bodies strung up from poles.

My mind slowly fell into a disturbed state as I thought about the horrid display for the rest of the day.

November, as most know, is the month of hunting. Men are issued forms of paper, called permits,

Thoughts of an emo kid which give permission to hunt and kill innocent deer that fill the many uninhabited areas of Michigan.

Deer hunting season is a semicontroversial time of the year, and the argument is often made that if we didn’t kill these defenseless animals, they would over populate.

Of course, many say that it is all right to hunt, but do we really need to string deer corpses on the main street for everyone to see?

I myself was witness to the morbid set-up, and it was stuck in my head for hours. The entire rest of my

day I spent thinking of the poor defensless animals and the horrible set up that appeared to be praised by so many people.

Even more disturbing was seeing photos from a time my friend went hunting. The photos were OK until I came to one of him holding the deer’s heart in his hand.

I have never seen an animal heart nor witnessed one of my closest friends holding the bloody organ with a smile on his face.

As I began the difficult task of writing this article, I was talking to senior Stephanie McCartt about the subject.

“I love the buck pole,” she said,

“My dad has taken me ever since I was little. It’s so cool.” How could someone enjoy something so weird, let alone joyfully do something like hunting?

I could never spend the many hours that it takes to hunt, kill and properly de-organ the moderately cute animal.

Any human being who has witnessed the Disney movie “Bambi” surely knows the sadness that is seeing a deer losing its mother from an evil hunter.

Who is to say that the bucks that are strung up have no children that care about them?

If we have learned anything from

Disney, it’s that yes, they do have children, and one day those deer will grow up and avenge their father’s death in a heartwarming animated film featuring well known actors doing the voices.

But back to the real point. The buck pole is a disturbing display of masculinity that needs to be rethought.

I suggest that whoever is in charge of the display move the display to behind the store, so it’s still there but not everybody has to see it.

I see enough dead deer lying on the side of the road. They don’t be need to be dragged into one area and put on display.

Friday, December 17, 2004

the Squall

opinions

Gift giving mistakes NOT to make this year Does my picture in grayscale make me look ghetto?

Eric Wilkinson staff writer

unlike some star that is 93 million miles away and is probably owned by 200 other people nationwide.

I’ve had a few relationships, most of which haven’t lasted very long, until recently. So, as far as gift giving goes, I’ve had several opportunities in years past to pay attention to gift giving catastrophies, whether they are mine or some other poor child’s.

Listen boys, girls are materialistic creatures. You screw up with just one gift, and she won’t ever let you forget it. I’ve comprised a list for you of the lamest things a guy can give to a girl.

Cliches

Adopting a Star Trying to say: “I do romantic, sweet things for you by buying you something few other people have, something mystical and beautiful like a star.”

Really saying: “I don’t know you very well, or otherwise pay little to no attention to your tastes and personality, so I figured if I got you a star, I’d score brownie points with you and your girlfriends when they all hear about it and say, “Oh my God! That’s soooo cute!!”

Replacement suggestion: Adopt her a section of highway instead. At least she can actually see and touch it,

Trying to say: In fifth grade a boy in my class found a key on the ground one morning and put a necklace through it to give to his girlfriend who was also in my class. “What is this?” she asked him.

“It’s a key ... to my heart,” he replied.

Need I com-

I turned on the radio the other day, and as I turned that tuning button, I quickly discovered that I was listening to a lot of the same crap on several radio stations.

“What is this?” I wondered.

Little did I know that thousands of people all over the country were experiencing the very same thing at that moment.

The explanation for this pattern in stations is the Clear Channel system. Clear Channel was made possible by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, proposed by President Bill Clinton and passed by a Republican congress, and it controls over 1,200 radio stations.

They control more than 50 percent of all pop music played.

Corporations conduct something called “Coolhunting.” Basically businesses pay people to talk to teens and go through their belongings to get a sense of their everyday life and what kinds of things they’re in to.

Todd Cunningham, a MTV senior vice-president, said, “We go out and rifle through their closets.

We go through their music collections. We go to nightclubs with them.

We shut the door in their bedrooms and talk to them about issues they feel are really important to them.”

The corporations get some ideas of what they think teens like. They then take that “cool” and sell it back to teens and market the crap out of it.

Here’s where the big six corporations come in - AOL Time Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney Company, Sony, News Corp and Vivendi Universal/General Electric. In the past

Thong underwear Trying to say: “I saw these on the rack in Victoria’s Secret, thought that they looked OK hanging there, but figured they’d look amazing on you.”

Really saying: “I’d like to see these on you but would love

to see you take them off.”

Replacement suggestion: Buy her a pair of granny panties instead. Odds are she won’t wear either, so why pay $15 for a thong when you can pay $12 and get about three times as much material?

Writing/Performing a song Trying to say: “I love you, but it’s not good enough to say it. I have to sing it. Listen to my beautiful voice sing along while I play my guitar.”

Really saying: “I like strumming my guitar more than I like touching you, plus I watch a lot of “Friends” reruns, and

they do this kind of crap on that show.”

Replacement suggestion: Make her a mix tape of cool songs from significant times in your relationship. Not a CD. A CD is quick, easy and careless. Make a tape. Then buy a cassette player to keep at your house so any time she wants to listen to it, she’s forced to come to your house.

A framed picture of yourself: Trying to say: “I know you love me and enjoy looking at me, so here’s a cute frame with a picture of me in it.”

Really saying: “I think I’m gorgeous, and you should think so too. You should love looking at me. All the time. Maybe I should sign this for you.”

Replacement suggestion: Instead of giving her a framed picture of yourself, why not buy the latest “CosmoGirl” or “YM”, cut out a picture of Brad Pitt and frame that? At least then she can have a picture of someone who is actually good looking. It doesn’t even have to be Brad Pitt. Just anyone better looking than you. Then be sure to forge the signature.

So be sure not to make a mistake this holiday season.

You may just come back from winter break to a girl who no longer wants anything to do with you. She’ll go off and date Freddie, the boy who would’ve given her some crap from Bath and Body Works.

The Media giants own your soul Christina Field staff writer

ment on the lameness of this?

Really saying: “I think I’m pretty creative, and you should think I’m adorable, although I didn’t spend anything on you for the occassion.”

Replacement suggestion: Take a quarter, go to the Kroger on Stadium Blvd. and put it in those little machines by the shopping carts.

Turn the knob and purchase yourself one of the sticky hands with the long sticky string attached and give her that, because at least it’s something she can use and have fun with, unlike a key you found to some guy’s 1986 Chevy Celebrity Club Wagon.

Oreos rock my socks year or so General Electric bought all of Vivendi’s enterainment assets.

The giants have immense power over all sorts of media. When these corporations get their “cool” ideas, they can post them everywhere, and they can advertise their merchandise through their other media sources.

For example, AOL Time Warner (the leading media honcho) could release a CD through Atlanta Group Records and advertise it on – let’s say – HBO or any of their 27 magazines or seven Internet sites or through movies. And AOL Time Warner could switch that all around to promote a particular magazine or TV show … anything.

With the “cool” provided by their teen guinea pigs, they create a formula and sell and advertise it like crazy.

As wonderful as it is hear the same formatted music over and over, no one hears anything new or original.

Some have even tried to stray from these giants and promote for themselves, but usually there is not much luck.

Small businesses have a very slight chance of surviving. The media giants have so much power, making competition with them extremely tough and if the small business is really successful, it will probably be bought by one of the giants.

So basically, AOL Time Warner, Vivendi Universal, Viacom, Walt Disney Company, Sony and News Corporation control most of what American people read, see and hear – 90 percent of it in fact. Be aware of these giants and search for your own music and movies.

Because the next time you are desperately trying to search for something on the radio and want some-

THE FIVE GIANTS

Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas: December birthdays get gyped

AOL Time warner thing otherover than 85 the differenty regular pop, I Owns seriously wish you the best of luck.

It’s sleepy time.

companies, 14 being in the music industry.

Jenny Heldt features editor

Viacom

Ever since I can remember, my birthday has been my day.

I get presents, cake, friends, but most important I get all the attention. Recently, things have changed.

As I get older, my presents get more expensive, so I am receiving fewer presents in the mail from extended family members. They send me one present now instead of the multiple presents I used to receive.

But I am fine with that. It is the quality not the quantity. However, something that really concerns me is the increasing number of presents I am receiving in the mail that are labeled “Happy Birthday/ Merry Christmas.”

I am not a greedy person, I am just concerned. My birthday is Dec. 16, yesterday. Jesus’ birthday is Dec 25, Christmas. That is more than a week apart. What are people thinking? How am I supposed to know when to open it? On my birthday?

On Christmas? Half and half? Somewhere in between?

Even if it is a Christmas/Birthday present, how come it isn’t wrapped in Christmas/Birthday paper? It’s always wrapped in one or the other.

Oh yeah, I know why, because they don’t make wrapping paper for such a joke.

It’s very simple. Send me a birthday present on December 16th and a Christmas present on Dec. 25.

Do people with June birthdays get birthday/Christmas presents? No, they get two. I should also get two.

If you do decide to send me just one present, make sure you know which occasion you are sending for.

Birthday presents should not have anything to do with Christmas. Not the paper you wrap them in and especially not what’s inside.

By far the worst birthday present I have ever received was a Christmas

Owns over 263 companies, 180 of them being raido stations.

Walt Disney Company Owns five record lables and 30 raido stations News corporation Owns 10 TV networks and five sports teams Sony Owns 18 music lables and 12 cable networks.

information from www.pbs.org/wgbh/ pages/frontline/shows/cool/giants/aoltimewarner.html

ornament. I don’t share my birthday with Jesus, so don’t combine the two celebrations.

However, there are two people who are lucky enough that I do let them share my birthday. Ever since I can remember my mom has made me send a birthday card to my friend Jeff.

We played hockey together when we were little. That’s how I found out that he shared my birthday with me.

He is lucky that I shared my birthday with him, but he was never grateful, Not once did I get a card back.

I share my birthday with another hockey player, my boyfriend, Jon. I didn’t know this, but he did. I was talking to him about my birthday when he said, “We have the same birthday, remember?”

“No,” I said. “How did you know that?”

“Don’t you remember German class? We had to sing ‘happy birthday’ to our classmates in german.” he said.

“Yes,” I said.

“Well, last year i just remembered that they sang to both of us on the same day,” he said.

Birthdays are supposed to be special days. For some reason I find it considerably harder to make my day more special when I have to share all the attention with an increasing number of people.

When I remembered that Jon and I shared the same birthday, I was angry.

Now I have to share my day with another person.

Not only that, but his family is coming over to my house to eat my cake. So instead of my mom buying me the napkins that say, “It’s your day!” I had to settle for the Disney Princess’ instead.

Not only do I have to share my Baskin Robins ice cream cake with him, I even have to give him a present on my day.

Hmm ... I wonder if Jon likes Christmas ornaments.

THE

Squall

9

Letters to the editor A word from your student council reps.

Dear editor, Your student board members have been busy this fall attending meetings, listening to audit reports, and advocating for the students. Here are a few highlights: Budget news At the Nov 8 meeting, superintendent Evylyn Shirk presented a financial review of last year’s budget surplus. The report included a timeline of budgetary decisions made by the school board, draft budgets made last year and comparisons of budgetary figures that would’ve helped indicate the variance. Overall, Shirk believes the problem was our district’s financial reporting system. Nothing inappropriate took place in terms of financial mismanagement, but programs in the districts simply exceeded the board’s expectations of savings. In her report, Shirk said, “It is time to congratulate the people who worked hard to live within the budget and ... rebuild relationships that have been damages by false accusations.

Parking fee reduced After taking into consideration the concerns of students over the parking fee, the board’s finance committee discussed the issue and recommended it be reduced.

The Board approved the amendment, changing the parking fee to $25 a year. People who have not paid the fee will be expected to do so and those who have paid the full $50 will be refunded. The administration is still figuring out payment deadlines, but you can expect that they will be around the semester change. Thanks to everyone who came to student forums to discuss this; the board values the opinions of the district’s students.

Sincerely, Bridget Riehle, senior Josh Gardner, junior

Food not good enough for some students Dear Editor, As the bell rings to end third hour, students hustle to the lunch room. I don’t know how 100% of the student body feels about the subject, but personally, I think the food in the cafeteria is downright pathetic.

As I walk through those gaping double doors that lead into a factory of toxic waste, my heart sinks and my stomach quivers as I think about the totally unhealthy choices that await me.

I have eaten the same food for my four long years at DHS. I have had my fair share of cold pizza, congealed breadsticks and soggy, sticky pasta. And it’s never, ever getting better.

In fact, I think it’s even gotten worse. Sometimes I consider the option of going hungry for the lack of a better choice. Not to mention, everything is a variation of pizza.

Calzones, stromboli, Bosco sticks, pizza bagels, pizza salad and pizza subs. Sometimes the lunch ladies get creative and throw in some tacos or nachos, but for the most part, it’s usually the same old garbage.

And what’s with the pasta on Tuesday and Thursday? It was kind of nice at first, but now I’m sick of pasta twice a week.

The amount of junk food at the check out line makes a person wonder why anyone would guess the reason our generation is so obese. Administration and cafeteria staff stopped the sale of pop in the lunchroom because they claimed it was a large contributing factor to overweight teens.

But, Minute Maid Lemonade and Tropicana Fruit Punch has almost twice the calories of regular Pepsi or Coke. Ritz Bitz, Twix and Pop Tarts are all packed with calories and headed straight for your thighs, stomach and plump rump.

I know this is a lot of complaining, but maybe someone will read this and take and action to solve these problems and take the initiate to ask the students on what they would like to eat.

As for now, I’ll literally have to swallow my pride and be thankful I don’t have to eat my way through another year of unhealthy, unappealing, unappetizing crap.

Sincerely, Carley Burkett, senior

the Squall

Friday, December 17, 2004

opinions

10

THE ALL SQUALL CALL

THE SQUALL STAFF

Thefts cause students, administrators to question vandals’ maturity

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Sarah Craft

Stolen projectors, missing money, robbed cars. It seems hard to understand why these things are happening. With cameras throughout the parking lot and school, hall monitors and other staff members, it seems as if someone should be able to catch those responsible.

Advice from The Squall: lock your cars and protect your bags and purses if they hold valuables. Thefts can happen in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t take very long for someone to snatch a small purse on a table when your back is turned.

Even though the district should increase security to try to prevent such events from happening, should they really have to? It’s sad that people can’t trust each other. We shouldn’t have to lock everything up and practically chain our belongings to us and suspect everyone around us as a possible thief.

And some of the most ridiculous items have been stolen that no one would even think a person would take. Card readers in yearbook and newspaper and a projection unit? Some people just need to get a life.

Thieves cause trouble for everyone else. In many cases they take freedoms away from those who don’t steal. Often times more rules and restrictions are implemented to stop thefts.

The Squall suggests that the parking lots be watched through the use of cameras and para-professionals. Also, students as well as staff members should keep important items locked in their lockers or cars and keep valuables near them. Although we wish we could trust everyone, apparently we can’t and that’s just sad.

MANAGING EDITOR: Michelle Svetkoff

EDITORS FEATURES: Jenny Heldt ENTERTAINMENT: Samantha Harris NEWS: Kyle Muse OPINIONS: Aaron McLean PHOTO: Brandon Mayotte and Teri Chiado SPORTS: Lee Hoggard and Thomas Leonard DESIGN: Mike Vickers COPY: Hilary McCown

MANAGERS Illustration by Jared Myers

Letters To The Editor P.E. Proposal misunderstood by many Dear Editor, Recently, my son Kirk Kumbier and I were interviewed for an article for The Squall about a proposal Deb Vincke and I made to the Board of Education back in June of 2004.

While we appreciated this opportunity, I’m concerned that our intentions were not made clear in what was supposed to be an informative article. I would like to explain the proposal further in hopes of helping students, staff and the administration understand it.

First, it’s important to understand that Mrs. Vincke and I agree with P.E. teacher Angie Scott on the importance of physical education. We value physical activity and believe in health education for students throughout their careers.

We also agree with counselor Larry LeBlanc and support maintaining physical education in the curriculum. By their remarks it appears both Scott and LeBlanc did not understand that important fact during their interview. In addition, it appears they did not have access to the proposal we presented to the school board and provided to The Squall.

Our proposal was made based on the Michigan Department of Education’s recommendations which allow “a school district to provide physical education credit to a student for participation in extracurricular athletics or other extracurricular activities (such as marching band).”

It’s of note that “This decision is left to the discretion of the local school district.”

Mrs. Vincke and I firmly believe that high school is the time to explore opportunities through electives. While we recognize and appreciate all the opportunities that our district provides to students, it is important to note that many are quite limited in taking advantage of such opportunities because of the six hour schedule and current graduation requirements. Whether any change affects one or 1000 students, the curriculum should provide options.

Our goal in presenting the proposal was to open the door for the School Board, Curriculum Committee, P.E. teachers and a parent group to explore options for students to meet the current requirements as many other schools in our area have done and as is allowed by the State of Michigan.

We do not see this proposal as a way to avoid P.E. We welcome opportunities for options to meet those requirements and view the proposal as a way for two things to happen: 1) Students who are already participating in physical activities could earn credit for

such activities. As allowed by the MDE. 2) Students would still need to fulfill the Lifetime Fitness component, but it could be done either as currently scheduled or potentially through testing developed by the teachers.

We hope everyone sees the benefit of discussing options for students to meet P.E. requirements and that our proposal is seriously considered. We look forward to working with the district to discuss and eventually provide options for students to fulfill their P.E. requirements as is allowed by the MDE and is currently being offered by several other schools in our area.

Sincerely, Mary Kumbier, parent

‘Halo 2’ review didn’t address the big picture Dear Editor, In the video game review (“Halo: a gift from God,” in the Octobuary issue of The Squall), the esteemed Dave Ager spends most of the column praising the cosmetics of the game.

Unfortunately the article does not address the numerous sociological issues involved.

I am no PS2 aficionado, nor a huge noob, simply a member of a subset of the human race called “parents.” And I write because I am less than excited about the Box called “X” and am struggling to protect my family from too deep an infestation. Often I feel helpless to do much more than walk through the room shaking my head and muttering, “Mindless video games.”

But why would someone have such a negative reaction to such a harmless pastime?

Could it be the thought of large chunks of young lives spent on a pursuit which has very limited potential to advance those who indulge in it? Oh, admittedly, Halo had made the world much safer from alien invasion than it was a few years ago-assuming the aliens function like those in the game and that the appropriate weapons are available when and where needed.

Could it be that some of us count the hours devoted to this pursuit, and calculate that if a young man devoted even half those hours to other goals, he could easily learn a foreign language, learn to play a musical instrument, develop a hidden talent, earn some money, read good books or even devote a commendable amount of time to schoolwork (what a novel idea)-or all of the above?

Could it be that some of us are convinced that too much of this activity (or rather inactivity) can turn the human brain into a jelly-like substance that is no longer capable of conducting brain waves with electrical im-

pulse? I have plenty of anecdotal evidence that there is a direct correlation between playing the game and exterminating gray cells.

Could it be that some of us are aware that we could easily have become hopelessly entangled, had Halo been available in the ‘60’s or ‘70’s, and looking back, we’d be thankful if someone had rescued us from the habit, or at least placed serious limits on our play? Could it be that some of us recognize Halo as an addiction, which, like any addiction, deprives the victim of rational judgment, as well as time for a productive life?

Oh well, as my wife and I say, “At least when they’re playing Halo, they’re not running around with girls.”

Which brings up my final observation: Oddly, there is virtually an entire subspecies of the human race who seem to be immune to the allure. Although there are females who dabble in it, for the most part it’s as if they had been inoculated against it. Perhaps it’s time to wake up and take warning, young men: If women haven’t taken over the world yet, your succumbing to this Halo thing might just be the final step in their conquest.

So, for the female group, Halo just might turn out to be “a gift from God,” as Mr. Ager calls it and not just a rival for their boyfriends’ time. Say ... could it be that Halo was actually invented by a group of girls with the express goal of miring the male segment of the race in a position of mindlessness from which they can easily be dominated?

Dear editor, I mean no disrespect to Mr. Ager and his loser friend Tiger (whoever he may be), but I think the topic calls for a response. I also invite your staff to interview me on my one-man campaign to promote telephone etiquette among high school students and others. But that might be too hot a topic for your publication.

Sincerely, Mark Porinski, parent

After election, unity needed in U.S. Dear Editor, Walking around the school after election day, I noticed both a lot of sorrow and a lot of rejoicing about the outcome, and that’s all great. But one thing I noticed is that many people took this as an opportunity to either flaunt their victory or whine bitterly about their loss. And so, I would like to point out one thing that both candidates made very clear, to me at least: We, as a country, must remain unified.

We can’t let who we supported, voted for or thought looked better tear us apart. If we separate ourselves over the

past and refuse to bear the future, then we endanger the country as a whole.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or we will most assuredly hang separately.” While it’s true that there may be little or no immanent danger to our necks, the fact still stands. Nothing would help the terrorism so many people are fanatical about (with decent reason) than a divided America.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” It’s not only from without, but from within. If we can’t learn to get over whatever happened during the election and trust each other, then we’ll just edge further apart. Not a good thing, overall. Just remember: if you don’t want to be part of this country, then there’s always Canada.

Sincerely, Greg Smith, junior

Squall fails to convey student voice Dear Editor, When I was reading the last Squall, I was furious and pissed off about how ridiculous our school is. Sarah Craft’s article on “Too many penises” really annoyed me. Why would you waste a whole section of the newspaper about something as benign as a little penis on the wall. Oh my goodness, seriously, is that a big deal?

But what really sent me over the edge was how she stated, “I was actually a little offended when I saw it.” Are you kidding me? Get a grip and lighten up. It was a stupid drawing of a penis.

Also, the “Kids in the Hall” question in the last issue was preposterous. I can understand kids getting out of gym class because they’re in a varsity sport, but band? Are you serious? Are the two even related? If you say marching is enough exercise in the day, no wonder our society is so gosh darn fat.

If all band nerds think that marching is so much work, maybe they should be in an actual varsity sport. I bet varsity football is a lot more painstaking and grueling than marching band. Band is definitely not a sport, nor is it an excuse to not take gym.

I have been very disappointed in The Squall lately. The Squall is a student newspaper and should be directed towards the students. Very few times do I actually give a hoot about anything in The Squall, and it’s not just me. The Squall is what very little voice we students have in this school. The Squall needs to stand up for the rights of the students in the battle against the faculty and conformity.

BUSINESS: Stephanie Rushlow MORALE: Raleigh Holmes and Molly Brewster PHOTO: Christina Field and Kendall Goode CIRCULATION: Jennifer Allen and Sara Newell

STAFF WRITERS David Ager, TJ LaRosa, Daniel Monson, Seth Porinsky, Jonathan Williamson AD DESIGNER: Eric Wilkinson CARTOONIST: Jared Myers ADVISER: Rod Satterthwaite

POLICY:

The Squall is distributed monthly to 1,083 students and reaches an estimated 4,332 people with each issue. The Squall is printed

by The Owosso Argus in Owosso, MI, and produced by the third hour newspaper class.

TALK BACK:

The Squall is an open forum for student expression. It accepts letters to the editor from any and all concerned parties. The Squall reserves the right to screen and/or edit any and all letters for inappropriate content and length. All letters must be signed. Requests to remain anonymous will be considered by the editorial board.

ADVERTISING:

Requests for advertisements can be called into the Business Manager at 424-4240 x7407. Ads must be called in at least two weeks prior to the issue’s publication, which is at the end of each month.

E-MAIL thesquall04@hotmail.com WEB SITE www.thesquall.com

Sincerely, Sarah Simmons, senior

Dreads in the hall Given the recent spate of vandalism, do you trust the students in the school?

T.J. Fenske, freshman “I donʼt trust anyone at all. Not even my friends.”

Courtney Layton, sophomore “No, no one at all. Trust is something I donʼt have.”

Rob Zalucki, junior “Yes, for the most part, but some people donʼt deserve it.”

Alex LaForest, senior

Robin Brewer, custodian

“Kids arenʼt very trustworthy, especially in a school as big as this one is.”

“Yes, but you canʼt trust everyone. Kids these days donʼt have much respect. Itʼs hard to keep an eye on all of them.”

Friday, December 17, 2004

Students take interest in college hockey due to NHL lockout Dexter students find the best part of UM games; the rowdy crowd Thomas Leonard co-sports editor

If there’s one guy who knows University of Michigan hockey, it’s senior Korey Waggoner. Players crashing the boards with brutal checks and scoring the winning goal in overtime in front of a sold-out arena, the roaring crowd heaping insults on an opposing player who dutifully trots to the box. Waggoner’s seen it all.

He’s seen it for years too. “I went when I was five months old,” Waggoner said. “That was my first game.

We won 4-3. I don’t remember it. I was told later.”

Throwing around phrases like, “Yeah, Coach (UM hockey coach Red Berenson) came over to my house the other day,” and “My dad canoes with (Berenson) over the summers,” Waggoner could easily be confused with a team manager or coach’s relative.

Clad in a snug leather varsity jacket sporting the block M icon instead of Dexter’s D, Waggoner also tells tales of UM Hockey players.

Referring to UM grad Andy Burnes and UM sophomore T.J. Hensick as “Burnsey” and “T.J.” respectively, Waggoner speaks about the UM hockey community as a family. He takes the place of a younger brother. “(John) Madden (who plays for the New Jersey Devils) gave me the jacket,” Waggoner said. “It took me a few years to get it, but I really wanted it.”

Waggoner’s intensity doesn’t typify most hockey fans, yet he says that he is seeing a growing attendance at UM Games.

Seating 6,603 people, Yost Ice Arena is not big by college standards, but it draws sell-out crowds most games. “Here’s the two reasons why,” Waggoner said, explaining his theories for crowd growth. “There’s no other hockey going on and the local players.”

Waggoner knows the Red Wings fan base won’t wither during the current lockout, but said, “The real hockey fans really need to find other games.”

Waggoner is not the only one who loves Michigan hockey. Senior Marissa Wojcinski shared Waggoner’s sentiments. “You gotta support your hometown team,” she said. Continuing, she said she has attended “a bunch of NHL games,” but recently became more interested in UM. “I like how these guys aren’t highpaid icons. They’re just people you could see on the street.”

Waggoner calls the recent influx of UM hockey supporters “fair-weather

Tearing up the ice: Brandon Kaleniecki draws crowds with his local ties, graduating from Livonia fans” but admits that the crowd has something to do with it. Proudly, Waggoner said “USA Hockey Magazine said (Yost) was the hardest place to play in the US” Junior Jon Carender, a Dexter hockey player heard the same ranking, the crowd didn’t attract him. It’s kept him going for eight years. “The best part is the crowd,” he said. “It’s definitely a rowdy place.”

The crowd also gives UM hockey a plus, junior Keith Bado said, but it’s the fast action and the atmosphere that he said reeled him in. “There’s no commercial breaks,” he said, a testament to lack of TV intrusion in a college-town atmosphere.

Bado has only attended a few games this year, but could rattle off a handful of Dexter students he’s seen at Yost.

More than Dexter students are attracted to Michigan games. Waggoner contributed the Ann Arbor Ice Cube’s US under-18 team to feeding a steady flow of local players into UM’s program and raising awareness for hockey around the area. The program boards 37 players at local homes and high schools.

“It used to be 15 out of 25 came out of Canada,” Waggoner said. “Now there’s nine out of the US under-18 program on the team. Werner is from K-zoo, Burnesey is from Farmington Hills or something like that.”

Bado testifies to the Yost crowd’s power and UM hockey’s tradition.

“It’s always been a tradition,” he said.

“I don’t think it should change.”

11

the Squall

sports

Women’s basketball bounces to a third straight District victory

Women’s Varsity Basketball Record

11-12 Pinckney Willow Run Albion Huron Milan Bedford Jackson Adrian Saline Ida Lincoln Pioneer Tecumseh Bedford Chelsea Adrian Lincoln Saline Tecumseh Chelsea

L W W L W W W L L L W L L W W L W L L W

Raleigh Holmes morale manager

Districts Bye Erie Mason Ida

-W W

Regionals Detroit Ren.

Photo by Mark Jennings

“We a family”: The women’s basketball team holds hands before their game. According to junior Jenny Cowen, the team will find it harder to feel like a family next year without so many seniors.

L

In the fourth quarter Dexter was up 42-41 with 4.2 seconds left in the women’s basketball district final game against Ida. Dexter stepped out of bounds. Ida got the ball.

It went up, nothing but rim and Dexter won the district championship title for the third year in a row.

According to junior Jenny Cowen the team’s 11-12 record doesn’t show its ability. Cowen said that the team’s goals this year were to beat Chelsea twice and win districts, which it did.

Not only was it the first time Dexter beat Chelsea twice in one year since 1998, but it was also the first time they beat Chelsea in the new gym.

“The first game against Chelsea was tough,” Cowen said. “It came

down to the wire, but we pulled it out with a 47-45 win. In the second game, though, we were ready for them, and we knew we could beat them.

“The team really played up to their potential; I thought we did really well during the season. The teams that we played helped us prepare for districts.”

The team’s motto this year was “We a Family” representing how close they are. But Cowen said with the seniors leaving it will be hard to have that same family feeling. “They will definitely be missed, but we are trying to stay optimistic for next year,” Cowen said.

According to Cowen, next years line up looks pretty good; they have eight returning players and three returning starters. “A lot of JV players

“ We had a great season, I was really happy that we could finish my senior year the way we did.”

“Winning Districts was big because not very many people thought we could do it.”

Chantel Jennings sophomore

Kristin Burrows senior

were moved up for our district games, so they are somewhat experienced as to what it’s going to be like to play at a varsity level,” she said.

Freshman Kelsey Johnson was one of the JV players who got moved up for Districts and Regionals. “It was fun to be a part of the team,” Johnson said. “We got to practice with them which really improved my playing. We got to see was it was like to play on a varsity level.”

Being part of the team’s district championship meant a lot to Johnson. “It was so much fun to be on the team for that, even though I didn’t get to play it was still really exciting,” she said.

Cowen can’t wait for next year.

“I’m really excited for my senior year on the team,” she said. “I want to go for a four peat at Districts.”

“Our season went really well, especially beating bedford and Chelsea twice.”

Julia Keinath junior

What is wrong with athletes these days?

Lee Hoggard co-sports editor

About a week ago when I returned home from my Friday night adventures, I turned on the TV to see Jermaine O’Neil of the Indiana Pacers get a running start and drop a Pistons fan who was running across the floor.

It took a while before I realized how big this fight really was. Fans throwing beer at players, players beating up the fans. It was crazy.

The brawl was finally broken up and as the players were escorted off the court by body guards, all of America saw a chair thrown across the Palace of Auburn Hills that struck one of

Jermaine O’Neil’s body guards in the The lasting image of the fight was head. Who throws a chair? I mean a South Carolina player running from people do a lot of dumb things, but the 50 yard line to the Clemson end who is about to throw a chair? zone and getting laid out by about five In the end, Ron Artest was sus- Clemson football players. The next pended for the rest of the season. day both schools announced that Jermaine O’Neil neither school would and Stephen attend bowl games, Jackson are suseven though they are pended for a total both bowl eligible.

It is good that of 55 games. The All of these brawls pistons Ben Walgot me thinking, Dexter can be lace is out for six “has anything like games, and the known for win- this happened at the Pacers season as high school level?” ning and not they know it is In 2002 at a varsity virtually over. soccer game against brawling.

Then if that Tecumseh a fight wasn’t enough for broke out between the weekend, in both benches. Howa rivalry football ever, that never really game between South Carolina and turned into a huge incident.

Clemson a fight broke out on the last After talking to the Athletic Direcplay of the game. tor John Robinson I learned that the

“

”

biggest high school brawl he had ever heard of happened at the state basketball championships. It happened the same year former Michigan star LaVell Blanchard was a senior at Pioneer. Robinson said even though he did not attend the game he heard that it was a pretty bad incident with kids running onto the court and getting involved in the fighting.

But over all throughout the years Dexter has received much praise for its good sportsmanship. During the ‘03-‘04 school year Dexter received a letter from the MHSAA commending the sports program for receiving no official reports of concern, ejections, or poor sportsmanship during the past school year.

This shows how far Dexter’s sports program has come, It is good that Dexter can be known for winning and not brawling.

12

photostory

the Squall

Friday, December 17, 2004

NHS blood drive succeeds despite ending two hours early

Sarah Craft editor-in-chief

“Ok. Everyone’s doing good. Everyone’s alive,” senior Danny Farra said right after senior Ryan Stewart passed out after giving blood at the National Honors Society blood drive on December 7.

“I thought he was faking it,” Farra said. “It was a pretty average method of passing out because he started groaning and leaning over. I was like, ‘Dude, quit faking it.’ Then he sort of collapsed.”

“Dude, he was shaking on the ground,” senior Ryan Bruder said.

“Yeah, I know,” Farra said. “He was having like a seizure or something.”

After senior Tate Stark rang the bell when Stewart collapsed, four nurses ran towards Stewart and immediately began to resesitate him.

“I didn’t even know what happened to me,” Stewart said after he recovered. “I just woke up on the floor and was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’”

After the nurses transported Stewart to a bed and forced him to drink one-and-a-half cups of orange juice and a half cup of water, Stewart said he was feeling a little better.

However, his black shirt and pants made his look skin paler

than the sheets he was lying on.

“I’m feeling fine, but I think I’m going to lie down again,” he said.

Stewart wasn’t the only one to pass out after giving blood. After senior Whitney Holmes donated a pint of her blood, she said she was feeling fine so she quickly returned to class.

However, as Holmes sat in her Calculus class, she began to feel faint.

“I stopped being able to pay attention to the notes,” she said. “I thought that was normal though, because sometimes it’s a little hard to pay attention all the time.”

But then Holmes’ stomach started to hurt, and her vision began to blur.

“Apparently my eyes rolled back and some kids caught me as I fell,” she said.

In fact, so many students were feeling so ill after donating blood, the blood drive had to end two hours early.

According to blood drive chairperson senior Emily Prusakiewicz, too many students were passing out and one was sent to the hospital because of a neck and head injury.

Even though problems did occur during the blood drive, Prusakiewicz said there were 60 students who attempted to donate blood at this year’s blood drive, compared to last year’s 63. She also said she was happy with the turn out.

“It shows that people do want to donate blood,” she said. “There were a lot of problems, but it’s for a good cause, and that’s what really matters.”

At the bloodmobile: Seniors Casey Flowers and Kyle Schebor work the blood drive. The blood drive had to end early due to many people passing out.

Photo by Sarah Craft

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Weird thing: Senior Tara King had to drink more water because her veins were too small.

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Comforting a student: NHS member senior Josh Cebula talks to senior Lyssa Burke to calm the pain from giving blood. According to Burke, it felt great doing something for someone else, but it hurt a bit afterward.

Photo by: Sarah Craft

Looking sexy: Senior Andrew Larmee was one of 60 students who gave or attempted to give blood during this year’s blood drive. The beds used for the students to crash on were donated by the Red Cross.