B7: Cross country teams and other fall sports look to excel in postseason competition.
The
A10: Spirit week festivites
B10: Apple picking fun
Newsstreak where every person has a story
Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XIC • Issue 3• October 26, 2012
International fair celebrates diversity Mia Karr Managing editor
It’s no secret that high school students don’t have much extra time. Key Club members who volunteered at Harrisonburg’s 15th Annual International Festival on Saturday, Sept 29, sacrificed their few precious free hours in order to give back to the community. According to Key Club sponsor, Maurizio Antonnicola, this is not the first time the club has helped with the event. “They asked for our help. [Helping is] what we do,” Antonnicola said. The forty-plus HHS students who participated volunteered in shifts during the festival, which lasted from noon to 6 p.m. They helped vendors open up stalls, assisted attendees, and directed traffic at the entrance to Hillandale park, where the event was held. The Key Club joined other service groups in the community. Key Club co-president, senior Premal Pa
See DIVERSITY on page A2 Students participate in first club days The number and variety of clubs is higher than ever at HHS. Learn more about them here. B1
Campaign Volunteering PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS
HONORING OUR HERITAGE. Senior Sophie Jeon folds origami birds in a demonstration at the International Festival in Hillendale Park. The HHS Key Club volunteered at the event, which celebrated the diversity of the Harrisonburg community.
As election season nears, students participate in canvassing and calling to support their candidates of choice A3
Students explore One act, “Elephant’s Graveyard” prepares for competitions Gina Muan options for future News editor at JMU college fair The circus is coming to town. Sydney Little Feature editor
Every year in October, JMU hosts college night in their convocation center. Colleges from 14 different states come to present their school to the masses of people who crowd the room. Community college and university booths are set up right beside military and trade school tables. This year, it was on Oct. 4, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and JMU housed representatives from 100 colleges. Juniors and seniors from all over the district came with their parents to get brochures and ask questions to the stationed representatives. Some students, like senior Mariah Johnson, came with characteristics for their ideal college already in mind. “I want to go to a college that has a lot of diversity, is close but not too close, and has good athletic teams,” Johnson said. College representatives had the same idea as Johnson, already having a particular student body type in mind. “We want competitive students who have taken college prep work, are active in their school and community, and have good SAT scores,” George Mason University representative Veronica Wainman said. Many students came to college night with their sights already set on certain schools, but others entered blindly and
See COLLEGE FAIR on page A2
HHS Post-Grad Statistics 4 year schools: 39% 2 year schools: 35% Military: 2% Workforce: 20% Other: 4%
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
HOLD ME BACK. One act play cast members Paul Hairston, Luke Gibson and Samantha Heitsch perform during a dress rehearsal for the district competition.
For the one act play’s district competition on Oct. 20, the cast will be performing Elephant’s Graveyard, a play based on a true story. The story is centered around inhabitants of Erwin, a tiny town in Tennessee, and the events which occur when a traveling circus arrives in 1916. After the death of a townsperson, which involves the circus elephant, the townspeople ultimately decide to hang the elephant from an industrial crane. The play is a narrative, with the actors taking turns telling the story. Characters include a ringmaster, played by senior Paul Hairston, a railroad engineer, played by senior Sam St. Ours, and a strongman, played by junior Luke Gibson. Senior Samantha Heitsch plays the role of elephant trainer. “The elephant is actually the focal char
See ONE ACT on page A2
Marching band raises money through performance at SVMI Mark Duda Editor-in-chief The prospect of home field advantage, where the home team tends to play better, is common in sports. But what about in marching band? On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Marching Blue Streaks co-hosted the Shenandoah Valley Marching Invitational, along with Broadway High School. The invitational, commonly known as SVMI, drew schools from around the region and state. It served as a fundraiser of sorts as well, with the money from entrance fees, tickets, and concessions going to the host bands. The band’s performance this year is based around the Japanese drum, or “taiko”. Although the performance isn’t completely refined yet, the band members
On the Web Updated sports scores for all seasonal sports an intramurals Feature package stories and extended coverage of print packages Advertising forms and information Breaking news from school community Video footage of sports Variety of reviews and blogs Poll of the week Picture of the day
See SVMI on page A2
PHOTO BY GINA MUAN
AT ATTENTION. Band members, led by senior drum major Alex Hunter-Nickels, perform at the Millbrook Showcase on Sept. 22. They finished third out of eight bands.
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Coming Up Fall sports postseason coverage American education week occurs Election season reviewed. What do our students think? Musical auditions kick off. What are our student actors doing to prepare? Debate team trying to defend state championship. Winter sports previews: indoor track, swimming, basketball, and more.
October 26, 2012
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News Briefs SAT PREP CLASS TO BE TAUGHT SAT prep will be given Sept 17- Oct 22 or Sept 19- Oct 24 through Blue Ridge Community College. Students will need “The Official SAT Study Guide”, notebooks and pencils. Both prep sessions cost $150 each. Register now by calling 540-453-2215. GOV SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE TO BE HELD On Nov 15, from 6-7 p.m., the Massanutten Regional Governor’s School will be hosting a fall open house for any students who are thinking about attending in the future. For more information, visit the Counseling Center. RED SEA GEAR AVAILABLE Red Sea T-shirts and sweatshirts are available in room 444. T-shirts are $10 and sweatshirts are $20. New this year is the embroidered Red Sea hoodie. Hoodies are $10. CLASS WARS GOING STRONG Class Wars have begun. Students will receive tokens for attending different events. Drop off your tokens in your class jar located in room 444. END OF FIRST NINE WEEKS The end of the first grading period is Oct. 26. Make sure all assignments are completed and turned in today. TEACHER WORK DAY Schools will be closed on Oct 29 for teacher work day. At the end of each 9-weeks, there will be a teacher work day.
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Garbers Church checkpoints in full force Brenna Cowardin Style editor Practically since the beginning of school, students have seen a police car sitting next to the speed limit sign right before the school zone while coming to school. Officer Sinclair, the in-school resource officer, was concerned by students speeding coming to and from school. “The first couple days of school, I just noticed kids speeding while coming to school and speeding out of the parking lot at the end of the day,” Sinclair said. “We saw a need for more police presence on Garbers Church Road at those certain times of the day,” Sinclair said. The consequences for carrying extra passengers, speeding or texting while driving have remained the same, but the extra police in the vicinity should discourage students from disobeying common traffic laws. Because Garbers Church Road is adjacent to the school, Officer Sinclair is especially wary of young drivers carrying more passengers than allowed by law. “We don’t want juveniles disobeying the law, especially for having passengers in the car,” Sinclair said. “It’s not like it’s a target area, but it is an area of concern,” Sinclair said. Despite recent rumors, the checkpoint on Sept. 20 had nothing to do with the added police presence in front of the school. This type of examination happens periodically throughout the year, all over Harrisonburg. Police officers performed a
check to make sure drivers have their licenses, valid registrations and up-to-date state inspections. “Police officers don’t pull people over at random,” Sinclair said. When these checkpoints occur, drivers are not directed off the road by police officers in irregular intervals. Everyone driving past that certain place on the road is required to stop. Cones are set up and signs warn drivers that there is a checkpoint ahead. On Sept. 20, the police had the checkpoint set up right in front of the baseball and softball fields on Garbers Church Road. “Everybody comes through, and as every car comes through we just make sure that they have their drivers’ licenses and their registrations are up-to-date,” Sinclair said. Senior, Giovanna Raso, went through the check on Sept. 20 on the way home from school. Raso was not particularly vexed by the checkpoint or the way it was conducted, despite the fact the it slowed down traffic. “It was a little annoying that [the police] were pulling everyone over, but I was okay with it,” Raso said. The police department’s professionalism really stood out. Despite the fact teenage drivers tend to be less responsible on the road, officers were pulling over parents and students alike and treating them the same way. “The police handled the checkpoint well; there are certain things they have to do.” Raso said.
Q: How was the checkpoint conducted? A:“They asked for my license and registration after they pulled me over.” Q:Are there any parts of the checkpoint that could’ve been handled differently? A:“No, because the police have certain things that they have to do at checkpoints.” Q: Who was being stopped? Was it random? A:“Everyone that drove through was being stopped, so it was kind of random.” Q: What time of day/when was this? A:“After school at around 2:30 p.m.” Q: Did police officers act more suspicious because you were a teenage driver? A:“Not really, because they were pulling parents over too.” Q: What was your reaction? A:“It was a little annoying that they were pulling everyone over, but I was okay with it.”
Key club gears up for big year Mary McMahan News editor
VTA THEATER COMPETITION The HHS One Act will be competiting at the Reston Competition Oct 26 through Oct 28. Go out and support your Stage Streaks. YEARBOOK RECEIVES AWARD The HHS yearbook received the Col. Savedge award. The award is given to a school that has maintained a gold medalist rating for 6 out of 7 consecutive years. FINAL MARCHING BAND COMPETITION The Marching Blue Streak Band will be competiting at the VBODA state assessment Oct 27. They will be performing to maintain the previous year’s rating of superior. THANKSGIVING BREAK Thanksgiving is almost here. Thanksgiving break will be Nov 21- 23. There will not be an early release the day before break begins. PARENT/STUDENT PORTAL The new grade portal is now up and running. Parents should have received the registration code in the mail. Contact Guidance if you have any questions. Students can access their grades using their lunch number as their username and their regular MAC username as their password.
Q & A with Giovanna Raso
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS
AHHHH! Aztec dancers, a dog show, and this traditional dragon dance were among the activities for festival-goers to enjoy at this year’s International Festival held at Hillendale park. Multiple HHS students participated in demonstrations such as Kurdish dancing or volunteered to help with the organization of the event.
The Key Club is planning for a year full of fundraisers and activities. Key club advisor Maurizio Antonnicola and the estimated 125 members of the club are already in the process of planning this year’s main fundraiser, the “Eliminate Project”. “[The Eliminate Project] will help to save 60,000 children in impoverished countries who are dying from Tetanus,” Antonnicola said. Tetanus, also known as Lockjaw, is an infection to the nervous system that is caused by a deadly bacteria. Tetanus is usually contracted through wounds or open cuts on the body. This is why we are told to not touch rusty nails or anything of the sort when we have a cut on our hand or finger. The Key Club’s goal is to raise around $10,000. Their hope is that every student and/or teacher will donate at least $3, which can save one life from a disease that we already are protected from with our annual tetanus shots and boosters. Another feature activity of the year will be the “Happy Bottoms Collection Drive.” The Key Club will be asking for the donation of diapers. The diaper drive will help benefit the city health center and the HHS nursery. The Key Club will be organizing and participating in many more activities and fundraisers this year including The Sherry Anderson 5K Race, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, the Lego Competition in December, and the Jeremiah Bishop Gran Fondo bike race.
International Festival thriving One Act gears up for performances DIVERSITY from A1 tel, was eager to help out a good cause. “You get to see a variety of people who live in your community. You get a little taste of different cultures,” Patel said, of the festival, which is a program of the Civic Engagement branch of the Fairfield Center, a nonprofit organization. Key Club co-president, senior Giancarlo Antonnicola, volunteered at the festival the entire day, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.before, during, and after it took place. “I felt like I should stay all day,” Giancarlo Antonnicola said, about his responsibilities as co-president. The event came with some challenges. “[There were] idiot drivers. People just kept going,” Giancarlo Antonnicola said. However, when he took a break to experience the event from a visitor’s perspective a few times during his shift, he liked what he saw. “I thought it was really well put together,” Giancarlo Antonnicola said. “It brings everybody together for one day.”
There were a variety of things to do and see at the festival, in accordance with its motto “Educate, Entertain, Eat.” Visitors could sample a variety of ethnic foods, everything from Puerto Rican to Ethiopian. They could visit booths selling handcrafted jewelry from around the world and trinkets not typically found on the shelves of an average American store. Over 35 vendors participated. There were also over ten performances of different varieties, ranging from Aztec dancers to an international dog breed show. While junior Chris Hyser didn’t find volunteering at the festival very exciting, he still had good time. “It shows that different cultures can live together. We don’t have to be at war with each other,” Hyser said. Although, according to Hyser, more volunteers were needed, the students that did dedicate their Saturday to the festival contributed to its success. “It’s...[a] community event and Key Club is out there to help anyone in need,” Patel said.
ONE ACT from A1 acter, but the audience never sees it,” Heitsch said. Last year’s mystical comedy, ‘Heubner the Reluctant’, placed in nearly every competition, including the state competition, where HHS came in second to only Turner Ashby. Heitsch believes the ‘more serious’ mood of this year’s play will garner excellent reception with judges. “Last year’s performance set the bar, and this year we’re aiming for first,” Heitsch said.
Junior Deborah Halpern plays a ‘Muddy Townsperson.’ “I have high hopes. I think it’s a fantastic show, and I know Swartz is doing a great job,” Halpern said. “The whole show is kind of an accumulation of odd characters,” Heitsch said of the personas actors will have to portray. No more than a couple chairs and boxes along with a circus backdrop comprise the set; materials need to be few enough to travel with the actors and crew during their stays in hotels.
College fair offers attendees many choices COLLEGE FAIR from A1 graduation. “I am looking for a college that is well
were introduced to schools that they didn’t know were possibilities. “When I came to college night, there were a lot of different schools that I didn’t know about. Now I’m interested in George Mason University, Old Dominion University, and Virginia Commonwealth University,” Johnson said. Along with telling students what qualities they wanted in students, representatives also informed them about the advantages of going to their college. “The advantages of going to GMU include our location, just 20 minutes out of D.C. and we have one of the most diverse campuses in the country. We also have over 300 clubs and 80 academic programs,” Wainman said. Junior Ryan Hurst attended college night for the first time. He plans on going to Blue Ridge Community College after
structured, has good academics, and has a lot of degrees to choose from,” Hurst said. “Blue Ridge has the things I want in a school, but because of college night, I’m now also interested in the University of Mary Washington.” Blue Ridge Community College representative Jenny Harvey agrees that the college is great for students who aren’t sure of what they want to do in life, or what kind of degree that they want. “We want students who are interested in an assortment of degrees and are academically ready for college, if not we provide assistance to those students,” Harvey said. “The advantages of going to BRCC is the cost is lower and the wide variety of majors. Students can also go into a dedicated technical program or transfer when they are ready.”
ENCORE! One act cast members perform a dress rehearsal on Oct. 15. They began competitions on Oct. 20 with the Valley District event held at HHS.
SVMI raises money for marching bands SVMI from A1 section leader, says that the invitational is one of his favorites of the season. “Since we host the meet we get to perform, and we get a grading, but we don’t get a ranking,” Cockburn said. The bands that host the event provide volunteers to host the event. Senior Lindsay Halling was one of these volunteers. “The competition is a little different since we’re hosting the event. So, for instance, I got to guide a band, which means
I took them to warm ups, and changing, to the field to perform, and back to the bus. It’s actually a lot of fun,” Halling said. Other band members sold tickets, worked concessions, and “floated”, like Cockburn. “Floating basically means I do whatever odd jobs are needed. If someone needs help guiding, I would go help guide. If someone needed help getting water, I’d go help them get water. Battlefield High School won first place.
October 26, 2012
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AP Gov students volunteer at local campaign headquarters Ellie Plass Staff Reporter Kris Vass, the AP Government teacher, provides a slightly more interesting option for receiving credit on projects. He offers his students the opportunity to volunteer at a local political campaign office. Some choose to work at presidential campaign offices, while some choose those of senatorial candidates or voter registration. Vass says that over the years, they have come to enjoy the experience, and pay closer attention to the election since they have a personal tie. “I don’t align myself with any party,” se-
nior AP Gov student Kirsten Ferguson said, “But I’m most closely involved with [one] party, so I feel like I’m helping the greater good.” One may think that students would automatically choose the same political party as their parents, but Vass makes sure they’re educated about it. Representatives from both parties and locations come in at the beginning of the year to talk to the students and help them decide which would best fit their interest. Senior Margaret King really enjoys the experience. “[I’ve learned] to actually talk to the people that call you, and their beliefs,” King
said. She volunteers with offices she both does and doesn’t support, and says that they’re really different. Some of the benefits to the experience would most definitely start with helping on the exam. Students can also meet new people and gain contacts in the field, should they choose to pursue it later on. It also causes students to see that many people working in the field aren’t much older than they are, which puts the career in reach. Senior Robby Ross says he has learned a lot. “Both the campaigns are at times dishonest, and they’ll do anything it takes to get you to vote,” Ross said. He volunteers
at both the political offices. “It’s definitely informed me to be a better voter, and has solidified my political opinion”, Ross said. “[My favorite part is] canvassing, going door-to-door and having conversations with people. Once, working at Obama’s campaign, I called a house and got yelled at for five minutes for being a communist. I guess I called the wrong house.” Vass also thinks that they learn something he could never teach in his classroom. It causes them to be interested in something and to follow it. “One of the best ways to learn is to do, and they’re doing,” Vass said.
VHSL Writing/Photography/ Design Awards AA NEWSPAPER DIVISION AWARDS News: Straight News/News Feature Vanessa Ehrenpreis, SMES Perfects Dual Long Immersion, Second Place News: Sports News Ben DiNapoli, Blair’s Thirst for Adventure, Second Place Ariel Vogel & Christy Stearn, Cheerleaders Participate, Honorable Mention Feature: Human Interest/Personality (including Sports) Jake Durden, Whitelow Juggles Fatherhood, First Place Feature: In-Depth/Informative (including Sports) Ben DiNapoli, Conner Bell Biking, Third Place Editorials Jake Durden, Paterno Abuse Scandal, Second Place Bylined Personal Opinion/Column Ama Ansah, Stuff AP Students Like, Honorable Mention Photo: Sports Ben DiNapoli, Gymnastics, First Place Front Page Layout Christy Stearn, Carmaggedon, Second Place Vanessa Ehrenpreis, Diversity, First Place Inside Page Layout/Spread Vanessa Ehrenpreis, Spirit Week, Second Place Christy Stearn, Horsing Around, Honorable Mention Advertising Celia Ehrenpreis, Dance & Company, Third Place Infographics/Secondary Packaging Vanessa Ehrenpreis, Diversity, Third Place Vanessa Ehrenpreis, The Background on Fighting, Second Place Editorial Cartooning Nishat Jamil, Valentine’s Day, Second Place Nishat Jamil, Happiness, Third Place AA LITERARY MAGAZINE DIVISION AWARDS Cover Ellie Pruett-Fiederlien & Bryan Chicas, Second Place Table of Contents Ellie Pruett-Fiederlien, Second Place Photograph Lizz Phillips, Another Night with the Boys, Third Place Sydney Wells, All Grown Up, Honorable Mention 3-D Art Jessamyn Tobin, Gustav Klimt Perspectives, First Place Computer Art Gentry Dove, The Human Hand, Honorable Mention Art Gallery Spread Paula Ledezma-Garcia, pp. 33-34, First Place Paula Ledezma-Garcia, pp. 17-18, Honorable Mention Poetry Spread Chloe Richard, Bryan Chicas & Raven Sheets, Remember, Honorable Mention AA YEARBOOK DIVISION AWARDS Academics Spread Bryan Chicas, Art, Second Place Feature Photo Morgan Wise, Drum, Third Place
PHOTO BY MARY STRICKLER CHAMPIONS. Members of the Newsstreak, Imprint, SBC and TAJ staffs traveled to the VHSL Fall Championship workshop in Fredericksburg, VA on Oct.1. The TAJ (yearbook) received the Charles Savedge Award for sustained excellence because they have earned the top ranking (trophy class) for five of the past seven years. This is the third time TAJ has received the Savedge Award.
Publications earn multiple awards at VHSL Brenna Cowardin Style Editor Being a journalist is more than writing an article or taking the occasional picture. Being a journalist means you have the courage to ask the uncomfortable questions, catch the moments and the readers’ attention with good headlines and design. Students in the journalism program learned that in Fredericksburg on Oct. 1. Bobby Hawthorne, author of The Radical Write, whose works have taken him all over the world, was one of the workshop leaders. He gave students tips on how to create quality written work. Hawthorne worked all over the world, teaching students how to create great journalism and write articles for many different newspapers and magazines, but never had anyone single him out to tell him that journalism could take him places. “Honestly, I just did [journalism] because I enjoy doing it,” Hawthorne said. “I didn’t need some person to tell me you should do this or you should do that.” Hawthorne has been doing what he calls
“dog and pony shows” for 40 years. He began teaching workshops because as in most cases of employment, someone offered him money. In Fredericksburg, his workshops focused on creating interesting headlines and leads that bring the reader into the story. “I started early on, not really knowing what I was doing [in the workshops], and just sort of hoping nobody noticed I was clueless,” Hawthorne said. “But the more you do something, the better you get.” While Hawthorne’s workshops were more focused on the writing aspect of journalism, other workshops centered around design, or even creative writing. John Dalke spoke of the inspiration that could be found in everyday life, from the font of your favorite store’s name or the logo on your favorite type of soda. The details of creative writing and literary magazines, online journalism, broadcasting and yearbook were also explored by interested students. However, the day wasn’t just a workshop for young, aspiring journalists, it was a celebration of last year’s hard work. The
Newsstreak and the TAJ (yearbook) both won trophy class, the highest award a high school journalistic endeavor can receive, and the Imprint won multiple individual awards on a state level in the AA division. Valerie Kibler, the Newsstreak adviser, is very pleased with her students’ efforts over the past year. “They really did a strong job with the newspaper [last year], and they’ve gotten pretty much top marks in just about everything,” Kibler said. “[The Newsstreak] is strong in Virginia High School League, trophy class.” However, according to Kibler there is always room for improvement. This year, the newspaper’s focus is on more precise editing, and creative pages, stories and designs. To create award-winning journalism, Kibler encourages students to look at other schools’ publications and professional publications to gain inspiration. “I want them to see what other students are doing around the country, and try to top that,” Kibler said. Seventeen of her students from last year received individual awards at the awards luncheon.
Art tours country with Sketchbook project Luke Gibson Staff Reporter Most high school art students don’t expect to find an audience for their artwork that branches out any further than their teachers, friends, family and especially grandparents. It doesn’t seem fair, to have a concentration of talented youth destined to have their artwork remain within the boundaries of a classroom, until they graduate from college. Luckily, opportunities such as the Sketchbook Project exist. Described by art teacher Jauan Brooks as “a rock concert for sketchbooks”, The Sketchbook Project is a collaboration of individual art students, from more than 130 countries. The objective is to make a collection of notebooks taken on tour around the country and a few locations around the world. Last year, Art 2, Art 3 and Art 4 classes produced five sketchbooks, one from each class, with a page for each student. Their theme was ‘Travel with Me’, which sparked bright and imaginative pieces presenting modified road maps, emotive foreign text and dreamy landscapes, all worthy of their place on tour. “I just stumbled upon it and thought it would be a great idea. The aim is to get students’ artwork on tour. They’re also archived digitally, so anybody can go to the website and access any of the pages from the sketchbook. The artwork will forever be in a library in Brooklyn, so anyone can
visit and check out the book from HHS,” Brooks said. Brooks was the primary reason students had this opportunity. “It’s a neat concept knowing your own artwork is going to be displayed in libraries around the country,” senior Sara Rose said. The project and tour is organized by Art House, an independent Brooklynbased company that organizes global, collaborative art projects. They also operate the Brooklyn Art Library, their storefront exhibition space in the heart of Williamsburg, NY, as a home for their projects, all of which are open to everyone. Though Brooks went to see the nearest exhibition in Philadelphia, she was concerned about how aware students were that the tour was actually taking place. “[The tour]’s been a success in my mind, however there are many students that don’t know how to access [the sketchbooks online]. I don’t know how many students have gone to see it on the internet yet. We’ve learned a lot of things from last year’s project that we’ll consider when we do it again next time,” Brooks said. Yes, HHS will be taking part again in 2013, but in the meantime interested persons can access all of the artwork from the 2012 tour at www.arthousecoop.com/ library and searching for ‘Harrisonburg’. By the end of October, the tour will have been completed, with London as its final stop before being permanently put on display in the Brooklyn Art Library.
ART BY ALEX HUNTER-NICKELS
Cafeteria compost project begins Sydney Knupp Staff Reporter
As the world moves ever closer to going green, senior Alex Hunter-Nickels implemented a composting pile here in our own backyard. While prepping our lunches, cafeteria workers take out all compostable items and put them into the correct bin to be dispersed in our compost piles. There are three main stages to composting. Step one includes putting all compost in bin one and putting dead grass on top of it. The grass helps with decomposition and keeps away noxious smells and numerous crawling critters. After the bin is filled to the brim, the
mixture is moved to bin number two, and flipped for the compost to gain additional oxygen, thus aiding in the decomposition process. The horticulture class uses a pitchfork to turn the compost regularly. The bins that the compost is in are made from recycled wooden pallets that were found in dumpsters. They are approximately 4 x 4 and are located across from the loading docks. “I don’t actually take part in the composting, because I am a senior. When I graduate, I want the composting to continue without me, or at least that’s the idea,” Hunter-Nickels said. This is not a quick process, each stage takes one to two months. The compost material is then placed on gardens at HHS.
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October21, 26, 2012 August 2012 The Harrisonburg High School Newsstreak The Policy The Newsstreak is published by the students of Harrisonburg High School every month. Reproduction of any material from the newspaper is prohibited without the written permission from the editorial board. Advertising rates are available upon request. It is the policy of the Harrisonburg City Public School Board to comply with all applicable state and federal laws regarding non-discrimination in employment and educational programs and services. The Harrisonburg High School City Public Schools will not discriminate illegally on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability or age as to employment or educational programs and activities. Editorials appearing without a byline represent the majority opinion of the staff, but not necessarily the opinion of the adviser, school administration, or the school system. Signed editorials are accepted from people on the staff, but are subject to editing according to published guidelines and policies. Editorials may be edited for special reasons. Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed and a telephone number must be given. Names may be withheld if the editorial staff feels there is a just cause. The Newsstreak reserves the right to edit and may refuse to publish ads or letters deemed inappropriate, libelous, or obscene. Please drop your letter by room 444 or give them to any staff member. Letters may also be sent to the high school.
School spirit still high for homecoming NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL If there was ever a year that HHS needed a boost of school spirit, it is this one. The Blue Streaks football team fell to 3-4 after a three game losing streak, and has mathematically eliminated itself from district title contention, a rare spot for the team just two years removed from a state title appearance. Where the Streaks have fallen on the football field, however, they have risen in the halls. The level of excitement around this year’s homecoming week dwarfs that of the past few years. Streamers and posters designed by the different classes adorn the cafeteria. Students eagerly await each successive spirit day to display their boldest clothing, in pursuit of the ultimate goal: winning the class wars competition. The lunch competitions are a new twist on the revived class wars. Renaissance’s frozen t-shirt-wearing, Find the bubble gum-in-the-cream-pie blowing, and saltine-eating competitions have all electrified lunchtime in the gym commons. The corn hole tournament sponsored by DECA has brought out our competitive nature. Students are participating in the dressup spirit days like never before and our hats go off to the multiple faculty/staff members who are leading the way in these competitions. The junior girls have corralled more people to play on their powder puff football team than the gridiron contest has ever seen and the senior girls are putting in practice hours learning plays like no other. The freshman hit the high school halls running, taking the wall decorating contest in its year of rejuvenation. And the Red Sea is thriving under new leadership, too. The crowds of students wearing red (or camouflage as the case may be) get all kinds of riled up during the pregame tailgates and carry their enthusiasm over to game time.
Staff Reporters: Mark Duda, Maggie Siciliano, Ben DiNapoli, Mia Karr, Katrina Sokolyuk, Anthony Duong, John Earle, Max Johnson, Isabelle Burden, Julexus Cappell, Bryndal Fulginiti, Victoria Giron, Ana Hunter-Nickels, Gypsy Torgerson, Gina Muan, Kerri Hofacker, Kendall Bailey, Josh Byrd, Austin Swift, Valerio Aleman, TJ Kirkland, Jr., Ellie Plass, Felicia Tran, Brenna Cowardin, Luke Gibson, Isaac Falk, Sukriti Adhikari, Chelsea Arnott, Lindsay Plume, Karim Rawls, Josh Storella, Lybeth Vega-Lopez, Anthony Walton, Sydney Knupp, Alexis Dickerson, Nishat Jamil, Paul Hairston, Sam Imeson, Anna Wyatt, Faith Runnells and Mary McMahan. Professional Affiliations The Newsstreak participates as a member of several journalistic evaluation services including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA-2010 Gold Evaluation and 2005 & 2009 Silver Crown Winner), Quill&Scroll Journalism Honor Society (2012 Gallup Award), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American, the Virginia High School League, Inc. Trophy Class Award, and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association All Southern Ranking and 2010 Scroggins Award winner. newsstreak.com opt out notice: If you do NOT want to allow your student’s full name or image to appear on the school newspaper site, please send an email to vkibler@harrisonburg. k12.va.us stating: I understand that the school newspaper, newsstreak. com, now has an online version of the publication. I DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on this online venue.
Perhaps the competitive nudge given by class wars catalyzed the proliferation of school spirit this year. Perhaps the unexpected losses by the football team manifested themselves in some sort of bizarre boost in pride. Perhaps we all have mercury poisoning and the brain damage has turned us into maniacal school spirit zealots. Regardless, when the school needed it most, our student body came through. Whatever the case may be, we’re happy to see the results. It’s a great time to be a Blue Streak. Hopefully it translates into success on the football field.
WHAT IS THE STAFF EDITORIAL? The unsigned staff editorial appears in each issue and reflects the majority opinion of the Newsstreak Staff Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is comprised of all editors-in-chief, page editors, advertising managers, photographers and selected freshman journalism students. In no way does our opinion reflect that of the school system or the administration.
THE ACTUAL VOTE After a spirited conversation about the implementation of the class competition and the changes in homecoming activities this year, the board voted that we applaud the efforts of our student leaders who are working to make this school year one with high energy.
Art by Nishat Jamil
Negative ads get on viewers’ nerves
The editors and staff Editors-in-Chief: Print - Mark Duda, Celia Ehrenpreis Online - Maggie Siciliano, Ben DiNapoli Managing Editor: Mia Karr Advertising Managers : Austin Coffey and Bryndal Fulginiti Photographers: Ana Hunter Nickels, Sukriti Adhikari
Op/Ed--A5 A5 NEWS
The The
IF YOU GIVE A FALK A COLUMN...
Isaac Falk Opinion editor As election season comes to a boil, I find myself writhing like a lobster in all the activity associated with the campaigns. Every day I return home to an answering machine choking on political advertisements. Even worse is when I am parsing youtube, having every video interrupted by a political advertisement. I think I have seen the clip where Romney makes the 47% comment at least 50 times.
The only solace I can take from this otherwise obnoxious barrage is my own amusement at their attempts at attacks on each other. All the negativity of the ads may bother some, but honestly, the ads have been worse in the past. Let’s recall the the election of 1800. Does the name Sally Hemmings ring a bell? Thomas Jefferson was accused of fathering a child with a slave named Sally Hemmings. In the election of 1964, Johnson insinuated if you vote for Goldwater your children will die. The list goes on. And what crazy accusations and attacks do we have now? Obama is a socialist, Romney believes 47% of Americans are lazy.
None of the attacks are particularly vitriolic. This election season we have no Sally Hemmings, we have no Daisy video. Instead what we have are somewhat weak attempts to dissuade voters from an opposing party. And these ads play, and they play, and they play. If I am subject to these commercials, at least make them interesting. Herman Cain was heading in the right direction, favoring spicy ads rather than the tapioca ones favored by other candidates. His ad featuring his campaign adviser smoking was definitely a change from the old cookie cutter attack ad. But where Cain re-
“Negative campaigning has been a part of American Politics forever. For example, the election of 1800, the “whispering” campaign suggesting that Thomas Jefferson raped his slaves and was an atheist. It got to the point where people were hiding their Bibles in wells in fear he’d (Thomas Jefferson) take away God. I think negative campaigning is effective with certain elements, but really is just political theatre. It’s background noise, and should be ignored by conscientious voters.”- Jay Blair, AP U.S. history teacher
ally shines is his avant garde commercial where a lone girl kills a dying goldfish. I am told the fish symbolically represented the U.S. economy, but I don’t care. That commercial was awesome. I say Obama or Romney need to fire their advertising staff, and hire Herman Cain before the other candidate does. Cain is a master at relating to the youth. After all, he admitted to quoting a Pokemon song one of his speeches. With Cain at the helm, either Obama or Romney could get those final votes to clinch their victory. But alas, we live in a world where the cookie cutter ads rule the day. Where every 10 minutes, we are treated to the hohum drudgery of another ad saying “Romney hates Big Bird!” or “Obama literally strangled our economy!”. It is enough to make me miss Cain, and it takes a lot to make me miss Cain.
Hurtful words can have harmful effects
THE MIA PERSPECTIVE
Mia Karr Feature editor “That shirt makes you look pregnant,” she said. My little sixth grade self was taken by surprise. I had walked into school feeling all confident and awesome because I was wearing my favorite seafoam green top, and now
this girl who I thought genuinely liked me, was telling me it made me look pregnant? Not in a mean way, not in a I’m-telling-youthis-for-your-own-good-way, just in the way of insensitive sixth graders that don’t listen to what comes out of their mouths too often. I was kind of offended, but I did not stop wearing the shirt- I still think it was cool, for a sixth grader, and it looked great with my eyes. However, that’s not the point. The point is that I somehow remember this one little, inconsequential incident that had little impact on my life, because someone said something to me that I did not like. You should never underestimate the power that your words can have to people-
especially if you are talking to someone who overanalyzes everything. (ahem.) We all know how much it can hurt to have someone say something nasty to you (And no, I’m not talking about your classmate saying your shirt makes you look pregnant), so I do not really want to focus on that. Instead, I want to focus on the positive. Saying genuine, nice things to people can make them feel better about themselves, turn their day around, or just make them smile. I have a box in my room of letters people have written me, birthday cards, nice notes, and those silly Valentines your friends could buy for you in middle school. If I could take one thing with me out of the house in
a fire, it would be that box. It is always nice to remember the sweet things my friends have said about me, and that there are people out there who think I’m really cool. I think it can be hard to express things like this to people. It may seem weird or uncomfortable to tell people things you like about them. Or, you may think that if someone is really good at something they must know it already, but compliments never hurt. I’m not saying you should kiss up to people or lie, but if you think they did a really good job on that project, tell them. Never forget that what you say to people does have an impact, and it’s up to you whether that impact is good or bad.
low lab, never fails to entertain me. Imagine a crazy pet that you might have...my dog is crazier. I wouldn’t classify her as dumb; she’s unique. The Vacuum... Abby’s downfall was recently discovered when we were doing a quick cleaning of our house. I thought she would chase the vacuum around as it sweeps across the floor, but instead she quickly flees. That instance brought me to the conclusion that my dog is not as tough as she seems. Everyone who comes to my house is on guard when they hear her ferocious bark coming from the other side of the door. However, they do not realize that she is just as scared as they are. Abby at first views people as that treacherous vacuum, but she
eventually warms up to them... eventually. Flashback to about two years ago. Abby was a tiny puppy; she weighed around 20 pounds. She used to have this strange fascination with the “toilet cap”. The cap was this little white plastic cap that covered one of the screws at the base of the toilet. I don’t know how she found it or why she was so obsessed with it. My family would be sitting in our family room wondering where in the world the little demon was until we saw a little furry ball run straight out of the bathroom, heading toward the other side of the house. Since the little cap was considered a choking hazard, we ended up chasing her around the house until we could pry it out of
her puppy jaws. Even though she was small, she had so much energy in her... sometimes it took 15 minutes to capture her. Oddly enough, she grew out of this habit. I swear she’s just like a little kids sometimes. Abby is easily compared to a toddler that hasn’t grown out of the teething stage... she must chew anything and everything that she finds. My dog will never stop amazing me. People change over time, so embrace the change and go with the flow. Someone may start out being timid and shy or scared and afraid, but they will eventually adapt to their surroundings... it sounds cliche, but never judge a book by its cover.
Our pets can teach us many life lessons
Mary’s World
Mary McMahan News editor I would like to start off by saying that all of these events are true and are not made up. Abby, my three-year-old yel-
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
OP/ED A6
Meet the Local Candidates For City Council HHS’s Newsstreak hosted an open forum for local candidates where we asked them various questions regarding education and Harrisonburg as a whole.
Richard Baugh
Christine Johnson
Bio: Baugh has lived in Harrisonburg since 1985. He has a Juris doctorate from UVA. He currently works as an attorney.
Bio: Johnson has a degree in biology from JMU, and has lived in Harrisonburg since 1990. She currently works on the board of directors for JMU and the Harrisonburg Education Foundation.
Policy: Maintain Harrisonburg’s bond rating, support the small, urban, feel of the downtown, focus on infrastructure like roads and pedestrian walking areas, and a focus on quality of life.
Policy: One of Johnson’s focuses is on developing an active citizenry who participate in the community. In addition, she wants to make Harrisonburg a business-friendly environment.
Roger Baker
Rodney Eagle
Bio: Baker was a staff seargent in the Air Force and served as a shift supervisor for VEPCO. Baker received a master’s from Murray University. Policy: Baker wants to maintain the current tax rate, if not lower it. wants He also Policy:Baker to emphadecrease sized the need to begin looking taxes. for an area suitable for a new school in order to combat overcrowding.
Bio: Eagle has lived in Harrisonburg all his life. He served in the Marines and founded Eagle Carpeting. Policy: Eagle wants to ensure quality education by evaluating and updating the education facilities, emphasize alternative means of transport, and require high discipline from public safety personnel.
Bio: Degner has been living in Harrisonburg since 1999. He has an MBA from JMU. Degner works as a realtor.
Policy: Degner wants to create a business-friendly environment, increase pedestrian infrastructure, and manage costs from unfunded mandates.
Bio: She has lived in Harrisonburg since 1985. She has an MBA from EMU. Fitzgerald is an associate professor at BRCC.
Bio: Lived in Harrisonburg most of his life. He teaches at Skyline Middle School. He has a degree in economics from JMU.
Bio: Bailey serves as the Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Harrisonburg and Rockingham county.
Policy: Maintain Harrisonburg’s small, urban feel by maintaining public land, expand educational opportunities, and support the Downtown Renaissance Movement.
Policy: One of Shearer’s goals is to make Harrisonburg a safer community by supporting community programs. Shearer also wants to focus on education.
Policy: Bailey’s goals include maintaining the current tax rate, advocating the growth and development of business, and maintaining academic excellence
Do Your Parent’s Influence Your Political Views?
Yes 77
No 28
Candidates share views with students Joshua Byrd Style editor School funding, over crowding and test scores are all issues facing the school board and city council, but they will affect students the most. The Newsstreak hosted an open forum for the local council candidates. Four were in attendance, Cristina Johnson(R), who is a local business owner. Rodney Eagle(R), a former mayor and local business owner. Roger Baker(I), a former city manager, and Mayor Richard Baugh(D), an attorney. There was a general consensus that we need to address the overcrowding issue. All said
105 total students were polled by Faith Runnels.
that a new school would have to be built. Baugh said that the issue is probably already being looked at by the school board. Johnson said that another problem is the culture barrier created by linguistic differences in the school. Baker brought up taxes as his main issue. “There aren’t a lot of changes needed. The city is well run. Why raise the taxes when we have a surplus of $26.6 million. I also do understand the system probably better than anybody else,” Baker said. Baugh said his main goal is maintaining a small, urban city. For the school budget, all of them pointed out that they know how to manage finances. Eagle, Baugh and Baker have
Presidential Straw Poll Other
45 31
Neither
Other: 5% Neither: 7% Mitt Romney: 12% Undecided: 14% Barack Obama: 61%
370
Undecided
602 total students were polled on Oct 10 by Salar Haji and Kendall Bailey during Block 1.
Good News in the World
all worked with the city budget. Johnson, however has worked a special kind of budget. She maintains the budget for her family of 10. As business owners, Eagle and Johnson made it clear they want Harrisonburg to be small-business friendly. Overall the event was a success. They all understood the issues affecting schools and the city as a whole. They all have ideas to fix the problems, and they all gave credit to the school board for making the decisions. They recognized that the council funds the school board and works in cooperation with it, but they don’t have control over the school board
Straw Poll Breakdown
Mitt Romney
71 85
Anthony Bailey
Debra Fitzgerald Abe Shearer
Kai Degner
Barack Obama
Bad News in the World
U.S. Jobs Report: The U.S. jobs report in October showed a drop of 0.3% in unemployment since September. This brings the U.S. unemployment rate to 7.8%, the lowest it has been since Jan. 2009.
Pakistani Teen Activist Shot: Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani activist, was shot by Taliban gunmen. She survived the encounter, but the Taliban have said she will remain a target.
Egyptian Political Prisoners Freed: Newly elected Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, freed political prisoners who were detained from the revolution that removed the previous Egyptian ruler, Hosni Mubarak.
North Korean Threats: North Korea threatens U.S., saying North Korean missiles have the capability of reaching the U.S. mainland.
Nobel Prizes Awarded: Many people from around the world received commendations for their contributions to humanity.
*For more complete profiles, go online to www.newsstreak.com
HOT Gangnam Style This unbelievably popular song has topped the iTunes chart and many people have created videos dancing to this tune.
23 Mile High Jump Daredevil, Felix Baumgartner, fell from 23 miles above the Earth, breaking the sound barrier.
Argo The third movie Ben Affleck has directed, based off the Iran hostage crisis, currently holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Taylor Swift Taylor Swift has come out with four new singles. One of the singles “I Knew You Were Trouble” is currently the most popular song on iTunes.
Modern Family Modern Family won best comedy TV show at the Emmy’s. This is their third victory in a row.
JMU Football The game against William and Mary went into double overtime. It was a close game with some questionable calls, but JMU won.
Moonrise Kingdom on DVD If you have not seen this movie, slap yourself. Then go buy the DVD. Then slap yourself again.
NOT Rob+Kristen together? Recent pictures show Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart together again. The two split after Kristen admitted to infidelity.
People who scream at campaigners. We understand the call can be annoying but is it truly appropriate to scream at campiagn volunteers?
Lance Armstrong Accusations The seven time Tour de France winner has been stripped of his titles after the “overwhelming evidence” that he took steroids.
Mad Men Mad Men lost to Homeland for Best TV Drama at the Emmy’s. This would have been Mad Men’s fifth year winning the award.
Replacement Refs Nothing is more agonizing than watching your team lose because of an incorrect call by a replacement referee.
Hurt Quarterbacks Starting quarterback Ryan Nixon broke his leg in a game against Broadway, and HHS’s 2nd and 3rd string QBS are also injured.
Voter Registration Probe
Syrian Conflict Moves Toward Turkish Border: Artillery shells from Syria landed in Turkish territory, prompting a military retaliation from Turkey.
Harrisonburg has come under the national spotlight after an unknown person was seen disposing of registration forms.
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
STYLE A7
Local food served regularly in school cafeteria Luke Gibson Staff Reporter When grabbing a hot tray of whatever’s being served that day, most students wouldn’t give much thought to where their meal is coming from, but behind the scenes of the cafeteria, the staff members are always working to provide kids with food from local suppliers. While munching on an eggroll, kids wouldn’t expect that the pork used was actually from a company in a place as close as Mt. Jackson, or that the apple on their tray was grown over in Charlottesville, a surprisingly short distance when considering the bigger picture. Trisha Newcomb is the school cafeteria manager. “We always want to use local produce in order to keep the money in the community. It makes for a better product,” Newcomb said. Though the constant objective of the cafeteria is to provide food from the area, it’s not always possible to source within the state. It isn’t the availability of meat that’s affected by the season, but rather the fruit and vegetables. Shortly after the beginning of 2013, apples will have to be brought in from as far as Washington to fulfill the demand of fruit being (willingly) consumed by many hungry students. It’s a difficult task of selecting the right suppliers, too. The main
concern, along with price, is if a supplier is able to keep up with the enormous quantity required by the school and district. For this reason, buying local isn’t always possible. The next part of bringing the meal from farm to tray is the preparation process. For each food item, the preparation required varies. Some is entirely from scratch, while items such as pizza come pre-made, only requiring a blast of the oven to be ready to eat. “There’s also some fruit and vegetables that come sliced. We simply can’t do it all,” Newcomb said. Surprisingly, there’s no trace of a fryer to be found in the cooking area, everything is just baked and steamed. In fact, the school hasn’t served french fries for lunch in two years, and no one seems to be making a huge complaint. It’s clear that the main objective of the cafeteria is provide kids with a balanced and edible lunch, but striving to use local produce in addition to that is an impressive feat. When told that 10% of Harrisonburg City Schools’ budget last year was put into purchasing local produce, one might think of this as a small figure, but that number alone lacks context. The city had a budget of $1.2 million last year, meaning that the otherwise small 10% actually adds up to being $120,000. It may sometimes go unnoticed, but the effort is there, starting at the ‘Buy fresh, buy local’ Shenandoah Valley produce poster that hangs in the cafeteria office.
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS
“BUY FRESH, BUY LOCAL .” Janet Smith is a retired lunch lady, who substitutes when the regular staff can’t make it in to work. She prepares meatball subs for hungry students to eat later on for lunch. The meatballs are made from scratch, on-site, adding to their delectable flavor. The recipe for the meatballs calls for beef and pork, both of which are bought locally in Mount Jackson. D and M Meats provides the cafeteria staff with the beef, and Baker Incoporated provides the pork.
Farmer’s Market is an alternative to grocery stores Kendall Bailey Sports Editor
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS
DELECTABLE VEGGIES. Food at the Farmer’s Market is local and always fresh.
Walmart, Martin’s, Target. These are only a few of the most popular grocery chains. While most of the students in the school shop at these, there are a few students who prefer to purchase food that was grown closer to home. Junior Dylan Bontrager has been a frequent customer of the Harrisonburg Farmer’s Market for as long as he could remember. “We go there because locally grown food and products are better for the environment and economy,” Bontrager said. Food products grown closer to home are fresher since they don’t have to spend days being shipped across the country, or even from other parts of the world. Also, shopping at a farmer’s market helps the growers in the community, allow-
ing the local economy to prosper by becoming less dependent on trans-continental and foreign trade. Shopping closer to home lets the farmer’s get acquainted with their customers, rather than each person being a mere face in a crowd to a big business. The Harrisonburg and Dayton Farmer’s Markets sell a variety of products. They carry almost every type of fruit and vegetable in bulk stock, including homemade treats made from local farmers. Corn, berries, tomatoes, cheeses, honey, and cookies decorate the stands of the farmer’s market, providing customers a wide variety to choose from. Junior Tabatha LaFreniere is a strong supporter of shopping locally, believing it helps buyers and sellers grow closer. “[The Dayton Farmer’s Market] has a really good sense of community, it’s nice to know who you’re buying from,
and getting to know the farmer lets you know that their food isn’t pasteurized or processed,” LaFreniere said. The Farmer’s Markets offers a lot more than just food. LaFreniere was able to get a job with one of the suppliers for several months when she was a freshman. She learned how to make pastries and assisted the owner in selling her products at several places, including the Unitarian Universalist Church. “The best part about working with one of the farmer’s was that after a few weeks, I recognized all of the customers, and I was even able to become friends with some of them,” LaFreniere said. These two frequent shoppers highly encourage other students and their families to check out the Farmer’s Market’s if they are interested in a change of atmosphere and grocery products.
Vegetarianism offers alternative Sukriti Adhikari Staff Reporter While some students love a delicious steak dinner, others abhor the idea of any kind of meat. Those students can be defined as vegetarians, as their a diet excludes all red meat, poultry and sometimes fish and dairy products. Some become vegetarian to eat healthy. Others follow the vegetarian diet because they are inspired by many vegan books that show how animals are brutally treated during production. “I read a book on the meat production process and the condition of animals, so it helped me make my decision of not eating meat,” senior Caroline Proctor said. While some stick with being a vegetarian, some revert back to their old ways. “I missed eating meat after a year, so I started to eat meat again and since I was only a vegetarian for a short amount of time, it wasn’t awkward,” Proctor said. Senior Sarah Morris has also been a vegetarian for the past three years. “I gradually become a vegetarian, I didn’t eat [meat] much to begin with. I don’t like eating things that were alive,” Morris said. “People try to change my mind all the time by saying ‘meat so good, you should eat it’.” Ve g e t a r i a n ism can be different for everyone. For some, it may just be not eating meat in general whereas for others they do not eat anything that came from an animal. But there are also peskitarians who eat fish but
no ‘land animals’. Junior Maddy Newbanks is a peskitarian. She gave up on eating chicken and red meat, after her counselor in her camp, Highroad Christian adventures, encouraged her to try being a vegetarian two years ago. “During summer camp, my camp counselor encouraged me to try eating vegetarian meals and I did. I really liked [the vegetarian diet] so I tried to stick with it and find food that were like those,” Banks said. Although Banks doesn’t eat red meat and chicken, she still eats fish and dairy products. “I can’t live without milk and cheese. Everytime I eat meat now it is disgusting. It tastes bland and flavorless,” Banks said. Morris, Banks and Proctor all agree that being a vegetarian does make people more energetic. “I am really happy and I feel more energized now that I don’t eat meat. I am used to [being a vegetarian] by now and most restaurants have a side menu for the vegetarians, so it also helps when I go out to eat with my friends,” Banks said. Being a vegetarian may sound questionable to some students, so it is not for everyone. “I don’t recommend it to anyone, unless you stick with it,” Banks added.
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ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDREA WOOD
ORGANIC DELIGHT. Beets and tomatoes, two of the many vegetables from Wood’s diverse backyard garden, ready to be enjoyed by the Wood family.
Gardening is fulfilling hobby Growing family meals comes naturally to teen Kerri Hofacker Sports editor Many high school students have hobbies like hanging out with friends and going shopping. There’s seldom any that have a hobby of gardening, but senior Andrea Wood loves it. “I like knowing that I’m growing and nurturing something that I can eat. It’s really cool,” Wood said. Wood got started with this hobby about four and a half years ago when she was in middle school and approached her parents with the idea for putting a garden back into their yard. She said that her parents had one when she was younger, but she wanted one of her own.
“I have a big garden in my backyard and then some smaller ones in the front yard, and I mostly grow vegetables and strawberries,” Wood said. Wood said thather favorite part of gardening is picking the fruit off the plant. “I’m literally eating the fruit of my labors,” Wood said. She might not have the most popular and well-known hobby, but Wood said that she really enjoys what she’s doing and would definitely recommend gardening to anyone because it’s really cheap to buy the plants, or seeds, and it’s a lot of fun to plant everything and watch it grow into a healthy plant.
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
ADS A9
where everyone enjoys the
ultimate
—
Г
--
steaks, sushi, and seafood
Lunch hours: Mon-Sat 11a.m.- 4p.m. Dinner hours: Mon-Thurs 4 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Fri & Sat 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday 11a.m.-9 p.m.
233 Burgess Road Harrisonburg,Va 22801 540.438.8881
October 12, 2012
The
Newsstreak
STYLE - A10
Homecoming 2012
In order to gear up for HHS’s Homecoming game against Spotswood High School on Oct.19, the whole week prior was completely devoted to Streaks showing their school spirit. Faculty and students alike roamed the decorated halls in crazy hats, groovy 70’s gear, and their finest spirit wear. Lunch shifts could have been mistaken for game shows as class representatives battled it out in pie-eating and frozen t-shirt contests. The tables were turned when senior girls took on the junior girls in a game of Powderpuff football on Oct. 17, trumping them 21-0.
CHEW! Students and faculty compete in the saltine challenge during all three lunch shifts.
ALL PHOTOS BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
SO HIP! Students donned clothing from different decades on Tuesday Oct. 16.
RUN! Junior Sara Shenk Moreno runs off the field during the Powderpuff football game
HOMECOMING 2012.The school gets decked out for week ahead, with poster, banners and more!
CANDID. Library secretary Bradley Walton had one of the most unusual hats on Monday’s Crazy Hat Day.
GO! GO! GO! Viki Hurtdao-Cardoso carries the ball for the juniors in the Powderpuff football game.
COVERED IN PIE. Junior Zeki Salehi gets covered in whipped cream while participating in one of the lunch challenges.
SO SALTY. The saltine challenge proves to be difficult for those who took part at lunch on Wednesday.
NICE EARS! Staff members participate in spirit days too! Mary Strickler, Diana Flick, and Richard Morrell wear GROOVY, DUDE. Juniors Zani Azim and RaMickey Mouse ears. chel Hottinger participate in Decades Day.
WAIT FOR IT... Juniors and seniors wait while a player is subbed onto the field during the Powderpuff football game. The seniors won 21-0.
CATCH THAT! Seniors Taylor Grogg, Kerri Hofacker, and Akia Morris complete a play during Wednesday’s Powderpuff game.
WATCH OUT! Students have fun pieing each other during the lunch challenges.
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
FEATURE- B1
SPOTLIGHT ON CLUBS Club Name
Where it meets?
The sponsor?
Who’s the president?
What does the club do?
Why should a person join?
How many members?
What’s the fee?
Student Opinions
Acadmic Team
101
Jere Borg, Verity Caron, Rob Edmunds
Premal Patel
Prepare for competitions that include trivia from various topics
It’s fun and looks good on a resume.
15
No fee
“It’s a really entertaining activity. It challenges your knowledge from pervious years of high school as well as from outside of school,” senior Premal Patel said.
Art
173
Kelly ShradleyHorst
Presidents to be decided
Art activities and work with the National Art Honors Socierty
Open to anyone
10
No fee
“I joined because I like art and they do soup night... and I thought it would be fun to give back in an artistic way,” sophomore Victoria Giron said.
Biking
418.
Mike Fornecker
Presidents to be decided
Organizes bike rides, runs fundraisers, watches movies about bikers
This club is for people who are interested in biking, and you get to meet new bikers that share your interest. You get to bike mountains and roads.
6
No fee
“I want to influence the biking world, and I want to get people active, and to look forward to having fundraisers,” sophomore Austin Bell said.
ECMC
The library and conference room
Rachel Linden, David Hoover, Lauren Kershner
No president
Activities that help students get into college
ECMC club isn’t open for everybody. Students have to meet certain criteria in order to become part of the club.
28
No fee
“It inspired me to do better in school,” junior Jeymi Barrios said.
Ecology
128
Adam Goble
Morgan Neary
Configure hikes, outdoor activities, and every Thursday collect recycling and get out to help the environment.
Participants get a better experience outside the classroom. Hands on and helping the environment beats staying at home.
20
No fee
“I think the reason that people should join is because it’s getting out there. Not just in the community, but in the environment,” said junior Morgan Neary.
FCCLA
275
Bridgett Smith
None
Participation in the club takes place during cooking classes
To learn life skills while having fun cooking
Students enrolled in classes
No fee
“The club ties in with class, so it’s like a two-in-one, we get to be in a club and class at the same time,” sophomore Hope Carr said.
Forensics
Library
Mr. and Mrs. Walton
Very good for perfecting audition skills and to improve speaking skills. Strongly recommended to students interested in teaching, law, and drama.
16
$5
“It’s awesome [and] you get to meet new people ,” juniot Daelynn McCleve said.
French
411
Sally Young
Erin Goodstein
French games, French snacks, Movie More relaxed environment to enjoy French nights, annual French club picnic in culture : speaking, foods, movies, etc. spring, annual French Christmas party, French speaking guests
15
$8
“[I wanted to] enhance my knowlege of the French language,” sophomore Evan Dotas said.
Habitat for Humanity
521.
Patricia Kelley
Alex HunterNickels
Build in the community and work with Central Valley for Habitat Houses and Rockingham County
Gives opportunities to contribute to the community and to get the feeling that you’re part of a team
20
$10
“You are investing your time and energy into an almost magical cause of helping provide a fundamental human need, which is shelter,” senior Alex Hunter-Nickels said.
International
501 or 401.
Laura F-M
Sophie Jeon
Share other cultures and their activities
Members will learn a lot about new cultures.
15
$5
“It you want to learn about different cultures you can come and hang out and have fun... I’ts for everyone,” senior Sophie Jeon said.
Knitting
132
Cassandra Harvey
No president
Knitting, small projects, big quilts, try- This a very relaxing and fun room, and you ing to sell small gloves that are made can be very creative in this club.
8
No fee
“I this club because we get to make quilts, and get to donate the materials we made to a good cause,” sophomore Merril Harmison said.
Kurdish
Cafeteria commons
Muhamed Kareem
Zhyar Abdul
Talk about the news in the Middle East, activities, field trips
Learn more about the Kurdish culture and hang out with other Kurds
24
No fee
“It’s really fun to hang around with other people that share the same backround as me,” said sophomore Pishdar Abdul.
Mu Alpha Theta
434
Bill Turner and Geoff Estses
Premal Patel
Helps promote math to students and competes in math competitions.
If you enjoy math and have good grades in your precious math courses
26
15
“I enjoy solving complex math problems and I am also taking a Calculus 2 class.,” senior Amin Kraimeche said.
Russian
Not sure
Valentina Sokulyuk
Presidents to be decided
Socialize and interact with the others in the club, meet up with movie nights
It’s awesome
15
No fee
“It’s.. like socializing with others and getting together and getting to know eachother,” sophomore Tamara Chepelyuk said.
Ski/Snowboard
503
Jay Blair and Mark Healy
Not determined
Weekly trips that give opportunities to go to the mountains.
Take advantange to the nearby skiing and snowing opportunities
25
Spanish
Auditorium and the gym commons
Patricia Rojas and Phillip Yutzy
Bianca Solis
1. Encourages Spanish 2. Helps students learn Latino culture 3. Prepares students for life outside of high school
For those three reasons.
50
$5
“It’s a good way to know your culture,” sophomore Melisa Diaz said.
TSA
174
Josh Botteicher
Presidents to be decided
Trying to build leadership and preparation for the future; preferably technical occupations
It’s a lot of hands on activities and it builds teamwork and leadership.
15
$10-20
“[I joined because] it seems fun. I have an intersest in technology,” freshman Lauren McKenzie said.
JR Snow
Margaret King
The club is a National Honor Society that engages in musical activities and offers musical activities for the school community.
If students want to be engaged in more musical activities and are currently an outstanding musician, they should apply.
18
Probably $10-15
“I do a lot of music-based things and I wanted to increase the ligitimacy of my college application,” junior Garrett Thompson said.
You should join because it is fun!
50+
No fee
“We don’t just do activities, we also talk about our problems and they help us get through them, “ junior Maendy Reyes-Hernandez said.
If they have an interest in government and it is hands on with government.
6
No fee
Tri-M Music In the music Honor Society area (band, choir or auditorium) Vida Joven
409
Ben Kurtz, JMU students.
Youth in Government
502
Mark Teuting
Tyler Edwards Competitive public speaking, competes and Daelynn in VHSL McCleve
JMU students Place to hangout and learn about Jesus Christ serve as “captains” No president
We go to Model General Assembly in Richmond which is like the VIrginia General Assembly.
None, “It’s a cool idea, becuase we’re close but trips to the resort,” junior Aubtin Heydari said. cost money
“I decided to join Youth in Goverment because everything with Teuting is fun and I thought it would be a good experience,” Morgan Heckman said. Infographic by Kendall Bailey, Brenna Cowardin, John Earle, Luke Gibson, Salar Haji, Kerri Hofacker, Ana Hunter-Nickels, Mia Karr, Karim Rawls, Austin Swift, Joshua Storella, and Lybeth Vega.
NICE NEEDLES. Sophomore Anna Dick participates in knitting club.
PHOTOS BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS GIVING SOME POINTERS. Mr. Kareem explains the ins and outs of Kurdish Club during the year’s first activity period.
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
FEATURE - B2
Keith’s Auto Sales West
800 West Market St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801 540-434-2817
James McHone Jewelry
www.keithsautosales.com We buy, sell, and trade fine antique and estate jewelry. Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone number (540) 433-1833 75 Court Square, Harrisonburg VA (look for us next to the Bank of America)
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
FEATURE- B3
Halloween creates Excitement around the ‘Burg Kids look forward to favorite treats Fear Crops not quite as Anna Wyatt Staff reporter
W
hen it comes to Halloween, there’s a lot that can be assumed about a household just by observing what they dole out to trick-or-treaters. Whether it’s king-sized candy bars, caramel apples, or some other kind of exotic treat, it’s usually pretty obvious that the person giving them out is a big fan of Halloween in general considering they went a little farther than just picking out the cheapest bag of candy at Walmart. “I remember one house in my neighborhood that gave out homemade rice crispy treats every year,” junior Deb Halpern said. Since it was consistent each year, Halpern always looked forward to trick-or-treating at that specific house. “They were always my favorite,” Halpern said. “If God had a favorite food, it would be rice crispy treats.” Sometimes, however, certain houses are
trademarked with a treat that is really disliked. “I always hated when people would pass out things like fruit or pretzels,” junior Madison Ward said. Ward explained how frustrating it was when “one year someone actually passed out toothbrushes.” It’s not just households that take pride in going above and beyond Halloween standards. Some businesses also take part in this Halloween hoopla as well. For instance, Starbucks adds the pumpkin spice latte to their menu with the beginning of each fall season. Kline’s also goes along with that autumn, Halloween theme by serving pumpkin flavored ice cream one week as their featured flavor. “I always look forward to the unique flavors of fall,” junior Madeline Leach said. This year, Leach has found a new fall favorite, chocolate pumpkin cheesecake. “It will definitely be the one food I look forward to next fall,” Leach said.
terrifying as Fear Forest Josh Byrd Style Editor
A
fun heart-racing, jump-out-ofyour socks attraction this fall is Fear Forest. Also, a new attraction to the forest is Fear Crops, an interactive zombie hunt. Riding on a wagon through a field of corn, zombies jump out at visitors. Visitor’s pulses will never stop racing at this new attraction. Fear Forest is similar to what it has been in years past, but students should also try out Fear Crops when they go. A general agreement from students is that Fear Forest is still good, but that Fear Crops still needs some work. “I didn’t think Fear Crops was executed the right way,” freshman Jake Bishop
said, “It took too long to get through.” What made Bishop’s visit better was Fear Forest’s scare factor. “It got really scary when you are going through the building because you feel like you are in a throat. I don’t recommend fear forest for claustrophobic people,” Bishop said, “But in general I definitely recommend it to other students.” Fear Forest is located at 6340 Oak Shade Road Harrisonburg, VA 22801 and their phone number is (540)-2893449. It is open every Friday and Saturday of October. It will also be open Thursday the 25th, and the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to Halloween. It costs $17 to go through Fear Forest and Fear Crops, and only costs $10 to go to one of the attractions.
Old Town gets decked out for harvest season Bryndal Fulginiti Staff reporter
G
hosts flying around the air, cobwebs hanging everywhere, haunted forests and corn mazes, zombies, witches, and mummies, Halloween is in the air. Everyone may not celebrate Halloween, but the ones who do either get really into it or are just laid back about it. Most people that live over in Old Town, Harrisonburg get into the Halloween spirit by decorating their homes. When you go over to Old Town around Halloween, it’s like you’re entering an actual Halloween town. It’s a whole different atmosphere filled with a spookiness that will give you the chills as you pass by. Junior Larkin O’Hara and her family, who live in Old Town, get into the spirit by decorating their house with as many decorations as possible. “Every year we put up this huge cobweb over our front door, and hang up lights and fake pumpkins all around,” O’Hara said. For some people, deco-
rating their house is a family tradition. It’s a time when they are able to get together with their family. Where they can laugh, joke around, have fun, and spend quality time with one another. Nowadays, that’s hard to get. “All the memories I have, of decorating my house is that I get to do it with my family. Every year we have a pumpkin carving party, and that’s my favorite part because it is something we do together,” O’Hara said. Everyone has something different that they enjoy about decorating their house. For junior Jacob Byrd, his favorite part about decorating his house is probably a little different than others . “I love getting to walk on the roof above my front porch to help with decorations. It is really fun and it’s one of my favorite memories,” Byrd said. It’s always unique to be in a town where people decorate their homes, but some people may not understand how much time and dedication it takes. “My favorite thing about halloween decorations is knowing and seeing kids appreciate them,” Byrd said.
GHOSTS. Old town residents get into the Halloween spirit, by decking out their front lawns.
PHOTO BY BRYNDAL FULGINITI
WITCHES. Lawn ornaments sit in front of a Old Town house, greeting visitors. Photo by Bryndal Fulginiti
PHOTO BY AUSTIN COFFEY
TRICK OR TREAT. A freshly carved pumpkin greets visitors on a front stoop of a local home. Many Harrisonburg residents have made the trek to local pumpkin patches to pick out the perfect Jack-o-lantern to great trick or treaters on Halloween.
HALLOWEEN CANDY BY THE NUMBERS “Candy. Just about anything. But no Butterfingers and no raisins,” librarian Billy Martin “3 Musketeers,” librarian Debbie Witman “I am extremely partial to Reese’s peanut butter cups,” library secretary Bradley Walton “Believe it or not... candy corn pumpkins,” junior Rachael Kerley “Candy corn,” senior Marik Chepelyuk
Reeses Skittles Kit Kat
7
Snickers
7
Twix Candy Corn
8
Other
PHOTO BY AUSTIN COFFEY
HARVEST TIME. Fall arrangements featuring pumpkins, gourds, and seasonal mums decorate homes and businesses alike. These items can be purchased at local stores and nurseries.
Halloween costumes can be lasting investment
H
5
9 10
50 people were surveyed for this poll. Infographic by Julexus Cappell
PHOTO BY CELIA EHRENPIREIS
THE LIVING DEAD. Gravestones with funny sayings and skeletons sprout up from a yard in Old Town.
John Earle Staff reporter
4
PHOTO BY BRYNDAL FULGINITI
alloween only comes around once a year. It’s a time for people to dress up in crazy costumes and eat as much candy as they want. But where do halloween fanatics get these elaborate disguises? Places to buy Halloween costumes in Harrisonburg are Walmart, Target, K-mart, and other big name stores. Another popular place is Glen’s Fair Price Store downtown. It’s one of the less expensive and local places to shop. For some, they look at Halloween as an adventure, and head on down to nearby cities or towns, such as Staunton, Winchester, Charlottesville, or Roanoke. For boys, popular costumes are character’s from favorite movies,
books, shows, or just the same costume as a best friend. Superheroes are always a crowd pleaser, the more commonly seen ones being Spiderman, Superman, and Batman. For young boys pirate or Star Wars costumes are popular because they come with a sword or light saber. Girls tend to go more with the princesses and witches. Children these days have so many choices. A Halloween costume is typically only used for one night, and then shoved into the closet, not to be used again until a younger sister or brother grows into it. Some may say it’s just a waste of money, to spend $40+ on some absurd costume that will only be worn for 5 hours at most. Others see it as an experience that all children should take part in.
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
ADS - B4
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For information and guidance in class selection please call: 810-3631 or 433-7127 or 234-8317 115 South Main St. Harrisonburg VA 22801
October 26, 2012
The
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ADS - B5
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Go Blue Streaks!
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
SPORTS B6
RISING TO THE TOP!
ALL PHOTOS BY CHRIS DICKERSON
JUMP! The HHS cheer team performs a jump sequence during their first invitational of the year at East Rockingham. HHS placed first at the invitational and is looking to build off the hot start throughout the season.
Cheer team places 1st in opener
Max Johnson Staff reporter At the home opening district cheer competition, the Blue Streaks took a first place victory to start off the season with a bang. The Streaks competition squad impressed fans from all schools with their display of tumbling and flips. Harrisonburg is the only school in the district that has a squad that can all backflip and tumble. That is a big difference between HHS and rival Broadway High School. Last season there was controversy as to who won the district title, and who won the the district tournament. But that doesn’t matter this year as the Streaks beat second place Broadway by over 31 points. Harrisonburg fans were startled when coach Bridget Smith talked to her girls and the looks on their faces gave the impression that the Streaks might not even place. That changed, once Lee
was called for third and Broadway was called for second, the startled, disappointed look went away, and when the announcer stated that the Streaks had won first place, the crowd erupted in joy as did the cheerleaders. Harrisonburg’s routine looks to be that of a state champion, and they hope to blow out any team that they face in the upcoming competitions. Competition cheer is a much bigger deal than people make it out to be. Other than football, Harrisonburg’s strongest fan base has to be for competition cheerleading. The amount of support that the cheerleaders have gotten in the past two years is crazy. Not only is the fan base at home huge, but the Streaks cheerleading competition fans travel all over the area as well. Fans have been showing up to competitions in Buffalo Gap, East Rockingham, and Spotswood in large numbers.
Max Johnson Staff reporter
GO BIG BLUE! The HHS Cheer team celebrates as they announce the winner of the cheer competition debut at HHS. HHS placed first over all district opponents.
HIGH FLYING! THE HHS Cheer team performs a Lib sequence during their home competition.
TO THE TOP! The HHS Cheer team structures a pyramid during their first-place routine.
Cheer team rolling through competitions Kerri Hofacker Sports editor After a rough start to their second competition on Oct 8, the Lady Streaks finished seven points ahead of Broadway, and seven and a half points ahead of Robert E. Lee. The ladies had some minor technical difficulties with their music at the start of their routine, but that was their only deduction, according to senior Rachel Defriece. “We got 10 points taken off because our routine went over the time limit by six seconds, but we’re still ahead of the whole district by 48 points,” Defriece said.
The Streaks performed stunts like liberties, heel stretches, and scorpion twists. With a routine this difficult, senior Sarah Bell had a hard time picking out the hardest part of the night. “We had just gotten Aspen [Hoak] back after not having her compete with us for two competitions, so we had to adjust to having her back,” Bell said. The team arrived to school at 6 a.m. the morning of the competition to get some extra practice in before that evening’s event. “We practiced that morning to get more comfortable with our routine, and we all feel like it really helped
because we went into the [competition] with more confidence,” Defriece said. Another difficult aspect of being able to perform in these competitions is the tumbling and the jumps. Bell described some of the tumbling that’s required of the girls who make the team. “We have to be able to do a standing back handspring, a toe touch and a round-off back handspring,” Bell said. With the help of the crowd, the Streaks pushed to the lead and came out ahead of the rest of the district. The next competition will be on Oct 27 at Spotswood and Regionals will be Nov 3.
VICTORY! The HHS Cheer team celebrates their victory at East Rockingham.
October 26, 2012
The
Schedule of events: COMPETITION CHEERLEADING Oct 27 H District Mini Nov 3 A TBD (Regionals) Nov 10 A TBD (States) VARSITY Oct 23 H Oct 25 A Oct 30 A Oct 26 H Nov 2 H Oct 26 H
VOLLEYBALL R.E. Lee Waynesboro TBD (Districts)
FOOTBALL Liberty Waynesboro CROSS COUNTRY Liberty
WINTER SPORTS TRYOUTS In order to participate in tryouts, all athletes must have a VHSL physical on file with the school. Stop by the athletic department office in the gym commons area to pick one up. All winter athletes who did not participate in a fall sport must attend the athletic safety meeting.
Newsstreak
SPORTS - B7
Cross country runners take on farm Gina Muan News Editor HHS runners endured simmering heat waves as they powered over steep hills and through clouds of gnats at the Burter Classic meet on Oct. 3. “People finished with bugs all over them,” senior Caitlin Kelly said. Kelly was unable to participate in the race because of an injury, but as a result was able to watch her fellow teammates as she recorded their times. “We did really well,” Kelly said, “I was bummed that I didn’t get to run, but from what I saw, it was a great race.” The girls placed third among the Valley District teams and sixth overall. “Our scores improved from the first meet we ran there this year,” senior Jonas Zimmerman said. “[We’re] all familiar with the course, and Districts are [at Burtner] too, so we have a shot to make it to Regionals.” “Our legs were tired from the workout
Monday so we could have done better, but for this point in the season, I think we did pretty well,” senior Andrea Wood said. Runners have constant workouts to strengthen various aspects of their race. They alternate between days focused on sprints and core exercises. An intense workout session for the girls two days prior to the race may have resulted in weary legs as the runners took off. However, exhaustion proved to have little effect on several competitors. Senior Jordan Leaman received first place in Rockingham County and sixth place overall for the varsity team. Leaman achieved a PR for the course. For the girls varsity, senior Erin Goodstein placed first for HHS, and 21st overall. Out of the 18 other schools, the HHS girls JV team came out on top, with senior Jenny Kniss coming in first for HHS. Dr. Burtner, owner of the ‘farm’, allows schools to use the land for competitions. The 5-kilometer course is rife with inclines. At the sound of the gun, runners took off,
speeding up and down the grassy slopes and through a forested section. “It’s really hilly,” junior Ashley Riley said. “There’s this one hill we call ‘The Wall,’ because it’s so steep.” Many Lady Streaks enjoy the course at Burtner farm because of its familiarity. Although HHS does have an actual home cross-country course, it hasn’t been used this year and the girls consider Burtner to be their ‘second home.’ “I love Burtner,” sophomore Laurie Serrell said. “We know how to run the course. Coach takes us there and tells us where to speed up. Bugg lives there and likes to help coach us.” ‘Bugg’ used to be the XC coach for HHS. He lives on Burtner Farm, assists with team training, and is also the teams’ bus driver. XC runners are to compete once again at Burtner for Regionals on Oct. 30. Fully acclimated to workouts and at the peak of their season, they plan to place well.
For more information about try-outs, talk to the head coach of each team: Girls Basketball - Bill Bayer Boys Basketball - Scott Joyner Wrestling - Mike Dickerson Indoor Track - David Loughran Gymnastics - Michael King Swimming - Richard Morrell Cheerleading - Bridget Smith ALL WINTER SPORTS PRACTICES BEGIN NOV 5!
Hyser recovering from knee injury
RUN, BOYS, RUN. Members of the boys cross country team compete on their home course at Burtner Farm.
PHOTO BY PAUL HAIRSTON
Faith Runnells Staff Reporter
Simmons still going strong after 17 years
Sports require a lot of energy and strength from athletes. Getting injured in a sport is actually pretty common, and the effects of an injury on a student athlete are tremendous. Junior Chris Hyser is currently in his fall season sport, cross country. Unfortunately, he dislocated his right knee at the beginning of his varsity year. This injury has affected him in many ways, but mostly he will not be allowed to race with his cross country team until the end of the season. “[If this didn’t happen], I’d be on the varsity team this year. Now the team is one short and they haven’t had a seventh seed pretty much all season,” Hyser said. Hyser’s knee was dislocated in the beginning of this fall when he was running. He took a bad step and tripped. Now his recovery is going to take about 10 weeks. “Ten weeks is basically the end of the season for me. I lost a whole season,” Hyser said. Hyser goes to therapy every day to help his knee. In therapy, he does stretches and exercises for his knee that are designed to aid his recovery. Even after Hyser is done with his therapy, he will probably have to wear a knee band and be more careful about getting injured again. “Therapy isn’t fun, but I guess it helps me,” Hyser said. As much as Hyser would like to race this season, his injury is going to prevent him from any running. Hyser still supports his varsity cross country team and cheers them on at every meet. Getting back into shape and recovering from his injury will take some time, but Hyser is hopeful that next year, he’ll be back out there with his team, getting record times.
Sukriti Adhikiri Staff Photographer After working as the head custodian in the athletic department for the last 17 years, Amos Simmons, commonly known as Amos, is still doing his job with the same enthusiasm he had in the beginning. As the head athletic custodian, he is required to look after all the physical plant operations of the field and complete game day setups. Eddie Hart has also been working as an athletic custodian alongside Simmons for the last five years. Hart said that he chose this job because it was ‘easy’. Although, working the fields may be easy, it’s certainly a struggle to mow and fix the fields when the temperature drops to the freezing point “We always go home 1-2 hours after all the students and spectators,” Hart said. During the football season, mowing and painting the field are the normal procedures that occur before football games. Only these three activities take at least three days for Simmons, Hart and Bobby, a part time helper, to complete. Once the game is over, they have to clean the field which tends to take at least an hour or two. “After the football games we have to clean everything. I sometimes don’t get home until midnight,” Simmons said. Although, the work is tiring, Simmons is supportive of the Streaks in every game they play even if they are not doing so great. “Sometimes the plays are upsetting but you just gotta bite your tongue and deal with it,” Simmons said.
While describing his job, Simmons says “I’m happy 99% of the time but sometimes we [all] have an occasional bad day at work.” Simmons doesn’t have a favorite sports season that he likes to work, but spring poses new problems. “Spring sports are the hardest because when it rains things get delayed. We’ll prepare the baseball and softball fields right
before the game, but then there’s a rainstorm. Now, there goes two to three hours of work right in the drain,” Simmons said. Athletic Director, Darrell Wilson, and Hart described Simmons as a ‘fun’ guy to be around with. “ He does more than he is required to. Even when he is home on his day off and they need someone to fix the field he just comes and does it,” Hart said.
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
LINING UP. Grounds maintenance crew member Amos Simmons lines the football field for an upcoming game. Simmons has been on staff at HHS for 17 years.
Shenandoah Valley Scholars’ Latino Initiative A mentoring and scholarship program for youth in the Shenandoah Valley Founded by Peter Kaugman in 2003, the scholarships began in Spring of 2012 with the selection of three scholars. Support scholars today by donating either by phone or online at: http://svsli.wordpress.com/ how-to-help/
eeriehl@virginia-organizing.org (540) 438-5985
October 26, 2012
The
Newsstreak
Starting setter sidelined in first game Sam Imeson Staff reporter
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
REACH! Junior starting setter Skyler Johnson goes up for a block against T.A. in their home match on Oct. 16. A serious leg injury sidelined Johnson for the first half of the volleyball season.
One play, one wrong step can sideline an athlete for a few games or possibly an entire season. As terrible and unfortunate as they are, injuries are a part of sports and athletes take the risk of getting injured every time they step on the court or field. For junior Skyler Johnson, this risk became a reality during the season opener against Eastern Mennonite. “We all really wanted to beat [EMHS]. We hate losing to them,” Johnson said. The Streaks ended up beating EMHS, but Johnson had to leave early in the second set. “I went up for a spike and heard something in my leg pop. I sat out for a little bit, but I couldn’t go back into the game. I went to the doctor three days later and found out that I had a stress fracture in my lower leg,” Johnson said. She was put in a boot and was unable to practice, or play, for three weeks. “I hated to have to sit out while my team played without me. I really wanted to be out there playing, but I knew I couldn’t and that was terrible,” Johnson said. Johnson plays an enormous role in the team’s success. She returned to action on Sept 25 against the Broadway Gobblers and helped the Streaks surge to a 3-0 win. “Having to walk around in that stupid boot for three weeks really sucked,” Johnson said about the worst part of being injured.
Dual enrollment Kinesiology added to class list Kendall Bailey Sports editor A new physical education class was added to the curriculum this fall. Dual Enrollment Kinesiology, also known as DE Personal Wellness, caught the interest of several students who are either planning to pursue a path in the physical education field or have a strong love for sports and exercise. Senior Jonas Zimmerman instantly signed up for the class as soon as he heard it was being offered. “I’m interested in athletic training, and I enjoy lifting, running, and doing sports, so the class seemed like a perfect combination of the two,” Zimmerman said. When the idea of expanding the PE program first surfaced last year, there was a lot of questioning from the student body on how the Kinesiology class would work,
and how the curriculum would differ from a regular PE or weight training class. Junior Maendy Hernandez explained how the class differed from freshman and sophomore PE classes. “[The kinesiology] class gives you college credit, and is a lot cheaper than if you waited until college to take it,” Hernandez said. “We get a book, and watch power points that we take notes on, and then we have two lab days, where we practice the exercises we’ve learned. Then on the fourth day of each unit we take a test,” Zimmerman said. The new Kinesiology class also focuses on the muscles and how they work. “The whole point of the class is explaining the purposes for different exercises, and what muscles are used in each one,” Zimmerman said. “We get to learn about the differences
between boys’ and girls’ limits when it comes to weight lifting,” Hernandez said. The class seems to be beneficial when it comes to the muscular system, but the course holds a lot of favorite topics for its students as well. “I love all the different types of activities we get to do, and we always measure our heart rate with our watches after every weight training session,” Hernandez said. “I like getting to learn and understand the purpose for why I’m stretching and effect they have on my running,” Zimmerman said. The addition of the Kinesiology class has benefited the students with interests in a Physical Education and Sports Medicine degree. Even though the option has just been added to the curriculum, the teachers have received positive feedback from its students and is hopes to gain participates in the upcoming years.
SPORTS - B8
Sports Briefs STREAKS SWEEP GOBBLERS The varsity volleyball team defeated Broadway 3-0 on Sept 25 at home. That gave the ladies their first district win. Taylor Grogg led the team with 21 digs, and Sarah Rose added 9 kills for the victory. STREAKS LOSE KEY PLAYER The varsiy football team suffered a key loss against Robert E.Lee High School when junior quarterback, Ryan Nixon, went down with an ankle injury. The boys ended up losing 14-19 at Lee. STREAKS LOSE TO LITTLE GIANTS The varsity volleyball team lost 1-3, to Waynesboro High School on Oct 2. After going down two sets early, the ladies rallied back to make it 1-2. The team was led by Taylor Grogg who had 25 digs, and Skyler Johnson added 24 assists. LADIES STRUGGLE AGAINST SPOTSWOOD The varsity volleyball team lost to Spotswood on Oct 9, 0-3. Taylor Grogg led the team with 21 digs, while Kaelen Adams added 5 kills for the Streaks. FOOTBALL LOSES TO INDIANS The varsity football team traveled to Fort Defiance High School on Oct 12. The Streaks lost to the Indians 13-25. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS The Streaks take on the Minutemen of Liberty High School on Oct 26. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. The Red Sea will be tailgating in the parking lot before the start of the game. RED SEA ATTIRE STILL FOR SALE Join the best student pep section in the Valley! Red Sea t-shirts are available now in room 444 for $10 each. The SCA has requested that students pack the Red Sea section with as many people as we can possibly get. Start your Friday night fun with Red Sea tailgating prior to the game in the student parking lot. Bring $1 for food. STREAKS KNOCKOUT KNIGHTS The junior varsity volleyball team beat cross-town rivals, Turner Ashby, in a volleyball match on Oct 16. The ladies won 2-1.
October 26, 2012
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SIT DOWN AND RELAX. A beautiful mural at Showalter’s Orchard.
ALL PHOTOS BY CELIA EHRENPREIS
Pick apples for perfect fall weekend outing Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-Chief
the 45-minute drive alone. Rows and meaning any apple they see is game to while waiting to be checked out. rows of apples line the expansive orchard. be picked. Late on a Saturday afternoon, Showalter’s not only has top notch Each fruit looks ripe for picking, and with around 30 pickers roam the property se- apple picking, but also quite a few fun over twenty different varieties, it’s not lecting their goods. The Fuji section of fall options. An adorable pumpkin patch he smell of fermented apples hard to get started. the orchard is filled with the majority of greets visitors on their drive up to the greets my nose as I walk along The apple picking process starts by the pickers, from elderly couples to new orchard. The Showalter’s greenhouse the rows and rows of apple trees. is directly beside the orchard, carrying choosing one of the many different sized parents. I look down to see the ground bags. There are five options, if young chilThe best apples tend to hide at the everything from spring bed plants to completely covered with round red fruit. dren want to carry their own bag, a half top of the trees, so it is not unusual to vegetables. Greenhouse classes are also Apple picking, in my opinion, seems to be peck is suggested, costing $4. For the see ladders propped against tree trunks, offered in the spring for all interested an underrated fall activity. The Saturday more experienced apple pickers, there their occupants trying to reach the most gardeners. The wide range includes evafternoon I spent at Showalter’s Orchard erything from “How to Grow and Use are sizes ranging all the way up to a bush- delectable fruit. was seasonally enjoyable, and helped me el, with four pecks equaling a bushel. I Other apple varieties offered by Show- Culinary Herbs” to “Patio Paradise Using get into the fall spirit. grabbed the two peck bag and headed alter’s include; Granny Smith, Golden Tropical Plants in Containers”. The Orchard is perched atop a tall The orchard opens at 8 a.m. every outside. Delicious, Pink Lady, Stayman, and many mountain, overlooking the small but One of the ladies in charge advised me more. Once my bag is filled with a wide morning, except Sunday, and closes at 6 scenic town of Timberville. The apple orto start with the Fuji apples. She deems array of apples, I make my way to the p.m. on weekdays, but 5 p.m. on Saturday. chard sells a wide range of apple related them the best variety to eat, since their checkout. A long line greets customers, Showalter’s Orchard is a great day trip for products, which includes everything flesh is sweet instead of tart. Custom- a 10-minute wait is pretty much guar- anyone looking to get into the fall spirit. from warm cider to apple butter. The ers are given free range of the property, anteed. Antsy children munch on apples homemade apple doughnuts are worth
T
TODAY’S PICKS. Showalter’s displays the suggested apple varieties for their interested customers. RED TRUCK. A truck sits outside of Showalter’s Greenhouse, which sells everything from vegetables to spring bed plants.
APPLES UPON APPLES. A large barrel of apples sits in Showalter’s check out area.
APPLES FOR SALE. Showalter’s Orchard not has an apple orchard, but also a pumpkin patch.
CRATES OF APPLES. Apples wait to be shipped out for sale in different stores all over Virginia.
LOW HANGING FRUIT. Apples at Showalter’s Orchard wait to be picked.
SO SCENIC. The view from the orchard overlooks the town of Timberville, about 45 minutes away from Harrisonburg.