2013 2014 issue 6 by Laurie Bender

VOLUME 38• ISSUE 3•MAY 2, 2014• KAMIAKIN HIGH SCHOOL • 600 N. ARTHUR ST. • KENNEWICK, WA 99336

Table of Contents

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Pg. 3 The trip of a lifetime The band goes to Disneyworld

If you would like to comment, write a letter to the editor, or submit a guest article, contact us at

Pg. 7 Soccer stars

The Tomatalk: Kamiakin High School, 600 North Arthur, Kennewick, WA, 99336, (509) 222-7015, Laurie.Bender@ksd.org, or go online at www.tomatalk.com and comment there or take a poll.

Staff:

Adviser: Laurie Bender Editor-in-Chief: Zack Julian

News Feature Editor: Natalie Downard Sports Editor: Armando Antonio In-Depth Editor: Zack Julian Opinion Editor: Jordan Garner Entertainment Editor: Jacob Mclain Online E-I-C: Jordan Garner

Pg. 10 Our Beliefs and 11

Staff Reporters:

Jackie Arnold, Madison Badgley, Oscar Bautista, Madeline Donley, Natalie Downard, Chloé Grundmeier, Andy Ha, Morgan Haberlack, Sabrina Heijmans, Taylor Marshall, Isaak Penisten, Maksim Shabak, Haley Softich, Kaylee Zuhlke, Taylor Reavis, Sabryna Savage

Retractions:

We have no retractions. We write too good.

Pg. 12 Twitter Compliments Pg. 18 Who’s that Pokemon?

MISSION STATEMENT: The purpose of the Tomatalk to to inform, entertain, and further educate the students at KamiakinHigh School and the surrounding community. PUBLICATION POLICY: Content is determined by the staff. Students are protected and bound by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution and the various court decisions relative to student publications. The Tomatalk has been established as a forum for student expression and as a voice in the free and open discussion of issues. The staff of the Tomatalk is expected to be professional, objective, truthful and accurate. The staff will adhere to Washington State Law (WAC 180-40-215) which prohibits the following material to be published: 1. Potentially libelous material 2. Malicious attacks on an individual’s character 3. Material which is excessively vulgar or obscene 4. Material which encourages illegal activity EDITORIAL POLICY: Editorials are the opinions of the individual members of the Tomatalk staff and are not intended to express the opinions of the administration, staff, students of Kamiakin High School, nor the advertisers in this newspaper. As a forum for student expression, the Tomatalk will publish letters to the editor. All letters are due one week before the next publication date. The staff reserves the right to edit or omit submissions as necessary. All letters must be signed by the student submitting them, However, if a student prefers his/her name not appear in the publication, his/ her name may be withheld. All letters to the editor must be 300 words or less. In cases involving political or controversial issues, staff members are encouraged to solicit all points of view.

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk Kamiakin High School

Around theNEWS Campfire & FEATURE

SBAC to take the place of HSPE By MADISON BADGLEY STAFF REPORTER

ests have been a part of our education ever since we started school. They tend to get harder and harder as we move up a grade and become more and more important, certain tests more so than others, like the HSPE you take your sophomore year that is a graduation requirement. Next year, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, or SBAC, will be piloted by all juniors. The HSPE will still be a graduation requirement for sophomores until 2016 when the Smarter Balance will take its place. This assessment will align with the new Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, which started to develop back in 2009. What exactly is this new test? Sophomores are expected to take and pass the English Language Arts assessment,

or ELA, and mathematics assessment along with the Biology EOC in order to graduate. “The SBAC test is given to students in their junior year to establish a college readiness standard, but for a graduation standard you’ll take the test as a sophomore. So you’ll take a similar test two years in a row with different cut scores,” said Principal Chris Chelin. The CCSS is meant to show evidence of college and career readiness in students, meaning it will show whether or not their mindset is college ready and career ready. “It’s a lot of expectations, it’s focused, very rigorous, it’s built upon existing state standards, it’s based upon evidence and research, and it’s state led,” said Chelin. Every school across the nation has had different assessments and graduation requirements for students. Washington State took the HSPE and Idaho took the MAP testing as a graduation requirement. CCSS is a national

curriculum and creates an educational, college readiness equality throughout the nation as a graduation requirement. So each state will be taking the same test, except for the states that didn’t adopt the CCSS, but adopted one similar. Texas, Virginia, Alaska, Nebraska and Indiana are the states that did not adopt CCSS. “The purpose is to have a standardized score so you can look at all states, all schools through the same lens,” said Chelin. This means that since all states will be on the same curriculum and will take the same test, they will be able to fairly compare test scores with each other. Don’t fret too much about this new curriculum, though. Chelin assures that “we have such awesome teachers and they are so dialed in that they’ll make sure students are ready for those standards just because we have such a great staff and great kids!”

Designing a path to his dreams By KAYLEE ZUHLKE STAFF REPORTER

“Don’t give up when things get hard, although there’s lots of tough times that you’ll encounter throughout life and high school. If you work hard, you’ll make it.” These are the words that senior Riley Bacon has remembered every day of his high school education. Life will throw mud puddles, enemies, and the occasional banana in the course of your travels, but you must push through to the end. Whether you apply this quote to ‘Mario Kart’ or high school is up to you, as they both result in a final checkpoint or crossing the finish line.

“The hardest moment of my life was determining what to do in the future. I like the idea of being an architect or a civil engineer and designing buildings,” said Bacon. After fulfilling his dreams of attending WSU or UW, Bacon sees himself in his very own home in 10 years “living the life” with his civil engineering job and a family in the Tri-Cities. Along with his family, Jesus, job, car, and girlfriend, Taylor Nevills, education and school is an important aspect of Bacon’s life. “Senior year has been the best for me. The “One Tribe” music video represents my year as a symbol of unification of the school. ASB, DECA, and football have

been great experiences as well,” mentioned Bacon. Since freshman year, Bacon has played defensive positions for the Kamiakin football team as numbers 42 and 55. As a senior, the last game of this season was a bittersweet conclusion to his high school sports career. Kamiakin students can easily spot Bacon by his radiance of positive energy. “He’s just always so happy. He has a good vibe and a big smile on his face at all times,” said sophomore Kiana Dyck. Bacon has the enthusiasm and ambition that all of us should look up to. Soaring to his dreams like a bird in the skies, this senior broadcasts the true definition of a positive attitude.

And you thought your April Fools pranks were good By CHLOE GRUNDMEIER STAFF REPORTER

Everyone loves a good prank. Some good pranks may be as simple as a Rick Roll, while others may take more planning and skill, like managing to fit a teacher’s car into the middle of their classroom. Some pranks are played at the complete wrong time, while others are pulled on the perfect day of the year, the day pranks are acceptable and even encouraged: April Fools Day. On April 1, 1962, hundreds of Swedish citizens were duped by a “technical expert” Kjell Stensson on SVT (the only Swedish television channel at the time) into believing that color television could be easily ac-

cessed with only the use of one common household item: nylon stockings. According to this “technical expert,” draping a nylon stalking over a television screen would “allow the prismatic qualities of the mesh to refract the light waves properly.” Thousands of viewers later admitted to falling for the hoax and completely tearing apart their nylon stockings to get just a taste of color television. A few decades later on April 1, 1996, the large fast food chain Taco Bell played a prank on the entire country claiming that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. Taco Bell spread the news across the U.S. by taking out full page ads in seven lead-

ing newspapers. Thousands of people had called the Taco Bell headquarters by noon in concern for the Liberty Bell they cared so deeply about when the whole story was revealed as a hoax. This past April Fools Day, one prank has managed to top the rest. A professor at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. has a strict no cell phone policy. If a student’s phone begins to ring during class, that student is forced to answer it on speakerphone. A girl sitting in one of his classes was unfortunate enough to have her cell phone ring during a lecture. He insisted she answer it with speakerphone on for the whole class to hear. As soon as the professor heard “Hi, Ms. Nefcy? This is

Kevin from Planned Parenthood. Per your request, I am calling to inform you that your test results have come back positive. Congratulations!” he insisted the girl take the call in private. It did not end there. ‘Kevin’ informed Nefcy that he was aware of her situation in which the father was no longer in the picture. He told her that she did not need to worry one bit and that they were offering free counseling if she ever needed anyone to talk to. After hanging up, the professor sincerely apologized before Nefcy told him “That’s okay, I’ve been expecting this. I already know what I’m gonna name the baby. The first name will be April and the middle name will be Fools!”

Around theNEWS Campfire & FEATURE

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

An unforgettable experience with princesses, pirates, and Pokémon By CHLOE GRUNDMEIER STAFF REPORTER

isney World: the happiest place on Earth; the place where little girls can run around dressed as their favorite princesses without a care in the world; the place where a single corn dog could cost five dollars; the place where high school bands spend hours with a clinician enjoying an experience one cannot have anywhere else. Every four years, a combined band and orchestra from Kamiakin is given the opportunity to travel to a far off part of the country for the trip of a life time. Four years ago, the large group of high school students and their dozen chaperones traveled to New York. This spring break, the assembly of students jour-

neyed even further: Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The combined band and orchestra performed in front of hundreds of people in Downtown Disney on Thursday, April 3. The crowd of people who surrounded the stage showed they loved the performance by clapping loudly and giving them a deserved standing ovation. A young boy sat on his father’s shoulders and waved his arms (mimicking the band’s director, Keith Russell) as the band played songs from Looney Tunes. “We all made sure we were prepared. We didn’t want to leave a bad impression,” junior Spencer Holle said. The next evening, the huge ensemble spent nearly three hours in a clinic where they sight-read music, were given feedback on their first run-through, and then recorded the piece – the same routine that professionals go through.

After doing this a few times, they put it to the test and put a track to music. “The workshop was definitely my favorite part. It was insightful and the lesson was applicable to everyday life,” sophomore Melissa Knopp said. After attending three of the four Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Hollywood Studios), sophomore Lindsey Pfeiffer was not alone when saying, “Epcot was my favorite. I really liked seeing all the countries in the World Showcase. Seeing Japan was definitely my favorite part of the whole trip. All the Pokémon stuff was amazing.” Holle and Knopp both agreed that Epcot Center was their favorite park as well. “It was amazing and I saw some stuff that blew my mind,” Holle said. “It was definitely the experience of a lifetime, and I’d love to do it again.”

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Around theNEWS Campfire & FEATURE

Students get rare opportunity to see the world

By MADISON BADGLEY STAFF REPORTER

ravelling is a great opportunity for anyone who gets the chance. Education First educational tours offers all high school students the opportunity to travel and learn about different countries all around the world and even earn credit. Providing exceptionally good tour guides, EF Tours allows students to experience different countries and their cultures first hand. Sabiha Khan, a U.S. history teacher here at Kamiakin, gives students the opportunity to be a part of EF Tours. She has taken students on seven trips since 2010, mostly to Europe. Most trips are over spring break and sometimes during the summer. Khan can take up to 12 people on each trip. This past spring break, she took a group of students to Greece, and theyhad a wonderful experience. Some of the sites and monuments they got to visit included the Parthenon, Olympic stadium, and Athens Museum. “We went to Olympia and saw a lot of temples, like Zeus’s temple,” said sophomore Emily Miller, who also states that the trip was really fun and a good experience. From her experience, Miller has decided that she wants to go live there for a while. “Our tour guide was really smart and every single place we went to I got to go and just learn a lot about the history. It wasn’t where it was like tiring or boring.

It was more like the text books were coming to life. I learned a lot about Grecian culture and the people, and I ate some really good food. I also met students from an all IB school from North Carolina who knew so much about mythology. I now have friends from other parts of the U.S. that I travelled with,” said junior Alexia Estrada. Estrada has already signed up for the next trip. Erynn Williams, the only senior on the trip, also shares her experience. “Travelling abroad is an indescribable experience. I came back with a new view of the world and a new perspective of what is and isn’t important in my own life. If you ever have the opportunity to travel, take it! It will be life changing,” said Williams. “This trip was something I really wanted to do since I love to experience new things. It was so exciting to see another culture and all the beauty that came with Greece. The trip was well worth every penny, and I am planning to go again my senior year,” said junior Samantha Croney. Croney has an older sister who has been on the past two trips. It’s such a great experience, and Estrada, Miller, Williams, and Croney highly recommend fellow students to take the opportunity to travel. Spring break 2015 Khan is taking a group of students to Italy, France, and Spain along Europe’s Mediterranean Coast. For anyone who is interested in going, you can go to www.eftours.com and look up trip #1513755MN.

The group in Olympia with some of the beautiful sights they saw. Photos courtesy of Mrs.Khan and Alexia Estrada.

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MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal Games SPORTS

The W’s work together to get the W By JOSE ANGUIANO STAFF REPORTER

Blake Wagar along with Cooper Weide are this year’s defense for the Kamiakin soccer team. Together they control the defensive line and they work hard to keep the team on track. Both Wagar and Weide are captains for the Braves. Being a captain can be a difficult task because they are the ones who have to make sure the whole team works together. Sometimes there are players who put their heads down after they get scored on and they don’t come back playing the same. It can be a mind game that the player has to overcome. What a captain can do is give the player some support by telling him “keep your head up” or “don’t give up.” Playing defense in soccer is a position that requires the player to make smart decisions during the game. Sometimes the defender has to just clear the ball out of danger, and sometimes they have to take their time and look up to find out who is open. Since the defenders are in the back, they get a good view of the whole game and they have to communicate with the whole team to let them know what’s going on. “The most difficult part about being a defender is being consistent,” Weide said. Defenders have to repeatedly win the ball in the air and make sure the opposing forwards don’t get the ball. “Some-

times you just have to knock the other player down,” said Wagar. Defenders should be strong in order to stay with the opponent and not be the one on the floor. With Wagar and Weide working together, Kamiakin should have a good chance of turning their bad start to a big turnaround. Kamiakin had a bad loss to the Walla Walla Blue Devils where they lost 5-1. During the game, there were two devastating moments. The first thing that happened was caused because of fast weather change. Junior winger Brandon Boehnke was on the field when suddenly he blacked out. Boehnke came out of the game, and later the team was informed that he had heat exhaustion. “I felt lost. I had no idea what was going on. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was going to throw up,” Boehnke said. The second devastation happened when Cooper Weide saved a goal. Weide sprained his ankle while he was putting his foot out to hit the ball. His ankle quickly got swollen and he was out for the rest of the game. Weide played a good game against Kennewick. Scores were tied at zero after the first half. The team went out on the field for the second half and junior Alberto Anguiano scored the first goal. The final score of the regular time ended up being 1-1 so they went on to a golden goal. Senior Jose Anguiano scored the game winning header with just a minute left in Cooper Weide and Blake Wagar after their over time win against kennewick 2-1 the first over time.

Kamiakin’s defense defending Kennwick’s corner kick

Bottom left: Jose and Alberto Anguiano after the Kennewick game

Middle Bottom: Half of the team in the locker room after their win against Kennewick

Bottom Right: Kamiakin deffending the ball against Kennewick.

Tribal SPORTS Games

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Courtney Hall looks to set herself at the top By JOSE ANGUIANO STAFF REPORTER

Courtney Hall Before her tennis match photo by: Jose Anguiano

Courtney Hall is a junior who played varsity soccer for the Kamiakin Braves in the fall of 2013. Now she takes on tennis as her spring sport. Hall started playing tennis during her freshman year when she played on junior varsity. “I didn’t know how to play before,” said Hall. Hall has only played for a total of three years. Even though Hall was on junior varsity her freshman year, she showed that she had the skills it took to be on varsity, which is why during her sophomore year she started playing at the varsity level. Hall went undefeated in the league her sophomore year, and she knew she couldn’t stop there. This year Hall is back again, and she is looking to accomplish more than she ever has. Hall and Rachel Young took third place in the Tri-City Invite for number one doubles. Hall and Young have only played one league match which they won. Hall never thought that she was going to be so good at tennis. “I really like playing tennis. It’s fun,” she said. When Hall found out that she was really good, she

never wanted to stop. Hall’s desire to have fun has made her find another sport that she is good at. This season is not over. Hall has a lot of opportunities to make the season go however she wants it. Hall is looking to come out again next year as a senior. Many athletes out there have gone through Hall’s path. She started only playing for fun, but now she enjoys it and she works on getting better. Many times when you play a sport that you really enjoy and you think is fun, you can be really good at it. Most athletes get a passion for the sport that they play because they just enjoy playing. “I feel happy when I go out and play tennis, especially when I play with my besties,” announced Hall. Once you become passionate about a sport, you start working hard to become a better player. Hall has been working hard, and while she has fun on the court with her friends, she is also working on getting better and better.

Fall athletes preparing over the summer By ARMANDO ANTONIO SPORTS EDITOR

Kamiakin students are known for being the best they can be when it comes to athletics. Fall athletes have to take time out of their summer to prepare for the fall season. Senior Daniel Sanchez is a track and cross country athlete When asked if he goes to camp he said, “Usually as a team we always go to Flathead Distance Running Camp in Montana for three days in June.” Most athletes don’t mind putting in the work because they love the sport they are in. Sanchez spends his summer with his track and cross country teammates. They run for six days a week, and they run two times per day on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Junior Austin Gutierrez said, “We practice five days a week. We lift and condition.” When asked if football players have to go to camps, assistant coach Tim Maher said, “We go to a camp at Hanford where we play games with other teams.” They play games from June 16 through June 21. That’s not the only thing that the football team does. They also have seven days of seven on seven, which is basically testing

the quarterback and running backs skills. No running plays are allowed and the quarterback has four seconds to release the ball or the play is blown dead. Touchdowns are six points each, while each series gets only one first down. When the offense reaches the 20 within four downs, they have met one of their goals. The girls’ soccer team also has to prepare for the fall. The team really doesn’t have time to have fun in the summer because of their busy schedule. They have a two day camp run by their coach. After that they have an event called Beat the Heat where they have a Five Versus Five tournament. Then they have another camp called Magic Moves. The coach runs another camp that will last four days, and after that they have another tournament called Richland Bombers Classics. The girls also train for the whole month of August with a trainer from Advance Fitness Solution. The girls have a busy schedule over the summer to prepare for their fall season. The fall athletes don’t have time to have fun over the summer. They have to go through camps and practices to get ready for their season to be the best they can be.

Top: Kamiakin’s football team before practice Bottom: The team taking a picture

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Chief Legends In Depth

n multiple Christian religions, the Bible is the base of their beliefs, and as time progresses, archeology has proven that it is historically correct. Although there is no proof of Noah’s Ark or the Ark of the Covenant, there have been historical discoveries that match up with the Bible. In the Bible, there have been many historical names that were known only in the Bible with no historical proof of their existence, such as the names of kings and rulers. For instance, King David was only known in the Bible. There was no known historical evidence of this King David and historians only had the Bible to say that he even existed. In 1993, a stone was found bearing the words “house of David,” which strongly indicates there was a king named David who established a dynasty around the time of the Bible David’s rule. There are many more figures, such as King Hosea, Baruch, King Jeroboam, Asahiah, and more where no one had historical proof of their existence, and we only had the Bible to say that they existed, but they are now confirmed by archeology.

The history of the Bible Aside from the names of kings, there are also the names of nations and cities. As with David, the Bible was the only place that mentioned the Hittite empire with no outside historical proof, until 1906 when the Hittite capital was discovered and upon further research, it was found that the Hittite empire was a prominent civilization. There is also the town of Mizpah, which was mentioned in the Bible but was not discovered until 1927. There is also the Gihon water shaft. The shaft was only known in the Bible as a way to get into the center of the city. Supposedly, King David said that whoever was able to get through the water shaft and defeat the enemy would be a commander. In 1867, a British army Captain discovered an odd passage and decided to follow it. The passage eventually led to a secret entrance into the center of the city. Further research discovered that the shaft was created in the second millennium BC as a way to get water from the well in a time of siege. Then there is King Sargon. In the Bible, he was a king who waged war against a coastal city named Ashdod. When an obelisk engraved with the names of Assyrian kings was found, his name was not on it and so it was assumed that he did not exist and the Bible was wrong. Later, a Sargon’s palace was discovered with his name written all over the walls, along with references to his conquest against Ashdod. There have been many people who have questioned the historical accuracy of the Bible, and those people were proven wrong. There is no historical evidence to prove God’s existence, or that the world was flooded, but no one can dispute the Bible’s accuracy when it comes to ancient civilizations and people.

By JACOB MCLAIN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Chief IN-DEPTH Legends

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

What do yo Students act out their devotion by studying the Bible at school By NATALIE DOWNARD NEWS & FEATURE EDITOR

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday a dedicated group of students wakes up and arrives at school extra early to learn more about the Bible. This non-official zero hour starts at 7:00 a.m. and meets in teacher Matthew Luttrell’s room. It was started by sophomore Ellyn Hamon and junior Alexia Estrada and is taught by their youth pastor, Matt Kessie, who they got the idea from. “He [Matt Kessie] used to do one with a bunch of highschoolers at Southridge a few years ago, and he randomly told Alexia about it. She was like ‘oh my gosh, we should totally do that’, and he was like ‘okay, if you guys want to get it started.’ So me and her made flyers and we acted on it,” Hamon said. They had to get permission from Principal Chris Chelin to start the class, and he said it was fine. Then Hamon and Estrada had a first class at lunch to see who all was interested. Hamon said she was expecting around five

people to show up, but more than 30 did. “Within like three weeks, we went from idea to actually doing the class,” Hamon said. “We started meeting in Kutschkau’s room, and then we moved to Luttrell’s,” she said. The class is averaging around 20 people every meeting. “It’s more like a Bible class, not like a Bible study where you learn about God, but you’re more learning about the Bible,” Hamon said. They hope to continue the class next school year. “We planned to start it next year actually, but we were all so excited about it now so we just started it now, and next year we’ll pick it back up,” Hamon said. “Our goal with the class is for students to have more knowledge about their faith and be able to witness to people. Then they can be a light at school and inspire others.”

Alexia Estrada looks on as Matt Kessie teaches. Photo by Ellyn Hamon

In a poll of Kamiakin students By ZACK JULIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Chief Legends In Depth

ou believe? It’s the Illuminati’s fault By OSCAR BAUTISTA STAFF REPORTER

he Illuminati … were physicists, mathematicians, astronomers. In the 1500s they started meeting in secret because they were concerned about the Church’s inaccurate teachings, and they were dedicated to scientific truth. And the Vatican didn’t like that. So the Church began to … hunt them down and kill them. For those who have seen Dan Brown’s film or read the book ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ they are quick to give you a fascinating but fictional background on the Illuminati much like the one you just read. That line was from the film ‘Angels and Demons’ that released on May 15, 2009 based on the 2000 bestselling mysterythriller novel. But if that was fake, what is the Illuminati? Let’s ask Dan Brown. “The Illuminati were a secret society

dedicated to scientific truth. The Catholic Church ordered a brutal massacre to silence them forever,” he said. With the Illuminati being one of the most controversial and talked about secret society, there are tons of conspiracy theories that come along with it. But how much of it is fiction and how much of it is fact? For some, the Illuminati may just be another hoax, a plan for totalitarianism, or a group that controls the media. Regardless, there are records of existence of a group that goes by the name Illuminati. Historically, the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, a secret society founded on May 1, 1776 by Johann Adam Weishaupt, with goals to get rid of superstition, prejudice, religious influence over public life, abuses of state power, and to support women’s education and gender equality. The Illuminati was later outlawed by Bavarian ruler, Charles

Theodore. In 1785, the Illuminati was permanently banned but in the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed they had regrouped and were responsible for the French Revolution. Symbols like pyramids and eyes have been used symbolically in various ways over time, adopting various meanings in each instance. Ironically, however, the official symbol of the public Bavarian Illuminati was the owl of Minerva, said to represent wisdom and the ability to see in the “dark,” not the All-Seeing Eye or pyramid. But one question still comes to mind. Where do all these crazy conspiracies come from? One good lead into this answer is that people often confuse the Illuminati with the government and the Freemasons, who have been thought to work together.

Unsolved mysteries between real life and fantasy By KAYLEE ZUHLKE STAFF REPORTER

“A lot of people (now ghosts) have unfinished business in this world and they need to have some sort of closure,” explained sophomore Juilette Bianez. “Experiences I’ve had and so many other people have had leave no room for denying the existence of ghosts. For example, my friend and I were walking around Horse Heaven Hills Middle School towards Yoke’s in the dark. We were hearing weird things and seeing things out of the corners of our eyes. Naturally, we tried to laugh it off until we saw a faceless shadow figure present about 100 feet in front of us. We heard a scream behind us, turned around (to see nothing), and then the figure that was in front of us was gone afterwards,” remembered Bianez. Ghosts – a figment of our imaginations or existent members of reality? For centuries, cases of the supernatural have been reported in forms of television, photographs, movies, documents, and spoken tales. Our imaginations can be seen as fuel to the fire as our minds twist opinions and stories to solidify our beliefs on what is not presented to us with scientific facts. So, is a “ghost” really a fabled soul left behind without its physical body, or are they meaningless visions streamed and projected to the real world through our imaginations? “I believe in the supernatural because of my Japanese heritage. We believe in our ancestors watching over us. My ancestors guide me to a certain path, but it’s up to me whether I choose to follow their advice,” said sophomore Nathan Zimmerman. Spirits, ghosts, demons, poltergeists, or hallucinations?

...........about the Illuminati?

“2pac was murdered but people say he will come back in 2016 because he faked his own death. He even released an album named ‘Killuminati. Since he died in 96, he will come back 20 years later. Also when he died, there was actually more evidence of him being alive than him being dead and shook Knight killed Biggie.”- Junior Antonio Perry

“The mural In the Denver airport symbolized the world was going to end in 2012.”- Junior Brandon Boehnke

“The Illuminati was responsible for 9/11.” – Junior Colby McMahon “Symbols like triangle pyramid eyes and the green signs always are involved with the government. Just look at our money.”- Junior Manuel Rodriguez “Rappers like Kanye West and Jay Z are in the Illuminati.”- Junior Alberto Anguiano

“Beyonce is in the Illuminati.”- Senior Mary

Religion also enforces a particular opinion for the supernatuJohnson ral. “I believe what I was taught in church. Ghosts are actually demons in ghost form that exist in order to scare people. I believe that they exist, but not as the people themselves. When you’re dead – you’re dead,” said sophomore Ashley Johnson. The supernatural world has baffled the human race throughout the ages. Although scientists (self-proclaimed ghostbusters) try to bust every ghost speculation, some instances still and forever will remain without a conclusion. As an individual, do you choose to accept or deny the existence without the aid of This is a picture of one of the ghosts that reportedly haunt a former Civil-War era military installation in Wilmingany scientific proof? ton, Calif. The building is called the Drum Barracks and was built in 1862 for training and processing troops.

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Compliments and Plastic bags hurting your self-esteem the environment By ARMANDO ANTONIO SPORTS EDITOR

By Alliyah Trythall STAFF REPORTER

It’s anti-bully week and everybody is talking about the “Twitter compliments.” The Twitter compliments are pieces of paper that are printed out to look like you’re typing a tweet. You write a compliment on it, and it gets posted on the wall in the 5oo building upstairs. “I think this should happen more because every week should be anti-bully week,” said sophomore Shelby Williams. Sophomore Itzayana Morfin said, “It’s very nice for people to say things about others.” People enjoy seeing the compliments about others. The anonymous compliments make it seem more meaningful because it’s a great feeling to think somebody they may not know is complimenting them. “I think it’s a really good idea because it kind of builds the kids’ confidence and self-esteem, makes kids feel good. I don’t know if they know the people that are writing this stuff about them. If they don’t, they kind of feel good because they’re being noticed,” said junior Jalen Russell. There are so many compliments posted upstairs. It puts a good image on Kamiakin that kids are complimenting each-other. A lot of people agree that the compliments should occur more often. “Doing it again would be better because people would understand what it was,” said teacher Tim Bisson. “People should be more aware of the positive thoughts that are put on

them,”said sophomore Miquella Lafferty. People are not aware of the difference the compliments are making in the school. The compliments are boosting confidence and self-esteem in people. One simple compliment like “I like your hair” or “you’re really nice” or just simply “you have cute clothes,” those are just a few compliments posted up on the wall. Kids agree that this activity should happen more often than this special occasion. The compliments are a fantastic thing. A few people kind of disagree with it because they feel that the compliments may not make a difference, but others say that this a great thing to do. The compliments should happen more often and not just during anti-bully week.

Plastic bags have been around for a while, and yet many people use them without knowing the effects that they have on the environment. Yes, they are useful but are the effects really worth it? Are they really worth overflowing our landfills, killing animals and polluting the environment? In a year, every person uses over 100 plastic bags. That may not seem like a lot but when you add it up to 7.046 billion people using over 100 bags each, now that’s a lot of bags. Plastic bags have killed 100,000 marine animals and more than one billion seabirds a year due to ingestion. The main food source that fish have is plankton. Fish confuse planktons for small pieces of plastic. Nearly 90 percent of the debris in our oceans is plastic. This has a huge effect on the oceanic food chain and for birds as well. Birds feed off fish and if fish die by consuming plastic, then birds that eat the fish won’t have enough food to eat. The North Pacific Gyre is one of the five in the world. It is a patch of garbage debris floating in the ocean. Many people

don’t know about the gyre. People think that when they throw garbage away, it is gone for ever. It takes 400 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade. Bags have been around since 1960, and if you do the math the very first plastic bags are still around up to this day. The bags are estimated to biodegrade in the year of 2360. The only thing we can do now to stop this nonsense is to switch to paper bags that can biodegrade quicker. There is no technology today that can destroy the damage that we already have caused. If people stop now and we start changing the smallest things like switching to paper bags then we will make the world a better place for our children and our children’s children. Another thing that people can do is to recycle. Recycling can help control the amount of plastic bags in the environment because they can be reused.

Editorial: It’s not worth it People are complex. They cry, they laugh, and they have dreams and hopes and fears. We are all different, and we all have our own problems. And all of us deserve to go to a school where we don’t have to worry about being picked on, a school where we can live our lives without dreading every single day. Do you remember the speech that was given to us by Stu Cabe a few weeks ago? The big elephants sure do. That speech struck a chord with them. They remember what he said and have been trying to live that way. The little elephants are the ones who talked through Cabe’s speech. They are the ones who didn’t get the message and who haven’t changed their behavior. The little elephants are the ones who turn around and laugh. They are the ones who make fun of someone just because of who they are and how they look

and what they might have said. This is a message to all the little elephants out there, all the ones who make themselves feel big by making others feel small. Just STOP it. The white rhinos who don’t defend themselves because they are scared and avoid confrontation are dying. They don’t deserve any more abuse from anyone. So please, we are begging you. If you ever have the urge to call someone a name or make fun of their weight, please don’t. Don’t be someone’s little elephant. Kamiakin is a place for us to grow and mature as young adults. So please, again, just don’t. Because it is not worth the laugh.

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk Kamiakin High School

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

Natural healing and conventional medicine By HALEY SOFTICH STAFF REPORTER

Medicine and healing have been greatly improving over time. Is modern medicine really an improvement, though? While in some ways, it has benefited the medical world, in others it has done nothing but waste time, take patients’ money, and hurt those who use it. For these reasons, natural healing methods are a much quicker, safer, and less expensive option. Natural healing is the use of Earth-based remedies including herbs, foods, minerals, and water baths as well as life style changes and spiritual support to spur the body into a healing response. These days, natural healing generally centers on strengthening and activating body systems for healing and preventing pain and disease by using substances from nature as remedies rather than factory produced chemicals. The human body was created to heal itself when there is a problem. This ability is negatively affected by the poisons we put into our bodies. By taking care of our health and using natural healing methods, time wasted at the doctor will cease to exist. Human bodies are made of trillions of healthy cells. If these cells are all healthy, it is impossible to get a disease. For the cells to become unhealthy, they must become malnourished, damaged, or poisoned. A malnourished cell is a cell that malfunctions. That is to say, it will replicate the malfunction rather than replicate a normal cell. The only way a cell can malfunction is if it suffers from lack of nutrition, toxic damage, or both. Allopathic medicine is the form of medicine taught by the American Medical Association (AMA). It is is practiced in most medical clinics, hospitals and the majority of physicians in the U.S. The important information that should be taken from this is that

allopathic physicians are trained only to diagnose and suppress disease symptoms, not to heal. Does this sound familiar at all? When patients visit the doctor, they are asked what is wrong. The doctor records all these symptoms and diagnoses them with a disease or illness. With little symptoms however, the patient’s problem could be matched with hundreds of disorders. This commonly leads to misdiagnoses. The patient will most likely be prescribed antibiotics but these will only subdue the symptoms and not actually fix the problem. By suppressing symptoms instead of addressing the root cause of those symptoms, allopathic medicine has nurtured an epidemic of chronic illness. All pharmaceutical drugs are poisonous to the human body and often fatal. The human body is simply not designed to digest and handle them. The damage that has already been done can be mended by changing common habits, one of the most important being diet. Not only is the world of medicine changing but so is the food we put into our bodies. The majority of people today have no idea where their food comes from. Food producers’ only goal in life is to increase profits. They do this by making food taste good so you continue to buy it. This includes creating addicting and harmful ingredients that keep you craving more. The way to avoid this bad habit is to simply eat natural and preservative free foods. Conventional medicine does not want the public to know the truth about natural healing because they would lose all the profits they are making off of the sick individuals. Take advantage of this opportunity and give your body a rest by switching to natural care and remedies.

Funding dreams By JORDAN GARNER OP-ED EDITOR

“Imagine you are being born and society tells you, ‘Welcome, you will be cared for,’ and asks you what you want to do with your life, what is your calling? Imagine that feeling, that’s a whole different atmosphere.” – Daniel Straub, Co-founder, Basic Income Initiative. Every single person has envisioned a dream of how he wants to live his life. But these dreams all too often get pushed aside due to lack of financial funds. But what if citizens were given an extra salary every month to help in the pursuit of these dreams? Imagine that art class, that yoga retreat, that college course, that skill you’ve always wanted to learn but couldn’t because of either money, time, or both. Imagine what could be accomplished with even just a small ‘dream allowance’ every month. People would be able to indulge in something they truly enjoy without having to carry this huge load of worry on their shoulders. Back in the 1950s through the 1960s, if asked what the ‘American Dream’ was, most would say something along the lines of a two-story house, a steady income, and a white picket fence. Nowhere within the American dream would anyone say, “I want to go to

a job every day that doesn’t hold my interest and neglect my hopes and dreams just so I can take home a paycheck to pay the numerous bills it takes to live comfortably.” Unfortunately, this is how it is for so many people today. There are still those who were lucky enough to land their dream jobs, but everyone should have that opportunity. No single person on this Earth should be denied the opportunity to do what she loves for a living. Switzerland, having one of the most stable economies in the entire world, recognizes this need to let people pursue their dreams and aims to rid its citizens of basic financial worry. Parliament was presented with a petition signed by over 100,000 people, suggesting giving citizens a monthly paycheck of 2,500 Swiss francs (equivalent to over $2,000). A video on this can be found by using the following link: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=2xi4g9lfodY. Everyone has a dream, something they should be able to go after, regardless of how many pieces of green paper they hold in their possession.

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

Con

By NATALIE DOWNARD STAFF REPORTER

We live in a nation of many freedoms and rights. Two of these freedoms are religion and the right to refuse service. In the past few years, an alarming amount of people have been prosecuted for taking advantage of this freedom and right. These cases often are when business owners refuse to service a same-sex wedding because of their religious beliefs. One case has emerged very close to home, in Richland. Last year in early March, Arlene’s Flowers owner Barronelle Stutzman refused to provide flowers for a same-sex couple’s wedding. She told Robert Ingersoll she couldn’t provide the flowers for his and Curt Freed’s w e d d i n g because of her

By ANDY HA STAFF REPORTER

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MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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a r e as a person. People are who they are because of their differences; should a person change who they are to please someone? Maldonado and Morfin said they wouldn’t want to be denied service because of who they are and that they wouldn’t deny someone service because of who they are. Would you want to be denied service because of who you are? Would you deny someone service because of who they are?

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In the last few years, there has been a strong, heated debate on whether it is okay to deny service to a gay person or if it should be considered discrimination towards the LGBT community. Well, it is discrimination towards the LGBT community. It is unfair to deny a person service for being themselves. We live in a society where it is legal to deny service. It is not okay to deny someone service if they are Black or Asian because it is racist, but it is okay to deny someone service because they are gay? Denying someone because of their race or sexual orientation is the same thing; it’s discriminative. This problem which has been going on for quite some time, occurred here in the Tri-Cities not too long ago. In Richland, Arlene’s Flower Shop refused to service a wedding because it was that of a same-sex couple. This couple is now suing the flower shop, while the flower shop owner is defending herself by saying a same-sex wedding goes against her religion. So is religion more important than love? Sophomore Itzayana Morfin said, “A gay couple shouldn’t be denied service because of their orientation because gay people have the same rights to have the service like everybody else for a wedding.” Sophomore Lizbeth Maldonado also agrees and added, “They deserve the same rights. The fact that they are gay doesn’t mean anything.” When asked why they think a business denies a gay person service, Morfin said, “It’s probably something personal because they are ‘homophobic.’” Maldonado stated her opinion saying, “It’s a mixture of personal and religious beliefs because of the way they were raised and how they see things.” No one wants to be denied service because of who they

religious beliefs. She refused to do business with them-or “participate in the wedding”- because she believed, as a Christian, “that marriage is between a man and a woman.” State justice officials filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the business and Stutzman in Benton County Superior Court. They are asking the court to force Stutzman to comply with anti-discrimination laws and pay $2,000 for each violation. The question “Should businesses have the right to refuse service to gay weddings?” is a tough one to answer. Sophomore Kanea Bradham answered, “I think that they should have the right to refuse to sell to gays for weddings because if the salesperson doesn’t believe in gay marriage and doesn’t think gay marriage is right then that’s their own opinion and they shouldn’t be forced to sell to them.” Bradham makes a good point because businesses shouldn’t have to compromise their own beliefs to support someone else’s. “I believe that anyone should be able to deny service for something like catering or a service to a gay wedding because they shouldn’t be forced to sell if it’s against their religious beliefs,” sophomore Rhiannon Rogers answered. Rogers also makes a good point that if gay marriage is against someone’s religion then they shouldn’t have to provide catering or any other service for it. The problem boils down to this. Should defending your own beliefs be considered as discrimination towards someone else? I think it shouldn’t. No one should ever have to compromise what they believe is right to service a gay wedding. If a person has a religious conviction that gay marriage is not okay, then they should not have to go against that because someone else thinks differently. As Americans, we have the freedom of religion and the right to refuse service. If businesses do not agree with gay marriage, then they should be able to use their freedom and right to refuse service to a same-sex wedding.

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Pokemon of the month type: Fairy height: 1 ft. weight: 3.3 lbs.

Togepi

Pokedex entry: Its shell is said to be stuffed with happiness that it shares with kindhearted people.

Springing into new trends By MADISON BADGLEY STAFF REPORTER

The warmer weather is finally here which means we can say goodbye to heavy coats and say hello to dresses, shorts, sandals, and all things spring and summer! With spring and summer come many different colors, trends, and styles. The new year brings many new styles, trends, and must haves. This spring and summer, some must haves include sandals, flower prints, dresses, and bags. Dive into a variety of colors and patterns this spring and summer. Last year, neon was a very big color, and it’s always great to have at least one neon piece. To incorporate a neon piece into your outfit or wardrobe without being too bright, you can buy small neon details, like a purse or jewelry item. This season, some stores are carrying amazingly bright neon colored satchels, more specifically neon yellow. It’s funky, new, and can literally brighten up an outfit. With the neon trend last year, to settle things down a bit, bring some neutral versatile colors into your wardrobe this season to soften your look. Stripes and flowers are two patterns you do not want to skip out on for the warmer weather. Black and white stripes look great with almost anything, especially when paired with a light washed jean. Flower patterns are cute on any clothing article and you wouldn’t think it at first, but it is a very versatile pattern. Something fun to try this

spring and summer is denim highwaisted shorts with a floral pattern. Also, shorts accented with different designs, like lace or studs, are very cute. Pair these with a nice flowy top and sandals and you have yourself a casual warm weather ready outfit. Another spring and summer must have is a pair of strappy sandals. Leather sandals can go with mostly any outfit and are a great way to tie an outfit together! They come in many different styles, some being gladiator and braided. Pair them with a pair of rolled up ripped boyfriend jeans and a graphic tee or a light fishnet sweater for a different and trendy look. Fitted boyfriend jeans are a great way to give your legs length, and they make great casual low maintenance outfits when paired with a plain loose tee. Don’t forget to include a couple of dresses in your spring and summer wardrobe. One dress style that we don’t see enough of is the t-shirt dress! They are casual, comfy, and most importantly, they won’t cling to you in the warmer weather. You can pair them with mostly any shoe, like Converse or a cute pair of strappy or platform sandals. At least one cream colored dress is nice to have in your closet because it is a neutral color and can be paired with many different accessories and clothing items. No outfit is complete without a cute bag! One timeless bag is the

cross body/messenger bag. These bags come in a variety of colors and designs. One color you absolutely must have this spring and summer is red! Red really makes a statement in an outfit because it is bright and can maybe add that needed pop of color in your outfit. For a new different wardrobe, be sure to incorporate these fun colorful trends in your outfits this spring and summer!

Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

‘Divergent’ emerges as next ‘Hunger Games’ By ANDY HA STAFF REPORTER

The film adaption of the successful book, ‘Divergent’, has finally hit the big screen and it does not disappoint. There has been a lot of hype behind this film due to the major fan base that was built from the book series. Some doubts about how the film will look and whether the film will stay true to the book like every film adaption of a successful book has come along with the release of the film. Doubts of the actors’ ability to portray these characters were also brought up. When the film premiered, all doubts were shattered. ‘Divergent’, based off the bestseller, tells the story of a 16-year-old girl named Beatrice Prior who lives in a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago struggling to figure out who she is in the world. The futuristic society has five factions which help sustain life. The five factions are: Dauntless, the ones who value bravery; Erudite, who values knowledge; Candor, who chooses honesty; Amity, those who are peaceful; and Abnegation, those who

value selflessness. The film continues with Beatrice, who changes her name to Tris, dealing with the fact that she is Divergent, a person who demonstrates traits of multiple factions. She tries to live her out her life after transferring from Abnegation to Dauntless without the world knowing she is Divergent because that would be the death of her. The film does a good job depicting the futuristic city, and all the actors give exceptional performances. Golden Globe nominated actress Shailene Woodley, and ‘Downton Abbey’ actor Theo James were doubted on whether they could pull off playing the leading characters Tris and Four, but they gave an outstanding performance. Shailene’s performance shows her diversity as an actress and depicts her as a leading woman. Theo James, who was not well known before in the U.S., gives an amazing performance that shows he has the potential of being as successful in Hollywood as he is in his homeland across the pond.

Since the film’s release, it has become a box office success. The film has become such a success that Lionsgate has already announced that ‘Insurgent’ and ‘Allegiant,’ the two other books in the trilogy, will also be made, as they should be with how great ‘Divergent’ is. Production for ‘Insurgent’ will begin in the spring and be released on March 20, 2015. The release date for ‘Allegiant’ is March 18, 2016. While the world has to wait another year for ‘Insurgent,’ let’s enjoy how great ‘Divergent’ is. 4.5/5

Which book should go on the big screen next? By ZACK JULIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Books capture our hearts in a way that movies fail to deliver. Movies are for people who are not looking for a long-term relationship. They want to be in and out and done in a few hours. Books, however, are for those looking to make a connection, those willing to give a long term commitment and put in the time to make it work. However, some books are suited to both the fling and the relationship. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games are just a few that have captured our attention for a few hours in the recent years. However, the ones listed here also deserve to join their ranks; ‘The Eye of The World’ by Robert Jordan is the first book in The Wheel of Time series. If you begin a relationship with this series, don’t expect it to be a short term, one month no

commitment relationship. Be prepared for a marriage. With a total of 13 books in the series (not including a prequel), this series could take months or even years to complete. The main character is Rand Al’Thor and this series follows his rise to becoming the most powerful person in existence and fighting the devil of that world. Now, not everyone is willing to commit at that level. That is why this series deserves to enter the media world. A movie franchise is a little far-fetched but this would shine as a television show. ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ is the first book in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series. In the series they have already made ‘The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe,’ ‘Prince Caspian,’ and ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ into movies. However, they missed the one that

could have been, the relationship that had promise but never happened, and we need a second chance. ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ involves the creating of Narnia and the origins of Aslan. It is a very important chapter in the series and needs to be told. ‘The Silmarillion’ by J.R.R. Tolkein is a book that is set in the same world as ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’. It describes the immense history of this world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is, however, a very difficult read, quite boring in fact. It’s like dating a lawyer boring. But, the cinematic universe would be able to bring life and entertainment to this story. Let’s face it; no one is willing to put in the concentration to read something as boring as this. But, a series of movies, bring it on.

Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

17 Winter Soldier better than the first movie By JACOB MCLAIN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

With a great movie like Captain America, the expectations for the sequel are very high. Too often now-a-days, we see new movies that fall incredibly short of these high expectations. Movies like ‘The Lion King 2’, where the movie is just plain terrible; movies like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest’ where they are good, but not nearly as good as the first one. Then we see movies like ‘Captain America: the Winter Soldier’, where the sequel dominates the original. In ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, the Captain is adjusting to life in the 21st century when it is discovered that SHIELD has been infiltrated and the enemy is trying to take over the world using SHIELD. Aiding the hidden enemy in SHIELD is the mysterious winter soldier, an assassin who no one seems to know anything about. Joining Captain America in this movie is Sam Wilson, a SHIELD agent who befriends the Captain and helps against the winter soldier. This movie doesn’t just make the people happy. It makes the fans want to cheer during the fights, laugh at the hidden Marvel inside jokes (including the Stan Lee cameo), and cry when it is over. If there were three attributes Marvel did truly well with this movie, it would be the action, the plot and continuing the Marvel storyline. For anyone who loves a good fight scene, this is the movie to see. The Captain is much stronger and tougher than in previous movies. He’s no Superman, but this movie makes him a lot harder to kill. In addition to his increased strength and toughness, he is still amazing at hand-to-hand combat which makes for some amazing

fight scenes with spies, soldiers, pirates, the winter soldier and a jet. Seriously, there is a fight scene every 15 minutes in this movie. Black Widow, Nick Fury and Sam Wilson also have some pretty epic fight scenes in the movie as well. Another great attribute of this movie is the storyline. The first movie was straight forward with a weak person becoming a top soldier who takes down the organization Hydra and its leader. In the Winter Soldier there is conspiracy, suspension, action and major plot twists that will leave everyone gasping. Aside from its own storyline, the movie also adds to the storyline of other Marvel movies. The movie elaborates on the death of Iron Man’s father, explains what SHIELD does after the attack on New York in the Avengers and gets most of its storyline from the first Captain America movie. The only downside to this movie is that if you have not seen the first Captain America in a while, then it would be a good idea to watch it before going to see Captain America: the Winter Soldier. The new storyline brings in a lot of details from the original Captain America, so it can be a little confusing if you don’t know the old one very well. Out of all of the Avengers movies, the Winter Soldier is definitely one of the better ones. With plenty of action, a huge plot twist and a great storyline, this movie is a must see.

Astronauts’ food may cause fasting in space By CHLOE GRUNDMEIER STAFF REPORTER

Every parent’s dream is to feed their child ice cream that doesn’t drip and leave a sticky mess. Freeze dried ice cream, also known as astronaut food, is just that. Astronauts can’t survive on only their favorite flavor of ice cream of course, so they must bring different types of freeze dried food with them on their trips to space. While the small portions of freeze dried food are rich in calories and nutrients, quite frankly, they suck. Peaches are meant to be sweet. They’re meant to be soft when bitten into. They’re meant to make small children smile when given a ripe and juicy peach as a treat. Astronaut peaches are none of these things. Biting a freeze-dried peach slice in half requires the use of more than just the teeth for biting a chip in half. The sour taste completely covered the hiding taste of the actual peach itself. The taste of the crisp and light slice didn’t even resemble that of a peach picked directly off a tree. The sweet taste of a banana was nowhere near the vicinity of the freeze-dried banana chips astronauts are forced to consume. The taste of one single chip is enough to make anyone gag and instantly think, “Get this out of my mouth now!” A banana that was pulled from the tree far too early is full of a bitter taste that is completely undesirable to most; the crunchy banana chips were com-

prised completely of this taste but far more intense, causing the consumer to gag. Strawberries are usually the deliciously sour, perfect with sugar or whipped cream fruit that causes the mouths of thousands to water just at the thought. The strawberries that the astronauts can somehow stomach are hardly the delectable fruit we all know and love. By far, the strawberries were the worst of the three fruits. The initial taste of the freeze dried, crunchy strawberry was nearly that of its original cousin but the moment one bites into the crunchy fruit, the revolting blob is spat into the nearest trash can. The sour taste was amplified by the fact that all the water had been removed in the freezedrying process and was made unbearable. The one redeemable taste that astronauts can easily stomach was that of the Neapolitan ice cream. Freeze dried ice cream has the exact taste as its creamy and cold brother, with the texture of Styrofoam. It melts in its consumer’s mouth in a similar way that the real thing does and is quite… all right.

Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Indie films the next big thing By ANDY HA STAFF REPORTER

Independent movies have been around since the golden age of Hollywood, but now they are becoming the next big thing. They generally have a lower budget and have a limited release compared to studio films. With the lower budget, it has allowed the film to become a box office success. Since 2010, the indie film scene` has skyrocketed, creating huge success for both the film studio and the actors. Some huge successes have been seen in Hollywood in the last few years, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and ‘Winter’s Bones’ being examples. These films were critically and commercially successful. Many indie films go on to be nominated in major acting awards. ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ was nominated for eight Academy Awards, which is the most prestigious award an actor or film can receive. It was the first film since 1981 to be nominated for all four acting categories and the first since 2004 to be nominated for the five major awards. ‘Playbook’ then went on to win Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal as the leading female. ‘Winter’s Bone’ was nominated for four Academy Awards, Lawrence also being nominated for this film as a supporting actress. Other critically successful indie films such as ‘The Artist’, ‘12 Years a Slave’, and ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ have also won or been nominated for the Oscars. Since a lot of indie films are critically successful, they also become huge box office successes. One of the big ones of the last few years is ‘Magic Mike’. The movie grossed over $167 million on a $7 million budget. Other box office indie hits include ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’, which grossed a little more than double their

budget; ‘The King’s Speech’, which grossed over $414,000,000 on a $15,000,000 budget; and ‘Spring Breakers’, which earned six times more than the budget of the film. These films are just a few on the long list of commercially successful indie films. Indie films do not just become critically and commercially successful, but they could launch an actor into international superstardom as an A-list movie star. Channing Tatum and Jennifer Lawrence are great examples of this. Tatum was very successful with his roles in previous films, but it wasn’t until the release of ‘Magic Mike’ that Tatum became an A-list leading man who attended the Oscars. He ended up raking in $60 million according to ‘Forbes’, between June 2012 and June 2013, for his work in that film along with some other films. Lawrence, who got her start in indie films, launched her A-list career with the success of ‘Winter’s Bone’, which landed her an Oscar nomination. From there, she landed the role as the leading heroine in ‘The Hunger Games’ and then landed another indie film, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. Then the rest is history. Other actors who became household names from indie films include Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Anna Kendrick, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck. With this new trend of having indie films in the theaters, it has become a huge sensation, a win-win to both parties. The companies and actors get a successful film, and the audience gets a film that’s actually worth paying $12 to go see. With that being said, any indie film, if done well, could become a huge hit. Who knows? The next indie hit could come right out of Kamiakin.

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2014 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School