! s her scene ends, senior Jane Lindemann rushes backstage to not only switch costumes, but complete- ly swap characters. Due to many changes in the theater program, this is the pro- cedure for much of the musi- cal’s cast. The script of “Lucky Stiff” presents the theater de- partment with a chance to try something new. With a bizarre but comical plot, the show centers around Harry Witherspoon, the heir of a $6 million inheritance from a deceased uncle. However, to collect the fortune he must take his uncle’s corpse on one last trip to Monte Carlo. The main distinction be- tween this year’s production and past shows is the size of the cast. While losing nearly 28 se- niors last spring was a setback, the smaller ensemble cast is used as an advantage. This allows actors to play multiple roles in the show, which Lindemann, senior thes- pian president, said helps ac- tors develop their craft. “(The ensemble cast) will challenge us as actors,” she said. “We’ve been working re- ally hard on characterizations to make sure everyone embod- ies their character really well.” Theater director Jodi Hat- zenbeller said the smaller cast also allows the musical to be more of a collaborative effort. “The smaller cast has given the opportunity to let the actors have more input in the show and bring forth their ideas,” Hatzenbeller said. Overall, the department hopes the many changes to the show will further interest stu- dents in theater. “Students should come see the show for the same reason they go to a football game or basketball game; they should support the program and will be thoroughly entertained,” ju- nior Asher Pink said. !"#$"%#&’( $*+",-". /0( 10/0 2 +*34," 56 2 7%%4" 08 %9: 3*47% ;&.< =7>= %?=**3 2 @816 !: AA .# %9.""9( %9: 3*47% ;&.<( ,$ 6681@ !!!:%3;"?=*:?*, !"# $ # $ % &’()*%’# (+,-%- -#)./ -($001 (10-)’2 3 ophomore Lauren Miller’s dad woke her up early Oct. 29 just like every other school day morning. But unlike most days, he woke her up to tell her school was closed for the day, and she could go back to bed. School was canceled Oct. 29 due to problems with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in the high school. Though originally reported as a chlorine leak by local media, the problem re- sulted because of a failed ventilation system. District assistant superintendent Bob Laney said after a power outage around 5 p.m. a phase of the power system shut down. All the motors in the school, including fan and ventilation motors, require this phase to operate, so they also shut down. The control box that monitors all the de- vices was also disabled by the power outage and was therefore unable to restore the ven- tilation system. This caused district officials to cancel school because too few of the ven- tilation fans were back in operation. “Without that level of (air) exchange, we couldn’t have students in the building,” Laney said. A fire alarm sounded around 5:45 p.m. Laney said it was triggered by a small amount of smoke from a control box that was sparked by the power outage. Students at school for the orchestra concert were di- rected outside of the building due to the fire alarm, though no major danger existed. However, many students said they heard different reasons school was canceled. Kelsey Reid | editor in chief Jodi Hatzenbeller | theater director !"#$%&’"()$* )$,’ -.#"#-,/"0 !"#$%& ()*+", !+-.."&, &"*"-&)") *"& &%+" /%& .*" 012%3$#4 30)$2-+ 56027, !.$//8 9%:; <; =*" 1+-, >$++ 1&"3$"& 9%:; ?@; !"#$# & !1%4 5%.-#%’ %&’(")* ,-$.(/!’ 0!1 $,,$-2&0(2(!’ 6+11 7.0*,(#)0’ 8%1(09%- ($+’2%- 3!0($- ,-!,)-!’ 4$- 5-!56#2(06 ")-!!- 7(-*’8 ’1(99(06 "),’ "$04!-!0"! 2(2*! ;&>" 0A ;&>" 05 Abi Tupa | staff writer :$1!- $&2)6! *!)/’ 2$ .!02(*)2($0 ’;’2!9 ,-$<*!9’ ="2> ?@ AB#!)2!- (’ ) 4$-9 $4 !"#$!%%&’(C (2 (’ ) -!,-!’!02)2($0 $4 0)2&-! )0/ ) 1); 2$ *$$D )2 #&9)0(2; (0 )0 !()!$)*&(&(+ 1);>E : his year elementary students are moving beyond baking soda volcano science fair projects. The $618,000 Cargill Foundation grant aims to fund sci- ence at Aquila, Peter Hobart and Susan Lindgren and en- courage students to take higher level science courses in high school. The program will also work to highlight engineering to better meet new state standards. Park Spanish Immersion will join the program once the curriculum is translated to Spanish. Teachers and students will serve as resources for im- plementing plans. High school science teacher Pat Hartman has begun to teach lessons, conduct experiments and hold demonstrations at the elementary schools. Program coordinators will also ask high school students to teach and tutor elementary students. Grant coordinator and science teacher Mark Miller said high school students were included in the program because they can serve as role models. “It’s so powerful if the high school students show them it’s OK to like science and to be smart,” Miller said. Junior Faduma Kite hopes students appreciate science. “I think they would have an increased interest in the sci- ences because we could show them how much we enjoy it,” she said. Students interested in being a mentor should contact Miller. Until this grant, elementary schools didn’t have a budget for science and had to pay for projects on their own. District officials actively pursued the three-year grant after hearing about it from an involved parent. Miller said Park received the grant due to a willingness to try different educational approaches. “Park has a reputation of being an innovative district that likes to move forward,” he said. “And what we’ve done here is come up with an entirely new way of teaching science in elementary schools.” ;.+’# <,’*- -()%’(% (,..)(,1,9 )’ %1%9%’#+.= -($001- %!02$-’#(, 2$ "$02-(<&2! 2$ 0!1 (0(2()2(.! <)’!/ $0 ,-(.)2! 4&0/’ Kelsey Reid | editor in chief !"#$# & 5+#)% >+.0’ 1$ ,./ %-/$/0 A/B2$-+) -&&$:"C A2.; @D -/."& - 1%>"& %0.-4" 2-0)"C 1&%E+"3) >$.* .*" :"#.$+-.$%# ),)."3; 6+11 ?,-)(+1 @08 9,($A FG 4$- ’2&/!02’H FI 4$- )/&*2’> B$%.%A J(6# 3"#$$* K&/(2$-(&9> B$%’A L$.> M?NMO P L$.> M@N?Q )2 IROQ ,>9>H P L$.> MS P ?M )2 ?ROQ ,>9> &’()*%’# ’ () T 2#(0D 2#!; 1$&*/ #).! )0 (0"-!)’!/ (02!-!’2 (0 2#! ’"(!0"!’ <!")&’! 1! "$&*/ ’#$1 2#!9 #$1 9&"# 1! !0U$; (2> Faduma Kite | junior
Transcript
!s her scene ends, senior Jane Lindemann rushes backstage to not only
switch costumes, but complete-ly swap characters.
Due to many changes in the theater program, this is the pro-cedure for much of the musi-cal’s cast. The script of “Lucky Stiff” presents the theater de-partment with a chance to try something new.
With a bizarre but comical plot, the show centers around
Harry Witherspoon, the heir of a $6 million inheritance from a deceased uncle. However, to collect the fortune he must take his uncle’s corpse on one last trip to Monte Carlo.
The main distinction be-tween this year’s production and past shows is the size of the cast. While losing nearly 28 se-niors last spring was a setback, the smaller ensemble cast is used as an advantage.
This allows actors to play multiple roles in the show, which Lindemann, senior thes-pian president, said helps ac-tors develop their craft.
“(The ensemble cast) will
challenge us as actors,” she said. “We’ve been working re-ally hard on characterizations to make sure everyone embod-ies their character really well.”
Theater director Jodi Hat-zenbeller said the smaller cast also allows the musical to be more of a collaborative effort.
“The smaller cast has given the opportunity to let the actors have more input in the show and bring forth their ideas,” Hatzenbeller said.
Overall, the department hopes the many changes to the show will further interest stu-dents in theater.
“Students should come see
the show for the same reason they go to a football game or basketball game; they should support the program and will be thoroughly entertained,” ju-nior Asher Pink said.
3ophomore Lauren Miller’s dad woke her up early Oct. 29 just like every other
school day morning. But unlike most days, he woke her up to tell her school was closed for the day, and she could go back to bed.
School was canceled Oct. 29 due to problems with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in the high school. Though originally reported as a chlorine leak by local media, the problem re-sulted because of a failed ventilation system.
District assistant superintendent Bob Laney said after a power outage around 5 p.m. a phase of the power system shut down. All the motors in the school, including fan and ventilation motors, require this phase to operate, so they also shut down.
The control box that monitors all the de-vices was also disabled by the power outage and was therefore unable to restore the ven-tilation system. This caused district offi cials to cancel school because too few of the ven-tilation fans were back in operation.
“Without that level of (air) exchange, we couldn’t have students in the building,” Laney said.
A fi re alarm sounded around 5:45 p.m. Laney said it was triggered by a small amount of smoke from a control box that was sparked by the power outage. Students at school for the orchestra concert were di-rected outside of the building due to the fi re alarm, though no major danger existed.
However, many students said they heard different reasons school was canceled.
:his year elementary students are moving beyond baking soda volcano science fair projects.
The $618,000 Cargill Foundation grant aims to fund sci-ence at Aquila, Peter Hobart and Susan Lindgren and en-courage students to take higher level science courses in high school. The program will also work to highlight engineering to better meet new state standards. Park Spanish Immersion will join the program once the curriculum is translated to Spanish.
Teachers and students will serve as resources for im-
plementing plans. High school science teacher Pat Hartman has begun to teach lessons, conduct experiments and hold demonstrations at the elementary schools.
Program coordinators will also ask high school students to teach and tutor elementary students.
Grant coordinator and science teacher Mark Miller said high school students were included in the program because they can serve as role models.
“It’s so powerful if the high school students show them it’s OK to like science and to be smart,” Miller said.
Junior Faduma Kite hopes students appreciate science.“I think they would have an increased interest in the sci-
ences because we could show them how much we enjoy it,” she said.
Students interested in being a mentor should contact Miller.
Until this grant, elementary schools didn’t have a budget for science and had to pay for projects on their own.
District offi cials actively pursued the three-year grant after hearing about it
from an involved parent. Miller said Park received the grant due to a willingness to try different educational approaches.
“Park has a reputation of being an innovative district that likes to move forward,” he said. “And what we’ve done here is come up with an entirely new way of teaching science in elementary schools.”
;.+'#"<,'*-"-()%'(%"(,..)(,1,9")'"%1%9%'#+.="-($001-%!02$-'#(,+2$+"$02-(<&2!+2$+0!1+(0(2()2(.!+<)'!/+$0+,-(.)2!+4&0/'Kelsey Reid | editor in chief
!very weekday morning for the past year, junior Tian Saltzman has taken
a long detour around the High-way 7 and Wooddale Avenue construction to get to school.
Yet with the interchange set to open to traffi c Nov. 19, she will no longer be burdened by the construction. The project, which has inconvenienced some
students, involves restructuring the intersection at Highway 7 and Wooddale Avenue to a sepa-rate grade interchange with a bridge over the highway, and re-aligning the south frontage road. The completion of the project and opening of the interchange to traffi c will likely improve transportation for students and bus routes that use Highway 7 or Wooddale Avenue to get to school.
Project engineer Scott Brink said the disturbance caused by the construction is a small price to pay for the many benefi ts.
“The construction has defi -nitely been a problem for some people, but that really can’t be avoided,” Brink said. “The safe-ty and fl ow of the intersection will be so improved, and I think people will be really happy with the results.”
Though not as obvious, stu-dents who bike to and from school during much of the school year like Saltzman have also been inconvenienced.
“It has really been a hassle for me as a biker,” she said. “Because of the construction, I’ve had to set aside more time
in my schedule and go down Minnetonka Boulevard to cross the highway at a different spot, instead of being able to cross Highway 7 and go straight to the bike path.”
One of the main advantages of the interchange will be the improved safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, as they will no longer have to cross the danger-ous intersection. Automobile safety will also be improved.
Following the opening of the interchange Nov. 19, there will be little signifi cant work left to do on the project.
"range signs are scattered across lawns in St. Louis Park in protest of an up-
coming freight rail reroute.The reroute, which
would allow for a light rail network across the western suburbs, is being questioned by community members on the grounds of its possible danger and disruption if imple-mented.
The new plan could send as many as eight large freight trains across railroad tracks that lay 25 feet from the school parking lot.
“Trains now take one or two minutes to pass. That could be as much as 15 min-utes with the longer trains that will come through,”said Jami LaPray, co-chair of the local group Safety In The Park.
Hennepin County began presenting its preliminary fi ndings from a study conduct-
ed by land planning company Kimely-Horn regarding the reroute design on Nov. 9. At press time this information was unavail-able.
Safety In The Park has distributed pro-test signs across the community over the the past month. Freshman Cole Bacig, said he feels the signs are effective.
“I think it’s the best way to let kids know what’s going on. It stands out but doesn’t get in our way,” Bacig said.
LaPray believes the increased freight traffi c could endan-ger students because of the possibility for
derailment and could pose a major disrup-ton to traffi c.
Though no decision has been made, the disruption would not likely begin immedi-ately. More information on timing will be will be presented in upcoming meetings.
#$ saw on Facebook that there was a fi re at school,” Miller said. “There were
so many things said that I thought maybe it could have been true.”
While false accounts such as rumors of a fi re initially circulated among the student body, the reason for the school closing is now clearer.
Another incident occured later in the eve-
ning when two elementary students swim-ming with Aquafi ns, the community educa-tion synchronized swimming program, went to the hospital after feeling increased levels of chlorine.
Senior Erica Anderson said the high school swim team has noticed the problem several times during practices throughout the season.
“It’s extra hot, harder to take breaths in and the air feels thicker,” she said.
The district is now looking into swim-mers’ concerns about air fl ow in the pool area and what caused the elementary girls to feel sick Oct. 29. Laney said the appropriate solution is not yet known.
“We’re looking into why all of the sud-den there was more chlorine in the pool,” Laney said.
!"#$!"!%&'()*!"#$%&'()*+,"+#-)*+-*+.-
+he freshman Respect Retreat will be Nov. 18 and 19. All freshman and
upperclassmen mentors attending the retreat should bring a bag lunch. The Respect Retreat is organzied by Youth Frontiers, an initiative to build positive school communities. The organization is based out of St. Louis Park and leads retreats across the country.
,arking passes for the new quarter should be on all student cars in the
school lots. Cars without passes are in danger of being towed. Passes can be purchased in the Student Offi ce for $45 cash or check.
,arents of seniors are to submit the childhood picture and message to
Echowan by Nov. 19. The message will be one-eighth of a page in size. Pictures can be emailed to [email protected]. Pictures can also be submitted in hard copy form, however, the return of the picture is not guaranteed. The length of the message should be approximately 150 characters and should be submitted with a check for $45 made payable to Echowan. In addition yearbooks may be purchased for $60 by Dec. 17. The price will increase to $70 after Dec. 17 for any student who still wishes to order a year-book at that time.
+he blood drive organized by student Council will be Nov. 15. Student
Council representatives will be signing students up to donate blood during all three lunches. In order to donate blood you must be at least 17 years of age, be 110 pounds, be in good health and have eaten a meal in the six hours before do-nating. Bring a valid ID to your appoint-ment. Those 16 years of age are allowed to donate but need a parent’s consent.
@ustin Barbeau, former social studies teacher was recently named coordi-
nator for the 2010 Investigating in In-novation Funds grant, which focuses on expanding the freshman guidance pro-gram to other grades as well as across the country. He will not be teaching for about four years in order to take on the new job. His replacement is 2005 Park graduate Sarah Lindenberg, who now teaches three Civics and one AP Pyschol-ogy course.
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Aollowing math teacher Sherry Stoll’s resgination, a solution to the situa-
tion has been found. Math teacher Jamie Schnack will take on Stoll’s three Higher Algebra classes. As a result, former sub-stitute teacher Ted Beaudoin will now teach two of Schnack’s Algebra classes in order for Schnack to be able to fi ll in and teach Stoll’s former courses.
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!ven with the rising popularity of eBooks, teens are fi nding it hard to fi t reading into their sched-ules.
Scholastic Corporation’s 2010 Kids & Family Read-ing Report conducted by Harrison Group and Scholas-tic reported teens are reading less due to technology. The study showed while distractions like texting and Facebook provide teens with ways to read without picking up a book, they don’t offer the same intellec-tual engagement as books.
“Teens are reading less literature than they were 10 years ago,” Media Center librarian Ellen George said.
George is in charge of the school book club, which encourages teens to read.
It is open to all students and pro-vides them a forum to read and discuss books.
The group reads six books a year and meets every six to eight weeks.
The club selects books through student suggestions. George then researches the books and tries to fi nd those that are popular and well reviewed.
Members will be discussing their current book, “Wintergirls” by Laurie Halse Anderson, at their next meeting after school Nov. 16.
“Wintergirls” revolves around a group of teenage girls with eating disorders.
Junior Ella Brakob said she feels she has benefi ted from her involvement in book club because the differ-ent people in book club offer a variety of outlooks.
“Everyone brings their own personal take on what happened in the book, and other people sometimes no-tice something that nobody else picked up on,” Brakob said.
George said most of the students in book club like reading and enjoy the books they read.
Students interested in book club should contact George in the Media Center.
Although some students fi nd extra time to read for
book club, a problem many teens face is fi nding time to read for pleasure.
“I wish I had time to read for fun,” senior Talie Geretz said. “But it’s easier to sit down and watch TV than to pay attention to a book.”
Other students, like senior Karl Conroy, fi nd time in their hectic schedule to read for fun.
“I usually read for an hour before I go to bed,” Conroy said. “The weekend is a great time. If there’s a Saturday afternoon when I’m not doing anything, I’ll sit down and read for a while.”
Conroy enjoys reading for many reasons, but main-ly because it gives him information television or the Internet can’t.
“I’m a giant history nerd,” Conroy said. “I like to read a lot of books on U.S. history. It’s stuff that you can’t really get from watching TV.”
Though some students fi nd books to read on their own, others feel reading for school has turned them off reading, like sophomore Samantha Nyenhuis.
“School makes you read boring books. It ruined read-ing for me,” Nyenhuis said.
Nyenhuis said she rarely reads for pleasure because of her dislike for school reading material.
She said the only books she likes to read are from the Harry Potter series.
“(Harry Potter) is exciting and draws you in. It makes you want to keep reading,” Nyenhuis said. While not all teens love reading, George said it is an important skill that must be developed for teens to function properly in the adult world.
“Reading is good for your brain. It builds your vo-cabulary and helps you be a better thinker,” George said. “These are important qualities for a teen in the 21st century.”
George said reading is a fundamental skill, especial-ly today. It provides exercise to the brain, which is a muscle, and needs exercise just like any other muscles.
George described a study in which higher third grade reading profi ciency correlated with lower per-cent of the adult population incarcerated in certain towns. George said this is because reading gives people benefi cial life-long skills that set them on successful life paths.
“Reading effects your success in life,” George said. “Those who are better at reading tend to do better in life, and get jobs that pay more.”
Senior Leigha Sledge’s favorite novel is “Lock and Key.”
“It wasn’t a typical love story, not just boy meets girl. The main character is a troubled teenager to the point where you can still relate to her. She has ev-eryday problems that you could encounter yourself,” she said.
Freshman Harun Abdi suggests Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.”
“I like Jonas because he has optimistic behavior. It’s also very funny,” he said. Additionally, this novel is in the process of being pro-duced into a feature fi lm, due in 2011.
Junior Megan Sawatzky enjoys Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner.”
“It’s a very passionate story. It held my interest the whole way through,” she said. “I suggest it to students because it’s a dif-ferent cultural experience. It opened my eyes.”
Source | survey of 285 students given Nov. 4 in the lunchroom and Scholas-tic Corporation’s 2010 Kids & Family Reading Report conducted by Harrison Group and Scholastic
+want to be a cat lady when I grow up.Each day I am welcomed home by
a familiar face pawing at the door in ex-citement. She answers to a whistle, likes to lick my face, drinks out of the toilet, gets caught under my feet and is my best friend. She is my cat.
From everyday conversation I have observed the student body is comprised of many dog lovers, a sprinkling of cat fanatics, and under-the-table cat lovers embarrassed by their preference. But what students fail to see is cats offer all the benefi ts of a dog in a fl uffi er bundle of joy. So old age surrounded by cuddly furballs doesn’t sound too shabby.
I have noticed hostility toward cats increasing lately. I can’t say whether this is because it is allergy season, which reminds people that cats make them sneeze, or the idea of black, four-legged omens around Halloween. But lately the misdirected hatred is severe. Just the
other day I heard a man walking his dog chuckle at a missing cat poster and mutter “good riddance.”
This is unac-ceptable behavior. Cats are often portrayed as cold and creepy, but this is false. Cats are the greatest animals to grace our planet.
I have lived with cats and dogs since birth. As an ex-perienced pet owner I can say surely cats surpass dogs. Sure I loved my dogs, but I have a special connection with my cats, my cat Mug in particular.
Mug adored me without any of my effort from the instant we brought her home as a fuzzy kitten that fi t in my hand, contrary to the incorrect belief a cat’s love must be earned.
After 12 years, Mug and I have de-veloped telepathy. Cats are wonderful in that way; they have amazing intellect. Mug can sense sadness and responds by crawling into my lap so I can pet her ir-resistibly soft fur, which is always clean. She never rolls in the mud or tracks in dirt, so I can kiss her anytime without fear of swallowing foreign substances.
She also senses bedtime. If Mug isn’t already curled up at the foot of my bed, within 15 minutes of crawling under the covers I hear a meow as she jumps to join me. As fun as dogs are, no canine is as good a pillow as a cat. And cats never wake you up at 3 a.m. barking.
Clearly, cats are not solitary. Sure, cats don’t require juggling schedules to make sure they are let outside, and can catch their own dinner in the summer. But a cat’s hunger for attention is shown when it presents a headless mouse on the front steps, and Mug has this vex-ing habit of sleeping directly on my face, which makes breathing diffi cult.
Some people prefer dogs, and I re-spect that. But that is no excuse to hate cats. Most dog-lovers debase kitties, but they have no personal experience own-ing one, thus no right to judge. It is time to open ourselves to the value of cats and reevaluate man’s best friend.
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Mara Olson entertainment editor
Aunior Sahra Muhammed knows what it is like to grow up during a civil war. Born in Somalia, Mu-
hammed saw her home country on the brink of anarchy.
Schools 4 Schools, a new organization established by the humanitarian group Invisible Children is encouraging schools around the world to raise money for northern Ugandan schools.
Muhammed’s experience have inspired her to take part in the effort to aid Ugan-dan students.
“I really felt their [Ugandans] pain,” Muhammed said. “I have also experi-enced the effects of civil war as a child and it is incredibly sad to see more chil-dren go through it. I fi gured since I have the opportunity I should try and make a difference.”
Due to a civil war many schools in northern Uganda have been seriously damaged or destroyed, causing many students from the region to fall behind academically.
Park has only recently joined the ef-
fort, which has more than 1,000 schools worldwide participating. As the staff adviser of the group, Bruce McLean said he is very happy with the enthusiasm students have shown. More than 40 students attended the fi rst meet-ing.
“I was really sur-prised by the number of students who showed interest in the cause,” McLean said. “It’s great that students responded to the [Invisible Chil-dren] meeting with so much enthusiasm.”
Along with Mu-hammed, junior Don-nyelle Williams has also felt a need to help the students in Uganda.
Similarly, Williams said she sees it as her re-sponsibility to make sure the Ugandan children have the appropriate learning resources, adding all students should have equal ac-cess to educational resources.
“They don’t have any books or com-puter’s to use,” Williams said. “It’s the kind of stuff we take for granted.”
Despite the best efforts of the group, McLean said fundraising is a complicated process, one that will take much time for
the members to organize. “Right now we really have to make
sure that we can get all of those who are interested on the same page,” McLean
said. “It doesn’t work if only a couple of students are operating a fundraiser.”
In addition to working on organiza-tion, the group is hop-ing to create a larger variety of fundraising. Williams said she has worked with the other members and created an elaborate list of fundraising opportuni-ties, including movie nights and student versus teacher sporting events.
“We’re trying to appeal to the students point of view,” Wil-liams said. “The more
[students] we can reach, the better.”Muhammed said the most important
goal of the group, however, is to educate students and faculty of the confl ict in Uganda.
“Our fi rst goal is to inform the people about the situation,” Muhammed said. “It’s important for them to understand why we are doing this.”
E")$8")8"&/)#$)$8:')-"#&F')G8#,;'<:0:,<)1"#B)*:$8/%$)>//;:,<)#BB)+#-?)H++)$8&"")>B#'':>):,<&"+:",$'):,$/),"*)>/12:,#$:/,')!/&)"#'-)$/)1#;")8/B:+#-)+"''"&$'?Robbie Seltzer-Schu"#$%! features editor
!nglish teacher Julie Koepke is seeking donations for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Koepke’s goal is to run the Changes Rock ‘n’
Roll Marathon in Phoenix this January, and collect $3,500 in donations. Though she has already raised $1,900, she continues to encourage students to support her efforts. Interested students can go to the website http://pages.teamintraining.org/mn/pfchangs11/jkoepke.
7atural Helpers, a peer counseling group, had its fi rst meeting Thursday Nov. 4. The group spoke about how to form a more cohesive student
body and addressed issues pertaining to some students, such as after school busing and how to better advocate for immigrant students who are English language learners. The group plans to recruit new members from the freshman class in the next few weeks.
G;$.'-3'.;/'!DE'*#+9#$AHWe learn how to take care of patients in certain situations and then we do hands-
on activities to practice those skills. We’ll take some notes and (the teacher) shows us how to do a certain skill and we’ll practice with mannequins or on each other. It’s like a two-period class, so the fi rst half we’ll take notes, and the second half we practice skills we’ve learned. It’s during the school day, it’s basically fi rst and second hour. It goes from 7:30-9:15 (a.m.).
G;)'6-6')+>'1;++3/'.+'6+'.;-3'*#+9#$AHTo increase my chances of getting on the fi re department as soon as I can, hopefully by
July. I want to go to a technical school and take any other classes that will help me with this career. Later in my life I think if I decide to become a full-time paramedic, I’ll be able to have that option, too.
(+5'5-,,'.;/'!DE'*#+9#$A'*#/*$#/')+>'.+'?/1+A/'$'C'#/C'9;./#HTo join the fi re department, they have it according to a point system so the more train-
ing you have the more points you get, and this program will add a number of points to my resume. Right now this is the only thing I need to do, but if I get brought on to the fi re department there is specifi c training they will put me through. The class isn’t a require-ment, it will just help me.
E+'5;$.'&-%6'+I'3-.>$.-+%3'A>3.')+>'?/'#/$6)'.+'#/3*+%6H''Basically, I’ll be prepared for any call that a full-time EMT would respond to. For ex-
ample, if somebody has a heart attack I’ll know what to do and how to treat them.
($2/')+>',/$#%/6'$',+.'I#+A'.;-3'*#+9#$AHYes, it’s only the fi rst quarter, and we’ve already learned a lot of good skills like (cardio-
pulmonary resuscitation), splinting a broken extremity and basic fi rst-aid. In as little time as we’ve had, we have learned a lot of important things.
G;)'6+')+>'5$%.'.+'?/1+A/'$'C'#/C'9;./#HMy dad is a fi reman, and I’ve just always been around it and (through the fi re depart-
ment) I know a lot of good people. I don’t want to sit behind a desk my whole life, and my days at work will never be the same, they will never be boring. I’m not worried about getting hurt, I just want to wake up and love going to work. I’m not afraid.
If I’m ever out and about and there’s ever any type of emergency, I’ll have the knowl-edge and ability to respond until professionals can get there. It will help me not just through work but also through my everyday life.
Kast Thursday Nov. 4, the Quiz Bowl team competed at Eden Prairie High School for its fi rst tournament. Park sent four teams, each consisting of
four members. Park’s A Team, consisting of seniors Andrew Ford and Matan Appelbaum, and juniors Kyle Klausing and Cameron Cleveland went undefeat-ed in the tournament. However, the biggest surprise of the tournament came from the all freshmen D-Team, consisting of Kaynan Appelbaum, Noah Betz-Richman, Gabe Bichinho and Carter Green, who went 3-1 in the tournament.
*ompared to the tune of $62,500, 'Tunes’ prices of $1.29 per song sound especially reasonable.
Brainerd resident Jammie Thomas-Rasset was ordered in federal court to pay $1.5 million to a record label for illegally downloading 24 songs, after her third time in court Nov. 4.
Also, the popular fi le-sharing website Limewire, was shut down Oct. 27 by a federal court in New York after a four year lawsuit.
Even more recently, Dirpy, a well-known website that downloads audio off Youtube, was cancelled by the creator Nov. 8. The reason was insuffi cient resources, most likely because the site could not fi ght off an imminent lawsuit.
The war against illegal downloads has begun, and serves as a sharp wake up call to teens and adults who turn to the Internet for free music.
Downloading illegal music has become popular for some teenagers, and many students are unaware of the severity of the consequences.
However, the question of pirating for some students is not as easy as it seems.
Jake Schaefer, who oversees New Media at local music label Rhymesayers, acknowledges some benefi ts to down-loading free music, such as raising awareness for new artists.
“[Music piracy] does generate interest, and people start talking about cer-tain artists. At least people will recognize their talents,” Schaefer said.
Also with the declining economy, free music is sometimes seen as a money-saver.
iTunes, the most popular legal music-downloading site, has prices ranging from 69 cents to $1.29 per song, and can become costly. Sophomore Kayla Johnson said with the current economy, buying music can get expensive.
“I know people who have 3,500 songs on their iPod,” she said. “How could they pay for that?”
By current iTunes prices, 3,500 songs could cost up to $4,515. Other students, such as junior Jordan Young, feel iTunes doesn’t stay cur-
rent enough. “iTunes always has to release albums later, it kind of feels like it’s not new,” Young said.
Downloading music illegally has also become part of the music culture. Many hip-hop artists have had their music made available on illegal mixtapes before the album is released. Some students turn to illegal sites to acquire these popular mixtapes.
However, illegally downloading defi nitely costs artists necessary money to make a living.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) es-timates music piracy costs the industry $12.5 billion each year. The RIAA is attempting to crack down on “pirates” and Thomas-Rasset sets an example.
Schaefer said selling product is the most essential goal to sus-tain the music business.
“You should buy the music if it’s an artist you support or re-spect, or you will lose your music community,” Schaefer said.
Senior Jeremy Bulman agrees piracy steals money from the music industry’s pocket.
“It is almost the same as stealing from a store,” he said. The consequences are not going unnoticed, and other than
Thomas-Rasset, the RIAA has convicted more than 20,000 indi-viduals and repeat offenders can serve up to six years in jail.
Although students across the country reap benefi ts from downloading free music, the music industry is cracking down on piracy, in the end it might end up costing you.
Also with the declining economy, free music is sometimes seen as a money-saver.
iTunes, the most popular legal music-downloading site, has prices ranging from 69 cents to $1.29 per song, and can become costly. Sophomore Kayla Johnson said with the current economy, buying music can get expensive.
“I know people who have 3,500 songs on their iPod,” she said. “How could they pay for that?”
By current iTunes prices, 3,500 songs could cost up to $4,515. Other students, such as junior Jordan Young, feel iTunes doesn’t stay cur-
rent enough. “iTunes always has to release albums later, it kind of feels like it’s not new,” Young said.
Downloading music illegally has also become part of the music culture. Many hip-hop artists have had their music made available on illegal mixtapes before the album is released. Some students turn to illegal sites to acquire these popular mixtapes.
However, illegally downloading defi nitely costs artists necessary money to make a living.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) es-timates music piracy costs the industry $12.5 billion each year. The RIAA is attempting to crack down on “pirates” and Thomas-Rasset sets an example.
Schaefer said selling product is the most essential goal to sus-tain the music business.
“You should buy the music if it’s an artist you support or re-spect, or you will lose your music community,” Schaefer said.
Senior Jeremy Bulman agrees piracy steals money from the music industry’s pocket.
“It is almost the same as stealing from a store,” he said. The consequences are not going unnoticed, and other than
Thomas-Rasset, the RIAA has convicted more than 20,000 indi-viduals and repeat offenders can serve up to six years in jail.
Although students across the country reap benefi ts from downloading free music, the music industry is cracking down on piracy, in the end it might end up costing you.
!ophomore Marshaun Roundtree sips Gatorade on the side-lines during a basketball practice. Junior Tyler Brodersen buys Propel from the snack bar every day during second
lunch. Although both students drink similar sports drinks, there’s a difference in their routines: one is healthy and the other isn’t.
According to an October study by scientists from the University of Texas School of Public Health, if students consume sports drinks while maintaining healthy dietary practices and high levels of physi-cal activity, sports drinks benefi t the consumer.
Physical education and health teacher Amy Berchem explained the benefi ts of drinking sports drinks over water.
“If you’re losing potassium and sodium, you need to replace it during and after your workout. Sports drinks replenish lost electro-lytes in your system, and quickly,” Berchem said.
However, sports drinks are often packed with sugar, with popu-lar brands containing up to eight teaspoons of sugar per every eight ounces of fl uid.
According to Christine Twait, registered dietician in the Depart-ment of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minneso-ta, there are situations where water benefi ts consumers more than sports drinks.
“If you work out for less than an hour, water is better for you because the amount of electrolytes lost aren’t substantial enough to be replaced with,” Twait said.
In addition, if a student is not physically active and consumes sports drinks regularly, their health will be affected negatively.
In May, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California sponsored a bill prohibiting the sale of sugar-sweetened sports drinks in public middle and high schools. The bill passed in response to studies re-vealing several negative health effects of sports drinks.
Senior Carissa Beers, who plays softball, said she disregards the negative effects of sports drinks.
“Sports drinks help replenish the sodium that you lose when you’re working out,” Beers said.
“I feel like I have more energy when I drink Gatorade than I do when I drink water,” she said.
For students who rigorously work out for an hour or more, sports drinks are a positive resource to replenish lost electrolytes. If a student does not exercise regularly, the high sugar content in sports drinks can damage their health.
"fter a disappointing sections fi nish, boys’ and girls’ cross country look back on a respectable season.
Both sections teams failed to send a member to state, but with their section consisting of larger schools with many athletes, such as Eden Prairie, Edina and Wayzata, some athletes said they were not surprised.
Boys’ senior captain Nolan Santosa said he felt pressure from all the teams.
“There are so many good teams at sections, it’s just hard to do well,” Santosa said.
Coach Rachel Hoffman said she acknowledged both teams in general had solid races, but was disappointed in the boys fi nish.
“The girls raced fi ne. The boys, they have some room for improve-ment,” she said.
However, despite the section fi nish, the teams placed well at the conference race Oct. 19, at Bas-set Creek in Golden Valley. Junior Dominic Reed and sophomore So-phie Olson received All Conference awards, while Santosa and seventh-grader Grace Reed received honor-able mention.
This team was one of the largest in recent years, and Hoff-man said she was surprised by the amount of energy new athletes brought to the program.
“We had a lot of enthusiasm and excitement by younger kids, and we had some really great positive role models,” she said.
Girls’ senior captain Tali Shapiro said this year was her most enjoyable.
“This was one of my best years. We had a bunch of new runners, which made it even better,” she said.
The team had a record 18 junior high runners, and Hoffman looks forward to next year, where she said the team will only im-prove.
“Last year the boys lost about 17 seniors, and this year we won’t lose as many. With all the new young runners we will be a strong
team,” she saidHoffman is set to announce the new captains at the cross coun-
try banquet Nov. 11.“[The cross country team] is just a good group of students,”
Hoffman said. “And next year we will have a great group of cap-tains.”
"s the winter sports season sets in and tryouts start some seniors
may need to worry about whether or not they will get to play for a fi nal season.
Both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams previously have had a policy of cutting seniors from the program if they do not make varsity. The girls’ volleyball team practiced a similar policy regarding seniors this fall.
The idea is if an athlete is not ready to play varsity as a senior, then there is no point in developing them on a different team because they won’t be able to play in the future, as they will be done after that season.
While it’s perfectly legitimate for coaches to want to develop the pro-gram and try to build for future years, cutting seniors is not always a neces-sary and effective method.
Instead of cutting seniors, coaches should still allow them to play on the junior varsity team. Seniors are often the most experienced athletes, and they can step into leadership roles by helping out athletes in younger grades. Just because a senior will not be able to play the following year doesn’t mean they are unable to contribute to the development of the program
through men-toring.
The la-crosse pro-gram is an example of a team coached by people who value deve lop ing athletes re-gardless of age or ability just as much as winning. The coaches even encour-age seniors who have never played
the sport to come out and try. When I was a sophomore on the JV lacrosse team, we had seniors on our team, and their experience really helped me and some of the other newer lacrosse players learn how to play the game better. The seniors were usually the ones who took on the leadership roles and set an example of hard work for the younger players to follow.
While a big part of high school sports is about setting goals and trying to create a successful team, an equally important aspect is developing stu-dent athletes regardless of whether or not they make varsity.
High school sports give many stu-dents an opportunity to be healthy, meet new people, and learn leader-ship skills. When seniors are cut they lose many of the benefi ts high school sports have to offer.
Many seniors have spent years putting time and money into a sport they are passionate about. Instead of disregarding experience so quickly be-cause a player is not ready for varsity, coaches should keep seniors in the program on a different team.
Running in sync: Freshman Jenna Behnken and sophomore Siedah Eberhardt push each other at the sections meet at Gale Wood Farms Oct. 29. The girls ! nished 11 out of 12 teams.
information compiled by | Sofi a GonzalezSources | Company websites
!inning is becoming somewhat of a habit for the girls’ swim team.
After securing a third consecutive conference champi-onship with a win against Chisago Lakes Oct. 7, the team is prepar-ing for the sections meet Nov. 11 and 13 at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.
“It’s a really big deal and I feel really honored that we were able to pull that off,” senior captain Katrina Albrecht said. “We’ve worked really hard and we deserve every bit of it.”
Park went 8-0 in conference meets, with many younger swim-mers contributing to the victories. Coach Jake Schwietering said he is pleased with the results so far.
“(The younger swimmers) really want to impress the upperclass-men and their coaches,” he said. “They want to show they have what it takes to be on this team and excel on this team.”
Schwietering said his goal is for the team to take second place in sections and send all three relay teams to state. The 400-yard free-style relay team set a record for Park’s pool earlier this season.
Albrecht said the toughest competition at sections will likely come from Blake and Breck. Park did not get the chance to compete against either team during the season.
Schwietering also said many swimmers have good chances of making it to state in individual competition including senior Erica Anderson, sophomores Kathryn Ostrom, Erica Frey, Gillian McCui-stion, and Hannah Hein, eighth graders Meagan Hein and Emmi Zheng and seventh grader Heather Westwood.
The section tournament uses a two-day format, with the prelimi-nary rounds Nov. 11 and the fi nals Nov. 13. To prepare for sections the team intensifi es its training with “peak week,” during which the swimmers swim more yards each day than any other time.
“We hit them with a lot of yards and make it diffi cult,” Schweiter-ing said.
This time is followed by a week of “tapering,” during which the swimmers slowly decrease the number of yards they swim each day up until sections.
In addition to special physical training, Schwietering also empha-sizes mental preparation, which he said includes visualization.
“We tell them to mentally run through their races in their minds,” he said. “We have them visualize perfection and every little detail of their event.”
With another conference title under its belt and a fi ne-tuned train-ing regimen, the team seems poised to continue its winning streak at sections.
,%-'.%/0'$123'4%5'').1436'$%78349I started skating when I was 6, and I started actually playing when I was in fi rst grade.
#$4'6:6'4%5';+1*+').14:/09My mom got me into it, and I watched the “Mighty Ducks” movie when I was little and I just wanted to play hockey since then.
#$1+'1*3'4%5*'0%1.;'<%*'+$3';31;%/9I hope that we do better than last year for sure, but my goal is to have a win-ning record.
,%-'6%3;':+'<33.'+%'=3'1';3/:%*'0%:/0':/+%'4%5*'.1;+';31;%/'%<'$%78349I’m excited because I know this year is my last, and I’m ready to give it my all and put some work in.
#$1+' :;' 4%5*' <12%*:+3' +$:/0' 1=%5+'$%78349Just being on the ice and zoning in on skating and feeling like I have to do what I have to do. Just being out there and playing is the best.
#$1+':;'4%5*')%;:+:%/'1/6'-$4'6%'4%5').14':+9I play right wing because I like to score and I like being a part of the offense and getting scoring chances.
>%'4%5'$123'1/4'<%/6'$%7834'?3?%@*:3;'%*';+%*:3;9In Bantam at this one tournament, we were playing Woodbury and it was my fi rst shift. As I was going in to check somebody I tripped and fell into the boards and broke my collar bone. So I was out a couple months because I tripped and fell.
,%-' 6%' 4%5' +$:/8' 4%5A..' <33.' 1<+3*'4%5*'.1;+'01?3'3/6;9Defi nitely sad, but I’ll also feel relieved that I’ve put everything I’ve got into it, and I didn’t hold anything back.
B*3' 4%5' ).1//:/0' %/' ).14:/0' :/' 7%[email protected]'%*'.1+3*':/'.:<39',%-'6%'4%5';33'$%7834'C'++:/0':/+%'4%5*'<5+5*39I don’t plan on playing in college, but it depends on how this season goes. If I have a chance I defi nitely would, but we’ll just see how it goes.
>%'4%5'$123'1/4')*301?3'*:+51.;9I usually pick some music that gets me ready for the game. I also put the right side of my equipment on before my left, like I’ll put on my right skate before my left one. It’s just something that I do.
,%-' 6%' 4%5' 1/+:7:)1+3' +18:/0' %/'?%*3'%<'1' .3163*;$:)' *%.3'1;'1'71)@+1:/'+$:;'431*9I’m excited, because having the “C” on my jersey will make me want it that much more, and hopefully that will rub off on other players and make them want it just as much.
!t’s even in our name: Park High. This quarter, many students will fl ock to the
student offi ce to buy a new parking pass, at the mind-boggling price of $45. Multiply that by four, and the fee to park year-round at the high school totals $180.
Even with that steep price, students shouldn’t complain. Compared to other dis-tricts in the Metro area, we have it easy.
The year-round fee to park at Edina High School is $225. At Hopkins, it’s $300, and at Eden Prairie it can be as much as $350. Al-though Park’s puny $180 fee might pale in comparison, it’s still expensive.
For students who want to avoid the steep cost, parking on the streets surrounding the high school or taking the bus is always an op-tion.
Nevertheless, about 125 students bought parking passes last quarter, generating $5,625. This sum goes toward upkeep of the parking lot and the salary of employees who check to ensure cars have parking passes.
The best solution, which can keep some cash in students’ wallets and continue to pro-vide the school with much-needed money, is carpooling.
With this, students can split the cost of parking passes and save money and the en-vironment, plus the drive to and from school isn’t quite so lonely.
One idea taken by Wayzata High School is to sell parking passes only to carpools or groups of students, forcing students who want to drive to school to gather up some friends or park on the street.
Other schools, such as Edina, give priority or discounts to carpoolers, encouraging stu-dents to carpool while still generating some revenue.
Although Park’s administration said it has never considered this idea, it is a win-win situ-ation for students and the school.
Because if Park’s fee for parking passes rises to the outrageous cost of nearby schools, students bank accounts will take a major and unneeded hit.
With the adoption of a discount for car-poolers, students would get a much needed break. If not, students might have to pass on parking.
"besity is a growing problem and not just in the waistlines of adults.
Health Insurance companies in Minnesota such as Medica, BlueCross BlueShield and Health Partners have similar frequent fi tness policies. These policies take off $20 from a cli-ent’s health club membership if they go a certain amount of times per month. However, for all these policies, the client must be 18.
Teenagers, perhaps even more so than adults, should be encouraged by health insurance agen-cies to exercise. Teens are still maturing, the op-portunity to develop a healthy lifestyle early on could help reduce the onset of obesity later in their lives.
According to the Health Partners website,
their reasoning for the frequent fi tness policy is, “One in four adults is obese. Obesity-related health problems account for 12 percent of our national health care budget and cost our society $13 billion annually.”
By taking a proactive approach in allowing younger ages to participate in this frequent fi t-ness policy, health insurance companies could cut down on obesity related expenses.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Why then are health insurance agencies ignoring the younger group and only focusing on obesity in adults?
If 16-year olds are responsible enough to drive a car they can be responsible enough to govern their own health. It is not just adults who struggle with obesity, and a teenager who wishes to be active should be granted the same deductible as an adult. Health insurance agen-cies can show they are ready to take a more ac-tive role in reducing obesity for all ages by add-ing teenagers to their frequent fi tness policies.
St. Louis Park Senior High School6425 West 33rd StreetSt. Louis Park, MN 55426
/4&$5,#&'#:%&/9#| Kelsey Reid
>+'+-&'-#/4&$5,#| Katie Caron
:5*8#/4&$5,. | Scott Foltz, Ben Kahn & Charlie Shapiro
4/.&-'#/4&$5,.#| Sendrea Best & Taylor Delaney
*%5$5#/4&$5,. | Paris Delaney & Alex Kersten
'/@.#/4&$5,#| Elena Potek
.$=4/'$#;&9/#/4&$5,.#| Hannah Sieff & Abi Tupa
9/+$=,/.##/4&$5,# | Robbie Seltzer-Schultz
&'F4/*$%#/4&$5,#| Nico Johnson
.*5,$.#/4&$5, | Abby Bongaarts
5*&'&5'.#/4&$5, | Josh Crandell
/'$/,$+&'>/'$#/4&$5, | Mara Olson
@/B#/4&$5,#| Marcus Eeman.$+99 | Spencer Butler, Michael Cork, Sam Dawson, Sofi a Gonzalez, Katie Johns, Brandon Klugman, Cali Nguyen, Sonia Robiner, Abrar Salad, Hannah Sieff, Michael Tuschman, Abi Tupa, Duha Vang, Emma Vitale, Sam Vinitsky, Elana Vlodaver
B=.&'/..#>+'+-/,#| Art Elmer
*,&':&*+;#| Robert Metz
*,&'$/, | American Color
+47&./, | Lori Keekley
*=B;&:+$&5'#*5;&:&/.The Echo is the offi cial student-
produced newspaper of St. Louis Park Senior High School. It is published tri-weekly for the school’s students, staff and community.
The Echo has been established as an open forum for student expression. The Echo will not be reviewed by school administrators prior to distribution, and the adviser will not act as a censor. Content represents views of the student staff and not school offi cials.
The Echo will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful and interesting to all our readers.
We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph.
Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writers and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Echo staff or administration as a whole.
The Echo welcomes reader input. Letters to the editor and suggestions may be e-mailed to [email protected] or submitted in room C275. Letters must be signed and should be no longer than 250 words.
E-mailed letters must be verifi ed prior to publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Anonymous letters wherein the Echo does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed.
Advertisements will be sought from local businesses. We maintain the right to reject any ads we believe to be false, misleading, inappropriate or harmful. The Echo does not necessarily endorse the products or services offered in these advertisements.
NSPA All-American and Hall of Fame member; NSPA 2007 and 2010 Pacemaker Award Finalist; JEM All-State; CSPA Gold Medalist; 2006 Gold Crown Winner.
+acebook erupted with rumors regard-ing the reason for school’s cancel-
ation Oct. 29. Some statuses alleged 10 girls drowned, some claimed a girl died, and one person even posted a student was shot. Obviously, these claims were false.
However, the large number of rumors surrounding the incident Oct. 28, and the credibility students gave to false claims made on Facebook, underscores the im-portance of being skeptical about informa-tion we receive on Facebook.
While the false rumors surrounding the issue luckily did not hurt anyone or make the situation worse, we may not be as lucky in the future should a similar cri-sis situation occur.
Though it is easy to see police cars and fi re trucks at the high school and immedi-ately draw conclusions, this is unproduc-tive. While it is unreasonable for students to verify every claim, we must realize the infl uence Facebook has and search for more information before making conclu-sions. One way to gain more information which students often overlook is simply checking the school or district website.
Although the administration obviously cannot tell us every detail regarding an is-sue like this, Pollock and Metz are usually open to calming fears and clearing up mis-
conceptions when asked during lunch. In a situation like this, they are also the most knowledgeable. Metz and Pollock are con-stantly walking through the lunchroom and are eager to answer any questions.
Moreover, looking at the opposite side of the event, those students who read Facebook statuses must be more skeptical about outrageous claims like this.
Especially when we as students know how damaging rumors can be, we must be aware of the power of rumors spread on the Internet.
Thus, if a situation like this should ever occur again, we have the responsibility to not only get the facts before we post on Facebook, but also be skeptical of those statuses posted by others.
,-./01'$02'3/4'/5423'6/071'/5'40-48
art | Cali Nguyen
To the invisibility cloak. See above Oriole Dropping.
To Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Finally an excuse to take out my wand.
To this edi-tion of The Echo. Too bad it wasn’t delivered by Hedwig.
@t’s all about the money. Like many other institutions try-ing to survive in tough economic
times, schools are struggling to fi nd the appropriate funds to function effi ciently. In recent years, Minnesota’s fund-ing to public education has been severely diminished due to an over-whelming budget defi cit of $5.8 bil-lion. The lack of available resources has forced many schools to think creatively, and despite the contro-versy, some believe they’ve found a solution with ads on lockers. At fi rst the idea sounds ridiculous and absurd. Isn’t school supposed to be an independent institution? Many believe these schools are sell-ing out to big corporations and stu-dents are the victims. However let’s remember; dire circumstances often call for dras-tic changes. And after examining the issue, it is easy to see that ads on lockers will benefi t schools and their students. Many schools are struggling to maintain a high level of education while providing appropriate re-sources for students due to a lack of money. Fewer teachers and classes, bigger class sizes and older text-books are a few of the outcomes of the lack of funding seen in Park schools alone. The vast district changes Park
implemented this year are living proof of the budget dillema many schools are facing. Schools such as St. Francis, who have embraced the idea of ads on lockers, believe they will take in around $200,000 this school year. If ads were implemented at Park, the money could go toward teach-ers, more classes, afterschool pro-grams and other resources benefi t-ting students. Furthermore, school administra-tors are free to decide against an ad they deem inappropriate or dis-tracting for a high school learning environment; the schools are still in control, not the corporations. Some ads may be an eyesore to students but others may prove ben-efi cial. For example, a company marketing a safe-driving campaign will most likely fully embrace the idea of ads on lockers in an attempt to market to students. Like many other institutions fac-ing these tough economic times, schools need money now and we must be willing to think outside-the-box in order to provide a suf-fi cient education for all students. While the opposition has justifi -able arguments, the ideals and prin-ciples they wish to preserve do not pay the bills. Besides, who knows, with a big colorful ad, you might even be able to fi nd your locker next time.
Odvertisements are every-where: billboards, television, radio stations, Facebook and
… schools?Though the advertisements in
St. Francis schools may bring addi-tional income to the school, the price of targeting advertisements toward students in schools is not worth the monetary gain.
Every day, students and teenag-ers in general are bombarded with advertisements almost everywhere they look, and one of the only places where they are free from the inva-sion of ads is at school. Sure, kids are used to spotting ads wherever they look; it is a part of our culture.
However, there is a big differ-ence in hearing or seeing an ad while watching a television show, and pass-ing one in the hallway while on your way to history class.
School is a place for learning, not a place where students are blasted with ads and treated as consumers in the marketing process. It is unethical to use students in the business game when they are in school for the pur-pose of learning.
Furthermore, schools, which are state funded establishments, should not cross with commercial advertise-ments. With the addition of adver-tisements on school property, schools would begin to be controlled by cor-porations rather than the commu-nity’s taxes and government’s funds.
High school students, though more advanced in knowledge and ex-perience than younger kids, are still vulnerable to the infl uence of ads. When a child, be it a 9-year old or a freshman, sees an ad, he or she is much more apt to be infl uenced by it than an adult is, and should not be exposed to that exploitation at school.
Advertising in schools is also a major distraction to learning. Most ads are of the nature that kids (or anyone, really) can simply ignore them if they so choose. But an ad on a student’s locker, where they are forced to look at it multiple times a day, cannot easily be ignored and would serve as a distraction during the school day to both the affected students and the onlookers.
The content of the proposed ad-vertisements would be determined by the school administrators, however, this still leaves gray area of what is considered appropriate for students.
If schools struggling for funds turn to ads to generate money, it sets a dangerous precedent for other money-making schemes involving taking advantage of students. Where does the money-driven exploita-tion end if ads are introduced in to schools? The money they bring in is not worth the exploitation of stu-dents in the schools. Ads are not the answer to making ends meet in tough economic times.
-rowing up during the Potter era, junior Edie Ofstedal is a huge fan of the series. She cannot wait to dress up as Crookshanks for the premiere of the new movie “Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” to be released in theaters Nov. 19.
Ofstedal is not the only muggle, or non-magic person, enthu-siastic about the release of the new fi lm based on the fi rst half of the seventh book. Student fans await the movie with excitement and sadness.
“I’m excited for the new movie,” sophomore Eric Spiecher said. “But at the same time I’m sad because I know it’s the end. I remember when I was young reading the fi rst book. When I fi nished the seventh book, I was sad because I knew there was no more and the series was over.”
Spiecher said he plans to dress up as Draco Malfoy and go with friends to the premier. Spiecher is not the only student who has high hopes for the fi lm.
“I’m really excited,” sophomore Bea Lenss said. “I’m expect-ing this movie to be the best of all.”
Some current upperclassmen were hooked by the fi rst book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” on publication in 1997.
“We all grew up with Harry Potter, the years they made the movies are our childhood, and it’s ending at the end of our senior year,” senior Kristin Holst said.
Similarly, other students also say they became fans early.“Harry Potter is my hero. I was waiting for my letter from
Hogwarts when I was 10-years old. I cried when I turned 11 and hadn’t received it,” Ofstedal said. “I started reading the books in kindergarten or fi rst grade. Throughout my life Harry Potter has been with me.”
During its 13-year existence, the series has become an integral part of global culture. According to a 2008 Yankelovitch study, 58 percent of American students ages 5-17 have read the series.
“The Harry Potter series is my everything,” Spiecher said. “It was every book I read for fun and what I did for every Hallow-een.”
The second part of the seventh movie is set to release July 15. Although the series will be completely fi nished at that point, students do not believe the magic will end. Of the students in the Yankelovitch study, 75 percent claim they will remain loyal fans and plan on keeping the books into adulthood.
“The Harry Potter craze will not just die out after the seventh movie,” sophomore Jenna Laidlaw said.
.2=>'?@A(%6>'BCBritish playwright Crispin Whittell provides a new twist on the beloved “bah humbug” story of the “Christmas Carol” this year at the Guthrie. Ebenezer Scrooge is still visted by the ghosts of Christmas, but new costumes, set designs and aerial effects characterize this year’s performance. Tickets start at $29.
.2=>'DEAccording to the new movie “Burlesque” starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, “It takes a legend to make a star.” The fi lm features elaborate costumes and choreography, with Aguilera playing a young woman aspiring to stardom at a struggling theater in Los Angeles called the Burlesque Lounge.
F"#'2;'.2=%5G%$Charming Charlie, a fashion accessory boutique is the newest addition to the West End is opening at the end of this month. Charming Charlie aims to provide affordability in a hip atmosphere, featuring accessories such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, scarves, belts and handbags.
