Volume 73 Issue 5 • Crown Point High School • 1500 S. Main Street Crown Point, IN 46307 • [email protected]January 30, 2009 • Friday INKLINGS INKLINGS High 31° Low 26° Saturday: Partly sunny Tomorrow’s forecast As Crown Point is so close to Lake Michigan and is influenced by what is commonly called “lake effect,” the city is no stranger to bizarre weather. Yet the past month has seen record low temperatures and snow that has closed area schools and even pushed back CPHS’s finals schedules two days. “The days off so far have been great,” senior Sarah Gallas said. “It’s been nice to have a break, but as I don’t want to go any further into the summer, it would be fine if we just finished the school year.” Temperatures plummeted to negative 10 and 15 degrees with even colder wind chills on Jan. 15 and 16, the two days that finals were scheduled. In an aempt to keep younger children from waiting outside for an extended period of time for their buses in the mornings, the Crown Point School Corporation decided to keep the entire district home those days. “The end of the semester had to be rescheduled,” assistant principal Deb Cuffia said. “Hopefully students retained all of the skills and concepts they needed to do well on the semester exams.” Those days off will have to be made up at the end of the year during this June. According to Cuffia, the school has now taken four days off this year. Those four days will likely be added to the end of the year, and if the district does not take any more days off, the last day of school will likely be June 10. Seniors have a tradition of taking their finals and finishing their high school careers a few days earlier than the rest of the student body. With the snow day affecting the rest of the schools’ schedule, however, that may change when and if the seniors will leave early. “Right now, it’s being discussed,” Cuffia said. The freezing temperatures and constantly snow-covered roads have inconvenienced many students, particularly those who drive to school. “It’s been really hard to get to school with the ice, especially since I live all the way out in Winfield,” senior Jessica Walters said. Nearly two feet of snow has fallen in the first month of 2009 alone, far more than normal amounts for this area. Salt trucks have been working to take care of the roads that have been made treacherous by blowing snow, especially for students who live farther from the school, like Walters. But for many students the cold has been the worst part of the wintry mix to deal with. “My bed is so warm, it’s hard to convince myself to get up, especially since I know the cold weather is waiting outside,” Gallas said. “Plus, as I have to start my car earlier to get it defrosted before I leave, I have to wake up earlier than normal to begin with.” The minus touch Bestselling author Jodee Blanco visits CP Sophomore Amy Kesler scrapes the windshield to her car after one of the many recent snowstorms. The past months has seen record low temperatures and high snowfall, causing schools to close and Crown Point to delay finals for two days. Jodee Blanco, a Hollywood publicist, was on the set of a movie with Jim Carrey when news of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, commied by two outcast students, was released. Watching the CNN news footage of the tragedy drove Blanco to make a decision of her own: to leave her successful job in publicity to write a book about her own journey through school as a bullied child. Blanco visited Crown Point on her national book tour for her NY Times bestseller, Please Stop Laughing at Me. Taſt teacher Melanie McClure invited Blanco to speak as part of the CASS (Creating A Safer School) initiative, which was incorporated at Taſt in 2006. “I think this is a great step as a real life story that’s relevant and can impact a student’s life,” Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jim Hardman said. Blanco travels the nation to share her experiences with relational aggression, also known as covert bullying. “My story has a happy ending, but there are kids in this room who won’t unless we help them,” Blanco said. She reenacted several incidents that have happened for students at Taſt and Wheeler, as well as to families at CPHS. She shared stories from her book while reinforcing the mantra, “It is not just joking around. You are damaging each other for life.” Blanco offered tips to parents of bullied children in addition to students themselves. “I know I’m giving them courage because I survived. I’m helping people understand. Everything will follow that,” Blanco said. Part of the CASS initiative is to survey students annually. These surveys conducted by the Ophelia Project, partner for CASS, students reported seeing relational aggression occur in the hallways 60 percent of the time, 57 percent in the cafeteria, and 45 percent in the classroom. According to the Ophelia Project, the more By Lauren Cain / advertising assistant Local winter fun When I grow up... Going to the beach and the waterpark in winter? See what winter fun they hold. How to stay safe on the roads during snow, sleet, or hail Students share their workplace plans aſter high school and college PHOTO BY GEORGIA OTTE Two unexpected days off from school and delayed finals, frozen windshields and frost- bien lips: the cold weather has rewarded and frustrated us for weeks. The unusual cold and heavy snow has kept us inside and the meteorologists busy. As the thermometer drops lower and lower, students and teachers struggle to keep warm and make sure their schedules stay on track. Freezing temperatures and heavy snow close school By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief Winter 2008-2009 has • been the coldest in 8 years January’s average tem- • perature is 12 degrees less than last years big freeze INFORMATION FROM CHICAGO TRIBUNE see BLANCO, pg. 3 Braving wintry roads page 7 page 8 page 6
Transcript
Volume 73 Issue 5 • Crown Point High School • 1500 S. Main Street Crown Point, IN 46307 • [email protected]
January 30, 2009
• Friday InklIngsInklIngsHigh 31°Low 26°
Saturday: Partly sunny
Tomorrow’s forecast
As Crown Point is so close to Lake Michigan and is influenced by what is commonly called “lake effect,” the city is no stranger to bizarre weather. Yet the past month has seen record low temperatures and snow that has closed area schools and even pushed back CPHS’s finals schedules two days.
“The days off so far have been great,” senior Sarah Gallas said. “It’s been nice to have a break, but as I don’t want to go any further into the summer, it would be fine if we just finished the school year.”
Temperatures plummeted to negative 10 and 15 degrees with even colder wind chills on Jan. 15 and 16, the two days that finals were scheduled. In an attempt
to keep younger children from waiting outside for an extended period of time for their buses in the mornings, the Crown Point School Corporation decided to keep the entire district home those days.
“The end of the semester had to be rescheduled,” assistant principal Deb Cuffia said. “Hopefully students retained all of the skills and concepts they needed to do well on the semester exams.”
Those days off will have to be made up at the end of the year during this June. According to Cuffia, the school has now taken four days off this year. Those four days will likely be added to the end of the year, and if the district does not take any more days off, the last day of school will likely be June 10.
Seniors have a tradition of taking their finals and finishing
their high school careers a few days earlier than the rest of the student body. With the snow day affecting the rest of the schools’ schedule, however, that may change when and if the seniors will leave early.
“Right now, it’s being discussed,” Cuffia said.
The freezing temperatures and constantly snow-covered roads have inconvenienced many students, particularly those who drive to school.
“It’s been really hard to get to school with the ice, especially since I live all the way out in Winfield,” senior Jessica Walters said.
Nearly two feet of snow has fallen in the first month of 2009 alone, far more than normal amounts for this area. Salt trucks have been working to take care of the roads that have been made treacherous by blowing snow, especially for students who live farther from the school, like Walters. But for many students the cold has been the worst part of the wintry mix to deal with.
“My bed is so warm, it’s hard to convince myself to get up, especially since I know the cold weather is waiting outside,” Gallas said. “Plus, as I have to start my car earlier to get it defrosted before I leave, I have to wake up earlier than normal to begin with.”
The minus touchBestselling author Jodee Blanco visits CP
Sophomore Amy Kesler scrapes the windshield to her car after one of the many recent snowstorms. The past months has seen record low temperatures and high snowfall, causing schools to close and Crown Point to delay finals for two days.
Jodee Blanco, a Hollywood publicist, was on the set of a movie with Jim Carrey when news of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, committed by two outcast students, was released. Watching the CNN news footage of the tragedy drove Blanco to make a decision of her own: to leave her successful job in publicity to write a book about her own journey through school as a bullied child.
Blanco visited Crown Point on her national book tour for her NY Times bestseller, Please Stop Laughing at Me. Taft teacher Melanie McClure invited Blanco to speak as part of the CASS (Creating A Safer School) initiative, which was incorporated at Taft in 2006.
“I think this is a great step as a real life story that’s relevant and can impact a student’s life,” Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jim Hardman said.
Blanco travels the nation to share her experiences with relational aggression, also known as covert bullying.
“My story has a happy ending, but there are kids in this room who won’t unless we help them,” Blanco said.
She reenacted several incidents that have happened for students at Taft and Wheeler, as well as to families at CPHS. She shared stories from her book while reinforcing the mantra, “It is not just joking around. You are damaging each other for life.” Blanco offered tips to parents of bullied children in addition to students themselves.
“I know I’m giving them courage because I survived. I’m helping people understand. Everything will follow that,” Blanco said.
Part of the CASS initiative is to survey students annually. These surveys conducted by the Ophelia Project, partner for CASS, students reported seeing relational aggression occur in the hallways 60 percent of the time, 57 percent in the cafeteria, and 45 percent in the classroom. According to the Ophelia Project, the more
By Lauren Cain / advertising assistant
Local winter fun When I grow up...Going to the beach and the waterpark in winter? See what winter fun they hold.
How to stay safe on the roads during snow, sleet, or hail
Students share their workplace plans after high school and college
Photo by GeorGia otte
Two unexpected days off from school and delayed finals, frozen windshields and frost-bitten lips: the cold weather has rewarded and frustrated us for weeks. The unusual cold and heavy snow has kept us inside and the meteorologists busy. As the thermometer drops lower and lower, students and teachers struggle to keep warm and make sure their schedules stay on track.
Freezing temperatures and heavy snow close school
By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief
Winter 2008-2009 has •been the coldest in 8 yearsJanuary’s average tem-•perature is 12 degrees less than last years
2.11Choir Concert; Lake Central High School; 7 p.m.
2.16 President’s Day; No School
save the date
in the know
Senior Roy Miller and sophomore Bekah Maddack put up posters for the up-coming Blood:Water Mission fundraiser sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The project will provide clean water to Third World nations.
Special needs students are selling t-shirts for $12 each throughout February to promote Disability Awareness Month which is March. The t-shirt theme is “Isabled,” and anyone who buys a shirt is encouraged to wear them every Wednesday in March. Teachers will receive a complementary t-shirt if their class purchases 20 or more shirts. For more infor-mation, contact special needs teacher Bran-don Lorek.
Disability awareness t-shirts for sale
The speech and debate teams recently com-peted at Plymouth High School on Jan. 17. receiving sixth place. In addition to the over-all award, freshmen Sophie Fleszewski and Garret Hogan earned fifth place in Public Fo-rum while junior speech team member Ryan Farrell earned a second place medal in the discussion category.
Speech, debate teams compete at meet
Academic Decathlon team makes state
Club works to help the Blood:Water Mission
Student council to participate in exchange
By Anna Ortiz /graphics editor
It costs $1.25 for one 20oz bottle of water. It takes $1.00 to provide an Afri-can with a clean water source for a year.
The Fellowship of Christian Ath-letes (FCA) takes students to another perspective in bringing the Blood:Water Mission to Crown Point High School. The Blood:Water Mission is an organi-zation that collects money to do various projects for impoverished Africans, such as building the communities wells to supply sanitary water which also helps give refuge from the HIV/AIDS virus. The FCA is collecting money Feb. 2 – 13 by setting up donation areas in the caf-eteria equipped with buckets that look like water wells for contributions.
The FCA came up with the idea for helping Blood:Water while brainstorm-ing fundraiser ideas. Last year fresh-man Robert Ebbens attended the Illinois Christian Teen Convention (ICTC) in Springfield, where the presidents of the Blood:Water Missions were holding a fundraiser.
“I thought [the fundraiser] might not work, but I was surprised by the outcome of how much money they col-lected from a couple thousand teens,” Ebbens said.
According to Ebbens, the crowd raised money for three wells in one sit-ting. Ebbens suggested to fund the mis-sion due to the past successes and be-lieved that, with the amount of students at CPHS, “it just seemed to fit.” The FCA agreed that it was a worthy cause when they considered the living conditions of Africa.
“When you compare our lifestyle to that of others, I think we have it pretty good. Everyday we can go to a water fountain, push a button, and wa-ter comes out and we think nothing of it, while many children in Africa spend most of their day trying to find water, which most of the time isn’t even clean, to survive,” FCA sponsor Dr. Kathryn Huls said.
And when faced with the facts, they recognized Africa’s lack of basic human needs. 328 million people in Sub-Saha-ran Africa lack sanitary water, which is astoundingly 42 percent of the popula-tion.
“Everyone needs water to survive. This is the most basic thing we could do to help the people in Africa,” sophomore Bekah Maddack said.
FCA has a goal of $3,000 for the Blood:Water Missions team to build a 60 foot deep well, which can provide 600 gallons of safe water a day. For the com-munities of Africa, according to Huls, that means an opportunity to better health and living conditions and opens the doors to a younger generation.
“Because they won’t have to spend all of their time trying to find water, chil-dren will be able to go to school more, and that would help their education,” freshman Megan Dean said.
As a Christian based club, freshman Morgen Zimmer sees the contribution as
giving both physical water and “spiri-tual water” to those who need it.
However giving to those in need doesn’t just benefit the receivers.
“There are benefits of thinking about someone beyond yourself. When you are self focused, it can be easy to be dis-couraged by the trials that life puts you through. When you go beyond yourself to help others, whether in the commu-nity or on another part of the world, you begin to see how blessed you really are,”” Huls said.
In order to reach their goal, each student would have to donate $1.25 to Blood:Water Missions.
“If the whole school collaborates to-gether,” senior Roy Miller said, “I think they could really make a difference.”
CP students to visit Washington Township High on Feb. 6
Many students are aware of the foreign exchange stu-dent program, but there is another similar event- the student council exchange.
On Feb. 6, selected stu-dents of the student council will spend a school day at Washington Township High School in Valparaiso, accord-ing to the sponsor of Crown Point High School’s student council, Rachele Raloff.
“The students will go to two or three classes at the school then go to a lengthy lunch period where they will meet with members of Wash-ington Township’s student council and exchange ideas,” Raloff said.
English teacher Allison Isailovich is the co-sponsor of student council, and she
believes the student council exchange is worthwhile.
“The Honor Council is basically an elite group of student councils. Being a part of it means you are doing a really good job,” Isailovich said. “It’s something to work towards.”
There are a list of require-ments to be met to be a part of the Honor Council, and one of them is that a school must ‘adopt’ another school and help it become part of the Honor Council, according to Mrs. Raloff. This ‘adoption’ includes the student council member exchange.
Washington Township High School is a part of the Council and has chosen Crown Point High School to aid in achieving a position on the Council as well. Washing-ton Township has about two hundred and fifty students
overall, according to Raloff. Crown Point High School, in comparison, has about 2,000 students. Raloff felt the vast size difference will broaden students’ horizons.
“They’ll gain perspective outside of their student coun-cil,” Raloff said.
Freshmen member of student council Abby Jara-nowski said she is eager to participate in the program.
“It’ll be interesting to see how another school is orga-nized and how it works,” Ja-ranowski said. “The students will be able to interact and discuss new ideas.”
According to Raloff, Crown Point High School has not participated in the exchange for some years. If the program is successful, the high school will be involved in the Honor Council.
“Hopefully, if we do the
exchange in the future, we’d be in the Honor Council and adopt a school of our own,” Raloff said.
Even though the ex-change is for student council members only, some other students appreciate the pro-gram.
“It would be fun to visit another school for a day and meet the students there,” ju-nior Claire Bushemi said.
Isailovich said that it was an honor to have the efforts of student council recognized.
“One thing Mrs. Raloff and I try to do is make sure student council is a big influ-ence on the school and com-munity,” Isailovich said.
As the second part of the exchange, members of Washington Township’s stu-dent council will be visiting Crown Point High School on Feb. 12.
By Becca Duggan/entertainment editor
The Academic Decathlon team won the area competition on Jan. 24 and have advanced to the state tournament Feb. 13 and 14 at Pur-due University in Lafayette. The competition consists of 10 different events testing students in a wide variety of areas based on this year’s subjec: Central America and Mexico. Teams were split up into three groups based on stu-dents’ GPAs, consisted of the Honors division with seniors Mandy Rattazzi, Nile Sobek and Megan Binder, the Scholastic division with seniors Ali Martin, Nile Sobek and Alex Van-Gorp and the Varsity division with seniors Nicole Amodeo and Matt Cruz and sopho-more Adam Page.
Photo by Jeremy rex
Resource materials offered to studentsThe guidance department encourages stu-dents to take advantage of the variety of re-sources they have available. They are able to provide information linking students to or-ganizations throughout Northwest Indiana. including the Pregnancy Assistance Center (offers maternity and baby clothes, counsel-ing, and legal service referrals) and Latin American Community Alliance for Support and Assistance, (offering immigration coun-seling, youth leadership, and adult educa-tion). More information can be found in the guidance office.
LEAD organizes Go Red for WomenWorking with the city of Crown Point to pro-mote heart disease awareness, which is the leading cause of death for women in Crown Point, Lake County, and across the nation, LEAD has organized a school spirit activity encouraging students and faculty to deco-rate their first hour classroom doors in red throughout next week. Doors will be judged next Friday morning based upon theme, cre-ativity and overall coverage in red. That score will be combined with additional points scored for percentage of people in first hour wearing either a red shirt or red pants. The winning class will be provided with donuts.
News 3January 30, 2009
Crown Point celebrates its 175th anniversaryBy Deanna Sheafer / copy editor
Along with the changes a new year brings, it causes reflections on the past, especially in Crown Point because 2009 is the 175 anniversary of our city. Exactly 175 years ago, in 1834, Solon Robinson and his family took claim to the prairie land that became Crown Point.
The celebrations started on Jan. 15 inside the Maki room in the Old Courthouse. Elected officials and business owners celebrated with fireworks and with a time capsule opening. The capsule was sealed when the city celebrated its 150th anniversary.
The city is collecting things for a new capsule to be opened on the 200th anniversary. A new commemorative logo was also unveiled, and the city is changing the 2009 calendar of events to include the new logo. The event also included a cake reception.
Crown Point has a varied history, with new events like
the first annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, coming up on March 17.
But, the city had an interesting history long before present day. What Crown Point may be most well-known for is the marriage mill. Between the years of 1915 and 1940, an estimated 175,000 couples came to the Lake County Courthouse to be wed.
It became known as a quick and easy place to wed because couples could marry 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Famous people who got married here include Ronald Reagan, Muhammed Ali and the parents of Michael Jackson.
Crown Point’s other claim to fame, the escape of the notorious John Dillinger, happened in 1934. While the legends vary, the basic story is he carved a fake gun from a bar of soap and then took a real gun from a guard and escaped to Illinois. This ties in to more recent history, when just last year Johnny Depp came and filmed a movie based on Dillinger’s life on the square.
The Courthouse is one of the oldest landmarks in Crown Point and is a common image of the town. This year marks Crown Point’s 175th anniversary.
His
tory
Tim
elin
e
.
October 31, 1834Solon Robinson and family become Crown Point’s first settlers.
.
Summer of 1837 Lake County’s first courthouse is built for $500
.
Cro
wn
Po
int’s
1868 Crown Point is incorporated and the first wooden sidewalks are built.
.
1896Telephone service is available
1923Rudolph Valentino, a popular Italian actor, is married at the court-house.
March 3, 1934John Dillinger escapes from the Lake County Jail.
.
1891Electrical service is available
Summer of 1912Electric streetcar begins, transporting between Crown Point and Gary.
BLANCO, cont. from pg. 1
Bestselling author Jodee Blanco speaks in the CPHS auditorium. She talked at both Taft Middle School and the high school about bully-ing prevention.
Photo by GeorGia otte
Photo by Cat Fleszewski
Fox News reporter raises awareness
To kickoff the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser, a local newscaster visited the high school to talk about the charity. Fox News Chicago reporter Patrick Elwood shared his personal experiences with St. Baldrick’s and encouraged others to get involved.
According to student council advisor Rachele Raloff, she received an e-mail from Elwood about coming to the high school. Raloff said that Elwood was going to visit last year, but it unfortunately did not work out. This year Elwood brought his news crew to report on the school’s participation in the event.
Elwood also gave a live feed on the school television during seventh hour. During the presentation, Elwood talked about how to get involved and what his goals were for this year. Both Elwood and Fox News Chicago have a goal of raising $1,000,000 for the charity.
Elwood first found out about the charity after meeting a girl named Jordan Pickering. Pickering was a five-year old girl who was battling cancer. Pickering asked Elwood if he was going to shave his head for St. Baldrick’s. Elwood has now been shaving his head for St. Baldrick’s for four years now.
Elwood said that he enjoys talking to high school students. He believes that bad news comes out of schools too frequently.
Elwood said his overall message to students and faculty was
that together they can make a difference.
“I think that [visiting area high schools] is a great concept.
It’s all about kids helping kids,” Elwood said.
Raloff said she hoped that both students and faculty members benefited from Elwood’s visit to the high school.
“[I hope students and staff learned] more information about St. Baldrick’s and they got motivated to get involved,” Raloff said.
Patrick Elwood’s visit to the high school will be aired sometime in the next few weeks. The official air date was not available at press time.
“I’m excited to see our school on TV,” junior Brittini Kratochvil said.
By Michele Bates / news editor
Seniors Daniela Tarailo, Nikola Pusara, Chris Lakich, and soph-omore Michael Albrecht get interviewed by Fox News Chicago reporter Patrick Elwood. Fox News Chicago will air Elwood’s visit in the coming weeks.
Photo by Jeremy rex
What is St. Baldrick’s?helps raise money for •cancer researchvolunteers shave their •heads in exchange for donationsCPHS will host its 2nd •annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser on March 17
.
often students see aggression, the more isolated they become from their school, friends, family and themselves. Relational aggression occurs because students want to belong, for fear of being rejected, or simply for the sake of causing drama, according to the Ophelia Project website. Also, research shows that victimized youth have considered suicide.
“Every night that a bullied child goes to sleep crying is another night closer to suicide or worse,” Blanco said.
In an effort to provide a positive role model to younger students, CPHS has recently joined forces with Taft to start the ‘CASS Cadets’ program.
“The CASS Cadets program is being developed to provide the sixth graders with high school
role models. The new sophomore and junior CASS Cadets will be trained by representatives of the Ophelia Project, and then they will provide one character lesson to an adopted sixth grade classroom,” CASS Cadets founder Cynthia Dewes said.
Sophomores and juniors interested in joining applied by submitting a paragraph stating why they wanted to be a role model and two teacher recommendations. Students must have a 95 percent attendance rate and a 2.5 GPA. There are 42 Cadets for the semester divided between Taft and Wheeler.
“Our CASS Cadets have the heart to want to help another student succeed academically and to provide them with skills to maneuver the myriad of social pressures. Students listen to students, especially older ones. They believe when another student tells them that they know how it is; they don’t always believe a teacher or another adult role model,” Dewes said.
There are also TOP DOGS, seniors who mentor freshman.
“The TOP DOGS work as teacher assistants mentoring freshmen, instructing students, developing lessons and just being an all-around hero. We plan to have the TOP DOGS and returning CASS Cadets share their expertise by training new TOP DOGS and CASS Cadets this summer,” Dewes said.
The Cadets will be trained on Feb. 6 and will meet and present their first lesson to the sixth graders on March 11. They will also go back to the middle schools in April and May.
January 30, 2009OpiniOn4
Celebrating Martin Luther King Day
Inklings
Inklings is a student publication distrib-uted to students, faculty and staff of Crown Point High School. It is published monthly by the newspaper and advanced journalism students. Opinions expressed in Inklings do not reflect those of the CPHS faculty, staff, or the administration.
Inklings welcomes and encourages signed letters to the editor. Let-ters may be edited for space or clarity. Letters must be signed and turned in to room C124 one week prior to pub-lications and must not contain personal attacks. Letters may also be sent via e-mail at [email protected]. Not all letters may be printed. Such decisions are the sole discretion of the Inklings editors and staff.
Advertising is subject to the applicable rate, copies of which are available from Inklings advertising department or by contacting 663-4885 ext. 11213.
Inklings is a mem-ber of the Indiana High School Press Association, the Columbia Scholas-tic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll.
Inklings can be con-tacted at 1500 S. Main, Crown Point, IN, 46307; 219-663-4885 ext. 11213; fax 219-662-5663; or [email protected].
EditorsMegan Binder
editor-in-chiefCori NovelliBrenna Wermers
executive editorsDeanna Sheafer
copy editorMichele Bates
news editorBrittany Curtis
feature editorBecca Duggan
entertainment editorTrey Aultman
sports editorHunter McKee
sports assistantAnna Ortiz
graphics editorBecca Iddings
advertising editorLauren Cain
advertising assistantCat Fleszewski Joe NejmanGeorgia OtteAlex ParrishJeremy Rex
In 1986 the country first began celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, honoring the man who is widely recognized as the most influential person of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. King was a shining leader for good in America’s past, martyred for a cause long fought and hard won.
So it is disconcerting that the holiday has taken decades to truly become integrated into the calendars of the entire country, with a glaring example close to home, as this is the first year that Crown Point High School has received Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off.
In many ways, America has finally shown that she is blind to color. The clearest example comes from her new president, Barack Obama. In recent years African-Americans have achieved other important positions in the government, like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, though none are quite as poignant as claiming the Oval Office.
But unfortunately there are still die-hard racists in this country. To deny their existence is naïve. Though Obama won over much of the country’s hearts and votes, throughout his campaign he received threats from those who were, delicately put, displeased with an African-American representing America.
Then there are barriers that, though they are primarily social in nature, show that we are still far from being a perfectly integrated society. The 2000 census showed that the African-American population of Crown Point makes up no more than 1.4 percent, and the Latino population makes up just shy of another 5 percent. Take that to mean what you will, but the numbers tell the story.
Whether we spend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at home or in school is admittedly not central to the protection of modern civil rights. But if we honor our other leaders with President’s Day, we owe the same to the man who inspired a generation, particularly since he preached peace. And in this time of uncertainty and global strife, the least we can do is celebrate the gentle and peaceful nature of a man who wanted nothing more than to see the children of the world, no matter their color or creed, live together.
Education key to future
View:With our first minority president sitting in the Oval Office, now is the time to consider equality in America and celebrate the man and movement who insured our modern Civil Rights.
editorial
heard in the halls
Eco-Friendly
“I’d rather get off earlier in June than have a day off now. I’d rather spend time at the beach than being
stuck in the house, piled in by snow.”
senior Ali Martin
“ I wish [Obama] luck. I’m curious as to see what other countries will think and
how they will respond.
junior Teo Fetea
“I try to be eco-friendly, like using a towel to dry off my hands [instead of paper.] I think it’s great that people are trying to be
less wasteful and more careful.”
freshman Yvette Thomas
cartoon by anna ortiz
The Inauguration
January or June?
Now that we’ve entered the second semester, students either kick into gear
school-wise because their first semester grades
weren’t what they’d hoped for, or students fizzle out and wait for summer to
come.While sunny, school-free
days sound great to all of us, now more than ever is the time to care about how you do in school. Sure, this time of the year may seem dull. Winter break has come and gone, and spring break seems too far away. Not applying yourself just seems like a much easier option. You may be asking yourself, what’s the point of try-ing in school?
As nice as it sounds to the ears of adults, the joy of learning probably isn’t the reason most of us attend school every day. We come to better our futures. Jobs are becoming even more scarce thanks to a deflated economy. High school diplomas alone won’t necessarily secure a job in the future. Why set yourself up to have to work multiple jobs just to get by later in life?
The best thing you can do for your-self right now is to get a good education. Now, I’m not saying everyone needs to attend an Ivy League university. The education one can receive post-graduation at tech schools or community colleges is a lot more beneficial than a high school education alone.
And the more people become more educated, the more impact it has on not just their lives, but the lives of generations. Educated people make better decisions, which helps progress around the whole country.
As long as you apply yourself to whatever passion you want to turn into a career, you can be successful. And that starts now, by becoming involved in extra curriculars and working hard in your classes.
OpiniOn 5January 30, 2009
IAt the end of every trip to the
grocery store, the question
arises: save the trees or create
less litter? With the growing
movement to help insure our planet’s health, which type of
bag truly is the best?
Students find themselves by taking chances
When you go to the grocery store and check out your items, you get confronted with that same question as you always do: paper or plastic? That question is becoming unnecessary due to the fact that plastic bags are better overall. If students look at statistics and facts, then the answer to the decades-old question, “Paper or plastic?” is a simple “Plastic, of course.”
Most importantly, plastic bags are better for the environment. According to the Washington Post, it takes four times the energy to make paper bags than it does to make plastic bags. In today’s world, where our nonrenewable resources are threatening to run scarce, conserving all the energy we can is vital to the earth’s survival. Furthermore, 98 percent less energy is used to recycle a pound of plastic than is used to recycle a pound of paper, according to the Washington Post. This is an enormous saving of energy that cannot be ignored. When it comes to contributing less to pollution, plastic bags also outdo paper. Paper bags produce 70 percent more air pollution and fifty times more water pollution than plastic bags, according to Washington Post. By using plastic bags, the world can be a cleaner, healthier environment to live in.
Admittedly, plastic bags have their downfalls. When burned, plastic bags emit toxic chemicals. Plastic bags can also pose a threat for wildlife if people do not dispose of them properly. Also, fewer people recycle plastic bags than paper bags. However, all of these problems are preventable and do not outweigh the great benefits of plastic bags. Using non-toxic materials in the making of plastic, stricter laws about littering, and more endorsement for recycling plastic bags are all good methods to amend these small faults. In the end, plastic bags outshine paper bags in so many aspects, and the world would better off if more people used them over paper bags.
It’s an age-old question that has been debated since the first grocery store sprouted into existence: Paper or plastic? Unfortunately, many do not know the facts behind this question and the details about the impact that each of these materials have on the environment. However, with the help of this article, statistics, and common sense, you will be able walk out of the supermarket with paper bags in hand, proud that you made the right decision.
According to reusablebags.com, four billion plastic bags end up as litter each year. These bags do immeasurable damage to the environment. When a plastic bag is introduced to an animal’s en-vironment, many see it as food and try to consume it. Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die from suffocation or internal blocking due to this littering of plastic bags.
While some may argue that paper bags are also thrown out, paper is not as destructive to the envi-ronment when littered. One reason this is true is that paper bags are biodegradable. This means that they will decompose if not recycled, whereas plastic will not. It will stay around for thousands of years, continuing to pollute the environment.
Another argument that plastic advocates may bring up is that many trees are cut down in the pro-duction of paper bags. What they fail to say is that the production of plastic also uses up an important natural resource: oil. Oil is far less replaceable of a resource than trees, and the process of collecting oil is more harmful to the environment. Less plastic would mean less oil production, which means a lessening of the environmental damage that goes along with it.
All of the evidence points to the simple fact that plastic is far more harmful to the environment than paper. So, next time you are faced with that simple question, look at the facts and respond with a single word: “Paper.”
By Matt Smith / reporter By Becca Duggan / enterainment editor
Plastic outshines paperEnvironment relies on paper
ssue:
Paper or Plastic?
For the average
student, high school is four years long.
Four years of observing everyone
passing through those hallways. Four years of uncovering the teenage hierarchy. Four years to discover yourself before you move beyond this isolated world into the real one. It is entirely crucial for us to be finding ourselves while we are given the chance instead of falling into the background of high school.
For some, high school can make or break them. Students choose to give up on finding their own way and instead become another face in the crowd. Those students take the cowardly route instead of mustering up the courage to stand up and face the consequences of being themselves; the insecurity, the fear of rejection, or the dread of how people will react to it.
Being yourself is probably the hardest task you will ever have to do during high school. Learning calculus can be managed and joining a club is easy. However, actually putting yourself out there for anyone to judge is way harder than any of that. It’s actually allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
Although putting yourself out there is extremely difficult, it’s also completely essential. All too often students resort to giving up and falling into the rut of becoming the typical high school student. As risky as it is to show who you truly are, flaws and all, it’s even riskier to become someone you’re not.
Instead of focusing so much on being accepted, we should focus more on being the person we were meant to be. Ayn Rand said it best when she wrote, “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach.”
By Lauren Cain / advertising assistant
cartoon by anna ortiz
soph
omor
e
“It’s harder to hang out with friends be-cause it’s harder to drive.”
Matt BrooksJoe Favia
fres
hman
“It’s been harder to get to school. I have to get up ear-lier to help my sis-ter scrape the ice off of her car.”
Missy Ducharme
juni
or
“It’s been bad driv-ing. It makes me not want to come to school because of the icy roads.”
Nikkole Stagowski
seni
or
“I’ve been getting sick more than usual because of the extreme cold.”
QHow has the severe weather affected you?
speak up
“When I grow up I want to be a rock star,” chimes a young child. “When I grow up I want to be a princess,” another declares.
Sound familiar? Growing up, young children experience
dreams of what they want to do with their lives when they get to the ripe old stage of their lives called “adulthood.” That is, the pas-sage they make from childhood to becoming an adult the day they get their very first steady job.
However, as children age their interests may change, or they may choose more “realis-tic” careers as they near high school. But what drives students to pick these careers?
With an almost failing economy, many would guess that the most important factor a student takes into account when deciding on career choices would be the money that they are going to make on the job.
“I want to be a lawyer,” freshman Matt Malyj said. “It pays good money and will make me financially secure.”
Junior Sarah Grace, who wants to become a pediatric nurse, agrees.
“I just want to go where the money’s at, and to have a successful life,” Grace said. “Also, there’s always a demand for nurses in the workforce.”
Of course, other students are looking to
jobs that will not only pay well, but will also be secure- regardless of the state of the econo-my. That is, if the economy goes bad, the jobs won’t crash with it.
According to the Bureau Labor of Statis-tics, the education and health service industry will have the most available jobs in 2016.
“I want to go into nursing or something in the medical field,” senior Courtney Russ said. “People will always get sick, no matter how bad the economy gets.”
Junior Justin Flanery, who wants to study to become an architect, feels that being an ar-chitect will secure his life in the future.
“There’s a demand for architects,” Flanery said. It is also a secure job with a secure in-come. With the way the economy is, it’s im-portant to have a secure job.”
Some students are basing career choices not on potential income, but purely on their individual interests. Others choose their career paths partly because they see their parents or family members involved in it, like sophomore Grant Berquist, who wants to go into dentistry after college.
“My father is a dentist and my older broth-ers are heading into dentistry as well. I’m also obviously interested in it and would enjoy that as my career,” he said.
Another example of students who contin-ue in the family business is senior Paul Otte, whose family owns a trucking business.
“I want to be a diesel mechanic after work-ing with my family for so long,” Otte said
Freshman Zack Nicol has always had an interest in weather, leading him to look careers such as a meteorologist or a storm chaser.
“I like weather and I want to learn more about it,” Nicol said. “I also want to learn more about tornadoes and the damage they cause.”
Whether career choices are based on in-dividual interests or the income that some one wants to make on the job in their lifetime, sophomore T.J Gordon thinks that career choices are important nonetheless.
“I think that kids should focus on their interests [when choosing a career],” Gordon said. “But I also think that income is impor-tant, especially with the always fluctuating economy.”
January 30, 20096
AskLaughExploreWonderInspireLive
by the numbers
IIonlife
When I grow up...Students share their post-high school career plans
By Kelly Rostin / staff reporter
656difference in weekly earnings
between a high school dropout and someone with a bachelor’s degree.
240,903dollars is the average salary of a chief executive.
All according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
166.2 milliontotal employment
projection for 2016.
percentage de-crease of work-ers ages 16-24 in the work force by 2016.
12.7
million. Num-ber of project-ed job open-
ings between 2006 and 2016.
50
5.5The education and
health services industry will add
million jobs by 2016, making it the largest
projected growing industry.
Did You Know? Five top-paying jobs: 1. Chief Executives 2. Physicians and Surgeons 3. Dentists 4. Lawyers 5. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
All according to www.bizjournals.com..
Senior Paul Otte works on a car during his autoshop class. Otte plans on being a diesel mechanic after finishing college, and is continuing the family business of working with cars. Otte’s family owns a trucking business.
Senior David Parks and junior Kyle Naughton film a segment for Show-time. Showtime airs every Tuesday and Thursday during fourth and fifth hour, and Friday during all periods.
Filming
Photo by Joe NeJmaN
S
uppo
r ting
Freshman Leah Markowitz dresses up to support the girls swim team for senior night.
January 30, 2009 Feature 7
By Deanna Sheafer / copy editor
The Indiana Dunes National Lake-shore and Deep River Water Park are usu-ally thought of as popular summertime hotspots. However, many winter activities are available at the Dunes and the water park, even when the beaches and pools are covered in a sheet of snow.
According to the Dunes website, win-ter hiking, cross country skiing, and snow-shoeing are popular among visitors. While hiking in winter may not seem appealing, it may surprise you, according to French teacher Amy Logan.
“We went to Mount Baldie, which is a huge mountain of sand and we hiked up it. Even though it was cold outside, it wasn’t as windy as we thought it might be. The hike was well worth it because the view of the lake from the top of the mountain was beautiful,” she said.
Although The Pines ski resort near Val-paraiso isn’t open this year, there are other places nearby to go cross country skiing. The Dunes offers this activity and many others. Cross country skiing is also al-
lowed on all of the trails, and ski rental is available at the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center.
Snowshoeing is a unique alternative to staying inside. The rangers offer guided snowshoe walks from 1:30 to 3 p.m. each Saturday in the month of January. Snow-shoes are provided by the center, so partici-pants don’t have to own them.
While the beach is usually considered
a good place to take a boyfriend or girl-friend to in summer, a winter day can be just as nice.
“It was a perfect date,” said Logan. Places even closer to Crown Point, like
Deep River Water Park or the fairgrounds, themselves host wintertime opportunities as well. Deep River Water Park, on US 30 east of the mall, is home to an outdoor ice rink for skating. Junior Casey May went with friends and enjoyed it.
“I liked it [ice skating] because it was just something fun and carefree to do with friends when summer activities are off lim-its,” she said.
The ice plaza is open from 2 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, 2 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
“I would definitely recommend go-ing, but make sure you ask for the hockey skates, or your ankles will take a good beat-ing,” May said.
So if winter blues have you staying in-side curled up in front of the TV, try going out to some of your favorite summer spots instead. They can still be a blast, even when
Students give back to the community and earn service hours
Swim meet official Corby Sanders teaches freshmen Nicole Davis, Katelyn Reno, sophomore Brittany Adams, and other students the basics of timing a race before the varsity boys and girls swim meet against Lake Central. Volunteering to time swim meets is just one way students can acquire the required number of com-munity service hours for graduation.
““
I liked ice skating because it was just something
fun and carefree to do with friends
when summer activities are off
limitsjunior Casey May
By Jeff Tompkins / reporter
Starting with the current senior class, all students must complete 40 hours of community service. The administration encourages students to stay on track by completing 10 hours of service each year. According to guidance counselor Michelle Bruss, the goal of these requirements is to “promote student activity in outside of school walls and dissolve boundaries be-tween the high school and community.” Although the hours are a policy of former principal Ryan Pitcock, newcomer Princi-pal Dr. Eric Ban insisted that the require-ments stay.
“[Ban] is really into connecting the school and community. He feels that 40 hours of community service definitely helps achieve this,” Bruss said.
Although the program has been in existence for less than five years, students enjoy the effort from the school to incorpo-rate the idea of community with the high school environment. Having achieved 11 of his required hours so far, sophomore Aaron Tucker agrees that the 40 hours of service is definitely a productive require-ment to have.
“Many times I think that teens are mis-
understood as many wrong opinions are formed about them in general. With high schoolers helping and volunteering, these people might change their mind. Even if it’s just 40 hours, it’s a great idea,” Tucker said.
Junior CJ Hopp, who needs only one more hour to complete the requirements, also believes in the requirements.
“It’s not really a hard thing to do. I just volunteered at the sheriff’s house uptown and have helped clean it up from time to time,” Hopp said.
For students looking for ways to ob-tain hours, Bruss suggests checking the guidance office.
“There is a bulletin board outside the guidance office that lists several employ-ment or volunteer opportunities. In the guidance office itself, there’s also a list of several people that have cooperated with high school volunteers in the past. With just these two things, it’s definitely easy to find your hours,” she said.
Activities at church, volunteering at re-tirement homes, and helping at the library are also popular jobs that Bruss said really help add up the hours.
“If we can just make a difference, even if it’s small, then it’s worth it,” she said.
Summer hotspots hold winter funResidents of Lake County enjoy sledding on the hills of the Lake County Fairgrounds. This is just one of the popular winter activities within driving distance of Crown Point, including the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Chesterton and Deep River Water Park on US 30.
Top WinterACTIVITIES
Cross-country skiing
Snowshoeing
Winter hiking
Ice skating
Sledding
Photo by Joe neJman
Photo by Jeremy rex
January 30, 2008Feature8
By Brenna Wermers / executive editor
photo by Jeremy rex
Through rain, snow, sleet or hailDriving instructor offers tips to stay safe in severe conditions
A student rushes out the door to his car at 7:15 a.m. Speeding down Greenwood in order to get to school on time, the student pushes his luck and tries to make it through the intersection of Indiana and Greenwood. The light turns red as the student gets to the light. He slams down on the brakes, sliding on black ice into the middle of the intersection, barely avoiding a crash.
Though this may seem like an extreme situation, severe weather conditions are more than a valid cause for extra concern and concentration, especially while driv-ing.
“We tend to see an increase in accidents in bad weather,” school resource officer Chuck Noonan said. “When temperatures drop, so does the safety while driving. Peo-ple still drive like it’s 90 degrees outside.”
History teacher Russ Marcinek teach-es Drivers Education at Certified Driving School in Crown Point. He said part of their curriculum focuses on what drivers should and should not do in severe weather condi-tions.
“We always try and stress how impor-tant it is to stay safe while driving in bad weather,” he said. “It all breaks down into a few easy steps.”
The first thing he teaches his students is to slow down.
“This allows more space between you and the vehicle in front of you. The two-second following rule becomes more of a three to four second rule,” he said.
Noonan also stressed the importance of not exceeding the speed limit.
“It gives you more time to stop and make sure you don’t slide,” Noonan said.
Marcinek also said to avoid the three “overs”: over-braking, over-steering and over-powering.
“Over-braking is unnecessary and the best way to slow down in bad weather is to simply take your foot off the gas. Don’t push the [brake] pedal to the floor,” he said. “For over-steering, you need to be gentle
with the wheel and don’t over-compensate. Don’t suddenly jerk the wheel, and make any lane changes as gradually as possible. Finally, don’t over-power your car. Acceler-ate gradually and never ‘floor it,” Marcinek said.
Headlights are also an important tool to help you stay safe in bad weather.
“Make sure you can see others, but also make sure others can see you,” Marcinek said.
Senior Miles Atherton said that cell phones should be avoided while driving in snowy weather.
“Not only does it endanger you,” he said, “if you’re distracted, it’s also danger-ous to everyone else on the road.”
Marcinek said one of the biggest dan-gers is cell phones and they should be avoided at all costs while driving.
“[Avoid cell phones], especially in bad weather,” he said. “Bad weather requires extra attention, and anything that causes a lack of attention will cause you to have to over-brake.”
Senior Clare Grubnich said that inter-sections can be dangerous when the weath-er is bad.
“You always have to be careful,” she said.
Marcinek said some of the best advice is the most intuitive and commonplace, like always looking both ways before entering and crossing an intersection.
“Make sure to see if anyone is going run the ‘fresh’ [newly turned] red light,” he said.
Noonan said that knowing you are about to drive in bad weather and poor road conditions should cause students to look ahead and plan their route and day accordingly.
“If you know you have to go some-where, plan on leaving earlier. Don’t be in a hurry, and give yourself more time to get where you’re going.”
Marcinek agrees during both bad weather and in general.
“Anticipate the mistakes of others and drive defensively,” he said.
Senior Mandy Rattazzi uses jumper cables to start her car. Battery trouble caused by severe temperatures is just one of the many winter car problems.
TIPSWinter Driving
1
2
3
Reduce your speed
This allows for more space be-tween you and other vehicles, which significantly prevents collisions. It gives you more time to stop and stops sliding.
Avoid the three “overs”
Don’t over-brake, over-steer, or over-power your vehicle. Coast a while, don’t go straight from pressing the gas to pressing the brake. Turn the wheel gradually, and never floor it.
Bad weather requires extra attention, and anything that distracts the driver only makes the situation worse, especially cell phones.
Focus on the road
Fleming, Bates, & Barber Insurance, Inc.
Mark A. Bates, CIC, AAI216 E. Joliet St. Crown Point
www.fbbinsurance.com219.663.2483 - 800.783.2483
Go Bulldogs!
Arts & EntErtAinmEnt 9January 30, 2009
Go green to save green this year The top eight easiest ways to do your part and “go green”
Kermit the frog may need to get his facts straight. The famous frog is known for his catchy song “It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green,” but with all the new accessible ways to “go green,” he may need to be changing his tune. Lately, it seems like everyone’s “going green.” From foods to cleaning products to clothes, the U.S. is trying to be more eco-friendly. Plus, with the recent re-cession, going green can not only help the environment, but it may also save you some green in the process. Even president Barack Obama is doing his part to make the White House greener, so here are eight easy ways to “go green.”
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By Brittany Curtis / feature editor Borrow from librar-ies instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves
money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes
into printing new books.
It sounds simple, and it is! In the morning, take an extra few seconds to shut down your computer and printer instead of letting them idle,
and-annoying as it sounds-make morn-ing a routine of unplugging TVs, fans and stereos before leaving for work. Like any routine, you’ll get used to doing it in no time flat.
According to the Environ-mental Protection Agency, in 2007, 30.7 million tons of plastic bottles
were produced, with only an alarming 6.8% being recycled. By using a Klean Kanteen, or by reusing water bottles, students can help cut back on waste. Kleen Kanteens can be purchased at www.kleankanteen.com
According to the National Ethanol Ve-
hicle Coalition, Ethanol 85, or E85, is the term used for mo-tor fuel blends of 85 percent ethanol and just 15 percent gasoline and is an alternative fuel as defined by the U.S. De-partment of Energy. Besides its superior performance character-istics, ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline and is a completely renewable, domestic, environmen- tally friendly fuel. Government tests have shown that E85
vehicles reduce harm-ful hydrocarbon and benzene emissions when compared to vehicles running on gasoline. How-ever, certain cars may not be compatible with E85. To find out if your car is compatible to E85, go to www.e85fuel.com.
The orange you eat for breakfast may have come from California, but it also took a lot of energy to get here. Buy-ing locally grown produce, whether it’s from a greenmarket, a farm stand, or certain supermarkets,
can conserve fuel, reduce pollution,
and support your local economy; not to mention, produce grown nearby doesn’t require pre-servatives and
waxing to keep it fresh.
Almost 85 percent of the energy used to wash clothes is used to heat the water you wash it in. Save energy by turning the settings on your washing machine to use cold water. Now there
are even special detergents that can be used specifi-cally for cold water.
Google is your go-to source for random informa-tion, images, news, and just about anything. Now meet Google’s energy efficient sister website: Blackle. Blackle is exactly like
Google, and is even run by the same company, but the screen is predominant-ly black, sav-ing energy. It may not seem like a lot, but Blackle has saved over 1 million watt hours. So, next time you go online to search that random fact, try using Blackle instead of Google.
1 8
7
5
3
2 500 billion plastic bags are used each year, and a high percentage of that ends up as litter. Reus-able bags are quickly becoming a fad in the eco-friendly world. Some stores even give a five or
ten cent compensation every time you use one of these bags. The bags are worth the buy, both economically and financially.
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10 January 30, 2009Arts & EntErtAinmEnt
From VHS to Blu-ray, the home theater experience is sharper than ever
From the drastic transition-al step from VHS to DVD, it’s a wonder of what’s next for Ameri-ca’s viewing audience. As of now, the clearest, most pristine picture with the greatest sound qual-ity is dominating the scene, and with the HD DVD now no longer sold in stores, it’s Sony’s Blu-ray movie console that’s risen above the rest.
For a while, there was com-petition between the Blu-ray and HD DVD consoles, each compet-ing to win use by most movie studios. Best Buy’s Customer As-sisant Javier, who preferred not to give his last name, said that Blu-ray won the fight.
“The Blu-ray and HD DVD systems weren’t all that different in their picture, sound, or han-dling, but for the Blu-ray, more movie studios (such as Disney and Warner Brothers) decided to use it. The reason was that Sony did their homework this time, (as opposed to in the late 70s / early 80s, when JVC’s VHS beat out Sony’s Betamax) and so were able to win over the studios with their appeal to a larger crowd,” Javier said.
This ‘appeal’ included fea-
tures that the HD DVD didn’t have, including the Blu-ray built into the Play Station III console. Because of this lack of popularity in the studios, the selling of HD DVDs was discontinued and can now be found on Ebay going for $80 to $100 dollars.
According to Javier, a Blu-ray system would cost $250 com-pared to the average DVD player costing about $50 to $100. Despite the extra expenses, students pre-fer the Blu-ray due to its pristine picture and compact sound.
“My family likes to have the newest technology, but I prefer to use the Blu-ray because the pic-ture quality and sound is much better than a DVD,” junior Taylor Perry said.
Junior Steven Polacek, who owns the Blu-ray through his Play Station III, agreed. “There’s
a huge difference in the picture. It’s so much clearer, plus I have a big HD television so it’s even bet-ter,” he said.
To receive the all around ef-fect of the Blu-ray’s superior qual-ity, the combination of an HD television and the Blu-ray discs will make the difference; despite this, both are not necessarily es-sential.
“DVDs would work, where they will actually be improved through the Blu-ray system, and a normal television would work as well, but the picture would look like an average DVD,” Javier said.
Despite the additional costs of a $5 to $10 difference between a Blu-ray disc and a DVD, the results can be financially worth-while.
“With the economy the way
it is, people aren’t going to want to go and spend a lot of money on movies in the theatres. With the Blu-ray’s picture and sound, it’s like creating the theatre [at-mosphere] all while staying at home,” Javier said.
For Polacek, the choice of whether to use regular DVDs compared to the Blu-ray discs was simple.
“If I’m buying a movie, I’m getting the Blu-ray disc. It’s worth the extra money: the picture is clearer with much more detail and the sound is better,” he said.
Students, though, even found ways to cut these costs and still enjoy the better quality. Perry rents the Blu-ray discs through NetFlix, a mail-in DVD rental ser-vice.
“We can get unlimited mov-ies for $18 a month instead of
having to pay extra for every Blu-ray disc we would have bought in the stores,” she said.
The Blu-ray system is also space efficient. According to Blu-ray.com, “DVDs rely on a laser to read and write data, but the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser is that it has a shorter wave-length than a red laser, making it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it’s possible to fit more data on the disc even though it’s the same size as a CD/DVD.”
Perry, who has had the Blu-ray system for about a month said, “I think that you should buy the newest technology, because as technology improves, stores get rid of the older stuff like laser discs and the VCR.”
Old technology isn’t always necessarily worth replacing, though. When faced with the possibility of buying a new enter-tainment system compared to the current technology, Perry added, “It would depend how much bet-ter the new system is. For right now, I am happy with the Blu-ray, but I will continue to watch movies so I want to have the best system,” she said.
By Cori Novelli / executive editor
Revolutionizing the way we watch
American Teen depicts teen strugglesThe rebel. The jock. The geek.
The princess. The heartthrob. While at first glance, this may
look like a bad documentary ver-sion of The Breakfast Club, American Teen offers much more than what these stereotypes seem, with char-acters that are surprisingly three-dimensional. Compiled from over 1,000 hours of footage, American Teen provides a non-scripted look at the lives of five high school seniors. Shot nearby in Warsaw, Indiana and directed by Nanette Burstein, American Teen has at least one character that everyone in high school can relate to.
First up is self-proclaimed outcast, Hannah. Wanting noth-ing more than to move out of In-diana and become a director in California, Hannah proudly con-siders herself to be the artsy, un-conventional misfit of the “total
caste system” of their predomi-nantly white, middle-class town. However, Hannah faces flunk-ing out after missing 17 days of school because her boyfriend of two years dumps her. Fearful that she has inherited her mother’s manic depression, Hannah sinks into a funk and viewers can’t help but feel heartbroken for Hannah as she tries to gain the courage to go back to school.
Next is Colin, the basketball star of Warsaw. “Colin is the star of the team, which means he’s second only to Jesus in Warsaw,” Hannah states at the beginning of the movie. Don’t let that fool you, though. Throughout the movie, Colin is constantly reminded by his Elvis-impersonator father that in order to go to college, he’ll need to receive a sports scholar-ship. Facing pressure to excel on the court, Colin struggles to live up to his father’s expectations.
Then we have Jake, a boy
who’s so nerdy that you can’t help but kind of love the kid. Describ-ing himself as “a marching band super-geek,” all Jake wants for his senior year is to find a girlfriend. Dealing with no friends, no game, and virtually no self-confidence, Jake escapes his life by playing video games. He struggles with his self-esteem and need to be popular throughout the show.
Next up is Megan, the Home-coming queen. Seen as one of the meanest girls in high school, over-achieving rich girl Megan dem-onstrates childish and vindictive behavior towards others. How-ever, the one redeeming quality about Megan is the intense pres-sure she’s under to get into Notre Dame. Following in the footsteps of her brothers and sister to go to Notre Dame is all Megan’s father wants from her, and maybe the pressure of that is what causes her to act out and revert to her evil and conniving behavior.
Finally there’s Mitch, one of Colin’s teammates on the bas-ketball team and the heartthrob of the school. However, he finds himself strangely attracted to wild-child Hannah. However, by liking her he’s defying the “caste system” that he’s worked so hard to climb. Facing peer pressure to not hang out with Hannah, Mitch states “I mean, I’d like to say that [my friends] wouldn’t affect me, and that wouldn’t affect my deci-sion, but I don’t know.”
All in all, American Teen is a realistic look at the struggles that students face, and provides a unique look at the lives of these five teenagers. American Teen is an excellent documentary, and com-ing from someone who’s not a fan of documentaries, that’s saying a lot. It’s one of those shows that ev-eryone can find something about to like. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll find everything about it is some-thing to love.
By Brittany Curtis / feature editor
The Young Teacher, released in June 1976, was the first VHS tape released in the United States for JVC’s VCR.
A DVD has a shelf life of over 100 years and is designed to be played an unlimited num-ber of times.
Blu-ray derives its name from the blue laser used when reading the disc, compared to the red laser used for DVDs.
Promotional still used with Permission
American Teen portrays more than the stereotypical teens in this non-scripted documen-tary shot in Indiana. It follows the lives of five high school seniors.
VHS DVD Blu-ray
Arts & EntErtAinmEnt 11January 30, 2009
InformatIon compIled by InklIngs edItors
a few of our
favorite things
Freerice.com
Rarely have saving the world and SAT vocabulary prep gone
hand-in-hand. But thanks to freerice.com, now they do. The website (which is partnered with the United Nation’s World Food Program and Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University) offers a variety of learning games, including a default vocabulary game that shows a word and asks you to match it with one of four definitions. For every word that is correctly matched, the non-profit website (via its advertis-ers on the bottom of the page) donate ten grains of rice to developing countries to feed their poor. While ten grains of rice isn’t much, it adds up quickly. In 2008, nearly 44 billion grains (or approximately 1.3 bil-lion pounds) were donated. Not bad for a few minutes of your time.
StarbuckS diScountS
Ever since Starbucks landed in Crown Point, it’s not uncom-mon to see a good portion of the student (and faculty) popu-lation walking into school sipping a latte or clutching a cup with the familiar green in-signia. What could be better than everyone’s favorite coffee? Getting it at a cheaper price. Thanks to Starbucks green initiative, at most stores if you bring your own mug you can get 10 cents off any drink. It may not be a lot, but if you get a latte every week that could add up to a free drink or two every year. By bringing your own mug, Starbucks and their customers both save money and resources by being able to use fewer disposable cups, so we can have our cof-fee and planet, too.
Perhaps I’m naïve, but I tend to believe what I’m told. So when I see commercials for
a film that looks exciting and is com-ing soon to theaters, I
tend to make plans based around that release date.
However, lately the trend of making movies “limited release” for an extended period of time has grown exponentially, particularly for prospective award-winning films.
Take Frost/Nixon for example. The story of the nearly impeached ex-president and the historic interview between him and a British broadcast-er was nominated for several Oscars.
Yet unless you live in New York or LA, it’s been difficult to see the film. It opened on Dec. 5 in what is known as a “limited release,” and in this case it meant it played in three theaters. Yes, that’s right: only three theaters in the whole country showed the film. But the movie still made $180,000 in its opening weekend, far more per screen than Twilight or Four Christmases, two films that opened that weekend in much wider release.
So why keep award contend-ers secluded, especially if they can produce the same big bucks that the blockbuster darlings like Twilight are making? By Dec. 25 Frost/Nixon had opened in what the studio called a “wide release,” but the nearest theater with any showtimes was more than an hour away. Few films inspire me to make a pilgrimage to see them.
It wouldn’t be so frustrating if Frost/Nixon were the only film, but lately it seems every critically acclaimed film disappears from main-stream theater markets. Revolutionary Road opened Dec. 26, but the closest theater showing the film was in Chi-cago. Similar stories follow Slumdog Millionaire and Vicki Cristina Barcelona, both recent Golden Globe winners that failed to appear in this corner of the world.
The objective of any studio movie is to make money. So when a film is in the unique position of being both great and audience-approved, it should be in both the studio’s and the audience’s best interest to bring it to as many screens as possible.
If not, I suppose we can all just watch The Dark Knight again
my viewLimited release movies limit our access to good films
By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief
Hotter than hot
Buffalo-style chicken wings have been an American culinary classic since the late 1964, originating in none other than Buffalo, New York. Today, the chain Quaker Steak & Lube has put a blistering new method on an old favorite.
The first Quaker Steak & Lube opened in 1974 in Sharon, Penn. as a “Cook-Your-Own-Steak” restaurant that salvaged old muscle cars for décor. To this day, the in-terior of all 30 locations nationwide house vintage cars and motorcycles, muscle cars, and a vast array of memorabilia hanging from its walls and ceiling. Walking into the Portage location, patrons find themselves standing under motorcycles suspended from the ceiling! The atmosphere is vintage and casual, making it a perfect place to dine with family or friends.
Of course, the chain is recognized most for their wings, and has every right to brag about them. They are juicy, flavorful and full of meat, not mainly skin and bones like some other wing joints are known to serve. “The Lube” offers almost 20 sauce choices, so there is something for everyone from traditional BBQ to their notorious Atomic wing sauce.
The chain’s Atomic wings are one of the
featured dishes that make a dining experi-ence at “The Lube” so special. Made from a blend of habanero peppers and spices, this sauce will seriously set your mouth ablaze. The restaurant offers recognition on their “Atomic Wall of Fame” to diners that can manage to stomach eating just six of these
scorching wings. Senior Jarrett Nelson ac-complished this feat, along with fellow se-nior Jordan Konicki.
“It was painful,” Nelson said. “I teared up and almost cried. After I finished, my face kept burning -it felt like it was on fire. The burning lasted a good hour and a half, and my face swelled up because my lips were so hot.”
The restaurant actually makes those that order this flavor sign a release form before allowing patrons to eat them.
Nelson said that during the challenge
that jalapeno peppers, not the traditional blue cheese dressing and celery sticks, are provided to cool the palette. Afterwards, he said, they bring you a glass of milk.
“I would not recommend doing it. It’s just not worth it to get your name on the wall,” he said.
Quaker Steak & Lube waiter Christo-pher Strom on the other hand, loves the sauce.
“I ate here all the time before I start-ed working here, and now I put it on my fries,” he said
Unlike these brave men however, I could barely get just a single one of these sizzling suckers down. It doesn’t seem hard at first, but once the flavor hits your tongue, it explodes until the entire interior of your mouth feels as though its on fire. If you’re ever in the mood for a food challenge, how-ever, then this is one I dare you to try.
Whatever your taste, The Lube has something for you with a menu ranging from wings to burgers, steaks, salads and much more. The inviting atmosphere pro-vides a fun theme that makes the place a perfect spot for a post-dance eatery or just a casual dinner. Not to mention the fabulous wait staff. The combination of great service, great food and a great atmosphere that makes eating out so enjoyable, and “The Lube” doesn’t disappoint.
By Brenna Wermers / executive editor
Portage’s Quaker Steak & Lube offers a variety of foods in a vintage atomoshpere. The chain’s most popular gimmick, their Atomic wings, are covered in a sauce blend that includes habanero peppers, one of the hottest peppers in existence.
Quaker Steak & Lube offers chance to rev up taste buds
photo by brenna Wermers
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Their ingredients are all 98 percent nat-ural which include moistur-izing almond oil, refreshing grapefruit, and cleansing
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the World Wildlife Fund.
Arts & EntErtAinmEnt12 January 30, 2009
Coming of age portrayed on screen
‘Valentine’ swings and misses
Through the years, generations change and so do the movies and TV shows that correspond to that generation. Changes in not only the movies, but the generations are shown through the characters attitudes, cliques, and actions. People who were teenagers in these generations gave their opinions on some coming of age movies and television shows.
1980s - The Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast Club is a 1985 teen film
that follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention. The five teenagers each represented a different clique earning them the nicknames: The Criminal, The Princess, The Brain, The Athlete, and The Basket Case. These characters begin to interact to pass detention and learn that they are not that different after all.
Fine arts department chair Kit Degenhart believes that this movie is not just a good representation of the 80s, but also a good example of high schools today.
The movie represented traditional high school stereotypes. These stereotypes exist from decade to decade. I think they showed
a representative of each group – jock, nerd, princess, and outcast,” Degenhart said.
In addition, Degenhart believes that the specific ways used to classify the students in The Breakfast Club are a lot like how they were in the 80s and now. The “nerd was overachieving, the jock was athletic, and the outcasts were people who acted in a way to alienate themselves.”
Overall, Degenhart feels that the movie represented the generation and showed how the characters acted and how they were classified.
1990s - Saved by the BellSaved by the Bell is a 1990s sitcom that
follows students through their high school years. Issues like friendship, driving, and graduating are brought up in this representation of teenagers in the 90s. The main characters are six high school students who eventually come together to create a clique of their own, however it greatly follows the character of the clique’s “leader” Zack Morris who freezes the on-screen action and addresses the audience about certain topics or aspects of what is going on.
English teacher Allison Isailovich believes that Saved by the Bell is a good
representation of the 90s. “The characters walked, talked, and
dressed the part. The show also included a stereotype of every group,” Isailovich said.
Also, Isailovich believes that there are specific traits that classified people both in the movie and in real life. For instance, the jock, AC Slater, was “mainly classified by his dress, build, and demeanor.”
In general, she feels that the 90s were about “relaxing and having fun,” like in the show.
“People [in the 90s] wanted to enjoy life and all it has to offer,” Isailovich said.
2000s - Mean GirlsMean Girls, a 2004 movie about a
teenage girl who goes from home-schooling to public school, is one of the coming of age movies for the present generation. When Cady Heron, the main character, comes to this school she is faced with the cliques that separate the students. These cliques range from the jocks, to the popular girls, to the kids classified as social misfits.
Mean Girls is a representation of how high school students interact with each other and their parents as they become adults and begin to learn to take control of their own lives. However, according to
senior Hannah DeLaughter this movie does not completely represent our generation.
“I don’t think the people are exactly like that. I mean they are kind of like that, but they [the movie creators] definitely took it to a greater extent. I think the teenagers in this movie were a lot more judgmental overall than us,” DeLaughter said.
Also, the cliques found in the high school were a major contribution to this movie. There were the jocks that were athletic and involved in multiple sports, the popular girls who had certain dress codes to stick to and a set food menu, and the social misfits who did their own thing and did not worry about what others said. DeLaughter believes the cliques were a good representation, but over dramatized.
“The cliques are basically the same, but they are exaggerated. We have cliques here, like jocks are athletic and some kids are really artistic, but I think the teenagers in Mean Girls were more whiny and self-centered. The characters took the cliques too seriously,” DeLaughter said.
In the end, DeLaughter feels this movie proved to represent today’s teenage generation, but some aspects seemed to be dramatized to go along with the genre of the movie being drama.
By Nikki Sekuloski / staff reporter
What do you get when you cross a me-diocre story with blood, gore, and cutting-edge technology? Whether for better or worse—probably the latter—you get a 3-D experience you won’t ever forget.
My Bloody Valentine was originally re-leased in 1981 during a time when slashers were huge and moviegoers craved the end-less gore characteristic of these films.
Like many movies during this era of horror, the story is typical—masked killer attacks town, horrible murders occur, con-fusion ensues as the people try to expose the killer for who he really is. Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th--they’re all the same. Nothing new, nothing special, and nothing worth going to see. This plot, or lack of one, along with the unconvincing acting reminiscent of a soap opera, makes this movie forgettable, to say the least.
Only a single redeeming quality ex-ists in the entirety of the film: the 3-D. My Bloody Valentine uses the newest, most ad-vanced 3-D technology available to bring in an audience of blood-hungry viewers which it wouldn’t have in only two dimen-sions. With the images of pickaxes inches from your face and blood spurting out of the screen towards you, the movie brings something that no one else has brought to theaters. It brings a realistic, often sicken-ing first-person view of the horror, which makes the viewer feel like he or she is a part of the action--every gruesome, nauseating piece of action.
Without the 3rd dimension, however, the movie is a definite flop. The 2-D ver-sion is not worth even half the price of the movie ticket, even on the big screen. When it is released on DVD, it will probably be even worse. The combination of the less-than-impressive 2-D visuals on a small living room television is not something to look forward to. Without the thrill of the 3-D, this is simply a below-average remake of an old horror movie. In other words, don’t waste your money.
The 3-D technology used in the film is, without a doubt, an innovation in the mov-ie industry. It far surpasses the quality of other 3-D attempts such as Spy Kids: Game Over, which was released in 2003. If noth-
ing else worthwhile came from My Bloody Valentine, with all of its sub-par elements, it has opened up new doors for future direc-tors. It has shown that the allure of three dimensions will attract viewers, no matter how terrible the movie, and perhaps we will see more of this type of movie in the coming years. Hopefully, these effects will be used on movies with more plot to back
it up. Regardless, this film should not be
topping your “to-see list” unless you’re usually entertained by mindless blood and gore. If you’re looking for a quality film, here’s some advice: Save your money and get an upgrade on the size of your pop-corn. I guarantee you’ll leave more satis-fied.
For those romance lovers who want to curl up and watch a true Valenitne’s Day film, here are some classics you might want to consider.
The unforget-table story of a tragic love told during one of the most tragic events of his-tory. Titanic is one that will go down in history as one of the best romance flicks to hit theaters. Its
reputation as the biggest grossing mov-ies ever is much deserved.
This 1996 movie is a fantastic blend of com-edy, drama, and romance. The timeless film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, coining the romantic quote,
“You complete me.”
If a cute film is ideal for Valen-tine’s Day, then The Lady and the Tramp is perfect. The Disney mov-ie tells the story of two very dif-ferent dogs that fall very much in love. Overcom-ing differences
and keeping an open heart are just a few of the timeless messages offered by this classic film.
Back to the Classics
My Bloody Valentine is about a killer who cuts out the hearts of his victims and places them in candy boxes. The movie opened on Jan. 16.
By Matt Smith / staff reporter
SportS 13January 30, 2009
State ranked wrestling team finishes strongBehind senior Marcus Shrewsbury, the Bulldogs head into the post season with high expectations
As the Bulldogs wrestling team heads towards postseason competition, not much has changed from the begin-ning of the season. They are still #1 in the region and stated ranked both as a team and individuals. There is one thing that is different though.
The win column for most of the wres-tlers doesn’t contain a zero anymore.
The wrestlers have been putting on a clinic thus far this season, to say the least. They’ve taken home victories at the Stagg and Carnahan Memorial In-vitationals as a team. They also recently took down the DAC title, with six wres-tlers earning individual championships. Some of the success the ‘Dogs have been having can be connected with the prefor-
mance of senior Marcus Shrewsberry.“I’ve just been working hard all sea-
son,” Shrewsberry said. “I have to prac-itce hard to perform well.”
Although Shrewsberry has been one of the standout wrestlers this season, varsity coach Scott Vlink does not be-lieve he is the only one.
“ (Junior) Anthony Hawkins, (fresh-man) Jason Tsirtsis, (sophomore) Eric Roach, and (senior) Mark Myers have also been wrestling very well for us all season,” Vlink said.
All of these wrestlers, among with many others, have helped the ‘Dogs to their best team ranking in recent years, according to Vlink. They are ranked fourth in the state as a team. Vlink says that he does and doesn’t look at where people have them ranked within Indi-
ana. Although some might believe that
the wrestlers would begin tapering in workouts to be well rested for postsea-soon action, they are doing the exact op-posite.
“We have to work hard if we want to do well in the postseason,” Vlink said. “However, we also have to work smart and not overwork ourselves.”
Working hard also helps Vlink to make sure the wrestlers aren’t defeated by possibly their biggest foe: overconfi-dence. With several of the wrestlers be-ing undefeated so far this season, over-confidence is a factor they try hard to avoid. Shrewsberry has an effective way he can overcome this obstacle.
“The coaches keep us down to earth,” Shrewsberry said. “My other teammates
do the same as there are many of us that are undefeated.”
The ‘Dogs have not yet been able to achieve a big goal they were hoping to get to this season. However, this is only because there has been no chance for it to happen yet. Earlier in the season, Vlink said that he wanted the team to get to the state meet as a whole. He didn’t of-fer much insight as to how the wrestlers have done in achieving some of his other goals for the season.
“We’ll be able to tell if they’ve done what I hoped they would after the sea-son,” Vlink said.
Overall, Vlink feels the season has gone very well up to this point. They hope to take down sectional and region-al championships as well as bring home a state title.
Girls Basketball looks to recover after rough part of season
By Colin Likas / reporter
After getting off to a fast 9-0 start, the Lady Bull-dogs, led by senior Daniela Tarailo, look towards sec-tionals with high hopes.
“Starting the season 9-0 deffinatley helped up be-lieve we could win close games and it also made us be-lieve in eachother,” coach Scott Reid said.
Even though the girls’ started the season undeaf-eated, they have lost 7 out of their last 9 games played and hold a current record of 11-7.
“We had a fast start,” Reid said. “I still have com-plete confidence [in the team], but we still have not played four quarters this season.”
Reid’s lineup consists of a mix between five seniors, six sophomores and one freshman.
“Our Seniors are expirienced, but the sophomores too have played tough,” Reid said. “A lot of different times different kids stepped up,” said Reid, refering to the underclassman of the group.
On Friday Jan 16, the Lady Bulldogs lost to Portage 43-29 at putting them at 5-3 in the DAC and 10-5 over-all.
In the teams most recent match-up, the girls beat LaPorte on senior night 79-32. Tarailo led the lady ‘Dogs with a game high 19 points, while also dishing out 11 assists giving her a double-double. Sydnee Reeves also atained a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Zerah Cecich also scored in double digits contributing 12. This victory put the lady Bulldogs at fourth in the Duneland Athletic Conference standings.
“Last night was senior night and we were all in a re-ally good mood,” Tarailo said. “All of the underclassman did a really good job of working hard and decorating the gym.”
Tarailo is one of five seniors that will be graduat-ing after this season. There are no juniors on the team
this year, but a large group of underclassmen, primar-ily sophomores who have seen a lot of playing time al-ready.
“The underclassman have been a big part of the team,” Tarailo said. “They have all stepped up and played major roles. They did things taht no one expected them to do.”
The lady Bulldogs are just now wrapping up the season and will be heading into sectionals. The girls bas-ketball sectional draws are held on Thursday Jan 29. The draws were unavailable at the time of press.
“We got off to a nice start. It was good to get out of a small loosing streak that we had,” Tarailo said. “Hope-fully we will be 3-0 by the time we are going into section-als.”
Even though the lady ‘Dogs are fourth in the DAC with a conference record of 6-6, the DAC title is still up for grabs.
The girls play at Valparaiso tonight at 6 p.m. and their last regular season game is Feb 5 against Merrill-ville. In their last meeting, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Merrillville 58-46 on Dec 30. Sectional play begins on Feb 10.
“Our goal since day one was to play our best game at sectional time and that goal has not changed,” Reid
By Milan Savich / reporter
Senior guard Daniela Tarailo goes up for a lay-up in a game against LaPorte. The Bulldogs won 79-32.
Photo by trey AultmAn
Freshman Cameron Halsted wrestles in the 103 pound weight class against a Portage during the CP Duals. The Bulldogs won the match by a score of 35-20.
Photo by trey AultmAn
Team Michigan City Chesterton ValparaisoCrown Point Lake Central Portage Merrillville LaPorte
Duneland Athletic Conference Standings as of Jan. 28, 2009
Record10-28-48-46-66-65-75-70-12
SportS14 January 30, 2009
Swim teams look to claim sectionalBoys work for sectionals, while girls defend sectional championship
Heading towards the conference meet, the Bulldogs have their eyes set on closing out the season on a high note.
As of press time, the ‘Dogs are 9-1, with the most re-cent win against Michigan City on Tuesday with a score of 100-83.
The ‘Dogs were able to defeat Lake Central on Janu-ary 20 for the first time in twelve years.
“Beating Lake Central was definately one of the high-lights of the year but it is also one highlights of the twelve years I have been at Crown Point,” head coach Doug Nor-ris said.
“It was a great deal to beat Lake Central because the rivalry has been fierce since my freshman year,” senior captain Brendan Morin said.
With the DAC meet tomorrow, the Bulldogs have their eyes set on the sectional meet.
“The sectional meet leads to the state championship, so I’d say the most important thing is to qualify for state,” Norris said.
Being led by senior captains Brendan Morin and Matt Kukurugya, the Bulldogs have also found leadership in sophomores Marcus Trybula and Blake Yeager.
“Marcus [Trybula] has already stepped up and has
led by example, but I think Blake Yeager has done the same thing becuase he has the best percentage of prac-tices,” Norris said. “Blake [Yeager] has already swam his lifetime bests in the 200 yard freestyle and 500 yard free-style,”
When the filtration system broke down last Novem-ber, both swim teams were forced to reconcile with tem-porary pools at the Southlake YMCA and Merrilliville High School.
“Not having the pool to practice in really hurt me for the 500 freestyle,” sophomore Blake Yeager said. “but hopefully for sectionals I will swim my best time and qualify for the state meet.”
With the team standing at 9-1,members of the team believe that the success has come in large part from the coaches training.
“The help of Norris and my teammates has made it a very productive season,” freshman Michael Kukurugya said.
This season the coaches have decided that the team needed improvement on their work ethic.
“Our coaching staff is very set on our work ethic and we hope our hard work will pay off at the end of the sea-son,’’ Kukurugya said.
Tomorrow the Bulldogs will host the DAC meet at 1 p.m.
As for the girls, they are poised to win their second straight sectional title.
“Our number one goal is to repeat as sectional cham-pions,” head coach Bryon Angerman said. “It’s between us and Munster for the sectional championship and the meet will be within 20 points.”
The girls stand at a record of 11-1 with their only loss to Chesterton.
“It was upsetting to lose to Chesterton,” senior Molly Raspopovich said. “ but we knew it was early in the sea-son and we could do a lot better than that.”
For the DAC meet on January 17, the girls were once again overcome by the Trojans by placing second at the meet with 392 points, 105 points behind Chesterton. Molly Raspopovich won her fourth consecutive 100 back at conference, and seinor Ashley Lionberger won the 500 free.
Despite the hardship the Lady Bulldogs were not shaken by the conference loss.
“The DAC meet gave the team a chance to see where we are at as a team and a lot of people did well,” Raspop-ovich said.
Although the Lady Bulldogs have lost only one meet, the ill-timed pool closing and meet post-ponements has made the season a little rough.
“The season has not gone as planned,” Raspopovich said. “there have been numerous unfortunate events that have occurred this year, with the pool breaking down and meets being cancelled. It has not always gone how we wanted it to.”
Sophomore Jordan McRae swims the 200 freestyle event at Michigan City last Tuesday. McRae also swims the 100 butterfly for the Bulldogs. The ‘Dogs are 9-1 on the season including a win against Michigan City on Tuesday by score of 100-83. Boys start sectionals Feb. 19 at home. The Girls look to repeat starting Feb 5.
Photo by hunter McKee
By Hunter McKee / asst. sports editor
Gymnastics team competes for top spot in DAC
When the gymnastics’ season begun, the Crown Point girls were ranked 3rd in the region behind Valparaiso and Chesterton.
At the end of last season the Lady Bulldogs were de-feated by 2008 state champion Valparaiso Vikings 111.7-92.4. The girls’ opened up the 2009 campaign season at Valparaiso against the team that knocked them out of the post-season last year.
“It was expected that we were going to lose, we were going against the number one team,” said junior Jacquelyn Cannon “the first meet is always the hardest”.
The girls were overcome with a score of 110.45 - 101.525.
“There was not a lot of heart at the beginning of the season,” said Coach Ami Pysh.
The Lady Bulldogs were defeated by the LaPorte Slic-ers and received a score of 105.050 to LaPorte’s 105.350.
“We had a lot of falls during the meet,” said senior
Trisha Eberly “this made us try to be stronger, and have a personal best meet against Portage”.
Against the Portage Indians the Lady Bulldogs posed a score of 103.7. Portage scored only a 100.675 to give Crown Point its’ first win of the season. The win over Portage ranked the team tenth in the region.
Freshman Taylor Hawkins came out 1st in vault. “It was a difficult competition, but we ended up on
top,” said HawkinsThe Lady Bulldogs competed against conference foe
Lake Central on Thursday night. The results of the meet were unavailable as of press time.
Also coming up for the Lady Bulldogs is the Chester-ton Invite on Jan. 31.
Still on the schedule for the gymnastics team is Michi-gan City and Merrillville. The team has five more tune-ups in all before the Duneland Athletic Conference meet on Feb. 28.
“We have confidence in each other, and that’s really making us come together as a team,” said sophomore Allie Ban.Senior gymnast Trisha Eberly practices for a meet.
By Vinnie Needham / reporter
SportS 15January 30, 2009
take 5 with TREYBoys basketball heads towards postseason
Throughout the first fourteen games the Crown Point boys Basketball team has stayed above the .500 mark. The team is currently 7-6 overall with a 4-5 record in the conference.
“We’re doing better than people ex-pected us to, but from our standpoint we’ve lost a lot of close games that we should have won,” senior forward/center Chris Lakich said.
The team has had several close en-counters over the course of the season. The first one came against the conference rival Merrillville Pirates. The Bulldogs went into the game with a two game win-ning streak, and came out with a tough loss by the score of 48-47.
In the overtime loss to the Pirates the Bulldogs were led in scoring by senior guard/forward Brady Schuster who had 17 points going three for three from be-yond the arc, where he is shooting 56.5 percent on the year, and six rebounds. Also in the game, senior Mike Lipton added ten points.
On Jan. 2, the Bulldogs took on the Portage Indians at Crown Point’s home court. The Bulldogs once again played a close game but again came up short by score of 59-55. The Bulldogs were led by Schuster who leads the team in points per game with 10.6, and Lakich, who both had 16 points in the match-up. Schuster also led the team in rebounds in the game with nine.
The following week the boys had an-other close game, but came out on top in this one. The boys were led in points by Schuster who scored 17 points, and soph-omore point guard Michael “Spike” Al-brecht who added 14 in the 60-56 win over the Chesterton Trojans at Chesterton.
Another close game came when the Lake Central Indians came to Crown Point. On the Bulldogs’ home court, se-nior guard C.J. Mantel led Crown Point with 19 points. Also adding points were senior center Nathaniel Akers and Lipton
who added 10 and 11 points respectively. Despite three players in double digits, the Bulldogs lost to the Indians by a final score of 67-63.
The following week the Bulldog bas-ketball team had to make the bus ride to Michigan City. At Michigan City, Crown Point had a relatively close game which they came out on top by a score of 67-55. In the match-up, the Bulldogs were led by Mantel who scored 17 points.
The next night the Bulldogs hosted the East Chicago Central Cardinals. The match-up was close the whole game. The Bulldogs pulled ahead and were up by 13 points going into the fourth quarter, but were unable to hold onto that lead. East Chicago tied the bulldogs in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
In overtime, the Bulldog efforts fell short in the extra period and lost the game 76-74. In the game senior Nikola Pusara, Lakich, and Schuster all grabbed eight re-bounds while Albrecht led all scorers with 32 points.
“I felt like I was coming back to the old days where I shot more,” Albrecht said.
The Bulldogs are currently ranked fifth in the Duneland Athletic Conference,. They are behind Valparaiso, Chesterton, Lake Central, and Merrillville teams.
They have seven games remaining in their regular season schedule. Five of the remaining scheduled games are Duneland Athletic Conference match-ups. One of the games is against the DAC leading Valparaiso Vikings tonight at home. The Vikings are 11-1 and 6-1 in the conference.
“We’ll be fine. We just have to stick together as a basketball family, and we’ll be fine,” Lakich said.
After the regular season, the Bulldogs have to head into the Sectional round of the post season. The defending sectional champs have to compete against most of the Duneland Conference.
“We need to finish strong heading into sectionals. We need to defend our Sectional title,” Albrecht said.
Steelers look for six in Super Bowl XLIII
There is always that one weekend of the year that always
makes me sad. It’s always the last weekend in January that there is absolutely no football on any channel. Then I remem-
ber that the Super Bowl is the fol-lowing weekend. To keep myself from getting too excited I usually watch the NBA or something along those lines. Once Monday rolls around, then I can start to think
about the big game. This year there’s something for everyone, and history will be made either way.
In one corner, the Arizona Cardinals. As hard as it is to believe, the Cardinals have made it to the Super Bowl, finally. The Cardinals are the leagues oldest franchise, being started in Chicago in the 1920s and then moving to St. Louis before ending up in Arizona. The Cardinals, who only had five wins in 2005, have found new success in 37 year old quarterback out of Northern Iowa, Kurt Warner. Warner was a two-time MVP but was thought to be passed his prime. The three time pro bowler was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIV and again in Super Bowl XXXVI with the St. Louis Ram. Warner is one of only five Arizona players to play in a Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardi-nals are an inexperienced team that worries me on the defensive side of the ball. The biggest thing that the Cardinals have going for them is the fact that this is a crucial point in their franchises history.
In the other corner is the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are going for an NFL record sixth Super Bowl victory for the sto-ried franchise. After their glory days of the seventies, the Steelers have been a mainstay in the playoffs, but struggled in the postsea-son. The Steelers have one of the toughest defenses in the league. Behind Defensive MVP James Harrison, and safety Troy Pola-malu, who has made six interceptions this season. Also, the Steelers have some skill on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a 60 percent comple-tion percentage, and has played this post season with a mild concussion after being carted off the field in week 17. On paper the tough Steeler team looks like a hands down favorite. However, as a wise man once said, “The game is not played on paper.”
I think that the Steelers have a little bit more of a challenge than they are originally expecting. The Cardinals are a decent team that deserves to be in the big game. And the best thing that Arizona has going for it is that they just might want it more.
Despite the tough road and the deter-mination of the Arizona Cardinals, I am picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to defeat the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 35-16. The game will have all the makings of a historic battle, and if you’re not that into football, there’s always the commercials.
By Trey Aultman / sports editor
By Trey Aultman / sports editor
Bulldogs try to close out games as they defend a sectional title
Senior Guard Mike Lipton shoots a free throw in a game against E.C. Central last week. Lipton finished with five points.
Photo bytrey AultmAn
Com
ing
Up 1.30.09
-Varsity/JV Girls Basketball at Val-paraiso... 6 p.m.-Varsity/JV Boys Basketball vs. Valparaiso... 6 p.m.
2.3.09-Freshman Boys Basketball vs. Chesterton... 6 p.m.
2.5.09 cont.-Freshman Boys Basketball vs. Mer-rillville... 6 p.m.-Varsity Girls Swim and Dive Sec-tional at Home... TBA
2.6.09-Varsity/JV Boys Basketball at Mer-rillville... 6 p.m.-Varsity Girls Swim and Dive Sec-tional at Home... TBA
1.31.09-Varsity Wrestling Individual Sec-tional at Home... 9 a.m.-Varsity Gymnastics at Chesterton for the Chesterton Invite... 11 a.m.-Varsity Boys Swim and Dive Sec-tional at Home... 9 a.m.-Varsity/JV Boys Basketball at Boone Grove... 6 p.m.
For more information on CPHS sporting events, visit www.High-SchoolSports.net.
2.4.09-Varsity Boys Wrestling Team Re-gional at Portage...TBA-Freshman Boys Basketball vs. Low-ell... 6 p.m.
2.5.09-Varsity/JV Girls Basketball at Mer-rillville... 6 p.m.-Freshman Boys Basketball vs. Mer-rillville... 6 p.m.
One of the lesser recognized sports at the high school can be described in five words: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.
The dodgeball season is set to get underway in the next couple of weeks. Practices will begin during the month of February on Tuesdays and Thurs-days. Science teacher Andrew Shih got the idea of dodgeball being played rolling at Crown Point High School.
“The idea came up about five years ago from the [2004] movie ‘Dodge-ball,’” Shih said. “Some kids came up to me and asked for me to do it as a Student Council fundraiser.”
Shih was not optimistic about
the chances of the idea being passed. However, former principal Ryan Pit-cock approved the idea and dodgeball was born at Crown Point.
“It has been really big among the students every year,” Shih said.
Senior Lance Lamere has been play-ing dodgeball at the high school since it began. He was also on the champion-ship winning team last season.
“I don’t think we’ll have any com-petition this year,” Lamere said. “The only team that was close to us last sea-son was all seniors.”
The rules for dodgeball basically follow the rules as they were seen in the movie “Dodgeball”. There are sev-en players to a team, which can be all male, all female, or co-ed. Players from two opposing teams line up along op-
posite walls. When the whistle blows, they rush forward for the dodgeballs and fire away at enemies.
“Everything goes in this game,” Shih said. “Some kids might not un-derstand the physical requirements at first, but they figure it out pretty quickly.”
Each match generally lasts ten minutes. A match ends when one side is left with no players on the court.
The tournament will be played on March 7. It costs $70 per person to play for the entire season.
Lamere feels his team will be able to take another crown this year.
“The baseball players make up 90 percent of our competition so I hope that they are not there again this year,” Lamere said.
By Colin Likas / reporter
Dodgeball begins its fifth year at Crown PointAchievements
-The Crown Point High School Cheerleading team traveled to Da-las, Texas for the National Compe-tition over winter break. On Dec. 28 and 29 the girls took ninth place in the NCA Senior and Junior High School National Champioship.
-Senior football player Lance LaMere was nominated to play in the Indiana North/South All-Star game. The game is played in August as a way to show-case the football talent in Indiana.
-The Lady Bulldogs dance team is currently in Orlando, Florida to par-ticipate in the UDA National Dance Championships this weekend. The girls are trying to follow up a fourth and a second place finish last year.
.16 January 30, 2009
Certified driving SChool865 MadiSon Street Crown Point, in 219-662-7733
(one bloCk weSt of broadway on the Corner of SuMMit and MadiSon)
•30 hours classroom plus 6 hours of driving(home pick-up for driving)
•The state of Indiana requires all Driver’s Education classroom and driving must be
completed in a maximum of 120 days!
•Student must be 15 years of age and show copy of birth certificate
•Fully licensed by the State of Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and
Department of Education.
•All instructors are teachers certified in driver’s education.
CLASS OPTIONS:
Evening Classes: 3 Days a week for 5 weeks Monday & Wednesday 6 - 8 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to noon (New classes start every Monday)
2 Days a week for 7 1/2 weeks Tuesday & Thursday 6-8 p.m. Starting October 2 Ending November 20 October 30 December 18 November 25 January 29 January 6 Febuary 24 (No class November 27, December 23, December 25, December 30, and January 1)
Sunday Classes: 12 Sundays for 12 weeks Sunday 1 - 3:30 p.m. Starting October 19 Ending January 18 November 30 March 1 January 25 April 19 March 8 June 14 (No class December 21, December 28, April 12, May 10, and May 24)
Saturday & Sunday: Weekend only 1 - 3:30 p.m. Starting May 2 Ending June 14 (No classes May 10 and May 24)
*Possible time and date changes. Call for confirmation.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
Getting to know
What is your fondest high school memory?My first day of freshman year. It was hectic.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would like to travel to England because I’ve never been out of the United States and I think it would be a fun place to visit.
Who are three people you would love to spend the day with?Roger Federer, my dad, and Patrick Kane.
Name a major issue you believe teens deal with everyday?Being accepted. Kids are excluded from things every day and it can re-ally take a toll on someone.
What is one thing that is un-known to most people?Life is too short to worry about small things. It all comes down to how much of it we spend really living.
What was your greatest accom-plishment?Keeping first chair in band for the last three years.
Aubrey Detert
Photo By GeorGia otte
freshman
By Becca Duggan / entertainment editor
Some students feel anxious on their first day of school because of the changes that await them, and Takuya Nakashima felt no different at the beginning of the school year. However, Nakashima had more changes to deal with than most students because he had just traveled from a different country.
“I was pretty nervous,” Nakashima said. “I appreciate my host family and host brothers. They took care of me.”
Even though Nakashima had help, he did have some trouble his first few days.
“We don’t have to change rooms for each period in Japan, but you have to do that here. Sometimes I would forget where to go,” Nakashima said.
Nakashima is from Nagoya, Japan, and he came to America for the exchange student program in July of 2008. He first went to Seattle with other exchange students to be introduced to the program, and then he came to Indiana two weeks later. He is going to remain in America
until June this year. He is participating in track and field
and is on the Honor Roll. Nakashima also assists Noriko Wachowski, the Japanese teacher, in teaching the Japanese language. Additionally, he joined the tennis team, and was ranked number two on the boy’s varsity tennis team.
“I played tennis in Japan in seventh grade. My school had a strong team and I was pretty good, so I wanted to play tennis here,” Nakashima said.
He also said that he wanted to gain friends, and he knew joining extracurricular activities, such as joining the tennis team, would give him that opportunity.
“I feel very appreciated by my team,”
Nakashima said. “I skipped two months of the tennis season, so it was nice of them to let me join. I had to practice, and I had really good partners like Thomas [Vanderplough].”
Nakashima is not entirely new to America; he lived in Houston, Texas for two years when he was younger.
“I really like America. My sister went to America as an exchange student and she said it was an experience, so I wanted to become an exchange student, too,” Nakashima said.
Nakashima also said that his own American experience is enjoyable.
“Everyday is fresh for me in America. I learn something new here all the time. I like the normal life at school; I get to talk to friends. I like enjoying sports, and I like the food,” Nakashima said.
Nakashima plans to continue living with his host family and attending Crown Point High School until the end of the school year.
“I will miss my host parents, my friends, Crown Point High School, and the food,” Nakashima said.
Every day is fresh for me in America. I learn something new here
all the time. junior Takuya Nakashima
““
Nakashima is a foreign exchange student from Japan who came over last July.
