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WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL
trojan tribune VOLUME 32, ISSUE 3
OCTOBER 16, 2013
Photo by Sophie Toland
WHAT IS SPIRIT: The Wayzata Showstoppers perform for more than 3,000 students at Wayzata High School’s homecoming pep fest.
A new perspective on homework By DAVANTE WASHINGTON NEWS EDITOR
Wayzata Middle Schools transition into a standards based grading system. “More and more research is coming out on the importance of consistent grading systems. Basically, grades are important, therefore, grades must reflect what students know and are able to do,” said Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Dr. Jill Johnson. “Our new grading policy is a step in the right direction and hopefully will assist us in reaching school-wide standards based grading (SBG),” said West Middle School principal Susan Sommerfeld. The district needs to show students the importance of completing work whether it is graded or not, said Johnson. “If a student struggles with homework, we need to understand why and help them correct
Freshman aces ACT
William Drew (9) PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR @MsSadieBell recently received awards through Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS), for his outstanding achievements on the SAT and ACT scores, taken as an eighth grader. “I recently received awards for accomplishments in both the SAT and the ACT,” said Drew. Drew said he received first place in SAT math (800), first place in ACT math (36), second place in ACT reading (35), and qualified for SAT composite (reading and math combined score of 1410). Drew said, “I started taking the tests back in 6th and 7th grade because the opportunities were offered to me. I treated them like opportunities to practice for the test that would actually count.” “For all of the states that offer the NUMATS program, each state holds their own award ceremony for the top scorers from that state,” said Drew. Drew was invited to Northwestern to By SADIE BELL
Future of pep fests uncertain Despite rumors from @k_talerico students that say there will be no pep fests next year, Student Council Advisor Sue Iverson has said that they will be continuing pep fests. The pep fests will be changing, though, said Iverson. The change to pepfest has been a result of negative attitudes at pep fests getting “worse and worse and worse,” said Iverson. “This year was the final straw. We can’t continue what we’re doing, something must change.” Iverson said that what tipped the scales was the senior class leading the crowd in booing. “Students believe that because booing is something that happened to them, they have to continue it. It’s a cycle that I’m trying to break. I’m trying to enforce positive school spirit,” said Iverson. “We need to come together as Wayzata High School and teach kids how to do that.” “We hope to grow a student body that really understands the purpose of a pepfest,” said Iverson. “I don’t want to be responsible for having kids booed. Freshmen have no idea what’s going on, they’re sitting there thinking, ‘This is supposed to be a pep fest!’” said Iverson. Iverson said that she doesn’t want to give up on Homecoming week or the By KATIE TALERICO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
attend a special award ceremony. “For the few students who scored highly in several different categories, NUMATS offered them the chance to recognize a teacher who had a large role in influencing the student or guided them to their academic achievement,” said Drew. “I chose Mr. Lutz to accompany me to the award ceremony for his outstanding role as Vision 21 coordinator at Central for his first year and helping not just me, but several other students, grow more as a
Got Trojan Pride? Page 6 & 7
pep fests, because she “believes there are a lot of kids at this school who want to show Trojan Pride in a positive manner” and that “we must give them a voice.” “It’s unfortunate that the actions of a small group of students can ruin a spirit week for thousands,” said Iverson. Iverson said that the decision was made by school staff. “Teachers don’t want to be in that environment,” she said. Some rumors have been flying that the school is cancelling the pep fests because of overcrowding in the gymnasium. “I have never publicly said that there will be no more pep fests,” said Iverson. The changes to the pep fest are not about the size of the school, said Iverson. “Our school size should be an advantage,” she said. Student council suggested that one idea for the new pep fests is to not sit by grades, which divides the student population, Iverson said. She hopes to start slow changes with the pep fests, growing them into a positive environment. “Kids are quick to say ‘Our theme is dumb, the decorations are lame, the pep fest is stupid’ but I don’t ever see those kids knocking at my door offering suggestions on how we could do it better,” said Iverson.
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student and as an aspiring person.” “The top 5-10% of students in an eightstate area were invited to take the tests, and of those who took it, the top 1–2% were recognized at the ceremony,” said Central Middle School Vision 21 Coordinator David Lutz. Lutz said several Wayzata students were invited to attend the ceremony as qualifiers, and a few NUMATS who placed who will Cont’d page 9 be honored at a school
Movie Reviews PAGE 4
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
NEWS 2
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013
Abercrombie and Fitch Models line up outside of a store opening in New York City. Each one models a pair of brand name sweatpants and sandals. Many store employees are also required to wear brand name clothing. The money used to purchase store clothing is an employee expense. PHOTO MONTAGE BY TROJAN TRIBUNE
GETTING PAID FOR LOOKING GOOD? Students are being approached at stores and getting offered jobs for being attractive. S E N I O R S TA F F W R I T E R
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process she was asked about her inter- able” and “When do you want to start?” “I was supposed to wear their clothes ests and personality to determine if she was a good fit for the working environ- around school and everyone had to wear their ment. clothes All the employees were It’s an amazing way to advertise a r o u n d friendly to customers and work,” said had to be willing to help because people will think if they Saenger. one another. “We all wore purchase the product of a store, “We all new Abercrombie trend they will be viewed as more atgot paid clothes, and had neat and tractive. the same, good looking appearances with make-up and hairbut I’m not GUNNAR BATES (10) styling,” said Choi. sure if evAccording to Yahoo coleryone had umnist Woland Menni, Abercrombie’s the same discount,” said Saenger. job description for the floor position is “[Abercrombie] needs to sell their called, “Model/Brand Representative.” clothes so obviously they are somewhat Juan Saenger (‘13), a past Sales Rep- biased toward appearance,” said Choi. resentative for Aeropostale, was also “There is no standard or limit on how approached by a manager when he was pretty a girl is or how handsome a guy shopping for button up shirts one day. looks,” said Choi. She Saenger said his interview included the believes Abercrombie LOOKS questions “‘What hours are you avail- hires people for their Con’td page 9
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Enter the deep ager of Abercrombie and asked if I was dark caverns of interested in working as a model,” said @AnniePolis Hollister: Your Choi. “At first I was skeptical of this woman’s nostrils become flooded with the real identity, but I came to think ‘Why scent of teenage desperation. You can’t not go and interview? There would be help but get swept away by the cool, no harm,’” said Choi. “I was also skeptical because Abbeachy ambiance. Everywhere you turn you see beautiful people: greeting you, ercrombie is a store that hires pretty, sexy, white girls folding clothes, but I wasn’t tall or and ringing up Flat out dumb. Our world anything”said Choi. your purchases. teaches us to be who we are, but The manager Coincidence? mentioned that AbStores are hiring this issue is a constant reminder ercrombie was lookpeople based on a of how we are judged on things ing to add diversity look that fits their other than who we are. and Miri would be store. HANNAH MCFARLAND (11) a good addition, Miri Choi (‘13) because she was said she was walkAsian and “would ing through the mall, when a woman approached her look good in Abercrombie clothes,” said and asked if she knew about Abercrom- Miri. Choi said that during the interview bie. “She introduced herself as the manBy ANDREA POLIS
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
NEWS 3
WEDENSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
New healthcare services across the bridge By MEREDITH JOHNSON F E AT U R E S E D I T O R
@MERE_JOHNSON19
• Park Nicollet to open on 101
As the city of Plymouth expands due to the new developments on the western side, Park Nicollet HealthPartners plans to do the same as construction for their new health clinic is currently underway at the intersection of Highway 55 and 101. According to an article by the Star Tribune, the 60,000-square-foot clinic is the first development since the merger of Park Nicollet and HealthPartners back on January 1. Since the clinic consists of pediatrics, a dental office, family medicine, internal medicine and physical therapy, it’s a great way for the company to really establish themselves going forward as health and dental care. “It’s an opportunity, quite honestly, for us to co-brand now that we’re combined with HealthPartners — so we can co-brand the HealthPartners Dental Group with the Park Nicollet Clinic,” said Brett Long, vice president of growth and strategy for Park Nicollet.
According to Long, the purchase of this land for a new clinic was important because the city of Plymouth is still young and growing. With their new purchase they are able to expand, something their existing facility in Plymouth wasn’t allowing them to do. With the new construction set to end November 2014 when the clinic is to open, there comes an issue facing traffic. Many new developments have sprung up in the area, which has already caused concern when it comes to the growing region. With a 60,000-square-foot clinic next door, the traffic is bound to increase causing more concern and issues. A frontage road has been considered to ease some of the traffic. With these plans in mind, Park Nicollet is considering additional roadway along the west side of the clinic, which will potentially cost them $700,000, according to an article by the Sun Sailor. Top: The new helath care center will be open to the community sometime in november of this year. Bottom: A frontage road may need to be constructed in order to maintain a steady flow of traffic in the area.
Nordstrom moves into Ridgedale, Macy’s moves over Nordstrom is manager of the store due to company opening its policies, an unnamed woman working at second loca- the MAC cosmetics table was willing to @HanaKassem tion in the Twin share some thoughts. When asked how she Cities at Ridgedale Mall in Minnetonka and thought the new Nordstrom’s would affect is due to open its doors by the fall of 2015. competition with Macy’s and it’s customThe new ers, she said, store will take “I think a lot over 138,000 of women will square feet of love it because what is now it’s more upthe Macy’s scale. It will Men’s and definitely give Home section us a run for at Ridgedale. our money... The comfor sure.” pany says it “I’m excited will close the to see NordAs construction continues Macy’s and the rest of the Ridgedale Mall Men’s and strom move remain open for business. Parking in the north and northwest lots Home store has been restricted due to the construction. in,” said the and conMAC worker. solidate it “I grew up within the Women’s and Children area. shopping at this mall and in the MinnetonThe renovated Macy’s store will also be ka area. I love this area, and I’ve seen a lot expanded by another 84,000 square feet. of companies come and go. Having an upBefore being denied a comment by the scale store like Nordstrom come in shows By HANA KASSEM
J U N I O R S TA F F W R I T E R
that they haven’t given up on this mall.” The first Nordstrom location in the Twin Cities is in the Mall of America and is said to be doing as well as the store’s other iconic locations such as Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The company also operates it’s Nordstrom Rack locations at the Mall of America and at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove. According to the Star Tribune, installing another anchor to the Ridgedale Mall will help increase finan- Nordstrom’s Michigan Ave location in Chicago will be a regional comparison to the new Mincial stability within the tri-city region. netonka location.
Chick-fil-A hits Maple Grove Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A opened their with the hopes of being one the first one hundred people in. If they doors to the numerwere lucky to do so, they ous camped-out customers this past Thurswon a year of free, weekly day as one of their chicken sandwich meals. four new stand-alone This promotion is called restaurants opened “community ceremoup in Maple Grove. nies” and is being held According to an article at all of the new locations that Chick-fil-A recently by the Pioneer Press, the chain already has two opened in Minnesota. small outlets at the UniWith the generous versity of Minnesota and prize up for grabs, the at the Minneapolis-St. At their opening both new Chick-fil-A locations of- promotion is drawfered free meals for a year for the first 100 customers. Paul International Airport. ing in “die-hard chicken On the morning of October 10th, custom- fans” from all over, not just the locals. ers packed their way into the restaurant P By ho M to & er e d Re ith po Jo rtin hn g so n
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The district needs to show students the importance of completing work whether it is graded or not, said Johnson. “If a student struggles with homework, we need to understand why and help them correct the problem.” “I think it will have a positive impact on students who typically struggle with turning in assignments– because freeing up deadlines, which are barriers to those students, will assist them in developing habits to do the work in order to reach learning targets prior to the summative assessment,” said Sommerfeld. As far as homework grading policy changes at the high school, no changes should be expected anytime soon. “We are studying it at the middle level first to see what we can learn before we jump to changing the entire system. When we change, we want to change in way that will actually produce the intended result,” said Johnson. Homework has been under a lot of scrutiny lately. Some parents say homework is too much to be added on to the end of students 6 to 7 hour school days. Parent Heather Shumaker, an Cont. on page 9 advocate for no homework policies in schools said, “For seven hours they’ve had to focus on the aca-
A new perspective on homework From page 1
The concept art for the new Macy’s. The project will move the Men’s and Home section into what is now the Women’s and Children area.
BLURB
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
ENTERTAINMENT 4
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
NEW FALL FEATURES ANDREW STERN l STAFF WRITER
Written by Peter Morgan and Directed by Ron Howard, the story follows the six-year rivalry of Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. However, with the two-hour length of the film, the script only delivers on the basic plot points and forgets much of the tension in the story. You could say that the movie is a bit... Rushed. Everything is presented in an overly simplified black-and-white manner, even when trying to create complex characters and situations. The remarkable strange pacing takes away from the drama in the story. Moments seem to drag; moments seem to pass too quickly. While struggling to fit six years of rivalry into a feature length film, the plot seems to haphazardly play a highlight reel. For example, Lauda and Hunt go from being Formula 3 racers to competing for the world championship seemingly overnight. There is neither drama in their
ascension nor drama in other competition. With exception of Hunt and Lauda, nearly every other driver in this movie is a faceless name. That said, if there is tension anywhere, it is in the rivalry between the two drivers. The performances of Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda are the high points of the film. The cinematography for this film is stunning. If you walk in hoping to get some cool racing scenes, you’ll get your money’s worth. Without getting too emotionally involved, simply watching the film is fun enough. By all means the execution of the script was great, it was just the script itself that was lacking. On the whole I did enjoy this film. It’s not the Oscar-movie it’s hyped up to be, but it’s definitely above average. The performances are great and the races are magnificent. While I never was hugely emotionally involved due to a weak script, I still enjoyed it. 6/10.
Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, this drama about a medical engineer and an astronaut stranded in space is the 80 million dollar passion project of Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón. There’s no doubt this movie is incredibly visually stunning. Cuarón essentially created the technology necessary to make it. A large portion of the film takes place in outer space, and it’s incredibly convincing. Cuarón’s stylistic long takes really lend themselves well to this film. A behind-thescenes documentary would be absolutely fascinating. The film is gorgeous and it’s obvious a lot of effort was put into making it that way. The script however, is not very good. Gravity is only an hour and a half long, and definitely stretches itself out in order to make it to that point. Littered with clichés, this survivalist tale meanders through a list of obstacles without any real motivation, the only goal being to force
drama. For example, the incident which sets things in motion is a large amount of debris that collides with the astronauts’ shuttle; immediately after Clooney’s character (the suave professional, one mission from retirement) saves Bullock’s (the newcomer), he tells her to set her watch for 90 minutes. Why? Because in that time, the debris will travel across the entire world and hit them again. Because the debris is moving at the accessible speed in order to calculate this and they clearly will still get hit if they move to a different place. These aren’t things that bother me too much, but they definitely took me out of the moment. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is simply not a good female character. In an interview with New York Magazine, Cuarón says that the choice to make the lead character a female was to “strip it from heroists”. My biggest fear walking into this movie was that it would be 90 minutes of Sandra Bullock screaming and acting unprofes- GRAVITY sional. That was largely Cont’d page 8
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2: I’ll be the first to admit
paraphrasing), “I have no idea. Let’s never talk about it again.” Moments like this where it lets you know not to take anything seriously sets up a wonderful tone that even had me cracking up at some of the puns. The animation on this film is absolutely brilliant. The attention to detail in creating unique new worlds creates a colorful mood and draws you in. The character movements and subtle background details make the film much more enjoyable. I can say that I was never bored watching this movie. Even when the plot slows down, the animation is so enticing it kept me interested the entire time. Is the plot original? Not exactly. It follows the Hollywood formula. You understand what’s going to happen before it happens. However, the magic in this movie isn’t the story, it’s the execution. The tone was spot-on and the animation was amazing. It succeeds where a lot of other kids movies fail – it’s entertaining for all ages (so long as you don’t take yourself too seriously). I couldn’t stop smiling the entire film. Thus far, this is my favorite animated film of the year. 8/10.
CAPTAIN PHILIPS: Based on the alleged true story of the first hijacking of an American Cargo ship in 200 years, this at-sea drama is directed by The Bourne Ultimatum’s Paul Greengrass and stars Tom Hanks in the name role. Adapted from a book by Richard Phillips himself, there has been some controversy surrounding this film. Many crewmembers involved in the event have said that the film glorifies Captain Phillips too much, and that he led his crew into harm’s way. I think by this point we’ve all come to realize that most Hollywood ‘true stories’ are over-dramatizations. While I’m sure the true story could have made a more interesting and complex plot, I don’t necessarily believe this film is a bad one. Tom Hanks’ performance is definitely very solid. It’s not one of the standout performances of this year, but Hanks definitely blended well into the role. The breakout performances in this film were definitely by the four Somali pirates. Having attended a casting call with no previous
experience, these Minneapolis actors stole the show. The film starts out with Boston-accented Captain Phillips talking to his non-accented wife about how hard it is to make it in the world nowadays. The symbolism is a bit in-your-face but not too distracting. The film’s real problem is that it’s just too long. At 134 minutes, it could easily be cut down to a less exhausting run-time. Not to say anything bad about long movies, but the events in the latter half of the film are so drawn out and repetitive that the film borders on boring and tedious. Likely the most notable aspect of the cinematography to this film is that it’s shot mostly on a steady-cam. My guess is that it’s supposed to make the audience feel like they’re more at sea and less in a controlled environment. This idea works for a portion of the film, but there are also scenes where it seems like the camera operator forgot how to operate a camera. There are definite- CAPTAIN ly some questionable Cont’d page 8
RUSH:
how surprised I was at the quality of this film. As the sequel to 2009’s Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and with new writers and directors, I was anticipating it to fall flat on its face. I began to make fun of it, calling it ‘2 Cloudy 2 Meatballs.’ I still generally refer to it as that, but it’s now a loving gesture in my mind. I think this film’s biggest strength is that it’s self-aware. The opening credit to the movie is “A film by a lot of people.” After seeing trailers to this film, I was convinced it would be just a bunch of bad puns aimed at the enjoyment of kids. And only kids. However, everything is delivered with a perfectly placed wink and nod that make the jokes really work. In Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, after the island is evacuated, it is taken over by mutant food beasts. After a hysterical Jurassic Park (1993) rip-off, Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) questions, “How did this even happen?” To which Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) breaks the fourth wall and says (and I’m
GRAVITY:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
ENTERTAINMENT 5
Lorde: Pure Heroine
16-year-old New Zea@hannah_mv land native Lorde recently released her first full-length album, Pure Heroine. A beautiful transition from her hit single “Royals,” Lorde lays it all out. In a recent interview with Google Play, she stated “I’ve always been a fan of simplicity and cleanliness” and that translates directly into her By HANNAH VOGEL MUSIC COLUMNIST
Whether it be the first PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR @mssadiebell battle of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord or the Beatles’ 1964 arrival at Kennedy International Airport, the British continue to invade America. The First British Invasion of American pop-culture is marked by the Beatles arrival in 1964, bringing with them a new style of music and fashion. Following the pandemonium of the Beatles came the influence of the edgy mod subculture of the 1960s and punk anarchy into the early 1970s. Since the British Invasion of the twentieth century, the Brits have remained a strong influence in American fashion. London Fashion Week is known to be the most innovative of all fashion weeks, which is why the shows of September 13th-17th brought so much anticipation. London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014 revealed a twenty-first century British Invasion, introducing a resurgence of the mod subculture and traditional British garden-esque style. Iconic and emerging By SADIE BELL
new album. She has used simple melody to truly capture her lyrics. “Songwriting is about saying something and the music is the framework for that,” stated Lorde. The music is spare and simple and almost trance-like, but it works for her. She is raw in her music and in her life; her live performances are almost eerie. She sways around the stage and glares out at the audience, which only draws the listener in more.
British designers’ collections consisted of similar ideas, but each with their own unique touch. Christopher Bailey, the Chief Creative Officer of Burberry Prorsum, featured a mod resurgence with a modern twist for Spring/ Summer 2014. Bailey’s collection primarily included lace ensembles with a button down, high collared top paired with a pencil skirt, hemmed just below the knee. The ensembles were separate pieces in the same lace and color. Bailey showed some variation in his designs by continuing his theme of high collars and long pencil skirts, but mixed prints in half of the collection. Burberry is bringing back mod by incorporating wide rim white sunglasses with black and white striped pencil
Pure Heroine starts off strong with the song Tennis Court. Within the first ten seconds you can tell it is going to be a lyrically strong record. The first words Lorde breathes are “Don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk,” a very bold way to start an album. Lorde isn’t afraid to speak her mind and challenge the current pop culture. The Album is composed of a few main themes; being afraid to grow up, keeping your friends, and of course disagreeing with society’s view of “fame”. As you listener, the fluidity of the album becomes obvious. Every song flows almost seamlessly into the next. By the end, some might say boredom ensues. If you look at her style and her message, though, you can stay entertained throughout the entire ten song album. A steady heartbeat like rhythm is kept throughout every song. This factor really ties the record together as a whole. When you hit the middle of the LP, you hear a song called “Team”, this is where the album starts to take another twist. This song starts to bring in a more hip-hop feel with sharp drumbeats. You also
witness yet again her magnificent vocal range. As you near the end of the album you’ll hear “White Teeth Teens”, this song is starting to get more radio airplay. It is also one of her more fun, upbeat, pop sounding songs. The album comes to a close, and we come full circle with a song called “A World Alone.” She talks through most of the song about how “People are talking” and “All my fake friends and all their noise.” Of course this all relates back to her opening lyrics and her idea of how fame is so far from her reality. She stresses that point throughout the entire record, that she and her friends like a life unlike the famous people, but how she is being drawn into that world through her new found fame. Pure Heroine is a canvas of well thought out lyrics and honest singing painted upon it. Her leap of faith into the music industry was incredible and she managed to stick the landing. For an overnight sensation, she’s definitely someone to look into. I can only imagine what time and practice will bring to this up and coming young artist. I see bright things for her future.
skirts paired with contrasting black and white polka dot blouses. The twenty-first century mod differs from the original underground due to the current longer hemlines, offset by less modest sheer tops. Bailey’s designs prove fashion is a forever evolving cycle, building off the past to create something new and just as creative what inspired the designs. Beautiful Soul London designer Nicola Wood’s collection screams “Alice in Wonderland meets Twiggy, circa 1963.” Though Woods only released Beautiful Soul London’s first collection in March 2011, her work continues to improve and stay true to her initiative to create designs with traditional English charm.
Wood’s Spring/Summer 2014 designs consist of various long sleeve dresses with high collared necklines, miniskirts, sheer button up shirts, all in floral prints, paired with white oxfords. Like Burberry’s repeated patterns, Wood’s designs repeat the same floral prints in their tops and skirts, but each piece in a different color. The floral prints inspire a Wonderlandlike style, but mod is emphasized through the collars and miniskirts, creating a daring merge of two British eras, Victorian and mod underground. Beautiful Soul London’s designs bring to mind Twiggy sharing tea with the Mad Hatter in the Secret Garden, and as ridiculous as it sounds, it works exceptionally well. Emerging London designers Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow, and Ryan Lo were handpicked by industry experts through the non-profit initiative, Fashion East, to demonstrate their talents in design at this year’s LonSO CHIC don Fashion Week. Cont’d page 11
What have we done? Nothing. A harmless chant of “We want straps” has left a deafening silence across the second floor of Wayzata. The outburst at the pepfest on By HANNAH OLSON the Monday GUEST WRITER of Homejunior class coming week has suddenly altered the course of future Wayzata school years. The rumor that there will be no pepfest next year has left the juniors scratching their heads and wondering, “What have we done?” The answer is simple: nothing. The only students that did something that administration found to be “unruly” behavior were twelve students, the Hard Hats. A question still re-
mains: why should any of us have to be punished for something that we had no part in? Granted, I may or may not have been chanting along with the Hard Hats, but in my defense so was the rest of the senior class, the juniors, sophomores, and even the freshman. (Oh, those poor naive freshman who have no clue what is even happening, they just jump on the bandwagon.) But before we address this incident, let’s take a look back. Why did the hardhats have their “straps” taken away in the first place? Or why is it that administration was on high alert for any “disruptive and inappropriate” behavior? It wasn’t the current seniors, and it most certainly wasn’t my grade, the juniors, so who got the Class of 2014 into this mess? That’s right. The class of 2013. Why is it then, that that class of 2014 and 2015 must be penalized for their actions? There isn’t a solid reason. The admin-
istration doesn’t trust the class of 2015 not to have another disruptive outbreak, which is a weak argument. We have done nothing wrong since booing is harmless act. If administration is worried about the hurt feelings of freshman, they should think again. Getting booed is a part of freshman year. After all, every year, they try to boo the seniors. If this is occurring, than their feelings must not be that hurt. It is unjust for them to take away the juniors’ last pepfest for no reason. We did no wrong. Isn’t the overall reason of a pepfest to unite the school for a greater good? Straps may not be the greater good, but they certainly did unite Wayzata better than the infamous “Cherry Video” of 2013. Regardless, I—along with the junior class—want the same experiences given to the grades prior which means, a good old fashioned pepfest for the Wayzata student body of 2014-2015, nothing new or fancy.
Are we really different? But, of course, we say it is tradition. nor deser ving to inherit the wor ld. It is natural that we should carr y W hen the pinnac le of our senior on what our predecessors star ted. year is disr upting school activities I would posit that this tradition is for patheticall y unimpor tant and in fact, quite stupid. The “senior selfish gestures, it is c lear that we chant ” is more a sign of our own still have not learned. insecurities, as we tr y to asser t W hile I do belie ve and have al ways our impor tance and dominion as held the notion that pep fests are the r uling c lass at WHS. Instead a waste of valuable school time, of being the first c lass to diverge they are no excuse for the pitiful from these outdated traditions behavior that was displayed. Unlike in a manner that would show our late star ts, which are useful periods maturit y as well as our leadership, of time for teachers to meet, pep we onl y demonstrate that we are fests ser ve no pur pose other than still children. to squeez e Character, an enormous Giving the hard hats such a a sense of amount of public way to clamor for attenidentit y, or our people into tion does nothing for the adminindividualism, a hot, stuffy istration. Public demonstrations is not defined g ym... so require public reactions, and that by what we that they will only paint the hard hats as wear. We can do what, oppressed martyrs. show the tr ue e x a c t l y ? C. LUKE SOUCY (11) extent of our W a t c h c h a r a c t e r the dance when we attack our peers, those team dance and the “royalt y ” play younger than us, and disr upt school games? This waste of resources is activities. O ur character has been dishear tening. This time would found lacking. O ur immaturit y is a have been better spent in c lasses, sign that we are c lear l y not ready activel y learning. I believe the point
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O u r generation is no different than those before us. Caught up in the frenzied chanting of “ We want straps!” I am saddened by By ZACHARY HELPPI the pathetic GUEST WRITER display of senior class immaturit y at the pep fest. That wasted time would have been better spent addressing real problems, instead of watching the alleged “royalt y ” of WHS play pointless games. It is obvious the education system is failing the majorit y of societ y— or rather, the majorit y of societ y is failing the education system— when the focal point of high school is degrading those younger than oursel ves. We are instilling in oursel ves a sense of false pride and identit y by yelling an uncreative chant: “S eniors seniors!”
the death
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NO STRAPS, NO SPIRIT? On September 30th’s pep f from all grades, only to be drowned out by the marching of school is to learn; to educate oneself. O ur c lass has demonstrated that they don›t believe this to be the point of school. It is ver y easy to be a par t of the crowd. But what confuses me, is that the majorit y of students don›t wear overalls, yet DIFFERENT they chanted that Cont’d page 12 they wanted them.
Same crime, different punishment The debacle over the legacy of the Hard Hats has swept our school. As the homecoming pep fest confirmed, the student body wants their Hard Hats. By ABI MARTEL The Hard GUEST WRITER Hats are a thirsenior class ty year tradition that Wayzata High School is known for throughout the state. These individuals lead the student body in chants and promote school spirit at football games. They are respected by the student body and have
developed an authority for keeping the crowds involved in what is happening on the field. The administration has decided to ban the Hard Hats’ legendar y symbol this year. The administration stated earlier that the reason behind the ban was due to the drunkeness and bullying performed by the members. The administration has informed inquiring ears that this year’s class of Hard Hats have more criminal charges on their record than any other class of Hard Hats. O ur high school administration will allow students with criminal charges to participate in their school sponsored athletic teams but not allow a group of boys who have a few charges on their record to wear an item of clothing, even when they aren’t
sponsored by the school? The administration cannot say that students criminal records are the reason for banning overalls and then continue to let athletes with identical charges part i c i pate in their sports. T h e a d ministr ation has yet to give a valid statement on why these individuals are not allowed to carr y on a tradition that has been passed down to
them by thirty years of Hard Hats prior. It is hypocritical to blame their run-ins with the law and then allow individuals to participate in their sports when they have suffered the exact same charges. The Hardhats should be allowed to wear their overalls both to school and to football games without suspension. It is unfair to discriminate against them because of their actions if the administration is not going to discriminate against athletes for the same ones.
h of
HOOL SPIRIT?
Photo by SOPHIE TOLAND
fest, the Hard Hats rebelled against the recent ruling from the administration banning overalls. Cooper Ambrose (12) and Dane Roti (12) started a “We want straps” chant, leading on an angry crowd band, ending the pep fest early.
Sporting straps
Depending on ing and chanting? Really, that was the who you ask, only part of the pep fest that we potenthe pep fest was tially “ruined.” either a huge Our chant was much louder and entersuccess or fail- taining for the students than anything ure. the school could’ve put together. NoIf you ask most body gets psyched about anything exteachers and cept for maybe the football team’s dance. administration One parent who was at the pep fest they’ll prob- said, “It really wouldn’t have been a pep ably tell you fest if it wasn’t for the Hardhats.” By MATT HANSEN that the Hard The whole purpose of a pep fest is to GUEST WRITER Hats ruined it. get the students excited and if it hadn’t senior class Ask a Hard Hat been for our chant, I don’t know what or student and about that pep fest was getting anybody he’ll most likely pumped up. tell you that Rahmel Bowman working The pep fest showed, students are it or our “We want clearly straps” chant was more apt the highlight of I think the administration to cheer the whole pep fest. has the whole issue completely a l o n g I’ve heard from wrong. It’s shouldn’t be about w i t h numerous teachabout what the Hard Hats are a stuers how rude and wearing, it should be about their dent led disrespectful they actions as individuals. chant, thought the pep ALYSSA LE (12) t h a n fest was. I’ve also anything heard from teachers though who found the school could do. Although we were it entertaining and saw the humor in it. able to get the job done without the I understand that lots of hard work and overalls, we still are not preparation goes into these pep fest but going to stop fighting STRAPS how much work really goes into point- for them. Cont’d page 12
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Traditions die hard The Hard Hats say they do things because of tradition. I do not hold the key to evaluating which traditions are ‘good’ and which are not, but I do notice that By JARED KAUFMAN some traditions S TA F F W R I T E R are more valusenior class able than others. According to Merriam-Webster, a tradition is “the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction.” But a ‘valid’ tradition is more than this dictionary definition. I propose two conditions for determining if a tradition is ‘valid:’ that its participants know why they are partaking in that action, and that there are unique reasons for its existence other than heritage alone. Take Heart Week. Why does our school devote a week in February to this theme? Tradition is definitely a factor. But we participate in Heart Week because it is special to those days, we enjoy the idea, we want
to promote happiness. These reasons why Heart Week occurs are not inherently based on their occurrence the previous year. Culinary Express serves pasta dishes every
Tuesday. Why does this happen? Pasta is not served simply because pasta was served the week before, but because it’s a popular, nutritious, and delicious lunch choice. Why do the Hard Hats have their exclusive brand of school pride? They wear one strap of their overalls buckled and one strap unbuckled, coordinated on a particular side. They wear jerseys underneath the overalls. They wear tan work boots. The origin of the uniform seems random; the clothing does not seem to be practical or useful. These details may be carried out solely because they have been in the past. DIE HARD The Hard Hats have Cont’d page 12
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013
OPINION 8
Opinion Exchange TROJAN TRIBUNE EDITORIAL STAFF Editor in Chief Katie Talerico News Editor Davante Washington Feature Editor Meredith Johnson Sports Editor Emily Berg Opinion Editor Kate Carroll Photo Editor Sadie Bell Advertising Manager Taylor Cranfield Advisor David Motes
MISSION STATEMENT MISSION STATEMENT
To address issues that Wayzata High School is facing; to investigate with courage, persistence and passion; to report the news with accuracy and without bias; to encourage thought, investigate events which incite praise and those which incite criticism; and to make connections between people in this community.
EDITORIAL POLICY
Editorial policies and content decisions are made by the student editorial board. The opinions expressed in the editorials, columns, and opinion pieces are those of the Trojan Tribune staff and are not necessarily the opinions of the advisor, administration, students, faculty, or District 284. The Trojan Tribune follows the guidelines of the Associated Press Stylebook and is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association.
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In defense of subjectivity
A recent discussion with some of my students yielded the ever-so-revelatory notion that when they receive their schedules each seBy MEAGHAN DECKER mester, they GUEST WRITER swap stories: old wives tales of the Profe Someone-or-Other who only gives out one A per year, rumors of the social studies instructor who won’t dole out more than an 85% to particular political leanings, or whispers of the English teacher who starts out everyone with a zero. Okay, the last one is me, and it’s true. But what is the next thing out of a student’s mouth when he finds out he’s got a “hard grader” at the helm? “It’s not fair!” And why not? Because that teacher is subjective, because that teacher allows her opinions to relate in some way to a young person’s overall grade. I’ve rarely heard a student, parent, or educator utter that word sans disdain, despite the usefulness—dare I say necessity—of subjectivity in the schools. For starters, I tread with not-so-hefty a foot here, for I possess a genuine respect for my colleagues at Wayzata High School, and I even personally like them. The teachers in all subjects have been helpful, fun, and kind, and administration has allowed, even encouraged, more freedom here than any of my friends who work at other schools are afforded. But the trend in American education right now is to find and use quantifiable data and dismiss just about everything else. Do not mistake my argument: I still support the necessity to memorize facts about presidential parties and irregular French verb conjugations to keep in that meat computer of yours, and there are a lot of processes you should have to demonstrate you understand, be they mathematical equations, scientific experiments, musical scales, or prepping a canvas. In addition to the easily measurable (I said measurable, not how easy they are to plan, grade, or teach), these quantitative elements require the balance of more subjective, qualitative pieces. When did it become so terrible to need to know how to please someone? To reach a person’s emotional core? To know how to communicate subtext? To reach for that unknown something which pushes a grade into the exceptional, as opposed to the very, very good at following instruc-
tions? To do anything unexpected? Perhaps this is simple for an English teacher to point out, you might say—I am a logical person, an analytical person—I appreciate the truth, not all that gushy butterflies and rainbows feelings junk. Well, here is that truth: subjectivity is at the core of everything you are building toward in that just unreachable, esoteric land you call the “real” world, as if all this is just imaginary. You will have to write college essays which spark the interest of an admissions officer. You will have to charm and impress a prospective employer in a job interview with your personality. You will have to find a rapport with future coworkers. And, if you really want to make something of yourself, you must find a way to
fulfilled. Bullock’s character seems to not From page 4 be able to act without the guidance of her male companion. With awkward romantic tension it almost seems like a metaphor that women need men to survive. Not to mention the implausible (and by implausible I mean remarkably stupid) trauma we learn about her that is supposed to help us accomplish the difficult feat of feeling sympathy for someone fighting for their life. I didn’t think Sandra Bullock’s performance was that great. She was far from the first choice for the part, and I think it showed. It was by no means
bad, but I’d be genuinely surprised if she walked away with another Oscar. The entire basis of the performance was breathy and scared. There were plenty of awkward line deliveries and I often felt it lacked a certain amount of emotion. It may be the weak writing for her character but I don’t believe it ’s the show-stealing performance that ’s been hyped. It may seem like I really hated this film. I didn’t. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Visually, it ’s mind-blowing. If you’re interested in this film, see it in IMAX. I just wish they had spent a fraction of the amount of time they spent on the technology on the script. The movie seems to be an ex-
GRAVITY
solve a problem creatively—to innovate— in a way no one else has, and that does not fit into any rubric even the best educators can dream up. All of these things, these “real” world assessments, are subjective. So next time you find out you have the “hard” grader—which I’d like to think is all of us—consider how lucky you are. You get to challenge not only your abilities to grasp and synthesize concrete information but also hone those you will one day need to read your boss, to please a brand new customer, to intuit your loved one’s emotional needs, and to give the people something they didn’t even know they ever wanted. You might even understand yourself better, and no checklist will ever do that.
Photo art by KATIE TALERICO AP Comp and Creative Writing teacher Meaghan Decker is known for starting students out with zeros in all their assignments at the beginning of the term. She is a notoriously hard grader but allows her students to rewrite papers until they are satisfied with their grade.
cuse to show off cool tricks Cuarón developed. That doesn’t mean that the movie is terrible though. Just that a lot of potential was wasted. 7/10.
shots that take you out of the moFrom page 4 ment and wonder if the filmmakers took enough footage. On the whole, I was able to feel emotion for this film. There are some intense moments and good performances. The script is no spectacle, though it could certainly be worse. Far from one of the best films of the year, I still enjoyed myself. 7/10. CAPTAIN
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013
OPINION 9
Something worth writing about It is 10:30 on a Monday night. I am reading through the student body’s comments and opinion articles about pep fests and straps for the sevenBy KATIE TALERICO teenth time, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF and I cannot help but think, “What a bunch of brats.” You’re brats, but you’re wonderful. This must really be Wayzata. We cannot find anything better to worry about than a bunch of teenage boys who are being told they can’t have something that they want. Big deal? I guess to most of you it is, judging from the flood of responses I received as soon as the Trojan Tribune’s School
personality but is biased toward appearFrom page 2 ance. “I think they have a picture in their head of what an Aeropostale employee should look like so they offer a job to anyone who matches that,” Saenger said. “On one side it’s a form of discrimination, but at the same time it’s something that we all subconsciously do.” “Under the circumstances, companies have the luxury of choosing from a huge group of teens,” said Saenger. “This ultimately leads to expendable workers and discrimination based on looks, gender, race, and sexual orientation.” Abercrombie CEO Mike Jefferies said his stores hire based on appearance “because good-looking people attract other good looking people and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t want to market to anyone other than that.” According to Daniel Hamermesh, a professor at University of Austin Texas, those who are more attractive tend to do better in the work place. In an interview with CNN, Hamermesh attractiveness is based off of the symmetry of features… But not too [attractive]. It’s not perfect. If it’s perfect, it’s bland. There’s got to be a little off, otherwise you lose interest.” A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology stated that for every inch taller a person is than the average person, they may be worth an extra $789 per year. An ongoing poll on Entrepreneur.com found that 70.71% said that appearance was okay to be a factor when hiring. LOOKS
board meeting this fall. Drew said, “At the From page 2 ceremony, there were a few guest speakers and workshops for the parents to attend. In the afternoon, the awards ceremony went underway, and about a hundred students were recognized for their achievements in tests.” Lutz said, “William and I walked across the stage together and he accepted his DREW
Spirit Poll was opened. (215 responses in one day? Pretty impressive, actually.) Really, though, you don’t have anything better to think about? I mean, I’ve got a load of AP Chem homework that’s waiting to be finished until I edit this paper and college applications that have gone untouched for weeks, but I’m glad that the student population has more free time than I do. I’m glad you can all go home and take naps and wake up to pondering the great mysteries in life: Why, God, why? Why won’t you just give the Hard Hats their straps back? Yes, you’ve got all this free time, but it’s worth noting that you took some of that time to write us an article. In fact, I’m abandoning Chem just to read them. There are inconsistencies in these articles enough to fill Cardona’s logical fallacies wall from floor to ceiling. The Hard Hats’ main argument is that
they are a good representative of the school. By protesting with boos and chants against the school, they’ve shown just how bad of a representation they are. But they spoke, and speaking beats silence every time. The Hard Hats have been given a loophole: wear different overalls, and they won’t be suspended. This seems like a simple fix, and yet Hard Hats refuse to embrace the compromise. Stubbornness. I love it. The articles in this issue are weak, childish, and ineffective. Students are eager to call out, “It’s stupid,” or “Screw the administration,” but they back their exclamations up with faulty logic. Bad logic, though, is better than no logic at all. I wish that the student body was able to represent themselves in an articulate way with developed arguments, but we are so lost in the details of the subject at hand
that we miss the bigger picture. Despite that, I’m excited. I’m excited by our passion, our ability to unite under a common mission even if we totally disagree on what the mission is. I’m happy that multiple people were roused enough by an event at the school to write to us and share with the student body. This is a public forum, and it is part of the paper’s duty to represent the voice of the student, no matter how delusional or misinformed it might be. Plus, you may be right. So write in! Tell me I’m stupid for calling you stupid. Prove me wrong, prove me right, just prove. I dare you to pack the opinion section full of articles calling me a jerk. Because I am a jerk. By writing in, students have are given a voice. Though I may not agree with what impassions the majority, it’s your right to care about something.
Fed up with fringe As fall is approaching, we as a school are approaching another season as well: fringe boot season. Every year as the weather By MEREDITH JOHNSON gets colder, F E AT U R E S E D I T O R the girls of Wa y z a t a break out their fringe boots. They don’t wear just fringe boots though, because the outfit wouldn’t be complete without leggings and a sweatshirt. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with being comfy every once in a while, but come on people let’s be original. On any given day, it’s impossible for you to count on your fingers the amount of girls wearing the exact same outfit because no one has that amount of fingers. Some might argue that this is the style right now, but I would have to disagree. There are many other ways to dress up these popular boots, ways that don’t include lululemon leggings and a sweatshirt. I think the main issue involving this outfit choice is the fact that they are simply over worn. With every popular trend, there comes a time where it slowly starts to die off and makes way for the newest upcom-
ing trend. In this case, fringe boots are taking the place of the once popular Ugg boots. Unfortunately for me, the trend of fringe boots won’t die off. You may think I’m being over critical and downright mean, but I just believe there are other outfit choices out there. Then again everyone in high school is trying to find themselves, and their own original style. Sadly, I think everyone is caught up in being a part of the group; and in this case, the group wears fringe boots. Overall, you’re entitled to your own opinion and fashion sense, but with that in mind I’ll leave you with one quote that
hopefully makes you think twice before you participate in this trend: “You’re tacky and I hate you.”
award and read an extremely thoughtful recognition note.” “I received a scholarship of $1200 towards any program that the Center for Talent Development (CTD) operates,” said Drew. Lutz said he won a year membership to the MCGT, or the Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented. “MCGT is an organization that seeks to support teachers and families of gifted and
talented students in Minnesota,” said Lutz. “It was great to see William receive recognition for his accomplishments,” said Lutz. Lutz said, “While I can’t even pretend to claim responsibility for any of William’s success on those tests, it was one of those ‘fill your cup’ experiences that keep educators passionate and moving forward.” “William works incredibly hard, which is something I was able to see first-hand as
his Vision 21 teacher,” said Lutz. “He puts in endless hours during school, after school, and over the summer improving his academic abilities and skills.” Lutz said, “Many people see students like William and think that ‘everything comes easy for them.’ Very few things come easy, and William is one of those students willing to go that extra mile in the pursuit of excellence.”
M OV I E S , B O O K S , M U S I C , A N D M O R E . . .
WRITE US A REVIEW! trojanopinion@gmail. com
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
SPORTS 10
Dominant or Defenseless? Senior running back Joey Kolpin takes the ball from quaterback Jake Marsh (10) and slips past the Edina defense for a Trojan touchdown during this year’s Homecoming game.
The Trojan football @Mjohnson_snn team has continued on their season in question. The slow start resulted in a loss to Lakeville South putting doubt in the minds of many students. “The loss against Lakeville South really showed us that we had to dig deep and focus on the little things,” said Captain Tanner Bedard. Following the loss, Wayzata went on to dominate Anoka, Hopkins, and Edina, outscoring the three teams 134 to 49. Senior running back Tanner Bedard took matters By matt johnson S E N I O R S TA F F W R I T E R
into his own hands rushing for 254 yards and 7 touchdowns in the stretch of games. The defense also took a stance as they picked off opposing quarterbacks five times, forced three fumbles, and recorded nine sacks. Momentum was on the side of Wayzata when they entered Round Lake Stadium at Eden Prairie High School. Unfortunately for the Trojans, Eden Prairie is ranked the best team in the state and has not let an opponent come closer than 14 points. Eden Prairie never gave Wayzata a chance to blink as they flattened the Trojans to the 49 to 14.
“We suffered too many mistakes against EP. If we want to beat Eden Prairie we need to play a perfect game and I believe we can,” said Bedard. Eden Prairie has always been a cramp for Wayzata. Two seasons ago the Eagles beat Wayzata in the state championship game and the following year they flushed away Wayzata’s dreams of a championship in the 2nd round of the state tournament. Looking ahead, Wayzata has one regular season game left against Minnetonka at home and will look to rebound back to their ferocious
play. “Coming off the loss we have to put the past behind us and keep moving forward,” said Bedard. “We do not dwell on the past, we learn from it,” Bedard said. Sections will begin after the Minnetonka game and Wayzata will likely have home field advantage for their first game. Despite the high and lows that this team has suffered, they have not lost any sight of what they want to accomplish. “I believe we can make a great run because we have a great group of guys on this team who all have the same dream,” said Bedard.
Some of the Hard From page 7 Hats are definitely more reluctant than others. Still, we aren’t going to stop retaliating until a logical compromise is met. For me, those overalls are engraved with all of my memories of High School football games. We’ve had a number of “meetings” with the admins and every time it turned into a lecture about how things are going to be. They also met with our parents and told them why it’s over, never conferencing with them before making the ban against overalls. Every time we’ve met a few things have always come up. First of all, administration brings up our “initiation.” Everything I saw that happened at initiation, I saw at every party I went to throughout the summer. It’s really just a social event for us to all meet and hang out for the first time. The administration has also said that we are a poor representation of Wayzata, which I would completely disagree with. The reality is, not all, but many of high schoolers drink or smoke and that’s not only at Wayzata. Wayzata already has a decorated image. The school district is always an indicator on the value of a property and I can’t think of another public school with a better reputation than us. I’ve been to many parties hosted by people from different schools. At all of those parties, I have seen the same, if not worse, behavior out of those kids. What we do outside of school is our business, not the school’s. I understand that the police are obligated to report any chemical violations to the school, but my parents will discipline me enough: I don’t need the school to be my parents. The administration says we’re set-
ting a bad example for the younger students. The Hard Hats send the message that, in order to be popular, you need to smoke or drink. That’s just not true. There are plenty of “popular” people I know who don’t do either. The reality is, the majority of “popular” kids smoke or drink. That goes for any school, with or without Hard Hats. Students and our parents were constantly told by administration “[The Hard Hats] are all good kids.” If so, then what bad example are they worried is going to be set? There’s no reason to say that to our’s or our parent’s face, they obviously are just saying that. If that was the fact they wouldn’t be worried about us representing the school. You can’t disagree with the fact drinking and smoking are both bad for you and I commend those who don’t participate. It takes a lot more to not give in. Your hobbies don’t define you as a person. Just because you drink or smoke it doesn’t make you a bad person. It can, but in most cases I’ve seen “users” are just as genuine as anyone I know. The only compromise the administration offered was that “[Hard Hats] can wear anything else besides those pinstripe overalls, even just differently colored overalls.” The administration was telling us that we can act the same way, pick the same type of kids year after year, but we just can’t wear that specific fashion of overalls. Regardless of what color our overalls are, we are still going to act the same way and set the same supposed “bad example”. The administration knows they can’t stop the formation of the group but, will changing the color of our overalls make any difference? I’m not going to spend more time and money on different overalls just so the school can try to make a point. The more they try to stop the Hard Hats, the more we’re going to fight back. The administrators are wasting a lot of time and effort on this to ac-
STRAPS
The girls swim and dive team has had a successful thus far. With tru team sections approaching, the team feels confident going into the meet.
d e m i c
A new perspective on s i d e s homework of their From page 1
b r a i n s w i t h grown-ups telling them what t o d o. W h e n s c h o o l ’s o u t , i t s h o u l d b e O U T. K i d s n e e d time to get other needs met.” Fo r t w o y e a r s B l o o m f i e l d Middle School did away with homework, but af ter finding that students going into high school were not equipped with proper study habits they a g a i n c h a n g e d t h e i r p o l i c y,
said Bloomfield Middle School principal Eric Boles. “Once they got into high school [the no homework p o l i c y ] a f f e c t e d s t u d e n t ’s s t u d y s k i l l s . T h e y w e r e n’t w h e r e they should be,” said Boles. “ We are not de-valuing homework, if anything it is now more important than e v e r. W i t h t h e S B G s y s t e m homework allows feedback to students without a large penalty for failure on an assignment,” said Sommerfeld.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
SPORTS 11
Girls cross country Strong season for tennis creates a legacy Girls cross country recently @MsSadieBell placed first at the Griak Invitational, beating the second place school by over one hundred points. Senior Annika Halverson said, “The Griak is one of the largest races in the country, starting with college races in the morning and then high school races all afternoon.” According to senior McKenna Evans, the race takes place at the University of Minnesota golf course and is the only other 5K race the team runs, other than regionals and nationals. “We see where we stand and compete overall at the Griak,” said Evans. Evans said ten teammates from the girls team ran, all of the varsity and the top junior varsity runners. Senior Alayna Sonnesyn said, “We raced against nationally ranked teams from Colorado and Illinois, but we took first, which gives us better national rankings.” “Wayzata boys and girls teams both won. The girls won by one hundred and four points,” said Halverson. “We didn’t expect to win, since we got fourth last year,” Halverson said. Senior Mary Franke said, “The team did phenomenal. It’s amazing to be a part of something so great. I’m very proud of my teammates.”
“In the middle of the race, we were all ranked in the seventies, but by the end, we were all in the top 25. We raced smart,” said Halverson. “We ran our own race,” Evans said. “Our accomplishments show a lot of depth because the top seven runners beat almost all of the second or third place runners on the other teams,” said Sonnesyn. “I’m very happy and excited about our accomplishments. We had high expectations and it is good we accomplished them,” said Evans. Halverson said, “The awards mean nothing, I’m just honored to run with these girls. It’s awesome to be a part of the team.” “I’m really proud of what we’ve done so far, we have a lot of potential to go even further,” said Sonnesyn. “We are in shape and ready for state, conference, and sectionals,” said Evans. “We would like to win state again and hopefully go to nationals,” Halverson said. “We need to focus on each meet at a time and be humble, but confident. Our rankings mean nothing until the race comes,” said Franke. “Our goal is to inspire younger runners. We got seventh at state when I was a freshman and now we are looking at nationals, we want to create a legacy,” Halverson said.
chanted that they wanted them. In what From page 6 society is the desire to wear overalls more important than other, real issues? Our class has simply proven that we are a society in which instant gratification, in this case the satisfaction of disobeying the administration is more important than actual issues, such as the NSA or the economy. But, alas, these topics are too complex for the simple minds of students. These problems are not entertaining and thus are not worth our time. There lies the true problem with our class. We do not pay attention to the real problems. Instead, we choose to live in willful ignorance. It is for these reasons that any attempt to speak to over three thousand students about these topics would be meaningless. And thus pep fests, which serve only to aggravate the dangerously self-centered society in which we live, are a waste of resources. So much for “reduce, reuse, refuse to lose.”
The designs by Fashion East are From page 5 very youthful, comparable to edgy children’s apparel for grown women. The youthful feel from Fashion East is due to their use of A-line dresses in bright florals, pastels, and bold prints. The models walked the runway in in facepaint made to make them look like forest animals and held stuffed animals to emphasize their juvenile designs. The young British designers show great potential, never failing to be creative, innovative, and unafraid. Like previous British invasions, emerging designers have been influential, creating movements like mod and punk that continue to remain in American culture today. The young British designers carry their bold attitudes into their work, paving the way for a successful future in the industry. Burberry Prorsum, Beautiful Soul London, and Fashion East were only three out of the 58 shows at Spring/ Summer 2014 London Fashion Week, but illustrate the start of another British Invasion. Iconic British designers and upcoming names in the industry introduced similar collections bringing back the mod underground through high collars and pencil skirts, while maintaining traditional English garden-esque style with lace and floral prints. London Fashion Week continues to reach new heights, pushing for another British Invasion. The Brits always find their way into American pop-culture, setting the standards for style, innovation, and infinite creativity.
By SADIE BELL S TA F F W R I T E R
DIFFERENT
declared themselves to be an established tradition, but that carries little weight unless that viewpoint is also accepted or honored by the majority. ‘Striped overalls’ may be a Hard Hats tradition, but ‘Hard Hats wearing striped overalls’ is not necessarily a WHS tradition. These traditions are theirs, not ours. After the wearing of overalls was banned this year, students are beginning to accept them as a collective tradition even more than in previous years, even if they do not personally know who the Hard Hats are or what they do. Students are not thinking critically about whether or not the Hard Hats are a worthwhile tradition. We cannot blindly align ourselves to a cause; our allegiances must be honest and informed. Figure out where you stand on this issue. Then, answer this important question: DIE HARD From page 7
SO CHIC
Photo by Naomi Liew
Girls tennis playing at home for the last time against Armstrong. The girls beat the Falcons 7-0.
By HANA KASSEM JUNIOR STAFF WRITER
@HanaKassem
The girl’s tennis team has had some tremendous
accomplishments this season. Their season came to a close when they lost to Edina in the section finals 6-1. Recently, the girls dominated at the Edina Invitational. “Our biggest achievement of the season was definitely beating Edina at the Edina Invitational. They have won the state championship 16 years in a row, so it was exciting to be able to beat a team of that caliber,” said junior Kelly Yang. The girls beat Edina 4-3 as well as Minnetonka, whom they had suffered a loss to earlier that week. “The big win against Edina was very exciting. I was extremely proud of my team, and glad we finally beat them,” said senior captain Haley Nichols. “I think our team has exceeded our expectations and goals that we made at the beginning of the season. We all have worked really hard to be one of the top teams in the state,” said Nichols (12).
Commenting on their win against Benilde-St. Margarets, Yang said, “It was a great confidence booster to beat Benilde. We won 6-1 and was a great leeway into our next match against even tougher opponents.” “The Benilde match was really crucial because we needed to beat them to get the 2nd seed for sections,” said Nichols. “I think we played great this season. Even though we lost to Prior Lake 4-3 and Minnetonka and Edina, we ended up beating Minnetonka and Edina at the Edina Invitational, so I think we bounced back in a phenomenal way,” said Yang. The girls’ most recent away match resulted in a win against Blake 5-2 and a loss to Edina 6-1, ending the team’s season in second place for sections. The next step for some of the girls is individuals. Two singles players and two doubles teams will represent Wayzata October 14th and 15th. Those who place first and second will continue on to state.
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THE TROJAN TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
SPORTS 12
Wayzata Challenge Cup win first since ‘07 Wayzata High School earned the 2012-2013 Wells Fargo SPORTS EDITOR Challenge Cup, an award given @EmilyBerg26 to schools with the most success in athletics and arts. Four of the Lake Conference schools were in the top 10. Wayzata scored 743 points and Eden Prairie was close behind with 731 points. Edina took third with 576 points and Minnetonka came in fourth with 573 points. This is the second time Wayzata has won the Challenge Cup. Wayzata was first awarded the cup in 2007. Eden Prairie has won the Cup six times, including five in a row until this year. Lakeville (pre North and South days) has won two. No other school has ever won. Wayzata won the Cup thanks to a strong spring sport season that saw several teams advance to their respective state tournaments. By EMILY BERG
The boys’ tennis team earned Wayzata 70 points as they won the Class 2A team state championship. Also, freshman Nicholas Beaty and senior Jack Graven won the Class 2A doubles championship. The boys’ and girls’ track and field teams combined to earn 80 points with strong performances by individuals and relay teams at the state meet. The boys’ golf team added 54 points to the school’s total as the team took second place at the state tournament. The baseball team also contributed to the strong spring season by advancing to the state tournament for the first time since 1989. Other successes from last year included state championships by the girls’ soccer team, the girls’ cross country team and the girls’ Nordic skiing team.
Photo by Sydney Gran AD Jaime Sherwood poses with the 2012-2013Challenge Cup.
A win and a loss for soccer By EMILY BERG
The gir ls soccer team K atie Yeager. “ They al way s br ing their game ended their 2013 season and work their hardest until the end. We out last S aturday, October 12. played them, I think, but they ended up having The team lost to Hopkins in the section semi- the result in their favor. “ We made one mistake finals 4-3 in a and it costed shootout. This was us,” said senior a de vastating loss c aptain Hannah to the team as they S tur tz. were the bac k-to“ I ’ve learned bac k defending to not take anystate champions. thing for grantThe gir ls were 10ed and enjoy 4-3 going into the e ver y second game. of it along the Although the way,” say s Yeateam ne ver lost to ger regarding Hopkins dur ing the season and the regular season, her high school their games were soccer c areer. al way s c lose. The “ I ’ ll take away first time the team for sure the met up with the fr iendships I Royals this season have made. I they won 1-0. The have ne ver been second time the c loser with two teams met up any other team the gir ls won 3-2 Girls soccer ended their season in a tough section shootout loss to Hop- in this shor t kins. The girls were back-to-back state champs and seeded first going amount of time. in over time. “Going into the in to the section tournament. Photo by Jill Yeager. It ’s reall y sad to game, we practiced see the season different formaend, but I know tions for when we were up a goal and down a the fr iendships will last,” S tur tz said. goal. This would allow us to adjust to the score Boy s soccer won their section semi-final game and either get numbers up or numbers bac k,” against S t. L ouis Park 2-0. The boy s will play S tur tz said. in section finals on Tuesday, October 15. “ Hopkins c ame out hungr y,” said senior c aptain SPORTS EDITOR @EmilyBerg26
The girls hockey team is getting anxious about their upcoming season. “I am really excited for this season to begin. As a team, we have high hopes that we will accomplish a lot,” said senior captain Carly Noble. Noble also says that the team’s goals are to win sections and go to the state tournament. “I think we have potential to go to state. Our team is still very bonded from last year and we have a lot of talent that can get us there if we work hard enough,” said Noble. Teammate Kaitlyn Klein (12) said that leadership will also play a role in making it to state. “Leaders are a necessity when playing. Fortunately, all
By NICKI ZAHHOS GUEST WRITER
Girls Hockey: Team chemistry will be #1
the seniors and some of the juniors have stepped up and shown how serious they are about getting better for this season, both individually and as a team.” According to Noble, the team’s competitors will be Minnetonka and Benilde St. Margaret’s. “Every year, Benilde and Minnetonka are our toughest competition. Their programs are strong and they bring talented players through it,” said Noble. “Our main focus of the season will be sticking together as a team. Team chemistry is the most useful thing you can have on a team and it will help take where we want to go,” said Noble. The Trojans first game will be Thursday, November 7 versus at Anoka at 7pm.
Gymnastics sets a high bar By SADIE BELL PHOTO EDITOR
@mssadiebell
The girls gymnastics team has been working hard during their offseason, in hopes of going to state this year. Senior captain Kasey McCarthy (12) said, “This season, our goal is to go to
state.” “We want to get a 155 all around score,” said McCarthy. According to McCarthy, an all around score means all four events of the top four scores of the team are added up. “Last year our highest all around score was a 152.” said McCarthy. Of the team’s strengths, McCarthy said, “Our team has really good form. We may not have the highest skill level, but our form is really impressive compared to other teams.” Last year, the Gymnastics team won the section 6AA title and a spot in the state tournament. Kasey Captain Hannah Roth (12) said, “We need to work on coming McCarthy (12) expects the team to fly high again this year. together as a team when needed. We can also improve on state,” said McCarthy. feeding off of each other’s routines when we are doing well.” McCarthy said, “We now have a lot more skills and if no one gets hurt, we “Our team needs to learn to forget our mistakes. Some gymnasts feel like will definitely do even better. We have improved our basic skills, which in they need to make up for their mistakes, but really they just need to do their return will help gain other skills.” best,” said McCarthy. Roth said, “We are crossing our fingers we will do better this season. I have McCarthy said their biggest competition in the Lake Conference is Eden seen tons of improvement throughout the offseason that will hopefully pay Prairie. “Roseville is always good. We could potentially compete against them at off when season comes around.”