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Texting in class? Page 2

BByy HHiieeuu NNgguuyyeenn

Not many young people went to the presidentialcaucuses on Jan. 3, according to some teachers whoattended the caucuses.

“I planned on going to the caucus, but somethingcame up and I could not go,” said Brianna Fisher,senior.

A West student also went to the caucus. DanDankert, senior, had an enjoyable experience. “Iloved it. I was able to express my opinion on a par-ticular candidate just as numerous others did.Through all of this information that we shared; wewere all more confident of the person we voted for.Democracy is at its best,” said Dankert.

Some teachers, such as Justin Lamer, ClintVanfossen, David Kintigh, and John Kealey saidthey went to the caucuses in their neighborhoods.

Iowa was the first state to hold a caucus; somestates hold a primary. In the primaries, there is nomeeting, no discussion; people just go and vote forthe candidates. It’s easier for the second shift people.

Justin Lamer is from Michigan, which holds aprimary election. He said that the Iowa caucus wasan enjoyable experience because he had the opportu-nity to meet new people and he brought his daughterwith him.

There were about 60 to 80 people, Lamer said.These people were his neighbors. Everyone sat intheir seats, chose a captain for their group, and lis-tened to the discussion about politics and govern-ments. The representatives of the candidates gavefive-minute speeches; the audience discussed andvoted. Then the voters voted again, this time for thedelegate. After voting twice, people gave their ideasfor the candidates’ representatives and voted for rev-olution. The caucus ended at 8:30 p.m.

Vanfossen had the same experiences. He said thathe’s been going to the caucuses since he turned 18.His family went to the caucus with him.

“Caucuses are good because voters must show upand represent themselves. They can meet their

neighbors and discuss the issues before they vote.Informed voters are a good thing,” said Vanfossen.

He also said that people have to be present andbe at the right time and right place. It would not beeasy for the second shift workers to go to caucusesbecause they have to work at night, Vanfossen said.

Vanfossen doesn’t like getting information fromthe newspaper instead. He watches the speeches ofthe candidates on television and listens to fourdebates. For more accurate information, he evengoes to places where the candidates make theirspeeches in the public.

“The caucus is very important, it is the bestexample for the great season,” Kealey said. He alsosaid that every high school students who could voteshould go to the caucuses because it is their duty; hesaw some young people at the caucus. Kealey hasbeen going to the caucuses since he had the right tovote.

Kintigh went to the Democratic caucus for thefirst time. He said that things were well organizedand he knew where to go. Everything ran smoothly.He also saw some high school students went to thecaucus. The Democrats will support incumbent pres-ident Barack Obama.

“I like the caucuses more than primaries. It hasmore feeling of community than being a part ofIllinois primary,” said Kintigh.

Jason Schwartzhoff, husband of ArmandaSchwartzhoff said his caucus was interesting. “Ittook about 24 minutes. It felt like real grassrootsprocess. I submitted platforms (stances) to be dis-cussed with the people who volunteered as delegatesas their philosophy. Others did too...”

Schwartzhoff said he voted for MicheleBachmann. He said that Ron Paul was not a trueconservative Republican- he was a Libertarian.Schwartzhoff agreed and did not subscribe to every-thing on their platform.

Caucus continued on Page 3

Iowans have first vote

Photo by Christopher Gannon/Gannon Visuals.com/MCT

BByy EErriinn PPeerrsshhaallll

With a $3.4 million cut from our 2013 school dis-trict’s budget, many changes will be made. But withthese changes, it will affect many families and stu-dents in the area.

The $3.4 million cut is necessary because Iowawas not awarded their available growth rate. In otherwords, each year public schools receive more moneythan they did the previous year. Without the extramoney, our school district needs to find ways to savemoney without taking drastic measures.

The new budget is being debated by a group of 24community members and Davenport CommunitySchool’s employees, otherwise known as ResourceAllocation Committee (RAC).

Nothing is set in stone yet. RAC will make thefinal decision on Feb. second. RAC is also havingmeetings so that the community can voice their opin-ions and bring different ideas to the table.

Some cuts include, less bussing, one associateprincipal being cut from each school, the head athlet-ic director cut, larger intermediate classes, and a localelementary school closing.

Some of the new changes are controversial.John Kealy, social studies teacher and Davenport

Education Association (Davenport’s teacher’s unionor the DEA) member, believes that it is too early todecide if any teachers will be laid off.

“It is way too early to give a direct answer on thismatter. In the nearly two decades that I have taughtin the district, rumors have constantly spreadthroughout the community on this topic. However,over the years Davenport School district has hardlylaid off any teachers. We hope that this practice willcontinue,” Kealy said.

There are around 950 teachers that belong to theDEA out of around 1,200 teachers. According toKealy, associate principals are not protected this iswhy one could get removed from each school.

“The DEA has no say in the matter of jobs ofadministrators, for they are not members of our bar-gaining unit nor union. Administrators answer direct-ly to the district,” Kealy said.

Emily Schlichting, a teacher at LincolnElementary school, is one teacher that will be affect-ed by the budget cuts. If the budget gets approved,she may have to be transferred to a different school.

“My biggest fear would be that some of our stu-dents would have to be separated from the friendsthat they have gone to school with for so long,” saidSchlichting.

Because there will be fewer teachers for all of thestudents, there will have to be larger class sizes perteacher. At Lincoln, there are about 15 students perone teacher. If the budget plan passes, there will bearound 28 students per teacher. With around 13 morestudents per class room, teachers will have less timefor one on one help with each student.

The enrolment rate at Lincoln is 180 students.Only 55 of those students live within that area, therest are bussed in. This is one of the reasons it mayclose. Students who need receive emotional andbehavior disorders also attend Lincoln.

Students are upset that their school could close,considering they have gone there since kindergarten.

“The students at Lincoln Academy, especially theolder students, are extremely upset and saddened bythe possible closing of their school,” said Schlichting

Budget cuts continued on Page 3

Budget cuts affect many

SHAKING HANDS - Mitt Romney greets supporters follow-ing the Iowa caucus voting on Tuesday, Jan. 3 in DesMoines, Iowa. The voting was the closest in history withthe lead changing hands between Romney and ChallengerRick Santorum.

poll��If you are able to vote for president,

whom would you vote for in these situations?

Photo by Erin PershallCATCH THE BUS - Senior Aaron Smith takes the bus home afterschool. Transportation may be offered only to students livingtwo miles away instead of 1.5 miles away from school.

SOURCE: Beak ’n’ Eye survey of 200 students

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:03 PM Page 1

poll

SOURCE: Beak ‘n’ Eye survey of 156 students

��

2 News Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

BByy EErriinn PPeerrsshhaallll

Recently, Bettendorf high school stu-dents were addressed that they are ableto use their cell phones during passingtime and at lunch. Bettendorf adoptedthis plan after many students providedfeedback to the administrators.

At Bettendorf, students who arecaught with their cell phones out duringclass time are expected to either get adetention or Saturday school becausethey could be using it to cheat. TheDavenport school district bans all cellphone use during the school day, caus-ing countless arguments on if studentsshould be able to use cell phones duringschool time or for educational purposes.

Constance Williams, sophomore,thinks that students should be able touse them during school because theycould use it to learn.

“It is there time. They are not inclass and they should be able to do whatthey want during lunch and passingtime. As in for class, they should beable to use them too. It actually helpskids learn,” Williams said.

Williams has had to use her phone inclass to look up things like the spellingor the definition of a word.

Senior Kayla Pairrett thinks that stu-dents should be able to use them; inpositive ways.

“(Students should only use theirphone in class) but only if it’s for edu-cational purposes. Say they need to

Google something for an assignmentreal quick or they need to put dates intheir calendars for important due dates.Only for things like that. The only prob-lem is that you don’t know for sure ifthe student is using it for the intendedreasons,” said Pairrett.

Pairrett has had a teacher ask her tolook something up for him.

“It’s happened maybe a coupletimes, but not very often because usual-ly if they need it, they just do it them-selves,” said Pairrett.

Having cell phones in classroomscould be used for emergencies as well.

“After class, I have allowed a fewstudents to show me items from theirphone. I recognize that there are times(such as a family member facingextreme medical situations) when aphone may be acceptable during class -although any actual conversation shouldbe taken out of the classroom,” said ananonymous teacher.

Having cell phones in class could beused for good, but they could also leadto cheating on tests and to disruptingthe class.

When Pairrett was asked if itannoyed her when students continue totext after the teacher has told them toput their phones away, she replied with,“Yes! Very much! Especially when theteacher tells them to put it away, so theyjust put it back in their purse or pocketfor like two seconds until the teacherturns around. It’s just really rude.”

Some stu-dents thinkthat cell phonesare bad for thelearning envi-ronment.

“Having cellphones in class is anawful idea. It’s detri-mental to learning andjust isn’t proper in astructured learning envi-ronment,” said DanDankert, senior.

He believes that having cell phonesduring passing time will increase tardi-ness.

“Having cell phones during passingtime means the rate of tardiness willassuredly increase. I believe that hav-ing cell phones during lunch time islogical,” said Dankert.

“I feel that a stricter policy on cellphone usage during class should have apositive affect on classroom perform-ance,” said Dankert.

Pairrett seems to feel like Westalready has this cell phone freedom thatBettendorf has.

“We all do that here at West any-ways. Most the time they don’t say any-thing or they just tell you to put it awayand then like I said most people justtake it right back out when theteacher/security guard is gone,” saidPairrett.

Local school allowscell phones at lunch

BByy HHiieeuu NNgguuyyeenn

West will offer some new courses for the nextschool year, and more new courses in the two yearsfor the classes of 2016.

Pre- AP Biology is a brand new class; it is forninth and tenth graders mostly.

“Pre-Biology is a higher level biology elective.Students can only take it with teacher recommenda-tion. It would be taken in place of regular biology.Students don’t need to take this class to take APBiology,” said Renne Lietz, science teacher.

The purposes of changing are to make classesuseful for the students after high school and tomatch up the courses with the Iowa CoreCurriculum. All high schools in the state need toupdate or change the courses.

In Davenport, American Studies will be changedinto U.S. History.

Students only have to take Computer Application1 for graduation requirement instead of WordProcessing, which will no longer be offered.

Earth Materials and Weather, Climate, and Spaceare combined into a course named Earth and SpaceScience and it’s going to be a two term class. The

administration also combines Investigative Biologyand Molecular Biology into a course of Biology.Meteorology will be dropped.

“Since Earth Science is not required for all stu-dents, Meteorology has been dropped for now. Wewould like to add advanced Earth Science classes ata later time,” said Lietz.

Lietz said the change with Earth Science startswith the class of 2016; other students will not berequired to take it.

The Class of 2016 has more new classes to takefor their freshman year and their high school career.The new classes are Forensic Speech Inclusive (oneterm), English 10 ( two terms), World Literature (one term), Writing Communication (one term),World Studies (one term), AP Human Geography(two terms),and AP Macroeconomics (three terms).

“I think that the changes will benefit the stu-dents,” said Pat Sheehey, language art teacher.“Honor students will be more attracted to betterclasses and AP classes. I think that these changeswill increase the rigor and academic achievementsoverall and still give students choices for electives.”

Sheehey said the reason for changing courses isbasically to match the Iowa Curriculum.

New classes offered next year

BByy JJeessssiiccaa BBeennnneetttt

The dance team is going to nationals Feb. 2-6 atDisneyworld to compete against other dance teamsfrom around the country.

The dancers will compete on Feb. 4 or Feb. 5 inthe Indiana Jones Theater in Hollywood Studiosand at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. They couldcompete up to three times for each routine, depend-ing on whether or not they advance to semi-finalsor finals.

“We hope to make it to semi-finals and to cometogether as a team,” said coach Lisa Schmidt.

Schmidt knows that it will take lots of “hardwork and dedication” to be successful, which isdemonstrated during the dance team’s practicesevery day after school.

When the team is not practicing or performing,

they will be having a character breakfast at ChefMickey, designing team T-shirts, and enjoying theparks.

The dancers have also been working hard tofundraise for their trip to nationals by hosting atrivia night and a Wii bowling tournament, gettingsponsorships from local businesses, sellingPampered Chef and Scentsy products, having carwashes and bake sales, holding a yard sale, andparticipating in Birdies for Charity.

In between all of their practicing, fundraising,and performing, the dancers do some work forcharity as well. They worked with kids in vacationbible school at a local church, volunteered at theJunior Bix, and made baby blankets to donate to theEdgerton’s Women’s Center.

Photo by Hieu Nguyen

THE LAB- Cody Geurtsen, junior, does a lab in AP Biology.Next year, freshmen and sophomores can take Pre- APBiology, only with recommendations from teachers. Studentsdon’t need to take Pre- AP Biology to take AP Biology.

Dance team goes to nationals

DANCING- Karlee Shaffer, freshman, dances during a pep aud. onJan. 6 The team is going to compete in Disneyland this weekend.

Photo by Steve Lyle

Do you have a cell phone?Yes - 91%No - 9%

Should students be able to use cell phones during lunch

and passing times?Yes - 98%No - 2%

Has a West teacher allowed you to use a cell phone

for educational purposes?Yes - 74%No - 26%

How often

do you se

cretly

use your c

ell phone i

n class?

never so

metimes e

very day

17% 34%

49%

SOURCE: Beak ‘n’ Eye survey of 151 students

BByy EElllliiee MMoolleerr

The Beak’n’Eye newspaper last month was awarded the George H.Gallup award –the highest award given by Quill and Scroll— for the39th year in a row.

In the news media evaluation of last year’s issues, the judge com-mended the newspaper staff and their adviser Steven Lyle for scoringsuperior ratings in the three main categories: writing/editing, coverage,and visuals.

“The staff of the Beak ‘n’ Eye has a lot to be proud of,” the judgecommented. “The staff is to be commended for producing a newspaperthat is unique and distinctive. Beak ‘n’ Eye especially excels in featurewriting.”

“The student journalists at Davenport West High School provide avaluable service to the community by showcasing many of the school’sinteresting and worthwhile activities. The Beak ‘n’ Eye is the voice ofDavenport West High School, and the community depends on you forschool news,” the judge wrote.

“Finally, I hope adviser Steven Lyle and you continue doing whatyou do best: Using solid journalism skills to produce an outstandingnewspaper.”

Lyle said the staff appreciated the judge’s comments because the stu-dents go the extra mile to do things right. They are proud to be recog-nized as one of the 50-some best high school newspapers in the nation,he said.

“The newspaper staff worked hard last year to improve the look ofthe paper,” Lyle said. “We added more graphs, more art, and we gotmore creative with headlines and the layering of elements on a page.”

The judge also looked at one of this years issues.

The judge considered the Oct. 7, 2011 issue one of the finest news-papers produced by Beak’n’Eye for a good attention-grabbing cut outbackground photo, a nameplate that was designed skillfully and layoutswith smooth horizontal line flows.

The judge also said the cover photo was very creative. “By coveringthe boy’s body with slurs and epithets, you have proven that a picture isworth a thousand words. The picture also makes a bold statement aboutthe problems that are stated in the headline. Keep up the good work!”

“It feels great to hear such good feed back about my photo illustra-tion; I was really happy with the design of that page when the paper wasdistributed but it makes it so much better to hear that others appreciate ittoo,” said Krista Johnson, co-editor in chief of the Beak ‘n’ Eye.

News 3Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

AAAA Driving SchoolClasses held at West High

3:15 - 5:15 p.m. Room 102

563 332-6941Steve Verdon, instructor

4adrivingschool.com

Romney first was announced asthe winner with 30,015 votes.However two weeks later, the offi-cial count reported Santorum hadwon by 34 votes. Newt Gingrichwon South Carolina primary with243,153 votes on Jan. 21.

Officials on Jan. 3 reported thatMitt Romney won the Republicanpresidential caucus by eight votesover Rick Santorium. However,the official count two weeks latergave the win to Santorium by 34votes.Since the Iowa caucus, three candi-dates have dropped out: MicheleBackmann, Rick Perry and JoeHuntsman.

Barack Obama is obviously theonly Democratic candidate.

Romney won New Hampshireprimary with 97,532 votes on Jan.10. The Republican NationalConvention will be held on Aug.27 in Florida.

“Most of our older studentshave called Lincoln home sinceKindergarten. Many of our stu-dents have written letters and madesigns lobbying for Lincoln to stayopen. Some of our students haveasked us, ‘What did we dowrong?’ ‘We will do anything toget more kids to come to Lincolnso that we can stay open,’” saidSchlichting.

Having one school closing isn’tthe only problem. At West, we willbe losing an associate principaland students will be limited to bus-ing. Because we will be limited on bus-ing, students who live in certainareas of the west end of Davenportwill not be able to ride a schoolbus.

“It aggravates me that if my carever broke down that I wouldn’t beable to have a ride to school justbecause of where I live,” said sen-ior Brianna Fisher.

Incoming freshman may haveto find a new way to school.

“What are incoming freshmansupposed to do? Not all of themknow someone who can drive. Itwill just cause more stress on themand their parents,” Fisher added.The budget has not yet been decid-ed. They will be voting on newbudget plans in April. Everythingmay not be set in stone butSchlichting doesn’t like the budgetplan.

“I do not like the budgetbecause it is causing stress on staffand students. However, I under-stand that the district is beingforced to make some changeswhether people like it or not,” saidSchlichting.

Kealy just hopes that the gov-ernment realizes that education isimportant.

“I am hoping that in this and infuture years, that GovernorBrandstadt and the GeneralAssembly can come to a reason-able understanding about theimportance of education in publicschools and that it needs to beproperly funded. By this I meanthat the annual “Allowable GrowthRate” that the state provides topublic schools to operate needs tobe constantly set at the recom-mended six percent rate and notthe two percent or lower that wehave seen in recent years,” saidKealy.

Caucus- cont.from page 1

Budget cuts - continued from page 1

Student Journalism

BByy SSttaaffff RReeppoorrtteerrss

An Iowa court ruled on Nov. 9 that a schooldistrict could not discipline a newspaper advis-er for allowing his students to publish articlesthat the principal thought were objectionable.

Adviser Ben Lange of Waukon High Schoolsued the Allamakee Community SchoolDistrict to have two reprimands removed fromhis personnel file after principal Dan Diercksgot upset after reading a 2008 April Fool’s edi-tion. Diercks wrote that the edition “was donewith poor judgment casting a dark shadow onour school district.”

Students changed the name of their paperfrom the “Tribe-une” to the “Bribe-une,”showed a picture of a baby smoking a ciga-rette, and made up quotes from students sayingthey dreamed of being Victoria’s Secret modelsor male strippers after graduation.

The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that thearticles were clearly parody and that no libel ordisruption of school policies had occurred.

Eight states including Iowa have studentpress laws that prohibits school administratorsfrom censoring student publications unless thearticles are libelous, obscene, or encourage stu-

dents to break the law or disrupt school.This court case is the first in the nation to

rule in favor of those states’ student press laws. Members of the Beak ‘n’ Eye said they

were happy with the court’s ruling.“I think that every young journalist should

have freedom of the press,” co-editor in chiefErin Pershall said. “Many students don’t real-ize that we have such a privilege. If we were togo to a private school or any other schoolbesides the one in the eight states that protectyoung journalists, we wouldn’t be able toinform students on interesting things such asteen pregnancy, tattoos, drugs, and alcohol.”

“I sometimes even take our rights for grant-ed,” she added. “So many students in Americadon’t have these amazing rights and their workgets censored everyday. In a way, it makes mefeel privileged that our government trusts meand my fellow editors.”

Steve Lyle, adviser of the Beak ‘n’ Eye,said it is important for students to exercisetheir constitutional rights.

“High school students do have free speechand free press because of the FirstAmendment,” he said. “I think it is theschool’s responsibility to teach responsible

journalism and then allow students to exercisethat right.”

Lyle thinks the court made a right decisionin this case because it involved an April FoolsDay edition that was clearly parody—nobodythought the statements were true, such as abiology teacher having a meth lab in his base-ment. “It’s wrong for a principal to expect anadviser to censor a student’s thoughts,” he said.

Lyle said the Beak ‘n’ Eye hasn’t had anyproblems with the censorship since he beganadvising the paper in 1985.

“Not one principal has asked to see thenewspaper before it is distributed,” Lyle said.“However, one administrator did say that he‘didn’t care about this student rights stuff’ andthat he expected me to censor articles that werecritical of the school. Let’s just say that weagreed to disagree. He did give me a writtenreprimand that year because a student pub-lished the wrong dates for spring break. Hewanted me to play the role of editor, not advis-er.”

Lyle said that all of his staffs strive to actprofessionally. “If there are any complaintsfrom readers, I involve the student editors toanswer them.”

Photo by Erin PershallIDEAS - Co-editor in chief Krista Johnson and newspaperadviser Steve Lyle share ideas for the design of a newspaperpage after school in the Newspaper Office.

West journalists win big

Newspaper adviser wins court battle over censorship

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:03 PM Page 2

4 Faces Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

BByy AArriinnaa RRuusssskkiikkhh

Junior Miranda Castel has been toHollywood, not as a tourist though; asa model.

She modeled for the one of thefamous high end hats creators for someof Hollywood's biggest stars in LosAngeles – Ariane Millinary.

“I was so nervous to work forAriane Millinary, but she is one of thesweetest women I have ever met,”Castel said. She didn’t get paid, butMillinary gave her a gift for her job – aunique designer dress from Kablan.

Castel got started modeling in2010. Her older cousin is a model. “Ilook at her more as big sister really. Weare very close. Once I was lookingthrough her portfolio and it inspired meto want to become a model,” saidCastel.

She never went to a school strictlyfor modeling, she found it unnecessary.Castel also thinks that with a lot ofpractice, a talented photographer, andif available, the help of experiencedmodels, anyone could do it.

She attended a local model agencylast year, but decided that it’s was hold-ing her down.

She said that her supermodel idol isTyra Banks, not only because she isabsolutely beautiful, but she is such areal, genuine person who has changedso many peoples' lives.

Castel denied having any unusualtalents. “I mean I am only 16, I stillhave plenty of time to find out moreabout myself,” she said. However evenat the age of 16, Castel accomplished alot. She has modeled for Ariane, andshe walked for Charlotte Russe a few

years ago. The hardest part of the

modeling business is thephoto shoot. She said itcan take anywherefrom 30 minutes toalmost eight hours.Once Castel was onset for a photo shootfrom 9 a.m. toaround 7 p.m.“Modeling can real-ly take a toll on your body.If I am not aching by theend of a shoot, I know Ididn't get the job done,”she said.

Some of Castel's hob-bies outside of modelinginclude drawing and work-ing on her blog. She reallylikes to draw and since sheplans on going to fashionschool, she always keepsher sketchpad handy. Herfashion blog is called Elan,a place where she posts herown street style, fashion,beauty, and just aboutanything else sparks thatan interest to her.

“Modeling has changedmy life in many ways,” saidCastel. She has met so manyamazing people in the pasttwo years, who share thesame passion as she does.. “What I like the most of all -just being able to enjoy your-self; modeling is so muchfun!” she said.

Modeling can reallytake a toll on yourbody. If I am notaching by the end of ashoot, I know I didn'tget the job done”

–Miranda Castel

“

poll��

SOURCE: Beak ’n’ Eye survey of 149 students

What is your most attractive physical feature?

4020 Brady St. Davenport, IA563 323-4700

Trying to make it

BByy AArriinnaa RRuusssskkiikkhh

The red gowns sparkle as thegirls in show choir step into thearms of boys in grey suits and blueshirts. Rayvonne Brown smilesand looks confident about hismoves on the stage.

Brown’s confidence comesfrom his performances. This is histhird year in show choir. “You doget confidence from being on thestage a number of times. Andpractice. Practice makes perfect,”said Brown.

“Rayvonne is a very respectful,caring young man,” commentedRosalie Dunnegan, “He is a quietleader and a good role model. Hedoesn’t need to be loud for othersto start following him. I can seebright things in his future.”

“I joined show choir when Iwas a sophomore, because my bestfriend Stepahnie Grubbs told meto do it. She said that I would loveit,” said Brown. He sings tenor,the higher of the two male vocalparts.

In five years Brown sees him-self as a pastor and possibly audi-tioning for plays, operas, andmovies. After graduation he wantsto go to Luther College and con-tinue singing there.

Brown said that he is veryexcited about graduation, but hewill miss competing in show choir,speaking Spanish in Ms. Hansen’sclass, singing in choir, and all hisfriends and teachers.

He is involved in school activi-ties such as Business Academy,cross country, track, Asian Club,

Leo Club, and Ecology Club. Inhis free time, which he does nothave a lot of, Brown is sings,reads and studies.

Brown’s experience in showchoir has taught him severalthings. “Show choir made me real-ize that you don't just compete, butyou have fun and work hard atdoing it,” he said. Show choir alsomade him more confident when heis singing for an audience orscholarships.

And as for advice for begin-ners, Brown said that every newshow choir member should trytheir best, work hard, but havefun.

“They should pay attention,only speak when it spoken to, andperform like every time you per-form is the last one.”

Senior shines in the spotlight

1 - Photo from Castel’sphotoshoot in Los Angeles.

2 - Miranda poses with hercousin, who supported heron her first photo shoot.

3 - Castel’s first photoshoot was in 2010.

eyes hair smile body

1

23

BIGin modeling

READY, SET,MODEL-MirandaCastel,junior,struts her stuffand stikes apose for hermodeling pic-tures.

SHAKE IT - Rayvonne Brown, senior, and Hannah Williams,senior, perform on the stage for the show choir dinner the-atre on Jan. 22.

Photo by Donna Dubberke

Photos submitted by Miranda Castel

Photo by Arina Russkikh

36%

Know any interesting

people? Havesome specialtalent? Tell the

Beak ‘n’ Eye allabout it!!! Room 161

16%

31%

17%

How much fun can you have on a budget? We asked two students to see how far $20 could go

Leisure 5Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

RR EE VV II EE WW

SS

BByy HHaalleeyy BBeenniisscchh

Overview:A small town in Georgia has had its hard times. TheDivinity Church Choir always lift their spirits, espe-cially if they win the National Joyful NoiseCompetition. Vi Rose Hill and G.G. Sparrow are likethe head of the choir, but have very different opin-ions that could tear the whole choir apart. G.G.’srebelious grandson causes even more chaos especial-ly when Vi’s daughter Olivia catches his eye.What’s Good:This story line is very nice. There aren’t very manymovies that involve church in a good manner.What’s Bad:Even though the story line is nice, it is very pre-dictable. As a person watches they might be able totell exactly what happens next.Overall:This movie is a terrific movie, and it is worth thetime and money to see.

BByy SSeeaann DDoobbbbiinnss

Background: Rocksmith is a new music video-gameproduced by Ubisoft that allows players to plug virtuallyany electric guitar into an Xbox 360, PS3, or PC.Good: With this game, people who have never playedguitar can learn to play! The game begins with basicssuch as holding the neck of the guitar, how to use yourpick, and moves from simple notes to chords and entiresongs. The game has a HUGE set list, with AdditionalDownload Content being updated every other week, sothe options of songs to play will only grow. With just afew weeks, you will be able to play a few songs, pickout a few chords, and even sing along, as the lyrics areshown in the Rockband style above the display.Bad: The price is a hefty one. If you already have anelectric guitar, the game will only run you $80. If youdon’t, the set packaged with a guitar is around $200.Overall: Very much worth the money required. Withinjust a couple of months, a player can know enough aboutguitar to create his own music, and maybe even start hisown band! Overall, Rocksmith receives a 9.5/10.

RRoocckkssmmiitthh tteeaacchheess gguuiittaarr wweelll ‘‘JJooyyffuull NNooiissee’’ iiss ggrreeaattVideo game Movie

BByy MMaarryy PPeerreezz

Teens are always searching for cheap entertainment on theweekend. I discovered that you can do a lot of fun activitieswith only $20.

To start off the weekend I went to cheer on the Falcons atthe girls’ basketball game. The admission is only four dollars,because you get a discount for being a student. Basketballgames are a bargain for students who want to hang out withtheir peers and love sports.

I wanted to have some winter fun over the weekend so Idecided to go downtown to the Rivers Edge to ice-skate. Toice-skate with a shoe rental is $8. I went and skated through-out the whole afternoon. Ice-skating is a smart spend becauseyou pay a little amount of money for a whole day of fun.

After ice-skating I was really thirsty, so I stopped byOriental Foods to grab a Japanese soda. Oriental Foods is onRiver Drive, across from the skate park Japanese Sodas areonly $1.50. They come in tasty flavors like strawberry andsangria.

Later in the day, I stopped by North Park Mall to playarcade games. Most of the games are 50 cents, so with $1 Igot to play two games. The arcade is an old school way tohave fun on a budget.

At the end of the day, I went to Steak-N-Shake for ahearty dinner. They have a choice of meals like, chicken fin-gers, a single steak burger, steak burger with bacon, and adouble steak burger. All of these meals come with fries andare under $4 ($5 with a drink). I got the double steak burgerwith fries, and by the end of the meal I knew I got mymoney’s worth.

All of these great activities add up to $20. I was really sur-prised how much you can do with so little money. $20 can goa long way if you know how to spend it wisely.

Game- $4Rivers Edge- $8 Japanese drink- $1.50Arcade- $1Steak-N-Shake- $5

The

Weekend

briefs

Debate team plans trip

BByy JJiisseellllee HHeennddeerrkkootttt

Show choir waited on tables and later performedseveral songs at its dinner theatre on Jan. 22.

West Connection and This Just In showcasedtheir competition shows to raise money to defraycompetition expenses. It cost $15 a person for din-ner, and they had a choice of three entrees, a desert,salad, and drink.

They will travel to Mt. Pleasant for their firstcompetition on Feb. 4, and then onto four morecompetitions. West also will co-host the GreatRiver Show Choir Invitational at the Adler Theatrewith Central on Feb. 17 and 18. They will then endtheir season performing at the Show Choir ShowOff at the Adler. The director of WestConnection, Rosalie Dunnegan, said show choir isall about entertaining an audience while learningresponsibly and respect for others.

“It’s a younger group this year, but they havegreat energy,” Dunnegan said. “It just takes a lot toget it channeled to its full potential.”

BByy MMooeesshhaa PPoooollee

The Speech and Debate team is preparing for achance to go to nationals in Las Vegas this June.

The events they have to get through are dis-tricts, held on Feb. 10-11. As well as state, onMarch 8-10, at the University of Iowa.

“We have to make finals at state,” EmilyHuber, sophomore, said.

Speech is acting out an emotion or giving anemotion. Debate is trying to prove your point on atopic. Most events are held in various parts ofIowa. The transportation for Iowa events is provided by Maggie Rietz. But theLas Vegas event is on air plane.

“The only thing we have to pay for is food,”Huber said.

Last December, the team competed at DowlingHigh School in West Des Moines. As a team theyqualified for state there, but talent was also shownin the seperate events.

Show choir raises money

Alternative Spring BreakBByy CCooddyy CCrraawwffoorrdd

The Ecology Club will participate in theAlternative Spring Break from March 13-16 aroundthe Quad Cities.

This four-day event includes a cleanup of theMississippi River, an invasive species pull atNahant Marsh, preparing donated saplings forplanting in Rock Island, and a nature hike at LoudThunder Forest Preserve in AndalusiaAlso coming up is the Tree Hugger Trivia on March3 to raise money for the club.

The purpose of the club is to educate people ofthe ways that they can make the earth a better placeand doing so in a fun way.

BByy TToonnyy CCoolleemmaann

Drama Club hosted a Murder Mystery Nightfrom 6-9 p.m. on Jan. 29 at Emily Crowe’s housewhere members got a role and acted in that char-acter in order to solve a murder.

Last month Drama Club helped produce“Sleepy Hollow.” Students in charge of DramaClub include Emily Crowe, Alexis Lotspeich, andPresident Tony Kettelar.

Drama Club has fun

BByy AAsshhlleeyy VVaannWWiinnkkllee

Friday is when it all began, and I didn’t wait until the endof the day to decide. During school I decided that a great ideafor a $20 weekend would be sledding with some of my clos-est friends, and then half priced appetizers at Applebee’safterwards. It was my birthday weekend.

After school on Friday my friend Caitlyn and I went toWal-Mart to pick out our sleds, I spent $10 on a bowl shapedsled, and it was the bomb! After that we went to my friendAlisa’s house, which was where we were sledding, to getdressed up in appropriate attire such as bikini’s and sunblock.I’m totally kidding; mittens and hats were the appropriateattire. We sledded all night long. After we finished sleddingwe went out to Applebee’s for some half priced appetizerswhere I spent a total of $4 sharing a sampler appetizer withmy friend Austin.

Saturday morning I woke up and decided it was time to gosledding with some new friends. My friend Hannah had afour-seat toboggan, and Cody and Bennett had their ownsleds to ride. We took a short trip down to our very ownFejuvary hill, right by the IMAX. It was a blast. We sleddedfor three hours and had the time of our lives for free. Wefound a ramp that someone had built and just sledded off itfor hours. By far the best sled was the toboggan though; itwas incredible and made the ride so much more of a rush.

After we finished with our three hour sledding trip, weloaded up the car and went to Dunkin’ Donuts for some smallhot chocolates, price: $1.50, and some free laughs.

Sunday was my birthday, so I spent it with my best friendJaime Peterson. She bought me a cookie cake and we justrelaxed with a few friends. It was a really good day, andsometimes relaxing with some good friends is a great, might Iadd FREE, way to have a good laugh and a good time.

Sled- $10Appetizer- $4Small hot chocolate- $1.50

$20

Sophomore races for a goodtime with a limited budget

Junior hits the slopes for some sledding thrills

Feb. 3 9:00 p.m.- Battle of the BandsRock Island Brewing Company 18152nd Ave. Rock Island, IL 61201

Feb. 4 9:00 a.m.- Bald Eagle WatchMississippi River Visitor Center Lockand Dam 12 West End Arsenal IslandRock Island, Il 61204

Feb. 4 8:00p.m.- nu.LOVE RedStone Room. Five dollar entry fee.

Feb. 7 7:05pm- Quad City Mallardsvs. Dayton Gems I Wireless Center

Things to do

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:03 PM Page 3

BByy BBllaakkee RReeeess

Nearly one in three Iowafourth graders last year lackedbasic literary skills that shouldhave been known in third grade.

Thirty-one percent of Iowafourth graders scored below basicin 2011 in the reading portion onthe National Assessment ofEducation Progress, a test givento a sample of the states studentsin fourth grade.

The performance given on theIowa Test of Basic skills showednearly 23 percent of studentsscoring below proficient in read-ing. Somewhere between 7,800and 10,000 Iowa children wereconsidered illiterate in third gradelast year. Still, by the next yearstudents will advance to fourthgrade despite low scores.

Governor Branstad uncovereda $25 million education reformplan last month in Des Moines,Iowa. The proposal is aimedtowards holding back thirdgraders who are unable todemonstrate basic reading skillsin efforts of bettering the studentfor their years to come by taking a test designed tofind out where the student stands in their education.

For third grade teacher, Debra Kelly, each childneeds to be looked at individually.

“It is wrong to say that any child who is strug-gling with reading should be retained,” said Kelly.“Circumstances are different for each

child…Students could be retained even though theyare succeeding in other areas like math, etc. Itwould be a waste of their time, unless they had ateacher who could meet their needs in other areas,which would be difficult.”

“I had one child who was very young and couldnot pass a single test. I held her back and she thenbecame very successful. However, there are stu-

dents who struggle withreading but perform well inother area.”

The district will be work-ing with hundreds of stu-dents during the summerreading program and givethem an alternative test toprovide extra help to the stu-dents that are having trouble.The new exam will bedesigned with the expecta-tion that all students who canread will pass the test.Students, who do not passthe test on the first try, willget the opportunity to re-takethe test at locally-offeredsummer school, and couldmove to fourth grade if theypass on that attempt.

“Students who are strug-gling in reading need to beevaluated by a group of edu-cators and the parents,” saidKelly. “Then, a decision canbe made as to what would bemost beneficial for thatchild. Parents must be a partof this decision. It would bewrong to simply say that all

students in third grade need to be retained if theirtest scores are not high enough. I don’t believe thatthis decision should be based on one test score!”

If approved by the state board of education, itwould take affect for students finishing the thirdgrade in the spring of 2013.

READING IT UP- Brian Butler, senior reads to first, second, and third graders atWilson Elementary with other IJAG members for the Day of Caring.

Photo by Scott Moore

BByy KKrriissttaa JJoohhnnssoonnThe key to success is an education;

however, many students are choosingto pass up their opportunity and closethe door on their education. In Iowa,the Davenport school district has thehighest drop out rate in the state at 6.32percent which causes many to wonderwhat is causing so many students tolose sight of graduation and what isbeing done to help them.

According to Iowa law, in order fora student to drop out he or she must be16 before the start of the school year.While some students follow the lawand remain in school until they are eli-gible to drop their classes, many stu-dents quit coming to school longbefore their 16th birthday.

For example, on Jan. 25, approxi-mately 218 students at West were tru-ant from one or more classes. Whileone day is not alarming, some of thosestudents have missed multiple days.

When a student repeatedly missesclass, the school has the responsibilityof notifying the truancy officer, GarySchroeder. The school must have fourinterventions, or attempts made to con-tact a parent about their child’s truancywhich include a call home, a lettersent, a second letter sent, then a meet-ing. If none of the attempts result in apresent student, Schroeder can bring aparent to court. Parents can be fined$180; Schroeder has not seen a parentfound innocent in court during the 12years he has been a truancy officer.While the process seems simpleenough, Schroeder explains that theproblem and solution is not so cut anddry.

“Our job is to put kids in school,not put parents in jail. But sometimesthat’s what happens,” said Schroeder.However, he does not feel court is theanswer to every situation presented tohim. “Sometimes you have parents thatare really trying but can’t get their kidsto obey them.” He explained situationswhere you meet a single mom whoworks all day just to pay the bills soadding a fine to her stress isn’t going to

benefit her or the child if they don’thave a place to live.

And he admits there are situationswhere parents truly do not care andthey are fined,but “justbecause yougive someone aspeeding ticketdoesn’t meanthey will quitspeeding.”

There areseveral reasonsa student may choose to drop out. Teenpregnancy, drugs, alcohol, mental ill-ness, learning disabilities, bullying, andlack of supervision are all reasons astudent might feel the need to leave theschool setting.

For Bridget King, 20, making thedecision to leave West when she was15 is something she regrets. She nowrealizes she did not have a good rea-son.

“I can think of a million excuseswhy I dropped out, but when it comesdown to it, it was my fault. I didn’t likeschool and I was lazy,” King said.

While King did have a child whenshe was 15, she doesn’t feel this con-tributed to her dropping out. “My momtried to make me go to school; she justcouldn’t force me. I had to want itmyself, and I didn’t.”

Wesley McMahon, a fifth year stu-dent at West, explains he was close todropping out. “Gangs, friends, skippingclasses, smoking weed are all things Iwanted to do instead of school…I hadto go through all that to find out who Iwas,” said McMahon. “I really would-n’t have gone anywhere if I didn’tchange. When you ask one of yourfriends for something and they tell youto get it yourself, you start to realizeit’s only you out here; no one is goingto support you forever.”

With graduation approaching at theend of third term, McMahon has had torepeat classes and do credit recovery sohe can finally graduate.

He wishes he had done sports and

got involved. However, after trying outfor the basketball team this year, hefound out that super seniors aren’tallowed to participate. “I feel like an

old man still going toschool sometimes,”said McMahon. “Justknow it’s all on you.You might think it’scool to skip butyou’re the one whowill be dealing withit.”

Programs such asthe 9th grade acade-

my, APEX, and a new after school pro-gram referred to as night school areways West is trying to prevent dropouts. However, none of these are guar-anteed.

With every student being differentand experiencing different situations,administrators find it difficult to com-ment on statistics rather than specificsituations.

Principal Nancy Jacobsen explainsthat there’s a lot to discuss when itcomes to the drop out percentage andthat there is not a definite solution tothe problem. “There’s a story behindevery number,” said Jacobsen.However, she explains that she feelsthat the building as a whole is helpingthe problem. “When I came here sevenyears ago, there wasn’t anything inplace to help these kids, if they wantedto go, they could go.”

Associate Principal Bob Tollefsonagreed with Jacobsen that every stu-dent needs to be addressed differently.

“It’s important not to judge any stu-dent. You can’t assume someone can’tmake it…At this age I strongly believethe best thing we can do is to build arelationship with the child,” Tollefsonsaid.

For King, coming back to highschool to get her diploma is not in theplans. With three children, she feels thebest thing she has done with her life isbring her girls into this world. “I won’tgive up on them; they will graduate. Idon’t want them to live like me.”

6 Focus Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012 Focus 7Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

BByy KKrriissttaa JJoohhnnssoonn

For Gary Schroeder, Davenport truancyofficer, opening a mixed martial arts gym inthe West End of Davenport isn’t just aboutexercise and self defense, but rather helpingkids feel successful and stay out of trouble.

Growing up in Florida, Schroeder recallsnot having much to do. His mother had himjoin a boxing gym in Miami. “It gave mesomething to do and kept out of trouble,”Schroeder said. He credits his mother for theidea of opening his own gym, “She told me todo something for the kids; she said someonedid it for me.”

Schroeder opened his gym in 1981 at St.Mark’s Lutheran Church while working as apolice officer. The church was happy to givehim the space for free; it allowed them to geta tax break for having a youth program aswell as gaining a good reputation for thechurch and neighborhood.

After Schroeder received support from thechurch, he found kids around the neighbor-hood simply by word of mouth. Havingraised his own kids in the West End,Schroeder feels, “The kids in the West Endare the greatest kids in the world. They don’t give up;they have fight in them.”

Asking for donations ranging from 50 cents to $1from each kid, Schroeder would use the few donationshe received to take kids to tournaments. Those withoutmoney were never sent away.

“I like working with kids…I hope this gives them asense of accomplishment and that they can succeed atsomething,” says Schroeder.

For Patrick King, 21, Schroeder’s gym, or the MixedMartial Arts Group, has given him the sense of accom-plishment and much more. King started coming down tothe gym when he was 17. Simply appealed by the factthat it was free, he quickly realized the gym had a lot ofgood people with a lot of talent. He gives credit to thegym for giving him, “Cardio, strength and conditioning,

jiu-jitsu and kick boxing skills, a 145 pound amateurtitle, and friendship.”

Since 1981 a few things at the gym have changed.The biggest change is location, with the gym beinglocated at Roosevelt Community Center and Schroederpaying his own $300 a month to maintain the gym, likepaying for new equipment, supplies, and transportationto competitions. He does this because he believes thegym is helping children.

“We even have opposing gang members who comein here and completely get along. The problems stayoutside,”said Schroeder.

“I grew up with the help of the gym…It’s helped mestay out of trouble and out of jail,” said King. “I get torelease stress and anger in a way that won’t send me tojail.”

Communitymemberhelps kids

Proposal will hold back deficient third graders

PPhhoottoo bbyy KKrriissttaa JJoohhnnssoonn

POUNDING IT OUT- Gary Schroeder holds pads for KodyBurke, 18 while calling out kick boxing combinations.Burke has been training at M.M.A.G. since he was 16, hav-ing 4 MMA matches since. His record is 2-2.

Drop out rates in Davenport schooldistrict raise many questions

CLOSING THE DOOR TO SUCCESS

Truancy officer teachesMMA to teens aroundthe West End

WHO IS CONSIDERED ADROP OUT[LOCALLY]:

● As soon as a person receives aGED, they are considered a dropout from the Davenport schooldistrict● One person can be counted asa drop out multiple times (ex. Ifone person drops out as a fresh-man, returns their sophomore butdrops out as a junior, they arecounted twice on the out list)● Those under 16 can be countedas a drop out if they leave West,never enroll in another school,and there’s not a way to contactthem.

SOURCES: West High Administrators/Truancy Officer

DROP OUT STATISTICS[NATIONALLY]

● Every year, over 1.2 million stu-dents drop out of high school inthe United States alone. That’s astudent every 26 seconds – or7,000 a day. ● On average, only 58% of stu-dents in America's 50 largestcities make it to graduation. ● America’s high school gradua-tion rate ranks 19th in the world.(Forty years ago, we were numberone.)

SOURCE: dosomething.org

EARNINGS OF DROPOUTS

● In the last 20 years the earningslevel of dropouts doubled, while itnearly tripled for college gradu-ates● Recent dropouts will earn$200,000 less than high schoolgraduates, and over $800,000less than college graduates, intheir lives.● Dropouts make up nearly halfthe heads of households on wel-fare.

SOURCE: kidsource.com

I really wouldn’thave gone anywhere if I didn’tchange.”

“

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:05 PM Page 4

BByy AAsshhlleeyy VVaannWWiinnkkllee

Senior boys basketball player DarenStringfellow has broken the schoolrecord on number of career assists dur-ing the West vs. Assumption game onJan. 13.

“It made me feel proud because Idid something that no one else ever has,and I don’t think I could have done itwithout my team.,” Darren said.

Darren has a few goals for this year,

“I want to make arun at the confer-ence race andhopefully make arun at state.”

The sub stategames for the boysare Feb. 24, 25,and 28, leading upto the state tourna-ment from March.6-10.

BByy BBeeccccaa SSaannddrryy

Even though the weather is cold outside, that isn’tstopping students from working up a sweat inside.Whether it’s running in the halls or improving footwork, Speed and Agility workouts help athletes,teachers, students who aren’t involved in sports, andeven parents improve their speed, conditioning,mental strength and unity.

“I like Speed and Agility because I get to have agood work and be with my friends!” said LarenSkulte, junior, who has done Speed and Agility sinceher sophomore year. “The strenuous running activi-ties get my muscles adjusted from not doing any-thing to running everyday for track.”

“It’s healthy for you; it helps to improve yourover all health and helps to improve your speed andagility” said Gene Belz, who is one of the teachersinvolved in organizing Speed and Agility. “I hope it

gives our student athletes the mind set that they canachieve anything they want by working hard andtogether”, Belz adds.

Speed and agility allows students to come afterschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get a workoutsupervised by teachers and/or coaches for one hour.

The workouts end Feb. 9. Once athletes com-pleted the course of workout they receive a free t-shirt provided by the school.

“At the end of speed andagility you’ve realized thatyou’ve accomplished so much.”Kris Burney, junior says.

Burney uses workouts to stay inshape for soccer. “I love being able to stay inshape for all of the sports I do,” adds Burney.

Belz said the athletes bond by working outtogether. “Doing speed and agility creates afamily like atmosphere between all whodo it. Those who sweat together, worktogether as one.”

For the students who were unable toattend speed and agility. The Bulgarian isalso available Mar. 24 and Mar. 31 for amore intense work out that focusesmore on core body strength.

Sports 9Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

Breaking a sweat and kicking upthe heat with Speed and Agility

BByy TTyylleerr MMaasstteerrssoonn

The wrestling team has had some gooddays and some bad days, resulting in incon-sistent scores in January and a 4-8 record,according to coach Chris Heilman.

Although the wrestlers’ biggest weaknessis their inconsistency, they do have athleti-cism and strength, which allows them toplay at a high level every week, Heilmansaid.

The team’s inconsistency has come fromoff-the-mat issues involving disciplinary,academic, and motivational troubles. Theteam also lacks in depth chart, which causesthem to forfeit in the heavy weight class andmakes it hard to win duals.

The wrestlers ended on a good note in theMAC tournament by winning several oftheir last matches with senior Joe Bierl andNic Bacus finishing highest. However, theteam didn’t place as high as it wanted to.

“Zach Blizzard beat a guy who he hadlost to earlier in the MAC tournament andCaleb Cousino came back after a tough lossto beat his opponent from Muscatine,” saidHeilman.

The wrestlers need to believe they canbeat the top guys in state and that they havethe ability, they just need to perform,according to Heilman.

That’s just what they did when they wentback and forth against Clinton. After givingup a forfeit, they really performed well andstepped up and won, according to Heilman.

The team has several top wrestlersincluding junior Randy McPhee, who is areturning state qualifier but has been dealingwith challenges that has kept him off the matthis year

Seniors Kyle Beale and Caleb Cousinoare leading the team in wins, and seniorsDylan Mitchell and Nic Bacus score a bunchof bonus points. Joe Bierl has beaten verytough opponents this year with Josh Wendellwrestling tough too.

The district meet on Feb. 4 inBurlington, Iowa will mark the end of theseason for some wrestlers but the start ofanother journey for others. The wrestlerswill put what they have learned to the test tosee if they can be one of the top twowrestlers in their weight class to qualify forstate.

“In terms of ability and athleticism, Ithink we are comparable to many topteams.” Heilman said. “However, we needto expect to win, like many of the top teamsdo. We are on our way to that. Our wrestlersjust need to buy in to the program, make sac-rifices, and believe they can win.”

BByy BBeeccccaa SSaannddrryy

This winter has brought challenges forthe boys’ basketball team, losing two of theirlast games. On Jan. 24 the boys lost to theNorth Scott Lancers 67-36. That same weekthe boys lost their game against PleasantValley 60-43.

Coming from a win against PleasantValley previously this season, the boys los-ing to the Spartans was a downfall of theirseason.

“We played with lots of effort, but strug-gled with our shooting,” said coach MarkBigler. “This has hampered us throughoutthe season, so hopefully we will find a hotstreak to finish the season.”

The Falcons overall record is 5-8.“Each game is pretty much the same in

regards to goals,” said Bigler. “We attempt toidentify their best scorers and try to takethem out of the flow.”

The boys will try to avenge the teams thathave beaten them in the past, such asBettendorf on Feb. 3 and Assumption onFeb. 17.

“We look forward to facing teams thathave beaten us the second time this season,to have a chance to reverse the fortunes,”said Bigler.

So far, the Falcons have made 74 of their241 attempted three point shots.

The Falcons guard, Joe Scott leads theMAC in shooting with an average of 20

points a game. “If you’re a three- point shooter just keep

shooting don’t hesitate,” said Scott.With the first sub-state game coming up

on Feb. 24 the Falcons prepare for the com-petition. “I’m very excited because sub-stateis coming up and it’s crunch time,” saidScott.

BByy AAlllliiee WWaalltteerrss

The boys swim team lost 115-53 to Clinton on Jan. 19, leavingthe Falcon’s record for this seasonis 2-4. Other losses came from Central and Rock Island.

However, despite the losses,coach Brian Heller is staying pos-itive about the season.

“The boys are a little moredriven, they are working hard andit seems like they really want tobe good,” said Heller.

The boys have been workinghard with a full swim schedule,practicing Monday, Wednesday,

and Friday mornings at 6 a.m.,everyday after school from 3-5:15, and Saturday mornings 7:00to 9:00 a.m.

Heller believes that the team’sstrengths come from the seniorleadership. Varsity captains areseniors Brad Rollins and MattAney. The boys struggle due tothe fact that there are no freshmenon the squad.

The boys will swim at dis-tricts at 12:30 p.m. on Feb.4 atBurlington High. If they do well,the team will then go to the stateswimming meet on Saturday, Feb.11 in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Swimmers finish strong

Photo by Becca Sandry

Photo by Becca Sandry

TAKING DOWN THE COACH- Junior Tyler Wells, left, works on his take downswith assistant coach, Ryan Delf at practice after school.

Wrestlers end their seasonwhile new journeys begin

Boys basketball crunches downthe remaining time ‘till sub-state

Those who sweattogether work togetheras a one.

- Gene Belz”“

Senior breaks school assists record

Photo submitted by Donna DubberkeSTRETCHING TO THE TOP -- ColeTatge, senior, jumps over his competi-tion at the Assumption vs West gameJan. 13.

Photo by Becca Sandry

WET! -- Brad Rollins, senior,and Kyle Dittmer, junior, prac-tice their starts off the blocks.

Photo By AshleyVanwinkle

RUN-NINGYOURHARD-EST-JuniorLexyDevlinruns atSpeedandAgility.

DarenStingfellow

8 Sports Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

Slammin’ the puck with the QC Blues

Girls basketball shoots for bestBByy AAsshhlleeyy VVaannWWiinnkkllee

The girls’ basketball season is com-ing along, but placing seventh overallfor varsity, and not ranked at all for thejunior varsity girls, it might not be com-ing along exactly how the team hadhoped for at the beginning of the sea-son.

“We are getting a lot better, just along way to go,” Coach Saladino said.

Syanne Saladino agrees things needto change.

“I would love to change the passion,the chemistry of the team, and the driveof the game this year honestly,” said

Shyanne. Misfortunes doesn’t stop the team

from trying their hardest to make thebest of their season.

Coach Saladino had been preparingthe girls with a lot of drills and gamestrategy. “I work them hard, and theywork hard,” Saladino said.

Girls like Shyanne are used to thetough basketball practices.

“I have been playing since I waseight, and I love the strategy of thegame, that keeps me motivated”,Shyanne begins, “The team is gettingbetter, we put a lot of time into it andwe’ve been doing a lot more fundamen-

tal drills.” The Central at home was one of the

games on Saladinos mind.The girls went into over time against

the Lady Devils. “I felt nervous, excit-ed, and anxious about the last few min-utes of the game,” Shyanne Saladinosays.

Coach Saladino says the girls playwell together.

“My seniors are stepping it up big aswell as sophomore Brooke Garnica andjuniors Lexi Quandt and Celina Manly.”said Saladino

The girls next game will be played atBettendorf High school tonight at 7 p.m.

Coaches pick: Seniors who lead the way

Joe ScottBoys basketball

Chosen by Coach Bigler

“Joe gives great effort in the class-room, has priorities in the properorder, and helps the younger play-ers,” coach Mark Bigler said.

“I feel good being chosen because ofthe fact that younger guys are look-ing up to me and I get the chance toteach them,” Scott said

BByy AAsshhlleeyy VVaannWWiinnkkllee

It’s a Saturday afternoon inDes Moines, Iowa, Jordan Phillipsis drenched in sweat as if he juststepped out of the shower. Thereason being, an intense hockeygame against the Des MoinesOakleafs, ending in not only awin, but also what the QC Bluesconsiders one of the most excitingand intense games of their season.

However, hockey is more thanjust one game; it’s about focusingon all 32 of the regular seasongames, and preparing for the lastthree at the championship tourna-ment. So far the record is 14-7-1.

To practice the team does bothon ice and off ice workouts. “Forthe on ice workouts, we do vari-ous drills that will stimulate thegame situations at full speed, typi-cally for as long as a normal shifton the ice takes, which is normal-ly 45 to 60 seconds,” coach Whiteexplains, “But as for off ice workouts we do various aerobic andanaerobic exercises to strengthenand condition the body specifical-

ly to hockey.” Hockey may seem tough to

some, easy to others, but everyonesees an ideal hockey player assomething different, “an idealhockey player is someone who iscommitted, has a positive teamfirst attitude, has a love for thegame, and has their skills inorder”, White said.

Phillips sees his ideal player assomething a little differentthough, “In order to play youneed to be able to lay out yourbody and take pain.”

“A skilled professional hockeyplayer is on the same level ofother athletes such as MichaelJordan and you have most just anotch below that”, White states.

The boys play Friday nights,Saturday afternoons and evenings,and Sunday mornings and after-noons, home games being playedat the River’s Edge, adjacent fromModern Woodmen Park.

To help try to win the games,the team often times uses littleplays such as cycling the puck outof the corners with a man going to

the net, but the team also uses aplay called the Power Play, “Thisis where one team has a manadvantage due to a penalty, this isthe biggest play and teams whohave success during these situa-tions tend to win more games thannot,” White explains.

Fighting is a part of hockeythat seems to not only lock view-er’s interest but affects the boys

and their coaches as well. “Fighting at out level is a sign

of losing control emotionally andis frowned upon for the mostpart,” White explains. The coach-es don’t encourage letting theplayers emotions get the best ofthem and feel it serves no purposefor the team what so ever. “Whenpeople fight it swings to momen-tum of the game greatly,” Phillipsadds.

“On average there is about onefight per game at the higher NHLlevels, but at the lower levelsthere may be more on average,”White explains.

However, since fighting isfrowned upon, there is a penalty.“A fighting penalty gets you fiveminutes in the penalty box, whichwe also call the “Sin Bin” inslang, and can be more if youinstigate the fight,” White said.

Losing a game can affect theteam in quite a few ways, goodand bad. “Winning is our ultimategoal,” White begins, “it gives meand my coaching staff a very sat-isfying feeling which makes us

think that what we are trying toteach the team about being suc-cessful is sinking in.”

But along with teams any-where, along with winning thereis losing as well. “The vibe in thelocker room after a loss is notgood,” Phillips says.

When the team loses White hastwo thoughts before entering thelocker room, “Did we play thegame the way we practiced?” and“Did we play the game contraryto the way we practiced?”

“If one is the answer, I pointout the positives, but if the answeris two, I stress to them what weneed to improve on., but emotionsdo run very high so it’s a fine linebetween staying positive andbeing negative,” White says.

The boys have a benefit gameon Feb. 17 at the Iwireless Center,Varsity plays at 6:30 p.m., and JVat 8:30 p.m. “It’d be great if wecould get more West High Schoolkids out for our games, but sinceit isn’t a school sport we don’t getthat support,” Phillips adds.

poll��

SOURCE: Beak ’n’ Eye survey of 170 students

Which sport do you like best?

Brad Rollins Boys swimming

Chosen By Coach Heller

“Brad is leader by example.Everything he wants to be or to do hedoes.”, Coach Heller says.

“I am honored to be chosen, I feellike everything I have worked hard forhas paid off,” Rollins said.

Josh WendellWrestling

Chosen by Coach Heilman

“ We depend on him and a few of theother captins as well. He is a goodperson who is also a great examplesfor young wrestlers on and off themat,” coach Chris Heilman says.

“It feels like hard work paid off,”Wendell said.

Shyanne SaladinoGirls basketball

Chosen by Coach Saladino

“Shy is very organized, she communi-cates well with all ages of girls on theteam. She is also told to be one who cancalm people down, and voice an opinionfor the team,” coach Joy Saladino said.

“I feel very honored to be chosen,”Saladino said.

Photo by Becca SandryPREPPING FOR THE GAME - Girls bring it in toprepare for the game they are about to play.

SCORINGONE FOR HISTEAM - JordanPhillips, sen-ior, left,takes certainsteps whenscoring goalsfor him andhis teammates of theQC Blues.

42%

Hockey

Photosubmitted byJordanPhillips

7%

21%

14%

16%

Football

Baseball

Basketball

Soccer

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:05 PM Page 5

“Really poor children, in really poor neigh-borhoods, have no habits of working and havenobody around them who works. So they have nohabit of showing up on Monday, and no habit ofstaying all day. They have no habit of I do this andyou give me cash, unless it’s illegal,” Newt Gingrichsaid on national television recently.

Newt Gingrich believes that all teens who havegrown up poor will always be poor. He believes thisbecause if the kid’s parents haven’t worked, whywould they want to?

What we are wondering iswhere Gingrich received hisinformation about teens andthe poor. Or did he just statehis opinion on national televi-sion for all the people, whosevotes he would want, can see.

Gingrich also stated thatthe rate of unemployment inAfrican-American teenagers is43 percent. What he doesn’tstate is that the unemploymentrate for teenagers as a whole is 24.6 percent; or thatadult’s unemployment rate is 8.5 percent accordingto the National Employment Law Project. Teenagersnow have to compete, for jobs, with the babyboomer generation. Really, who is the boss going tochoose, the experienced adult or a teenager?

I know a bunch of kids who want better forthemselves and their future children. Many of thejuniors and seniors at West have jobs. Some of thekids at West work at Menards, McDonald’s, Hy-Vee,TjMaxx and lots of other places. We want to be ableto say, “hey look, I grew up poor, but I worked mybutt off and I’m head of my own business, so that Ican give my kids more than what I had.”

Teens these days are also very involved in extra-curricular activities, like: show choir, sports, clubs,and volunteering. Teens involved with a lot of thesethings have no time for a job and school. Someteens have a school, extra-curricular activities and ajob. These teens are so stressed that they come to apoint where they just completely break down. Orwhen teacherssee a kid sleepin class, theyjust assumethey that kid islazy. Theteacher doesn’tknow what isgoing on inthat kid’s life.That kid couldbe working adouble shift atMcDonalds tohelp his mompay the rent.

Isn’tschool sup-posed tocomebefore everything else? Parents tend to say you haveforever to work, worry about school now. Should wegrow up too soon and live our life as an adult beforewe are even adults?

Gingrich explains nothing in this statement; hejust goes forth and states it on national television.Since the recession many adults have been takingjobs that teens would normally work. He doesn’tstate this either.

Gingrich needs to look more into things beforecriticizing the youth of America. Gingrich forPresident? Anyone? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Voice 11Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

Likes & Dislikes

Gingrich all wrongabout teenagers’work ethics

One of the professors at IowaUniversity wrote anarticle that was verydispleasing to manyIowans that beganan outrage, as far asthe making of t-shirts to deaththreats go.

Stephen Bloom, aprofessor of journal-ism at IowaUniversity and awell-known writer, wrote a disrespectfulopinionative article titled,“Observations From 20 Years of IowaLife” posted Dec. 9, 2011, in TheAtlantic. All throughout Bloom’s articlehe writes disrespectful, rude, andunneeded comments on Iowa; like whenhe writes, “Iowa is a throwback to yes-teryear and, at the same time, a caution-ary tale of what lies around the corner.”

The topic of Bloom’s article was to“explain” “what Iowa is.” He startedand ended the article by saying thatIowa has a big impact on who will bethe next president; he uses PresidentObama as his example at the beginning.Bloom doesn’t think that Iowa shouldbe the state to impacts the nation. Heshows this when he writes, “Iowa’s notrepresentative of much.”

Bloom has a sarcastic attitude in hisarticle like when he wrote, “On thestate’s eastern edge lies the MississippiRiver, dotted with towns with splendidnames like Keokuk, Toolsboro,Fruitland, Muscatine, Montpelier,Buffalo, Sabula, Davenport, Dubuque,and Guttenberg.”

A sarcastic attitude shouldn’t be writ-ten in any writing because it is disre-spectful of another’s position and maycause people to be offended. And a pro-fessor of journalism, like Bloom, shouldbe someone expected to know this.

Bloom also wrote about theMississippi River negatively. “Not muchtravels along the muddy and polluted

Mississippi these days except rusty-bucket barges of grain and an occasionalkayaker circumnavigating garbage, beercans, and assorted debris.” The professorcontinues writing, “The majestic riverthat once defined the United States hasrendered commercially irrelevant thesedays.”

His comment may have been true insome places of the Mississippi River,but not in all. Never have I seen anydebris or garbage floating throughout it.

The comment was completely inappro-priate and should have not been in hisarticle. When writing, people should tellthe truth and when writing it not in away that may cause one to becomeoffended because of the disrespect, espe-cially journalists like Bloom.

Bloom writes many other things thatare unnecessary like, “Those who stay inrural Iowa are often the elderly waitingto die, those too timid (or lacking ineducated) to peer around the bend forbetter opportunities, an assortment ofwaste-toids and meth addicts with paleskin and rotted teeth, or those who

quixotically believe, like Little OrphanAnnie, that, ‘The sun’ll come out tomor-row.’ ” Bloom also writes that somenames are common in Iowa and that,“Everyone knows someone who has hadan unfortunate and costly accident witha deer.”, and that “Religion is glue thatbinds everyone…”

Bloom doesn’t understand that manystates have those common names, that inevery state there are have different kindsof people and some who choose to stay

where they are and that everyonebelieves something; but none ofthose things make a state bad or aplace that doesn’t deserve to be.Those are the common things ofAmerica, not just in Iowa. I don’t agree with what Bloomwrote in his article. First of all, Ithink it was wrong of him to com-plain about the state he lives in.We live in America! We have theright to live where we want tolive. If he doesn’t like Iowa thenhe should leave. And second heshouldn’t have said all the thingsabout Iowa because people livehere. I don’t think it’s his goal oflife to upset people. Why wouldanyone write anything like thisabout any state?! It’s rude disre-spectful and it’s just gonna makepeople upset. An Iowan wouldnever do anything like this;

Iowans are friendly and kind; I knowbecause I’ve only lived here for fourmonths and I’ve noticed it.

Bloom finishes his article by writing,“That’s the place that may very welldetermine the next U.S. president.” Bloom’s article was written in norespectful way, whether it was true ornot. It is possible for people to writewhat they think and still do it respectful-ly. It may take longer and be harder, butit is the right thing to do. And whenwriting with respect, respect will begiven in return.

Haley Benisch

JephthahJon Yarian

Do all Iowans have meth labs?

dim view

Art by Sami Mills

LIKES- HAVING A VALENTINE -makes a person feel special, no matter who the admirer is. It’s like realizing that other people do care for you besides your family.SHORT TRAINS -When you get stopped because of a train, but then realize it’s really short.LOUD MUSIC - If you’re talking to someone you really don’t want to, you can turn the music up really loud, and can’t hear them anymore.

DISLIKE-LIKE MY STATUS - This is too overrated. No we will not like a person’s status for a shout-out or a confession.LOUD IN THE LIBRARY -Since we were kids we’ve been told to be quiet in the library. Be considerate and be quiet.CRUSHES-If a person tells another you that they like them, but then goes to a dance with a whole differentperson. That person should’nt have told you that theyliked you; or they should’ve asked you to the dance.

With MichelleObama’s newHealthy Kids Act, Ihave seen manychanges come toour lunchroom, butis it enough? I donot believe so. IfMrs. Obama wantsus to eat healthy, we

should have more healthy options. What is healthy about chicken

nuggets and French fries? Granted, theschool has limited the French fry serv-ings from four days a week to tow, butwhy are there no other options? I say weshould have salads as sides. Salads areavailable in the lunchroom, however,they are not offered as a side like friesare; they are only offered as an addition-

al purchase. The fact that students mustpay extra for healthy choices does notquite make sense. The argument that theschool will lose money is invalid; thecost of a side of fries (about $1.25) ismore expensive than a side of salad($1.00).

So why are we not given that option?Has Mrs. Obama’s Act really made thatmuch of a difference? I believe not!

� �1. Everybody loves the School Spirit atWest2. The Newspaper is the best!3. Foreign Language Department is muybien!4.Drama Department, have you seen theirplays?5.Security Guards, because they arefreaking cool.

Top 5reasons why we like West High

CortneyHaines

Photo by:Jeff Sinner/Charlotte Observer/MCT

IOWANS- A RayGun t-shirt makesfun of Steven Bloom who accused allIowans of having meth labs andmany other outrageous things in anarticle in The Atlantic.

Healthy Kids Act not as healthy as we thought

The Bettendorf High School admin-istration this month allowed students totext during passing times and lunch.Although Davenport High Schools stu-dents are not allowed to use cell phonesat all, there are some very good reasonsto why we should be allowed to usethem.

Texting, cheating, and bullying arereasons that students are notallowed cell phone use in theclassroom. Phones ringing in theclassroom are a problem too.

Teenagers’ cell phones havebasically become an extendedappendage. Not many studentscan say that they have never usedtheir phones during school,whether it’s texting or gettingonline, a very large percentage of ushave used them at school.

We see kids at school cheat all thetime, from writing the answers on apiece of paper and hiding it under apiece of clothing to texting friends the

questions. Yes, many kids are bulliedover technology; no one can really con-trol that, but have the school boardsonly seen the bad things that can comefrom a cell phone, rather then the good?

According to PBS, 83 percent ofadults own cell phones and over half ofthem use that phone to obtain informa-tion faster. Not to offend adults, but

teenagers tend to be a lot faster on anykind of technology, let alone cellphones. So instead of using our slowcomputers at school, we should beallowed to use the internet on our cellphones. Having this kind of technology

in the classroom would make the learn-ing process a lot faster.

In Rochester, New York the WebsterCentral School District now lets stu-dents use their cell phones duringschool. According to WHEC, GlenWidor, the principal, said, “For the mostpart it has eliminated confrontationsover cell phones and some studentsappreciate it.” The principal and teacherin Webster, feel that the cell phones do alot more help then harm.

For this policy to change, studentsshould address the school board. Theschool board would possibly vote andthen we would either be able to use ourphones during school or not, but wehave to start fighting somewhere.

The Beak ‘n’ Eye believes studentsshould be allowed to use their cellphones during passing time and lunch.With teacher permission, they should beable to use them in class for educationalpurposes. It’s easier to compromise thanto fight with angry teenagers.

Having this kind of technology in the classroom would makethe learning process a lot faster.”

“

10 Editorials Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

Beak ‘n’ Eye

Cell phone policy should be changed

The Beak ‘n’ Eye serves the West High student body byinforming, investigating, and interpreting events which con-cern students. It also provides an open forum for its diversereadership.

The school board grants student editors the FirstAmendment right to determine the coverage and content oftheir pages. The adviser’s role is to teach and advise the staffso that it can follow responsible journalistic practices.

Readers are encouraged to submit letters to Room 161.Letters should be 300 words or less and should be signed.We reserve the right to edit the letters for length.

Unsigned editorials represent the consensus of the stu-dent editorial board and not necessarily the views of theadviser, administration, or Davenport Community SchoolDistrict.

The Beak ‘n’ Eye is published eight times a year from3505 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA 52804.

Member of Iowa High School Press Association, NationalScholastic Press Association, and Quill & Scroll InternationalHonor Society.

Art by Sami Mills

our view

If you had a boyfriend or girlfriend what would you do on V-Day?

“We are going out to eat,then to Vanderveer, andafter that go back to hishouse to watch romanticmovies.”

- Maranda Lucas senior

“Do nothing, because it’sa Tuesday. I’d wait til theweekend.”

- Kyle Braummanjunior

“I’d buy her flowers andchocolate, then I’d takeher out to Applebees forthe 2 for $20.”

- Nate Clarksophomore

“I’d give him flowers anda teddy bear.”

- Nicole Benischfreshman

Compiled by Haley Benisch

Censorship has no place in schools

Editors-in-chief Erin PershallKrista Johnson

News editor Hieu NguyenFaces editor Arina RusskikhFocus editors Blake Rees

Krista JohnsonSports editors Ashley Vanwinkle

Becca SandryLeisure editors StaffVoice editors Haley Benisch

Logan AllenBackside editor Emily CroweArtists Sami MillsAdviser Steve Lyle

In school students learn about American History,and sometimes in other classes they learn about otherethnic people’s history. In Arizona students don’thave that choice. Arizona’s law prohibits classesdesigned for one ethnicity. Starting this semester,Mexican-American classes, or any other ethnic class-es, are being taken away from the schools in Tucson.

According to Arizona Central, “House Bill 2281bans classes in kindergarten through 12th grade thatpromote the overthrow of the U.S. government, pro-mote resentment toward a race or class of people, aredesigned primarily for pupils of one ethnic group, oradvocate ethnic solidarity.”

The students at the Tucson schools believe thatthese classes are very important. They help kids feelwanted, smart, and like they are part of somethingbigger than themselves.

The school board had to abide by the judgesorders. “I made a decision based on the totality of theinformation and facts gathered during my investiga-tion — a decision that I felt was best for all studentsin the Tucson Unified School District,” said JudgeLewis D. Kowal.

At West we have classes like those, only ours arecollege-prep classes, like Hispano and Iberia.Hispano teaches students about Mexican literature,while Iberia teaches students about Spanish literature.

Emily Thompson has taken Iberia and has said,“It’s a higher level class, it teaches you about the cul-ture, not just the language.”

In school, we’ve learned that we wouldn’t be thecountry we are today without people from differentcountries. We don’t think that the issue is justMexican-Americans’, it’s every country. Perhaps toget rid of this problem, the schools should teach aclass about every ethnic group. That way no studentfeels left out.

In the Quad Cities have very large variety of eth-nic groups. In Davenport, Iowa we have very heavyroots from Germany, while in Rock Island, Illinoisthere are very heavy Hispanic roots. There are somany more then just those too. All of these rootshave what the Quad Cities are today.

The United States is a huge melting-pot; we can’tdiscriminate against one race, without discriminatingagainst another. “We can’t all be on layer; we have tobe more than one layer. We have to be aware ofeverything around us, and know what is going on inthe world, rather then just in our own lives,” saidThompson.

Ethnic classesshould remain

SHHHH! Do you hear that voice? ‘Tis I, youropinions! As of right now, I am absolutely fumingand/or rejoicing about one of the topics that wereaddressed in this issue. I am becoming rather disqui-eted, because you are shutting me inside your head,Therefore, please write a letter to the editor, detail-ing just how irritated and/or over-joyed I am.

All letters should be 300 words, and there’s agood chance that it will shortened if it’s too long.Don’t forget to include your name and grade in yourletter. Just drop them off in Room 161.

Letters wanted

In 2009, English teacher Ben Langeof Allamakee, Iowa, was issued two for-mal reprimands for allowing the pub-lishing of two articles in the schoolnewspaper. One had an altered image ofa baby smoking a cigarette and one wasan April Fools edition of the paper thatthe principal thought was offensive.Lange sued to have the reprimandsremoved and the Iowa Court of Appealsruled in favor of Lange.

This was a good decision since thestudent articles did no actual damage toa person’s reputation since it was clearlya spoof. The U.S. Supreme Court ruledthat high school students do have freespeech. In 1969 the Tinker v. Des

Moines case, the school districtinfringed the student’s First Amendmentrights by not allowing them to protestthe Vietnam War by wearing black armbands. The students were forced intosuspension until they decided to returnto school without the arm bands.

An Iowa law passed in 1989 limitsthe circumstances that student-runnewspaper publications can be censored.The law helps student journalists pub-lish what should be heard. Student jour-nalists most likely would have restric-tions limiting what is published, if wedid not have the laws in Iowa. In Iowaschools are able to report stories thatthey would not be able to publish with-

out them.The Beak’n’Eye has never been cen-

sored by an adviser or principal. TheBeak’n’Eye uses research to investigatethe problem so that the facts are accu-rate so students can find solutions toproblems.

The Scholastic Journalism Week isFeb. 19-25. It is a time when peoplehelp promote the benefits of scholasticjournalism and help teach about theFirst Amendments. We encourage you toexercise your right to free speech bywriting a letter to the editor of the QuadCity Times or the Beak ‘n’ Eye on atimely issue that concerns you.

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:05 PM Page 6

12 Backside Beak ‘n’ Eye Friday, February 3, 2012

BByy HHiieeuu NNgguuyyeennGuys usually ask girls to Prom or Homecoming.

However, Gala is the opposite. Most students said it isnot that awkward to ask someoneto a dance.

“I would feel happy when a girlasks me to go to gala because I’vegot a date,” said Zach Jacobsen,junior.

“I wasn’t really nervous to askmy date to Gala,” said DawnVickers, sophomore. “But I didn’task him face to face. He wanted toborrow a CD; I put a note insidethe CD cover. Later he said yes.”

Some guys refuse to go to thedance if they’re asked. “If a girlasks me to go to the dance with her,I’d tell her that I can’t. I’m hangingout with my friend at SunDown skiresort,” said Zac Mirfield, junior.

“I’m not going to the dancebecause my girlfriend’s motherwon’t let her go. I would say no ifsomeone else asked me,” saidDavid McVay, sophomore.

Some girls have creative ways to ask the guys to thedance. “I ordered a fortune cookie to ask Tyler Hoth tothe dance,” said Emily Thumann, junior. Hoth said yesto her.

Brianna Bellman asked her boyfriend to Gala in anunusual place. “I made two signs, one placed on top ofmy bathroom toilet,” said Bellman.

Bellman said she had him walk into the bathroomwithout being too obvious. He walked in the bathroomand saw the sign; then he began to laugh out loud and

said: “Of course I’ll go with you,but that was really gross.”Another girl used a musical invita-tion to Gala. “I made a rap and post-ed it on his Facebook page,” saidMegan Rice, senior. She askedDayne Rodriguez, senior, who toldher yes.

The rap was like this: “Yo Dayne,wouldn’t it be. Real nice to go togala with me. Cause I’m so fly, andyou’re a nice guy. Why don’t wejust give it a try? What do you sayI’m asking today? So hit me up ayay or nay.”

The dance was held at ColBallroom on Jan. 28, and the themewas ‘Untie the Night’ LakenFluegel was crowned the GalaKing.“The dance was fun. It was themost fun I have had in a long time,”said Fluegel, senior. He said that he

felt excited, emotional, and thankful when he wascrowned Gala King.

Music was a mix of popular songs and some oldromantic songs. Although the DJ took a few requests,he picked most of the songs.

“There were 490 tickets sold this year,” said MarkKretschmer, band teacher in charge of Gala.

To advertise in the March 2 issue,call 563 386-5500 ext. 161

poll��

SOURCE: Beak ’n’ Eye survey of 200 students

Which would youworry more about:asking someone to adance, or getting yourwisdom teeth pulled?

Photo by Hieu Nguyen

Gala 2012

CROWN ME- Laken Fluegel was crowned Gala King onSaturday, Jan. 28, at the the Col Ballroom.

GALA COURT- The boys of Gala Court line up for a group shot. From left to right: James Thames,Austin Wolf, Tony Ketalaar, Joe Bierl, Rayvonne Brown, Nick Munger, Kyle Beal, Joe Scott,Laken Fluegel, Jake Yoke, Shawn Simmons, Darren Stringfellow, and John Solbrig.

Photo by Hieu Nguyen

Girls ask guys to dance in clever ways

Photo by Hieu NguyenUNTIE THE NIGHT- Students have fun and work up a sweatdancing at Gala last Saturday. Senior Seth Malloy, left, shakeshis groove thang and shows his classmates how to get downon the dance floor.

The Wisdom Dance Teeth

BeaknEye_5_11_ISSUU 2/16/2012 3:05 PM Page 7