The Rock February 2014

The Rock 4

Emerald Regiment program to undergo leadership changes

Budget Crisis?

CPS faces potential cuts

Emily Franke

C

George Sarafianos

E

arlier this year, Boone County released its assessed valuation to Columbia Public Schools regarding the increase in percentage of property taxes intended to be set aside for next year’s budget. With initial projections showing a three percent increase in funding, both the district and RBHS were suprised to learn that the actual valuation amounted to only 1.94 percent.

“Since money comes from different funding sources, the school district is making very high level projections about the funding sources and what we can expect for next year’s budget,” Dr. Jennifer Mast, RBHS Principal, said. “What happened when the assessed valuation was released is the county said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to bring in with property taxes this year, here’s how much of that is going to the school district’ … for the piece of Columbia Public School’s income that comes from the County of Boone from property taxes [make up] a big chunk.”

In conjunction with the shortfall of anticipated funds lowering income for the next fiscal year, deficit spending has been written into the budget for the 2014-2015 school year. That is not to say, however, that the district is in financial trouble.

The district has sufficient enough budget reserves this year, that they can comfortably deficit spend next year, according to Mast.

“Our goal as a healthy district is to have 17 percent of our total budget in reserves, our district right now is at 23 to 24 percent, which is very healthy,” Mast said. “We have to be careful of how much we deficit spend because if the income continues to be less than what it costs to run the district for several years, the projection is that in five years if nothing changes, we’ll be down to 12 percent in our reserves.”

Every school in the district staffs buildings using Full Time Equivalency, a system working around the ratio of teachers to students. With the addition of freshman students to high schools, 2013-14 is to be RBHS’s most populated year, causing FTE to be lower than the ideal amount. How many teachers the district will employ next year remains an uncertainty, because student population is only one of the deciding factors.

“The question remains: ‘Will being somewhat understaffed this year allow us to stay exactly where we are, or will we still get cut?’” Mast said.

“Because the budget situation will either not allow them to staff us to the appropriate point or, because we lost more students than what our current staff should support.”

The low assessed valuation will also put cer-

photo by Amy Blevins

Budget Bargaining: Representatives from Columbia Missouri National Educators Association, the union f or CPS t eachers, attend a meeting with members of the distr ict’s bargaining committee Tuesday, Feb. 11. They discussed such issues as pot ential uses of district funds and the r enegotiation of CPS t eachers’ contracts with the c ommittee. tain plans of RBHS on the backburner, considering that there is additional difficulty in making improvements with less funding.

“I think the biggest disappointment for most employees is that there was some hope, not a lot, but some hope of a salary increase this year,” Mast said, “and I think that hope has diminished quite a bit. I’m not saying that its not going to happen, but it may be a stretch.”

Some teachers have gone years without salary increases, and the potential for a longer wait adds a burden on them. This makes mprovment even more difficult for the school, according to English

Department Chair Katie Walthall.

“A teacher’s salary has never been enough for me, or my family. I’ve always had to supplement my salary by teaching summer school, working full time throughout the summer, and working a second job. Up until this year, I had worked two jobs my entire teaching career,” Walthall said. “The fact that they are continuing to not pay teachers adequately and then increase teaching load by increasing student numbers is also just hazardous. I know a lot of teachers that it has just run out of the door. They just cannot continue to expect us to do more with less pay.”

hange is in store for the Emerald Regiment, RBHS’s competetive marching band.

In the past year, the band worked with a new assistant director and faced the challenges of two grade levels of new marchers. After one full year as assistant director of bands, Patrick Sullivan will take on the tasks as director of the athletic bands.

This job, Sullivan said, will utilize his strengths and experience and will balance the responsibilities and stresses currently placed on the head director Steve Mathews.

“I’ll be in charge of the marching band component. Mr. Mathews is still the head director. He’ll deal with almost all the same issues that he’s dealing with now,” Sullivan said.

“I’ll be in charge of instruction and design for the marching band … Basically next year students probably won’t see much of a difference.”

This change will spread the responsibilities of the program between the two directors, Mathews said. Additionally, Sullivan said, spreading responsibilities will alleviate the stress of running the band program, which has negatively affected Mathews’ health this past season.

With a history of experience in the world of marching band, the new position fits Sullivan’s expertise. After marching with Drum Corps International, an organization of highly competitive drum and bugle marching bands, and drum majoring for Marching Mizzou, Sullivan’s experience will help him in his new position, giving him an opportunity to utilize his strengths.

Junior trombonist Matt Orf hopes to see the band program improve under Sullivan’s direction.

photo by Justin Sutherland

photo by Justin Sutherland

The show must go on: Senior mellophonist Evan Schaffer performs during last y ear’s show. The program will be under assistant director Patrick Sullivan’s direction in 2014.

Missouri General Assembly contemplates adding photo ID requirement for voting Harsh Singh

T

feature photo by Mikaela Acton

Security or disenfranchisement? This year, Democrats and Republicans in the Missouri General Assembly face this question regarding requiring photo IDs for voting. The revised proposal, sponsored by Republicans Tony Duger and Stanley Cox, also stipulates that the IDs in question would be issued free of charge.

he Missouri General Assembly will again attempt to pass a new voter ID bill after Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed a similar bill three years ago.

The proposal would allow the state to establish new rules requiring voters to show photo identification at polls.

Sponsored by Republicans Tony Dugger and Stanley Cox on Jan. 9, 2014, the bill was first heard by the House of Representatives on Feb. 11.

Missouri is among 16 other states that do not require any form of identification at voting polls, but the Republican representatives in the House of Representatives made provisional changes to old proposals.

Unlike the voter ID bill which was vetoed by Nixon three years ago, the newest version of the law would allow voters without proper identification to receive photo IDs without cost.

Freshman Keerthivaas Premkumar thinks the change made to the voter ID bill should be enough for it to pass.

“The main reason why people think the voter ID bill is unfair because the poor cannot afford photo IDs,” Premkumar said. “Since the bill will allow photo IDs to those who don’t have it without any money, there is no reason why the bill should not be passed.”

Photo IDs are needed for travel, opening bank accounts and taking the ACT test. According to a survey taken by the Rasmussen Reports, known for public opinion polling, 71 percent of Americans believe photo IDs are needed at polls.

Sen. Will Kraus Voter (R-Lee’s Summit) has said he is sponsoring the bill for one reason: to prevent voter fraud. However, the instances of voter fraud in past years have not been very high. Out of the 197 million votes cast for federal candidates between 2002 and 2005, only 40 voters were indicted for voter fraud, according to a Department of Justice study outlined during a 2006 congressional hearing.

Of these cases, only 26 resulted in

convictions or guilty pleas. Junior Zach Ibitoye said the positives of the voter ID bill outweigh its negatives.

“Photo IDs will prevent any type of scam from happening which can also prevent inaccurate election results,” Ibitoye said. “Photo IDs are a must these days, and I don’t see why voting polls don’t require one.”

While some people believe they prevent fraud, others claim requiring photo IDs will disenfranchise low-income voters. At least 15 percent of voting-age citizens earning less than $35,000 annually do not have a valid government-issued photo ID, according to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Senior Chandler Randol said the more lenient voter laws are, the more opportunities people will have to vote.

“For example, the poor disproportionately have fewer government issued IDs than the wealthy,“ Randol said.

Continued on A3

FEATURES

SPORTS

Texting and driving receives little coverage

Turf Wars: Lawsuit shows RBHS, HHS turf may be in need of replacement

Although phone companies spend millions on campaigns against texting while driving, their efforts still receive less coverage and support than others, especially driving under the influence. B1

Issue inside this

News • • • • • • • • • A1 Briefs • • • • • • • • • A3 Special Reports • • A4 Editorials • • • • • A6 Commentary • • • A8 Features • • • • • • B1

photo by Randi Obermiller

In-Depths • • • • • H&W • • • • • • • • Sports • • • • • • Community • • • A&E • • • • • • • Backpage • • • • •

After an investigation and pending lawsuit by FieldTurf, Inc. shows that RBHS’s synthetic turf may be defective, CPS will likely replace it over this next summer. C1

B3 B7 C1 C4 C7 C8

BEARING NEWS For more constant, enlightening coverage of Rock Bridge High School news, sports and other content, visit BearingNews.org

A2

News

Snow days present possibility of school year end date change over the snow days to help out her students. She believes in making use of the technology available in education to hen the snowstorm swept across Mid- get as much learning done as possible when school is not Missouri last week, leaving seven inches in session.

“What I do for my students, is I put the information of snow and ice, the red banner scrolled across the Columbia Public Schools web- we are learning on Angel,” McDonough said. “And what site, day after day, announcing cancellations. Students I’ve learned is because we have Angel available, I can use anticipated days filled with relaxation and perhaps some that sort of technology to let students know what they snow-related activities. However, for RBHS seniors, should be doing at home, even though they aren’t in class. little did they know that their week off school had the At least there’s a way to communicate even over snow days, and since students want to know what they should potential for implications come May. As of now, the last day for seniors at RBHS is May be doing to stay on track with the class.”

Though AP teachers like McDonough will be more 16, and graduation is May 22. However, as students have missed seven days of instructional time, school adminis- rushed because of the week lost to snow days to complete trators are discussing whether the last day of school for material before the AP test, senior Amira Mavrakis said pushing off the end of the year for seniors will not make seniors should be adjusted to a later date.

“At this point, we have not reached a decision for the a substantial difference.

“For me, I don’t have too much of a preference. I can last day for seniors, whether it will be the 16th of May or later,” said Dr. Jennifer Mast, principal. “The Rock see both sides of the story, from the position of the adBridge administration has met to discuss the topic, but ministration as well as how seniors see it,” Mavrakis said. we have not yet come to a decision. It may take a couple “Extending the year for seniors would not change the date of AP tests, and therefore there will not bring any weeks before we reach a final decision.”

Senior Inas Syed said she hopes Mast makes an ef- extra time to learn more information. But also, extending the year would give seniors fort to prevent alterations at the end of a chance to perhaps elabothe year affecting seniors’ traditional rate more in certain subjects At this point we week out of classes between their finals they graduate.” and their graduation. have not reached before Aside from the issue of “I think that it definitely isn’t crucial a decision for how much learning can get to add on dates at the end of the year. the last day for done before the end of the It’s our last semester. Grades don’t really year, Syed believes extendcount too much, and everything can be seniors.” ing the year for seniors squeezed just a little. I think most seniors may present problems to will be OK with moving at a little bit of a Dr. Jennifer Mast the families of graduates as faster pace to go through all the material,” well.

Syed said. “I think that at the end of the principal “I definitely do not think year, the most important thing for most that they should add on days to the people will be to finish high school earlier, on end of the year for seniors,” Syed said. “One reason is May 16, like planned.”

Aware of the negative consequences the snow days that the dates have already been set and many families of will have on classes, Advanced Placement Language and the graduates have already planned on attending graduaComposition teacher Deborah McDonough foresees tion at a specific date and getting ready well before then.”

Mast verifies that no decision is official at this point in the compromises she must make later on in the year.

“With all the snow days we had, we lose those days in time. Though the days lost may present an issue to classes the AP course because the AP test is in May at a certain attempting to teach enough information before the end date,” McDonough said. “So what we end up doing is of the year, Mast explains the extension wouldn’t even refocusing our attention on the material that we need and provide much benefit, if it is implicated at all.

“Seven days lost from a semester is a significant that is absolutely necessary that we cover, and there’s not going to be a lot more embellishments in the curriculum.” amount to take away from students and teachers,” Mast In order to prevent making too many changes in her said. “But really, from the 16th to the 22nd, four days curriculum, McDonough said she usually makes an effort won’t really make too much of a difference.”

Manal Salim

W

photo by Maribeth Eiken

Dark Days: Winter weather burries the residential areas of Columbia now for more than a week. Although the snow only fell Tuesday, because it was accompanied by arctic air, the weather spelled trouble for Columbia Public Schools and drivers.

Missouri looks into reducing voter fraud Continued from A1

S

ince a voter ID must be g o ve r n m e n t issued this, obviously, prevents some from voting,” Chandler Randol said.

Randol still believes, though, there should be some type of voter identification to prevent frauds from happening. He said frauds need to be eliminated with a precautionary measure that won’t inhibit the poor from voting.

“There should be steps taken to ensure that voter fraud doesn’t occur,” Randol said.

“For instance, your Social Security number could be used as this tends to be a more balanced approach.

While there is merit in ensuring voter fraud doesn’t occur, voter IDs could potentially harm the right for some to vote.”

A3 Brief

News

news in

www.fotosearch.com

International Preparations incomplete for Sochi Winter Olympics

A

photo by Justin Sutherland

Marching for success: The band class in RBHS will gain a new dir ector next year in hopes to further improve its current program.

Sullivan appointed ‘Director of Athletic Bands’ Continued from A1

I

think that it’s probably a good change. I know ... since Mr. Sullivan did march with a corps, I think that he has a lot of expertise that Mr. Mathews doesn’t necessarily have,” Orf, who feels that Mathews ran the program well, said. “I just think that with Mr. Sullivan’s expertise we can take it to a whole other level.”

In addition to Sullivan’s new title, the directors recently announced the theme of the Emerald Regiment’s field show for next fall.

“Moonstruck” will be the first show commissioned for the Emerald Regiment, and it will be written by Craig Fitzpatrick, who will compose music fitted just for the band, Sullivan said. This is a push in a new direction, he said, because in past years the band has used shows arranged for and performed by other bands.

“This step in the new direction is actually making something that nobody’s played before, coming up with conceptual ideas and tailoring it just for our band,” Sullivan said. “We can right now say, ‘Well, we’re going to be strong in this area, probably not as strong in this area, we’re going to have to tailor it to make sure we have this person featured as a soloist, we know we’re going to do this here,’ instead of trying to take some stock show and tweaking it, you know, square peg round hole, to our band.”

Initially skeptical, Orf believes when he hears the music and sees how the drill interacts with it, he

will appreciate the show more. day before band camp learning Sullivan said the show will visit music and marching fundamenthree main phases of the moon tals. The idea, he said, is to cover to illustrate how the moon might fundamentals so marchers can affect an individual and will use learn drill on Monday, the first themes from Beethoven’s “Moon- day of camp, which will push the light Sonata” and Van Morrison’s band ahead of the curve.

“Moondance” to create the tones “We’re really taking a lot of for each phase. initiative this year, and I think The first phase will show the we’ll see a lot of early success “lonely, maybe romantic,” side that we haven’t necessarily seen of the moon, he said, while the in past years,” Orf said. “Mr. second will show how the moon Mathews has said he wants to get can be fun and make you want to our show done before we even go dance. The last portion, he said, to our first competition, whereas will show how the moon can some years we only have parts of make a person crazy, or Moon- our show done ... Now I think struck. when we In “the go to our first segI think that with the first comm e n t , level of talent we have p e t i t i o n we’ll be here, and with the … the using segwill culture that’s been show ments from be more growing, I think we’re c o h e s i v e , M o o n l i gh t going to do fine.”

Sonata, [since] the second we’ve had Patrick Sullivan segment more time Assistant Band Director with the to practice dance will it.” be Moondance... And the last For this next season, Mathews segment, the crazy segment, will looks forward to the effects of probably intertwine some of adding more assistance through those things,” Sullivan said. “But the specially arranged show and [it] will be an original composi- the effects of finding direction tion by our arranger and it looks so early on. Mathews said each like it will probably end with a lit- year there continues to be a more tle Moonlight Sonata again with positive spirit within the band kind of a lonely, kind of roman- and that each year students want tic side.” to do better.

With this new show, the band In addition to improvements plans to hit the ground running and changes in the program, Orf to prepare for competitions. The said next year will have a stronger greatest change in next year’s class of veteran marchers, since program is students will start two the only new marchers will be days earlier, Sullivan said, so they freshmen. can spend the Thursday and Fri“We’ll have a higher ratio of

veteran marchers to new marchers which will really benefit our band because, obviously, veteran marchers are generally better since they’ve done it before,” Orf said. “I think this ratio will help the freshmen because I think the veteran marchers will be a good influence. Having a lot of them when there’s a lot of veteran marchers, [upperclassmen] kind of have an obligation to make it a good experience and I think we can make the kids get really serious about it this year.”

Orf said with more upperclassmen, there should be stronger players and stronger marchers, which will affect scoring in competitions as well as positively influence underclassmen. For Sullivan, this year has been a new experience, yet he shares a similar hope for the coming year; he believes the culture of the band and the amount of rehearsal time will bring positive results.

“This is my first experience with Rock Bridge this year, so I’m just taking in how the band has done this year and there’s no telling. This is something new, something fresh, and so I think that with the level of talent we have here, and with the culture that’s been growing, I think we’re going to do fine,” Sullivan said. “I enjoy the idea of not really worrying where we place at festivals but really worrying about what we can control, like we can control where our dot is on the field we can control what we play and if we control that we really monitor how well we do our individual shows, I think that once we get to festivals we [will] find success.”

RBHS show choirs hope to continue last year’s success despite cancellation of first competition Justin Sutherland

A

fter missing what was scheduled to be their first competition due to inclement weather, show choirs Satin ‘n Lace and City Lights gear up for their benefit tonight, Feb. 13, featuring RBHS alumna and 2013 Miss Missouri Shelby Ringdahl. Ringdahl plans to sing with her former choir once again.

With their missing competition, show choirs require more practice in hopes of doing well in the season to come. Choir director Mike Pierson goes in with high hopes for the former highplacing shows.

“It’s really just continuing what we’ve been doing,” Pierson said. “Building on [our successes] just comes from the events themselves and watching other choirs there who are scoring higher than we are. It gives them something to aspire to and to work toward.”

While having a history of success can benefit a program, the weight of keeping the tradition alive falls on the shoulders of returning students like senior Jon Crader, who have high hopes going into this year’s competition field since many of last year’s participants still do show choir this year.

“We have strong performers and strong singers for this year’s show choir and we have sharpened up those who are returning,” Crader said.

“We have taught the new students, first year performers basically what we’ve been taught before.

We hope to keep the same win streak going.”

Although show choir only attends nationals

every other year because of a shared budget between choir and show choir, the motivation for these competitions stay the same. The drive to achieve comes from many sources, whether it be through Pierson, friends or within the singers themselves.

“You can’t really avoid [being motivated].

It’s kind of contagious in a sense. Once it starts it’s infectious when competitions start to come around. You know that it’s coming up, you’ve been working for so long and so hard that it’s time to show what we’ve done,” Crader said. “I think [our excitement] kind of starts with Pierson to remind us to start getting up and getting ready and then we sort of psych each other up for it because we finally get to compete.”

To keep his students movivated, Pierson uses various methods to make his show choirs ready for the competitions soon to come. Like any leader, Pierson and his students have unique forms of communication.

“I tend to scream compliments at them and try to find a way to reconnect them to that drive,” Pierson said. “We have to sometimes provide videos of other choirs and taking them to competitions and even ahead of that saying, you have a performance coming up this week, here’s what you need to be thinking about. That kind of thing.”

For senior City Lights member Haley Benson, the possibility of winning Grand Champion at competitions seems obtainable and exciting with this year’s ensemble, even without the motivation of going to as prestigious a competition as Na-

part from the actual sports events and players, the Sochi Winter Olympics have one other fact: not all the seats are filled.

For example, the US woman’s hockey team played against Finland last Saturday and only half the seats managed to get filled.

Organizers reported that an estimated 80 percent of the event’s seats were sold, but the unusually low number of fans proves otherwise.

Russian president Vladimir Putin spent an estimated $51 billion to prepare Sochi for the Olympics, and many factors, including poor sewage, unfinished hotels and technical difficulties in the opening ceremony, made the games worse than expected.

National Apple and Android app soars, then abruptly ends

A

n app on the App Store and on Google Play soared to the top of the lists as the game gained popularity overnight after the most subscribed channel on YouTube, PewDiePie, made a video featuring it.

Flappy Bird is a simple yet challenging game where the player taps to keep a bird flying through obstacles that come on their path.

The developer, a Vietnamese named Dong Nguyen, made an estimated $50,000 a day through ad revenue for two weeks when he tweeted, “I am sorry Flappy Bird users. 22 hours from now, I will take Flappy Bird down.

I cannot take this anymore.”

Apparently, because of the difficulty of the game, he received a lot of negative feedback from many people, including death threats, and couldn’t handle the pressure anymore.

Flappy Bird is no longer available for download, although everyone who downloaded the game before its removal will still be able to play.

photo by Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Kafi

State Surplus in education funding creates debates in Mo. capital

G

ov. Jay Nixon and Missouri lawmakers are debating how to spend the surplus in educational funding in the state.

Nixon’s proposal was to put $120 million dollars into higher education for the 2015 budget, most of which will be spent on scholarships and more in-class funding based on the performance of the colleges, while some lawmakers wish to spend the money to build new structures on college campuses within Missouri.

The final plan is expected to be completed within a few months.

Local Michael Sam may become first openly gay NFL player

U photo by Maribeth Eiken

Reaching the standard: RBHS’ new allfreshman show choir Southside Singers helps train young students to carry on the legac y. tionals.

“We always want to do well and win Grand Champion at each and every competition, Nationals really just gives up a lot more excitement during practice and during performance; each time we perform during those years is just one more rehearsal before Nationals,” Benson said.

“On the years without it, we just focus more on the smaller competitions. Towards the middle of the year, during crunch time, most of us kind of lose that motivation so its really Pierson that gets us into higher gear and makes us performance ready.”

niversity of Missouri’s all-American defensive lineman Michael Sam announced he was gay on Sunday, Feb. 10. This year marks the end of his college football career, and if he gets drafted by the NFL, he will become the first openly gay NFL player.

He was named the top defensive player in the SEC and is considered Mizzou Football’s most valuable player by the rest of the team.

The NFL tweeted shortly after Sam’s announcement that “we admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage…we look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.” stories written by Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Kafi sources: CNN,, CBS News, Columbia Daily Tribune

Follow this code to BearingNews

A4

Special Report

Gro ing the Economy Anna Wright

I

f Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, has his way, Missouri could join the ranks of Colorado and Washington in allowing recreational marijuana sales. Kelly’s bill, which he introduced one week ago, provides for a 25 percent sales tax and specific recommendations on licensing growers and retailers.

Colorado legislators spent two years between the time voters passed Amendment 64 till the time they began to see the social and economic effects of their decision. Colorado law now allows for the commercial production and distribution of cannabis within the state.

Colorado’s market boomed during the first week of recreational transactions, which began Jan. 1, with retail sales from 37 dispensaries across the state exceeding five million dollars. Colorado projects an annual marijuana revenue of $600 million, a rate of sales which would generate roughly $67 million in tax money, according to the International Business Times.

Senior Mariah Brady said the current criminalization of marijuana is economically inefficient because she said legalizing and regulating weed could help generate tax revenue which could be used for purposes such as public education funding.

“It’s stupid to spend so much money putting people in jail for [marijuana] or criminalizing people for it when the government could make so much money off of it by taxing it and making it legal,” Brady said. “You take the money you’re spending to keep it illegal, all that money you’re spending on jails, you’re going to take that spending away and increase your income because [the government] is going to tax it.”

RBHS government and economics teacher Chris Fischer said Brady’s ideas could be naive. Although he recognizes the financial logic in legalizing weed, unexpected problems may result from such policies.

Extreme inflation of the drug’s price should be anticipated, he said, which can be illustrated by the current legal marijuana markets.

“I think you can make very rational economic arguments for the legalization and regulation of marijuana,” Fischer said. “With that said, I think if you look at Colorado right now, I think there’s some negative externalities with that kind of policy that they didn’t really anticipate. For example, the price of it. The street value has skyrocketed, which is OK, but if you still have medicinal regulations where you’re trying to afford it to people who really need it, are you pricing yourself out of the market?”

A price increase is just one result of the legalization and commercialization of weed as a consumer product. If marijuana becomes recreationally legal in any given state, Brady believes illegal sales will take a devastating blow. This makes buying pot safer for consumers, she said, and takes possible violence out of the purchasing process.

This sentiment may only be partially true, however. In an interview for Public Broadcasting Service, Mason Tvert, a cofounder of A Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, said he believes marijuana regulation would “dramatically reduce consumers’ exposure to harder drugs and the temptation to experiment with them,”

as well as ensuring the quality and safety of the marijuana consumers are buying. However, Tvert also said mere decriminalization would do nothing to eliminate the violent underground market, which is where he said the real violence associated with marijuana stems from.

Junior Phillip Browning* sells marijuana and said the profits that come from his sales outweigh any safety concerns. He said making money in the illegal drug market is essentially the same as generating a profit in any other legal market. The idea, he said, is to buy the drug in large quantities for a lesser price and sell smaller amounts at higher dollar values.

“Weed is just another commodity,” Browning said.

“It’s just like selling anything else, except illegal. You buy in bulk and sell in small quantities. Most people will buy a quarter ounce, or seven grams, for $90, and sell grams for $15 to $20. You do the math. Once you’ve sold enough to break even, you either keep selling and collect profit or smoke what you have left.”

Legal sales of recreational marijuana would likely take most of Browning’s customers, he said. Illegal street transactions would become unnecessary for consumers if pot were readily available in stores and dispensaries, he said.

“If you’re pushing pounds out of state, legalized weed could drop your prices, but you’ll still have business,” Browning said. “If you’re flipping [an ounce] every week or so, you’ll lose customers to the legal stuff.

Unless you have fantastic prices — if you’re close to the source or grow it yourself — the legalized stuff will kill your market. From a user’s perspective, I’d love to be able to smoke without worry. But as a dealer, it’ll undercut my prices and I’ll lose most, if not all, of my business.”

Fischer said the successful implementation of a legal marijuana market may hurt illegal dealers, although black market trade would be difficult to obliterate completely. Strict regulations could result in a lack of sufficient growers to meet market demand, ensuring the marijuana sales on a street level, he said.

Additionally, legalization in one state may increase the chances of the weed being smuggled out of state into illegal areas.

“It will still have a street value,” Fischer said. “If it’s readily accessible and you can regulate it so that we can meet supply, there’s enough cultivators, we regulate businesses such that they can meet the demand, then common sense would tell you that it would really hurt the black market. But that doesn’t mean that all that’s going to happen.”

Perhaps the legal marijuana market is too infantile to predict, but without a doubt, the marijuana industry will change the economic playing field by introducing a commonly consumed drug as a legal, commercially regulated consumer product. Brady said the transformation of weed from an illegal substance to a commercialized crop will attract opportunists who recognize the potential of the marijuana industry.

“Think about what tobacco did,” Brady said.

“It’s just going to open a market that millions of people can get into and it’s just going to open so many doors and so many opportunities.

There are going to be big businesses and stocks and more available jobs.

It’s just going to create a lot of opportunities for people.”

Special Report

A5

ONE HIT, TWO HIT BLACK HIT, BLUE HIT The effects of marijuana on the

Urmila Kutikkad enior Mary Collins* is a self-proclaimed “quasi-stoner.” She wouldn’t say she smokes enough to be a fullblown “stoner,” but she does all right for herself nonetheless.

One hit and she says the familiar haze yawns into existence.

Two hits and the haze begins its absentminded settlement into brain divots and messes of nerves.

Three, four hits and the haze sighs into the beds of nails and the chap of lips and the waning of kneecaps.

Five or more hits and the haze has laced every vein and bloodstream and tract of skin. Five or more hits and thoughts have quickened their stride and exaggerated their depth and limbs feel like lime Jell-O and every word like a marble miracle.

Five or more hits and she is high.

“The high … it’s like the invisibility shield in Harry Potter when it’s the protective spell, how it just slowly starts to cover Hogwarts,” Collins said. “That’s kind of what it feels like; you just start to feel a haze go over you. Your body feels weightless, and it feels kind of tingly, like you’re on a roller coaster and everything is really heavy and movement is really weird.

And in your head you’re just coming up with these really abstract, intensely weird things.”

Marijuana usage is hardly new. From the dramatic anti-marijuana propaganda film, “Reefer Madness” in the ‘30s to the constantly-munchies-afflicted Scooby Doo and Shaggy in the ‘70s to the 2008 classic, “Pineapple Express,” weed culture has been around for a long time.

However, with recent states legalizing marijuana, new research has also been emerging concerning marijuana’s effect on the brain — especially that of a stilldeveloping teen.

Matthew Smith, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, was part

S

of a study looking at young adults who were about 17 years old when they used marijuana daily for three years. They were then abstinent for two years, after which they completed MRI scans.

“We found that structures in the middle of the brain — for example the thalamus and striatum — looked abnormal in two independent groups of people with a past history of daily marijuana use,” Smith said in an email interview. “The younger the people were when they started using marijuana daily, the more abnormal the brain looked. The more abnormal the brain structures looked, the poorer the performance on tests of memory. [The thalamus and striatum] are particularly important for cognitive function like learning and memory, as well as motivation and rewarding feelings — for example, getting excited about something fun or being able to get things done. Recent research suggests that one in six teens who try marijuana become addicted. There is well-documented evidence that frequent marijuana use has harmful effects on the brain and important cognitive functions that are critical for doing well in school and life in general.”

But with the bad comes the good, and vice versa. Though recreational marijuana use has only been decriminalized in two states so far — and just within the last couple months — medical marijuana is set to be legal in 21 states by the end of 2014. This is because medical marijuana has a host of beneficial effects, such as the ability to suppress nausea, soothe pain, decrease muscle spasms, stimulate appetite and stop convulsions, according to webmd.com. Because of these inherent abilities, medical marijuana is considered profoundly therapeutic in nature, used in the treatment of conditions like cancer, AIDS and HIV, dementia, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

Collins tends to buy into this more positive view of marijuana; she sees it as something natural and beneficial when people use it responsibly and in moderation. Though she is aware of the potential

threats marijuana poses to a teenage brain, the unique happiness that strikes her when she smokes outweighs any drawbacks it may have.

“I feel like [marijuana] enlightens me in a way,” Collins said. “It opens my eyes to new things. I really enjoy the feeling because I feel like you can’t be sad, and that’s really nice. You’re just kind of happy — at least for me, I get really happy. And I always have really deep, intense conversations with people … I think that’s my favorite part, that higher state you’re in where you can discuss so many things that you wouldn’t normally discuss, because they’re so ridiculous that they wouldn’t make sense in any other context but being super stoned. On the medical side of things, I could see how [marijuana use] could slow down the development of the brain, but I mean I’m pretty happy with what I know.”

The discrepancy between public perception of the effects of alcohol and marijuana frustrates Collins. Alcohol’s effects on the developing brain are comparable to marijuana’s effects, if not worse.

There are about 88,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use per year in the United States, about 5,000 of which are underage deaths, according to the Center for Disease Control. While alcohol has clear, immediate short-term effects on the brain like thought, speech and movement impediment and loss of control over emotion and judgement, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, extensive research has uncovered long-term effects as well. With about 18 million Americans suffering from alcoholism, addictiveness is a long-term problem, as well as damage to learning and memory performance.

“No one ever dies from weed,” Collins said, “but alcohol poisoning kills a lot of people. I’ve experienced someone going through alcohol poisoning in front of my very eyes, and it was one of the scariest moments of my life, and it’s terrifying to think that taking too many shots can do

that to you, make your body seize up and not be able to breathe. But weed, I never have that fear, that I’m out of control because there’s some part of my mind that’s always still conscious. With something [like alcohol] that’s so bad, it sucks that you get a finger wagging if you tell your parents you’re drinking, but you could get in so much more trouble if you tell them you’re smoking weed. I feel like that’s incredibly unfair because [weed is] so much better for you.”

Regardless of any comparisons highlighting similarities and discrepancies between alcohol and marijuana, Smith believes both share one trait: their intoxicating sway over the developing brain.

“The most important thing to remember is that the abuse of either substance during adolescence can be harmful to the teen brain,” Smith said. “Although brains continually change during our whole life, the brain is trying to achieve its maximum potential during the teen years. Because of this, teen brain development is particularly sensitive or vulnerable to outside influences. From this perspective, it is important for teens to delay their use or experimentation with alcohol and marijuana until their 20s, when their brains may have reached their max potential. Just a delay of a few years might make a big difference.”

Collins, however, believes now — in the lazy apex of youth — is exactly the time to experiment. Marijuana is her present, not her future.

“I think I’m gonna get burnt out on it. I see it as something that’s just fun for right now, maybe through college and stuff, here and there,” Collins said. “But I don’t see myself doing it in my 30s or my 40s or my 50s really. I recently found out that one of my friends’ grandma smokes all the time. And that’s the greatest thing I’ve heard because I love her grandma so much and finding that out was even better - but I don’t personally see it as a constant usage. I could picture it in my future, but I’m not really planning for it.” *name changed upon request

“The younger the people were when they started using marijuana daily, the more abnormal the brain looked ... Recent research suggests that one in six teens who try marijuana become addicted.”

-Matthew Smith,

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University photo art by Elena Franck, Maribeth Eiken and Yasmeen El-Jayyousi

A6

Editorials

Lack of solid opposing claims necessitates legalization of marijuana in Missouri

W

hen Chris Kelly introduced a bill in the Missouri legislature last week, it opened the door to make Missouri the third state to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

If legislatures pass the bill as proposed, the law would impose a 25 percent tax on pot, set up a system for licensing growers and retailers but create exemptions for people who grow their own. This percent doesn’t even include the existing tax rate that purchasers of the drug would have to pay.

In effect, the bill would commercialize a product. Forbes Magazine estimates Colorado, which introduced legalized recreational marijuana Jan. 1, will make more than $130 million in tax revenue this year. $130 million! That is about the amount Gov. Jay Nixon proposed cutting from Missouri universities and debt restructuring in his 2013 state of the state address. From an economic standpoint additional tax revenues makes smart busi-

ness sense, especially at a time when the U.S. Agency’s website, justice.gov. Defined as “drugs economy still sputters along. with no currently accepted medical use,” the Of course, money can’t be the only reason drugs in this category are heroin, LSD, peyote, to legalize a drug that could be harmful. Recent ecstasy and marijuana. Marajuana should never research reported in Psycholbe classified with ogy Today indicates heavy Marijuana is currently illegal in hardcore drugs marijuana use can negatively such as LSD. impact an adolescent brain, the state of Missouri. Should MisTo find somebut no one is advocating the souri legalize marijuana under thing harmful in legalization of pot for teens. some states but Certainly, more research the same conditions as Colorado? helpful in others could put people’s minds at is quite contraThe Rock staff voted ease. If marijuana is legalized, dictory. People we must determine whether a should not have Legalize marijuana - 18 regular user’s abilities to drive to move out of a Keep marijuana illegal - 5 are impaired when under the state in order to influence of marijuana. We get the medicamust also definitively determine the addictive tion they need. qualities of the drug as well.

Medical marijuana must be available to paAlready 20 states offer marijuana for me- tients in every state in the nation, including Misdicinal purposes although it remains a Schedule souri.

1 drug, according to the Drug Enforcement If we authorize marijuana’s use now, there is

yes.

no reason we can’t repeal its legality if science sheds additional light. When cocaine was discovered in 1862, it was legal for more than 50 years until health officials and legal authorities raised concerns. In 1914 it was banned, and no one compellingly argues for its legalization today.

It may be a tired argument, but if our country continues to sell cigarettes, a product that aids in the death of 443,000 people per annum and has been proven to cause countless illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then there is no reason not to legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana will not change anything for those who do not use weed, and it could improve the quality of life for those who would want to.

America is built on a willingness to allow for diversity in many things. The option to smoke or not should be in the hands of the individual not a group of people who are scared by something they don’t understand.

Where in the world is marijuana legal?

source: huffin onpost.com art by Elena Franck

Photo ID at polls complicates voting Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Kafi

F

ifteen dollars, the average cost of a government issued photo identification, may not seem like a lot of money, but for the majority of Americans, it adds up to a lot of their monthly paycheck. The median paycheck for working age Americans is $2820 per month, not including rent, food, utilities, transportation and other expenses.

It may seem reasonable to say that even then, they can surely afford to save $15 over the course of a few months, but $15 is not the only cost. In order to get a photo ID, Americans would need to spend money to drive or pay a public bus to go to the ID station and they would need to get their birth certificates and social security numbers, ranging from $10 to $30 depending on the state.

Poll taxes emerged after the end of the Civil War in order to make it difficult for African-Americans to vote.

Along with poll taxes, states who wished to make it hard for minorities to vote implemented unfair literacy tests and the grandfather clause, which only allows people to vote if their grandfather could.

Now, a total of 34 states have passed voter identification laws, which require voters to present identification before voting. In strict states, if individuals don’t have ID, they can cast a provisional ballot, but if they don’t return within a short period of time with valid identi-

fication, the provisional ballot is never counted. Some states also require photo ID, and for strict states the same rules of the provisional ballots apply. In some states, poll workers may be able to vouch for voters if they know them.

Back in the day, poll taxes charged people $1 to vote, which is almost equal to $19 today. Those newly invented photo ID laws charged people the cost of the ID, time away from their job and the cost of the birth certificates or other documents necessary for the ID. There is no difference between photo ID laws and the laws passed after the Civil War, which are seen as unconstitutional today.

In recent years, lawmakers in more than 30 states implemented photo ID laws. These laws are supposedly meant to limit the amount of voter fraud cases, but in reality, they seem to only limit the voice of the minorities in America because the majority of the minority vote for liberals and because specifically Republican lawmakers wish to make it easier for their representatives to get elected into office.

Voting is a right given to every single American citizen and rather than making it harder to vote, the representatives should make it easier.

In a five-year investigation, the Department of Justice during George W. Bush’s presidency found that only 86 convictions of voter fraud occurred out

Want your voice heard?

Send letters to the editor to contact@bearingnews.org. Names will be held upon request, but the original copy must be signed.

“

of tens of millions of votes cast. That percentage is too small even to matter.

What these voter ID laws actually do, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University and many other organizations, is unfairly affect African-Americans, senior citizens, the disabled, young voters and the working poor. More than six million citizens above the age of 65, or 18 percent of the total population, do not have a current government issued photo ID. Among African-American voting age citizens, a quarter do not have an ID, compared with only 8 percent of the same-aged whites. Of the working poor, at least 15 percent who earn under $35,000 per year do not have an ID. If each of those 30 states fully implemented their photo ID laws, it would cost more than $828 million from the American taxpayers over the first four years. This money would be used to issue free IDs, voter education and many other minor details, like updating voting websites and hiring and training people to inspect the IDs on Election Day. Almost one billion dollars of Americans’ money will go to a law that makes it harder for Americans to vote.

To avoid lawsuits, part of the $828 million would include free government issued photo IDs. The one thing the law does not make free are documents to get an ID. Rather than focusing on a supposed

The Rock Rock Bridge High School 4303 S. Providence Rd., Columbia, Mo. 65203 Vol. 41, Issue 4 The Journalism: Newspaper and Honors Seminar classes produces The Rock, BearingNews and Southpaw.

Call us with comments at 573-214-3141, or email us at contactus@bearingnews.org

art by Elena Franck

voter fraud, which is almost non-existent, Americans should focus on more important issues like immigration reform, income inequality, social mobility, the deficit, gun control and money in politics, among many others.

It should be in the interest of every American to make it easier to vote. The system in place is good, but two thirds of Americans still don’t vote. This number of people stifle their own power by

The paper’s purpose is accurately to inform, educate and enlighten readers in an open forum. The Rock is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Quill & Scroll.

Advertising is $50 for a quarter page, $100 for a half page and $150 for a whole page.

Publication: The Journalism Newspaper class produces The Rock at Rock Bridge High School, located at 4303 South Providence Road, Columbia, Mo. 65203

art by Elena Franck

deciding not to vote.

As a simple solution, states should make voting available in multiple forms, like through the mail, online and at voting stations so that no American has an excuse not to vote. It would be amazing to see 300 million citizens vote in a presidential election. When that happens, Americans can happily say we are a country of the people, by the people and for the people.

The Rock Editors-in-Chief: Ashleigh Atasoy, Trisha Chaudhary, Manal Salim BearingNews Editors-in-Chief: Afsah Khan, Urmila Kutikkad Production Managers: Brittany Cornelison, Renata Williams Arts and Entertainment Editor: Sophie Whyte Art Editor: Yasmeen El-Jayyousi Commentary Editor: Luke Chval Community Editor: George Sarafiano Design Editor: Renata Williams News Editor: Brett Stover Features Editor: Justin Sutherland

Editorials Editor: Manal Salim Health & Wellness Editor: Anna Wright In-Depths Editor: Emily Franke Photography Editor: Maribeth Eiken Sports Editors: Brayden Parker, Harsh Singh Staff Writers: Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Kafi, adison Mertz, Sam Mitten, Ross Parks, Graham Ratermann, Joshua Ripley, Pen Terry, Derek Wang, Jay Whang Artists: Alex Carranza, Madeline Mueller, Sarah Poor, Elena Franck Photographers: Mikaela Acton, Morgan Berk Videographer: Eric Glennon

Editorials Positive attitude ensures success even in most negative situations Brittany Cornelison

T

here is a very fine line between a good day and a bad day. A little rainstorm, a bad haircut or even a slightly negative comment is all it takes to turn a day upside down for some.

However, think about how insignificant these little events are compared to our entire lives; it would seem we should see more good days than bad. In some circumstances, life can just get in the way, making us focus more on the negative.

Michael J. Fox was just like any other kid, aside from landing his first acting job at 15. At a young age he exposed his talent to the world. From “Family Ties,” which aired successfully from 1982 to 1989, to the praised “Back to the Future” trilogy which brought Fox great fame. He was just like any other actor; his face appeared frequently on magazine covers, and he was on the hit-list for celebrity interviews.

Then, unknown to the public, Fox took a trip to the doctor’s office and left with a diagnosis that shook his world. The results were final and fatal. Fox had Parkinson’s Disease, a chronic degenerative disease that would slowly, but surely, affect his life both physically and emotionally. In the following years, he would experience a gradual slowing of movement, cognitive impairment, constant tremors, speech problems, stiffness and a multitude of various other symptoms. Years later, Fox admitted he had struggled with drinking problems and “self-medicating” after finding out about his disease and the turmoil he would face for years to come as the symptoms worsened.

Though this reaction to a diagnosis sounds horrific and unlike the happy-go-lucky television star due to his calm and cool persona, the stark reality that this disease would eventually cause his death, was hard for Fox to swallow. It’s reasonable though, teenagers all do the same thing, according to

Dr. Jennifer Lau at Oxford Uni- dation for Parkinson’s research. versity. Lau states that negative He knew he couldn’t do anything interpretations are often drawn to turn around his diagnosis, but from people when they are placed he could make a difference for the in an ambiguous situation where approximately 60,000 people dithey don’t know what’s going to agnosed each year. Hoping to find come as a result. And according a cure, the Foundation donates 89 to Science Daily, 10-15 percent of cents of every dollar they raise to teenagers suffer from high anxiety. research projects. Since 2000 they Though not as drastic or life- have donated a total of $400 milthreatening as Fox’s situation, lion to these causes. teens are known to go into shock According to the American when they receive a grade on a Psychology Association, immetest lower than we expected. They diately after a traumatic event, have a near-panic attack when shock and denial are normal. they realize that the deadline for Victims may struggle to move on scholarships is quickly approach- with their lives, and for Fox, this ing. Or, when they find out their reigned true. It took him eight parents are getting a divorce, they years to tell the public that he had believe that their life will never be been diagnosed with Parkinsons the same. and yet another two years to beAccording to the Mayo Clinic, gin his pursuit towards finding a personality traits like optimism cure. However, once he came to and pessimism often affect health his senses, he began to speak of and well-being. There is a distinct his disease with optimism and huconmor. necThough not With my negative tion everyone has attitude, I never b e as extreme of get far; I remain tween a condition as positive thinkFox, or deal stuck in a cycle ing and stresswith his day-toof depression.” management. day life of fame, When plagued there is a lesson with an unwe can learn deniable optimistic outlook, one from his optimism. In the end, a is more likely to feel less over- positive attitude amidst difficult whelmed. Other health benefits circumstances results is a more related to positive thinking include satisfied life. When you aren’t increased life span, lower rates of bogged down by the inevitable depression and distress and better troubles that come with living, coping skills during hard times. you are more free to indulge in Also, they figured from a study by the things that you enjoy.

Mayo Clinic that optimists have Looking at Fox’s life, I see my approximately a 50 percent lower problems and stresses as so minrisk of early death than pessimists, iscule. Compared to a fatal disconcluding that the mind and ease, my homework stress, family body are linked. drama and other life distractions Fox knew his life would be seem like nothing, yet I react to changing drastically, but his reac- them at such a loud level. I spend tion to this dire news was nothing hours worrying when I could be short of miraculous in compari- positive. With my negative atson to the freak-outs that come titude, I never get far; I remain as a result of miniscule day-to-day stuck in a cycle of depression. catastrophes. Depression came Setbacks are hard, and it’s even and went, and Fox was back on his harder when these setbacks have feet, determined to make a differ- long-lasting effects. However, ence for the cause of Parkinson’s choosing how to respond can patients all over the world. In 2000, make the difference from a life nine years after his diagnosis, Fox full of depression to a life that is created the Michael J. Fox Foun- lived to the fullest.

A7

Optimism at a glance -Only 33 percent of Americans said they -Happiness levels are were very happy fairly high during youth, dip during the 40s and rise again in the 50s

source: huffin onpost.com

-Today, 67 percent of people say they are optimistic about their future, as compared to 75 percent in 2011

art by Elena Franck

NCAA regulations forbid assistance to athletes Big name college players receive benefits during overglamorized bowl games despite regulations young man declines the invitation, citing that the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the govalking out of his classroom following his erning body of collegiate athletics, has regulations morning public speaking course, a Univer- forbidding him to get help from faculty members. sity of Missouri football player set out in Instead, the young man, a student who happened to the pouring rain to his dorm somewhere across the be an athlete, faced the wind and rain to get home on a bad leg.

Francis Quadrangle.

There have been more unfortunate instances A daily venture he makes has recently been impeded by a broken leg, suffered in the previous than this at the 1,281 institutions that have memweek’s practice. Wobbling out the door, he has no bership with the NCAA. I am sure on countless rainy days in the United car to make the rough journey quicker, and he has no room for an umbrella, his hands occupied with States on numerous campuses across the country, similar sympathetic professors have reached out to the two crutches that bear his weight.

Following behind him, his teacher, who is a fam- similar young men and women not to show favoritily friend of mine, notices the trouble the so-called ism towards just the athletes, but to show compas“student-athlete” is having to endure just to make it sion for those in need.

While this anecdote is reflective of a non-tanto his own home.

Wanting gible act of kindness the to help the stuNCAA extends their dent out, the rules far past situations teacher asks like this to encompass a if he needed tiring list of “extra bena lift, an easier efits.” Per the NCAA way to return guidelines, these soto his dorm called benefits can inwithout the clude anything from “any inconvenience special gift or arrangeof the storm During the bo wl season, the NC AA temporarily ment provided to an enoutside.

Inrelaxes its no-payment rule: only players who comnocently, the

Brayden Parker

W

pete in a bowl game get up to $550 in gifts.

source: nytimes.com

art by Elena Franck

rolled student-athlete that is not available to the general student body of the institution.”

I fully understand the necessity of such rules to be in place and to be enforced throughout the realm of collegiate athletics. There are far too many instances where sports fans and boosters have inappropriately handed out benefits to big name college athletes at big time programs, like the widely publicized bowl games, in order to satisfy the players wants.

Unfortunately there have been far more times when other sports fans, who happen to be faculty and/or boosters, want to help out the young men and women who are experiencing life on their own for the first time.

In 2010, a young man started going to our church here in Columbia. He was a relatively new football player to the Mizzou program and has since become one of my best friends. My mother, in all her Texas glory, befriended this young man one Sunday morning after church and relatively soon after that encounter, Zaviar Gooden, a linebacker from Pflugerville, Texas, seemed to be part of our family.

There was only one problem separating Z, as my younger sisters and I took to calling him, from joining us on our family gatherings. This problem proved to be the NCAA and its inconvenient guidelines.

I can’t count the number of birthdays, Thanksgivings and Christmases, or honestly just Sunday afternoons that we would have loved to hang out with Z. I honestly don’t know if he wanted to be with my family as much I wanted to be with the big-time Division I football player, but as a young man who heads off to college in a few short months I want someone to watch after me on my first extended journey away from home.

I suppose this is where my distaste for the NCAA’s stipulations stems from, and their lack of consistency, from traditional to bowl games, where and when they enforce the no-payment rule.

It was never really about not getting to hang with Z. Despite my dad being both faculty and a booster of the University, we toyed with rules a little bit and it would be a lie to say that Zaviar didn’t spend a Thanksgiving afternoon or two at my family’s house following practice.

Because he has since graduated I can spend as

much time with the first-year Tennessee Titan as much as time or distance allows.

But I am more disappointed with the restrictions that prevent good-intentioned people, who happen to be boosters (as many people in college towns are), from having an in-depth interaction with students who happen to athletes.

As I head to college to play football in the fall I am thankful for the preventive measures that the NCAA has instituted to disallow any inappropriate contact between prospective student-athletes and passionate boosters to attract them to their beloved school.

While free benefits are enticing, I would never want my decision on where to begin life on my own to ever be hampered by some distant fan I have no relation to.

On the other hand, one which I believe to hold more weight, I am disappointed in the restrictions that these guidelines hold. When I’m off on my own in another town I do hope that there is a family in town or at the church I attend who will want to make an effort to watch out for me. Moreover, I know my mother will be at ease knowing that someone is at least keeping tabs on her son. Let’s just hope they aren’t faculty.

The problem is that there is seemingly no cure for the problem. I fully understand why the NCAA creates measures to prevent all sorts of contact with student-athletes. They sit in fear that their reign over collegiate athletics will be tarnished by some high spirited booster acting aimlessly. And while this is a legitimate concern, the likelihood of this happening seems to be slim in the grand scheme of college sports.

Perhaps the NCAA should continue to have these penalties for inappropriate contact. If it makes them feel at ease, then more power to them. Yet they should not penalize those who aren’t at fault.

The NCAA should thoroughly investigate, which really means nothing to the NCAA anymore, into each and every case and see what really happened in those instances.

Maybe we could get into tune with the times and help out students who happen to be athletes. If the NCAA is “always there for their students” then maybe we can alter the rules and make that happen.

Or at least we could give them a ride home in the rain.

A8 Modern culture aids subconscious racial stereotypes Commentary

Renata Williams

W

hen I was younger, I saw myself neither as black nor white, African-American nor Caucasian. I just saw myself as a little girl who happened to have a dark dad and a light mom.

I don’t really understand why race is so important to the identity of someone because I always thought that people saw me as just me.

The first time I took race into account was middle school, though it really hit me last year, sophomore year, when I realized people stereotyped me as “ghetto” because I’m mixed.

I gained this insight when a guy in my grade was talking to the people around me and as soon as he got to me, a dial turned in his head, and he changed the way he spoke. The guy made himself sound, in his eyes, presentable to me –or– “black.” In that moment, I was shocked and somewhat weirded out by the moment because I never thought I was seen as that stereotypical ghetto black girl. I honestly thought I was seen in an opposite way.

Since that incident sophomore year, I’ve noticed the little things that people do to “change” themselves around me.

It’s almost like a switch clicks, and they decide a mixed or black person should get talked to in a certain way. It’s as if people think someone of the AfricanAmerican race will only respond if they talk down to them.

In many incidents where my peers talk different to me or other AfricanAmericans, people drop the N-word as if it’s just a normal phrase people throw around. It’s offensive.

Although, I have a problem not only with the N-word being used in any way, but also how other black peers let anyone use the word around them. The issue not only lies with the “users,” but also with those who let their peers use the word. It’s a derogatory term, and by letting anyone say it, it’s giving off the wrong signal that it’s OK for people to use this derogatory term to refer to the African-American race.

I think the word is seen as progression in the society if everyone can use it,

but I don’t believe we’re there yet, nor do I believe we will ever get there if we can’t even break through other generalized stereotypes.

But when I think about it, I’m just as guilty as my peers. I find myself acting a certain type of way or speaking different whenever I’m around a different race, even when I don’t try. I’ve even started stereotyping my own two races, differentiating half of myself from the other half. I get offended by these people that stereotype me, but it’s hypocritical given the fact that I, myself, have stereotypes running through my mind as well. In order for people to see me as what I want them to see me as, I try to evade every black stereotype out there, stereotypes that I have let cloud up my mind.

It’s not that I’m ashamed to be mixed, but I am embarrassed for myself when people talk and act different around me.

I feel like an outcast, as if I’m not good enough to be treated as an equal peer.

I don’t think my generation is trying to shun certain groups, but the intentions are clouded by mistakenly judging off of stereotypes. Just because our society claims “equality,” doesn’t mean we practice equality.

When we do these sometimes subtle changes around peer groups that feel different to what we’re used to, it’s like saying, “You’re different.” Not everyone is different, but some are going to feel cast away.

Which brings me to wonder why my generation is so obsessed with stereotyping people not only based off of what race they are, but also what they wear, how they talk or even

O

ne building, 21,000 hands raised and voices lifted, all praising the name of One. Surrounded by 21,000 other believers in Jesus Christ, all in the same mindset, ready to glorify the King, I discovered something huge and unexplainable.

Once every year, the Passion conference brings together thousands of college-age students with the mission to bring them closer to God. What makes this event so appealing and worthwhile to penny-pinching college students is that they will get to experience the biggest names in Christian music and ministry.

This year the conference featured big name artists such as Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redman, Crowder, Hillsong United and many more. To any Christian music fan, it would be a dream to worship with all of these well-known people in one building. Not only that, but this event included speakers such as Louie Giglio and Francis Chan, who have been spreading the Gospel their entire lives and have a heart for reaching out to this upcoming generation.

Passion obviously wasn’t just another concert. My family would never drive 10 hours just to see an artist, no matter how great. Our trip from Columbia to Atlanta, GA wasn’t provoked solely by our Christian music fandom, but we were looking for an event that was life-changing. And I can’t describe it as anything other than that.

Our generation can change the world.

I know it’s cliché, but what I believe after this weekend is the cliché is true. Seeing thousands of young people united under one message reminded me how powerful we can be when we come together.

We heard the story of a woman imprisoned for trying to bring Bibles into Iran and was eventually exiled. A Muslim who converted to Christianity, she was looking to spread her lifechanging message of Christianity to those living around her. We were reminded just how lucky we are to live in America where we have freedom of religion because in other countries, such as Iran, even possessing a

viewed African-Americans negatively.

It’s sad to me that the year is 2014 and there are African-Americans who still feel like being black is a negative thing.

No one should feel as if they are lesser or not seen the same just because of something they have no control over.

And it sounds so cliché, but you really cannot judge a book by its cover.

People are brought up from all different kinds of backgrounds that can seem so foreign to the naked eye. But giving someone who seems far-off from you a chance to express who they are could be the change our generation needs.

Black people don’t have to be ghetto, but if they are, who’s to say they aren’t a good person? I want to see my whole generation work on throwing out

Timeline of racially centered events

these stereotypes and getting to know one another as who each other is.

When people obsess about stereotypes, it translates to how they are seen as a person, as well. If we just look at someone as a individual and get to know him or her we might soon take over the title of the “Greatest Generation.”

1864: Slavery abolished in the U.S. via the 13th Amendment.

1904: George Poage becomes

the first African-American U.S. Olympian, winning bronze medals in the 200 and 400 meter hurdles.

1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing racial discrimination.

1967: Thurgood Marshall becomes

the first African-American supreme court justice.

2001: Colin Powell becomes first

African-American secretary of state.

Source: africanamericanhistorymonth.gov art by Alex Carranza

Passion conference enlightens, brings solidarity to those who share religion Brittany Cornelison

how much they weigh. According to dosomething.org, 44 percent of high school girls and 15 percent of high school boys are attempting to lose weight. If this generation is judging people so easily and turning a cheek to those who may not be what the outside shows, we’re not only hurting others, but we’re hurting ourselves.

Part of the problem lies in the way television portrays blacks and how my peers have interpreted it. On television, I’ll see an African-American yelling, fighting and living up to the common stereotypes that society holds. It makes me sad because that one African-American can have such a lasting impact on every other one, without even meaning to. The way they act makes America see blacks altogether as loud, obnoxious and “ghetto.”

A three-year study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Fordham University and the University of Michigan studied more than 200 African-American teens, ages 14-18, to further the understanding of racial identity. The study showed older teens who experienced more racial bias felt more negative about being black and also believed society

Bible is illegal.

Buckets were passed and I heard the resounding clanking of change and bills; we were paving a way for the message of the Bible to be heard globally. The 21,000 of us were motivated and focused on a cause, and in turn raised more than $335,000.

Our gift will supply aid in printing, binding and sending over 33,500 Bibles into this nation that has a severe shortage of the Word of God. Throughout the weekend, the people I attended the concert with and I were able to get pretty impressive seats, take great photos of the artists and have an awesome view of the stage itself. However, when we came into the last session we were running behind and were forced to sit in the upper section, furthest away from the stage. Though these aren’t normally the most prized seats, this was my favorite seat throughout the whole conference because I was able to look out and see the entire crowd.

There are no words to describe what it feels like to look out and see 21,000 people singing, eyes closed in awe of the words being sung. I think the movement was from the soul, not something I can describe with words.

There came a point in the evening when the worship faded and it came to a slow instrumental session. A girl sitting a couple seats down from me was obviously moved by the experience, and though the worship session had ceased, she continued singing.

At most places, she would receive disgusted looks or create whispers among those around her, but not here. She did get a few looks, but she didn’t care, she was all in and fully connected to the intimate worship she was experiencing with her Savior.

I commend her for her bravery, that when surrounded by a crowd full of strangers, she was not hindered in her personal moment.

All 21,000 of us left the building hearing the same messages and same songs; however, I believe that we all left on 21,000 different missions.

The movement that started within all of us started in an arena in Atlanta, but will ripple outward all across the world. I know now that even though my voice is small, over time, it could create a ripple larger than I can even imagine.

Sports create outlet in life, provide lessons Luke Chval

I

can’t remember a time in my life that my father, my brother and I weren’t completely sports-crazed, as if one of the most important things in my life were how well my favorites, Notre Dame athletics and Chicago professional teams were doing in their current season and beyond.

Just like every other sports fan, I’ve run into those people who don’t see the point in athletics, belittling it without understanding the viewpoint of sports fans. I’ve met countless numbers of people who tell me the notion of watching a ball or puck move for hours baffles them.

I can understand that, I suppose. It’s just one of those things that sounds silly when you think about it in a literal sense, but practically, sports are incredibly important to a lot of people all over the world and throughout, which can’t be an accident.

Not only was I a spectator during my life, but I’ve had my fair share of playing sports.

For several years I played

baseball and small amounts of tennis, which my mother and sister both played in high school. I never really had a knack for baseball, despite my love for the sport. And being incredibly scrawny made me nearly obsolete in playing football. However, about four or five years ago, I began to play tennis, which was where I had much more skill than the other sports and enjoyed it even more.

For the last couple years, I’ve started playing tennis intensively, being more invested in it more than anything else during my life. For 10 hours a week during the off-season and 15 hours a week during tennis season in the spring; it occupies my schedule.

I think that one of the reasons that this was beneficial for me was that I was used to being a spectator of sports, and was only playing sports recreationally. This can be harmful in a life philosophy as the people who are most happy or successful do very little spectating and spend most of their time doing things themselves.

Now I spend my time as the doer, which is more fulfilling in a long-term perspective.

For those skeptics about the enjoyment of sports, some of my happiest and proudest moments occur in tennis. It is also a great stress reliever where I can forget about my problems for a couple of hours. I’m in better shape than a large portion of my peers and I’m on a team with an amazing group of individuals.

Last summer one of my favorite teams in sports and my favorite National Hockey League team, the Chicago Blackhawks, had made the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in four years. The first two games of the best-ofseven game series were played in Chicago, and my brother and I were intent on going to seem them play.

For $400 each, my brother and I were in the standing room only section at the uppermost section of the United Center. At any other game, they would probably cost 20 times less, and I’m sure most people would consider me crazy for such a venture, but it

doesn’t matter.

I’ve never seen an atmosphere so electric, a completely filled sea of red with a noise decibel level in the 100s, which was locked in a tie at one for the last half of the game. I had never paid as much attention to a game before, and it could not have been more exciting.

Unfortunately after nearly 15 minutes of overtime, the Boston Bruins scored; my team lost. I left the arena, empty-handed and disappointed. But, I didn’t regret going to the game for a second, especially a week later when Chicago won the series and became the Stanley Cup Champions twice in four years.

Playing tennis has not decreased my spectatorship of sports, but I think has made me appreciate those well-accomplished athletes more now that I have a sport that I invest a large portion of my time in.

This commonality in athletics between them and me helps me understand some of the intangibles that are apparent in all sports, such as hockey, and parts of the mental game that I couldn’t recognize before.

photo by Maribeth Eiken

Features

Text, drink and (d)r(i)v(e) Driving while intoxicated stays more prevalent than texting and driving Brayden Parker

T

urn on the television or drive down the interstate, and it isn’t hard to find an advertisement pleading with those who care to look up to pay attention to driving. AT&T, a national leader in providing phone service, has their now famous “It can wait” campaign, complete with the tragic testimonies of everyday Americans who have made the mistake of focusing on their latest text instead of the on-coming road.

Likewise, departments of transportation use roadside billboards to remind drivers of the dangers of texting while behind the wheel.

Corporations such as AT&T have spent millions trying to influence drivers to put away the phones and spend their time concentrating on the task at hand. The campaigns are impressively similar to those that try and prevent driving under the influence. RBHS physics teacher Kory Kaufman agrees with this claim that texting and driving is as dangerous, if not even more so, than driving drunk.

“When you compare it to drinking,” Kaufman said, “obviously drunk driving also delays reaction time and it physically slows down and impairs your reaction time. You may not be physically impaired when you’re texting, but you are reducing that reaction time because you’re not able to react to a situation like you should.”

According to distraction.gov, the United States’ official website for distracted driving, manual, visual and cognitive distractions can influence drivers. Because answering a cell phone or text mes-

sage requires a person to engage their hands, eyes and mind, combining all three types of distractions makes cell phone use while driving have the most potential for danger.

Senior Gage Cheslock, a student who, like many of his peers, both owns a phone and operates a vehicle, agrees with Kaufman on the similarities of drinking and driving versus texting and driving.

Both activities, Cheslock said, cause concerns.

“Drinking and driving, in my opinion, is very similar to texting and driving,” Cheslock said.

“Both do have the potential to kill or injure multiple people. So both in my opinion are equal.”

Yet how equal are they? In 2012, using a cell phone accounted for 600 motor vehicle deaths in the country, which is 18 percent of all distraction related driving fatalities. That same year, drunk drivers caused nearly 10,322 deaths on the roadways of the U.S. These numbers are nearly opposites and don’t hold true to the equal dangers that texting and driving under the influence are said to produce.

Just last spring, the four major mobile carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile) committed to spending multi-millions a year to make the public aware of the dangers of using their devices while on the road.

On the contrary, the U.S. government devoted 10 times that amount, about 50 million last year, to agencies like Moms Against Drunk Driving.

Kaufman thinks both campaigns hold little weight anyway. The money spent, he believes, isn’t doing quite what personal experiences could in terms of persuading drivers to pay attention.

“The most effective advertising is either something that happens to them personally or a close friend,” Kaufman said “If someone is in a serious accident and it’s because they were texting and driving or drinking and driving, I think that has more of an effect than watching an ad.”

Should drinking and driving or texting and driving result in the death of another person, the penalty is arrest. However, in the state of Missouri, being caught driving under the influence warrants arrest whereas being stopped while operating a cell phone behind the wheel will result with, at most, a ticket and the driver will be slapped with a fine.

Cheslock believes the answer for these inequalities should be an increase in the penalty for texting and driving.

“I think they should balance [the penalties] out,” Cheslock said “The penalty for drinking and driving is harsh, but I think it’s justified. But for texting and driving, I don’t think they’re cracking down as hard because you basically get a ticket and pay it off.

There’s no lasting effect.”

Equality aside, texting while driving grew as a problem throughout the past decade. Companies and federal agencies produced prevention methods over televisions and roadways in a short period of time.

“Unfortunately there are more and more people texting and driving, and people who are using phones and it’s definitely a distraction while you drive,” Kaufman said. “Whether or not government enforcement is the answer or public awareness is, I think that it’s got to be a combination of both.”

art by Sarah Poor

Cartoons promote individuality instead of relationships Madison Mertz

L

ittle did Snow White know that when she met those funny little men in the woods, she would make history with the seven of them.

Ever since “Snow White,” the first feature-length animated film, was released, animated films have been making strides forward in technology and artwork at incredible speed.

The one thing they have only recently caught up on, however, is humanity.

In recent years, animated films have gained attention for going against the usual dependant princess needs her prince story, most recently in the case of Disney’s “Frozen,” which parents and critics alike have praised for possessing a heroine whose prince is not her true love and who spends the film trying to save her sister.

The difference is not the age of the story. The Brothers Grimm first told the story of “Snow White” in 1812, and “Frozen” is based on a Hans Christian Anderson story from 1845, “The Snow Queen.”

“I just feel like it changes with the society because, you know, we’re realizing now that women are strong; we can do anything that we want,” senior art student Alayna Tucker said. “But they’re also trying to bring families together.”

Animated films are also making a shift from romantic relationships to familial relationships, placing empha-

sis on independence.

“I think that Disney, as a film studio, holds a lot of responsibility being as huge of a success. ... As they are, because a lot of kids and a lot of people that are watching these films are learning things or growing up with them as their primary source of entertainment,” junior Alex Isgriggs, a major animation fan said. “So it’s important to have variety and not try to sugarcoat things and often times

with Disney movies they’re fantasies, you know. They’re just fun fairy tales, fantasies with princesses and stuff like that.”

When a story like Brave, Frozen or Tangled comes along, people notice.

Stories that are new in that they do not follow the typical princess archetype, are instead creating real characters.

Kerri Yost, Associate Professor of Digital Film at Stephens College and

art by Sarah Poor

Director of Programming for the Citizen Jane Film Festival, sees a lot of female driven films in her profession.

“We have been looking at the world through young boys’ eyes forever, seeing them as the heroes, and young girls as princesses and ‘passive’ in the stories. But overall, Hollywood actually values the dollar the most,” Yost said, “and it changes along with culture. So as our culture has started to see young women beyond the princess role, and we have higher expectations for them, parents want to see this in their movies and are willing to spend money.”

Yost believes when “Tangled” saw success with a stronger female character alongside her prince, who wasn’t actually a prince, it paved the way for stories like “Brave” and “Frozen,” where the prince is an afterthought.

While Yost and Isgriggs both see the change from Disney occurring in recent years, Isgriggs proposes the idea that perhaps the movement is late coming to the United States in general.

“Hayao Miyazaki, who obviously has directed a lot of Ghibli films, he is a feminist, so he always likes to showcase strong, independent female characters to kind of break that norm,” Isgriggs said, “and then John Lassiter from Pixar animation studios, is really inspired by him, Miyazaki has a friendship with him, and I know that he tries to mirror some of these things in Ghibli films in Pixar films.”

ALSO INSIDE In-Depths Health & Wellness

Pass-fail system alleviates stress, improves education Sam Mitten

M

any students spent their two week long winter break carefree, glad to be home to enjoy novelties of sleeping in and not having to do homework. These students generally relaxed during the first few weeks back to school, because all of first semester’s grades were out of sight and out of mind; they used the break to relieve them from the stress of school and all of its worries of next semester.

However, this was not the case for junior Paul Van Hove, who spent his break worrying about how his grades would turn out. He said he was unsatisfied with the “performance evaluations” from the previous semester.

“It’s not reflecting everything,” Van Hove said. “It’s not reflecting all of your grades; it’s reflecting overall what you’ve done not just, ‘how did you do on this, how did you do on this test?’”

Those who fail classes, or even pass with grades not so outstanding, say they become stigmatized as students who don’t care about their schoolwork and, in some cases, don’t care about their future. These judgments come from their peers, their parents and family members, and sometimes, their teachers.

Many have heard the phrase, “There is always room for improvement.” This quote pertains particularly well to sophomore Quinn Miller, who, while he did do well during the first semester, said he believes he could have performed better.

“There were a couple classes that I didn’t have an A in so I think I probably could have worked harder to do that … I could have studied to do slightly better on tests to improve my letter grade.”

Miller also feels that a pass-fail system could be successful, though he didn’t come to this conclusion purely on his own. He was partially influenced by his Advanced Placement World Studies teachers, Neil Blackburn and Katherine Sasser.

“Blackburn and Sasser talked about it before, how grades could be eliminated and [instead] it would just be ACT scores. [Grades] wouldn’t be needed but it would be difficult to make that change to so many schools,” Miller said, “but I feel that the current system holds students to a higher standard.”

After 13 years in the educational system, senior Justice Stoffer said she doesn’t feel as though society views students with lower passing grades and students with failing grades fairly or equally.

She also feels as though a pass-fail system would be fairer to students, just as Van Hove does.

“I think we should just have pass or fail, I don’t think we should have a [percentage based grade],” Stoffer said. “I also feel as though I would be more comfortable to divulge my grades if it were a pass-fail system.”

Just as when a person is bullied and begins to feel that the cruel things said about them are true, when a student is constantly told they don’t care about their grades, eventually, they won’t according to www.ascd.org. The stereotypes of these students can become truths, and their future becomes bleaker with every report card. This continues in a downward spiral and drives students further and further apart as the flourishing students continue to flourish, especially in comparison, as the failing students continue to succumb to the societal assumptions.

“I think they should be kicked out of school because they don’t take school seriously and we don’t have room for failures in our nice school,” junior David Goudy said. “Like, people who fail easy classes or even have D’s, I just think it’s a waste of time to try to educate them.”

One might think that the answer would entertain such advanced psychoanalytic jargon and terminology that the average person could not possibly come up with such a solution, but in fact simple steps such as building relationships with your students helps creates more care and drive in students, as well as a reform for education.

The solution presented by fascen.wsu.edu is a pass-fail grading scale. After research, stating that a pass-fail system has many advantages over an A to F grading scale. These include more group cohesion, as students don’t see other students as competitors to see who has the better grades.

One will also note that students will likely take more academic risks, and take more challenging classes due to the fact that the more challenging class will not wreak havoc on a Grade Point Average, but will create an intellectual stimulant that will possibly allow them to learn better, which is near how students who take AP classes speak about their experiences.

“We read an article about seven years ago. It’s called Degrading to D-Grading, and that completely changed my idea of what I thought grades were.

I think that they are completely subjective, there is no such thing as an objective grade, there is no thing as an objective standardized test,” fellows mentor and former AP world studies teacher David Graham said. “None of that stuff is serving the purpose that it should. It drives a wedge between students, and it drives a wedge between students and teachers. It’s not an accurate reflection of what a person is or can do, and so to me they’re pointless, I’d just as soon never give another grade ever again.”

B2Ads

In-Depths

B3

Plugged in

Trisha Chaudhary

ocial media: a phenomenon aimed to connect viewers across the world. Roughly two-thirds of social media users say they do so to connect with family and friends worldwide, according to the Pew Research Center. In fact, 40 percent of United States adults prefer to socialize online rather than face-to-face, according to a poll that Performics, a global performance marketing agency, conducted. These second screen interactions allow users to hide behind any facade they want. According to Facebook, five to six percent of registered Facebook users have fake accounts. Social media gives people a platform to turn into whoever they want. At the same time, educators are implementing these technologies more and more. A Pew survey concluded that digital technologies have become central to teaching and professionalizing of American middle and secondary school teachers. RBHS gave any student taking an Advanced Placement course an iPad this year in hopes that it would enhance students’ learning. The growth of technology is one that reaches all avenues of society, from a person’s personality to their education.

Teens who use Facebook show more narcissistic tendencies & young adults with strong Facebook presences show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies.

62%

Number of total texts sent in June 2012:

of teachers say the Internet has a major impact on their ability to share ideas with other teachers.

423 TRILLION There were

Percent of teachers that rely on the Internet for accessing resources, content and materials for teaching:

92%

63% of teenagers send text messages

9% of teenagers send emails

175 MILLION tweets sent each day in 2012

sources: Pew Internet & American Life Project, Huffin on Post, Journal of Service Science Research

powered on

infographic by Trisha Chaudhary

B4

In-Depths

Technology permits new dimensions of learning Emily Franke ombined freedom, technology and an emphasis on self-learning create an atmosphere completely new to junior Michele Yang, who feels that the learning style at RBHS is different from what she has experienced at any other school.

In her first year at RBHS, Yang received a personal iPad and participated in a flipped classroom, which is where students listen to lectures at home and discuss the information in class. She feels that she spends more time on her iPad than she spends listening to lectures in class.

“I find that teachers guide you and tell you what you need to know, but technological resources are great if you’re looking for specific information,” Yang said. “I think the iPad helps me learn but hurts my focus. Because I’m so easily distracted, it’s sometimes hard to get work done. But overall, being able to access textbooks and online resources is so helpful that I would miss it if it were taken away.”

Yang, like many other students, uses her iPad and laptop to complete the newly implemented online math homework. Math teacher Angel Renick said she uses MyMathLab along

with other programs and tools to provide instantaneous feedback to students so they see whether they understand the math or not.

Renick uses Senteo clickers, QR codes and Google Forms to create surveys and reviews for her classes and said students most often ask for Senteo clicker quizzes to review for upcoming tests.

“I know a lot of teachers use [Senteo clickers] for assessment purposes, but I use mine on a daily basis to do problems quickly and to allow students to see right away ‘do I understand or do I not understand,’ and then it opens up conversations for areas of struggle and questions,” Renick said. Technology “is only a tool, but if you were able to check your answers immediately and to know whether you are doing it right, that is huge. When I was a student I might not know I was doing it right unless I handed it in and got back a grade.”

Renick said the online math homework allows a student to get a problem wrong, view an example and retry, which wasn’t an option with homework previously. While Renick uses technology as a tool to generate feedback and personalized instruction, Laura Estabrooks, teacher of Geospatial Technology and Analysis, Information Technology 1 and 2 and A+ IT

Essentials at the Columbia Area Career Center, uses the Vision program to demonstrate lessons for students on their computers.

The Vision program is in 90 percent of CACC classes, including in Estabrooks’ classroom. She said it allows her to see each of her students’ screens on her monitor and gives her the ability to project her screen onto the students’ monitors. While this program could be used to keep tabs on what her students do, Estabrooks said her purpose for using the program is to provide instruction.

“I need to be able to display information to each one of the computers. This projector isn’t fine enough ... if you’re displaying really intricate mapping, that just looks like a big blur up there,” Estabrooks said. “We do Vision all the time in my classrooms. I can actually let [students] demo to me, which is pretty cool.

You can really put them on the spot and say ‘Okay, you teach this part of the class.’”

For both Renick and Estabrooks, technological problems could slow down lessons.

When technology glitches and stops working during class, Renick said, it could take much longer to show an example and, if the Smart Board broke she wouldn’t be able to put lesson notes on Angel. Similarly, Estabrooks finds

difficulty explaining a lesson to students without Vision because they can’t follow her example.

“I’ve tried to do without it and just walk the students through just talking to them and my kids will go, ‘can you turn on Vision, Mrs. Estabrooks? We’re lost,’” Estabrooks said. “If I didn’t have it I think that it would be a lot more difficult for me to do what I do here in class ... I [use] Vision [with] my kids just to show them ‘this is how you do it’ and then they do it.”

While technologies used in classes can aid in instruction by engaging students and providing feedback, Renick worries distractions caused by devices can detract from lessons.

Renick said when students check their phones, they get distracted and they lose learning, but there are potential solutions to distraction.

I try “teaching a student when technology is appropriate, or even [when technology is] the quicker solution, versus a student learning how to regulate [it on their own],” Renick said.

“If I’m on my phone or iPad ... will I hear all the notes and understand it while doing homework? Learning when technology can make your life easier or when it will actually take longer [can prevent distraction].”

passw

Social sites promote screen-to-scr Afsah Khan hen it comes to social media, junior Kristen Tarr is a veteran. Using several social media accounts, she connects with friends from near and far, builds new relationships with people she meets online and fine-tunes her personality to be more expressive of who she really is. Tarr likes the idea of being able to express the fun parts of her personality to others and appear to be a different person online.

“I have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I use Twitter the most,” Tarr said. “All the time, no, but every time I say something funny I always tweet it so people think I’m funny.”

With 315 followers and over 3,000 tweets, Tarr’s impressive Twitter account has helped her stay connected with her many friends. However, her participation in social media has taught her valuable lessons on how to deal with keeping relationships online. At one point, she was operating two separate accounts to deal with those relationships, before finally switching over to her current account and mostly staying connected to her best friends.

“I don’t use the first [account] anymore. What happened was I tweeted too much at my favorite celebrity so everyone would always complain,” Tarr said. “I made a second fan account. I realized the people who complained weren’t my real friends. Eventually my fan account turned into my only account and now only my close friends follow it.”

One of the perks of being active on Twitter and other social media sites is the vast number of potential friends, Tarr said. Although some of her classmates would be wary of meeting unknown people online, she thinks online relationships can turn out to be long-lasting friendships. Through social media, she has already made friends all over the globe.

“I’ve met friends online from different parts of the world who like the same music as me. A couple of them I ended up meeting in person and it was awesome,” Tarr said. “They both live in St. Louis, so we met at a Lights concert in Columbia.”

Junior Sumayyah Firozi agrees with Tarr, because she finds social media to be a good way to expand one’s connections. Although she said there are some dangers associated with it, being able to communicate from behind a computer screen can be a good thing.

“The real question is, do we let our judgment of what we perceive as the real person online ... interfere with a possible hello or a start of a friendship?” Firozi said. “I think being

a ‘different’ person online ... to some extent can be good or bad, but I think as long as it doesn’t become harmful to you or others, it can be a positive thing. Venting is good for everyone. Maybe hiding behind a monitor or a phone screen gives you the confidence you need to show people the kind of person you are, and to tweet what you really think.”

Elizabeth Ellcessor, an assistant professor at Indiana University’s Department of Communication and Culture, studied social media extensively. She said building relationships online and meeting new people through social media, just as Tarr did, is no riskier than meeting new people in real life. She believes the risks are the same, but people must use the same common sense when interacting with strangers online and offline.

“The dangers of meeting people and forming relationships online are roughly the same as doing so offline. The difference is just in the degree to which you may be able to confirm details about someone’s identity, or the duration of time needed to build a trusting relationship,” Ellcessor said. “Generally, it’s advisable to move slower and be more cautious in online relationships, because it can be easy for others to deceive you. However, most of the time, most people are not deceptive.”

Along with believing that few people are deceptive and manipulative online, Ellcessor believes that the people who do change their personalities do not do it with bad intentions. She said she thinks most people choose to highlight certain parts of their personalities and accentuate those areas more than they could in real life, like Tarr establishing a funny personality through her Twitter.

“Most people don’t craft entirely new identities online.

More often, people highlight certain parts of their own identity. For instance, some people might be known as athletes to their peers at schools, but have an interest in Japanese anime online. They may participate in sites and conversations that touch on only one of those interests. Thus, they might seem like two different people, but really both are authentic parts of their personalities,” Ellcessor said. “Over the years, some people have suggested that this is a good way for social media to let us experiment with different identities before taking them into our offline lives. Others, though, worry that these identities may not be psychologically useful and may reinforce stereotypes.”

Along with Tarr, junior Saja Necibi is also well connected in the social media world. With a GroupMe, an Instagram and a Facebook, she enjoys connecting with her friends and joining in on group conversations from the comfort of her

h d

e w p t

o t i t e p

a r a b f i B m

t c t c h

p s o p

o f s s u t

o w a s t

In-Depths

B5

sword

set

creen friendships, allow for multiple personalities

or u vn d

a e, na, al e n-

ne e n or e or o-

d o nht ra

e. nes nns ht c s, al e at y

d m d er

home. However, she also notices some people treating her differently online than in person.

A “time I’ve seen someone who acts completely different online,” Necibi said, “is with a girl I know from school who likes and comments on almost every single one of my posts but looks the other way when we pass each other in the hallway.”

While Necibi often doesn’t think much of it when someone behaves differently online, she has gotten accustomed to the notion that social media can change the way people interact with each other in person. Over the years, she noticed that people, including her classmates, are prone to expressing themselves in ways that deviate from their true personalities.

“I think social networking sites give people more courage and bravery to say what they normally wouldn’t say in real life, since they’re behind a screen,” Necibi said. “People are more likely to let loose and reveal personal information because there isn’t a set in stone audience. When you’re in front of people, you know exactly who is nearby and listening, so people tend to be more careful about what they say.

But online, it’s so easy to rant and say whatever is on your mind, since there is nobody specifically in front of you.”

Along with Necibi, Tarr believes the additional courage to speak one’s mind online comes with the responsibility to care about others just as one should in face-to-face situations. She thinks there is a certain line people must never cross online and tries her hardest to avoid crossing that line herself.

“I hate seeing negative tweets at others. I think when that point is reached, that’s when social media is abused,” Tarr said. “I definitely am careful with getting to know people online. I have my Instagram on private and don’t ever share personal information.”

Although Necibi does not embody a different personality online, she acknowledges that there are several people who fabricate a different identity. While she said she says “the same type of stuff and cracks the same type of jokes” to the same people online and in person, she said her generation uses technology to expand their social circles by presenting themselves differently.

“Technology makes it easy for people to develop a type of ‘alter-ego’ since they can take great care with how they word something. In real life conversations, a response is usually expected within a few seconds, but online, people can spend long minutes rearranging a comment or post in order to seem like a different person,” Necibi said. “Social media

almost makes it easy to try out new personalities because it essentially gives people any desired amount of time to come off a certain way.”

Ellcessor agrees that it is easier to develop an alternate identity while sitting safely behind a computer screen. She said there are several physical aspects to a personality that do not interfere when dealing with social media, so it is easy to pull off pretending to be a different person.

“Any technology that allows us to communicate without being physically present offers easy opportunities for taking on different personalities or highlighting certain elements of a personality,” Ellcessor said. “Generally, this is easier because we don’t have our bodies to ‘give it away’; being a different age, race, or gender is much harder in physical settings. Similarly, our facial expressions, body language, or other social cues can often indicate lying or other insincere actions. Online, these may be more difficult to spot, making it easier for a different personality to go undetected.”

Although it is easier to create a different personality through social media, Ellcessor also pointed out that it is not uncommon for online personality traits to slowly leak into one’s offline persona, and it can become hard to keep both egos separate.

“Creating an alter-ego may allow someone to explore parts of their own personality, and that may lead them to recognize it more in their offline life,” Ellcessor said. “So, if you create a mean persona, you may find yourself becoming meaner in everyday life; that’s not the fault of the alter-ego, but is a result of spending more time in that space of your own personality.”

Firozi also believes social media can serve as a good extension of one’s personality and strengthen relationships, both close and long-distance. However, she considers the Internet a risky place to express her own opinions liberally, because she fears she might get carried away. She said it is necessary to think of others before posting comments or opinions online, which is harder to do while sitting safely behind a monitor.

“Personally, I already have a blunt personality, so it’s rare for there to be something I wouldn’t communicate in person that I say online. But I can definitely say I feel a lot more comfortable elaborating online. I add those details that I might not say in person,” Firozi said. “But I honestly have tried to stay away from getting addicted to a ton of social media, because I’m scared of exactly this. I know this sounds cliché, but everything you say literally stays there forever. It’s hard to wrap your brain around [the idea, and

it’s] also a scary thought.”

Firozi said it is easier to change one’s personality from behind a computer screen, but there are still advantages to having the ability to connect with others. Necibi believes social media websites, if users handle them responsibly, can help one stay in touch with friends and maintain a healthy social lifestyle.

“I think the ability for people to change their personality online isn’t always a bad thing,” Necibi said. “Some people are really shy in real life, but social media gives them the opportunity to comfortably open up to new friends and strengthen relationships. Having a different personality online, as long as it’s just an extension of your current personality ... is generally a positive thing.”

Firozi agrees that social media is an excellent way to stay connected and informed about important happenings around the world, but she also said navigating through social media can be a slippery slope. She knows it is easy to get carried away with an online persona and thinks it is a big risk to try and balance the two personalities in everyday life.

“If you use this freedom of expression to express things that you might be afraid to express in person, or … if you’re one of those people who couldn’t dare say they have this amazing, artistic side to them, you now have an option to share your work to the world and get feedback, comments and likes,” Firozi said. “You can make an Instagram account and have your art displayed to the world [at] your fingertips without anybody knowing it’s you. At the same time, on another note, if you do try to change yourself, sometimes that person who you’re trying to be starts being you [and] you start showing the same bullying aspects that before you were only comfortable doing behind a keyboard. But slowly personality characteristics start slipping, and you end up with a bully walking down the halls, who used to only do it under their twitter user name.”

While clearly seeing the effects of social media around her, Firozi knows that relationships and personalities can change because of the Internet and accepts this as just another effect of technology on the minds of her generation.

“I have met people who seem like very aggressive, rude, non-mannered people, who end up being the sweetest, nicest people on earth,” Firozi said. “And you know, I couldn’t tell you how that works. I don’t know if they think people aren’t reading their ranting, raging, rude tweets, or what.

But they are two different people. It’s not one person I’m talking about. This is just a type of person you desk with in the 21st century, it’s our reality.”

art by Maddy Mueller

B6

Ads

Health & Wellness

B7

Thinking about inking art by Alex Carranza

Students embrace body modific tions as form of self expression Trisha Chaudhary

O

n the Friday afternoon of Jan. 10, senior Campbell Thompson lay on her side as a man she has just met used an electric needle to puncture the skin behind her right ear roughly 150 times a second and filled the wounds with permanent black ink.

She now has a small crescent moon etched behind her ear.

Thompson is one of the 45 million Americans who have at least one tattoo, according to the Pew Research Center.

Each one of these people willingly allowed someone else to make puncture wounds deep in their skin and them fill them with ink. Though this practice is common today, its roots trace back to circa 1000 B.C., according to the Smithsonian website.

Historians speculate that the tattoos archeologists found on ancient Egyp-

tians and Icemen served therapeutic and perhaps even religious roles. While for some ancient Egyptian women, tattoos served as the mark of a prostitute, for many others, they may have functioned as a permanent amulet - a way of safeguarding them during pregnancy and delivery-- according to the Smithsonian website.

Archeologists also found placement of inked dots as well as an image of the Egyptian deity Bes who was the protector of women in labor on Egyptian women’s abdomens, thighs and breasts.

Though this phenomenon may have started as a foreign one, it eventually made its way into the western world.

According to www.pbs.org, in 1846 Martin Hildebrant set up a tattoo parlor in New York City and began tattooing sailors and military men during the Civil War. After New York inventor, Samuel O’Riley patented the first electric tattoo in 1891, they became much more acces-

sible and attainable, since before then only battery powered machines existed.

But even then people with full-body tattoos were things to be seen in circus shows, according to National Geographic Magazine. Tattoos remained markers of sailors and war veterans.

The popularity of tattoos exploded in the 1990s, according to the Washington Post, and has only continued to rise since then. The Huffington Post would link the growing popularity to the media. TV shows like “Miami Ink,” “NY Ink,” “LA Ink” and “Ink Master” exposed the general public to the tattoo industry, making them more comfortable with tattoos and also creating role models out of the casts of the shows.

Thompson never watched any of these shows. Instead, she said that she always wanted a tattoo and has known what she wanted to get for some time.

Her tattoo is representative of the connection Thompson has with her grand-

mother.

“There used to be a huge stigma against [tattoos] because there was, like, an image behind [people with tattoos],” Thompson said. But “I think it’s also really trendy right now to get one … People realize that [a tattoo] doesn’t characterize you as a person.”

Though Thompson, like the war veterans and sailors of the early 20th century, just sees tattoos as a form of expression, for others their reasons for not getting tattoos go deeper.

For senior Mikayla Bessey, her religion poses a serious factor in her decision to never get tattoos.

“Due to my personal and religious beliefs, I believe that my body is a gift from God and that I should not defile it with tattoos,” Bessey said. “If your dad bought you a new car, you wouldn’t want to graffiti it.”

Though Bessey thinks that people are more open to expressing themselves

through tattoos now than in the past, she believes that tattoos, like any other fad, will eventually go out of style. However, the numbers would point the future of tattoos in a very different direction.

While only six percent of the silent generation (individuals now aged 65 years and older) have tattoos, 42 percent of the Millennial generation (individuals aged 18-29) have tattoos, according to the Pew Research Center. And if this trend continues, more and more people are likely to get ‘inked,’ Thompson said, and not just for purposes of protection while giving birth.

“I think by the time we’re older, most people will have a tattoo,” Thompson said. A tattoo is “a way to personalize yourself and it’s something that you want, that you’ve chosen to have on you because other things about your body you can’t choose … It’s something that you can choose and you have control over that you can put on yourself.”

Online P.E. class lacks rigor of regular class Manal Salim

H

art by Alex Carranza

er arms quiver gently, muscles burn intensely and the aching pangs grow stronger with each moment the barbell looms over her head.

With the determination to exert herself to her utmost physical ability, junior Anah Habib frequently hits the gym, performing fitness tasks including but not limited to weight lifting. Habib’s dedication is focused primarily on achieving a more active, exercised body in the hopes of a leading a healthier lifestyle.

Habib enrolled in an online physical education course through Columbia Public Schools, which the district introduced in the second semester of last school year.

Since the class is primarily online, Habib said if a student is not active on a daily basis, she can definitely see how slacking off could occur easily. However, Habib mentions said fitness logs are required for the course provide a decent tracking system for students to record and attain a healthy lifestyle by means of tracking physical progress and setting new goals.

“I think a major advantage of having the class online, for me, has been the ability to physically manage my progress,” Habib said. “[The fitness logs] make me aware of how often I do a certain type of exercise, or it makes me feel bad when I see that maybe I haven’t worked out for a long time, since the class requires at least three hours of exercise a week.”

However, online P.E instructor Christi Hopper said the honor system and lack of face-to-face interaction the class operates on isn’t necessarily the most effective way to track a student’s physical

progress.

“The disadvantage is that students lose out on some of the important aspects of P.E. such as teamwork, game strategies, and individualized instruction from a teacher,” Hopper said. “It is difficult to correct form for a specific activity if you don’t see it. Also, there is no real accountability for the fitness logs.”

Hopper, who is the district curriculum coordinator for secondary health and physical education, taught a variety of physical education courses both online and faceto-face in the CPS district for 22 years, ranging from swimming at Hickman High School, general P.E. courses, a tumbling course and Health classes. Last school year, after its introduction, Hopper’s online P.E. course had only two students.

This year, 17 students were enrolled first semester; currently, there are two sections of the class with around 20 students in each. Hopper credits this increasing popularity of online P.E. to the need for ‘wiggle room’ in a busy student’s schedule.

“Online P.E. helps students who are involved in many other things,” Hopper said. “It gives students the opportunity to work out when it is best for them. It also covers some topics not covered in a traditional P.E. class. Also, many colleges now offer online courses, and this experience will help students in their future.”

Hopper’s projections look promising as a recent study from www.usnews.com states that the number of college students enrolled in at least one online course increased for the ninth straight year, according to a Babson Survey Research Group of more than 2,500 colleges and universities. The study reports that more than

6.1 million students took at least one online class in the fall – a 10.1 percent increase over the year before.

However, junior Humera Lodhi, who is also enrolled in the CPS online P.E. course, doesn’t necessarily believe online P.E. is for everyone. Lodhi said that the lack of direct monitoring of physical progress doesn’t allow the online version of the course to be at the level of a traditional physical education class.

“I honestly don’t believe that online P.E. is as rigorous as a regular P.E. class. In online P.E., the online assignments are very similar to the requirements for a health and nutrition class,” Lodhi said, “and while there are exercise requirements each week, meaning that students have to do some physical activity, I don’t think it adds up to a traditional, in-school P.E. class.

However, we do have to meet the health standards for various exercises such as the mile run, the sit-up test and the pull-up test, so I don’t think the curriculum is necessarily sub-par.”

Lodhi isn’t alone in her dissatisfaction for the online course. Hopper said she doesn’t believe the course gives students an accurate reflection of their physical progress, so she is working to bring a better version of the online P.E. class to CPS. “I am not completely satisfied with the online P.E. program we are currently using,” Hopper said. “A former colleague has developed a course for her school district in Springfield, Mo. I am currently working with that district to review and possibly purchase their course. Their course includes heart rate monitors that will be downloaded weekly. [Currently], I do think that the curriculum

helps students look at different types of physical activity, but I would like it to do more and include more focus on lifetime fitness.”

Until the new course makes its way to the CPS district, Hopper advises students who plan to take, or are currently taking online P.E. to stay on track of their work and not to put off the assignments and fitness. Hopper emphasizes the importance of scheduling time into every week for the course. Following Hopper’s advice, Habib personally recommends online P.E. only to those who believe they can stay on top of the course consistently.

“I would only recommend online P.E. to someone who is not only motivated enough to actually do the tracking and paperwork, but also someone who can take advantage of the ‘free’ block that it gives in your schedule,” Habib said.

“In other words, if you know you’re going to slack off and do the work at the last minute, it’s probably just easier to take a semester of fitness walking or strength training.”

Regardless of the venue, Lodhi said whether a student takes an online or brick-andmortar P.E. class, the physical success obtained truly depends on the students themselves.

“I honestly think that P.E. in a traditional, in-school setting doesn’t necessarily make the student any more or less healthy. But by having an online P.E. option, I think that there will be some people who will take it as the idea that physical activity isn’t important and necessary for a healthy life,” Lodhi said. “But, there will always be students who properly utilize the class and will take online P.E. as a self-directed source of motivation to lead a longer-lasting healthy life.”

B8

Ads

Sports

ALSO INSIDE Community: True/False Preview

Wayne Sells Field to receive new turf Brett Stover

E

ach day, dozens of athletes, band members and students use Wayne Sells Family Field to train, practice and compete. While the natural attrition of daily use has decreased its quality, the reason behind an upcoming change began off the field, not on it. The synthetic turf on the field may be replaced this summer because of a pending lawsuit.

In 2011, FieldTurf Incorporated filed a lawsuit in a Georgia federal district court that alleged “fraud, breach of contract and breach of warranty related to fiber performance” by Royal TenCate according to FieldTurf ’s official website.

FieldTurf, a branch of the international company Tarkett Sports that provides turf, hardwood courts and tracks for schools of all levels around the world, specializes in synthetic turf creation. Notable stadiums using FieldTurf include CenturyLink Field, home of the Super Bowl XLVIII-winning Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium. At the college level, many stadiums including Michigan University’s Michigan Stadium, commonly known as the “Big House,” use FieldTurf.

Columbia Public Schools’ Athletic Director Bruce Whitesides said RBHS’s turf was of the type that FieldTurf ’s inspection discovered to be defective, the cause for the upcoming replacement of the football turf. Whitesides said he was disappointed, however, to replace the turf several years prior to the end of its expected ‘lifespan.’ The life expectancy of most synthetic turf is 10-14 years, according to a study on turf feasibility by Township School District 214 in Illinois.

“To be quite honest, I thought [the turf] would last 10 to 12 years,” Whitesides said. “I think that’s pretty much the

normal lifespan on synthetic turf. I’m hoping to [replace it] this summer.”

While RBHS will likely receive new turf, football coach AJ Ofodile said he hasn’t noticed any issues with the field. However, he does feel that the turf has been worn down in the years since its installation in 2006.

“With the sheer volume of usage because we, unlike a lot of other places, our field is open 24 hours a day so anybody can come in and get on the field,” Ofodile said. “I think just the normal wear and tear has just accelerated on our field more than anything else, but I’ve never noticed anything in terms of abnormalities.”

Along with Sells Field, turf from as many as 167 fields around the country are included under the lawsuit, according to the Wall Street Journal. Whitesides said Hickman High School, Truman High School, William Chrisman High School, Coe College and Central College were the other schools that would be affected. He also projects that the replacement process could cost more than $100,000 and be funded by the school district.

“Depending on settlements for the product deficiency, my guess is we’re going to have to pay for the actual labor to pick up the old carpet and put down the new carpet,” Whitesides said. “I’m thinking that’s anywhere from $125,000 to $175,000.”

Athletes were the most affected by the potentially defective synthetic turf. Starting quarterback, junior Logan Twehous said that while the turf isn’t in terrible condition, the wear and tear shows because it is open for anyone to use.

“It’s not uneven or anything,” Twehous said. “You can tell it’s kinda old and torn up on the ground. You know, you fall down once and you got turf all over you and then when you go to other schools and fall down and there’s nothing on you.”

sources: astroturf.com, fieldtu f.com, healthyliving.azcentral.com, turf.uark.edu infographic by Yasmeen El-Jayyousi

Closer

Look WRESTLING

The RBHS wrestling team moves into the postseason this weekend, as they head to Waynesville for the district tournament.

Winners will advance to the state meet. photo by W. Bresaw

BASKETBALL

Both girls and boys teams end regular season action this month before begining the district tournament. The Bruins will host the games beginning on March 3. photo by M. Kuligowski

SWIMMING

The Lady Bruins swimming and diving team finishes up the regular season this weekend as they compete in the last chance meet at Hickman.

photo by A. Blevins

C2

Sports

Bruins By the numbers

Pain is temporary, glory eternal

Bruin athletes cement themseleves in history, achieve top national honors

6

The number (out of seven) runners from the 2011 State Champion boys cross country team that have signed with Division 1 schools.

15

The number of consecutive wins by the Lady Bruins basketball team before falling to No. 2 Incarnate Word last Sunday, Feb. 9.

3

The average number of points that have seperated the RBHS and Hickman boys basketball teams in their two contests this season.

7

The number of RBHS seniors who signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to continue their careers at Division 1 schools.

466

The number of miles between Columbia and Cincinnati, OH, the site of the RBHS football teams game against Winton Woods High School in week 8 of the 2014 season.

infographic by Yasmeen El-Jayyousi

Porter, Cheadle go to Washington

Two Lady Bruin teammates named McDonald’s All-American Finalists Josh Ripley

B

eing invited to participate in a high school all-star game is one of the many exciting perks of being a high-level prep athlete.

It is a testament to an athlete’s ability and their dedication to the sport they love. Having one athlete from a school participate in one of these games is a rare accomplishment. Having multiple is nearly unheard of.

That is the case though for the girls basketball team this year, as seniors Bri Porter and Chayla Cheadle have both been invited to play in the Elite Showcase Basketball Classic in Washington D.C. in March.

The game is described as “a premier national postseason high school basketball event in our nation’s capital that features outliers: premier male and female high school basketball players from the US and abroad whose athletic talent hails from sources that are not on the radar of sports team scouts,” according to the event’s website.

Porter and Cheadle, who have signed to play collegiately at Missouri and Kansas, respectively, are the first players from RBHS to be invited to participate in this event.

Porter has had an injury riddled career and said she is thankful for the opportunity to play.

“I think being invited to this game is more meaningful in light of all of my setbacks,” Porter said. “It sort of serves as a small reminder that all of the effort was worth it, and that none of my setbacks were permanent.”

Despite her struggles to stay on the court because of recurring knee injuries, Porter speaks fondly of her time as a Bruin.

“I’m going to take away lots of things from my time here,” Porter said. “I’ve gotten to know some interesting people, learned how to serve different roles on a team and really gained a whole new appreciation for basketball that I didn’t have before.”

Cheadle has faced fewer challenges than Porter during her career. She and her twin sister, Kayla, have contributed to the Bruins potent backcourt over the last couple years before committing to the University of Kansas in the fall. Cheadle said receiving the invitation to the game was an honor.

“I’m definitely blessed to get such an amazing opportunity like that,” Cheadle said. “I’m just very happy that Bri got the invite as well.”

Cheadle also noted while playing in the game with her teammate would be a memorable experience, it would not take priority over the MSHSAA Final Four, which is scheduled for the same time.

“Being invited to this game with Bri is a special feeling,” Cheadle said. “You don’t really hear

Twehous invited to Nike Elite 11 Brett Stover

I

n an age when the quarterback position is always in the media spotlight, the lens is often turned toward young quarterbacks. Elite 11 recently invited RBHS’s own QB, junior Logan Twehous, to participate in one of eight regional camps.

“I met a coach over the summer,” Twehous said, “and ... he called last week and I was ... you know, I w a s

speechless. I didn’t really know what to say. I’m really excited.”

The Elite 11 begins with a series of QB camps around the country. These regional camps invite QBs mainly from next year’s graduating class.

“They take those 20 best quarterbacks or so to Oregon,” Twehous said. “The Elite 11 is kind of intertwined with that. They work out together, they do 7-on-7 together; they run the over-under routes with the receivers.”

At the end of the camp the “final Elite 11” QB’s are chosen. Being one of those top QBs is one of the highest honors a young athlete can receive, with many going to Division I schools.

“When you make it to that final 20 and even if you make it down to that final 11 ... it’s probably the biggest thing you can do in high school for your recruiting.”

Logan Twehous, junior RBHS quarterback

about more than one girl off of one team going to this type of event, so just knowing that we will get the chance to make that happen is really cool. We are not sure if we will be able to play in the game though because if we do make it to the Final Four, which we hope we will, we won’t be able to play in the ESBC Game.”

The organizer scheduled the game for March 23, while the MSHSAA Class 5 State Tournament is scheduled from March 12-22. If the Bruins hope to three peat, the ESBC game will have to go by the wayside.

This is only the most recent of many honors the Bruin girls basketball team has received. Both the Cheadle twins, Porter and senior Audrey Holt were all nominated, though none were selected, to participate in the McDonalds All-American Game.

The team is currently ranked No. 11 in the country by MaxPreps.com. Although they likely won’t retain their position following a loss to No. 2 Incarnate Word last weekend, the rest of the season still looks extremely bright for the Lady Bruins as they attempt to win their third straight state championship.

The Lady Bruins continue their season when they play at the Jefferson City Lady Jays tonight, Feb. 14.

Ofodile to play in 2015 Army All-American Game Justin Sutherland

P

hone ringing, junior wide receiver Alex Ofodile looked down to his phone, buzzing with a call made by an unknown number. Picking up he heard the voice of a representative of the Army All-American Game. The representative soon proceeded to tell him something Ofodile has wanted since childhood; he had earned a spot as an all-American football player on their 2015 team.

“It was really just a huge honor,” Ofodile said. “When I got the call, I was kind of hoping on it. It had been my dream since I was a little kid basically.”

With this news, along with a good performance, Ofodile expects scouts not only at the RBHS games but the

practices, as well. As a nationally ranked recruit, scouts will evaluate Ofodile often, trying to gauge his true potential.

With these scouts, however, comes the risk of his stock either going up or down in his national rank. Should he continue his performances from his junior season, Ofodile will have plenty col- l e g e opportunities.

“I’m kind of hoping for a medium,” Ofodile said.

“If I can’t play starter on the first year then I’m hoping to do that my second year or something like that.”

Alex Ofodile, junior RBHS wide receiver photos by Amy Blevins

Sports

C3

Winter in Missouri: Freshman Mick Deaver skates off the i e following a hockey game with his St. Louis-based team. Just like the weather in this state, finding a pla e to practice winter sports is just as unpredictable. From ice hockey to alpine skiing, locating a rink or a slope proves to be a problem for athletes young and old. But to those who aspire to play these winter sports, training comes at a price. photo by Shawn Deaver

No snow?

No problem Winter athletes find ays to practice despite weather Luke Chval

T

he National Hockey League might as well be an Australian cricket league as far as Missouri could tell.

Missouri got its first professional hockey team in 1968, when the St. Louis Blues joined the NHL. Although, there has been a hockey team in Missouri for some time now, the state already had teams in the much more popular National Football League and Major League Baseball.

Also, Missouri’s climate did not allow for dependable yearly pond hockey rinks, which is how the interest in hockey started in the northern United States. Similar predicaments in other southern and middle states have been a main reason in the restriction of the NHL interest to the northern states.

With the ability to make hockey rinks in any type of climate now, the interest level of winter sports in these states should be higher. However, out of the 30 teams in the NHL, the Blues rank 28th in revenue and there are no NCAA-sanctioned college hockey teams in Missouri. Disinterest like this makes being a winter sports athlete in Columbia one of the most difficult types of athlete to be.

Freshman Mick Deaver is one of the rare Mis-

souri hockey athletes, who has made many sacrifices to maintain his pursuit of the sport. Hockey players have limited options in Columbia, with the nearest rink in Jefferson City, Mo. and most competitive teams in St. Louis. Deaver has practiced in the rinks in both cities.

“Playing hockey is difficult in Missouri, especially here in Columbia. People just don’t notice hockey as much in Missouri as well as they do in Minnesota or Maine” Deaver said. “Just any of those places, they think they’re the best hockey players in the world and that not really anybody from St. Louis and Missouri can be.”

Deaver was a defenseman on a national championship team in 2013. His team, the Affton Americans, won the U14 Tier II 2A National Championship in Charlotte, N.C., outscoring their opponents combined 49-4 in five games. The team defeated the Alaska All-Stars in the final game 7-0 to win the title.

“The national championship was amazing, and that was a great experience, but I’d say it’s tied for first with the Missouri qualifier for that tournament,” Deaver said. “We played the St. Peters Selects in that game, and we had lost to them the last couple of times but we ended up beating them and got to go to the tournament in North Carolina.”

colle

ge!

Bec

ome

ap

art

of

A+

Fre e

The type of travel Deaver experienced during the national championship tournament is not unusual; Deaver has traveled all over the country for his athletic competitions because of the lack of competition in Missouri and the scattered hockey competition across the United States.

“I’ve been to Michigan, North Carolina, here in Missouri,” Deaver said. “Illinois, Tennessee, Minnesota, North Dakota, a lot of northern schools, eastern schools, where there are good hockey programs.”

Biology teacher April Sulze was raised in Colorado and did not play hockey, but she participated in a number of other winter sports that Missouri’s location restricts. Just as with hockey, the lack of facilities for these sports make them rare in Missouri.

“I mainly did snowboarding,” Sulze said. “I did cross country skiing when I was out there, hiked a lot, snowshoed, but mostly just snowboarding. I did the Snow Days competition, which is local, but people come from all over the United States, and it is in Vail, Colorado.”

Sulze started winter sports at an early age in Colorado, which is a pipeline for the U.S. 2014 Olympic team. Out of the 230 athletes participating in the Sochi games, 19 are from Colorado, which is only beaten by California with 20 athletes.

Do n ’ t miss out!

“When I was a kid, there was nothing else to do except spend all of our time on a mountain,” Sulze said, “and I was skiing all the time, but I tore up my knees playing soccer, and they told me to consider snowboarding.”

Junior Dirk Adams, who played on the same team as Deaver a year earlier, also won a national championship in 2012, and then stopped playing hockey because of the difficulties of living in Missouri that caused all of the extra time spent on the sport. Adams now plays lacrosse, which is similar to hockey, and still travels to St. Louis, Mo. often, but now for lacrosse practice.

“Well, it’s not that I stopped liking hockey. I still love it,” Adams said. “But I just got really burnt out from all of the travel, and I felt that I just wanted to take a break.”

Sulze can’t participate in the winter sports like she used too, now that she lives in Missouri, but still attempts to make trips out to her home state to snowboard.

“And now that I’m home, I go out once or twice a year,” Sulze said. “So living in Missouri has impacted my ability to compete and the amount that I snowboard but my family is still out there so when I go out now, I don’t just play in the snow I actually visit them.”

RBHS A+ Program

Please see Mr s. Piester in Guidance to pick up an application!

1. Attend an A+ high school for 3 consecutive years prior to high school graduation 2. Graduate with a 2.5 or higher grade point average (grades 9 - 12) 3. Have at least 95 percent attendance record (grades 9 - 12) 4. Perform and document 50 hours o f unpaid tutoring/ job shadowing (arranged by A+ coordinator) 5. Maintain a r ecord of good citizenship ( grade 9 - 12)

How True to Fals True/ like How to False True/Fals a Pro Magic

C4

Community

T/F Lingo

The Q - This is the single most important part of True/False for those without a pass. Short for “The Queue,” these are the lines you wait in in order to get tickets for a movie. This is the line for those festival-goers who do not have a ticket reserved for a certain documentary. Although the Queens — ­ more on that later— begin handing out numbers exactly an hour in advance, make sure to arrive even earlier in advance to ensure being near the front of the line, as these numbers determine the order in which available tickets will be distributed later.

Most of the shows are nearly sold out, but there’s almost always room for the first few Q-ers to get seats. After receiving your Q number, you are free to do whatever you please for 45 minutes, this is the best time to eat at the festival. 15 minutes before the show, you arrive back at the venue, get back in your order in line and hope you’re close enough to the front to get a seat!

Meeting people in the Q is one of the hidden gems of T/F.

Highlights

If you haven’t got all weekend to spend at True/False festivities, here are some highlights of the festival that are must-sees.

1. March March Parade: To kick off the festival, True/False hosts the March March: a parade open to the public on Friday Feb. 28 at 5:15 p.m. View it as a spectator or join in the fun as a participant. T/F encourages everyone to “dress colorfully, to construct and carry fun props, to make noise, and to push the level of imagination,” according to its website. Watch (or march with) the parade as it makes its way from Courthouse Square to Missouri Theatre, and be prepared to see some truly funky things. Past years have seen masks, horse costumes, unicyclists, flame throwers and hula hoopers all marching in the parade. The only rules: stay safe and have fun.

Queens - These lavishly costumed volunteers distribute Q numbers and also help confused festivalgoers. They’re not hard to miss, so if you’re ever in need of guidance simply find one and ask for help. Don’t feel shy because you won’t be the only one who’s confused.

Be kind to these people. They’re helping festival-goers while you’re watching movies.

NRT - This is an acronym you may hear dropped in conversations; it stands for “No Reserve Tickets.” Shows at T/F are never really sold out because the festival makes it a point not to sell to capacity in order to allow Q-ers in. Also, even if the show is actually sold out, it’s likely someone with a reserved ticket may skip a film.

If you really want to see a certain show, arrive early (really early: at least one and a half hours before Q-time and definitely earlier if it is a small venue) and wait. People watch. Read a book.

2. Watch Private Violence: Each year, T/F spotlights one film from the festival and offers assistance to the subjects of that film through the True Life fund. This year the True Life fund will recognize Cynthia Hill’s Private Violence, a film that focuses on Kit Gruelle, a survivor of and advocate against domestic violence, as well as Deanna Walters: also a victim of domestic violence who is battling the justice system. The True Life fund will raise money through the community and also through the True Life Run. This movie is one that you don’t want to miss, and is sure to be incredibly moving and eye opening. The film will screen in Jesse Auditorium at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 1 and at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2.

Passes - There are many different levels of passes festival-goers can purchase. In descending order of price, the main passes include: Super Circle ($700), Silver Circle ($400), Lux ($175) and Simple ($75). All passes are currently on sale except the Lux pass. The high-rollers with the upper levels of passes can get into pretty much any event, even without reservations.

3. Gimme Truth!: This is T/F’s very own documentary game show in which 10 local filmmakers create short two-minute documentaries that are either entirely true or entirely false.

Hosted by Johnny St. John, the game show will have a panel featuring an array of documentary world celebrity judges and try not to get hoodwinked by the filmmakers in deciding which films are true and which are false. Don’t miss out on this hilariously entertaining event on Saturday evening, but be sure to buy tickets in advance.

Buskers - Busking means essentially the art of street performance, though that’s not the only place you’ll find musicians at T/F. While they’re not the first thing you might think of when you think of a film festival, buskers are a core part of the festival. There will be more than 40 groups coming and T/F has added an additional pass. The main component of the Busker Band pass ($30) is admission to the approximately 15 concerts done by buskers, and it looks like a great addition to a Simple Pass or if you plan on Q-ing all the way.

Tip the buskers, whether they’re performing before a film or on the street or anywhere else.

4. The Great Wall: No, you don’t need to travel to China to see this. Instead, just head down 9th Street to the side of the Missouri United Methodist Church that faces Shakepeare’s Pizza. This wall, known as ‘The Great Wall,’ serves as True/False’s cheapest (and by that I mean free) outdoor movie screening area. On Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1, T/F will screen a series of short films from 7 - 11 p.m. on ‘The Great Wall.’ It’s a great way to get involved and pinch some pennies – just don’t tell your date it was free.

Secret Screening (SS) - Secret Screenings are a type of film shown at T/F; there are three this year.

Generally referred to by a color - the 2014 films are SS Amber, SS Burgundy and SS Orchid - Secret Screenings are documentaries that are not ‘officially’ premiering, and viewers of those films are told to not publish any reviews until the official release date.

Often, these films premiere at other notable festivals like South by South West.

5. Neither/Nor Series: For the second year, T/F 2014 will host its Neither/Nor series, an exploration of what they call “chimeric” cinema – films that straddle the lines between fiction and non-fiction. Each year, a different acclaimed film critic chooses four films from a different era to present. In this year’s edition, film critic Godfrey Cheshire will explore Iranian cinema of the 1990s. He has chosen the films Close-Up (1990), A Moment of Innocence (1996), The Mirror (1997) and The Apple (1999), according to the T/F website. In the past, Ragtag Cinema and Cafe has hosted the presentation of the first two films, and T/F has hosted the second two. Though the schedule has not yet been released, keep your eyes open for details about this fantastic opportunity to delve into the rich history of cinema with a great guide at your disposal.

by Brett Stover

by Trisha Chaudhary

REALISM: kespeare

s h a p i zza

’s 225

SPARKY’S SP

HOME MADE ICE CREAM

AM

HO

M

EM

t

A R K Y’ S

RE

art by Yasmeen El-Jayyousi

A beginner’s guide to the True/False Film Festival

AD E ICE C

RAGTAG CINEMA

Mary Arnold, senior “It was what I was expecting, I would go again. I just had a musician pass the last time, but I would buy tickets and go now.”

Michaela Holubeck, senior “I think it is one of those things that everyone knows about but [the word] doesn’t necessarily get out as well as it could.”

Community

e/ se e se ro

Where to eat

What to do with free time between films Have free time between films? Here are some things you can do to fill the space.

1. Grab a warm coffee (or hot chocolate if that suits your fancy): Even though spring is only 35 days away, chances are winter’s sharp sting is still in the air. If you’ve been outside all day waiting in the Q or walking between venues, more than likely your nose will be running and your fingers will be numb. Luckily, there are plenty of splendid, cozy coffee shops lining the streets of downtown Columbia.

If you’re new to the downtown scene, check out Kaldis (29 S Ninth St), Lakota (24 S Ninth St) or Coffee Zone (11 N Ninth St). Depending on your venue, they’re no more than a few minutes walk away and can offer up a warm and inviting place to rest your feet and revitalize yourself for the next film.

2. Do a little window shopping … or real shopping: Downtown Columbia has a slew of great boutiques and stores. You could easily fill up a few hours just meandering around in the stores on Broadway and Ninth street alone. Boots, winter coats, sparkly dresses, incense, early Christmas presents and anything else you could possibly think of, you can find in downtown Columbia. Even if you’re not interested in spending a lot of money, window shopping is always an option, and most likely, you’ll find a great end-of-winter sale. Britches (130 S Ninth St) is a favorite of mine. I can find a pair of the most comfortable fleece-lined leggings (which were for seven dollars last time I went) and also find my dress, shoes, and jewelry for courtwarming all in one trip and keep my bill under $100. Envy (814 E. Broadway) is another great women’s clothing store where the service is great and though the prices can be high, some of my favorite pieces of clothing are from there - all of which I’ve purchased off of the sale rack.

the blue note

3. Fro-Yo: Who cares if you’re not really that hungry. Or if it’s still cold out. Let’s be honest, frozen yogurt is best in the cold. If you’re a sorbet kind of person or if you just prefer straight up chocolate, Yogo Luv and Red Mango can fulfill all of your fantasies. Not to mention the endless candy and fruit toppings. My personal favorite: the cheesecake flavored frozen yogurt topped with berries and graham cracker crumbs, and if you’re really adventurous, cookie dough pieces. It tastes like a slice of raspberry cheesecake in a cup.

4. Chill in Peace Park: If you’ve never just hung out in Peace Park, then you’re missing out.

And if you have, then you can back me up when I say that it’s a great place to just go and hang out. Hopefully a little spring will have thawed out by time T/F rolls around. I mean who doesn’t love the sound of trickling water passing by? Bring a blanket or chairs to sit on the grass or try and claim one of the benches before someone else does.

5. Explore the art galleries: Columbia is a great supporter of all of its artists. Explore Columbia Art League or PS Gallery for a deeper look into the great talent that Columbia harbors.

Some exhibitions may have a specific theme while others do not, but both galleries host all different genres and mediums of art work. T/F weekend starts the Thursday after the opening reception of CAL’s ‘Appetite’ exhibit, which centers on - you guessed it - food. CAL invites artists to explore the question ‘What do we have an appetite for?’ Take some time out and go expand your artistic horizons and maybe you’ll even see some RBHS artists featured in CAL’s gallery!

6. Get artsy; go to the Mud Room: If you’re looking for some time to digest a movie, and want to keep your mind open but your hands busy, head over to the Mud Room. Choose any ceramic object, ranging from owls to dolls to mugs, and paint it. This is a great way to get the creative juices flowing, and even if you’re a horrific painter, no worries - no one will ever have to see that bear again! (Oh it was a dog…?) I could easily waste away hours at the Mud Room perfecting my chevron-striped mug and it’s a great way to keep kids - or even parents - entertained.

7. Get involved on campus: The University of Missouri - Columbia has a beautiful campus, which is something that is easy to forget if you live around here. If you’re looking for a mellow activity, visit Memorial Union or spend some time hanging around the Columns. They serve as a great perch or photo op and if you’ve never taken a picture in front of Jesse Auditorium, your moment has come. The campus is always brimming with things to do. Support the Tigers on March 1 by attending the MU’s men’s basketball game against Mississippi State at Mizzou Arena at 12:30. Or spend some time at the MU Bookstore. It carries all types of Mizzou apparel from sweatshirt to tank tops even to sparkly black or gold pumps.

by Trisha Chaudhary

C5

Looking for somewhere to eat after a couple hours worth of film showings at the True/False Film Festival? Whether you’re craving a dessert, beverage or just a quick meal, be sure to check out these dining locations closest to your film venue.

If you’re viewing a film on Ninth Street at Jesse Auditorium, Missouri Theatre, Blue Note or The Picturehouse, consider the following eateries: Booche’s (110 S. Ninth Street) is a pool hall and pub with incredible pool tables and even more incredible burgers. This old-school joint right on Ninth Street in The District fosters an old-fashioned yet classic charm that is an unforgettable part of your dining experience. This location would be appropriate if you are seeking a heavier meal consisting of a traditional barbecue with hamburgers and hotdogs galore, and for a place to sit down and eat during the festival. Though Booche’s can be a busy at times, the crowds verify the point that the joint is a hot spot for Columbians looking for a good place to grab a meal.

Shakespeare’s (225 S. Ninth St.) is a classic pizza joint Columbians have grown to love more over the years. The location is perfect walking distance from any Ninth Street venue, and the atmosphere is the perfect balance between college and family friendly. The place is usually packed, but the crowd only contributes to the popularity. With delicious, hot and ready pizza, Shakespeare’s is the perfect restaurant if you’re looking to sit down and enjoy a meal, or grab a slice on the go.

Sparky’s (21 S. Ninth Street) is your one-stop shop for delicious ice cream and even some weird art in The District. Though the weather may not be the best for ice cream, there is still a chance that you may be craving something sweet during the festival. All of the ice cream at Sparky’s is homemade and they have an amazing variety of unique flavors, and the selection is different nearly every time I go. Venture out if you plan to get something sweet at Sparky’s and try a new flavor while you’re there. The Turkish Coffee and the Earl Grey flavors are fantastic, but with so many to choose from, it’s hard to go wrong at Sparky’s. The ice cream is reasonably priced, and perfect for enjoying while walking around during T/F.

If you’re viewing a film on 8th Street at the Forrest Theater, consider visiting the following: Sub Shop (209 S. Eighth Street) was voted, according to their site, as Columbia’s favorite sub shop since 1975, so it surely possesses something special. Their fresh sub sandwiches, crisp salads and homemade desserts are beyond compare, and the Sub Shop serves some the most delicious sandwiches around. Both the breads and desserts are made from scratch, and the free wireless Internet definitely comes in handy if you need to check up on anything in between films. With superior customer care and delicious sandwiches to take on the go, the Sub Shop is the perfect place to visit while downtown for the festival.

The Velvet Cupcake (23 S. Eighth Street) is a newly opened cupcake shop that was introduced to The District in the fall of 2011. The Velvet Cupcake also serves Starbucks espresso drinks, which are good and reasonably priced if you’re looking for a hot drink on-the-go. The Wedding Cake cupcake is my personal favorite, but all the cupcakes are delicious and beautifully decorated, with frosting that is sweet and tasty. The shop has a variety of cupcake flavors, cookies and pastries to offer, and they also have a small breakfast and lunch menu if you need a quick bite to eat.

If you’re viewing a film on Walnut Street at the Odd Fellows Lodge, be sure to check out: Café Utopia (1013 E. Walnut Street) is a perfect little café that is a must visit if you’re craving some homestyle food. The spin on traditional homemade cuisine is phenomenal and the café features nearly every type of dish from pastries, to soups, sandwiches and more. The cinnamon rolls are my personal favorite, but there are plenty of options to choose from to suit your fancy. The small storefront really makes the place nice and cozy. The eatery also pairs well with its neighboring café downstairs, Fretboard Coffee, as they both feature similar cuisines for decent prices and tastes that are out of this world.

Fretboard Coffee (1013 East Walnut Street) is a small coffee shop hidden under the Artlandish Gallery on Walnut Street. At the café, you can have your coffee brewed a number of ways including French Press, Pour-over and siphon. Watching the brewing process is enjoyable, and in the end, the coffee is superb. The shop has two tables and a bar, and though the café itself is small, there is plenty of space for customers. Wifi is available upon request, and Fretboard Coffee is the perfect stop if you’re looking for a place to relax and enjoy the atmosphere before heading off to enjoy all that True/False has to offer. The experience at Fretboard Coffee will be well worth your time, and I highly recommend stopping in to relax or grab a cup and go, as this place is a real gem in the Columbia coffee scene.

If you’re viewing a movie on Hitt Street at the Big Ragtag and Little Ragtag theaters, consider visiting: Uprise Bakery (10 S. Hitt Street) is a quiet bakery nestled in Ragtag, and is perfect for visiting if you’re looking for a relaxing place to grab a quick bite and a good cup of coffee. The delicious baked goods are hard to pass up, and you can even bring your treats into the theater as well if you choose to eat while watching a film. Uprise Bakery is a great place to meet friends in between showings, and have some wholly delicious food while you’re there. The bakery is a real treat and a great way to relax and step away from the bustle of the festival for a bit during the day.

Gunter Hans (7 Hitt Street) is a café right across from Ragtag that features German cuisine with a non-traditional style. Gunter Hans is a café that does light meals, snacks, desserts and drinks - a little bit of everything done extraordinarily right. The café is a fun and enjoyable step outside the average Columbia restaurant. The pretzels are absolutely wonderful, and the waffles are dense and delicious as well. Seating is limited, but they do have a nice patio, weather permitting. If you’re looking for a unique café to try something new, Gunter Hans is the place to be.

Freebirds World Burrito (1020 E. Broadway) is a new restaurant in the District featuring Mexican cuisine and is located just around the corner from Ragtag. With a large selection of burritos that are just the right size, Freebirds is the perfect quick lunch or dinner spot to visit.

The atmosphere is fun and cozy, and the staff is rather friendly as well, which is surely a plus.

If Chipotle doesn’t suit your fancy, or if you’re just looking for another good spot to grab some quick Mexican food, you should definitely check out Freebirds.

by Manal Salim

RAGTAG CINEMA the blue note

Suryanshi Rawat, junior “I think people would like to see more political films, especially about US politics.”

C.J. Phillips, junior “My favorite part of True/False would have to be the people.

They’re interesting, they’re cool, they’re hipsters in a non-pretentious way and they’re willing to talk to anybody. It’s awesome.”

C6

Ads

C7 A&E

C7

Dance Marathon date rescheduled Madison Mertz

T

Music sites put to the test

art by Maddy Mueller

Student experiences multiple online music players, reviews

George Sarafianos

T

he Internet can sometimes be a scary place; chock full of people like The Craigslist Killer and Hunter Moore, you must stay on your cyber tiptoes at all times and pray to the deity of your choice that you don’t trigger World War Three (queue Matthew Broderick in WarGames).

The World Wide Web serves a different purpose for everyone, whether it be answering questions, business or even just playing games.

But while those uses are all well and good, the one shared by most is listening to music.

From what I can gather, many people in the world (myself included) would prefer to get something for free rather than pay for it, especially when it comes to music. There are ways of doing said task, piracy being one.

But if you, like me, have already gotten a spanking from Mediacom, it’s best to take a look at the legal options.

It goes without saying that everyone has a different preference. There will always be some cool website buried in the depths of the Internet that will let you play music you like in some way superior to the more popular basic choices.

Here are the pros and cons of several more popular methods of free listening to music online, each of which I used for seven days in order to get a good idea of each option.

1: Pandora Founded in the year 2000, Pandora has been grandfathered into this list as a payment of homage. The site brings back memories of a simpler time, back when Justin Bieber was beloved and Egypt wasn’t in the toilet. I remember hearing

about Pandora and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. Radio on the internet? To me, it was a greater achievement for mankind than the invention of the wheel. Little did I know, that as I began the week long trial, soon I would come to despise what I once loved. I thought it would be fun to relive my middle school years, creating stations to listen to, pressing the “thumbs up” icon when a song I liked came on. I was overcome with nostalgia. But I only made it two days into the week before I remembered something important: I hate listening to the radio, regardless if it is online or not.

I only want to listen to music that I like, not music I must tolerate. At first I would simply skip over the song if I didn’t care for it, making sure to hit the “thumbs down” icon as well, but I remembered another fatal flaw in Pandora; you only get six skips. This is the point where I reference that meme saying, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

Eventually you learn to cherish those skips, comparable to three wishes given by a genie; you don’t want a single one of them to go to waste. But if you waste them anyway, you have to live with the consequences of listening to music that you don’t like. And that is not a risk that I, in my cowardice, am willing to take.

2: YouTube Before this week-long trial, the only times I have ever listened to music on YouTube have been when I cannot find it on any other online medium for music. After you’re done listening to one song, you have to rack your brains, thinking about what song you want to listen to next, go as far as to type that song into the search bar, all far too taxing on myself. Sound quality also poses a problem, I don’t know where in the world some of the people on YouTube downloaded their MP3s from,

but they sound as if they are being played from a stereo so ancient that it belongs in the Smithsonian. Sometimes you will get lucky, however, and find perfect quality audio. But, this is hit or miss.

3: Spotify To put it simply, Spotify is the reincarnation of Napster; only without the cat logo. Despite the occasional commercial breaks that the free version comes with, Spotify is a pretty solid way to listen to music online. Although it is an application downloaded onto your computer, you still need an Internet connection to use Spotify. However, you also have the option of downloading playlists onto your computer for when you don’t have Internet.

When I started using Spotify, my biggest worry was whether or not there would be a decent selection of music. Much like iTunes, many programs similar to Spotify lure users in with promises of endless pages of tracks, only to be stuck with live versions. But I was definitely satisfied with the overall accommodations Spotify made for it’s users. Their selection was broad and wide enough for me to find artists I already love and to discover new artists. Not to mention that it was an easily accessible way for me to enjoy my music from any computer I was at.

In conclusion, the levels of fondness I have for certain online music services are not meant to make other’s decisions for them. I strongly suggest that anyone interested in this topic should find out what works best for them and not take my word for anything said earlier in this piece.

Online music is becoming more popular over time, especially because it’s free and easy to access. Perhaps this signals our society’s technological progression and moving towards replacing much of the radio and CD usage.

his past Saturday, Feb. 8, the first tri-school Dance Marathon was to take place at Battle High School. However, with snow still remaining on the ground and five snow days taking students out of school, Columbia Public Schools sent a text out to students and parents informing them that the very first all-school event was postponed to a future date in which they have yet to decide on.

Dance Marathon, a mini version of the large, annual fundraiser which has taken place at the University of Missouri-Columbia since 2008 to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, according to mizzoudm.org, has occurred at RBHS with its students for the past two years. This year will be the first for the “mini” Dance Marathon as it’s called, to involve all three high schools together.

“The University organizers are continuing to find ways to involve more and more high school students in the Dance Marathon,” RBHS director of student activities David Bones said, “and we thought it would be more efficient if they tried to have one Dance Marathon that involved all three high schools as opposed to trying and organizing three separate, mini Dance Marathons.”

High schools and colleges across the United States participate in dance marathons as part of a movement started for the Children’s Miracle Network, according to mizzoudm. org. Just a couple of years ago, organizers from the Mizzou Dance Marathon team approached the high schools to propose the idea of a mini Dance Marathon. The event has since been planned in collaboration between the RBHS student council members and the Mizzou Dance Marathon team.

This new, larger Dance Marathon requires more people to plan at each school, so there are boards assembled at each of the high schools. Senior Whitney Cravens has been involved with the Dance Marathon for all of her three years at RBHS, helping plan it and as well as attending during her sophomore year.

“Each high school had a different goal of how many kids; Rock Bridge’s goal was 150 kids to come, and we also set the fundraising goal and named it, chose a logo, that kind of stuff,” Cravens said. “A lot of it was planned by Mizzou, which was really nice because it wasn’t that hard to plan with their help, but the hard part was getting kids to come.”

Cravens hopes the date change will encourage students who didn’t know the Dance Marathon was happening, or who couldn’t come in the past weekend to attend on the new date. Last year, the RBHS Dance Marathon just surpassed 150 attendees, and now with more time to promote the fundraiser, the hope is that RBHS will surpass their same goal of 150 students attending.

In trying to support the Children’s Miracle Network students pay for their entry and can purchase a T-shirt for an additional fee. Last year, the RBHS Dance Marathon alone raised $2,170 for the cause. For their donation, the students spend six hours dancing and participating in competitions at every hour.

“By the end of the mini Dance Marathon night, kids are so tired, but they just feel great,” Bones said. “Cause it’s not just standing around trying to dance for six hours, they’ve got competitions every hour, have people participating in these really goofy [activities] … it’s really well organized, they’ve got people who kind of help get everyone excited [and] of course, it’s for a good cause.”

This cause has a high chance of gaining support with time as new students come to participate in the dance along with returning participants. Junior Betsy Poehlman, is one who attended the Dance Marathon last year when it was just a single school event at RBHS. “There are no formal groups this year, but I am going to go with some friends,” Poehlman said. “I’m actually kind of glad that it got postponed because I had something on the day it was originally scheduled.”

Valentine candleholder for last-minute warm gifts Renata Williams

S

imple, cute, yet useful: a candle holder could be the perfect gift to give to your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day. By making the gift, you not only save money but also prove that you have the recipient in mind.

With a few household items, you can create something for less than $20. Hopefully you’ll have fun in showing your crafty side as well!

What you’ll need: Jar Black matte spray paint Masking tape or paint tape X-Acto knife Sharpie or pen Tealight candle optional: Gloves Paint pen Step 1: Start by taping the whole front of the jar. This will be the base for cutting out the heart or whatever shape you’d like. Overlap the tape slightly so that no spray paint gets through. After spray painting, you can take your Sharpie or pen and draw the shape you’d like.

I chose a heart for Valentine’s Day. The best part about taping is, if you do mess up, it doesn’t matter; just keep drawing until you get what you like because in the end your mistake won’t show up.

Step 2: Cut out your shape. Because an X-Acto knife isn’t the best for rounded corners, I cut very slowly, but actually getting through the tape shouldn’t be too hard. Just make sure whatever shape you want is the part of the

tape that stays on the jar and cut off the excess.

Step 3: Before you begin spray painting, I would recommend taking old newspaper and stuffing it into the jar so that you have a little handle to hold when spray painting. Make sure to lay down some newspaper or parchment paper to set the jar on once it has been sprayed.

To ensure you won’t get black on your hands, put on gloves.

Once you’re ready to spray paint, step outside. Your workspace needs to be well-ventilated and somewhere you can get dirty so outside is your best bet. Shake the spray paint before using and keep it away from the body when spraying. I only sprayed one layer on to my jar, which worked well, but I would recommend repeating this step to give your jar a second layer if the paint appears too light.

Step 4: The most important part is allowing your jar to dry. I let mine dry for one hour, but don’t hesitate to let it dry longer. If you believe your jar has dried, you can now remove the tape. I did so very carefully and peeled strip-by-strip. I also added some design with the paint pen around my heart just to add to my candle holder.

Step 5: It’s time to light your candle holder. Just drop a tea light candle in and test it out. One cool thing about lighting up the jar is if you hold it close enough to the wall, your design projects onto it. Once one candle melts, you can always get another, especially since tealight candles are both plentiful and cheap.

After enjoying your masterpiece, wrap it up with a new candle and give it to your Valentine. You could even keep it for yourself, to use at home all year. And also, don’t forget the present for your lover.

2

3 1 1. Final product: Candle holder with lit tealight candle inside.

It’s perfect for these extra chilly February days.

2. Materials: Here’s what you’ll need to make this project. Once you have these, you’re ready to begin crafting.

3. Ready to paint: Tape the shape of a heart on the jar, so you’re ready for painting. Other shapes are fin , too.

4. Spray painted: The jar is now ready for decor. Newspaper is stuffed inside so paint doesn’t go inside the jar.

4

photos by Renata Williams

C8

Backpage

14

l ve

The cost of

isn’t the only number when it comes to Valentine’s Day

$116.21

$4.4 billion

Amount the average consumer spends on Valentine’s Day

The amount people will spend on diamonds, gold and silver.

73%

51%

Percent of flowers bought by men

The percent of people who buy red roses for this holiday

85%

Percent of cards bought by women

180 million

Number of cards exhanged annually

1,400

Varieties of Hallmark Valentine’s Day cards

billion $13.19 Average annual Valentine’s

Day spending

infographic by Renata Williams.

CNN.com’s “2013 Valentine’s Day, by the numbers”

Infographic by Renata Williams.

CNN.com’s “2013 Valentine’s Day, by the numbers”