2010-12-17

westsidestory BEHIND

THE VEIL pages 18 to 19

The WSS looks at hijabs beyond the controversy and the politics.

DIY INSERT INSIDE

IOWA CITY WEST HIGH SCHOOL

WSSPAPER.COM

2901 MELROSE AVE.

IOWA CITY, IA 52246

VOLUME 42 ISSUE 3

DECEMBER 17, 2010

turn to page 35 for more photos from west high’s production of Guys and Dolls

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN

affordable housing

[news 6-7]

dispell the myths and learn the facts behind iowa city’s affordable housing developments

a work of art

[profiles 9]

john kading ’11 and diego lasansky ’13 put their art on display

teacher secrets

[feature 10-11]

the “real” deal

[a&e 20]

west high teachers share their childhood diaries preview the upcoming show choir competition season

hijabs unwrapped

[in-depth 18-19]

students discuss the beliefs behind the hijab

fantastic four

[sports 24]

new wrestlers bring talent to west high team equity statement It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices.

If you believe you have (or your child has) been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the Equity Director, Ross Wilburn, at 509 Dubuque Street, 319-688-1000.

wss staff members lilli oetting editor-in-chief anna hippee design editor, in-depth editor emily kreiter managing editor garrett anstreicher managing editor david huang copy editor eleanor marshall copy editor lauren parsons business editor alissa rothman news editor madhu srikantha opinion editor becky sweeney feature editor anna egeland feature editor olivia lofgren profiles editor caroline van voorhis profiles editor evan smith a&e editor caroline found sports editor daniel rothman sports editor elizabeth dagle backpage editor saranya subramanian beats editor bridget novak artist sarah dirks photo editor jojo silverman photographer lindsay best photographer elizabeth lin ad designer, staff designer audrey evans staff designer laura stamnes staff designer leah murray staff designer ashton duncan staff writer ansel landini staff writer amir sabbagh staff writer juliann skarda staff writer pombie silverman staff writer katie mucci staff writer adam canady webmaster sara jane whittaker advisor

editorial policy The West Side Story reflects the views of the staff and does not represent the school administration, faculty or student body. Guest articles may be accepted to represent an additional point of view or as a part of a collection or reader contributions. The staff will carefully scrutinize all reader submissions.

All ads are subject to approval by the business staff. Those that are libelous, obscene or plainly offensive may be rejected.

The West Side Story attempts to publish all letters, which must be signed, to the Editors, but may reject submissions due to space limitations, inaccuracy or poor quality. It is the responsibility of the opinion editor to verify authorship. Editors can make minor edits for the sake of clarity, length and grammatical correctness. Staff responses to letters are not allowed.

A full copy of the Editorial Policy is available in Room 111.

COVER PHOTO OF ALAA MOHAMEDALI PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS

december

tableofcontents

03 news

CHECKLIST for financial aid

$ ART BY//BRIDGET NOVAK

Class of

20s 11

Financial aid freakout

BY AMIR SABBAGH

amir.sabbagh@wsspaper.com

Many West High seniors are feeling immense pressure to find the right college while still being pragmatic about costs.

Unapologetically high tuition and cost of attendance coupled with poor economic conditions have made the price tag on an education a key decision-making factor for college hopefuls. “[These days], I see more kids making decisions about where to attend or where not to attend solely on their ability to pay,” said West High guidance counselor Renato de Leon.

“On one hand, financial aid can make or break attending a certain college for some kids. On the other hand, some are too focused on simply getting into college and begin searching for scholarships and applying to aid much too late.”

Most students have traditionally used FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, to determine eligibility for federal aid, usually in the form of pell grants and workstudy programs. However, many find it necessary to seek out other forms of aid in the form of scholarships and grants to ameliorate ballooning tuition prices.

Scholarships, according to de Leon, are becoming increasingly competitive- sometimes as much as the colleges themselves- forcing more students to take out student loans in the tens of thousands. And with many West families already struggling financially thanks to the recession, loans and the associated debts can spell financial ruin.

Many students have to look at the entirety of their financial situation, comparing factors like demoMOLLY PARSONS ’11 graphic information, family income and whether siblings attend college to assess how much aid they are likely to receive and what college will be the best for them.

“There are five kids in my family and my older sister is hoping to go to grad school at the same time as I start undergrad, so I need college to be cheap if I want to attend. So, either I get a ton of scholarships or I go to a state school,” said Molly Parsons ’11.

“I really don’t want to get loans because then you’ll probably gradu-

ate with debt that you’d be paying off until you’re 45 instead of using the money for something else,” Parsons said.

Even top students like Parsons and Ella Brown ‘11 are putting price over prestige, looking for a compromise between college and debt.

“There are definitely certain colleges I have shied away from because they don’t offer certain scholarships [that fit my qualifications] and others that ELLA BROWN ’11 I looked at more closely because they have need-blind admission, and I think that, come April, the final decision will be based on monetary concerns,” Brown said.

Despite all this, the outlook for present and future college students alike is not all gloom-and-doom.

Congress recently passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which will decrease the cost of attending college for many, and looks to further reform financial aid in the future.

Winter is here! Check out these facts about snow!

GET A FAFSA PIN NUMBER Sign up well in advance for it will take several days to receive it. You need this number to sign your FAFSA forms.

GET ACCUSTOMED TO THE TERMINOLOGY AND FIND OUT NECESSARY INFORMATION BEFORE YOU COMPLETE THE FAFSA FORM Look at a blank form beforehand and find out everything you need ahead of time.

FILL OUR THE CORRECT FORMS Many schools have independent forms for financial aid.

Make sure you have the correct ones. You may need the CSS Profile (Iowa does not fall under CSS Profile availability, however if you are planning on attending out of state check the Participating Programs List). Ask the schools you apply to for their aid options.

TURN IN YOUR FINANCIAL AID FORM ON TIME FAFSA form is due the June of the school year. However most state financial aid must be turned in earlier. DO NOT miss the deadline

KEEP A RECORD OF FORMS AND E-MAILS

Buy an accordion folder for all paperwork, keep it organized. compiled by ansel landini

FOR

MORE INFORMATION

go to: www.fafsa.ed.gov www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/ index.jsf

West students shine CURRENT EVENTS in job shadows 04 news

QUIZ DO YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK?

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Former House majority leader was convicted of money laundering.

A) STENY HOYER B) DICK ARMEY C) TOM DELAY D) DICK GEPHARDT A 19 year old is being accused of attempting to set off a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting in .

A) PORTLAND, OR B) NEW YORK CITY, NY C) WASHINGTON, D.C. D) SAN DIEGO, CA Broadway’s most expensive and technically elaborate musical debuted recently.

A) SPIDERMAN B) BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON C) BATMAN D) CATCH ME IF YOU CAN released more than 250,000 classified cables between the U.S. State Dept. and U.S. embassies around the world.

A) THE WHITE HOUSE B) THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT C) WIKILEAKS D) WIKIPEDIA Preliminary results from show a slight increase in sales over last year.

A) CYBER MONDAY B) BLACK FRIDAY C) SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY D) THANKSGIVING DAY called off planned military exercise that threatened to increase tensions with its neighbor after a border island was shelled, killing four people.

A) SOUTH KOREA B) NORTH KOREA C) CHINA D) JAPAN compiled by alissa rothman

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1.C, 2.A, 3.A, 4.C, 5.B, 6.A

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BY ANNA EGELAND

anna.egeland@wsspaper.com

Orthodontist or pediatrician?

Sculptor or mechanic? Wildlife biologist or talk show host? Just choosing a college is enough of a headache, let alone picking a major of even a career. But many students are getting a head-start on their futures by jobshadowing a career of their choice. “ [Job shado w s ] KRISTEN TURNQUIST ’13 g i v e [students] a quick two to six hour experience, to see what someone in the profession does on a daily basis,” said Russ Johnson, West High’s Career Center coordinator.

Johnson says that about 80% of students who do a job shadow at West High go through the Workplace Learning Center, a program which enables students to learn more about different careers and local businesses to help them make informed decisions about their futures. The Workplace Learning Center offers students the opportunity to do job shadows, internships or career days. Johnson says group job shadows offer very general information about many different careers within a field.

For students that haven’t decided which career they are interested in, Johnson suggests talking to the guidance counselors or himself and possibly taking an interest inventory test to determine the best match. For students that have already signed up for a job shadow, Johnson recommends going in with an open mind.

“Go in ready to ask tons of questions and really wanting to learn, not just get out of school,” Johnson said. “[Students should expect] to hopefully get that glimpse of a day in the life of that person and that career. Sometimes they are allowed to actively participate

while there, but other times they sit and don’t do anything – so really it depends on the person they are shadowing,” said Ben Gast, West High futures teacher.

Kristin Turnquist ’13 attended a job shadow at Weber Elementary with guidance counselor Diana Frisbee. Turnquist says she observed lessons involving leadership, worrying and friendship.

“I learned that guidance counseling might be a career that I’m interested in,” Turnquist said.

Even job shadows that don’t go well can help students make the right decision by eliminating careers that don’t fit the student. “[It’s important for students to participate in job shadows] so they don’t make the mistake of picking a career they regret in the future – for example if they think they want to be an accountant and go to college majoring in that area, then get a job in that area but quickly find out they don’t like it at all, a job shadow could stop that from happening.

I tell the students they can take a positive from even the worst shadow experience by knowing that they never want to do that in their lives,” Gast said.

“From job shadows, students should really consider internships. They are more long term -about 90 hours total- and they give students an opportunity to really be in the environment.

[Students] earn school credit and [internships] look great on both college and job applications,” Johnson said.

UPCOMING CAREER DAYS Social Work Day (Spring 2011) Legal Day (Spring 2011) Mini Police Academy Day (Spring 2011) Agricultural Science Day (March 29, 2011) Kirkwood Horticulture Day (April 28, 2011) Mental Health Career Day (Spring 2011) University of Iowa Engineering Day (Spring 2011)

No two snowflakes are exactly alike, but they all have six sides.

WHAT IS YOUR

DREAM

JOB?

“[MY DREAM JOB IS TO BE] A FISHER IN THE MALAYSIAN ISLANDS.” - ERIC STUART ’12

“MY DREAM JOB IS A MODEL BECAUSE THEIR FACES ARE EVERYWHERE.” - JAMESE ALEXANDER ’14

“MY DREAM JOB IS A HORSE-RANCH-OWNING TATTOO ARTIST BECAUSE I LOVE TO WORK WITH HORSES AND ART AND TATTOO PEOPLE.” - ERIN MEANS ’12 compiled by ashton duncan

What in the WORLD? RUMOR

05 news

Akron, OH

Two men robbing a waffle shop ushered customers and employees into the back and had them give up their cell phones, with the plan to lock the phones in a supply room. However, one robber walked out the restaurant’s front door, which automatically locked behind him, and when the other robber walked into the supply room to drop off the bag, an alert hostage locked him inside.

Hong Kong

Starting January 2011, couples in love will be able to tie the knot at any McDonald’s branch in Hong Kong. The upcoming McWeddings will include a personalized menu, decorations, McDonald’s-themed gifts, a special apple-pie wedding cake, and a lone fry in place of the traditional cherry a couple shares prior to kissing. More importantly, you get a bunch of free Happy Meal toys with it.

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky Harvey Westmoreland of Lawrenceburg was forced to eat his own beard after an argument about a lawn mower got out of control. Westmoreland said two former friends got angry as they tried to negotiate a price for a lawn mower they wanted to buy from Westmoreland. He said “one thing led to another, and before I knew it, there were knives and guns and everything just went haywire.” The two men pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident and will be sentenced next week.

New Zealand An escaped emu chased kids down street in Ocean Bay, New Zealand. The Australian native animal escaped from a farm in the Marlborough Sounds at the north of the South Island on Saturday, running down the street at up to 30 km/h. By the time the officer arrived, the bird had run about seven kilometers, chasing a group of children along the way.

ART BY//BRIDGET NOVAK COMPILED BY//ALISSA ROTHMAN

Setting the Standard

Jeffrey Ding ’12 scores a 36 on ACT

BY DAVID HUANG

david.huang@wsspaper.com

It’s that time of year again.

Jeffrey Ding ’12 received a perfect score on the ACT this October on just his second crack at the achievement test. “[It was] really exciting,” he said.

“Then I was confused about whether I needed to get [a 36 on all four tests] to get a perfect. Then I was relieved I didn’t have to take it anymore.”

However, Ding’s success didn’t just fall into his lap.

“I went through a lot of prep books like the Princeton one and then I took a lot of practice tests,” he said. “I think the difference between someone who gets a 36 and someone with a 34 or 35 is just studying the test itself.”

To him, the test was much less a measure of overall academic achievement than a measure of quality in preparation. And no one was shocked

that Ding’s quality of preparation was high.

“I don’t find it surprising that ...

Jeffrey scored so well on the ACT,” said classmate Alex Klopp ’12. “He is extremely dedicated and devoted to strive for the best.”

And Klopp also agreed with Ding’s entiment JEFFREY DING ’12 sabout what standardized tests truly measured.

“I think that while students can in their own right be smart without scoring high, … good scores show determination and [a] willingness to study, which is a quality I think col-

leges are looking for.”

The ACT originated in Iowa as a competitor to the College Board’s SAT achievement test and is comprised of four academic subjects: English, mathematics, science and reading, along with an optional writing section. And the desirable 36 is no easy feat. According to the ACT, only 0.1% of all students who’ve taken the test earn a perfect score and the average score across the country is 21.

Meanwhile, Ding’s 36 represents not only an individual accomplishment, but also serves as a microcosm of West High’s academic accomplishments in general.

“I think it’s outstanding when a student excels like that academically.

It’s truly a positive reflection on our school, and especially our teachers,” said Principal Jerry Arganbright.

The largest recorded snowflake measured 15 inches in diameter.

BUSTER

LANGUAGE TRIPS CUT SHORT?

Though this years trips will still be fifteen days long, Carmen Gwenigale, the head of the language department at West, confirmed that they are looking at ways to cut some days off the trip.

“Right now, students who go on the language trips are out of school for six days and we are trying to limit the days they are out of school,” Gwenigale said.

Committees have been put together to find ways to cut down the trips. The cuts are districtwide and apply to all trips including those offered by the music and science departments.

CONFIRMED

HOME SOCCER FIELD? “It is true, we are in the behindthe-scenes fundraising phase for a new soccer field to be built on campus,” said West High girls’ soccer coach Dave Rosenthal.

The proposed field would be between the baseball diamond and the football field.

“The goal is to raise $250,000.

Right now we are in the quiet phase of fundraising. We will have a much more public campaign later on, which is when people can start to donate,” Rosenthal said.

The new Go for the Goal committee began meeting Dec. 6 to organize the fundraising process.

“This is my sixteenth year coaching here. We have made two other attempts for a field on campus. This is the only one that has gotten to the committee phase, and I dream about it everyday,” Rosenthal said.

“The new field will bring more time for unity, more time for community, the atmosphere will be incredible and we hope support will improve.

There will be an increased amount of pride in who we are and what our programs represent,” Rosenthal said.

CONFIRMED

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the past, present and future of affordable housing

COMPILED BY ANNA EGELAND & ASHTON DUNCAN

BY JULIANN SKARDA & MADHU SRIKANTHA

juliann.skarda@wsspaper.com & madhu.srikantha@wsspaper.com

What is Affordable

housing?

Teachers always tell us that there’s no such thing as a dumb question. But according to Tracy Hightshoe, associate community planner with the housing and community development division, the phrase “affordable housing” is not entirely self-explanatory.

“Affordable housing is a vague term.

In its most simplistic terms, it means housing in which the occupant pays less than 30% of their gross income for housing costs, including utilities. A lot of the programs that we deal with also further define what affordable housing is,” Hightshoe said.

According to Hightshoe, there are many myths surrounding affordable housing and, most often, the misperception is about who actually needs it. Hightshoe said that the list includes food prep workers, bus drivers, auto technicians, construction workers, retail salespeople, etc. The commission is also a large benefactor to the elderly, who comprise a significant portion of affordable housing tenants.

But Hightshoe’s division is limited – they can only assist the Iowa City area.

“We can’t administer [affordable housing] in Coralville or North Liberty because our funds are limited to our corporate limits. Coralville and North

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Liberty can apply through the state for affordable housing programs, it’s just whether they do,” Hightshoe said.

Because Iowa City is an entitlement city, they do not need to compete for their funds. On the other hand, Coralville and North Liberty do. According to Hightshoe, the process is a learning curve that needs to be overcome in order for efficient and effective affordable housing projects in the future.

Past and Current

projects

The term “affordable housing” usually doesn’t sit well with future neighbors of said complexes. But according to Maryann Dennis, the executive director of the Housing Fellowship, a community based housing organization that operates across Johnson County, the complaints usually don’t live past the construction of the homes.

“Our goal is that [the houses we build] don’t stand out against the neighborhood,” Dennis said.

And they don’t. Longfellow Manor is a prime example of an affordable housing project that achieved that goal.

“A developer came in and wanted to do 20 units of affordable rental [in the area] and the neighborhood basically said it would lower their property values, crime will increase and transpor-

The Housing Authority in Iowa City is required to serve 75% of their assistance to those who fall at the Johnson County extremely low income limit. Only 25% of admissions can come from the very low income sector. Some of those who qualify for free or reduced lunches could also be eligible for housing assistance. As of 2010 West High has:

383students

who participate in the free/reduced lunch program (with 1847 students, free lunch students hold 325 spots, whereas reduced lunch holds 58)

A million billion kilograms of snow fall on the world each year.

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COMPILED BY AMIR SABBAGH

COMPILED BY AMIR SABBAGH & ASHTON DUNCAN

Peninsula Neighborhood

A planned neighborhood of approximately 300 units, the Peninsula Neighborhood will be located on 35 acres across the Iowa River from City Park. Developers Dover, Kohl and Partners of Miami, Florida plan to maintain the 160 acre ravines and lowlands around the neighborhood for educational purposes and as an ecological preserve.

Pheasant Ridge Apartments

The Pheasant Ridge Apartment Complex offers affordable housing for the elderly, disabled, and those struggling financially. Its location next to Finkbine golf course and various U of I recreation facilities makes this an appealing choice for those looking to save and see some green.

River City Housing Collective

This independent non-profit corporation, founded in 1977 by several University of Iowa Student Senators, provides affordable, quality housing well below the average Iowa City market cost. RCHC functions as a co-operative, in which members must contribute a minimum of 16 hours of work per week, be it cleaning, cooking, or renovation.

tation issues will arise. [There were] a lot of complaints. The developer that was going to build them pulled out,” Hightshoe said.

Then, according to Dennis, the Housing Fellowship stepped in to work with the neighborhood.

“I did end up thinking that [discussion with the neighborhood] was a good way to plan the project. Once the issues were hammered out, everything was better,” Dennis said.

The final project included 14 units of rental housing and six units of owneroccupied housing. And when the project was complete, the complaints entirely stopped.

“I think that design had a lot to do with it. Because when [neighbors] see something that looks good, that’s designed well with storage, [they are less concerned.] Storage is a huge concern.

You know you don’t design affordable housing where people can’t store things. If people can’t store things in a garage or basement, then bikes, children’s toys, everything gets strewn across the yard and people complain about it,” Hightshoe said.

There are similar concerns with Aniston Village, an affordable housing project in three sites that includes 22 units of rental housing that is due to be done

by Dec. 31.

Both Dennis and Hightshoe predict that the resistance to Aniston Village will stop once the project has been completed.

The average snowflake weighs one millionth of a gram.

Plans for the Future

When it comes to constructing new affordable housing, the what and the why have already been decided. What Iowa City cannot seem to agree on is where.

“There have been some protests, but it’s already been approved so it’s going to be built,” said city council member Connie Champion.

Finding a spot to build has been tricky because of a long list of don’ts that the city council must avoid. The new development must not only be a certain distance away from other affordable housing units to avoid a predicted rise in crime, but it must also be in a place that would allow the city to evenly distribute different economic classes throughout the different schools.

There is also the issue of housing families that do not have school-aged children, but work in Iowa City. According to Champion, the City Council has done studies in recent years that have shown that the extra housing is necessary. This is because of a growing group of people that work in the city, but do not earn enough income to be financially independent. Even with the problem exposed, the decision to act is still controversial.

“What we need to consider [is]: do we want people who work here to live here?” Champion said.

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08 profiles

Uplifting West High

Ibrik always willing to share a smile

BY OLIVIA LOFGREN

olivia.lofgren@wsspaper.com

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN Before class starts Ibric discusses a volleyball game with (from left) Lexi Potter, Olivia Fairfield, and Alli O’Deen.

Adam Ibrik ‘12 smiles from ear to ear as he walks through the halls of West High in hopes of making each student’s day more enjoyable. His enthusiastic attitude lasts beyond the bell, motivating West High’s football team all season.

Ibrik keeps an upbeat outlook on life and a positive attitude through football and school despite being diagnosed with autism as a child.

Ibrik was one of four football managers to help with the team this year, taking on tasks at practices like setting up for drills, getting water for players and retrieving cones. Every Thursday, he took to the field and attempted a field goal, and if he made it, the football team wouldn’t have to run.

“I made my field goal every Thursday before games so the team never had to run extra,” Ibrik said.

“I love watching football and volley-

ball here at West [the most],” Ibrik said.

“They are so good and interesting to watch.”

Another one of Ibrik’s favorite parts of West is hanging out with his friends in the morning before class starts. He is friendly to everyone, according to Mandy Sauser, who is delighted to work with Ibrik everyday.

“He brings so much to West. He is proud of everyone who is a part of West, and his excitement for life is contagious,” she said.

Not only does Ibrik bring a good attitude to the student body and the athletic department, he also works at Wendy’s where he cleans tables and floors and helps with miscellaneous tasks.

“I like meeting new people and working with fun people,” Ibrik said.

Ibrik’s positive attitude and love for West are what make him so fun to be around. His smile is truly contagious, and he is always willing to share his smile.

Youth mentoring program New staff member coordinates academic mentors

BY JULIANN SKARDA

juliann.skarda@wsspaper.com

At times, everyone could use someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on or maybe just a friend. Megan Recker can help you find one.

Though she works at the UAY or United Action for Youth of Iowa City, Recker comes to West to help coordinate AMP, or the Academic Mentoring Program.

What is AMP? Recker explains that it’s a program that pairs students who could benefit from a positive adult influence with community members.

In order to become a mentor, a person must be screened through Big Brothers Big sisters, another youth mentoring program, and participate in various mentor training. Once matched up, students and mentors must spend a minimum of one hour per week together. Though some-

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times mentors provide academic help, the program is not limited to school activities. Students and mentors often play games, share hobbies or just chat.

Once mentors have been found, it’s Recker’s job to match up the adults with the students. Mentors must be split among West High, City High, Southeast Junior High and Northwest Junior High.

A waiting list of students stands as a testament to the popularity of the program.

“If a volunteer can help a child through a rough patch like junior high or even just a hard class, it can have a huge impact,” said Jill Kromminga, program director of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Though new to this position, Recker has always had an interest in working with teens. “I want to be a support not only to students in AMP, but also to other kids, families, and teachers.” Recker said.

PHOTO BY//LIDNSAY BEST Megan Recker of the Academic Mentoring Pregram helps Victor Torres ‘13 with homework and class work.

One cubic foot of snow contains about one billion individual snow crystals.

09 profiles PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION FROM//DIEGO LASANSKY

PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION FROM//JOHN KADING

A portrait of an artist

BY EMILY KREITER

emily.kreiter@wsspaper.com

People are a lot of things. Too quiet.

Stressed out. Loud laughers. Hand gesturers. But to John Kading ’11, people are art.

Kading has hit the ground running into the art scene and has already come out ahead. His art was displayed in the West High Library next to that of Diego Lasansky ’13, and received rave reviews.

Those who visited his show know that Kading is primarily a portrait artist.

“I've always found the human figure to be the most interesting form of art.

There is something really captivating about bodies and the emotion they evoke. I think of my art as eccentric, a little off. I don't try and have an underlying message, or some ulterior motive behind my work,” Kading said.

“Usually I just try and make it look as profound as possible. I don't usually try and achieve photorealism, instead I try to improve and put a twist on the original.”

Kading said that he draws his inspiration from artists like Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso.

“I find very grandiose and dramatic

pieces the most enticing. I'm drawn towards artists that are trailblazers, or that have built-on or outdone their predecessors,” he said.

Kading attributes much of his interest in art to his parents, “[My dad] has always drawn and been interested in art, giving me an appreciation for artists and their work. Tomas Lasansky has been very instrumental in my development as an artist. I studied with him off and on this summer, and during that period I gained a wealth of knowledge and understanding about art and art world,” Kading said.

“I have some pictures around the house that I drew and painted and we, as parents, always showed interest in the creative process,” said Kading’s father, Dick Kading. “I do some drawing, and have some older paintings I have done.”

Kading plans to pursue an art career, and will be attending the University of Iowa’s art program next year.

“We look forward to John expanding his interests in art and design, and discovering more things that interest and inspire him … I think this is a great [chance to] open the door to many different possibilities,” Dick said.

Inheriting innovation

BY POMBIE SILVERMAN

For most

pombie.silverman@wsspaper.com teenagers,

the thought of spending hours inside a room alone is dreadful. But for Diego Lasansky ’13, it’s an ideal setting. Diego has been drawing for the past two years, and had his paintings featured recently at the art show in the West High Library.

“I only started drawing seriously very recently, but I love it. I only draw people because I find them the most fascinating things to draw. My whole family is made up of artists, so I felt like I might as well carry on the tradition,” Diego said.

The Lasansky family is made up of many professional artists, such as his drawing teachers, his uncle Tomas and his aunt Charlie Lasansky. The family tradition started with his grandfather, Mauricio Lasansky, who is famous for his work The Nazi Drawings.

“I really like the style [Mauricio Lasansky] uses to draw. His artwork is his own interpretation of the world; it’s how he sees real life. He is a professional artist and pretty famous. I hope to be as good as him someday,” Diego said.

Diego currently has two paintings displayed downtown in the Java House. In fact, all of the artwork in the downtown Java House was made by a Lasansky, mostly his aunt’s and uncle’s artwork. In addition, some of his grandfather’s artwork is displayed in the West High

Main Offices.

To create these displayed drawings, Diego usually uses pencil, colored pencil or ink wash.

“I use pencil because it’s very simple but still can make lots of different marks.

Colored pencil gives it color and ink wash entertains the eye a lot,” Diego said.

Besides drawing, Diego enjoys printmaking and intaglio, which is a series of printmaking techniques where an image is scraped or engraved onto a (usually) copper plate.

Interpretations of his favorite artists are the sources of inspiration for most of Diego’s artwork. Diego’s favorite artists include Hans Holbein, Ingres, Leonardo da Iowa and Jiri Anderle because of the technique they use and their unique styles “I could sit down and draw for numerous hours and not be bored. When I draw every night, it doesn't matter if I am drawing for 30 minFOR utes or four hours.

Every night I just MORE PHOTOS want to keep doing it go to over and over again,” Diego said.

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN The largest piece of ice to fall to earth was a 20 foot long block that hit Scotland in 1849.

WSSPAPER.COM 09

10 feature

s. I e i r a i d e t i uld wr o h ture s c i e l p p a o s y a “Pe eryone s v e t a h but I t , s d r o know w sand u o h t a h t I think . t a is wor h t e v ble y belie a l l a e r e a r t u ’ o n y do diary a g n i d self a d e l r o y r b u t o a y h t e with r o m t c e like.” e to conn r e w u o hat y and see w

M

, w a l l u h S argaret teacher English

ROLYN WALLI NG

ON FROM// CA

WITH PERMIS SI

“I find my diary kind of ironic. When I was little, I said that I didn’t want to be a face doctor, but my husband happens to be a dermatologist.”

Carolyn Walling,

science teacher

USE M//CYNDY WOODHO WITH PERMISSION FRO

11 feature

“Just goes to show... how wrong about movies you can be.”

Cyndy Woodhouse, English teacher

DIG THIS?

CHECK OUT OUR SITE:

WSSPAPER.COM

FOR VIDEOS AND MORE DIARY ENTRIES

compiled by pombie silverman and garrett anstreicher

11

12 feature LEFT: Participants in the Girls on the Run 5K run get their hair decorted with colored hair spray by volunteers Sam Ryken ’13 and Quinn Terrill ’13.

BELOW: Student Senate members Kaisen Yao ’12 and Lillian Zhu ’14 package donated medical supplies at the FAMSCO volunteer event. “We packaged medical supplies to be sent to poor countries in Central America,” Yao said.

PHOTO BY//LINDSAY BEST

’Tis the season

to volunteer

BY POMBIE SILVERMAN

With the holidays rolling around, the spirit of helping others is in the air. West High students have squeezed time in their busy schedules to work for events such as Girls on the Run and FAMSCO. Despite the cold weather, it was the good cause that kept these volunteers going. pombie.silverman@wsspaper.com

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN

PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS LEFT: Before elementary runners head down to the trail, Katherine Yang ’11 helps them pick out hair accessories on Nov. 13 at Girls on the Run. The 5K run marked the culmination of the Girls on the Run program, which matches young girls with mentors who teach them about healthy lifestyles.

ABOVE: Cans sit in the back of American studies teacher Neil Davis’ room during West’s annual canned food drive. Every year, Davis has a competition between his classes to see who brings in the most cans.

After the first two weeks, his classes had collected 572 cans.

PHOTO BY//LINDSAY BEST A single snowstorm can drop 40 million tons of snow, carrying the amount of energy contained in 120 atom bombs.

12

Important Dates tuesday

DEC. 21

Last day to order a yearbook without $5 late fee.

wednesday

JAN. 12 Second trimester midterm. monday

JAN. 17 No Classes tuesday

JAN. 18 Last day to turn in a senior picture without a late fee. friday

JAN. 28 Last day to turn in a senior picture with a late fee.

wsspaper.com

visit

updated daily

WHY DO

14 feature

UNITED ACTION FOR YOUTH

BY POMBIE SILVERMAN

pombie.silverman@wsspaper.com

Recently celebrating their 40th anniversary, the United Action for Youth Center is stronger than ever.

Today, UAY offers an incredible array of stimulating programs to over 2,600 people annually, serving both young people and parents. The UAY serves everyone from infants to adults, and has one specific message in mind: “Our philosophy at UAY is ‘Unconditional Positive Regard.’ We focus on people’s strengths, and try to see the best in each person and each situation,” said staff memeber Erin Shaw. “For teens, we have have art, dance, drama, writing, music and recording, counseling, academic mentoring, a teen parent program, a transitional living program and hangout. Anyone who comes to UAY will tell you that the people here are laid back and really nice. I love working with both my colleagues and all the kids who walk in the door.”

Students who use the UAY tend to agree with Shaw.With so many activities and a relaxed atmosphere, the UAY is sure to have something for everyone.

“The UAY is different from other youth centers, because it is actually

a cool place to hang out. Most other places will try to get you to do other things, or be based on something else, like religion, but this is just pure hanging out, recording, doing art or anything you want,” said Graham Bly ’13, who uses the recording studio to record with his band Downstairs Attic.

YOU GO TO THE

UAY? PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS

Instead of doing nothing you can come down to the UAY and do a lot of art work or record music. It’s really fun.”

What is the UAY?

The United Action for Youth Center, located downtown at 355 Iowa Avenue, was originally created in 1970 in response to community concerns that area teens needed a place to connect to each other and to helping resources.

UAY offers youth development, counseling and mentoring programs that make use of young people’s talents and creativity. The UAY connects with homeless youth, teen parents and teens going through divorce by offering a wide range of programs, from counseling to the UAY’s very own recording studio.

“Everyone is always trying to help you, whether it’s to help out with dance moves or just to have fun,” said Brian Payne ’13, who uses to the UAY to practice with his dance group Flight Skool. “[The UAY] offers a lot of positive messages from anything about safe sex to living above influence.

They help people stay out of trouble.

PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS A volunteer for the UAY works on her art project at the Art Studio.

PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS Rockng to their music, Graham Bly ’13, Gil Phelps’13 and Danial Gardarsson’14 record at the UAY.

“I went to watch a rap battle. They do a lot of cool teen events.”

-Asia Cummings ’11

Art Workshops

The Art Studio provides an opportunity for small group workshops, individual instruction, and open studio time. Youth can explore a variety of media including ceramics, painting and jewelry making. Artists are encouraged to make art as well as show it in the gallery space, and can also participate in individual shows as well as group shows held frequently throughout the year.

Music Center

14

“I attend the writer’s workshops and the art workshops because I’m not taking creative writing, so they are a good creative outlet.”

-Christina Bailey-Murray ’12

One of the ways the UAY connects with youth through the arts is though music.The UAY offers free guitar, drums, bass, vocal and keyboard lessons and a free professional digital recording studio.

“It’s a really nice place, it’s not just a place for little kids who want to record themselves as the chipmunks versions of songs, It’s a real grown up studio,” Bly said.

“The UAY gives a lot of opportunities to people who want to seriously record, but don’t want to spend zillions of dollars on it. It’s really good for up and coming bands, and people who want to get their sound out to the masses.”

Particles of dust trapped in water vapor affect the shape and durability of snowflakes.

“I went to a dance contest and watched student groups like Flight Skool perform.”

-Aliyah Washington’13 compiled by juliann skarda

FOR

More information about UAY

go to WSSPAPER.COM

15 feature

r oad t o... e h t On

n a c i r e m A

Idol

Three West High students audition for the upcoming season of American Idol

BY BRENNA DEERBERG

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MOSER FAMILY

Staff Intern

Two siblings stand in different rooms, melodies Justin had been preparing for a week, and I had only bouncing against the walls around them. They share been [preparing] for about two hours,” said Megan. many characteristics, one of which is their love of Justin and Pant weren’t bitter towards Megan for her music. After hours of practicing and warming up, their success, however. Pant said their attitude towards the numbers are called and suddenly they’re singing solo. auditions was relaxed. “[We said] let’s just do this for fun,” said Pant.

Megan Moser ‘13 and Justin Moser ‘11 traveled to Megan had two hours of practice to prepare her the University of Northern selection “If You’re Out Iowa on July 24 to audition There,” by John Legend. for American Idol. Justin was Justin was called to sing planning on auditioning along his song, “With You,” by with his friend Abhi Pant ‘11, Chris Brown two hours and both boys were happy later. Originally, Justin had when Megan decided to been planning on singing audition as well just two hours “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz. before her audition took place.

“It was terrible,” said Justin.

According to Justin and “I forgot the words and just Megan’s Mother, Lisa Moser, stopped singing halfway the boys convinced Megan to through the audition. [The try out during their lunch break. judges] awkwardly said “[He said] I had nothing ‘thank you’ at the end.”

Mark Moser to lose.” Megan said.

“Justin came out of his Megan, who had only [audition] and he was traveled to the Cedar Falls location to support her brother, was the pretty disappointed. He was bummed,” said Mark. one who shined the brightest that day when If either of the Mosers had made the final cut, they she was called back for a second audition. would have advanced to the second round in Austin, “She was one of the top nine people Texas. The second round is where the television show there,” said Justin, smiling with pride. starts up. The initial auditioning process varies greatly “She didn’t think she had done fabulously, but she from what is shown on TV. The participants are put through a threefelt like she had connected with at least one or two of the judges,” said Mark Moser, her father. cuts system. The first round is judged by three “She wasn’t just singing it. She was performing.” judges. One of the preliminary judges for the “I was really surprised [that I was called back] because Mosers was a news anchor from Channel Two.

“IT WAS THE

GUTSIEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN

ANYONE IN OUR FAMILY DO.”

“They had nice positive comments,” said Mark.

If someone passes the preliminary judging, they advance to round two. The show’s producers judge this round, and cut more participants.

It was announced that Megan had made it into the second round and needed to quickly prepare a new song.

In round three, a participant finally meets the show’s judges. The third round is the only part of the audition process that is aired on TV. Even though they didn’t make it onto the show, Mark and Lisa are still very proud of their children.

“To me it seems so out there,” said Lisa.

“It seems like Hollywood. Who does that?”

“It didn’t seem out of character for Justin, who goes after everything,” Mark said. “Even before age four they were both singing and dancing in the living room. We were always playing music on weekends [...] It’s a huge part of our family.”

Lisa said they would tape these moments, and the kids “really liked re-watching their performances.”

As for American Idol? Both Mosers plan on attending next year’s tryouts as well.

“It was the gutsiest thing [I’ve] ever seen anyone in our family do,” said Mark.

American Idol Season Premiere

Wednesday January 19th 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Stampede Pass, Washington is known as America’s snow capital. Probably because it averages 430 inches of snow each year.

15

16 feature

LEFT: Wen practices after school in the North Band Room.

RIGHT: Altmaier plays his cello after school in the orchestra room.

No Strings Attached The keys to success When it comes to piano, John Wen’s a winner. West High’s mellowest cello fellow, Andrew

BY ADAM CANADY

adam.canady@wsspaper.com

“It’s better to work hard and not be talented than to be talented and not motivated to work. I think most … success comes from patience and hard work.”

Words from the wise. John Wen ’12 lives by his saying, and it pays off.

Wen started playing piano at the age of five when his parents decided it would be a good idea in order to “keep him quiet.” He has continued ever since and practices for an hour a day to refine his skills.

Those skills have led him to success in many endeavours such as winning first place in the National Chopin Youth Piano Competition, Seattle International Piano Competition, Missouri Western Regional Competition and twice at the MTNA State competition.

“My greatest accomplishment in piano playing is studying with Ann Schein at the Aspen Music Festival and School,” Wen said.

Ann Schein is one of his inspirations and working with her led him to play more diligently.

Meanwhile, Wen has earned more than awards. He has also gained the respect of fellow pianists.

“He’s one of the best pre-collegiate pianists I’ve ever met, and he has a very bright future in music ahead of him,” said Kaisen Yao ’12, a pianist who has appreciated Wen’s musical capabilities through competition and causal piano

16

duets with Wen. Wen plans on studying music in college with a double major in piano performance and biology. With these qualifications, Wen plans on becoming a doctor and a researcher while maintaining his passion for composers such as Prokofiev and Samuel Barber, whose music he describes as “raw and powerful.”

His motivation to continue playing is deeply rooted in his childhood experiences, such as long car rides with his parents. They played classical music which created a calming effect andmade Wen “stop screaming and startconducting.”

He started competing at age seven, but didn’t get serious until recently.

Most of his ability and technique have already been honed, but Wen keeps practicing in order to learn new songs and sustain his abilities for certain competitions. He also works toward building his mental “library” of pieces and playing more efficiently in order to conserve energy and play longer programs.

Among John’s favorite pieces are Beethoven’s “Appassionata,” which he describes as a “mature piece what teaches a lot about musicality.” Every time he reads through it, he learns something new.

Playing piano means a lot to Wen. It has taught him to be patient and serves as an outlet for expressing emotions.

ALL PHOTOS BY//JOJO SILVERMAN

Altmaier ’12, says “Hello” to success. named a member of the All-State Music

BY ALISSA ROTHMAN

Festival orchestra for his third year in a Bruce comes to West everyday. He’s row, a feat he is very excited about.

“The last two years at All-State have pretty quiet, except during his favorite class: orchestra. Bruce is Andrew Alt- been incredible. I hadn’t gotten that in-depth in orchestra music before,” maier ’12’s cello.

“I picked the name Bruce because my Altmaier said. “Even though we spend mom thought I should pick something over six hours in a day on a few pieces, that sounded musical,”Altmaier said it’s still not boring.”

His talent has been noted by his peers with a smile.

Altmaier began playing cello at the and superiors as well. West High orchestra teacher Wayne Thelander deage of four.

“My older brother Albert played cello scribed Altmaier as a wonderful student. and I he“I LIKE THE CELLO BECAUSE IT HAS A VERY “He is very r o - wo r gifted technishipped cally and has him, so great musiI had to cianship,” Thedo evlander said. erything “He has been he did,” named first Altmaier ANDREW ALTMAIER ’12 chair cello for said. “I his second year like the cello because it has a very wide range in a row, that doesn’t usually happen for and is powerful enough to make the cellos.”

And while other cellists may be as acroom shake if you want it to.”

And now, over a decade later, Alt- complished, Altmaier has a unique, hidmaier’s skill has become apparent, and den talent: he has perfect pitch.

“If I hear a note I can tell you what last February he was featured on NPR’s note it is,” Altmaier said.

From the Top. Altmaier hopes to continue play“My friend Jeremiah Siochi had composed a piece for the harp and cello for ing the cello in college and to one day his sister and [asked] me to play and it master the Kodály Sonata, which is one was selected to appear in the show,” of the most difficult pieces ever composed for cello.

Altmaier said.

Additionally, Altmaier was recently alissa.rothman@wsspaper.com

]SHAKE.”] WIDE RANGE AND IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO MAKE THE ROOM

Skiers describe snow using terms like “champagne powder,” “corduroy” and “mashed potatoes.”

T NOVA K BRIDGE ART BY//

The hijab is a headscarf worn by Muslim women. It has been folded by interpretation and dyed with controversy. It is required in Saudi Arabia, outlawed in French schools and worn voluntarily by many women across America and in the halls of West High. But fundamentally, it is fabric.

Fundamentally, it is a headscarf worn

by Muslim women.

There is controversy among Muslims, scholars and legislators over whether the Quran, Islam’s holy book, explicitly requires the hijab. According to Marah Sharairi ’11, a practicing Muslim, Islam specifically calls for a woman to show modesty by covering everything but her hands and face and wearing loose clothing “that doesn’t show off every curve.”

Wearing the hijab is part of compliance.

But Bederelddin Ahmed, a follower of progressive Republican Islam and father of M athany

FOR MORE INTERVIEWS GO TO: WSSPAPER. COM/HIJAB/

t d in h h e e ve b

Ahmed ’11 and two other daughters, argues against the hijab in his article “In the Name of Allah the Merciful” (published on Facebook on Oct. 27). He asserts that hijabs have historically been part of a system used to keep women in their homes and unable to participate in public life, and are not necessary for modern Muslims.

Getting rid of the hijab, he said, would be a part of Islam’s natural progression along with contemporary society, while still remaining true to the religion’s core values because “chastity is better maintained by true belief and honest application of Islamic values rather than by imposing a strict dress code which was intended for the seventh century.”

“Maybe ‘oppresses’ is not exactly the right word here, but it certainly limits the freedom and movement of Muslim women, and focuses more on how they should dress to unnecessarily cover themselves completely. ... It is bad because it is too restrictive and it focuses more on covering a woman from the outside, while the focus should be on the virtues inside,” he said.

For Sharairi, the two go hand in hand. She says that forcing Muslim women to wear the hijab is unproductive if they are not convinced of the underlying values, but for her, it is a reminder of these values and a way to become closer to God. “You need to be a better person when you wear it. Not for everyone, but for me. It’s automatic.

When I put it on, I act like I wear it,” she said.

Sharairi began wearing the hijab last July during a three-month visit to her native country Jordan.

She felt immediately comfortable in the hijab, and while the change came as a surprise to many, her true friends have gotten used to it.

“I’ve always been from a different country. People say, ‘Oh, you’re so different,’ but I’m still me, I’m just covered,” she said.

Sharairi and Mariam Elhattab ’11, who began wearing the hijab at age 11, both personally identified with the hijab’s ability to move the focus from a woman’s sexualized appearance to her mind and heart, which beauty can never replace and fabric can never hide.

“When I wore it for the first time I felt so insecure, but not once did I ever think to take it off. [I thought,] I have

to do this for myself. I have to do this for God. … [Now the hijab] is definitely part of me. I can’t really remember how I was before [I started wearing it]. . . . Instead of looking elsewhere [people] look at my face when they talk to me. People judge me for my personality instead of what I look like. They think,‘Oh, that woman has a great mind. Oh, that woman is really articulate.’ You get talked to for you. You get looked at differently, but not in a bad way,” Elhattab said.

Both girls were quick to emphasize that the hijab is a matter of personal choice, not to be societally imposed. And Ahmed Ahamad ’12, a Muslim student, agreed, saying that, like the women in his family, it’s possible to be religious without wearing the hijab.

To Ahamad, the differences in dress requirements for men and women aren’t double standards as much as reflections of a more conservative culture and the way males and females interact. “[Islam] doesn’t oppress women, it is just more cautious of women,” Ahamad said.

Although Lena Ibram ’12 experimented with wearing the hijab for a month during Ramadan (an Islamic holiday) in seventh grade, she currently continues to practice Islam without wearing the hijab. According to Ibram, who may begin wearing a headscarf next year, deciding to put on the hijab is a decision that can’t be forced or rushed.

“I see those little five or six year old girls wearing [the hijab] and I get so sad. They should have fun and have a childhood. Clearly they aren’t ready. They get questioned a lot about why they wear it when they’re kids and they don’t know. Your parents shouldn’t make you. They should encourage it, but not force it. … [You know you’re ready] when you know more about why you wear it rather than what your parents say,” Ibram said.

Ibram still prays five times a day as directed by the Quran and considers herself and her family to be very religious, a designation she said isn’t compromised just because she doesn’t choose to wear the headscarf. Although this outlook is supported by her parents, Ibram has been pressured to begin wearing the headscarf by others in her religious community.

“People tell me, ‘You should wear it, you’re older now.’ I’m like, ‘Wait. You’re not my mom. Don’t bother me. I’ll wear it when I’m ready,’” she said.

Ibram, Sharairi, Elhattab and Ahamad all agree that laws both requiring and forbidding the hijab are unjust, since it all comes back to personal choice.

“I think Saudi Arabia [where women are legally required to wear hijabs in public] is a really

il

poor example of Islam. I don’t blame people for thinking Islam is oppressive, but they are extremists,” Sharairi said.

But if requiring the hijab is oppressive, banning it is ultimately oppression as well, according to Elhattab. Currently, Turkey and France have laws banning hijabs in schools in pursuit of secularism, and similar laws are being considered in other European countries.

“I feel like that’s so unnecessary. Why ban a woman from wearing something that doesn’t affect anyone else? That in itself is oppression. That is oppression rather than [wearing the hijab],” Elhattab said.

Elhattab, Ibram, Sharairi and Ahamad each said they had experienced some anti-Muslim bias, but education about Islam’s true values can help.

“I appreciate the people who do have questions. ...

Don’t watch the media. We all know the media is a whole bunch of crap. If it sounds illogical, it is illogical. Literally the word Islam means peace. If a religion itself is called peace, how could it advance hatred?” Elhattab said.

In Ahmed’s article, he advances a different kind of education: teaching Muslim men and women about Islamic values that are not dependent on a dress code.

“Having established the proper education, we will realize that focusing on [modesty] is in the heart, not the dress displayed or the doors blocked,” he said.

Perhaps hijabs are an anachronism.

Perhaps they are an individual’s answer to an increasingly sexualized society. But definitely, they are headscarves worn

by Muslim women.

BY ELEANOR MARSHALL

eleanor.marshall@wsspaper.com

20 A & E

Show choirs swing into competition season

BY AMIR SABBAGH

amir.sabbagh@wsspaper.com

After almost four months of practice, both “Good Time Company” and “Showtime,” for the first time this year, will be performing their entire finished shows to an audience during the annual Winter Swing Show. This show kicks off the rest of the competition season, during which West High’s teams perform across Iowa and the Midwest.

The show will take place this Saturday, Dec. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the main auditorium, following an Italian dinner starting at 5 p.m. catered by Mondos.

Although both groups performed in the Works in Progress concert earlier this year, this will be the first “actual” show of the year and “Good Time Company” member Kevin Lam ’11 says both groups are excited to show off the finished product.

“It’ll be a good opportunity for us to perform for family and friends and get feedback ,” Lam said. “We’ve been fairly strong from start to end this year, so I think we’ve been able to really practice routines without being bogged down.”

Good Time director Ryan Person agreed, citing strong commitment and hard work on part of the

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN

“Good Time Company” members Mary Hausler ‘12 and Megan Klatt ‘12 pratice a move for their upcoming Winter Swing Show performance.

COMPLETE THE

LYRICS with Matt Harding

COMPILED BY KATIE MUCCI

20

students for the program’s continued success.

“The kids really devote a lot of their time to making their performances stand out, and I think that audience members will take note of that,” Person said.

This quality didn’t come easy, however. Many members of both groups also participated in the musical Guys and Dolls, among other activities, which, not surprisingly, made it stressful at times to get through practices.

“A lot of us are busy with other activities and full schedules. [Guys and Dolls] was very time consuming as it was, so adding on rehearsals every week for the swing show sometimes made it exhausting,” said Show Time member Nick Wagner ’13, who also participated in Guys and Dolls.

Several new changes have been made this year as well, including the purchase of several new platforms to be used during performances and the hiring of new “Showtime” choreographer Kevin Chase.

Chase is from Minneapolis and has choreographed show choirs and musical across the country.

As with every year, in addition to show choir, there will be a special acts portion, for which any student may audition for. Typically these are solo or duet performances with an accompanist.

“Usually students sing or play an instrument. The audition process for special acts is competitive, and every year they are phenomenal.

Auditions are open to anyone, so it’s cool to see new people perform,” Lam said.

WSS: Tonight we’re going hard, just like the world is ours. You know we’re ______, we are who we are.

HARDING: tautological.

WSS: Do you ever feel like a ________, drifting through the wind wanting to start again?

HARDING: bowling ball pendulum.

WSS: You’re the one thing I can’t get enough of, so I’ll tell you something. This could be

love because _______.

HARDING: it’s not a Panchero’s burrito, WSS: Tell me what you want to hear, something that were lke those years, I’m sick of all the insincere, so I’m gonna give all my ______ away.

HARDING: sarcasm.

WSS: Oh oh what are you waitin’ for? Say goodbye to ______ HARDING: Grandma, Charlie

THE MONTHLY CD REVIEW

by pombie silverman

Kanye West

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy You may love him, you may hate him, but one thing’s for certain: Kanye West can make music, and he knows how to make it good. West’s latest LP, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is a complex 70-minute masterpiece that gives listeners a peek into his twisted mind full of sex, romance and reasons for being a douche lord.

Key tracks include “All the Lights,” collaborating with a whopping eleven artists, featuring everyone from Rihanna to La Roux’s Elly Jackson and even Elton John. West’s lyrics are clever and carefully pieced together (he is able to rhyme “sarcophagus” with “esophagus”). West confesses of his douchelordal ways in “Runaway,” and made a mystical 35-minute short film that parallels the track. “Runaway” and “Fantasy” are full of deep meanings and clever lyrics. So what if West has been an arrogant jerk in the past? On “Fantasy,” he comes back strong with great music. Congrats, Kanye. You’ve won us back.

Daft Punk Tron: Legacy

Daft Punk fans shouldn’t be too excited. The highly anticipated soundtrack leaves out the duo’s classic auto-tune and electro-funk hooks by replacing it with a 100-string orchestra and, well, a typical “soundtrack.” Nevertheless, it’s still Daft Punk, and it’s still amazing. The track “Derezzed” is clearly the best track, bringing back house beats all the way from 1996 Homework’s “Da Funk.”

Urban

Dictionary

word of the month: Gate rape The TSA airport screening procedure, which requires either a full-body scan or an “enhanced” pat down with a T.S.A. agent “My sister got gate raped at LAX last week.”

“I saw all the gate rape happening at the airport and decided to become a terrorist.”

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN It can snow in temperatures as high as the mid-40s if the temperature is still below 32°F in the clouds where the snow forms.

20

Wake up to these breakfast favorites 21 A & E

COMPILED BY DAN ROTHMAN & GARRETT ANSTREICHER

Midtown

A

Leaf Kitchen

C

Hamburg Inn

A Bluebird Diner

B

Unlike many, I love me some vegetables in my breakfast, and Midtown obliged this preference. With godly home fries and veggies cooked perfectly, the skillet I had was truly divine. In addition, the biscuits were delicious, and the pancakes were as light and fluffy as clouds floating by on a sunny day. And as if that wasn’t enough, the food we had at Midtown was among the least expensive that we consumed. The atmosphere wasn’t as timelessly charming as that of places like Hamburg Inn, but the restaurant was still a very well-maintained, pleasant and simple place with good music. With an overall good atmosphere with some of the best and cheapest food we had, Midtown is a great place to be on a Saturday morning.

Any restaurant that calls itself an Iowa City tradition is setting a high bar for itself, but the Hamburg Inn truly lives up to the name. A political hot spot, the restaurant is a favorite destination for political candidates, with tables dedicated to recurrent visitors like Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, creating a truly unique culinary experience. This more than made up for any flaws in the food, although there weren’t many. The pancakes were full of flavor and had the gritty texture traditional for great diner pancakes.

The eggs Benedict was cooked perfectly, and even though the sauce was not as flavorful as one might hope, they were still very enjoyable. While the food was not spectacular, overall, the Hamburg Inn truly is more about the experience. From the indie-pop music that fills its soundtrack to the countless photos of past politician customers that clutter its wall, the restaurant seamlessly meshes modern attitude with the tradition of the past, making it well worth a visit.

Hearing really good things about this little restaurant, I entered with high expectations, and upon seeing several empty tables an overall not many people in the shop, I happily expected some fast service.

Then I waited for several minutes for the waitress to even get us seated. Great. Considering that the Leaf Kitchen was not busy when we visited, the service was extremely slow, and despite the time it took to prepare the food and the artsy atmosphere, the meal fell short. The Leaf Kitchen tried to appear fancy with salmon on the Eggs Benedict and olives in the fruit salad, but in the end the Hollandaise sauce wasn’t that good, and the omelet was dry. Overall, the Leaf Kitchen was the one restaurant in the tour-de-breakfastplaces that could be legitimately labeled as a disappointment.

A relatively recent addition to the downtown food scene, Bluebird is consistently solid but rarely exceptional. The appearance is very average, with the only defining feature being the floor-to-ceiling window that occupies a full wall of the restaurant. While great for spying on unassuming passerbys it does little to give the diner any of the charm that all the best diners possess. Food-wise, the real standout were the pancakes, which were some of the only ones we found that were both flavorful and, at the same time, soft and fluffy. Our other dish was the breakfast croissant, a sort of sandwich consisting of eggs, sausage and cheese on (you guessed it!) a croissant. While the dish had great potential, there was a disproportionate amount of eggs in the sandwich, making some of the other flavors barely noticeable. In the end, Bluebird Diner is not necessarily a bad place to get some breakfast, but you could do better.

Ten inches of snow melt into an equivalent of one inch of rain.

PHOTOS BY//DAN ROTHMAN

21

22 A&E

1990 Toyota Camry

P.O.S. “I didn’t have shocks for a long time. So you’d bounce along down the road. There were several times where I went through an intersection and hit my head on the ceiling because of the bump.”

of the month COMPILED BY EVAN SMITH smith.evan@wsspaper.com

Madi Goodfellow ’11

“My friends named it Russ because of the rust on it.”

“The seat belt gets in your way when you try to get in so it’s really awkward and you have to step over and climb under it.”

“The glove box latch is messed up so you have to shut it six or seven times to get it to latch.”

“The front speakers don’t work.

I have to brake really fast for them to cut in and start working but they don’t last long. If I turn hard to the left I can sometimes get the left one to work too.”

Upcoming Events [a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

ART BY//BRIDGET NOVAK compiled by audrey evans

22

December & January [a] Dec. 18 – The West High School Choir Italian Dinner - The West High Choir is hosting an Italian dinner in the Cafeteria 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Following the dinner will be the [b] West High School Swing Show – Come to the West High auditorium at 7:30 p.m. to watch Show Time and Good Time and have a great time! [c] Dec. 18 – Jerry Seinfeld – Jerry Seinfeld will preform at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $59.24. [d] Dec. 18-19 – The Nutcracker Get into the holiday cheer for the 28th season of the Iowa Dance Theatre’s preformance of the nutcracker - Sat. 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. and Sun. 2 p.m. at the Civic Center in Des Moines. Tickets starting at $17.50. [e] Jan. 6 – West High School Show Choir “Dollars for Scholars”- Come to City High to watch West’s Show choirs shine. [f] Jan. 10-12 – Special Olympics State Winter Games - Cheer on West High’s Special Olympics athletes in Dubuque.

The northern region of the U.S. surrounding the Great Lakes is known as the Snowbelt.

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24 sports

New wrestlers bring experience to West

Elijah Sullivan Britt Thompson

BY KATIE MUCCI

BY CAROLINE VAN VOORHIS

While most seniors think college applications and keeping grades up is a struggle, for Elijah Sullivan’11, there are a couple more things to deal with, like moving to a new school.

“The biggest change is probablly the amount of people at West. There are twice as many kids here,” he said.

Despite the changing school, Sullivan has found his niche in wrestling. He’s been exposed to it since he was young and has plenty of experience.

“All my brothers and my dad wrestled when they were younger, so I’ve just grown up around it my whole life,” he said.

Sullivan has also brought an impressive wrestling resume to West High.

“I won a Greco national title and I got second at state last year,” he said Despite his accomplishments, his favorite thing about wrestling isn’t winning.

“The best part is that your team is like your family. If you see one wrestler, you usually see another one with him,” he said.

Britt Thompson ’11 knows exactly what he wants when it comes to wrestling: a wrestling state championship in Iowa. If this goal is achieved, Thompson will become a double state champion, once in Montana and once in Iowa.

Thompson was adopted by the Hathaway family (brothers Jack Hathaway ’12 and Garrett Hathaway ’11 both also wrestle at West) and moved to Iowa City from Broadwater County in Montana.

Thompson said the West wrestling program has much better competition within the team than his old school did. However, this additional competition doesn’t scare Thompson or prevent him from setting high standards.

He not only wants to win state, but also have an undefeated season and score a ranking in the top five in the country.

Thompson never loses sight of these goals and has been practicing with private coaches, doing preseason tournaments and lifting to prepare for the season.

According to head coach Mark Reiland, his hard work has brought him success in previous years and hopes this year will be no different.

“Britt is a very accomplished wrestler. He has been successful in the past and we expect him to have the same type of success this year.”

katie.mucci@wsspaper.com

caroline.vanvoorhis@wsspaper.com

Payton Kauzlarich Dakota Bauer

BY CAROLINE VAN VOORHIS

caroline.vanvoorhis@wsspaper.com

ALL PHOTOS BY//LINDSAY BEST

24

Wrestling since kindergarten, freshman Payton Kauzlarich is ready to take on high school competition.

Kauzlarich was on track to start freshman year at Grinnell High School, but moved to West High for wrestling, baseball and academics.

Although just a freshman, he has had plenty of experience with competitive wrestling. As a middle school athlete, Kauzlarich wrestled in some varsity practices at Grinnell High School.

He has also wrestled for the Higher Power wrestling club in Centerville, Iowa. On top of that, he made the commute to Iowa City often to practice with private coaches.

Now that he’s living in Iowa City, Kauzlarich is optimistic about the wrestling program at West.

“Wrestling is a lot more of a school tradition [here],” he said.

He is looking forward to being out of state for tournaments most of the season. However, when West does have nearby meets, Kauzlarich encourages people to come out and watch. Why? Simple: “Because we are going to dominate everybody.”

BY KATIE MUCCI

katie.mucci@wsspaper.com

Moving from high school to high school is always a challenge, and Dakota Bauer ‘12 can vouch for that.

“I went to Ballard High School, then to Denver High School because of my dad’s job, and now I’m at West,” he said.

Luckily for this accomplished wrestler, success can come from any school. Bauer won state his freshmen year, and remained nationally ranked throughout high school. Even though he almost began wrestling by accident.

“I got started because my dad and I would always wrestle around, and one day he just threw me into a tournament,” he said.

Even with an unconventional start, Bauer has done well throughout the years.

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People buy more candy, cookies and cake when a blizzard is forecasted.

TUESDAY

DEC. 21

Shooting for state

25 sports

The Women of Troy gun for their first state tournament bid ever

Q&A

MACKENZIE PIPER

THIS VARSITY BASKETBALL PLAYER RECENTLY MOVED TO IOWA CITY FROM KEOKUK What is a notable sports memory?

PHOTO BY//LINDSAY BEST The Women of Troy are off to a 5-0 start and are ranked eighth in the state. Ally Disterhoft ’12, pictured above taking a shot during practice, has lead the team in points, averaging 18 a game.

In practice last year, while the team was doing a rebounding drill I was bringing the ball down, and my elbow hit one of my good friends right in the nose. The impact was so hard it split my elbow open, and I also ended up breaking her nose and for the next few weeks she looked like an Avatar. She also had to get surgery and wear a mask during games. I felt terrible.

What are your biggest goals for

this season? state tournament. We want to make at our team, we have no ‘weak’ posiBY CAROLINE FOUND history,” said Brianna Sturtz ’12. tions.

Any girl is the go-to girl.” caroline.found@wsspaper.com I want our team to go undefeated and Being ranked eighth in pre-season Defense seems to be a secret elewin state. I definitely want to contribute as Looking in the West High gym, state rankings has the team ready to ment to the West High team as their much as I can to the team’s success. We there are banners of almost every go for the season, even if it does mean success continues, as a new and imare very focused, but are having a lot of color hanging down from the walls, carrying a big target on their backs. proved fast tempo balances out the fun along the way. ranging from red to green. But one “Being ranked eighth is good be- defense. color seems to be missing: blue. A cause it puts a target on us, and teams “If we play the way we know Do you have any pregame tradi‘blue banner’ indicates a spot in the want to beat us that much more which how,110% each game, the possibilitions? If so, what? basketball state tournament. makes us want to play even harder,” ties for us our endless! Our defense To the girls’ basketball team, it is I mix it up quite a bit, last year I would Sturtz said. is solid and unstoppable,” said Tatum not just a piece of colored material, read and listen to music. Sometimes I But not only is the team adjusting to Klein ’12. would take power naps. This year I have it’s the past six years of the team’s a young and new season with higher West High plays Xavier at home just been listening to music and [participathard work throughout their years of expectations, but a new addition to tonight, and then will go on the road ing in] team dancing before the game. playing together. Playing since fifth the team. McKenzie Piper, a 6’1” ju- Dec 21 for a game at Linn-Mar, where and sixth grade on Iowa City Thunder nior from Keokuk High School, re- they will try to keep their winning reHow did you become interested has kept the girls working hard for cently transferred to West High. She cord alive. in basketball? the next color addition to the walls of came at the right time, as West High is “We have a great chance to make West High. currently 6-0 in the regular season. history this year,” Sturtz said. “We I probably became interested in bas“Our biggest hope for the season is “Having Piper on the team is great. have all the weapons we need. The ketball because of my siblings. I always to get the blue banner and to be the wanted to emulate their actions.

She is fun to be around and she adds coaches. The players. This is our year. first girls’ basketball team in the hisanother weapon to our team,” said Iowa City West High girls basketball!” tory of West High to advance to the Ally Disterhoft ’13. “When you look Snow at the North and South Poles send heat back into space because ice crystals reflect the sun’s rays.

25

Looking to the future 26 sports

West High boy’s swimming rebuilds MEET THE SWIMMERS compiled by emily kreiter

Logan Guerra ‘14

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN Preparing for a meet, Junior Grant Linden practices his stroke after school at the Coralville Recreational Center. After losing many seniors, the boys’ swim team hopes to rebuild their team and make a showing at state.

BY EMILY KREITER

A

Years swimming: 4 Favorite event: 200 IM (individual medley) Pump-up song: “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor Favorite pre-meet food: I always eat bananas before I race Favorite team moment: The cheers before the meet starts.

emily.kreiter@wsspaper.com

fter graduating a majority of their state qualifiers last year, the boys’ swim team is using this year to rebuild and develop their skills to make it to this year’s state meet.

“Our goal is to get as many guys to the state championship as possible.

Basically, [we want to] try to break a couple records on the board. We have an outside chance in the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay. We broke them both last year, and I think we’re in a position where we could, if the guys can develop well,” said head coach Robert Miecznikowski.

The swimmers said that as long as the drive to perform well is maintained, the goal could be attainable. “[We need the] motivation to swim hard always and I think that the seniors need to continue to be good leaders to keep everybody going on the right track,” said varsity swimmer Anthony Lehnertz ’12.

26

Miecznikowski said that the swimmers that have been training in the off-season have lent the team an advantage that he didn’t expect to have. “[They] were all much better coming in than I thought they would be.

They’ve really kind of sparked the team and given us an edge,” he said.

Team captain Collin Kramer ’11 agreed, saying that their improvements could show other teams that West is has hit the ground running.

“I think we’ll surprise a lot of people. We’re not going to win state, but we’d like to score some points,” Kramer said.

The team’s strength this year has been sprints, according to Miecznikowski. Despite the loss of many state qualifiers, Miecznikowski said the strength and dedication of the old team is still there, and the team is hopeful for the future.

“I think in a couple of years we

could be incredibly awesome. We’re definitely rebuilding. We graduated a lot of really good seniors, but they were all a bunch of guys that came in just like this group, the way these freshman came in,” Miecznikowski said. “We’ve got a lot of young talented guys, and it’s going to be a lot of hard work but [I think] we got some state champion swimmers on this team if they just develop the way they can.”

DIG

THIS

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Snow falls at an average speed of 3.1 miles per hour.

Jacob Miller ‘13

Years swimming: 2 Favorite event: 50 freestyle Pump-up song: “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor Favorite pre-meet food: Spaghetti Favorite team moment: Eighth grade when I won all my races

26

One strike here, one spare there 27 sports

BY ANSEL LANDINI

we go up and then just bowl,” Chezum said.

Catching strikes and spares Slowly polishing his ball, Nick is the way to victory, and Friday Chezum ’11 concentrates on they were hitting them straight the pins, putting himself into the on, bowling eight consecutive right mindset to knock them down. strikes as a team during the Baker He steps forward, pulls his arm back, rounds. Turkey’s were very common all and the pins don’t stand a chance. It’s around, as onlooking parents and friends a strike.The West High bowling club has cheered the 12 West competitors. The team set the ball rolling toward victory after scored 255 point to take home the King Pin, a a disappointing season last year. Winning trophy shaped as a large golden pin, that is the their first game Dec.3 against City High, boot between City and West. they reclaimed the King Pin, a boot “Why take two balls when you only need one?” that hasn’t seen the West High commented Ben Weis ’11 on the eight strikes. trophy case in a long time.

“Why leave them standing?”

Coaches Mike Mellecker and The team has a long season in front of them, Kevin Roth have been working with last season looming above, they plan to hard on player form, perfecting show Iowa that this year they are ready for the steps and mind-sets that state. are necessary to knock down “Boys are really starting to come in, they every pin. bowled together with [City] and knew “(the right mindset is) what to expect,” Mellecker said. quiet, ignorant, like a The team is taking shape, and they giant bubble. It’s your will bring that form to the meets own quiet universe, to come, and have a good time we’re told to do all doing it. the thinking before “Bowling is a sport that you can play forever. It’s unlike most others,” Mellecker said.

Dirty snow melts faster than clean snow.

27 ansel.landini@wsspaper.com

PHOTO BY//LINDSAY BEST West High bowler Megan Wiechert ‘11 practices her technique during practice on Nov. 18 at Colonial lanes.

sat., dec.

18 show choir

italian dinner & swing show

dinner: 5:00 pm show: 7:30pm

MIDTERMS

WED., JAN. 17

29 radish

Report

Radish

Note: All Radish content is satirical and is not meant to be perceived as factual

The SPIN Snow Wars Commence

BY ANSEL LANDINI

ansel.landini@wsspaper.com

I

t was a snowy December day in Iowa City and all of the Iowa Troopers were out stockpiling in case enemy forces were to move in. No one, however, expected anything to happen.

“After putting together a squad armed with plenty of snow ammo, we made sure each person had enough extra clips to last a standing attack” said Oscar Snowstorm while moving a large crate full of ammo to his men.

Suddenly a siren blared through the snow bunker and all of the troops lined up to attention, grabbing ammo and loading it into their hands.What happened next was the biggest powdered sugar relatable event in history. The start of the Snow Wars.

“We were all surprised to see an enemy, especially in the flat coverless Iowa plains” said General PackArthur as he packed together more ammo. “If we’d seen it coming, we might have had a chance in the first battle.”

The enemy Snow Troopers broke through Iowan lines and collapsed the snow bunkers. Dazed troop-

ers were left laying in the cold snow, shivering, noses red. One soldier attempted to raise a white flag, but it blended into the snow, and he was hit with a snow bullet.

“The next day we were ready to get revenged for our fellow men who had to go home and sit in front of a fireplace!” rallied Dwice D. Eisenhower.

Intel from a snow spy identified the Snow Trooper’s HQ and Eisenhower started to mobilize his troops.

They dragged sleds full of ammo and loosely packed snownades. The Iowan Troops were met head on in front of the Storm HQ and immediately started the battle.

Known as the coldest battle of the Snow Wars: Stormandy caused many instances of frostbite and ice bruises. But Iowan troopers were able to take over Storm HQ and free the Prisoner of Storms.

“We were worried when they brought in their secret snowblower, but our shovel teams took it out. I always knew we’d be victorious” proclaimed PackArthor.

ZONE In response to increasingly intrusive TSA patdowns, the prank of consuming Viagra prior to entering an airport security checkpoint gains widespread popularity among males.

Wiki-leaks lets out yet another massive document dump, revealing guarded secrets regarding sketchy U.S diplomacy, political maneuvering in Congress, and the whereabouts of Carmen Sandiego.

Kim Jong-Il creates government committee to generate actions of maximum irrationality; worries that his son is not sufficiently out of his mind to take control of North Korea after his death.

compiled by garrett anstreicher

Republicans reduce government

BY GARRETT ANSTREICHER

A

garrett.anstreicher@wsspaper.com

fter winning on campaigns promising to reduce the size of government, the tea partiers that were elected into Congress have run into a few issues.

“We didn’t realize how difficult it is to reduce government size, despite what almost every economist out there told us,” said Rand Paul. “As it turns out, there’s actually NOT much government waste to cut when compared to how much the government spends on popular programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the military.”

“And, of course, we can’t possibly cut those programs,” said Tim Scott. “That’s just political suicide.

Forget about cutting government size, if it means we lose our seats, no way.”

However, the tea partiers have formulated a perfect plan to remedy the situation. Instead of tackling the

size of government through spending, they’re decreasing its size in the English language by attempting to pass a bill that will officially change the word “government” to the word “guvmit” in all dictionaries and Microsoft Word.

“It’s an ideal solution,” said Christine O’Donnell.

“Making this vital change will decrease ‘government’ by a solid 33%.The brilliant solutions of the tea party members in Congress never cease to amaze me.”

According to Paul, the movement is also a good idea, because: 1) “Guvmit” is closer to how the constituents who elected tea partiers to Congress pronounce the word, and 2) “Guvmit” is much closer to the reading level of said constituents.

“I jus’ lurve de way dat tea party members thank,” said Redde Nekke, a staunch member of the tea

party with a hearty Southern drawl. “Not only does dis make guvmit smaller, but it also helps git rid of dat ‘fancy talk’ that dem politicks people are always usin’.”

Tea Party members have already begun to create ads for their constituents for future elections, including slogans like “Rand Paul: Guvmit Decreaser” and “Sarah Palin: she’ll decrease guvmit until it’s the size her brain.”

However, not all members of Congress approve of this plan.

“This is by far the most absurdly ludicrous proposal that any politician could ever conceive,” said virtually every non-tea party member of both the House and Senate. “The sheer frivolity and short-sightedness of this plan complete glazes over the real issues facing our nation that are much more difficult to rectify.”

“Fancy talk,” responded Nekke.

29

30 opinion

A photo worth a thousand words T

he FDA recently announced new regulations on tobacco warning labels to be implemented in 2011. Thewarning labels will include large, often graphic photos illustrating the dangers of smoking. Photos being considered include a dead body laying in a morgue, a screaming child in the hospital due to second-hand smoke and a suffering cancer patient. These photos will be required on all cigarette containers and advertisements and will take up almost half of the front of a cigarette pack, replacing the subtle verbal warnings previously printed on the side.

L

ook around. One out of every five high school students smoke. Three thousand teenagers take up smoking each day. Half of them will die from tobacco use.

Critics say that using photos on warning labels will do little to dissuade most smokers, who are aware of the risks but ignore them or are unable to quit. While this is true, the photos are important to impact another group: young teens that are just beginning to smoke recreationally. It has been shown that the shock value of the photos are enough to make young people think twice before lighting up, and have decreased the smoking rates in many nations which have already adopted the photos.

Canada, Brazil, Australia and several other countries have implemented the photo warnings and

studies have shown that smokers feel negative emotions when buying cigarettes and seeing the photos, therefore triggering a decrease in smoking levels.

The new warning labels will have an impact on teenage smoking because they connect the risks with the product. No one wants to end up with lung cancer or a tracheotomy, but there is a major disconnect between the day a high school student first starts smoking and the day he or she lands in the hospital. A small written warning is easy to ignore, but the pleading eyes of a dying cancer patient are not.

Should cigarette companies be obligated to place warnings on their products?

7-4

W

e all know that smoking leads to serious health risks like lung cancer and damage to many other tissues in the human body. Photos of dying cancer patients on cigarette cartons have been shown to be effective in other countries of dissuading new users from developing the bad habit. But smoking is not the only serious health threat to our society. Nestled in the packaging of goods all across America are an abundance of diseases and dangers to the human body, just waiting to shorten lives. How much warning is too much warning? Where do we draw the line on warning labels?

Although there is a very direct link between tobacco products and cancer, there is also a link between junk food and obesity and heart disease. Does

this mean we should place a photo of an obese man eating himself into oblivion on every M&M, Burger King and Blue Bunny package in the country? A photo of a girl whose heart has stopped from taking so many shots of tequila on each bottle of liquor that we sell? On every trampoline box, should there be a photo of children with cracked, bloody skulls lying on the ground because they jumped a little bit too high on the trampoline?

Maybe as children we need illustrations to help us understand the words a little bit better, but as adults, we can read the fine print. People know that smoking is bad for their health, but they do it nonetheless. Graphics depicting the negative health consequences of various optional behaviors are frankly redundant and excessive.

The WSS thinks so.

Debating the development I T am not a person that generally supports development. And even in the controversy over development at St. Andrews church in University Heights, I feel less than passionate about the building of high rise apartments and commercial enterprises. I do, however, feel that development in this case, at this time, is reasonable.

I have loved growing up in the tranquil, tight-knit community of residential University Heights and I will love the extra opportunities to run into my neighbors at local businesses and meet new neighbors in fancy apartments just as much.

Communities evolve. This development is evolution. It will bring traffic, but that’s what streets (and the highest traffic cop per capita rate in the country) are for. It will bring in more commercial endeavors than our tiny town has seen before, but that means more convenient shopping and yet another opportunity to buy local. High rise apartments will change the skyline, but that kind of housing makes sense near the hospital and the university.

Communities evolve. They need a way to accommodate growth, and infilling (building up and filling in instead of

spreading out) is one environmentally sound way to prevent urban sprawl. Nature in urban places is important and it is painful to sacrifice even a branch of the beautiful ravine we have grown around as a community, but in the big picture more wildlife will ultimately preserved by containing the borders of our growth and leaving what is beyond the bounds of current civilization wild and untouched.

Maybe I would feel differently if the development was popping up in the ravine in my backyard, and it’s more than reasonable to consider personal impact. But I instead embrace a plan that minimizes environmental damage and maximizes the resources our community is already offering.

So maybe you’re starting to get the idea: Communities evolve. St. Andrews Church is moving because its population outgrew its pews. The church’s grounds are empty and for sale. We can leave the space as an empty lot or we can hold out for another congregation that may or may not ever decide to move in to the building exactly as it was, but ultimately we are at the mercy of the proposals of potential buyers. And in my own humble opinion, this plan is a pretty good one.

he destruction of St. Andrews would hurt the community, its values and the environment.

The annihilation of St. Andrews would bring in a different group of people new to the neighborhood that might not have the same family values. Bringing in a new group of people who do not appreciate the family atmosphere would not promote such extreme safety measures that the city currently strives for. Families here are used to taking extra cautionary measures, such as slowing down on every corner, in order to keep the neighborhood safe.

If St. Andrews were to be knocked down, University Heights would simply be wasting the change in its pocket and limited natural resources. The new building would not only create a large carbon footprint, but several hundred more actual footprints that would generate an estimated 1500 more car trips a day. This would cause more

traffic in an already crammed intersection and new measures would have to be taken.The Melrose-Sunset intersection would either have to be extended or an entirely new road would have to be built.

A church is a place that works to help the community, no matter how financially strained they are. St. Andrews is currently in a small financial pickle with the hopes of constructing a brand new facility on Camp Cardinal.

As a result of the financial strain, many church staff could potentially lose their jobs. This would create the absence of a safe facility that helps brings the community together.

Adding a new apartment building to University Heights would decrease the safety and the stressed family values of the community. St. Andrews is a valuable asset to University Heights: it brings safety and togetherness, and without the church all of this would be gone.

So you decide…is it worth it?

30

Practical privacy T

hey can see through your clothes and feel you up over the top of them, all without your permission. Invasion of privacy? The West Side Story thinks so.

The TSA’s recent installation of body scanning machines that can x-ray through your clothes to generate an essentially nude photo has created a storm of opposition. Although the TSA has sworn that the photographs cannot and will not be recorded, many have been released.

Just to illustrate the extremity of these measures, travelers are now beginning to prefer pat downs formerly considered too invasive - to the scans.

Those who are unopposed to the policies argue that not all passengers are being scanned, just those who are “randomly selected.” But if fewer than one in ten is being scanned, any of the other nine in line could be the underwear bomber.

For those who have forgotten, the underwear bomber (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab) was caught with a plastic explosive, undetected by the traditional walk-through scanners, on a plane to Detroit.Thus far, the TSA has done little besides collect naked photos to detect the new plastic explosives.

Although the naked photos are unarguably effective in spotting hidden explosives, the chance of the TSA catching someone with a concealed plastic explosive is purely a toss-up. Obviously the TSA can never close all of the loopholes completely, but they are flying in the wrong direction. Although the na-

ked body scans are an extreme invasion of privacy, it seems that the TSA would better meet their goal if they scanned everyone, because the number of people who are being scanned is close enough to 0% that it just might as well be…0%.

We on the editorial board believe that travelling does not mean that a person has to give up their rights. The Fourth Amendment to the United States protects us against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” If pat downs and nude photos aren’t included in that mix, what is? The TSA is essentially sending the message that once you purchase your airline ticket, you are giving up your rights.

In fact, a TSA supervisor in San Diego told software engineer John Tyner this very thing when Tyner resisted a pat down, saying, “by buying your ticket you gave up a lot of rights.” This was in response to Tyner’s statement that, if the TSA were not the government, the pat downs would be considered sexual assault. We agree with him on this count. Feeling someone up without probable cause is a clear violation of our constitutional rights. Where is the probable cause? The plane ticket in our hands? This, to us, falls short of the probable cause that the Fourth Amendment requires. In most other cases, a hand in the crotch would be met with screams and a court order. In this case, it’s the government that’s being called up to the stand.

31 opinion

Quality of Life Index December

Christmas movies

I’ve never been called a Grinch before this year, but come on. How can anyone call Elf a quality piece of film? That movie aside, I love Christmas movies. Especially one starring a certain green symbol for Christmas’ antithesis. Because I can relate. Jk. Plus 100

TRON: Legacy

Although the score alone leaves something to desire – I had high hopes for this five-year coming Daft Punk CD, and maybe my expectations were even a little too high – I can’t wait to see the movie with this score because maybe (undoubtedly) they will complement each other perfectly.

Plus 100

1st avenue construction…

Is almost done!

Plus 100

Television’s hiatus

In the most difficult to bear time of the year, why-o-why must my shows be taken away? I know what I’m asking Santa for.

Minus 100 Winter Love winter clothing, hate winter cold.

Not to mention my temperature-sensitive nose makes me look like Rudolph as I walk into school each morning.

Minus 3

Total 197 ART BY//BRIDGET NOVAK

compiled by madhu srikantha

31

32 opinion

All grown up Proud and nerdy

BY DAVID HUANG

I

david.huang@wsspaper.com

t’s difficult for me to answer the oft-asked inquiry into an experience which “made me realize I was growing up” when such a prompt seems to present a logical fallacy. Clearly, what made me realize I was growing up begs the perhaps more important question of whether I think I’ve grown up at all.

Of course, I can always confirm that in my seventeen years of existence I’ve changed in one way or another. But that seems cataclysmically distinct from “growing up.”

In fact, it seems to me that it’s more important to find who you are in the world and where you fit in than to try to fit yourself into some societal normative standard of “grown up.”

And what is “growing up,” anyway?

I’m a debater at heart. I’ve participated in policy debate since my freshman year of high school and have participated in being a stubborn devil’s advocate since birth. Each year, I spend hundreds of hours researching the perennially chosen resolution and investigate critical questions of domestic and foreign policy that other high school students know very little about.

But I also still enjoy silly putty because it makes fart noises when you put it back in the container.

Am I grown up?

I’m a romantic at heart. I’d to like think I can ask deep questions that should be left to dead white guys with outrageous facial hair. For instance: How exactly do you weigh the opportunity cost of knowing one person or another? Aren’t all the relationships we build just arbitrary, circumstantial developments like the instantaneous dipole-induced attractive forces between molecules? … am I grown up?

I’m a disbeliever in the idea of “growing up” at heart. After all, I’m sure God doesn’t ship out boxes of wisdom and maturity on everyone’s eighteenth birthday. And if God does, I’m sure that’s why car insurance rates decrease dramatically at that same age. Then again, “growing up” has always seemed to be much more of a crutch than a bionic leg to me. “You’ll understand when you’re older,” parents will tell you, when they can’t quite explain something themselves. “Growing up” just implies regardless of how hard things seem to be, they’ll get easier with time. Just because you’ve “grown up.”

But maybe that is growing up. Maybe growing up, like the boogey man, is a tale that “grown-ups” use to get a handle on their miniature counterparts. Maybe growing up is nothing more than realizing that “growing up” doesn’t exist, and that life will always be hard no matter your age or experience.

Maybe I am grown up.

But before I ponder that, I’m going to go make some more fart 32 noises with my silly putty.

BY ASHTON DUNCAN

I

ashton.duncan@wsspaper.com

like killing zombies with shovels. I enjoy crashing into things at high speeds.

I love sneaking around an oblivious enemy before “silencing” them all ninjalike.

And yet I’m a girl. Shock. Awe. Somewhere across the sandbox (that would be the area games allow you to play in) there are girl gamers. This column is dedicated to the boys who think that small group is comprised of girls in pink Halo armor, losing against a boyfriend or brother.

Short answer: no.

I play Call of Duty, Lost Odyssey, Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy. I play Left 4 Dead, Grand Theft Auto and Mafia II. Metal Gear: Tactical Support is my all time favorite game (that’s original Playstation, just FYI). See a trend? None of those games are exactly Barbie: Beautiful Sparkle Princess Adventures.

I successively celebrated with collective Nerddom* each of the Halo releases and the announcal of the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever*. I used to have DOS (an ancient operating system, like Windows’ grandfather) on my computer to play old school Doom, and, as a matter of fact, I can usually fix my own computer. I’m not alone in this, either.

Girls are over 50% of the population (we’re not exactly rare Pokemon here), yet the reactions I get when other gamers realize I’m a girl are almost hilarious in their absurdity. For the future questions I will receive (often weekly) refer to this FAQ. No, this isn’t my brother’s Xbox live account, those are all my achievements.

No, I don’t play only girl characters, usually their stats suck.

And finally a shuddering no, I do not, nor ever wish to again, play Kingdom Hearts.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here I am, promoting women’s right to game with a simple: I have a dream. A dream that we the girl gamers, in order to achieve a more perfect respawn, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility (not), provide for our own defense, you’re on your own but we can still be friends, promote the blessings of gender equality, because friendly fire isn’t acceptable in IRL society.

Do ordain and establish this constitution, for the United Nerddom.

Unfortunately, all of the good campaign slogans like:Yes we can, we like Ike, etc. are taken.

And as for the difference in skill? That sniper that just shot you in the head from across the building while you fumbled in Black Ops*? Yeah, that was me.

To my fellow girls I merely say: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A.* To people who have no idea what I’m talking about… blame violent video games, because they’re to blame for everything, including, but not limited to, the economy, crappy reality shows and global warming. *Nerddom is the (official, according to me) word for the world’s nerds specifically gaming nerds, in this case - as a whole. Duke Nukem Forever is a game that has taken an infamously long time to develop. It’s almost as old as I am. Black Ops is a recently released Call of Duty game. The last asterisk is the Konami Code - used in some websites to gain access to exclusive areas and a cheat code from the gaming gods for years.

Sorry I can’t hear you, I’m kinda busy

33 opinion

BY ANNA EGELAND

anna.egeland@wsspaper.com

I

t happens at least several times a day; my home phone rings and a mechanical version of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” played in a round reverberates through my house. I usually drop whatever I’m doing very quickly and run to get the phone because listening to “Fur Elise” several times a day gets really obnoxious, so I try to stop the whole ordeal before it gets to the second time through the refrain.

Lately my patience has run thinner everyday and to salvage what was left, I decided to look inward and confront my irritation with this entire means of communication.

I usually check the caller ID before picking up (as to avoid talking to my little brother’s friends, my parents’ friends or my relatives). I feel it’s better to let these calls go to the machine and avoid the whole awkward “Mindy?” “No, this is Anna.” “Oh, yousoundjustlikeyourmom!” conversation. However, my brother’s friend once called six times in a row when he wasn’t home, so instead of being proactive

(I think I’ve developed a moderate fear of answering the phone), I just let the phone ring until he finally decided we really weren’t home and left a message complete with two knock knock jokes.

Even worse than seven-year-olds who call seven times in a ten minute span are telemarketers. And even worse than just plain telemarketers, are the ones who hang up in your face (Yes, this actually happens frequently). While my preferred method of dealing with these people (or automated recordings) is to hang up the phone before they can say “hello,” my parents prefer to just let the phone go to the message machine. “We’re not answering it,” they say.

Well, clearly.

Prank calls are in a category of themselves. Now, I’m more experienced at making these than receiving them, but somehow I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what it’s like to be on the other end of the line. For me, this means of entertainment is a thing of the past. Even though it seems like a great idea to disguise your voice with a racist “Chinese” accent and demand that the unfortunate victim do your laundry, wash your dishes and mow your lawn for you, trust me, it’s not. However, if you do decide that this is an excellent idea, do not prank call your friends at home because they will undoubtedly know it was you, and their parents will call your parents and get you in trouble. Not only will you be grounded, but you’ll still have to mow your own lawn, wash your

own dishes and do your own laundry. Definitely not one of my finest moments.

Telephones were invented to connect with relatives, friends and other people that you know. They were made to prank call architects who go around putting their phone numbers on fridge magnets and to receive messages embellished with knock-knock jokes.

But most of the calls I get are from telemarketers: People I’ve never met before or seen before, people who sometimes aren’t people at all but electronic recordings. “Hi, this is Lucy from Ohio Central Bank...” “Hey, this is John from cardholder services...” “Kaya with the Caribbean travel agency...” I’m still just as annoyed by the interruption, no matter how many times they tell me their names (in hopes that I will briefly mistake them for my best friend Edward and stay on the line just a little longer). There’s texting, email, facebook messaging, Skype, snail mail and telegrams and you’re telling me the only way you can get a hold of me is by calling me?

I love getting telephone calls in theory, but this delightful means of communication has become so diluted with gibber-jabbering salespeople that I can’t pick up the phone without feeling a slight sense of dread. Beethoven’s once-sweet notes now send me into an anxious panic.

So, in the righteous words of lady Gaga, “Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, stop telephoning me, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh…”

ing in line, it was finally time to pay.

Curious as to the price of my lunch, I scanned the sheet of paper attached to the register when something jumped out. Sandwiches cost $4, while a lunch costs $2.60. For those of you who do not frequent the sandwich cart, a lunch, it turns out, consists of a sandwich, along with a milk or fruit. So it costs $1.40 LESS if I get an apple to go with my sandwich. Its like they’re paying me to take an apple.

After having a friend confirm that this was not a hallucination due to lack of sleep, I asked the lunch lady how this could possibly be.

“Fruit’s healthy,” she said. “We get rewarded for giving you guys healthy food.”

I don’t think I need to tell you how great this is. You don’t even need to eat the fruit. I could literally walk up there after getting my sandwich, grab an apple, immediately turn around and jump-shoot it into the nearest trashcan while shouting “Kobe!”, and they would basically be paying money to do so.

Wasteful? Yes. Amazing? Yes again.

Now, before all of you start running up to me demanding to know why I would waste a perfectly good piece of fruit, and lecturing me on all the ways that I’m killing the earth (okay, maybe just Eleanor Marshall), know that I have not actually done that. All I’m saying is you could.

Seriously though. Just think about it.

They’re paying you to take food. Imagine if a place like Pancheros did that. Half off your burrito if you get a side of guacamole. I can’t be the only one getting a little excited right now.

And the best part of all: everybody wins. We get cheaper food. The school gets subsidized.

America gets healthier youth.

So the next time you’re waiting in line for lunch complaining about the new food at our school, just remember that you’re just one banana away from helping out America. I think that’s something we can all get behind.

When everybody wins A

BY DAN ROTHMAN

dan.rothman@wsspaper.com

s I’m sure most of you are aware, Iowa’s Healthy Kids Act has significantly altered our food options here at West. You don’t need me to tell you how bad the new Dominos “healthy” pizza tastes, or to confirm that, indeed, our bake sales are still safe. We all know the downsides to the new rules, but there is, in fact, some good news.

A few weeks ago I decided to forgo my usual pizza lunch in favor of trying out the sandwich cart in our cafeteria. I love pizza, but ours was just so bad that I decided I needed a break. After spending about half my lunch period figuring out how to order and wait-

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Smell the roses Just wondering 34 opinion

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BY CAROLINE FOUND

caroline.found@wsspaper.com

t hit me when I was halfway through my sophomore year at West, here at the big, stressful, chaotic building of bricks. As I walked into advisory one Thursday morning my eyes were searching for the delicious brownies or candy Mrs. Kanellis brought to us every Thursday, but instead, I was handed a college guide packet.

A college packet?!?! What!?!? I am a sophomore; I am still a little kid!!!

I still have people cut my meat for me; I still believe in Santa Claus, I love ToysRus, WHAT!? I don’t even think about college.

I never thought this time would come, I try to avoid it every day, but avoiding can only work for so long. I know it’s here, the time has come. I am a big kid now; THE “I’m trying to make you more independent for college” remark comes out of my mother’s mouth more than monthly now. It’s more of a daily thing. Yes mother, I know. But I will always have you there to hold my hand when I take a big step or make a hard decision right? I’ll still give you my Christmas list every year to send to Santa? As much as I hope for this answer to be yes, I know that I am taking my first steps to the “individuality” thing and entering the world of college and my own life. But, as we all stack up on as many honors and AP classes, volunteer hours and college credit opportunities as we can, remember one thing: Don’t let the facts get in the way of your imagination.

I am often thought of as being childish. I prefer to interpret that as child-like. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and think big. I still watch cartoons when I can. I play with leaves. I skip down the street and sing to myself. I can’t go outside without getting dirty. I believe in Santa Claus. And that is something I will never, EVER let go of. Often I am told, that “IF Santa were real, he would have to travel to 91 million households in 24 hours blah blah blah blah blah.” SO WHAT!? I mean, it’s the fun and imagination that counts. Just because we don’t understand something, and it’s not actually possible, doesn’t mean it ain’t so! Wikipedia believes in Santa. If they didn’t, why would they have a whole page dedicated to Santa Claus.

When I was little I had this idea that life could be perfect. That if you were careful enough, you’d never make a mistake, never be lonely, never be misunderstood, never be frightened, but it doesn’t work that way. Life is big and messy, and you just have to climb in it with your boots on and hope for the best. But we all know that things won’t always turn out perfectly, and we can’t always take life the easy way. No more bed time stories and naps after lunch time. So, it is time to grow up, literally, meaning taking the college courses, doing interviews for jobs, and being role models for others. But that doesn’t mean we have to let go of the things we once thought of as a little kid with a big imagination. Children have neither past nor future, they enjoy the present, which very few of us do. So stop and smell the roses, sing to yourself, and enjoy what we have, while we have it.

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BY MADHU SRIKANTHA

madhu.srikantha@wsspaper.com

he entire process of applying to college reminds me that I have a future. That there’s more to life than my current measly existence.

I like that. And because of this, there have been some serious and many stupid – many, many stupid – questions on my mind. Just thought I’d share some.

Is there really potential for an alien invasion? How likely is it? How likely is it that a meteor of the magnitude that destroyed the dinosaurs will hit earth? How soon can that happen? Will it ever happen? What is the meaning of life? How many woods can a woodchuck really chuck? What makes human beings believe they are superior to all other creatures? What are the components of attraction? What percentage of the time do people, as an entire population, speak sarcastically? How many people have a sixth sense? Where in the world did Cedar Rapids come up with that five season crap? Does magic exist? Is any thought I have actually original? Is there another person on the planet doing the exact thing that I’m doing at all times? How likely is it that it’s the same person every single time? Is there anything truly mystical in the world? Is there a way to mathematically disprove the existence of God? To prove it? Why can’t I accept that I am sometimes wrong? Why must people always be right? What is bad with being wrong? Will I ever stop laughing at poop jokes? What makes one person more intelligent than another? What motivates motivation? What would happen if the only sense people had was taste? How different would our species be if we had no memory? Can anyone be inherently good or bad? What is the fastest way to drive someone insane? Why are chickencrossing-the-road jokes so often told? What makes murder wrong? Where did the morals we live by today originate? How could there be a point of origin? Did the first humans with our capacity of mind decide the course of our species? How can some people wear such ugly outfits? Can anyone actually wrap their head around the fact that time actually began at some point? How many facts don’t I know? Can anything actually be considered permanent? Where exactly would I be if I had made a different choice somewhere along the road? Would I still be typing up these questions?

What if we had tails? Where will I be in five years? Ten? Do people have to make a choice between happiness and meaning in their lives? Where do random thoughts come from? What if communication was an abnormality? How would a person define dancing to someone who didn’t know what it was? Why do we put so much trust into the research of others? No, really, why do we believe what other people tell us? Why doesn’t everyone want to find their own conclusions? Are humans inherently lazy? Are there some personality traits that were non-existent earlier in history? If environment, birth, social class and location help form some of our traits, then that must be true – right? Why do most people need someone to agree with them before they are sure of themselves? Is individuality real? How many of these questions are answerable by current research?

PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS ABOVE: Andrea Klein ’12 chats in the orchestra pit with her sister Patience Klein ’12 while waiting for the Thursday night performance of Guys and Dolls to begin.

RIGHT: Sam O’Brien ’12 recieves finishing touches on his make-up. “My favorite part of doing the show was probably getting hit by the bottle, because it’s a lot of fun,” said O’Brien.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Izaak Sunleaf ’11 and Abi Pant ’11 play their roles as Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson during Guys and Dolls.

BELOW: Cast members work on their make-up int he green room before the opening night of the show. “Every performance is special, but there is just something about the opening night, when the adrenaline is pumping and everyone is just so happy and proud of themselves,” said Elizabeth Shirazi ’12. Elizabeth plays Sarah Brown, one of the lead roles in the performance.

Guys Dolls &

PHOTO BY//LINDSAY BEST

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BY KATIE MUCCI

PHOTO BY//SARAH DIRKS

katiemucci@wsspaper.com

he fall musical, Guys and Dolls, has been a hit so far with songs that bring you back to the 1920s. With a set of authentic sounding New York accents and a wonderful cast of actors, the musical brings to life the days of flapper dresses and illegal gambling.

Actors Abhi Pant and Izaak Sunleaf portrayed their characters Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit (respectively) perfectly. With a more than realistic fight scene and love interests, the play had something for everyone. Even with some worrying and problems that always arise, in the end, the finished project was immaculate.

PHOTO BY//JOJO SILVERMAN

West Hi gh

wonderland

compiled by laura stamnes and elizabeth dagle

ART BY//BRIDGET NOVAK

When the snow and ice keep you from driving away this winter break, the West Side Story has your back. Cut out the game pieces and die below, make some hot chocolate and enjoy your winter break!

START

There’s a bakesale in the commons. With puppy chow. Up 1.

Steve Murley calls a snow day. Up 5.

Mr. Sauser catches you in the wrong hall during lunch. Back 3.

Slip on the ice in the front parking lost. Back 1 space

You’re too loud in the library and get kicked out.

Back 1.

Slip on the ice in the front parking lot.

Back 1.

Ace your English test.

Up 3.

Your locker gets jammed. Skip your next turn as you go find Mr. O’Connor to help you.

Winter break.

Skip to the finish.

Due to budget cuts, the heat in the school has been turned off.

Go back to start.

The Trojans win their basketball game. Up 3.

FINISH