Volume 85 Issue 1

The Colonel Volume 85. Issue One. October 2013.

COVER FRONT

Rotek employees still waiting on acceptable contract, Page 16

Theodore Roosevelt High School 1400 N. Mantua St. Kent, Ohio

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Twitter: @RHSColonel Flickr Photo & Video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/101494842@N02/ Online Archive of Issues: http://issuu.com/trhscolonel

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Contents

2

Editorial

3

Student Life

Smart Boards Must Be A Trend, Not A Mainstay New Pep Assembly Rules Roosevelt’s Ping Pong Club Smack Cam Haney Takes The Torch Sneak Peek on Roosevelt’s Newest Additions Homecoming Photospread

10 Arts & Culture

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Skating Polly The BasedGod Emo Redefined Once More The Facial Hair Frenzy

15 News

Syria In Turmoil We Want 2 Work Deadly Floods Ravage Colorado

20 Sports

History of the Kent and Ravenna Rivalry Player Perspective Ravenna Football Game Photospread Roosevelt’s Move to the Suburban League Fall Sports Athletes’ Pre-Game Traditions Effects of Concussions Cleveland Cavaliers: Headstrong from the Tank

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28 Comic

STAFF Editors-in-Chief - Sydnie Barnette & Marc Blanc Content Editor - Danylo Lavrentovich Copy Editors - Audra Grimm & Kelsey Raabe Layout Editor - Maddie Otterdaughter Photo Editor- Maddie Otterdaughter Staff Writers Briann Barton Sydney Cannon Pat Daltorio Guest Contributors Grant Wang Stan Zalewski Advisor David Massucci

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Editorial

SMART Boards Must Be A Trend, Not A Mainstay

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Chalkboard story | The Colonel Staff

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approximately 46. All of the money used for A forgotten television set resides in purchasing the SMART Boards would be better the corner of each Roosevelt classroom, dusty and gray with disuse. Several spent on more practical things like bathroom stall locks and improved lunches.

SMART Boards have already met the same fate, leaning against walls A decade ago, the SMART Board may have with no useful function, but only seemed like a revolutionary element of the future after leaving behind thousands of wasted classroom, but it does not provide major practical advantages. dollars in failed attempts to The board requires an external projector, so objects (like revolutionize learning. Only the teacher) falling in between the light source a small number of teachers and the board can leave shadows over the screen, master and fully utilize the blocking material. Students are now accustomed to boards that are littering the SMART Board-related interruptions as necessary nation’s schools. Replacing parts of the class period, often watching instructors traditional classroom tools struggle with aligning and calibrating the screen, with SMART Boards ends as the boards do not emit their own light. In up leaving a negative impact addition to dealing with classroom delays, students on school funding and the are slowly being pushed further and further from educational experience. being comfortable with handwritten text.

A SMART Board allows Chalkboards and whiteboards are proven, an instructor to physically traditional staples of education, do not cost write notes on an interactive thousands of dollars and are inherently immune to screen. While the boards can be technological problems. Physical boards can also serve as used to save and present class long records of the material discussed in the classroom, notes and use touch features and students are free to refer back to previous information (most commonly in at their own pace. Despite the availability of traditional science and mathematics learning tools, today’s students are confined to viewing a courses), many teachers Smart boards are wasted money. Photo by single SMART Board screen changed by the instructor, Maddie Otterdaughter. do not need (or are not often leading students to ask, “Wait, can you please go comfortable with) the back to that page?” for clarification of topics, detracting from boards’ interactive capabilities. class discussion.

Each building in the Kent City School District has SMART Boards are ultimately major financial and a technology team that decides what to purchase, practical burdens for public schools. It is only a matter of time while funding is allocated to each school on the before the interactive boards become as decrepit as classroom basis of student number. SMART Boards generally TVs and the district spends more money on temporary cost 1,200 dollars each, while repairs for blown technology. While electronics only degenerate and regenerate bulbs in projectors, a frequent occurrence with with time, whiteboards and chalkboards will remain just as SMART Board-intensive classrooms, can reach effective as they always have. Instead of trying to keep up with 200 dollars. The whole district has around 106 fads in technology, education should stand by tradition’s reliable boards (bringing the total monetary worth to learning tools. more than 127,000 dollars), while Roosevelt has

Send press releases, guest columns and letters to the editor to:

The Colonel c/o Theodore Roosevelt High School 1400 N. Mantua St. Kent, OH 44240 All published material is protected speech adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasion of privacy.

October 2013

The Colonel Volume 85 Issue One October 2013

The Colonel is an open forum of student expression. It is not reviewed or censored by school officials prior to publication. Published material does not necessarily reflect the views of the Kent City School District or the publication as a whole.

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Student Life

New Pep Assembly Rules

Students and staff weigh in on new requirement story | Kelsey Raabe and Sydnie Barnette

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n Friday, September 6, the student body received the announcement that all students were required to be present at the Fall Sports Pep Assembly and all the ones afterward. Some students opted out of assemblies in the past by sitting in the cafeteria, but this is no longer an option. Many students were surprised, some confused, some indifferent, some even downright angry, but most were left wondering, “Why?” In an interview with The Colonel, Principal Klinar explained that Roosevelt is a very special school. “Roosevelt has a unique culture,” Klinar said, “and there needs to be one hundred percent student buy-in to that culture.”

He also stated it was important for everyone to support each other in the school. Later, he went on to explain that the cafeteria had become far too crowded and chaotic. He said that because the school is responsible for the full care and safety of students throughout the entirety of the school day, it is not okay for students to be in the cafeteria during pep assemblies under little to no supervision. Klinar said that the “administrative team” made the final decision, and that it was a decision that had been discussed since he first entered the school in 2011. He described a somewhat indifferent student response and overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers.

Most students, such as freshman Willow Campbell, didn’t mind the requirement and were planning on going to the assemblies anyway.

But others had less positive views on the matter.

Sophomore Waykan Lambert described the requirement of student attendance at the pep assembly as “heavy-handed.” Lambert said he enjoys the pep assemblies and has gone in the past, but disagrees with the requirement of student attendance. Junior Sara Henning maintains that “you can’t force people to have school spirit.”

Henning went on to explain she was annoyed after first hearing of the requirement. “Some kids are just standing there, not really participating.

It makes it less fun for everyone else,” she said.

Conversely, junior Jordan Campbell, of no relation to Willow Campbell, expressed a positive opinion of the amount of students at the Fall The Colonel

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Scan with a mobile device to see photos and videos of the pep rallies.

Sports Pep Assembly. “Last year there were gaps in a lot of the sections, but this year it was completely full.” Mr. Campbell went on to agree with Henning’s observation of a lack of full student participation, and said that expressing school spirit is “something that you have to want to do.”

The opinions among the faculty are similarly split.

Math teacher Mr. McCombs says that pep assemblies strengthen the relationship between teachers and students.

“It shows we’re all one entity,” he said. History teacher Mr. Hibbs had a similar viewpoint, noting that other schools also require their students to attend pep assemblies.

“I like it,” he said when asked of his feelings on being required to go to the assembly. The school staff are not in unanimous agreement on the new policy, however. Math teacher Mr. Brenn disagrees with the new requirement, but calls Mr. Klinar’s points understandable and valid.

“It’s for supervision and to model spirit behavior,” he said.

Meanwhile, an anonymous teacher has mixed feelings on the issue. “People should have a choice,” the teacher said, but agrees with the idea of supporting everyone, including fall sports players. However, the teacher also questioned whether equity in support is possible because everyone is only required to support sports.

While the general opinion of the pep assembly attendance requirement remains split, it is likely that this new policy will be a mainstay.

Not all students are enthusiastic about attending pep assemblies.

Many miss the option to sit in the cafeteria instead of participating.

Comic by Grant Wang.

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Student Life

Ping Pong Club will be returning to the school this winter. Those who are passionate about this hobby are able to participate in practices and matches in the cafeteria. Photo

Roosevelt’s Ping Pong Club Did it bounce away or is it still in play?

story | Audra Grimm

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ast winter, five students decided to create a club that would allow them to enjoy a favorite pastime and share it with their peers. These students, now seniors, wanted to make their game a little more serious than just a hobby; enter Ping Pong Club. They figured it would be a great way to meet new people and have fun after school. Students may have heard of it but didn’t attain the information to join.

Information has finally been found on what is going on with the formerly elusive club.

Megan Lavins (president), Tony Safford and Michael Beckwith (vice presidents), Gaby Harris and Erin Mackanos are the main creators of Ping Pong Club, and the advisor is intervention specialist Mr. Wilson. They’re excited to share that it will officially be back up and running this winter after a year of latency.

After fall sports conclude their season, table tennis will be run like a winter sport,

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although for now it is considered an official club. For a club to become a sport, it must be listed as an “active club” for two years and have other teams to compete against.

“Anyone is welcome to join. We’re really going to work to promote and get more members!” Lavins said.

Last winter, practices were mainly held on Mondays and Wednesdays after school. This season will have more consistency in dates and times, and meeting days will stay the same as last year unless there are conflicts. Keep an eye out for possible t-shirt sales, as that will potentially be happening in order to raise money for new equipment.

For this winter’s coming season, practices are held in the back of Roosevelt’s cafeteria and matches are in the same place. So far all equipment is provided, but students can feel free to bring their own balls and paddles from home. The officers are looking at other schools to see if they have teams or clubs, but until then tournament games are set up against fellow Kent members. Whoever shows up to meetings will be involved in the practice and tournament games against anyone else who joins. Further decisions on rankings and type of play will be determined by the number of students who show up at the meetings.

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Student Life

Smack Cam A social media trend taken too far story | Pat Daltorio

Scan with a mobile device to see the YouTube video the screenshot in this article came from

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hile a practical joke could be considered funny at the right time, Smack Cam takes it too far. People are getting hurt for the enjoyment of others.

Smack Cam, also known as “Slap Cam,” is a recent Internet sensation originating from the trending app Vine. Vine is a social networking mobile app where users can share short videos only a few seconds long.

It operates much like Twitter. Users have options to “revine” other people’s vines, similar to “retweeting” tweets.

A Smack Cam is essentially a short three to five second video, or “vine” consisting of a person slapping another person’s face with such as whipped cream or shaving cream on their hands. The reaction of the victim usually brings a great deal of laughter and entertainment to spectators.

Sometimes, a joke is an inspiring act of enjoyment for people. It could bring happiness to some of the most melancholy individuals.

Like all things, a joke can be taken too far. There is a thin line between a joke and a tyrannical act meant to cause another person physical or mental harm intentionally. Smack Cam crossed that line a while ago. It is an activity that causes harm to a human both mentally and physically. One vine, which has been shared over 7,000 times, shows a woman being hit with a gallon of orange juice for a Smack Cam joke made by her friends. Even at Roosevelt there have been cases of injury because of a Smack Cam. Smack Cam may seem harmless and may be a joke, however there are better forms of entertainment than smacking someone in the face. It’s unintelligent, dull humor, much like most “vines” out there.

On the left: a comic depiction of a typical “Smack Cam” vine, drawn by Grant Wang. On the right: an actual screenshot of one of Curtis Lepore’s Vines, in which the victim grabs his arm and makes him smack his own face. The video can be seen at http://youtu.be/UN-ZlfoO7nc

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Student Life

Haney Takes The Torch

McClure passes on the photography program after retirement

story | Maddie Otterdaughter

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rt teacher Mike Haney recently became the new photography teacher when Mike McClure retired after 30 years of teaching at Kent City Schools.

The subject of what would happen to the photography program after McClure’s retirement was a hot topic towards the end of the 2012-2013 school year, with rumors of who his successor would be circling the school with excitement and skepticism.

Before school let out for summer, it had been decided that Haney would be the new photography teacher, even though a main concern was how well an art teacher could instruct photography. When asked what qualifications he thought the new photography teacher should have, McClure replied, “I think obviously it would have had to been someone with darkroom experience.

Unfortunately too many universities are dropping classes that teach students to appreciate their work and detail on a level that you learn with darkroom. Haney had that [previous darkroom experience from an undergraduate class], but he also took a course over the summer and did very well at it.” Haney took a class at Akron University that was six hours a day, four days a week this past summer to prepare him for teaching Photo I and II. That dedication is what landed him the job of living up to McClure’s students’ standards.

Along with the change in teacher for photography, the program itself will be slightly different from the past. Photo I, or darkroom photography, and Photo II, or digital photography, will be continuing at the school. The labs are receiving upgrades such as a new sink for darkroom purposes as well as upgraded software to Windows 7 and Photoshop Elements 9 for digital photography.

“There are things that he can offer the program that I cannot and things I can offer it that he cannot. Content can come and go.

Even if he uses some of [the assignments], the rest of how he conducts the class and the kids will be different,” McClure stated confidently when asked about how the class would change under Haney’s teaching. Haney agreed that he would be making a few changes. “There’s some things that I see already that I’m going to be doing differently. But that’s technical,” he said.

Photography III was removed from the scheduling sheets last year before McClure had turned in his letter of resignation. Photo III was a studio photography class that centered around preparing for and putting on October 2013

a photography show at a local business, church or other public location. For any student belonging to the graduating class of 2014 and beyond, this means that pursuing photography further at Roosevelt is no longer an option.

Students now can only enroll in the Post Secondary Enrollment Option Program to take classes at Kent State University, where the only class they are offered is a college version of Photo I called Elementary Photography.

“I think Photo III didn’t leave because of a decision I made or Mike made. Mr. Haney teaches one of his Photo I classes about conMy thoughts are it’s more a reduction enforced decision,” Haney said. “They weren’t going to house it from a numbers standpoint. I’m getting my feet on the ground with Photo I and II... As it stands right now, there’s not necessarily room for it. I definitely think in the future it’s something we’ll do, but it’ll probably be after this year.”

Haney’s confidence about taking on the photography classes put many students’ minds at ease. “I just think that we were all kind of nervous about it, but at the end of the day as an art teacher, composition is what it comes down to. It’s all about the process, and they’re starting to get the hang of it,” he said.

In addition to the photography courses, students can take Art I and II, then classes such as Glass and Fiber and Sculpture once they have completed those.

Photography class is available to grades 10 through 12. Photography continues to be a popular option because, according to Haney, “[The students] are holding an apparatus that will allow them to be successful. It’s just teaching them the process. The gorilla in the room that they’re so fearful of is gone.

They’re not worried about their hands.” Haney will continue to guide students through the photographic process and watch students succeed at something they would have once been afraid of trying.

McClure will always be remembered and missed, but Haney will take the torch and proceed to keep the photography program moving forward. “I’m not replacing someone who did nothing. I’m not replacing someone who won’t be there to help me. Mike did such a nice job with it [the photography program].”

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Student Life

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Top (left to right): Percsi, Simmons, Russell, Cooper Bottom (left to right): Bee, Evanson, Ferlito

Sneak Peek on Roosevelt’s Newest Additions story | Audra Grimm

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olonel: What do you teach?

Mrs. Percsi: I am an OGT tutor and IEP with Accommodations teacher.

Ms. Simmons: I teach Art I and Clay I. My Art I classes are pretty big, and Clay I tends to be quite a bit smaller.

Mr. Russell: I teach United States History and World History for tenth and ninth graders.

Ms. Cooper: I am the ninth grade guidance counselor.

Ms. Burns: I work in the intervention lab, which means I do whatever I can to help the kids. Check on their grades, check for reading fluency and help with homework are some main things I do.

Mr. Bee: I teach CAD (Computer Aided Design)/ Manufacturing and Engineering Academy for the programs’ respective grade levels.

Mrs. Evanson: I teach six family and consumer science classes.

Mr. Ferlito: I teach health and physical education, which is mostly made up of ninth graders.

C: What made you want to first start teaching?

MP: I have a special education interest, and my life circumstances brought me here.

MS: I get excited about art, and I want my students to as well. It’s an outlet to express creativity-- to inspire students is my goal.

MR: I love helping others and seeing young people reach their full potential.

MC: I love the students, and want to make a difference in their lives. I like the school environment and want to help in any way I can.

MsB: I knew that teaching would be rewarding, and that I would enjoy it for a long period of time. I like working with kids of all ages.

MrB: Before teaching, I worked in industry. With that job I did a lot of training with employees, and decided I enjoyed it. When a spot opened at Maplewood, I took it.

ME: I really like working with young people and thought that teaching would be something I would enjoy.

MF: I enjoy working with people and helping them achieve levels of success.

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C: What are three fun facts about yourself?

MP: I love yoga, I was born in Budapest and left during the Hungarian Revolution when I was four. I then spent a year at a refugee camp in Croatia, and came to the United States at age five. I also have two daughters that both graduated from Roosevelt in 2000.

MS: I love dance, especially tap. I can lick my elbow, which is supposedly impossible and my favorite color is purple!

MR: I just recently got married, I love Batman and I am the same size as most students.

MC: I did my internship here at RHS two years ago, I played volleyball, basketball and softball when I was in high school and I love my family and being involved at church.

MsB: I am 100 percent Italian, I’m good at volleyball, and I have a one year old puppy that is a Beagle mix.

MrB: I like to read, build models and I enjoy swimming.

ME: I live in Youngstown, my favorite color is teal, and I have two dogs at home. Artie, a Beagle/Bulldog mix and Frankie, a mutt. They are both rescue dogs from the pound where my husband works.

MF: I’m from Kent, I coach the high school boys lacrosse team here at Kent, and I also coach special olympics at the school.

C: What do you like best about teaching at RHS? MP: I really like Roosevelt because of its diversity, as well as the warm and inviting environment.

MS: Everyone is so helpful and nice, I feel very welcome here.

MR: The students here are outstanding, and there is a very friendly atmosphere. I love the people I work with. I would have to say it’s the best district in the area.

MC: I like everything about Roosevelt. Especially the people - the staff, students and parents.

MsB: The people-- the students and staff are great.

MrB: The kids are really good, and the people are all so nice and respectful.

ME: I love the students and how active they are in school.

MF: I love the atmosphere-- it’s very laid back for a high school.

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Homecoming 2013: A Sweet Escape

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Arts & Culture

Skating Polly

Musical sisters balance fame and life

Peyton Bighorse (left) sings while Kelli Mayo (right) plays the drums at Grand Junction in August 2013. Photo courtesy of Ryan Wright.

story | Sydnie Barnette

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kating Polly is a band composed of 13-year-old Kelli Mayo and 18-year-old Peyton Bighorse. Hailing from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the stepsisters have been writing and performing original music for four years with Bighorse on guitar, Mayo on a guitar-bass hybrid called a “bassitar” and keyboard and both on drums and vocals.

They have garnered some serious media buzz, opening for many popular artists including the Flaming Lips, Band of Horses, Wavves and Kate Nash. The sisters have worked hard perfecting their band’s acute aesthetic and have created a truly unique blend of pop, punk and rock.

With some songs laden with distorted guitar and cymbal crashes, and some with sweet melodies and ukulele riffs, the sisters have managed to create a wide range of songs that never fail to fall under their distinctive sound and image. Their latest album, “Lost Wonderfuls,” was produced by X singer Exene Cervenka and mixed by Flaming Lips drummer Kliph Scurlock.

One is left to wonder, though, how the girls are able to balance school and life while also touring nationally with bands like Broncho, Sauna and Bad Weather California.

The Skating Polly girls, Bighorse now graduated from high school and Mayo homeschooled to accommodate her busy lifestyle, talk fondly of touring. Bighorse explains that it is her favorite part of being in the band. “Back when we were in school, we would just ask for our homework and take it on the road with us. We’d do it in the car.

There’s always a lot of downtime on tour,” she explains. “The worst part was coming back and teachers being angry at us.”

Mayo recalls missing 53 days of school over the last school year for various Skating

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Polly-related activities. “After I’d missed that much school, I would just kind of make up reasons to miss school. Like, ‘Oh, Peyton and I need to work on album art today.’”

They say some kids talked to them about their success at school. “It was cool. I’m pretty sure most people at my school were only cool to me because I was in a band,” Mayo said. The girls then recalled an instance where a classmate posted nasty comments on their music videos. “I would just smile at him evilly when I saw him in the halls,” Mayo remembers.

When the maintenance of friendships was mentioned, neither Bighorse nor Mayo seemed to have a problem with balancing touring and friends back home. “I only had one or two friends while I was in school, and we didn’t really hang out outside of school. Mostly we just kept in touch by texting and that’s easy to do on the road,” Bighorse said. Mayo agreed, “It’s really easy to keep in touch with anyone because of phones and Snapchat and Instagram and Facebook and that kind of stuff.”

Bighorse and Mayo both agreed that the most satisfying part of being in Skating Polly is getting to play shows. “It’s so cool because every time you play a song, it’s like you’re creating a new version of it. I love it when people take videos because it’s like they’re getting this whole new song every time,” Mayo said.

“Even if you’re just playing to four people and they’re all looking at their phones, it’s still really fun because you get to make faces at them and they don’t even know it.”

To teenage bands, Mayo and Bighorse offer creative advice. “Don’t try to be anything you’re not. That kind of attitude is what makes a lot of teenage bands seem like they’re just playing dress up. Don’t say, ‘I’m gonna be the punk version of Taylor Swift!’ Just be you. Just play your music and don’t worry about your image,” Mayo said. “But maybe learn a few chords or something first so you’re not just hitting strings,” Bighorse added.

As far as the future goes, both girls look forward to many musical opportunities and have no plans of ceasing to write and perform music anytime soon. Bighorse has decided to postpone college plans and Mayo is now home schooled to accommodate for her busy lifestyle. To learn more about Skating Polly and keep up with their exploits, visit http://www.skatingpolly.com.

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Arts & Culture

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The BasedGod The rawest rapper alive story | Pat Daltorio

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Top: Lil B spitting his sick rhymes.

Bottom: Lil B’s “pink bandana” followers.

Top photo courtesy of DreadedPhoto. Bottom photo courtesy of The A.V. Club.

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apper Brandon McCartney, more commonly known by his stage name, Lil B or “The BasedGod,” owes the Internet for most of his fame and popularity. However what he posts on his social media accounts and what he emphasizes in his music are two very different things.

McCartney was born in Berkeley, California in 1989. Many of his songs reference growing up in and around the California Bay Area.

He began his rapping career at around age 16, rapping in a group called “The Pack” where he earned most of his success. Eventually, McCartney shifted to MySpace, a popular social networking tool mostly used by young teenagers wanting to expand their music knowledge. MySpace offered users the chance to upload and share their own created music.

McCartney took advantage of this and began his solo success in 2010 by uploading an estimated 1,500 tracks to over 155 MySpace pages over the course of a few years. That’s a lot of music considering Lil B is an unsigned solo rap artist.

Through Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, McCartney, like other rappers, posts things his followers would appreciate. These posts contain content contradictory to his music in which he refers to people, mostly women, in a derogatory way. Most of his posts declare unusual statements to his followers such as “dudes/ girls make sure u stay positive and respectful for GT [@GirlTimeUSA]! no harassment or negativity tolerated or allowed!!!!!! LOVE YOU! - Lil B.” This is surprising when compared to his negativity in his lyrics which use profanity and explicit sexual innuendoes.

With more than 750,000 followers, at the press of the “post” button, a new music video will be viewed by thousands in minutes. Lil B’s most popular music video “Wonton Soup” introduces viewers to his own “cooking” dance, which is a movement in which Lil B acts like he is eating soup. ‘Wonton Soup’ has over 11 million views.

Most of Lil B’s music consists of phrases repeated over and over mixed with a beat made and sold to him by a producer such as the renowned producer @NerosBeats.

It is not very sophisticated music for typical listeners of hip hop. His music is almost intentionally trying to parody the hip hop/rap scene. It is a creative type of satire towards something meant to show the serious side of individuals and their beliefs.

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Arts & Culture

Canton, Ohio emo/ hardcore band The Greater Gatsby performing at Euro Gyro in August. Photo courtesy of Chris Martin.

Emo Redefined Once More

From underground catharsis to mainstream joke and back again

story | Marc Blanc

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mo has risen back to relevance, though not in the form most people would expect. Make no mistake, the sideswept hair and ripped black skinny jeans are still on the decline. Rather, emo in a more traditional sense is making a comeback some 15 years after it first exploded.

When it started, emo was not a fashion, but a sound. Raw, underproduced recordings defined a specific group of artists and their fans in the 1990s. It was simply music that served as an outlet for pent-up frustration and other intimate thoughts and feelings. The bands had no pipe dreams or even desires to be played on the radio or sold at chain stores.

In fact, it was an anti-conformist genre that began partly in retaliation to punk rock’s commercialization. “[Emo] didn’t have this whole thing: you don’t have the haircut, you’re not wearing the right shirts or whatever the look was that everyone has,” Davey VonBohlen, guitarist of legendary 90s band Cap’n Jazz, said in a 2010 interview with Prefix Magazine.

The word emo was not widespread in Cap’n Jazz’s day; in fact they themselves wouldn’t be called emo until after they broke up. Emo as a label cannot be traced to a specific source, but it is accepted that to be a shortening of emotional hardcore or emotional punk rock. It originated within the community surrounding abrasive Washington D.C. bands of the 1980s, like Rites of Spring and Embrace.

The word “emo” was tossed around more frequently as the genre moved west and

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became more melodic and less primal. It eventually caught fire in the mid-90s. By then, most bands involved in the scene embraced a more wistful, crescendo-heavy sound than their predecessors of the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Mineral, Cap’n Jazz and Braid were among the flagship bands of this prolific period.

Emo was one of the most popular underground “movements” in the USA from roughly 1995 to the turn of the century. Although formerly concentrated in the midwest (hence the politically correct term “midwest emo”), record labels Jade Tree and Polyvinyl helped spread the genre nationally using label previews and order forms.

Fanzines began shifting focus from punk rock to emo, making emo one of the last DIY phenomenons to spread without Internet dependence. It became so popular that it developed its own aesthetic. Successful emo shows in 1995 consisted of a basement or VFW hall full of sweatered teens and 20-somethings shouting along to their favorite bands. Emo offered a live atmosphere similar to punk rock shows, but there was something that set emo shows apart from everything else. Perhaps the bands’ honest poetry ripped the crowd’s individual hearts out and sewed them onto their sleeves; emo lyrics weren’t political manifestos, after all. They were journal entries.

“Emo meant more about the live experience than anything else,” Braid vocalist/guitarist Bob Nanna said to the blog Village Voice.

However, emo’s popularity, especially as a label, was unwelcome by multiple bands. In a 2009 interview with cultural blog Perfect Lines about being branded as an emo act, former Mineral vocalist/guitarist Chris Simpson said, “It was fun for a bit to feel that there was this movement that we were considered a part of, but pretty soon you start to realize the danger such classifications pose to creative freedom.”

Along with a stereotyped look (sweaters with thick-rimmed glasses and gloriously messy hair), emo musicians got stuck with judgements about their personalities. Emo bands were perceived as a bunch of “weak guys who have failing relationships” that “write about how sad they are” (quotes attributed to Panic at the The Colonel

Disco’s Brendon Urie). Self-harm also attached itself to emo culture as it became more mainstream. Emo was not what it once was in the early-to-mid 90s, and underground emo giants of the decade were either broken up or no longer emo by the early 2000s. Braid, Mineral and Cap’n Jazz all called it quits while The Get Up Kids and Jimmy Eat World adopted a poppier sound.

Emo completely outgrew the basements it once thrived in, trading more intimate shows for slots on Vans Warped Tour. Groups like Fall Out Boy and Hawthorne Heights assumed the “emo” label, although even the most astute listener would have trouble finding many similarities between Hawthorne’s “The Silence in Black White” and Mineral’s “The Power of Falling.”

Emo quickly became stigmatic with the new sound. Fox and CBS both reported on the “dangerous new fad” in 2007, warning parents of alleged self-harm initiation rituals. YouTube lampoons like “I Must Be Emo” didn’t help matters, either. Stereotypes that have grown over the past decade are what most people think of when they hear the word “emo,” much to the chagrin of old-guard emo fans. However, a new generation is fighting the Hot Topic culture by embracing the independent ethics and earnest sound of the 90s.

90s-inspired emo never went extinct, but it was only recently that an entirely new wave of emo music crashed onto blogs across the Internet coastline. Led early on by the likes of Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader, throes of bands have been able to get back to emo’s roots, playing small clubs packed with a few handfuls of listeners.

Emo’s revival (or new wave, whatever you want to call it) has made its mark on northeast Ohio thanks to venues like Euro Gyro, located in downtown Kent. Euro Gyro often hosts both touring and local emo bands, the most notable local groups being The Ground Is Lava and The Greater Gatsby.

Asked to describe a modern underground emo show, The Greater Gatsby vocalist Joshua Grubbs said, “We come together as a family, and we all yell these words about being sad and being mad and being hurt and then for a few minutes on some Friday night we can all be happy and we don’t feel alone.”

Community catharsis is a common value among members of the emo scene, as The Ground Lava drummer Eric Sandt said that emo music gives him “a feeling of belonging, a way to escape reality while also experiencing it … and a way to experience emotions.”

Styles come and go in 20-year loops, and “midwest emo” is no exception. But where will it be in ten year’s time?

“Probably the graves,” The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die guitarist/ vocalist Greg Horbal said.

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“I think in some ways [emo] has already started to turn into something else. ‘Emo’ has always been a term, that’s evolving … and I think it’ll continue to evolve just like any other genre of music,” Eric Sandt said.

Even if emo in the USA is already on its way to becoming something else, it is becoming a stronghold across the Atlantic with bands like Israel’s Bonjour Machines and England’s Nai Harvest. Reports Nai Harvest, “[The emo

Chris Simpson performing with his legendary emo band Mineral in the 1990s. Photo courtesy of Crank! Records.

scene in] the UK is getting really good, London and Glasgow have a strong scene.”

Regardless of how it comes to sound or what names it adopts, emo will live on wherever a group of kids are screaming their hearts out together in a damp basement or crowded pizza shop.

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Arts & Culture

The Facial Hair Frenzy Is mainstream society ready to accept the beard? story | Sydney Cannon

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f you have walked around downtown Kent or November. Unfortunately, as in years before, I forgot through Kent State’s campus, you may have about it until it was too late to get started. About the noticed that there is an increasing number of same time, all my cool friends that had joined the men with facial hair. In talking with teenagers Obama for America campaign were sporting fierce and observing on social media sites such as the Launch Beards – which they then shaved off after blogging site Tumblr, more often now do you see winning the November elections. Suddenly, there was people with beards, mustaches, goatees, etcetera. a vacuum in the beard universe.

Despite the growing popularity, there are So I said [forget] it! If I can’t do Movember, then still many misconceptions about facial hair. Some I’ll make up my own event, and that’s how Decembeard people see it as dirty, unclean and unprofessional. was born. Decembeard then became Januhairy, as I To dig deeper into this, Moshe Tamssot, the former desperately began to make up excuses to keep growing innovation director of Kraft Foods and the current the beard. The external pressure to shave was growing co-CEO and founder of makeitfor.us, spoke to The every day. So then I announced that I would continue Colonel. to grow it in hopes of winning a Moxie Award for TC: Have you faced any prejudice with the growing Best Beard in June 2013. June came, and I wasn’t even of your facial hair?

MT: Absolutely. Beardism is alive and well in modern day society. I’ve stood in front of maître d’s at restaurants waiting to be seated, while they’ve either ignored me, or told me to go around back for a handout. They immediately assume that I’m homeless.

I once ran into a subway station, passing a cop on the way downstairs, only to find the underground too hot for my liking. I turned around and passed the same cop on the way out.

From the look on his face, I suspect he suspected that I was a terrorist. I thought he was calling me in and that the closed circuit television camera were monitoring my every move. The idea of a body cavity search doesn’t appeal to me.

On the flipside, there is also positive-prejudice amongst the many startup and tech people I interact with on a daily basis. They’re a little more anti-establishment, so the beard instantly earns me respect and street Moshe Tamssot poses holding a polaroid of himself next to a van that carries 3-D printers. Photo cred. It’s helped me get accepted amongst courtesy of DNAinfo/Chloe Riley. strangers in the community.

TC: Do you think your race affects it all with stereotypes? nominated for the Best Beard Award. With all eyes MT: Not race, as I’m white Caucasian, but definitely looking at me to shave, I then announced that I was ethnicity. I was born in Israel to parents of Iraqi and growing a “Yeard”. Come November 2013, my beard Moroccan descent. So I have that middle eastern will be one year old. I don’t know what the future holds. look. I’m also Jewish, though not really practicing.

I’m just trying to spend some quality time with my Having heard enough terrorist comments, I now beard during the last few weeks. It has grown on me. reply in a serious tone that I’m on a Jewhad, and am My beard, soon to be a Yeard, is awesome. It seeking to build a Weapon of Mass Creation. has opened my eyes to the struggles of other visible TC: There’s been a boom in people growing out their minorities trying to navigate the post 9/11 world. It has facial hair, why do you think that is? lent me an air of wisdom. If you’re thinking of growing MT: I think part of the beard popularity ties back to a beard, do it! If you can’t grow one yourself, find a startup culture–when startup activity increases, so beard and give it some love. Nature didn’t intend us to to does beard culture. Being way too busy to shave is shave. a badge of honor. Sporting a long beard is a sign of Most opinions about beards come from rebellion and non-conformity. stereotypes that people have. In some movies, criminals TC: Why did you choose to grow out your facial are seen with facial hair, which adds to the thought that hair? facial hair equates bad qualities in a person. Facial hair MT: It wasn’t really a choice versus serendipity. I is becoming more popular and culture and society has really wanted to participate in Movember, the grow to accept it. a mustache for testicular cancer event held every

October 2013

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Syria in Turmoil

The background of the Syrian civil war

story | Kelsey Raabe

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ince 2011, Syria has been caught up in a silenced. One notable example is the 1982 massacre in which an violent civil war between the government uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood resulted in the deaths of and various rebel factions seeking a thousands of Syrians.

In 1970, Ba’ath member Hafez al-Assad arrested the regime change. It’s an event that has been members of the previous regime and took control of the country, making headlines here in the U.S, especially since President Barack Obama announced plans becoming president in 1971. The current Syrian ruler is Hafez’s to strike Syria’s chemical weapons facilities in son, Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father in 2000. While the current president was initially viewed as a possible reformist August. by the international community, reports by human rights groups The civil revealed that war, the longest al-Assad had and bloodiest since continued his Syria’s founding, father’s tradition has had a great of imprisoning, toll on human life. torturing and According to U.N. killing political estimates provided opponents.

by CBC News, In January well over 100,000 2011, peaceful Syrians have been protests began killed and 2 million as a response more have fled the to government country as refugees. injustices, Hundreds of inspired in part civilians are killed

by Arab Spring or displaced each revolutions day in a conflict in Egypt and that shows few Tunisia.

The signs of ceasing. violence began The events after 15 boys being witnessed between the today are related Radical Islamists dominate the Syrian opposition.

Photo courtesy of James Joyner. ages of 10 and to events in the 15 were arrested past. Syria obtained its independence from France in 1946 and for spraying anti-government graffiti on the walls of their school. formed its own government, but its borders They were reportedly tortured by beating and burning. Protests were defined by European powers, creating a sprang up around the country as a response to this event, and alcountry with a variety of religious and ethnic Assad’s government retaliated by opening fire, dropping bombs groups. However, decades of political upheaval, and eventually using chemical weapons against the rebels.

In response to government violence, civilians began strife and military coups soon followed as the different political factions with their own organizing into rebel groups, arming themselves to defend individual agendas fought each other for against the Syrian military. The government redoubled its efforts to silence dissenters by bombing neighborhoods and towns. control of the country.

The current ruling party consists of Middle Easterners from other countries (and even al-Qaeda) have Alawites (a minority branch of Islam), but the joined in to aid the various rebel groups. Just as during the premajority of the country is composed of Sunni Ba’ath period, each rebel cell has different motivations, goals and Muslims, who eventually formed the brunt of techniques for overthrowing the Assad regime. There have even the rebel forces today to overthrow the minority. been reports of certain rebel factions using chemical weapons to In 1963, the socialist Ba’ath Party achieve their goals.

Other countries such as the United States have been (headed by Alawite Muslims) seized power and reluctant to provide aid to the rebels. There is a very real possibility placed the entire country under emergency rule, which lasted until 2011. This gave that any weapons or aid sent could possibly wind up in the hands the Syrian government the power to arrest of terrorists or extremists. Many U.S. politicians also fear that and detain citizens indefinitely. Although intervening would simply make a terrible and already complex there was more peace in comparison to the situation even worse.

The story of the Syrian civil war continues to unfold even previous decades, there were no free elections today, but we would do well to remember that, as with all civil and the government’s power was virtually wars, its origins are firmly rooted in the past. left unchecked. Any dissenters were quickly

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News

We Want 2 Work

An inside look into an eight-month long labor lockout in Aurora, Ohio

story | Danylo Lavrentovich and Marc Blanc

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suffer a twenty percent cut to ver 100 their wages, which for some former Rotek would have meant losing six steelworkers dollars an hour. Copayments have been taking were to be three times higher turns picketing for doctor visits and six times in front of the company’s as much for prescriptions.

Aurora plant since January Managers received no of this year. The laborers, cutbacks. made up of both genders, “Basically they said, ‘Take sit in small makeshift hovels it, or we’ll permanently along South Chillicothe replace you,’” Bill Hyslop, Road twenty-four hours president of the local union a day, seven days a week. branch, said. According They belong to United to Hyslop, there is “no Steelworkers Local 8565, a way people can survive” regional branch of a national on Rotek’s concessions, labor union. They picket especially for the numerous to bring attention to what workers who have families they call a labor “lockout” of to support, so the union Rotek’s union workers. Signs members rejected the offer with stenciled messages and attempted to negotiate. like “We Want 2 Work” Rotek implemented the new and “Higher Co-Pay, Less provisions anyway.

Coverage” hint at the details The workers believed of their struggle. they were left no choice but A subsidiary of the to picket their former place German international steel of employment, and they company ThyssenKrupp, elected to do so starting Rotek Incorporated January 18. The protesters produces heavy machinery, have remained near their specializing in slewing A sign down the road from the former employees informs about former workplace for nine bearings and forged metal Maddie Otterdaughter. months and take three-day rings. The products are used shifts, and intend to stay until in construction machinery, they get their jobs back.

The former workers are receiving no mechanical engineering, aviation/aerospace pay from Rotek, but are getting assistance from a striker defense technology and turbines. Rotek’s headquarters fund to help pay for their mortgages and utility bills. are located in Aurora, and the company has Hyslop maintained that the contract cutbacks were a second location in Florence, Kentucky. 120 “targeted only at the Aurora plant,” and that Rotek’s non-union hourly workers were employed in Aurora Kentucky location did not experience wage cuts of any kind. before the lockout, all of whom belong to the The latest contract proposal in Aurora came at the end of May. union.

The union members again rejected Rotek’s contract, this time According to the union workers, in a 122-2 vote, much to the disappointment of the business. negotiations for a new contract began ThyssenKrupp feels their subsidiary’s concessions have been when the previous labor agreement expired “fair and equitable,” and claimed the steelworkers at Aurora’s in November. Rotek’s proposed contract Rotek were being paid higher than the industry standard before required union workers to forfeit holidays, the contract in January was proposed. pay for a more expensive insurance deal and “[Our proposal] would help build the company back

October 2013

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Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

to where it needs to be,” Kellie Harris, Director of Media and Communications for ThyssenKrupp, said after the May rejection.

Rotek began hiring replacement workers, or “scab labor,” in mid-May, which explains the sign hanging on a telephone pole near the factory: “Scab Labor: Thank This Union For Your Temporary Jobs.” The company, however, doesn’t believe their new employees are temporary. In September Rotek management claimed the replacements are

“permanent.” The steel corporation maintains that the dispute has “not impacted the high quality” of their products, and that the newly hired workers were properly trained. The union feels a company cannot permanently replace locked-out workers, and it has charged ThyssenKrupp with an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP charges go through the National Labor Relations Board). If the union is successful in the charge, Rotek will be forced to let the “permanent replacements” go, and the locked-out workers will return to their jobs. A ruling is currently being waited on.

The workers have received support from Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who mentioned that locking out the capable workers will ultimately hurt the country’s military defense and renewable energy production. Brown maintained that he will “continue to offer whatever assistance possible” to ensure that Rotek ends the “unnecessary and costly lockout.” The last negotiations took place at the end of August, and the union is currently waiting for Rotek’s counter to their terms.

The workers want a contract that ensures a wage they believe their labor is worth; a wage they can survive on, along with the benefits of holidays and affordable insurance that many working people get to enjoy. Simply Where the former workers spend their days. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter. put, these men and women want their jobs back.

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News

Road damage, shown here, was extensive courtesy of Jennifer Shih.

Deadly Floods Ravage Colorado

Devastating damage from once-in-a-millenium levels of rainfall story | Danylo Lavrentovich

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rom Wednesday, September 11 to Sunday, September 15, historic levels of rainfall gave rise to floods that ravaged the state of Colorado, leaving eight confirmed dead and hundreds initially unaccounted for. Damages were extensive, spreading through 17 northern counties (covering an area of 2,000 square miles), harming nearly 200 miles of highways, causing the spill of more than 27,000 gallons of oil and possibly costing more than $100 million in damages. Boulder and the surrounding region received some of the heaviest impact.

Boulder, situated near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and located about 24 miles northwest of state capital Denver, is frequently ranked highly in happiness, wellbeing and quality of life. With its metropolitan population of around 295,000 (making it the 11th most populated city in Colorado), the town is home to the state’s biggest university, the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Its location in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains gives Boulder County high susceptibility to damage. Floodwaters traveled down the mountainsides and ran off into populated areas. The county has been designated as a Federal Disaster Area, allowing private property owners and businesses to receive aid from the national government, including federal grants for property losses, October 2013

repairs and temporary housing.

On September 12, the city logged nine inches of rain, shattering its previous one-day record of five inches. Rain continued to fall throughout the week, bringing the region’s September total to more than seventeen inches and approaching its yearly average of twenty inches of rainfall. The probability of such levels of daily rainfall in the region is around 1 in 1,000, allowing observers to refer to the disaster as a once-in-amillenium event.

Architect Jennifer Shih and her husband Ivan Smalyukh reside in the southern part of Boulder. While the heaviest damage struck the central part of the city, their basement was completely covered with water after the seemingly endless rainfall. Shih first received information about the danger from a smartphone application, and was later notified by the city through sirens and warnings about evacuation from high risk areas. “I didn’t know what the impact of the flood would be,” Shih described. “We didn’t move from the house, so we just stayed downstairs.”

“We do not live in a flood-insured area, so our insurance won’t cover the damage to our home,” Shih said. She and her husband, who works at the University of Colorado, were both told to contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for any urgent needs.

In the week prior to the heavy rainfall, Shih described the weather as “very hot and sunny,” with temperatures rising above 90 degrees. According to CNN, unusually humid air through the area triggered the storms. A low pressure western front met high pressure from the east, and as moist air traveled up through the mountains, cold air delivered heavy rain.

Over 500 homes have been destroyed or significantly damaged The Colonel

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in the city. “Boulder has many older houses,� Shih explained when asked about the heavy impact on her town. As Boulder is located right near the mountains, many houses are on sloped hills, allowing water to run into and through the foundations of homes.

To prevent property damage from excess rainfall in the future, Shih hopes that new buildings will feature adequate drainage systems.

The city of Boulder is facing major reconstruction. The University of Colorado reopened its campus the following Monday, September 16, but damage from the flood affected about 80 of its buildings. The city’s infrastructure will need several months to return to normal function, as many of the central roads require extensive repairs. The town is building emergency roadways to make connections to major points.

President Barack Obama declared the county as a major disaster area to open the area to federal aid to provide for temporary housing, home repairs and loans.

With a possible government shutdown looming, Vice President Joe Biden visited the area on September 23 and assured the people of Colorado that the federal government will continue to provide aid, namely through FEMA. The federal disaster aid organization has given out more than $12 million to flood-stricken families in the state.

Nearly 3,500 Colorado residents have been rescued by federal, state, and local organizations. There have been no major obstacles in the relief efforts, but much more must be done to repair the damages sustained by the disaster and restore communities to stability.

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Debris cleanup in central Boulder will remain a hefty task for relief groups. Photos courtesy of Jennifer Shih.

October 2013

20 Sports History of the Kent and Ravenna Rivalry story | Briann Barton

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he Kent vs. Ravenna rivalry is the eighth longest running rivalry in Ohio, according to https://examiner. com. The cities of Kent and Ravenna have been rivals for at least a century, so when the high schools started to play each other in football in the early 1900s it made sense to extend the rivalry. On Friday, September 27, the teams played for the 99th time, ending in a Roosevelt victory.

From 1919-1954, Roosevelt was in the Western Reserve League, also known as the Trolley League. We then went to the Metropolitan League. In 1996, the Metropolitan League became a part of the Western Reserve Conference. Then in 2005, we moved to the PTC (Portage Trail Conference).

Ravenna was also in the Trolley League from 1919 to the 1950s, when they became independent. In 1963, they joined us in the Metropolitan League. From there they followed us into the Western Reserve Conference and then into the PTC. Since our 2005 move to the PTC, we have won more league championships than any other school. We have won 47 league championships and Ravenna has won 21.

Also, for the past three years in football, we have won the “Big R� trophy. The trophy represents our rivalry and schools on a piece of glass shaped as a football.

We are also currently the largest school in the PTC, the second largest being Ravenna.

We have 443 boys and 448 girls spread over 9th, 10th and 11th grades, as of this year.

Ravenna has 339 boys and 314 girls.

The oldest sport we play Ravenna in is football. The farthest record back is from 1922. The overall record is 49-47-3. The longest winning streak in the rivalry was from 1949-1958 with Ravenna winning 10 games in a row.

There have been people from both schools who have went into the NFL. Roosevelt has four (Mike Adamle, Deral Boykin, Tom Deleone and Stan White) and Ravenna has two.

We go head to head in every sport, many of which are listed to the right.

October 2013

Statistics on the Kent-Ravenna rivalry. Infographic created by Maddie Otterdaughter.

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Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

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Player Perspective Senior offensive lineman Stan Zalewski on the Ravenna game story | Stan Zalewski

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ur football team defeated the Ravenna Ravens 28-14 in the 99th installment of the rivalry.

Here are some thoughts about the game from senior captain Stan Zalewski (offensive line,

Ravenna entered the game 0-4, while we entered 3-1. However, records don’t mean anything when it comes to this rivalry game. We prepared in practice like they were a 4-0 team.

From an offensive line perspective, the fourman defensive front they showed was not surprising.

We had prepared for a three-man front all week, but the Ravens love to change their whole game up for us. Last year it was the opposite–we prepared for a four and they showed a three.

This change-up in fronts did not affect our offense, as the line led the way for 273 rushing yards, 153 by senior running back Marcus Caddiell (#4).

On the first play of the third drive, Caddiell broke an up-the-middle run for 62 yards and a touchdown.

The play was the result of a cut-back by Caddiell and a great downfield block by junior wide receiver Luther Fortson (#25).

The next touchdown showed a bit of trickery with a double-pass. Senior quarterback Dustin Monaco (#15) passed the ball to senior wide receiver Kardell Jackson (#2), who then passed to a wide open senior tight end Corey Spicer (#45). This capped off a 13-play, 75-yard drive to allow us to take a 14-3 lead. The play had a bit of familiarity to this senior class, who scored a touchdown on a double-pass to Monaco in our freshman game against Ravenna.

The rest of the first half was all defense on both sides. Our defense played fantastic, giving us short fields in the next three drives of the first half. This great field position was largely in part to an interception by senior defensive back John Henderson (#9) and a strip and recovery by senior linebacker Mike Bush (#52). However the offense could not capitalize, giving up two goal line turnovers The Colonel

to the Raven defense.

We went into halftime up 14-3, but after half the Ravens would fight back to tie the game 14-14.

After the Ravens tied the game, Monaco and I shared a word about the next drive. It went something like, “We get the momentum back here, we win the game. All we need to do is score.”

On the next series, the offense did just that.

The drive was capped off with a touchdown catch by Fortson, and ended up being a 91-yard drive. Monaco showed his desire to win by powering through tackles to the first down marker on a key fourth and one.

The defense played strong all night, stopping six Raven drives either with turnovers or three-and-outs.

They stopped the Ravenna offense on fourth down before they could pass midfield on the next drive.

The offense put the game away on the next drive, running out the clock with some running between the tackles. Monaco would score on a quarterback run to go up 28-14 with two minutes left.

On the final touchdown, I was caught up in a pile, so the only way I could tell we scored was from the roar of the fans. Our fans, band and cheerleaders were beyond fantastic the whole game. They really took over Ravenna’s stadium and made it feel like a home game.

The blue smurf turf really wasn’t much different to play on. We didn’t have any problems getting used to it. At the end of the game, the general consensus was that it was fun to beat them on their own color.

Ravenna showed a lot of class after the game, staying on the field long enough to shake our hands again after the trophy presentation.

This win continues a three-year win streak against Ravenna and makes most of the seniors a perfect 6-0 against Ravenna. (7th, 8th, Freshman, and three varsity games).

To wrap it up, it was a great way to finish this class’ career against Ravenna. It was a fun win, and we look forward to continuing our season.

October 2013

Scan with a mobile device to see more photos from the Ravenna game taken by Maddie Otterdaughter.

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Sports

Roosevelt’s Move to the Suburban League story | Briann Barton

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t the beginning of the 2015-16 school year or the ‘16-17 school year, Roosevelt’s sports are leaving the Portage Trail Conference

from league to league.

So with us leaving the PTC, many people are worried that we would not play Ravenna anymore. However, At a September school board meeting assistant superintendent Tom Larkin said, “We expect and anticipate competing with them in every sport we possibly can.”

A downside to moving to the Suburban League is the traveling. Our farthest game would be at Cloverleaf. There will be some driving to do to get there, for they are about 40 miles away.

Another downside is that Nordonia and Cloverleaf are the only two current teams that have men’s volleyball teams. So, unfortunately, our men’s volleyball team will have to play many games out of the league.

“We expect and anticipate competing with [Ravenna] in every sport we possibly can” (PTC). We will be going into the Suburban League.

Other schools moving to the Suburban League include Hudson, Stow, Twinsburg, Barberton, North Royalton, Aurora, Brecksville-Broadview Heights and Cuyahoga Falls. If they can, the league will form twoeight team divisions. The Suburban League would like all the schools to enter at the same time, so the year entering the league is not concrete as of yet.

This year the league consists of eight schools: Cloverleaf, Copley, Green, Highland, Nordonia, Revere, Tallmadge and Wadsworth.

The new schools are entering the league because they have similar enrollment numbers. At the beginning of this school year, we had 443 boys and 448 girls spread across 9th, 10th and 11th grade. Essentially, we have outgrown the PTC. We have been in the PTC since 2005, when it was created. Since then we are currently the largest in the league and we have won 47 league championships, more than anyone else.

Before the PTC we have been in three other leagues or conferences.

Through those years we always have played Ravenna, who have traditional followed us October 2013

High school sports and which school was the Suburban League champion for each. Chart created by Maddie Otterdaughter.

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Fall Sports Athletes What are your pre-game traditions?

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Interviewer | Audra Grimm photos | Maddie Otterdaughter

“I wear a pair of lucky socks, washed after each match of course.”

-Senior Hannah Kegg, varsity tennis

“We do a team break out before we all go play, and I personally have to play a Titleist 1 brand golf ball with red dots drawn on for each match.”

-Junior Kasey Nielsen, varsity girls’ golf “I eat a bagel or toast with peanut butter and take a nap before I play.”

-Anonymous football player “I have lucky shoes that I wear for my matches.”

-Senior Sarah Kegg, varsity tennis

“Before our games, we have a team talk and Coach KC gives us advice, and then we have a team break out.”

-Sophomore Olivia Wise, varsity field hockey

“The team huddles up, we all put our right foot in the middle and say one inspirational thing, and cheer.” -Junior Alex Marsinek, varsity girls’ cross country “I pray and focus on the task ahead. I don’t talk to anyone beforehand, and jump around.”

-Sophomore Jon Michael Weigel, varsity boys’ soccer

“My friend and I always serve at the same time during warm-ups before our game.”

-Junior Katelyn Gonos, varsity volleyball

“I draw a shamrock on my game ball for luck, say a prayer and do a special handshake with Paul Silver.”

-Senior AJ Strongz, varsity boys’ golf

“I always listen to music by myself before games.”

-Freshman Sadie Oswitch, JV girls soccer

“I always eat a Cliff Bar and listen to music. Then “I stand alone for five the team takes turns giving ‘good luck knucks’ to Coach minutes, mark my ball so it is all black and go into stealth mode.”

Hughes.”

-Sophomore Nick Mandalari, -Junior Michael Kenney, varsity boys’ golf varsity boys’ golf

“I take a big ol’ shot of honey before I race.”

-Junior Andrew Murray, varsity boys’ cross country

“Before our games I go home and take a nap, and then wrap my hands when I get to the field.”

-Senior Chris Hrivnak, varsity football

“We have a team talk before races, and I have lucky socks that I wear.”

-Senior Emily Gundlach, varsity girls’ cross country

“We have socks that say L and R on them (for left and right feet) and I always wear them on the wrong foot.”

-Senior Michael Beckwith, varsity soccer

“I visualize how I’m going to play, and sing a song with Katelyn Jastromb.”

-Sophomore Mackenzie Pensyl, JV/varsity volleyball

“I make two three foot putts and drink a whole bottle of water before I compete.”

-Junior Kelly Nielsen, varsity girls’ golf

“I take a shot of honey, gather my thoughts and jump up and down.”

-Sophomore Nathaniel Bailey, varsity boys’ cross country

“We all put our racquets in the middle of our huddle and break it out.”

-Junior Genevieve Underwood, varsity tennis

“I wear three socks on each foot when I play.”

-Senior Stan Zalewski, varsity football

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Sports

Effects of Concussions

The toll these serious TBIs have taken on students and their work

story | Sydney Cannon

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oncussions are a common sports injury that affect a student both on and off the field. There are both physical and mental effects from concussions. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury, also known as a TBI. They can be caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head but can also be caused by the body receiving a blow so fast that it causes the head to move quickly back and forth. Even what may seem

and I can’t look at SMART Board for a long time without getting a migraine. I’m at neurologists a lot for it so I miss a lot of school,” said an anonymous Roosevelt student. This student, who has had “three or four” concussions, also said, “It’s harder for me to remember things I used to know. Like sometimes I can’t remember what two times two is.”

A possible solution to this student’s problem would be to have her work with other students. The concussed student could work with someone else in the hallway who would read to the concussed person so they could both answer the questions.

There is the possibility of the student staying at home until they are fully recovered from their head injury but that could leave the child behind and struggling to catch up when they return.

Concussions are serious injuries that can cause serious problems if gone unreported. Brain damage can become an issue if the student continues to play sports. When someone gets a concussion and it goes unnoticed, if they have another head related injury, it could lead to a coma or death. Students with concussions struggle after their experience as is, so their teachers need to find ways to help their students. Whether the way they help is through reading out loud or tutoring after school, teachers should not leave their pupils behind.

“Sometimes I can’t remember what two times two is” like a simple ding or bump to the head can cause serious injury.

Signs or symptoms of concussions can be headaches or feeling head pressure, temporary loss of consciousness, confusion or feeling “foggy,” amnesia from around the event, dizziness, ringing in the ears, nausea or vomiting, slurred speech and fatigue. This can cause dilemmas and problems with learning and teaching. Some students are unable to perform simple tasks they used to do for school. One current Roosevelt student was unable to read because it causes eyestrain and headaches. He is still currently dealing with some of the effects of the concussion with these problems. The student is confronted with how he or she should learn and teachers are confronted with how they should teach.

As is, a concussed child has to have a few days of bed rest and shouldn’t do intense learning. This can leave a child behind and at a disadvantage. Ways for a student to get past this are by being tutored by a teacher or getting help from a friend.

Concussed people can not put too much mental strain on themselves so a student needs to work at a slow, steady pace that is good for them. When a student comes back from bed rest and is in the classroom, he or she can be faced with lingering symptoms. Symptoms can be having an inability to read or process text and not understanding as quickly as they might have before.

“Sometimes I wake with a headache October 2013

Bumping heads during sports as shown above can cause a concussion. A simple bump to the head can cause serious injury. Photo by Maddie Otterdaughter.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that concussed students do not participate in physical activity even if they seem symptom free. Teachers need to be understanding to the pupil’s injuries and needs. Intense learning is not recommended because it can cause headaches and strain to the student. It’s recommended that students take frequent breaks, are given more time on tests and assignments and be given extra help. Students may become angry or frustrated and may isolate themselves, so the best thing a teacher or administrator can do is to be understanding and letting the student know that it is okay to take things at a slower pace.

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Sports

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Headstrong from the Tank The Cleveland Cavaliers’ grueling path to relevancy story | Danylo Lavrentovich

T

he Cleveland Cavaliers have won less games welcomed Russian sharpshooter Sergey Karasev.

(64) in the last three years than the NBA Cleveland management also parted ways with champion Miami Heat won in the 2013 season head coach Byron Scott (under whom the Cavaliers (66), but are actively working to change their ranked in the bottom five defensively for three years) fortunes. This past offseason, the Cavaliers made and rehired defensive mastermind Mike Brown. As several team improvements by utilizing high draft head coach of the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010, Brown picks, rehiring head coach Mike Brown and signing never missed the postseason and never lost in the first solid free agents. For the first time in the postround.

LeBron era, the Wine and Gold are looking to make Also in the summer of 2013, the Cavaliers finally a legitimate run at the playoffs, striving to reach the spent money on free agents. General Manager Chris 2014 postseason.

Grant signed backup point guard Jarrett Jack, who With the departure of LeBron James in played an integral role with the Golden State Warriors the summer of 2010, the championship-starved and averaged 17.2 points in the 2013 playoffs, to a fourfranchise headed into a tailspin, dropping from 61 year contract. The Cavaliers also brought in former Los wins to 19 in the 2011 season, setting the record for Angeles Lakers Andrew Bynum and Earl Clark. the biggest single-season drop in NBA history.

The Cavs have a promising backcourt in point The Cavaliers also infamously set the longest guard Kyrie Irving and shooting guard Dion Waiters. losing streak in the history of the NBA I n his second year, Irving had a stellar 2013 (and tying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season, gaining national recognition for the worst streak across all four through popular “Uncle Drew” Pepsi major North American commercials, reaching the All-Star sports baseball, team and leading the Cavaliers in football, basketball and points (22.5) and assists (5.9). Waiters, hockey) with 26 straight Cleveland’s fourth overall pick in 2012, losses from December 20, reached the All-Rookie first team 2010 to February 11, 2011. and averaged 14.7 points, second The Cavaliers most on the team. The Cavs have remained in the extreme frontcourt bottom of the versatility with standings by Bynum, Clark, playing rookies Bennett and heavy minutes energetic big for development men Anderson and calling Varejao and Tristan up D-league Thompson. players whose The major basketball obstacle for the abilities would team’s success in not land them 2014 is the presence a spot on any of injuries, which other NBA Predicted 2014 Depth Chart have plagued the team. As a result of the strategy, Cavaliers in the past. The face of Cleveland was rewarded with two first-overall and the franchise, Kyrie Irving, has only been healthy for two fourth-overall picks in three years. For the three 74 percent of the team’s games the last two seasons. post-LeBron seasons, the Cavaliers had a winning Anderson Varejao missed 57 games (out of 82) last percentage of 0.278. Game attendance at Quicken season after hospitalization from a blood clot in his Loans Arena decreased 20 percent from full capacity, lung. Andrew Bynum’s contribution is the biggest dropping Cleveland to 19th in the league (out of 30) question mark, as the former All-Star center missed the in 2013. entire 2013 season with knee problems.

Following the 2013 season, in what may The Wine and Gold face significant challenges have been their final appearance (for the foreseeable from injuries, but in a weak Eastern Conference, the future) at the top of the NBA Draft board, the team has the basketball ability and coaching talent to Cavaliers drafted Anthony Bennett with the first reach the bottom seeds of the playoffs. overall selection. While slightly undersized for his The Cavaliers open the 2014 season at home position, the Canadian power forward has a versatile with the new-look Brooklyn Nets (featuring former offensive game with range extending to the threeCeltics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce) on Wednesday, point line. With the 19th pick in the draft, Cleveland October 30 at 7:00 p.m.

The Colonel

October 2013

28

Comic

October 2013

art | Grant Wang

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