October 14, 2009

JJeennnnaa HHeennnniinnggssNews Editor

Ready for another great golfseason?

West High’s Golden Beargolfers began the season withhigh expectations.

Great Falls hosted the firstgolf tournament of the year, lend-ing schools Meadow Lark andEagle Falls golf courses onAugust 25 and 26.

Conclusively, West’s GoldenBears took the top spot, runningaway from the pack with an over-all total score of 580, pulling a286 on the second round.

Hedge once again took tophonors, picking up from last year.He shot a course record 64 atEagle Falls, turning out thecourse’s low round record.

Hedge commented, “GreatFalls is a place I do really goodat. I could feel a good round com-ing.”

Lady Bears fared decentlywell, shooting 388 the secondday for a team overall tote of 769.

Swain walked away with afourth place finish with a two daytotal of 167.

A slight mix-up with juniorLauren William’s recorded scorethe first day was turned aroundfor the second day, taking theextra ten strokes off a round of100 recorded as 110. The secondday, Williams shot a 104 for arespectable 204 for both days.

Williams mentioned, “I can’tbelieve my first day was over 10strokes. I am glad [the officials]caught the mistake before the endof the tournament, or that couldhave been a disaster for me.”

After the excitement fromthe first week, it was Billings’turn to host the next invitationaltournament on September 10 and11.

Lake Hills golf course host-

ed the first day, led by Swain andHedge respectively.

Once again, Golden Bearsdisplayed dominance over therest of the field, running awaywith a first day score of 282,headed by Hedge’s 69.

Swain fronted the girls’team, proving herself with an 86and lending into the team’s firstday total of 378.

Hedge was first overall, tak-ing a 139 for two days of compe-tition.

Lady Bears finished strong,482 as the second day total and860 as the overall score.

Fox Ridge and Bill Robertsgolf courses hosted the HelenaInvite. Anticipations were high asthe golf teams rolled into theirrespective courses for the day.

After the first day, the girlstook off with a team total of 488,once again led by Swain’s 88individually.

Bill Roberts hosted anextreme turn, pushing out a 468,shaving 20 strokes off the firstday with Swain shooting animpressive 79 and junior SamNorthrup shooting a respectable88 on the day for a team score of956 for both days.

After completing the firstday, the boys ended with a teamscore of 285 led by Hedge’s 68and sophomore BrandonMcIver’s 67.

Overall, the boys shot a 368the second day with a low teamindividual score of 67 fromHedge on the second day for atournament two day total of 653.

Head golf coach Rob Bazantcommented, “We are off to agood start this season and every-one is working hard and as a teamto bring the State titles back toWest. I am proud of everyone’saccomplishments so far this year,from the freshmen to the seniors,and team unity is very importantto finishing the year strong.”

With Butte and Bozemantournaments finished and theGolden and Lady Bears rollingoff of another impressive twotournaments. Butte Invitationalwas held at Old Works and ButteCountry Club while Bozemanwas split; the boys playing atValley View and Bridger Creekwhile the girls tore up CottonWood and Riverside.

All the effort put into the cityinvitational tournaments through-out the season led up to the onetournament every team wants towin; State.

Expectations ran high andnerves were showing for the firstday at the State tournament, heldin Billings this year.

The first day, YellowstoneCountry Club played host to theState tournament.

Golfers from across the staterolled up in buses and cars to teeoff.

With temperatures hoveringaround the low 40s, conditionswere difficult to play in.

The first day turned outhigher than average scores for allthe teams, leaving many peopledisappointed with their showings,but happy to be out of the coldand done for the day.

West’s boys had a command-ing lead the first day despite therise in scores. Senior BrianMuller had the lead among theboys, shooting an even par 72,closely followed by the rest of histeam.

Lady Bears pulled a decentday, winding up in sixth after thefirst round.

Junior Allie Long comment-ed, “It was so cold out there. Itwas tough for everyone to playwell.”

With nicer weather and evena sun break through the clouds,the last day of State was off againwith another noon shotgun start.

As the sun began to set onthe last day, it was clear just whowas going to win, and for many,it was not a surprise.

Golden Bears once againtook the top spot, pulling off anunprecedented fourth straightState golf title.

On top of taking State as ateam, the top four individual fin-ishers for the boys also were fromWest.

McIver finished first individ-ually, followed by Muller, Hedgeand senior Mac Keating.Zwemke finished outside the top15, but played to help the teampull of their victory.

“I kept the ball in play mostof the day. I got off to a reallygood start. I birdied my first twoholes and rolled through the frontnine,” McIver said of his medal-ist finish.

While disappointed with histhird place overall finish, Hedgewas still happy with the wayState turned out and how well theteam did as a whole.

“It’s interesting how it linesup,” Hedge said. “Four andfour… top four and four years ina row. It seems like it was meantto be.”

The Lady Bears battled hard,doing well enough for a sixthplace finish. Swain once againled the way for the girls, display-ing a talent good enough to earnher fourth place individually.

Senior Jenna Hennings fin-ished second within the team, andjuniors Bromenshenk, Long andNorthrop following close behind.

Bozeman wound up on topwith an amazing two-day scoreof 712, maintaining their firstround dominance after animpressive first day lead.Defending champion Great FallsCMR placed second at 736, fol-lowed by Billings Senior with756.

KODIAKOCTOBER 14, 2OO9

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102 Volume 50 Issue 1

A LookInside This

Issue

NEWS

FEATURESARTS

SPORTSOPINION

25

111619

West AlumHana Pestle’snew albumreviewed page 12

Lady Bears No.1 Seed in state

page 17

KODIAKBillings West High School2201 St. John's AvenueBillings, MT 59102

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDBillings, MTPermit #88

Is There Such a Thing as aFOUR-PEAT?

NE

WS

Junk In The TrunkNew Workout Groups Grow Competition Among West HighTeachers

JJeessssiiccaa EEttttlleemmaannCopy Editor

There is a newcompetition going onthroughout West High. The competition is not

among the students, butamong the teachers andadministration titled “Junk inthe Trunk.”The competition is meant

for the teachers andadministration to get in shapeand develop good exercisehabits. The health departmentcame up with the idea to makeit a fun race to see who cangain the most points.Several different teams

are competing, complete withteam names and captains. Each team consists of five

teachers and one teamconsists of the five

administrators: Dave Cobb,Gordon Klasna, Scott Lynch,Jeryl Hehn and KimVerschoot. They make up

“Team Cobb.”Cobb thinks that this is a

great way for teachers to getin shape and have fun doingit. He is also very honored tobe the team captain of TeamCobb and has always thoughtof himself as a true leader ofbeing physically fit.Cobb thinks that the

competition is a good thing tohelp the teachers, “Yes. Iknow that it has changed myview on exercising, and theexercising helps take mymind off work.”Cobb also thinks that the

whole activity has improvedeveryone’s attitudes and theirself esteems. It is a good wayfor the teachers andadministrators to have qualitytime together.Each team member can

work out on their own or they

may work out together formoral support. Some of theactivities that teachers aredoing include bike riding,jogging and going to the gym. At least one team member

has already been injured bythe challenge because she didnot properly stretch orjumped into too muchexercise too quickly, specialeducation secretary LizWelch, team “LA.”“I licked an envelope, and

I think now I sprained mytongue; I jumped into theexercise too quickly, and nowI might not be able to do theblazin’ challenge because Imight not have recoveredfrom the injury yet.” Welchstated, whose teammates gaveher a tongue brace for her“strained tongue.”Some teachers like

English teaher StephenMacartney, team Carters, tryto take a bike ride everydayand attend yoga classes. “The competition has

really raised awareness andjust a little bit of exercisehelps,” stated Macartney.The activities have really

motivated teachers to get inshape; the fun competitionjust gives them that extra littlepush they need.All the teachers are

enjoying the challenge andthink that this is helping themout in the long run.

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammfreshman staffwriter

September 4 hosted thefirst assembly for the schoolyear.At the assembly, the

cheerleaders performed aroutine they had beenpracticing to geteveryone intoschool sprit.With thec h e e r l e a d e r skicks, shouts,and cheersstudents were inthe West Highsprit. P r i n c i p a l

Dave Cobbwelcomed thef o r e i g ne x c h a n g estudents alongwith many othernew students toWest High. He even gave out two West

High jackets to two sophomorestudents who traveled thefarthest to come to this school. The first assembly was

also the first time that thefreshmen class could screamtheir cheers. “I thought that the

assembly was cool and notboring at all. It was nothinglike middle school boringassemblies where I would tofall asleep. I do wish thesenoirs whould have thrownsomething at us because that’sthe tradition and it would havebeen funny,” freshman MykaleBraun said.

Some freshmen justthought that the assembly wasentertaining and joyful towatch. Others liked the factthat they were out of class andwith their friends. “I thought the assmebly

was good. I liked it,” freshmanSydney Frank mentioned.

“ Ithought thef i r s ta s s e m b l ywas fun,because Ilove to seeand meetnew peopleand be withmy friends.C h e e r i n gfor thef r e s h m e nwas alsofun and thec h e e r -l e a d e r s

were entertaining to watch. Itwas nice to see everyone allhyped up. I liked it when theseniors talked about activitiesbecause then I found out whosome of the seniors were.Overall it was awesome!”freshman Kira Conley stated.Some freshmen thought

that it was funny when theseniors booed them whileothers did not. However, theseniors were on good behaviorand did not throw anything atthe lower class other than their“boo’s”“The first assembly was

better than I thought it wouldbe because I heard that thefreshmen would get things

thrown at them, but it reallywas not bad. It was fun yellingand screaming for our class,”freshman Brianna Holmesstated.

Whether students werefreshmen, sophomores, juniorsor seniors, everyone wasincluded in the assembly.

Cobb Welcomes NewStudentsThe first assembly begins a new year

AAsshhllyynnnn AAnnddeerrsseennjunior staffwriter

“I thought it was just adrill,” said West High juniorAlexis Schantz of thelockdown at West at thebeginning of the school year. Most students had the

same thoughts, the majorityof them continuing with theirnormal morning routines andclasses as if nothing waswrong and the lockdown wasjust another drill that theycould brush off. “I was in art class, not

really paying attention,”Schantz admitted. “I justlistened to everyone else’sreaction as I drew stuff.” When asked if she felt

safe during the lockdown,Schantz replied with, “Yes,yes, definitely.”However, the seemingly

innocent drill could havetransformed into a situationhad the proper precautionsnot been taken. According toLieutenant Mark Cady of theBillings Police Department,the gas station on 24th Street

and Central Avenue had beenrobbed, and the thief hadescaped on foot. The police department

promptly contacted BillingsWest High as soon as thenews had reached them. Cady said the police

departments can recommendschools to be put inlockdown, “When we feelthere is a threat to theschool.” The Billings Police

Department cannot force theschools into lockdown; thisis done at the discretion ofthe administrators. However,if the administrators believethat there is a risk to thesafety of the students, theywill take the properprecautions. West was mostlikely safe from harm. “We just don’t want

something extreme tohappen, like it becoming ahostage situation,” Cadyexplained. He elaborated thata thief with a gun wouldlikely be looking for a placeto hide, and what better placethan a school.

The police captured theBillings thief who had causedthe lockdown September 22in a suburb of Chicago.

West High has not beenthe only school in lockdownin the past month. Central Heights, the

elementary school in theneighborhood behindAlbertson’s on CentralAvenue, was advised to lockdown at the same time asWest High because of itsclose proximity to the crimescene. McKinley was put on

lockdown a few days agobecause a psychologicallyunstable patient had escapedthe Psych Ward at BillingsClinic. This man has beencaptured now as well. Thankfully, West High

responded quickly andefficiently to this event,preventing a major situationfrom occurring. Studentsshould have peace of mindwith the knowledge that Westknows exactly what to doshould this type of situationever happen again.

West Survives Lockdown“I thought thatthe assemblywas cool [...] Itwas nothing likemiddle schoolboringassemblies

where I wouldto fall asleep.”

“I licked an envelope, and I thinknow I sprained my tongue; I jumpedinto the exercise too quickly, andnow I might not be able to do theblazin’ challenge because I might nothave recovered from the injury yet.”Welch stated, whose teammates gaveher a tongue brace for her “strained

tongue.”


August 26 was BillingsWest Highs’ freshmen mentorday. It was the one day that onlyfreshman came to West High andupperclassmen toured themaround the school while it wasnot crowded.

Many freshmen walked intoschool filled with anxiety whileothers were relieved to be out ofmiddle school.

To some it was a little bitfrightening to go from a school of500 to 2,000, but that issomething that will change overtime.

Students came from WillJames, Lewis and Clark,

Riverside, Castle Rock, ElderGrove and other schools, makingthe switch from middle school tohigh school. No matter what

school they came from, WestHigh welcomes them to the Bearfamily.

“Mentors helped me aroundWest, and it was a lot easier tofind all my classes before all the

upperclassmen came in,”freshman Haylee Flick said.

“I think that the mentorprogram helped me out,”

freshman Autumn Buscher said,“I really liked it.”

Some freshmen said thatthey were confident about theirfirst day of high school, while

others said they were terrified.“I strongly think that the

mentor program reducesanxiety,” freshman Brittney Graymentioned. “It was quitehelpful.”

The mentor program notonly helped students not onlyfind their way around West, butalso answered any questions theyhad about their classes and thebuilding.

Mentors are alsoresponsible for answering anyquestions lower classmen have,not only on Mentor Day, but anyday. They are here to helpstudents because they care.

To freshmen who havequestions, but are too afraid toask, just go to a mentor. They willhelp with almost any questionposed to them.

AAnnggeell SShhaannddyysenior staffwriter

The beginning of the yearto most students bringsexcitement, resentment, curefor summer boredom, as wellas longing for the weekend.But for seniors, a little more isadded to the mix: Senioritisand first semester term papers.

The bane of their veryexistence, term papers can bea student’s worst nightmare.With an averageof eight pagesand at least fivesources, termpapers call forlong nights,sleepy days ands t r e s s f u lweekends justso deadlines canbe met on time.

E r i nS c h m i t z ’ sMythology classwas the first tobe assigned andto finish theirterm papers. The papers had tobe 8 to 10 pages long, includeat least five sources and havemany note cards.

Senior Brooke Moncadathought this year’s term papermore difficult than junioryear’s.

“We had to choose from alist of topics rather than createour own. I was not passionateabout my topic, and I think itshowed.” A term paper isexpected to be difficult,especially if the topic is the“controversies over the re-introduction of gray wolves inYellowstone National Park.”

According to Moncada,the most important thing shelearned while doing her termpaper was to “find a topic youare interested in because it

makes it easier.” However, that is not

always true.Senior Brooke Nearpass

thoroughly enjoyed her topicof Queen Elizabeth I, butfound it difficult to findinformation.

“The paper itself will beeasy all around although mytopic is harder this year […] Itis on how her early lifeeffected the accom-plishments

she madelater in life,and how shes h a p e dEng l a n d , ”e x p l a i n e dNearpass.

HavingD e bRichardsonfor WorldLiterature ,N e a r p a s shas a 5 to 8page paperwith aminimum of

four sources and note cards.For Nearpass, strategy wasneeded to do the paper. “Justget it done! Ha! Last termpaper. I am happy.”

Regardless of the size ortopic, all seniors expect tohave some sort of trouble ontheir term papers; most getdocked for improper citations.The people who control theMLA format for citations hasonce again changed certainformats, confusing seniorswith the technicalities ofcitations. All papers will bereviewed and graded bylibrarian Kitty Field.

The seniors stress tomake their last term papersperfect, and all they can say is,“Have fun juniors becauseyou have two more left!”

NEWS OCTOBER 14, 2OO9 3

Freshman Welcomed On First Day By Mentors

Seniors Work onLast Term Papers

“The baneof theirexistence,term paperscan be astudent’sworst

nightmare.”

“Mentors helped me around West,and it was a lot easier to find all myclasses before all the upperclassmen

came in.”

Chelsea Andersonsenior staffwriter

Born in a Roundup,William (Bill) Pack grew up inan environment strung throughand through with struggles.The third of four kids, Pack

was sent to live with hisgrandparents at times to allow“space” at his home.Pack attended Lewis and

Clark Middle School and laterBillings West High.When he was 15 years old

he left home and emancipatedhimself from his family becauseof extreme and dramaticstruggles within the household.At 16, he dropped out of

high school, having only madeit part way through his junioryear.

At age 17 he was married,and he became a father by thetime he was 18. He was hired by a major

Wall Street firm when he wastwenty-one, and simultaneouslybecame the CEO of a foodmanufacturing and distributioncompany. In 2000, Pack became ill

and retired from Wall Street. Hedecided to attempt to achievesome of his lifelong goals,including writing a book. Packalso acquired his GED (GeneralEquivalency Diploma).Because he was no longer

working, Pack took advantageof his spare time and took theSATs.He then applied at UC

California Berkeley andStanford University, despite the

fact that he had not completedhigh school. Pack was deniedadmission to Berkeley, perhapsmerely because of his lack of ahigh school diploma, but wasaccepted into Stanford.He graduated Phi Beta

Kappa after just three years,with honors and distinction.Pack’s first novel, The

Bottom of the Sky is now aconfirmed entrant for the 2010Pulitzer Prize for literature.It has since been announced

as one of the six finalists for theUSA National Best Book 2009Awards in the category ofliterature and fiction.He is currently working on

his second novel.On October 13, Pack

visited West High as a guestspeaker, and he spoke withstudents about his life and thetrials and tribulations that hehas not only faced but alsoovercome.“Every time I failed, I got

up and tried again, no matterhow hard I fell,” Pack toldstudents, speaking of his past.He encouraged his

audience to “ask audaciousquestions” and to attempt thingsthat nobody thinks possiblefrom you.“You may fail 99 out of 100

times, but you never knowwhich attempt you’ll succeedat,” Pack said.

Hometown Rags To RichesStoryBill Pack speaks to students about his life

Shadoe Adamsjunior staff writer

Bear Café has a new runfor its money.Instead of sending students

to Bear Café, the option ofsending them to departmentlabs is now available toteachers. Department labs are no

longer for just math, butscience and English havejoined, and eventually historywill host a weekly lab as well. The math department used

to have the labs twice a weektwo years ago, but last year thefunding was cut. This year,math lab remains once a weekso other subjects can take placeonce a week as well.“[The lab] went very

well,” English teacher LindaMaio commented, referring tothe English labs. Miao supervised a few

English labs this year and was

pleased with the results of notonly the quality of work but theover all attitude of students inthe lab.Bear Café takes on a

negative connotation,according to some teachers,such as Miao.Most students dread the

thought of giving up their timeto make up work in Bear Café. The after school program

is not all bad. It gives studentsuninterrupted time to completemissing homework withteacher assistance. The problem with Bear

Café is that the teacherssupervising are not alwaysteaching the subject studentsneed help with.Department labs are

different. If a student needs help in

English, for example, theyhead off to an Englishclassroom to acquire help, with

an English teacher present, andsupervising. Like Bear Café, a student

needs a teacherrecommendation to attend alldepartment labs.“We are asking students to

get a note from their teacher,”math teacher MargaretAukshun stated.The rule is in place so lab

teachers know what the studentis missing and what they needhelp with. Aukshun also explained

that there are numerous noshows to the labs, and studentsneed to take responsibility andattend.The department labs are

open to all students in anygrade. Now that more thanmath labs are open, morestudents will be advised orsuggested to take advantage ofthe opportunity.

NEWS OCTOBER 14, 2OO9 4

New year, New PolicyWest High’s electronic device policy needsclarification

NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreeOpinion Editor

Across the state, schooldistricts have been trying outnew electronic device policiesto try to embrace the new ageof technology.West High’s new policy

came into effect at thebeginning of the school yearand has been a pilot policy forthe first six weeks of the schoolyear. At the end of those sixweeks, thefaculty will re-evaluate thepolicy anddecide onwhether or not tokeep the policyin place. The staff set

three goalsassociated withthe new policy, and they areless inappropriate use, fewernegative interactions betweenstaff and students and a greaterrespect for each other andtechnology.The new policy is more

lenient on cell phone use inbetween classes although thefaculty has said that thereneeds to be a clarification onthis aspect of the policy.

It is strictly prohibitedfor students to use their phoneswhile class is in sessionwhether they are in theclassroom or not.Assistant Principal Jeril

Hehn says, “The hallways arenot free zones, and phones arenot to be used during class timeunless for an educationalpurpose.”

Students are liking the newpolicy, and senior Josh Berstcommented, “It is the smartestthing the administration hasever done! It has eased tensionbetween teachers and studentsand made the school day easierbecause students can actuallytalk [on the phone] betweenclasses without getting introuble.”Along with the major focus

on cell phones, the policy alsorefers to all electronic devices.

The same rules apply to thesedevices (such as Mp3 players)as well. A revision to the policy has

not been made, but teachers arereporting that they are havingless problems with cell phoneuse in class. “The committee is going to

survey the staff to see how it isgoing. So far, I think it is goingwell, but I would like to knowthe staffs views. I would like toknow what is and what isn’tworking and tweak what isn’t,”said Hehn.The administration also

reports that they would alsolike to find a way have studentinput without intruding onclass time.While the new policy is

more lenient during the passing

periods and lunch, it hasharsher punishments forstudents who are caught usingtheir cell phonesinappropriatley.If a student is caught using

a cell phone in class, he or sheis sent directly to the dean’soffice and will receive apunishment.

The concept of awarning has been thrown out.Warnings are no longer anoption, it is straight on to

punishment.The deanshave reportedthat they areseeing adecrease in theamount ofstudents that areusing theirphones in class,and Dean

Gordon Klasna says, “I thinkit’s working. I know kids arestill using them during classtime, but not to the extent thatthey were. We are still seeing[students using phones in class]down here, but [the newpolicy] is working, and there isstill room for improvement.”Klasna also reported that

last year at this point they hadabout 155 students that werewritten up for the use of cellphone use and this year therehave only been about 100.The policy will not be

changed as things currentlystand. Students will continue tobe allowed to use their phonesin between classes and atlunch.Hehn reports, “I’d love it if

it worked.”

RoadConstructionPlagues Billings


With all the orange conesand “road work ahead” signs inBillings, students at West HighSchool are arriving late.

Students, parents and theadministration have all beengetting frustrated with the roadconstruction on Central Avenueand 24th Street West. “We’re being pretty lenient

with traffic and studentscoming in late,” the attendanceoffice clerk at the FreshmenAcademy said this year.“Construction has been theonly problem,” they alsomentioned.Students have to wake up

earlier in the morning, and thedaily commutes to school aretaking longer.“I had to wake up earlier thefirst week of school because ofroad construction,” freshmanMarissa Zinnecker said. Some students and teachers

who live near the roadconstruction are taking detoursto get to school or work ontime. “I don’t like all the road

construction because I livenear West,” junior KelseyKomar stated. This was a problem because

the road construction is bypeoples’ houses, and vehiclesare backed up by housingdevelopments. “I couldn’t get to my house

for while due to roadconstruction,” freshman TealaNaylor said. A lot of drivers heading to

West have been affected. Traffic on Central Avenue

and 24 Street West has beenbacked up and delayed, and theFreshmen Academy buses haveto take different routes to takethe freshmen to the academyand back to West. The busy streets and back

roads have been very crowdedas frustrated people takealternate routes to avoid thetraffic delays. The trouble is that traffic is

not just from the studentsgoing to West High; it is alsofrom people heading to work orgoing to local businesses. The road construction also

increases car accidents; drivershave to be very cautious toprevent accidents.

Now that the weather isstarting to change, people arehoping that the constructionwill be finished before snowseason comes.Road construction near West

is not the only inconveniencethat Billings drivers must face.There are also several othermajor road constructionprojects around Billings. The Shiloh Road project and

the addition of the new“Round-a-bouts” all contributeto changes for the Billingsdriver.

“The hallways are not free zones,and phones are not to be usedduring class time unless for an

educational purpose.”

New Help After School

FE

AT

UR

ES

CChheellsseeaa AAnnddeerrssoonnsenior staffwriter

Homecoming week is along-time tradition here at WestHigh. From togas and nerds tofootball, even the new studentsknow it is one of the mostexciting weeks of the year.

This year, there has been analteration in tradition, however.

Usually, the Student Counseldecides on the themes for the

spirit days. In the past there hasbeen Disney, Tie-dye, Pirate andCamo days.

For the 2009-2010 year,though, the student body votedfor the dress up days. Studentswere given the choice of HarryPotter day, Rockstar day and StarWars day.

“Rockstar day got the mostvotes,” student body secretaryBecca Zabawa said.

Sophomore Mary Lachercommented onvoting for dress updays, “I’m gladthey let thestudents vote onthe dress-up days.”Lacher alsosuggested that afuture dress uptheme. “We shouldhave a Pajamaday!” sheexclaimed.

The footballgame this year wasOctober 9 againstHelena Capital,and theH o m e c o m i n gDance followed thegame. Normally,homecoming is thethird or fourthweek of school,but this year it wasdelayed due tosports teams

schedules.Lately, a

m a j o rcontroversy atWest has beenthe newdancing rules.

It is nolonger okay todance “front toback” (grinddancing).

It is also ar e q u i r em e n tthat studentsd r e s sappropriately,following theschool dresscode.

I naddition, we may not be in class,but we are in school, and thedress code rules must be abidedby, not only at dances, but at allschool functions. Studentswearing spaghetti straps, midriff-revealing or low-cut tops andclothing with suggestive pictures,language or drug references werenot accepted in to the dance.

Seniors Trey Garza and SaraMilch were voted ashomecoming royalty, and thedance was well attended.

Celebrate Black and GoldWest students enjoy homecoming week

West welcomes four new teachersPat BushArts Editor

Every year, West Highreceives a plethora of newstudents, a fact that is wellknown; a less known fact is thatWest High generally acquiresnew teachers every year as well.

This year, four new teachershave joined the West High staff:Erin Augustine, Nicole Schuman,Kathleen Borges and RachelLong.

Erin Augustine, SpecialEducation

Augustine joined the staff aspart of the Special Education

Department, filling the void leftby Betty Brewer. She graduatedfrom Central in 1999 and thenattended Carroll College andMSU-B. For the past seven years,she has been teaching at CastleRock Middle School in the self-contained special educationclassroom.

“I wanted to move to highschool and teach reading, whichis what has brought me to WestHigh,” said Augustine. “I am gladto be a part of the Bear familyand really enjoy working with thestudents.”

Senior Kendra Merrin, ateacher’s aid in the special

education department, said, “Sheis really dedicated to her work;she understands each of the kids’needs and uses them to increasebrain function and overallproductivity.”

Nicole Shuman, FrenchSchuman has taken up the

position of French Teacher nowthat Lynn Marquardt retired.

Schuman studied French atWest while in high school thenwent to college and studiedRussian, French and Italian.Before coming to West, shetaught at Will James and oneclass at Senior.

She previously worked in

New York City for an InvestmentFirm. During vacations, shewould bike through Europe.

Rachel Long, ArtLong term sub Long will be

filling in for art teacher SueDolon for the remainder of theyear.

Long has a wealth ofexperience teaching art all overthe state and has even taught inGuam. She has started several arttherapy programs, helping peopleget through difficult timesthrough art.

Despite her many ties toSenior, her daughter is a studentthere and her husband is the band

director, she is “thrilled to be atWest High.”

Kathleen Borges, MathBorges has joined the Math

program at the FreshmanAcademy. Before becoming amath teacher, she worked as acivil engineer.

“It has been a lot of funbeing involved at West andseeing the differences betweenthe high schools in town. Istudent taught at Skyview lastfall, and my own children attendSenior, so I was familiar withthose schools already.”

Saturday Live

RRoocckk oonn!! Senior Nick Richardsonshows his spirit by dressing up forrockstar day.

photo by Alica Pavey

Seniors Tressa Langford and Matt Kirkpatrick posein their togas from Wednesday, when all the classesdressed up differently.

Submitted photo

HHuurrrryy!! West High science teachers, Joe Catron andChuck Swarmtry to thaw out their tee-shirt during oneof the competitions at the homecoming assembley.

photo by Kelsey Munsell

Every year schools are able to fundraise at Saturday Live, acarnival where there are many activities hosted by schools.

photos by Jess Steele

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9FEATURES 6

McKeale Andersonjunior staffwriter

Many of us are aware ofthe cultural differences thatexist around the world. Fromschooling to food to clothing,four of the nine foreignexchanged students at BillingsWest High share their story.Marlene Holm

Marlene Holm, a Denmarkstudent, was one of the few thatwere selected to come toAmerica. The schooling systemin Denmark differs from that inAmerica.

“In Denmark, the teacherstransfer classrooms while thestudents remain in one class.”Holm remarked about her highschool back home.

One school in Denmarkcontains first grade throughninth grade. “You’re allowed todrop out after ninth the grade,”she explains. Once in highschool, schools are designedfor students’ specialization.

One high school isspecifically for math andanother has a mixed curriculumwhich requires three years ofattendance.

Not only can Holm speakDanish and English, but shecan also speak German andsome Spanish.

Schooling is not the onlymajor difference for Holm; thefood is too.

Holm didn’t hesitate toexclaim, “Doughnuts! Thegood ones!” as her favorite

American food that she doesn’thave back home.Camilla Maria Uhlback

A young lady from Finlandnamed Camilla Maria Uhlbacksaid that one major differencebetween Finland and the USAis that people can start drivingwhen they are sixteen here, asopposed to eighteen in Finland.

Uhlback can speak fivelanguages including, Finish,Swedish, English, Spanish, andsome German.

Her favorite Americanfood that she does not haveback in Finland is peanutbutter. Uhlback picked to cometo the U.S. and was assigned toBillings West High School. Maria Ellyton

Maria Ellyton fromDenmark agrees that the food is

a major difference. “The meatis very different” she says, “Ilike the steak.”

She goes on to explain thatthere is way more fast food inAmerica. “I like ranchdressing. And the coffee shops;they’re everywhere!”

In Denmark, Ellyton getsto school at 8 a.m. gets two 10minute breaks, and then isreleased between 1:00 and 2:30p.m. Gunny Nedkvitne

Gunvor [Gunny]Nedkvitne from Norway, ajunior at West High, also agreesthat the food is different andmore unhealthy.

“I like the sandwiches!”she exclaims. “Back home it’sjust bread with cheese. You putso many things on your

sandwiches here.In Norway, 13 years of

school is required, and theyattend school from 9:00 a.m to3:00 p.m. They have twomonths of summer, and whenshe gets back home, she hasone more year of school justlike the other juniors at West

Gunny can speak English,French, Norwegian and enoughDanish and Swedish tocommunicate with others.

Those four studentstraveled halfway around theworld just to experience whatwe experience all the time.From food to schooling, theyare living how we liveeveryday.

Foreign Exchange Students Join West

MMaarrlleennee HHoollmmsenior staffwriter

Fashion in Denmark andAmerica have some bigdifferences.

I have noticed that the girlshere in America wear a lot offlare jeans; if students worethem in Denmark, they wouldbe described as a hippie.

We either wear fully baggyor skinny pants.

I think that a lot of thefashion here is influenced by allthe school rules about notwearing too short of shorts, barebacks and so on.

In Denmark, there are nodress code rules; we could showup to schoolin ourpajamas if wefelt like it, andthere are norules aboutwearing reallyr e v e a l i n gclothing. Sowe can do thata bit morethan here, butno one does it.

P e o p l eknow what iswrong or rightmost of thetime.

There isnot that big of a differencebetween what blouses girls andboys wear, though girls inDenmark may sometimes wearblouses that are a bit tighter, andsmall jackets made of leather orfabric are very popular.

Many girls here wear a lotof nail polish, I have noticed,which is not used that much inDenmark. We do not really getour nails done, and if we do, it ismostly to get a Frenchmanicure.

Here it is on girls toes’ andfinger-nails; you have reallycolored nails with pretty designson them.

As for jewelry, we wear alot of rings, and long necklacesare widely used.

A funny or a bit of weirdfashion we had for a period wasthat we put our pants into oursocks, both boys and girls. Ithink it started with somebodythat had too short pants orsomething, thinking if he or sheput them in her socks, nobodycould see it.

Then he or she would nothave to buy something new.Boys also did it because theirjeans were very baggy and thenit was easiest with them in theirsocks.

The biggest difference ismaybe the boys’ style and thecost of the clothes.

In Denmark and in manyother European countries, it is

the boys whouse the mostmoney onfashion andclothes.

Right nowit is verypopular forboys to havereally baggyjeans on andhave themhanging a bitdown theirbutt. Mostboys also usea lot of moneyon wax fortheir hair, and

some maybe use too much.In Denmark, clothing is a

bit expensive. Girls pants cost between

$70-$300, $70 if you don’t wantany brand or fashion kind ofpants, and $300 if you wantsome high fashioned ones withthe right brand on them.

Boys’ pants are even moreexpensive. They are between$90-$500, and they buy them atthose high prices.

I think it is interesting tosee how the fashion changesfrom country to country, and Ido not think any of the styles Ihave written about is wrong orright.

A style is as right here, as astyle is in Denmark.

Exchange Student MarleneHolm Talks Danish Fashion

Delicate, tender,delicious looking colors arein the news for back-to-school fashions. Realsophisticated femininitytakes over for fall.

Waistlines are travelingup to the empire or downbelow the natural waistline.Shifts and jumpers with lowslung pockets are popping upall over. Crepe blouses willreally swing with jumpers.

Dresses which featureand empire waistline and anA-line skmming skirt arefavored for stylish girls.

The country lookcorduroy is giving jumpers,wrap arounds, and A-lines.

There are zipper frontsweaters in popular wool,slip-over sweaters made ofmohair, sweaters with

scooping collars, V-neckslipovers which really lookcool with dickeys, and softfur blends in a variety ofstyles.

Individuality can beexpressed in shoes and stillbe highly fashionable,because this year shoes ofevery fabric, every hell shapeand height are available. Thewildest change in shoes iswith botinos, which climbtoward the knee and come insuede, leather and animalskin.

Pictured above areKathy Clark, sophomore,Karen Isaacson, junior, andCindy Sporrer, senior. A graytweed jumper with a lowslung belt in the back and awhite crepe blouse givesCindy a very fashionableoutfit.

Karen is modeling a rustcolored suede jumper with anA-line skirt and a printblouse with long sleeves.

Kathy wears a two-piecegreen outfit featuring an A-line skirt. Her blouse is along sleeve print.

WWeesstt aatt 5500AAss WWeesstt HHiigghh CCeelleebbrraatteess 5500 yyeeaarrss,, KKooddiiaakk wwiillll llooookk bbaacckk aatt

aarrttiicclleess ffrroomm tthhee ppaasstt..

BBWWHHSS BBAACCKK TTOO SSCCHHOOOOLL FFAASSHHIIOONNSSSSHHOOWW FFEEMMEENNIINNEE SSOOFFIISSTTIICCAATTIIOONNOriginally printed September 27,1963

Kathy Clark, CindySporter, Karen Issacson

The Hall Despot may beseen roaming the halls ofWest High between 9:00 a.m.and 3:30 p.m. on school days.Mrs. Carolyn Morris, dulyappointed hall monitor of ourfair school, seems a fieryserpent slithering its waythrough the halls. Feedingupon students, the phantomrids the corridors of its prey.However, Mrs. Morris, whowas once a West High studentherself (she refuses to saywhen), is, in reality, a small,

soft spoken young lady.Despite student opinion,

there is a rule at Westprohibiting free (whichbecome free-for-all) halls.Needless to say, rules must beenforced. Mrs. Morris’ jobconsists of keep the hallsclear during classtime. Thisduty entails the questioning ofstudent – “Do you boys havea class you’re supposed to bein now?” – as to where theybelong. No student shall be inthe halls during class time

unless he has a specificpurpose. Otherwise, he canonly be in or around the mainoffice or in the west hall bythe chorus and band rooms.Hopefully, Mrs. Morris’ job(she really isn’t a tyrant; she’sjust doing her job) will curtailvandalism.

Mrs. Morris says, “Ienjoy working with andaround youth.” She will try tomake sure that the schoolrules will be followed.

HHAALLLL MMOONNIITTOORR-- AA NNEEWW AADDDDIITTIIOONNOriginally printed September 29,1972

Boys’ pants areeven moreexpensive.They are

between $90-$500, and

they buy themat those high

prices.

Angel Shandysenior staffwriter

Most high school studentsknow about a vast multitude ofissues around the world. Onenot so widely know, however,is Northern Uganda’s InvisibleChildren.

Earlier this semester, WestHigh was visited by fourinterns from InvisibleChildren: Mandi Adair, DaleMcCarthy, Lauren Bailey andAndrew Dillon, who informedthe students on the increasingtragedy happening to theUgandan children.

The Invisible Children areyoung children who areabducted by men under theleadership of Joseph Koneyand forced into the life of achild soldier, trained to fightfor the rebellion against theNorthern Ugandangovernment.

“We call them invisiblebecause they have no voice,and we shed light on theirstories and speak when theycannot,” Bailey explained.

Because the children areabducted most often at theyoung ages of 9 and 10, theyare “taught” to be ruthlesskillers by the most outlanish

and cruel means possible. Koney controls his

soldiers through an immensefear forced into the hearts ofevery child by threatening tokill their families and the eventhe children if they did notobey. The children fear thatthey have no way out and noone can save them from theongoing nightmare that is theirlives.

The Invisble Childrencampaign is doing everythingthey can to save these childrenand give them the lives theyneed and deserve.

Using multiple meansof fundraising and socialoutreach, the cause isbecoming well known in thenational community. Theorganization has manybranches such as:Schools4Schools, helpingthrough the purchase of VSLAbracelets, Change4Changefundraiser with Better WorldBooks and TRI.

The VSLA [VillageSavings and LoansAssociation] employs men andwomen to craft bracelets thatare sold by The InvisibleChildren organization, and 90percent of the profit goes backto the people so they can save

and invest the money to have abetter future for themselvesand their families. This inknown as EDI or EconomicDevelopment Initiative.

“We are trying to make alasting sustainability for thepeople,’” said Adair.

Schools4Schools haspaired up with Better WorldBooks to sell used books toraise money for schools inNorthern Uganda.

“We have [the fundraiser]very open […] this is thebiggest book drive that hashappened anywhere,” anexcited McCarthy explained.

The School4Schoolsprogram lasts for 100 dayswhere each school tries theirhardest to think of creativefundraisers and raise as muchmoney as possible for theirpartner school in Uganda.

“[It is an] organizationbuilt on creativity, built oninnovation,” explainedMccarthy so the students couldget an idea of how theirimagination can soar whenworking on theSchool4Schools project.

The Schools4Schoolsproject is the biggest and mostinfluential branch of InvisibleChildren because so many

students help to make itsuccessful. The organizationharnesses “[the students]creativity as a whole [as they]work towards one goal” to helpthe children in Uganda havebetter lives.

There are over 350,000students impacted using justone part of the tour to spreadawareness around the country.

So far, InvisibleChildren has raised over $4million in four semesters oftouring.

When the fourrepresentatives visited WestHigh, they were astoundedwith the reaction that thestudents had towards the cause.

“We had never been toBillings before, and it showshow trusting the students arethat they commit to adonation,” Bailey excitedlyrelayed. “Your school is

awesome because of how manypeople signed up.”

For each stop on the tour,the interns’ goal is to get atleast five sign ups and maybe acouple shirts bought to help thechildren. There was a total of22 sign ups that day, nearlytriple their goal, and that onlycounted signups for 7:30 a.m.to 3:20 p.m.

They were extremelyimpressed and excited becauseof the students and cannot waitto come back next yearhopefully.

For more information onthe Invisible Children and howto help go towww.invisiblechildren.com orjoin the Invisible ChildrenClub that meets every otherTuesday of the month or talk tosenior Katie Baum.

FEATURES 7

Efforts made to help Invisible Children

TTrreenntt DDuuggggeerrCopy Editor

“We [have] a whole lifetimeof talking ahead of us.”

Senior Alicia Connolly’sSerious Oral Interpretation,Someone Like You written bySarah Dessen, gives a greatpicture of what is in store overthe next four months for theBillings West High speech anddebate team.

Senior Anna Peterson,last year’s vice president, hasstepped up to the plate and wasvoted to be this year’s president.

With her goals set more to

motivate people than to rule,Peterson’s positive attitude is justone reason for her peers’appreciation.

She was one of twogirls selected from Montana toattend Girls Nation inWashington D.C.

Peterson’s accomplishmentsdid not stop there; the weekbefore Girls Nation was spent inOklahoma, where she was thefirst debater selected fromMontana to attend I Debate, anational debate camp.

The team has last year’sstudent coach Dan Johnson isjoining the team as a regulardebate coach this year. Joining

him is 2007 graduate Ross Bunn,who will be assisting withcoaching the speech events.

Head coach MelindaMiddleton is still on board, withthe support of her seasonedassistants Steve McCartney andhead debate coach Fred Petak.

Goals are what give theteam strong motivations, andPeterson’s explained her maingoal as, “I want to be on stage,placing, in every tournament.”

On the other hand,fellow team mate Connolly statedher goal as, “Rather than placing,more so having fun, and feelingthe self accomplishments thatcome with the joy of speech anddebate. “

Last year wasessentially a rebuilding yearwhile, junior Erin Kusek believesthis year will be totally different.

Kusek stated, “I think thisyear should really be focused oneverybody trying their best atevery meet, and committing toevents for the purpose ofcontinual improvement.”

With the returningcoaches experience, the idea thenew coaches will bring to thetable and the goals andmotivation of returning teammembers, it is evident theforensics team is ready to talktheir way to the top.

The season officiallykicked off on October 1, and theteam will travel to Butte for theirfirst tournament on November 6and 7.

SSaallllyy WWeeiinnaannddjunior staffwriter

The United StatesCongress recently lost one ofits senior Senators. Edward“Teddy” Kennedy served inthe United States Senaterepresenting Massachusettsfor 46 years.

Junior Jessika Reinkerexplains, “I think it will be aloss for Massachusetts.”

Kennedy died on August25, 2009 at 77. He was aprominent member of theDemocratic Party.

Most people rememberKennedy for his greatachievements which includeover 25,000 bills that hewrote, many of which havebecome public law.

Kennedy stated,”Nothinghas made me prouder as aU.S. Senator than toparticipate in the expansion ofcivil and other rights toinclude all Americans.”

He was the last survivingmale Kennedy of the parentsJoseph and Rose Kennedy.

Growing up, he livedunder the shadow of his threeolder brothers, who includedPresident John Kennedy andSenator and Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy.

Both were assassinatedwhile serving as politiciansfor their country.

His oldest brother,Joseph P. Kennedy Jr, waskilled in World War II whileserving as a navy pilot.

Although Kennedy hadto endure the stress of livingup to the family name, he hasmade a positive impact onAmerica.

One of the bills thatKennedy wrote during his

term was called Title IX,which required colleges anduniversities to provide equalfunding for men’s andwomen’s athletics.

Another bill is the ServeAmerica Act, this bill waswritten to increase funding forvolunteer and educationalprograms, creating five newservice corps: veteran,education, clean energy andopportunity corps.

And finally, another billis the Consolidated OmnibusBudget Reconciliation Actwhich helped recentlyunemployed keep theirinsurance.

Eileen Sheehy, a historyteacher at West stated, “Iwatched the entire funeral. Ilove Ted Kennedy.”

Kennedy was diagnosedwith brain cancer last year anddied from the cancer inAugust.

His death came afterfighting for 15 months.

He was buried in theArlington National Cemeterynear his brothers.

Kennedy served loyallyduring his years as a senator.

Sadly, most people willprobably remember him forthe few negative events thathappened in his life, mostnotably the Chappaquiddickincident when he drove off abridge into a pond onChappaquiddick Island,killing Mary Jo Kopechne.

Teacher Fred Petakstated, “He went through a lotof personal adversity andbecame one of the mostinfluential senators inhistory.”

Sheehy added, “I thinkhis legacy was salvaged by hissecond marriage.”

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9

Forensics gears up for new year

Remembering Edward“Teddy” Kennedy

MMaaddii MMiilllleerrfreshman staffwriter

At Billings West High,getting involved is important.Joining clubs can help studentsget involved. Here are most ofthe clubs, well known and not. Key Club

Key Club meetings are heldin room 225 on the first and thirdMonday of the month wherestudents plan communityservice, and the advisor isLauren Wright.

This year the president forthe Key Club is senior NicoleFicek, the vice president is AubiSkcialure, and the secretaries areJasmine Brachue and ShelbyFavero.

The Key club is avolunteering club that does a lotin the community.Amnesty International

Amnesty International,which is held in room 219, Dr.Bruce Wendt’s room, has noofficial date for weekly meetingsbut Wendt thought eitherTuesdays or Wednesdays wouldbe likely.

This club works for fairnessaround the world.French Club

The French Club is a clubthat is at West where kids canenjoy and celebrate the Frenchculture. This club meets mostlyThursdays after school at leasttwice a month. This year’spresident is Brooke Severson,vice president is Josh Berst, thesecretary is Allison Molin, andthe treasurer is Keri Schrage.German Club

The German Club studiesthe German culture and takespart in many German activities.

They particaipate in Oktoberfest,Wehnachtsfest and Karnival; theclub also does fundraising,selling Carmel apples for poorfamilies in third world countries.

The purpose of the GermanClub is to make new friends whoalso love speaking German.They do not have a scheduledmeeting time.Science Club

The science club meetsrandomly on Tuesdays. Thisclub is for people who deeplyenjoy science and would like tocompete in science-basedacademic bowls. Watch forannouncements about upcomingmeetings.Business Professionals ofAmerica (BPA)

The BPA meetings areusually on the secondWednesdays of the month. ThePresident is Keith Dorris, the co-vice presidents are VanessaWaller and Jeremy Kugler. Thereis also a membership directorShivam Sah; the Financedirector is Ryan Marcotte , thePublic Relations is Eva Pickett,and the Historian is JennaBreshear.

Members of the BPAcompete and fundraise and docurrent service projects.Creative Writing Club

The Creative Writing Clubstrives to make people feelcomfortable with their creativity.The meetings are at Barnes andNoble on every Wednesdaysfrom 3 to 4pm. Anyone andeveryone is welcome. Everyoneacts as parts of the presidency.Talk to Linda Miao in room 217.Ecology Club

The Ecology club meetsevery other Thursday after

school. The president and vicepresident have not been elected,but there is a solid core of seniorleadership. The club takes fourto five trips to places like theBeartooths and Yellowstone.They hope to change the schoolinto an environmentally soundschool. Postpoining SexualInvolvment (PSI)

PSI is also a club at West.Meetings do not start untilJanuary or February. They do nothave officers, but members talkto 8th grade students about thealternatives to sex. Student Council

The student council meetson Thursdays roughly everyother week. The student bodyofficers are president KatieBaum, vice president ChaniNava and secretary BeccaZabawa.

The student council planshomecoming and the West HighWorkforce. They also do a pennydrive and they currently want topromote recycling.Ski Club

The Ski Club is a popularclub that begins meetings in themiddle of October, but themeetings are rare. The group hasno officers. All that is reallydone in the ski club is skiing andhaving fun. There are four tripsthat they take during the season.Sports Medicine Club

The Sports Medicine Club isa club for any student who isinterested in athletic training,physical therapy and any otherthing along those lines. Thegroup has meeting times afterschool in the training room, andthe meetings vary each month.The president for this year is

Cody Bender, and the vicepresident is McKayla Dundas.The main job for the SportsMedicine club is taking care ofthe West High sports teams.Technology StudentAssociation

TSA is a club that hosts aweekly open shop time afterschool in room 145 for studentswho would like to become moreinvolved in woodworking .Student members organize andplan for the State TSAConvention, which is in Aprileach year. The TSA also electsclub officers, designs and makseCO2 powered cars and designother products to be judgedduring the state conference. Forensics

Competition in speech anddebate in 12 different events arethe goals for the Forensics team.The practice times vary for theevent but they always meet onMondays at 3:15. The presidentfor the group is Anna Peterson.Drama

Meetings are not regular,but the group meets as neededwhen not in production. JessicaGoldade is the president of theDrama Club. They put on twoplays a year. They also promotethe International Thespian

Society. National Honors Society

The National HonorsSociety membership is based onfour things: character,leadership, service andacademics. The students serveand volunteer in many projectsin the community and around theschool. The meetings arenormally twice a month, andofficers have not been electedyet.BNC

The BNC is a club that isdedicated to promoting greatbehavior to everyone in theschool. The president is HayleySwain; the vice president isKarin Rashkow; Rose Poppler isthe Treasurer; and the secretaryis Ashley Hatmaker. BNC hopesto raise awareness byrecognizing specific studentsand staff members each monthand by encouraging communityinvolvement. The also hope toorganize an end-of-the -year-BBQ for all who participate inWest High activities. They meetevery other Wednesday.

This should help each andevery one of you get involved insomething and help you grow asa student of Billings West High.

SShhaaddooee AAddaammssjunior staffwriter

Being a part of WestHigh’s Animé Club meansmore than keeping up on thelatest episodes of one ofJapan’s most famedcontributation to the arts.

The club’s meetingsfocus on discussions aboutwhat each member feels aboutsomething particular in theJapanese phenomenon. Allthe members of the AniméClub would love to hearoutside opinions, just as muchas discussing them.

This year’s presidentsenior Reid Welch stated,“[Animé Club is a] gatheringof people who like animé andvideo games.”

Members would ratherchat in groups than organizingin this club.

“[They are] more socialthan structured,” remarkedBrenda Rose, the supervisingteacher.

New members areaccepted all year round, andanyone is welcomed atmeetings that take place everyWednesday in room 142 afterschool.

This year, the club countsseveral new members andhopes to see more as the yearprogresses as the modesttallied club is very warm andwelcoming and will instantlygrab participants into their

conversations.Most frequently, the

group has many conversationsand even debates going on atthe same time, so memberscan jump into severaldiscussions at once. Meetingsare never dull and topicsconsistently change to otherrelevant focuses.

“Animé club is fun,”junior Kristen Cornishcommented. “Each week getsweirder.”

All members will openlyadmit their meetings are loudand unorganized. While thesound of an unorganized clubsounds preposterous, they dohave some order to their chaosthat helps make meeting newpeople easy.

Students are free to talk towhomever, whenever withouthaving to worry if they shouldnot be chatting currently.

On top of all of that,members can even proudlydisplay their own works of artand receive comments andconstructive criticism.

It is a great place to lookat other student’s work andshare one’s own without theworry of rejection. All onemust do is open a sketchbookand ask.

Stop by next Wednesdayto experience the club foryourself. Be in the mood fortalking, debating, sharing andpossibly acquiring a newfriend.

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9FEATURES 8

AAsshhllyynnnn AAnnddeerrsseennjunior staffwriter

If one were to venture downto room 119 on a specificafternoon after school, they mayhappen upon a group of studentswith big hearts, open minds andone sole purpose: acquiring fairtreatment for all people in needof it throughout the world today.

In other words, they wouldbe witnessing the beginning of anAmnesty International clubmeeting.

Amnesty International wasfounded in 1961, and it focuseson obtaining rights for thosewithout, as well as campaigningfor fair treatment for all peoplearound the world.

One example of this includeshelping those people jailed inother countries for politicalreasons, such as speaking outagainst the government.

However, West High’sAmnesty branch also provideshelp on a smaller scale, for those

individuals within the Billingscommunity who are in need.

The West Amnesty branchrecently participated in the“Cardboard Box City,” an eventthat took place at Zoo Montanaon October 3 to raise awarenessof homelessness.

Individuals either pledgeamounts of money to the cause orchose to stay the night in acardboard box at the Zoo in aphysical representation of thehomelessness in our community.During this time, numerouspeople who have facedhomelessness spoke about theirexperiences.

“A lot of people who spoke[at cardboard box city] are peoplewho you wouldn’t expect to behomeless,” explains Jan Roddy,West High junior and activeparticipant in Amnesty. “Thereare people who have becomehomeless almost overnight.”

Previous projects Amnestyhas been involved in include the“Brick for Brick” project, during

which the club sold bricks for $5to help build schools in Uganda.

Also, every year AmnestyClubs around the world conveneto write letters to individuals inother countries who have beenimprisoned for different reasons.

The members have alsovolunteered at Global Village, afair-trade store in Billings. “Fairtrade means that the peoplemaking the products are gettingfair wages. They have standardsfor work and there is no childlabor, among other things,” saysRoddy. The club membersvolunteered there by gift-wrapping donations andfundraising.

Because of the hard work ofthose individuals within AmnestyInternational, our world is abetter place and will likelycontinue to improve as Amnestymakes progress in obtaining fairtreatment and human rights forthose around the world andthroughout communities.

Amnesty InternationalStudents strive for world peace

Anime Club

Get involved! Join a Club!The Kodiak guide to clubs and activities available at West High

VViicckkiiee CCoonnttrreerraazzfreshman staffwriter

Congratulations are in orderto last year’s West High BPAteam.

BPA [Business Pro-fessionals of America]is a club open to allhigh school students.The club memberscompete on regional,state and nationallevels. There are about50,000 membersnationally, each ofwhich is evaluated onhis or her skills inmultiple business areas.

“BPA enlightens you to awide variety of life skills likemoney, socializing and savageinstinct,” said senior JeremyKugler, a member of last year’snational team.

Two other members of thegroup are seniors Shivam Sahand Tyler Grubbs. The groupcame in first place forPresentation Management at

State last year. This trio also wentto the national competition lastyear in Dallas, Texas. Kuglerplaced fifth in Financial Mathand Analysis.

BPA adviser Shelly Stantonenthusiastically explained, “I

decided to become involvedbecause the school gets grants for[BPA], and it’s a goodopportunity for the students.”

BPA meetings consist ofdoing business simulations ortests and presentations.

The club also does many ofservice projects.

For instance, once a monthBPA members went to BoulderElementary to meet with reading

buddies; the lively bunch saidthat they really enjoy the tripsand getting to see their youngfriends.

Originally, The NationalBPA competition was scheduledfor May of 2009; however, the

dates werechanged to Junedue to the swineflu infection.Stanton wasu n f o r t u n a t e l yunable to attendin June, so WestHigh Englishteacher LaurenW r i g h t

accompanied the competitors inher place.

Along with competing, thetrip included a visit to Six-Flags,bowling, dances, exploringDallas and a trip to the aquarium.

“BPA dances bring out yourinner animal,” said Sah.

The trips are not all fun andgames. There are plenty ofconferences to attend.

BPA: Down to BusinessFEATURES 9OCTOBER 14, 2OO9

SShhaaddooee AAddaammssjunior staffwriter

Who would ever guessthat a school related tripduring spring break would beenjoyable?

Every year during springbreak, science teachers JohnMiller and Joe Catron take atrip to Costa Rica and inviteany students willing to paytheir way to come along.“[It’s] a lot of fun,” senior

Christie McIver commented. Students tour Costa Rica

for a little over a week doingactivities such as white-waterrafting and visiting variousbeaches and other beautifulspots along the trip.

The one limitation is thecost. In total, it costs anaverage of $2,000, for the tripalone; souvenirs and extrafood are not included. The

$2,000 cost includes the trip,room and board.Even the teachers enjoy the

festivities.“The most fun is the zip

lining,” Miller claimed.Students get much more

than an exciting tour around agorgeous island; they alsopartake in educationalactivities and learn life-altering cultural experiences.Being there changes one’sperspective on the native’slife. “For a lot of [the kids], it’s

a life changing experience,”Miller stated.

Of course, two scienceteachers are not going to lead atrip to a foreign land withoutincorporating any science.Along the way, students areinvolved in scientific activitiestoo, such as bird watching.

Any student is allowed toattend the trip, regardless oftheir class designation.Normally, predominantlyjuniors or seniors attend, butthe trip is not limited to justthe upper classmen.Students who have already

attended this trip provideadvice, such as signing upearly or not buying too manysouvenirs.

“Don’t over pack; that’swhat I did,” McIver advised.She also suggests bringing

clothes that can get dirty,sandy or ruined. After all, onewill be traveling throughtowns, rainforests andbeaches. This year, the final sign up

date was supposed to beSeptember 31, but the datewas extended to the end ofOctober. Miller and Catronwould appreciate it if studentswould sign up before the thirdweek of October, preferably,mid October.

Students to Adventure inCosta Rica

BPA meetings consist of doingbusiness simulations or tests and

presentations.The club also does many

service projects.


It is lunchtime, and thequestion on everybody’s mind is“What should I have for lunchtoday?”

With all of the near-byrestaurants, Guelff Mart and themany options of the cafeteria, notto mention other places aroundtown, the choice of what to eat isonly limited by time.

One of the most convenient

choices is West’s cafeteria.The staff in the cafeteria is

friendly, and some of the staffsaid that their favorite part of thejob is getting to know the kids.

“Eleven years ago, Iwanted to work with kids, getweekends and holidays off andget off work early; [it] just suitedme,” said Sandy Gunderson ofthe cafeteria staff.

Opinions about the cafeteriarange from one end of thespectrum to the other.

Some say that the food ispretty good, and others say thatthe food is not satisfying and toogreasy.

Various students would likea few things to change in thecafeteria.

Many students believe thatthe price for a lunch is a littlehigh. Each entrée with milk andadd-ons, like fruit, costs $2.25.That will equal $45.00 for 20days.

Freshman Alyssa Raduestated, “The prices are too high. Itis a lot to pay for a big family.”

Other choices can be cheaper

but still be just as enjoyable. Guelff Mart is always an

alternative choice for West Highstudents who do not want to leavecampus.

With bagels, hot-pockets andmore, Guelff Mart is a great placeto grab something to eat.

The cafeteria is not the onlylocation around campus to eat.

Going outside and enjoyinga nice meal on the grass withsome friends can be veryenjoyable experience, and thelunch hour can be a great time torelax.

“I enjoy hanging out with

my friends and having a break,”said freshman Caitlin Glumbik.

All the near-by restaurantsprovide a plethora of possiblechoices for lunch. Many of theplaces are in walking distancefrom the school and are easy toget to by car.

Lunchtime is a great break inthe day to enjoy some time awayfrom school.

MMaaddii MMiilllleerrfreshman staffriter

The environmental scienceclass for juniors and seniors athas ventured to a conservationcenter near Norms Island. Andsome lucky students from theBillings West High Ecology Clubwere also able to attend and sharetheir new knowledge with theirclassmates.

John Miller, science teacherand Ecology club advisor, saysthat the reason they are goingdown to this conservation centeris to test three ponds and ratethem at poor, average or good.

They will also get abiological inventory of theoutside edges of the ponds to seewhat lives in them.

Miller explained this tripwas mandatory. Only on veryrare occasions would it benecessary for a person not to gothe conservation center.

Before going on this trip thatwill take over a class period, astudent would need to know theecosystem and its functions.Also, they would have to be ableto evaluate the quality of theecosystem.

“I love it out there becauseteachers can take students outthere and educate them about theoutdoors while being outdoors,”notes Miller.

Miller’s greatest concern forthis trip is accidents. He says,“Accidents, you know, beingaround pounds, they’re bound tohappen.”

The equipment foreverything they will be doingdown there is already there at theconservation center. West hasequipment that the conservationcenter also had so they broughtstuff back to test.

Miller and the class seemvery excited to be able to beoutdoors and venture further thanthey are use to in a normal classroom.

Chuck Swarm also seemedvery excited to be able to sendsome of his ecology club studentsoff to learn.

“I have been doing this forover 10 years. From what I’veseen, students really seem toenjoy it. They’re reallyresponsible, and it’s necessary toget them out of the class room asmuch as you can, I think,” saysMiller.

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9FEATURES 1O

CChheellsseeaa AAnnddeerrssoonnsenior staffwriter

This year at West, the staff istrying a new approach toscheduling: signing up for fullyear classes instead of choosingat each semester.

This means that studentsmust have a good idea of whichclasses they wish to take for theentirety of the following year.

“Students can still go to theircounselors and request aschedule change if they decidethey’d rather take a differentclass,” explains counselor BethTocci. “They just have to knowwhich class they would like todrop, and what they’d like toreplace it with.”

Beth Tocci, along with therest of the counseling staff,Associate Principal Jeril Hehnand registrar Sandy Bailey, havehad some minor alterations totheir jobs due to the schedulingadjustment. It is more “intense”at first, when all the students’classes are being put into thecomputer.

Once that step is completed,however, the job becomes mucheasier.

“There is no longer aregistration day in October forsecond semester because studentshave already picked their

classes,” Tocci continues. “Thisarrangement just makes it easierto balance out classes. Forexample, Genocide classes bothsemesters are now even, insteadof first semester having 35 kidsin each class, and secondsemester having only 22 kidstotal.”

The computer does notrecognize previous requirements,and that is something thecounselors must look for beforesubmitting course requests.

For example, students thatsign up for Jewelry or Ceramicsmust have completed and passedArt 1. Because the computerarranges the schedules, it is asmooth process after every

student’s requests have beenreviewed and put into the system.

While deciding on theirschedules, students must keep inmind that they still have not onlybasic math, science and Englishcredit requirements to obtain, butcertain skills that they mustacquire as well.

It will take some gettingused to for the staff and olderstudents, who were used tosemester-scheduling, but theadjustment overall has madeclass arrangement much moresimple for everyone.


Science classes this yearhave a new tool that will helpstudents gain a betterunderstanding when taking dataaround Billings, GLX Xplorers.

The GLXs each cost around$1,000. The money that was usedto afford these new scienceprobes came from governmentstimulus money.

These tools have been usedby students at West High inEnvironmental Science class totest water quality. JuniorDerek Vetch explained, “Theyare a unique piece of equipment;I like them.

The GLX comes withdifferent probes that are used fordifferent types of tests. A fewaspects of water quality that theycan test include dissolvedoxygen, temperature, pH andconductivity.

Because the GLXs can alsomonitor heart rate, lung capacity,carbon dioxide and oxygen gas,these other tests will also makethese new GLX probes quiteuseful in other classes such asanatomy and physiology andchemistry.

The GLX systems are usefulbecause the results are instantrather than having to use a kit thatmay take 10 to 20 minutes.

“They are fast and highlyefficient,” explained senior RyanHawk.

These tools are so timeeffective that classes can recordmore data in a shorter period oftime, allowing students to bemore productive.

The tools were used forwater tests at Spring Creek,ecosystem jars in the classroom,Wills Marsh and DeepMillennium Pond at theConservation Education Centerand the Yellowstone River.

John Miller, theEnvironmental Science teacher atWest High, explained, “Thestudents, if they do go intocareers like ecologists, will beusing equipment like this. It alsoshortens the time to do the test sowe can do more in a shorterperiod of time.”

Students have enjoyed usingthe new GLX units because oftheir instant results, and the newtools have been very beneficial tolearning so far this year at West.The science department may belooking to purchase more of theGLX Xplorers but want to makesure that the tools are durableenough for all of the testing.

Miller states, “We want tosee how durable they are andeventually may purchase more.”

Hopefully, these tools willhelp students become moreinterested in science and possiblepoint students toward a careerinvolving science.

New Tool Available ForScience Classes

Science Classes VisitNorms Island

West moves to full year scheduling

Hungry? A look at food options

KKyyrraa NNeellssoonnFeatures Editor

West High is home tomany students with a wide rangeof talents and abilities.

Recently, senior NicoleFicek used her abilities in musicto reach out to support an orphan-age in the Philippines.

Ficek excels as both apianist and violinist. She plays asan intern on her violin in theBillings Symphony Orchestraand has been a featured soloistwith the group on piano. She alsohas participated as a member ofthe West High Philharmonic.

Over the summer, Ficekreceived the opportunity to playher violin at the Kennedy Center

National Symphony OrchestraSummer Music Institute fromJune 29-July 27.

While there, Ficek wasable to learn about a number ofthings, even extending beyondmusic. Her favorite parts werepublic speaking courses, workingin small ensembles and touringsights such as the Smithsonian.

Despite her great suc-cess in the musical field, Ficekdoes not plan to pursue a careerin music, which sometimes leadsher to question her devotion toher studies. This led her to comeup with the idea for her benefitrecital.

“I say I’ve been given agift for music,” commentedFicek, “So let me use that gift toprosper someone less fortunate.”

The recital was held onSeptember 13 at the YellowstoneBaptist College to benefit St.Gemma’s Orphange in thePhilippines.

Many donated moneybefore, at and after the recital. Inall, about $5,000 dollars wasraised, which will go to repair theroof and building, covering foodexpenses and buying school sup-plies.

“She’s making the mostof her talents and her compassionfor those less fortunate and doingwhat she can to make an impact,”

remarked WestHigh orchestradirector MikePeterson.

Severa lof Ficek’sa cqua i n t an c e sjoined her onstage at therecital, includingviolinist JesseMacDonald, fid-dler Rosie Weissand cellist LewisRawlinson.

F i c e kperformed a vari-ety of pieces onboth violin andpiano, including“My FunnyV a l e n t i n e , ”“Theme fromShindler’s List” and“Summertime.”

Senior Rachel McKay, afriend and classmate of Ficek,attended the recital and said,“Nicole did amazingly. It’s reallygreat to see her using her talentsto help people.”

West High artist seniorAlicia Pavey also supported thecause by selling some of her art-work at the recital.

On October 10 Ficekwas also featured as a solo per-former with the Billings

Symphony Orchestra at theAlberta Bair theater. She per-formed Saint-Saëns’ “The Poetand the Muse.”

Anne Harrigan, whotravels from Michigan everymonth to conduct the BillingsSymphony Orcestra, invitedFicek to play with the symphony.

Ficek concludes, “Myhope is that you, too, will find apurpose for your gift; not for thepurpose of building up wealth orreputation, but for serving otherpeople in a way that would makeGod look down and smile.”

AR

TS West High Virtuoso Puts on

Benefit ConcertProcedes Go to Orphanage in the Philippines

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnCopy Editor

Welcome to Cyberspace!Creative Writing’s Literary

Magazine can now be foundonline atwww.MaiosAtomicGrindReadandFeed.net.

On the site, information isavailable to contact Englishteacher and advisor Linda Maio;there are also sources and links tohelp with assignments and home-work.

Word Press is also a link.In Word Press, there is a

place to submit poems, storiesand lyrics.

Maio goes on the site andlooks through all of the entries.

When she finishes, she movesthem from Word Press files, put-ting them in another file in orderto print them in the literary mag-azine.

“I did this because I had to,”Maio said. “In today’s society,everything is now on the internet.The magazine must keep up withthe times.”

Maio also saw that shecould use the sight as a guide forher students; if they forget towrite down an assignment, shehas all of her assignment postedon the sight under the Class Infolink.

Under the Resources link,students can find a link to otherwebsites that are there to helpthem. The links provide informa-

tion ong r a m -mar, lit-e r a c ya n dm a n yo t h e rsources.

T h eg a m e son thesite arefor thestudentsbenefi t

to help improve their writing.The resources are games set up tohelp with the certain areas thatsome student may have troublewith.

“I like the resources link; Ithink all teachers should haveone,” commented sophomoreJessica Esplin. “I also think thatthe tutoring session is a reallygood idea.”

There also is a Links link,which gives connections to otherwebsites for research. Thesewebsites include one to theLibrary of Congress site, WestHigh’s home site and theSmithsonian Institution’s site aswell.

An example of what thesesites are for would be theSmithsonian Institution site,which is used for research. TheLibrary of Congress site is proba-bly one of the more fascinatingsites; this site gives viewers alook at certain subjects throughresources such as podcasts, aToday in History article and otherinteresting things that can helpwith research.

There are chat sessions onthe website on Thursdays from 7to 9 p.m. This is for tutoring orjust getting information.

Creative Writing Club Hitsthe World Wide Web

TTrreenntt DDuuggggeerrCopy Editor

Although now seen asdangerous and harmful, radi-um was not thought of as thesame in the 1920’s.

As West High’s DramaClub gears up for their 2009-2010 school year, their firstperformance is already in pro-duction, and will be per-formed at the end of October.

“Radium Girls” is catego-rized as a comedy and adrama.

D.W. Gregory is theauthor of the historical fictionplay.

While based on a truestory, the majority of the char-acters are fiction for the pur-pose of the drama, as Gregoryexplains in his Author’s Note.

The Drama Club has longbeen known for creatingsuperb performances, as theyhave won many StateThespian Festivals under thedirection of MelindaMiddleton with assistantdirection from the sophomoreEnglish teacher StephenMacartney.

Middleton was pleasedwith the audition results.“The number of actors andtheir quality was exceptional.”

Key decisions that weremade while narrowing theaudition into a cast included,

“their projection and the per-sonality I saw [during audi-tions],” commentedMiddleton.

An actress who workedon crew for many shows andwas in the ensembles of otherswas cast for the lead roll inlast year’s state-winning festi-val show and has now beencast in the spot light of thelead female roll, Grace.

Senior Alicia Connolly’sperformances are compelling.She has a natural way to con-nect with all types of audi-ences.

Her motivation to joindrama in the first place wasshe wanted to get a taste forthe stage, but she had not hadthe opportunity to experienceit before high school.

Her acting credits includea town person in “Our Town.”

Connolly kept her enthu-siasm high for acting, citingAlyssa Small and CaitlynMcRae, (both 2008 gradu-ates,) as her inspirations,“Two of the most encouragingpeople ever.”

Her success was pre-miered in her lead characterdebut as Victoria, in theBillings West High 2009 SateFestival winning performance“Victoria Martin: Math TeamQueen.”

Senior Pat Bush, studentdirector, says, “All I did wasgive her the chance to showher amazing talent.”

Drama Club toKick Off its NewSeasonRadium Girls OpensOctober 29

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9ARTS 12

This Way to the Next Big Thing in MusicWest High Alum Pursues Dreams of Music Career, Releases Debut Album

Angel Shandysenior staffwriter

West High 2007 graduateHana Pestle is one of the fewlocal artists who is making itbig in the main stream musicindustry.

Pestle released her brandnew debut album This Way onSeptember 22. Being her firstofficial full-length album, ThisWay shows that she is no longerjust a local anomaly, but isbecoming a nationally-acclaimed artist.

Produced by Ben Moody,former Evanescence bandmember, Pestle’s album hasspread widely and embracedby many people; she hasbecome very popular in theWestern states while travelingall around on tour. She recentlyvisited Billings to open forSecondhand Serenade.

Her new songs all have adifferent feeling, especiallyfrom her previous works. Thenew album has an overall tonethat makes Pestle’s lyricssound like that of a maturewoman instead of a love-struckteenager.

Senior Eva Pickett

expresses, “There is definitelydiversity in her newer songsfrom one another. They portraydifferent feelings from before.”

In “Need,” one of her morepoplular songs, Pestle sings ofhow she is lost, alone andneeds the help of another to gether out of the frightening placefrom which she cannot escape.

“The melodies in the songare surprisingly fresh and quiteunorthodox, giving Hana aunique sound that will be hardto duplicate,” explains seniorAndrew Nicoll. “The songexpresses sentiment that every-body feels at one time or anoth-er: trying to reach out to some-one when times are dark.”

Another song that standsout on Pestle’s album is“Rain.”

“I am obsessed with ‘Rain’right now […] I love the lyricsand the way it sounds; it’s abeautiful song,” reveredPickett.

In “Rain,” Pestle singsabout a day where she remem-bers every detail of where sheis and the beautiful sound ofthe rain falling all around her.This song stands out from oth-ers on the album because it is

very simple, happy and light. All who have heard

Pestle’s new album have beenvery impressed on how easilyshe conveys feelings into hersongs as well as releasing some

of herself into each of hersongs.

“The album is just great allaround and shows Hana’spotential as a budding artist,”shares Nicoll.

To purchase Pestle’salbum, This Way, go towww.hanamerch.com whereher earlier EPs, shirts and sheetmusic are available for order.

AAsshhllyynnnn AAnnddeerrsseennJunior staffwriter

(Anon)ymous, whichtook place at VentureTheatre this October, tellsthe story of a young refugeeby the name of Anon who isseparated from his motherafter fleeing his home coun-try.

Throughout the story,Anon journeys around theworld in search of his family,meeting numerous charac-ters—not all of them pleas-ant—along the way.

This modern adaptationof Homer’s Odyssey, writtenby Naomi Iizuka and direct-ed by Sarah Butts, shouldprovoke thought in the audi-ence as they witness its pri-marily teenage cast performthe story of Anon’s plight.

(Anon)ymous cast mem-ber and West High freshmanAndy Eagle elaborated onhis experience as a part ofthe chorus and a refugee inthe play.

“It’s kind of depress-ing,” Eagle said of the storyline, “but it does it in a

happy way.” Eagle also explained

how he thinks the play ispretty fun, and has someweird themes that are greatto learn about. “I get to playguitar [in the play], so that’smy favorite part,” he stated.

“It’s pretty easy [to getinvolved in VentureTheatre],” says Eagle. “Youpretty much just have toshow up.”

Other benefits to beinginvolved in the communitytheatre, Eagle says, includemeeting lots of new peopleof different ages from allover town.

However, he also men-tions the drawbacks, whichinclude taking up a lot offree time for rehearsals andperformances, and he recom-mends not getting involvedif you cannot dedicate thenecessary amount of time tothe production.

Performing side by sidewith Eagle is his sister, soph-omore Lexi Eagle, who isalso cast as a refugee andpart of the chorus.

Venture TheatrePerforms a ModernVersion of TheOdyssey


A new program coming toWest High this year, Arts WithoutBoundaries, is in the planningstages.

This new program is formusic students from aroundBillings.

Arts Without Boundarieswas made to help music studentsto achieve their greatest poten-tial; it will help students by giv-ing them several opportunities toincrease their musical skills.

This program has one maingoal: to help kids find success inmusic.

All of the money earnedthrough this program goes direct-ly to the students.

One goal of this organizationis to help students financially.

If a student is using a lowquality instrument, Arts WithoutBoundaries will help the studentafford an instrument that is high-er quality. These instruments aremore expensive than the studentmight be able to afford on his orher own.

Arts Without Boundariesalso hopes to set up a programwhere a high school student will

mentor a grade school student.The high school student will actas a mentor and tutor theyounger children in hope that theyounger student will benefit fromthese tutoring sessions and learnhow to better play their instru-

ment. Another goal of the program

is to bring experienced musiciansto share their talent and theircareer objectives with students.

These musicians will helpstudents express themselvesthrough their music. They willmentor and teach to not only justthe middle and elementary schoolstudents, but high school studentsas well.

As of now, West High hasbeen visted by program leadersPhillip Aaberg and DarellTunnicliff who met with parentson September 10, 2009. Theyalso visited music classes during

school on Sept. 11. When they visited, Aaberg

played the piano for the classesand also gave input on music thatthe classes played for him. NicoleWilliams, a freshman violinist inPhilharmonic Orchestra, stated,

“I think he is a good piano play-er. It was sweet.”

He came and taught the classabout the different types of musiche plays.

Sophomore violinist JessicaHickel explained, “ I think hewas a great piano player, and Ithink the program sounds like agreat opportunity for students.”

Junior Crystle Weiseremarked, “I thought it was coolbecause there are different typesof music.”

Overall, the classes’ reac-tions have been positive towardsthis new program, and studentsbelieve it will be a great program.

Music DepartmentWelcomes New ProgramArt Without Boundries Hopes to Inspire Students

Another goal of the program is tobring experienced musicians to share

their talent and their career objectiveswith students.

MMaaddii MMiilllleerrfreshman staffwriter

Some of the greatest

singers from Billings WestHigh and Helena will gathertogether form one huge choir.

This group is known asthe AA choir and will be madeup of all the Meistersingers in

West High’s choir programand the best high schoolsingers in the state.

This year these groupswill all meet in Helena onNovember 23 and 24.

At this annual event, thesingers will be meeting withfour to five of the top AAchoir schools. Fortunately,Billings West High Schoolwas chosen as one of the fewschools.

At this gathering of somany talented singers, oneguest conductor will conductall of these kids. This year theconductor is Dr. Andersonfrom Idaho State University.

When choir directorDavid Green was asked whatconcerns him, “Not reallyanything. It should be a funtime. We just need busing andhousing which is normallyalready taken care of, thank-fully.”

The first night they get toHelena, each AA choir willperform a couple songs that

they have practiced. The sec-ond night the whole groupwill perform the few songsthat Billings West High choirstudents are already preparingand rehearsing for.

It is not known yet ifthere are any solos, but asGreen pointed out, this is avery good thing for the stu-dents. It is a group choir, soeverybody is singing together.Nobody out-shines anybody.

Another thing he says heis worried about is the singersstrength to make it throughtheses two days. It will bevery difficult.

This event allows stu-dents to meet other choir stu-dents who also share the lovefor singing.

“It’s good for the kids tomeet other singers, but it willbe two very hard and verystressful days for all of thesetalented kids,” notes Green.



The all- state festival hap-pens once a year over theweekend of the teachers’ con-vention.

It is an assembly of thebest students from bands allacross the state.

Teresa Gregori said aboutthe festival, “I am just reallythrilled to perform with the topmusicians from all over thestate.”

This year the West Highband had four students makethe band. At the end of eachyear the audition material forthe following year is passed outto students and they then prac-tice the material and make arecording of them playing theselections. Steve Patton, theband director, always offers tohelp students with their audi-tion material.

Teresa Gregori is a trumpet

player and a senior this year. Senior Anna Peterson is a

bass clarinet player.Junior Nathan Fritz is a

French horn player.The last student, freshman

Miles Otstat, plays the trumpet.“I am excited to go to all-

state,” said Ostat.The recordings are then

reviewed and critiqued todecide who will be chosen tomake up this elite band.

This festival follows theclassic template of a music fes-tival there will be two days ofpractice and then a final con-cert. The local students thatwere accepted had a practicetogether at MSU Billings’Ciesel Hall on September 7 forhalf of the school day.

The students receive theirmusic shortly after the begin-ning of school so that they canpractice it and learn it. Byknowing the music the conduc-tors of the festival can work

with the students and help themunderstand the music on amore complex level. At the fes-tival the band will work on thelittle details of the music thatseem miniscule unimportant.

The festival this year willbe held in Bozeman at the highschool. Students fromOrchestra and choir as well asband will be converging thereon the 15 and 16 September totake a weekend to learn how tobetter themselves as musicians.

Anna Petersen says, “Dudewe get to eat at Burger Bob’s,but I am still really pumpedthat I get to play music withsome good kids.”


“It is a very importantopportunity for students whowant more musical challengesin their life. It is always con-ducted by a very high qualityconductor brought in from

somewhere across the coun-try,” said West High orchestrateacher Mike Peterson aboutAll-State Orchestra.

All-State Orchestra con-sists of high school musiciansfrom all across Montana.

To qualify for All-State,the musicians must recordthemselves playing a selectionof music and send the record-ings in to be judged. They findout if they made it the follow-ing year.

Every year the concerttakes place during the two daysof the teachers’ convention.

This year, All-StateOrchestra will be held inBozeman.

Practice started October14, and the final performancewas the following Friday.

West High students goingto All-State Orchestra this yearare seniors Nicole Ficek, vio-lin; Susan Bullock, violin;Emily Bell, violin HillaryJones, viola; junior TamaraFarr, violin; sophomores SamCarl, viola and Jordan Nigh,bass; and freshman ElliotMakin, violin.

Peterson said that he isexcited when he gets to watchthe students with the guest con-ductor and view their progress.

Students involved men-tioned they enjoy the experi-ence and seeing friends they donot get to see anywhere else.

Reasons for deciding toaudition for All-State Orchestravary from being previouslymotivated by someone to fami-ly participation, hearing aboutit from others or simply for thefun of it.

Ficek said, “I’ve lovedmusic all my life and try to takeas many opportunities as I can,and each experience has helpedfurther my skill.”

Members of All-StateOrchestra think being in theprogram is a fun privilege andan opportunity to play withsome of the best young musi-cians from around Montana.Also, they believe playing withso many other people is a goodthing to be involved in, even atthis level.

Farr advised, “Work hard,don’t give up, and be persist-ent.”

West High Music Department Well-Represented at All State in Bozeman

Orchestra Students Selected forAll-State Honors

Band Musicians Head toBozeman for All-State Convention

Vocal Standouts Selected to Choir All-State

Marlene Holmsenior staffwriter

The new choir is notactually that new.

“We are only changingthe name and putting somenew, good freshmen in afterthe auditions. This year, Iwill let the kids decide thename, and I hope they willcome up with some goodsuggestions,” said choirdirector David Green.

“No boys will be in thenew choir because wealready have two mixedchoirs here at West,” Greenstated, “so I thought itwould be fun to make agirls’ choir.”

Not everyone is happyabout the fact that it is anall-girls choir.

Freshmen sopranosLiza Smith and TracieBulkley both think it wouldbe fun with a mix of boysand girls.

“I think it could havebeen fun with some boys inthe choir also because thereare some really good boyshere at West, and I wouldlove to sing with them too.But we do have a lot of funjust us girls and Mr. Green,”Bulkley said.

Smith and Bulkley haveboth been singing sincethey were little and coulduse their voices, and they

love it. Singing makes themhappy, and it is a good wayto express emotions.

The choir has total ofsixteen girls, seven altosand nine sopranos, consist-ing of mostly freshmen andsophomores.

“It was hard to pick outwho I wanted in the choir.We had a lot of auditions,but I think I chose the rightones,” Green stated.

One of Green’s expec-tations for this choir and forthe girls is to improve theirsinging while giving themthe experience of singing insmaller groups because thatwill help them in the future.

Right now, the choir ispracticing for theNovember 12 choir concertwith some pop-jazz-Broadway style of music.

Smith commented, “Iam not really nervous forthe choir concert. It will befun, and I am kind of usedto it now. I am looking for-ward to it”.

West LaunchesNew Choir


Pat BushArts Editor

Concerts

The Babcock TheatreAsleep at the Wheel – November 1

Asleep at the Wheel is aCountry/Western/Swingband formed in 1970. Theyhave since won nineGrammy Awards andreleased 29 albums, the mostrecent with Willie Nelson.Tickets cost $27.50.

Metra Park ArenaEveryday Sunday – December 4

Everyday Sunday is a Rockband from Columbus, Ohio.They have released fivealbums since 2001. Ticketsprices TBA

Rush of Fools – December 5Rush of Fools is a ChristianRock group from Alabama.They have released twoalbums, both of which madeit into the top ten on the U.S.Christian charts. They alsoreleased a #1 single,“Undo.” Tickets pricesTBA.

Yellowstone Valley BrewingCompanyWhite Water Ramble –November 7

White Water Ramble is aBluegrass band from

Colorado. They describethemselves as a “Colorado-bred, High-Octane RockyMountain DanceGrassband.” They came throughBillings in August, openingfor Railroad Earth at TheBabcock Theatre. Ticketscost $5.00

The Shrine AuditoriumPuddle of Mudd – November 1

Puddle of Mudd is a rockband from Missouri. Theyhave released three albumssince 2001, one of whichmade it into the top ten.They have sold over 8 mil-lion albums and have sever-al #1 singles. Tickets are$25.00 advance or $27.00 atthe door.

Creation TourThe Creation Tour is aChristian Music Festival thattours across America. Thisyear it includes six artistsand one speaker. Artistsinclude Jars of Clay,Thousand Foot Krutch,Audio Unplugged, B.Reith,This Beautiful Republic andEM Static. Tickets cost$20.00 for general admis-sion and $50.00 for TheArtist Circle

Megadeth – December 10Megadeth was founded byformer Metallica guitarist,Dave Mustaine. One of theleaders of 1980’s thrashmetal, Megadeth hasrealeased 18 albums and

sold more than 25 millioncopies. Several of theiralbums and singles havemade it into the top ten.Tickets cost $35.50

Alberta Bair TheaterJunior Brown – November 14

Junior Brown is a Countrymusician from Arizona. Hehas released nine albumsand one E.P. since 1974Ticket prices TBA.

Emmylou Harris – November 17Emmylou Harris is aCountry Singer-songwriter.Since 1967, she has won 12Grammy Awards andreleased 24 solo albums andsix compilation albums,including three #1 albumsand six #1 singles. Ticketsprices TBA.

Billings Symphony Orchestraperforms The Nutcracker –November 28-29

Plays and Musicals

Venture TheatreThe Beauty Queen of Leenane –November 9-22Willy Wonka – November 16 –December 20

Billings Studio TheatrePeter Pan – November 20 –December 20

Alberta Bair TheaterAlter Boyz – November 21

Upcoming Events

12 time Grammy Winner Emmylou Harris willbe playing at The Alberta Bair Theater this November


What’s on YOUR top played list?

Deb Richardson, English“Memory”

“Greensleeves” “Ave Maria”

“Wind Beneath My Wings”“The Living Years”

Aleaha Skredergard, Freshman“If It Means a Lot To You”

“I’m Not Okay”“Heaven Help Us”“To Shy to Scream”‘The Salt Water Owl”

Brittaney Case, Sophomore“April 26, 1992”

“Closer to the Sun”“Crystal Ship”“Jealousy”

“Garden Grove”

Ethan Carling, Junior“Lying in the Hands of God”

“Something’s Missing”“St. Patrick’s Day”

“Don’t Panic“Garden Grove”

Kyle Schneider, Senior“Stronger”“Anything”

“Viva La Vida”“This City is at War”

“Float On”

SP

OR

TS


Goal!The West High Lady Bears

soccer team has begun the 2009season with an exciting show oftalent.

One of the team captainssenior Katie Baum was opti-mistic about the season.

“We’ve been working reallyhard all year, and the team reallyworks well together,” comment-ed Baum. “I think we have a pret-ty good shot at state this year.”

So far, the team has only twolosses, both to Bozeman High.

The season began with a 4-2loss to Bozeman but has

improved since then.The team’s next game was

against cross town rival SeniorHigh Lady Broncs where theLady Bears came home with a 5-0 win.

Next they traveled to Buttewhere they came off with anotherwin ending the game with fivegoals, shutting the Lady Bulldogsout.

Their stretch of wins contin-ued against the Skyview LadyFalcons, their other cross townrival where they triumphed 5-1.

The CMR Lady Rustlersfinally broke the winning streak,tying West 2-2.

In their biggest win of theseason, the team trampled Great

Falls High 9-0.The wins continued against

Senior 1-0, Butte 6-1 and CMR2-0.

The team is excited for therest of the season and hopes tofinish strong.

Senior defender AllieHelterbran, one of the team cap-tains, said, “We’ve been improv-ing all season, and we’re reallyexcited for state.

Another team captain seniorClair Kornegay shared herexcitement about the team say-ing, “We have really great teamchemistry, and I think that’s real-ly allowed us to do well this sea-son. I’m really excited for state.”

Cross Country Off AndRunning

MMaarrlleennee HHoollmmsenior staffwriter

West cross-country teamshave been running for sevenweeks this season; some stu-dents have been running evenlonger. Cross-country coach

Lauren Wright said, “We havea good team this year. Wehave a lot of returnees that aredoing even better this year,and a lot of good freshmensuch as Rachel Temme,Connor Hintt and a lot more.”Temme, who is doing

really well, commented, “Ihave been running for threeyears, and I love it. This sea-son has been really good forme. I like the team here atWest High. Everybody issweet and kind. We all supporteach other.”Temme has been running

good times, which is why sheis on the varsity team. One ofher goals this season is to runthree miles in under 20 min-utes, which she is workinghard for to achieve.Senior Meagan Beam was

nominated by her teammatesto be one of the captains of thegirls varsity team. “I am really proud to be a

captain because I like to runand to help the others on theteam,” Beam said.Beam is on the varsity

team, and her goal is to runthree miles in 18 minutes.“As a captain, I have some

responsibilities, such as towarm the team up and help ifsomebody has problems,” saidsenior Susan Metzger, one ofthe captains for the girls J.Vteam.Metzger has been running

for three years and likes it

because a lot of her friends doit, and it keeps her in shape.Wright said, “We have

had some good meets wherethe kids worked hard and did

well. Three were in Gillette,Great Falls and Billings.” In one meet in Billings,

which featured a six-miles

run, two four-member Westteams competed. One team was seniors

Michael Sievernagel, ColeFrank, Kyle Schneider and

junior Ryan Grammens, whocalled themselves the RunningCamels; they beat all of theother teams and won.

The other team calledthemselves the Fat Girls, andthey also did well, coming insecond place. The members ofthat team were seniors MeganBeam, Sara Milch, IzzyArchilla and Nicole Reitz.The cross-country team is

training for the big BillingsPublic school meet at RiverFront Park on October 14. “The last couple of years,

there haven’t been that manypeople from West High tosupport us at City, and we arehoping to get some more thisyear because people cheeringis always a good thing,”Wright said.

KKoorryy KKrruummffrreesshhmmaann ssttaaffffwwrriitteerr

Congratulation to theWest High Golden Bears soc-cer team!This year the bear have

gone undefeated with 10-0with only one tie. They arenow playing for the state tour-nament with the confidence ofbringing home. State will betaking place in the capital,Helena.“It’s Fun to be on this

team because we’re really

good and have a good chanceat winning state again,”Senior Danny Robinson com-mented.With a season like they

have had this year they haveevery right to believe theyhave what it takes. Most oftheir games this year have noteven been close. The closestgame they have played thisseason was a tie of 1 to 1 andit was against the BozemanHawks.

Golden and Lady Bear SoccerGears Up for StateLady Bears Celebrate Teamwork with Winning Ways Golden Bears Undefeated, hoping

to remain so heading into statetournament to repeat as champs

And they’re OFF! The West High cross country team takes off at the start of a race in anattempt to continue their dominating ways.

submitted photo

“We have had some good meetswhere the kids worked hard and didwell. Three were in Gillette, Great

Falls and Billings.”


The varsity football sea-son has been off to a very goodstart as the season rolls on.

The Golden Bears cur-rent record is 4-3 with the seasonopener against Missoula Big Skybeing a close loss.

The next game was againstBozeman where the Bears droveit home and defeated the Hawkswith a 35-20 win.

“I go to the games towatch the game, but also tosocialize,” says senior AllisonMolin.

The next game was asweep against Flathead with theopposing team only scoring oncethroughout the game and Westfinishing with a win of 35-7.After Flathead came the GreatFalls Bison and West wins againwith a score of 17-3.

The next game wasagainst cross-town rival Skyviewwith a loss of one point in doubleovertime. The crowd was goingwild and everyone was on theirfeet for that game. The West Highstudent side was full as alwaysfor this intense game.

Colleen Lacher, a fan ofthe football games, says, “I love

going to games. It’s cool to seepeople I know playing so welland I always have fun.”

After playing theFalcons the Golden Bears trav-eled to Butte to play the Bulldogsand beat them on their own turf.The final score in this game was27-24.

The last game that theBears have played up to this pointwas against the Helena CapitalBruins. The Bruins have beatenWest the past five times that theyhave played each other includingthe state championship threeyears ago.

Weeks eight, nine andten are ahead of the footballteam. Week eight is a gameagainst the Missoula SentinelSpartans. Week nine is a gameagainst the Great Falls CharlesM. Russell (CMR) Rustlers.

Week ten and the final weekbefore the playoffs games theGolden Bears will take on thefavorite cross-town rivals, theSenior High Broncs. This gamewill take place on the 30 October.

In regards to this gameall that Ashley Hattmaker saidwas, “Go bears.”

Currently the West Highfootball team is ranked eighth inthe AA state rankings, and theapproaching Sentinel Spartansare ranked fourth. Capital isranked first, CMR is ranked sec-ond, Big Sky is ranked third,Helena High fifth, KalispellGlacier sixth, and Billings Skyview in seventh.

With three weeks left inthe regular season everything isup in the air in relation to theplayoff standings.

MMccKKeeaallee AAnnddeerrssoonn junior staffwriter

Tuesday September 22nd,the girls varsity volleyballteam, playing Skyview high,stays undefeated with a 25-15,25-11, 25-21 win. Coach BethTocci says that as of today, (23September), the varsity teamhas a 10-0 overall score.

“I grew up in a schoolwith 300 kids, so the gamewasn’t as intense. I went tocollege playing volleyball andbasketball after that.” CoachTocci has been coaching vol-leyball for 23 years and stilladores it.Junior outside hitter,

Cherina Walen says “It feelsgreat to be number one in stateinstead of number two.”Cherina has been playing

volleyball since fourth gradeand loves it. “It feels great tohave Senior Highs spot”Walen says. So far, West Highis undefeated and has a goodchance at winning state.Walen hopes to win state andstay number one. Kylie Nielsen, a sopho-

more middle blocker says thatthere is relief knowing that

they are number one. Nielsenlikes to play middle defenseand has been doing so sincethird grade. Nielsen says thattheir season looks good andhopefully it stays lookinggood.Senior Alex Canton is a

setter and likes to play defensespecialist. Canton has beenplaying for seven years andwould like to keep playing.

When asked about being num-ber one in state, Alex replies“It’s been a really long time

since we’ve had that spot so itfeels really good.” Alex isreally excited about theupcoming games and hopes tostay number one in state.A junior varsity player,

Ally Mahon, says that theJunior Varsity season is alsolooking pretty positive. “Welost one game to Butte,”Mahon says, “But they’recoming here and we really

want to beat them.” Ally likesdefense and back row divedefense. Ally has been playingvolleyball since fifth gradeand would enjoy to keep play-ing. The toughest teams that

they have played came to a tiebetween Helena, for Kylie andCherina, and Bozeman forAlex and Coach Tocci. Tocci says when playing

Butte, they played all fiverounds and the fifth round wasa close 17-15 win for west.The varsity volleyball teamhopes to stay number one instate and thinks they can do it.

JJeessssiiccaa EEttttlleemmaannCopy Editor

The West High cheer-leaders are having a greatstart to the season as two ofour senior Lady Bears aregoing to London, Englandto perform in the NewYear’s Day Parade.

Kellie Donahue andMaggie Jacobsen are thetwo lucky girls who wereinvited by the UniversalCheerleading Association(UCA) to perform in theparade.

The whole cheersquad went to a UCA campthis summer where the try-outs were held. Onlyabout sixteen percent ofgirls from the camps usual-ly make it.

“We worked reallyhard for the try-outs, andall the hard work paid off,”stated Donahue.

Donahue, Jacobsen,and sophomore AshtynGrove were all invited.However, Grove decidedto instead perform with theother Lady Bears in theGator Bowl in Florida, butDonahue and Jacobsen areecstatic about the trip.

The girls leave the dayafter Christmas and will bein London for a week.Though they have notreceived much informationyet, the two will be receiv-ing a tape of the dance thatthey will be performingand a new uniform shortly.

“It’s going to besweet! I can’t wait,” statedJacobsen.

The two girls are dis-appointed that they aregoing to miss performingwith the whole team downin Florida during the sametime, but decided that theycan not miss this opportu-nity.

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9SPORTS 17

DonahueandJacobsenEarnOpportunityto go toLondon

Golden Bear Gridiron Greats 4-3 So Far

Lady Bears Undefeated, No. 1 Seed

The Lady Bears celebrate their victory over crosstown rivals SkyviewHigh Lady Falcons on Sept. 22

photo by McKeale Anderson


West High strongly

advocates student involve-ment and provides a numberof intramural sports that stu-dents can participate in

regardless of their athleticability.

Students can partici-pate in tennis, flag football,volleyball, basketball, bowl-ing, Frisbee golf and soft-ball.

Currently, tennis andflag football are underway.

Intramural sports aregood for anyone who doesnot have or want to maketime to compete in varsitylevel athletics.

Program directorJohn Olson commented, “Ina big school like this, if youdon’t make the organizedteam you can still partici-pate.”

The goal of the intra-mural sports program is toprovide students with a fun,stress-free activity to partic-ipate in.

There are no formalpractices, only scheduledgames.

Early cold weatherhas caused many of thegames to be cancelled.

Students are a littledisappointed by this. SeniorJon Grewell, who plays flagfootball, said that despite the

cancellations, the gamesthey had played were fun,“because we dominated.”

Senior Josh Munsell,an intramural tennis player,said he likes participating inintramural sports because“It’s a way to do sports with-out being on the school com-petition level.”

Students who areinterested in the intramuralsports program should talkto Olson and turn in a parentmedical release form withthe $5 participation fee.

Golfer’s ClaimTitle

Billings West High won agolf championship in 1962and that was the first champi-onship of any kind. It hasbeen a long dry spell, butDick Fox’s steady crew torethe Yellowstone Country Clubcourse apart as they rolled toan 8 stroke win over defend-ing champion Laurel in theboys golf competition. RickKloepfer was the medalistwith a 148 for the two daymeet. He was followed byMark Starkweather with a152. Other top finishers forthe golfers were Ton Roholtwith a 156, and Pat Galuskawith a 164. Ken Harrsch had a166.

In girls’ competition, theGolden girls could not touchthe likes of Cathy Studer ofBillings Central as she teamedwith Judy Heringer to win thetitle by a whopping 21 stokes.Bobbi Lacklen of West andTam Reineke gave the girls asecond place finish.

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnCopy Editor

JV SoccerSeptember 18-19 for both

guys and girls of the JV soccerteam made four wins to twolosses. The wins were againstSkyview twice, Great FallsCM Russell [CMR] and GreatFalls High School. The losseswere to Senior and Bozeman.Their biggest win was thegame against Great Falls HighSchool.Football

In the world of football,the sophomore football teamplayed in Great Falls againstGreat Falls High onSeptember 18. Despite beingbehind through the game, theGolden Bears finally pulledthrough to win 42-39.

Scott Palin, one of thesophomore coaches, com-mented, “These boys arelearning that to be the best,they need act like they are [thebest] every time they step onthe field whether it is at prac-tice or a game.”

Both of the freshmenteams played cross town rivalthe Skyview Falcons onSeptember 22, and both teamslost. The White team lost 28 to14, and 16-6 for the Blackteam. But they played crosstown rivals Senior HighBroncos and won.

“Our players are makingthe right strides toward suc-cess in the future as sopho-mores, JV and varsity,” saidJody Mcilvain, freshmencoach for the black team.

GolfFor the West High JV

Golf team’s average is 99.975percent under par for every-one. These were against dif-ferent teams with in theregion. Regions like Laurel,Bozeman, Senior, Skyview,and Central show up to thesematches. The Golden Bearsgolf team has been predictedto be the best golf team in thestate.Volleyball

In Volleyball, the fresh-man Lady Bears playedagainst Belgrade on October2.

The scores for the fresh-man “A” team were 25-16,29-27, 13-15, 15-11, a win forthem.

Scores for the freshman“B” team on September 29against Central JV were 6-25,18-25, 5-15, going down as aloss for them.

The JV volleyball teamalso played Belgrade on Oct.2, defeating Belgrade in threematches 25-16, 25-14, 15-12.

The sophomore teamplayed against cross townrival Skyview on Sept. 22.Despite winning two matches,they lost to their cross townfoes.Cross County

The Cross Country teamdid well on Sept. 24. The boysJV team got first place, andthe girls JV team got secondplace. City for the team ishomecoming week.

Sub-VarsityCorner

OCTOBER 14, 2OO9SPORTS 18

Intramurals Encourage Involvement

Westat 50

OP

INIO

NPat BushArts Editor

In his farewell address,George Washington warnedAmerica against political parties.He feared that they would tear thenation apart and lead America toits downfall.

For several months now, thehealthcare debate has been ragingin Congress.

On one side, we have theRepublicans saying that the pathwe should take is to limitmalpractice and tear down stateboarders for insurance companieswhich would allow them to sellacross state lines.

The Democrats, however,say that the government should

provide healthcare for everyonewho can not afford it.

Both sides have great ideas,and reform is desperately needed,but nothing will get done untilCongress decides to stopbickering amongst itself and thetwo sides actually sit down andwork together.

However, instead of workingtogether, Congress has decided totake the “Pelosi approach.”

With 256 of the 435members of the House ofRepresentatives operating underthe Democratic Party, Congresshas more than enough Democratsto pass any healthcare bill theysee fit.

This has been HouseMajority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s

strategy. Pelosi has marched thebill through the house without somuch as asking Republicans fortheir advice.

That’s not how the AmericanGovernment is supposed to work.

Not only do politicians needto be able to work with eachother, they need to act civiltowards each other as well,whatever their personal feelingsmay be.

The most notorious exampleof this is South CarolinaRepresentative Joe Wilson, aRepublican, shouting “You lie!”in the middle of PresidentObama’s address to Congress.

You are a politician, and, as apolitician, you should act likeone, not some moronic fool

attending a town hall meeting.Yes, you may have every

right to speak your mind, butthere is a time and a place forthat, and that time is not duringObama’s speech in the CapitolBuilding.

Instead of lying about whatis in this bill, sit down anddiscuss it like civilized people.Mudslinging does not doanybody any good.

Our nation’s first president,George Washington, warned usabout the dangers of politicalparties in his farewell address. Itlooks like he knew what he wastalking about because all thispartisan political nonsense istearing our great nation apart.

Close Mindedness Hinders Education


Everybody likes to beright. It’s a natural part of beinghuman.

But sometimes we go totoo great of lengths to maintainthe notion that we are right.

When this happens, webecome close minded.

Even more bothersomeis a recent trend to assert one’sclosed mind in a manner that’soften offensive and uncivil.

Although everyone hasthe right to their own opinion,people are no longer willing tolisten to views that differ fromtheir own. Modern Americanculture has taken on the idea thatthe winner of a debate is whoeverscreams the loudest.

The reaction to PresidentObama’s address to schoolchildren provides an excellentexample of this.

As the elected presidentof our country, he is entitled tospeak to the nation’s youth.However there was a huge uproarin which many students opted out

of watching the presentation.Why?

The address was not politicalin nature, but merely anencouragement for students to dotheir best in school. Certainly thisis a message people from anypolitical mind frame can agreewith.

The only reason not towatch it would be to demonstrateone’s feelings towards Obamaand his politics.

Still, I think that nomatter how much you disagreewith the president, you shouldstill be willing to listen to him. Asan elected official, he deserves atleast that much respect. Not tomention, he might actually havesomething important to say.

It’s important torecognize that our opinions arenot the only ones that matter andthat we should be willing to listento other people’s as well.

We don’t have to agree withthem. But we should still listen.

However, we live in asociety that condones rudebehavior towards those who aretrying to speak. It’s in ourpolitics. Take for exampleSenator Joe Wilson, who calledObama a liar in the middle ofObama’s speech.

And it’s also in our media,for instance singer Kanye West,who burst on to the stage whenTaylor Swift was receiving anaward.

These cultural patterns

are uncivil andcounterproductive. It’s time weall try listening to each other foronce.

It’s time to stop thinkingwe are the supreme beings of thegalaxy and that our voice is theonly one that matters.

Who knows? We might find we like

somebody else’s opinion if wetake the time to listen.

Divided We FallPartisan Politics Will Ruin America

Whoever invented thewords, “school dance” musthave been a ludricrous sadist.Why is it every time my earshear on Monday morning,“Hey, did you know there’sgoing to be a dance thisSaturday… the band’ssupposed to be pretty good,”my heart leaps from my chest(what chest?) and wedgeswithout a bulge into my juglarvein? Why do my handstremble and crinkle as thoughtI’ve tested them in my curlingiron? All I think about theglorious moments of beinglittle “Darcy Disco” out on thegym floor. Why, why do I dothis to myself? As Friday nightand the magic hour of ten

o’clock rolls around, I being toworship the dollar bill,admittance fee, inside my skijacket’s pocket. Why do Ialways believe this slightlyworn, slightly soiled, greentreasure will be my ticket toheaven?

After having enteredthe hall of the school, it’s timefor the gang and I to duck intothe bathroom and have rollcalls begin. Is the hair in place,especially cowlicks? Check. Iscowl neck sweater adjustedproperly? Check. Is cowl neckpin on correctly? Check. Arelips smoothly glossed? Check.Are zits covered with makeupbase? Check. Okay, there’s notmuch left to improve, so Islowly head for the gym

bleachers checking to see ifRecent Heart-throb has shownup. Panic! Gulp! He can’t befound anywhere. Terrific, justterrific. Here, I’m already tograde this dance with an A+and Recent Heart-throb doesn’tshow up. Great. Just Great.Okay, I accept this and knockthe dance’s grade to a B-. 45minutes have rolled by and I’vehad to dance twice with mydejected cousin’s best friend,who keeps unbuttoning the topthree buttons of his shirt infront of me. The dance’s gradeis marked down to a C. I’vefinally discarded ButtoningBilly by ducking behind thewater fountain. Let’s move onto bigger and hopefully betterthings.

I’ve noticed the cutesophomore is here and slylyscan the gym to catch his eye.He’s spotted in the bleacherswith three ‘jettes and I decideit’s best to hang this one up.Okay, the dance is down to aD+. The gang and I becomebored and decide to leavetwenty minutes early. It’s headout to Little Big Men time andwe drown our sorrows in dietPepsis. As we drift on homeand drive into the driveway, Inotice the porch light isn’t on.Hmmmmm…bad sign. I climbup the porch front steps andattempt to open the door onlyto discover I’m locked out.Fine, just fine. Time to markthe whole night down to a D-. Ibang on the door until my

brother opens it only to say,“Oh, hey I’m sorry… I thoughtyou were home… (Great, theentire night has earned an F)…“Oh, by the way,” he continues,“did you know there’s adance next week?” Sigh,why me?

WWeesstt aatt 5500“Saturday Night Fever” Is More Like “Saturday Night Cold”By Linda MaioOriginally printed February 17,1978

OCTOBER 14, 2OO8OPINION 2O

NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreeOpine Editor

Electronic deviceshave become a way of life forAmericans in this day andage. The question is: are werelying on our mechanicalfriends way too much?

Cell phones, .Mp3players, computers andelectronic planning devices,whether it be a PDA or aBlack Berry Smart Phone, aretaking over our lives andbecoming a part of us.

Americans use theircell phones for everything.We are constantly texting ande-mailing instead of havingface to face conversations.They are a convenience, butwhen they malfunction, weare left in the dark.

Instead of fightingthe trend, many high schools,including West High, arestarting to incorporateelectronic devices into dailyroutines accepting them in theschool environment.

Colleges arerequesting that students usechat rooms and email to

coordinate group projects andwork together instead ofmeeting in a library wherethey can talk and discussthings face to face.

The common excuseis that, as a society, we havegotten too busy and we needthese devices to make ourdays easier.

I agree that theymake our lives easier and thatthey are convenient, but weseem to let conveniencebecome a part of dailyroutine.

When we havenothing to do, we turn on thecomputer and jump on asocial networking site insteadof taking a walk with the dogor going out with friends.

What happened togoing to the movies or themall?

These activities wereso important to us in middleschool and now we havepushed them out of the wayfor texting and Facebook.

People in Americaare beginning to use shortcutsmore often than not doing

anything to gain a fewminutes here and there.

Not only are we usingelectronic devices to help us,but we are skipping out oncommunity activities like afarmers market because of theconvenience of Wal-Mart orthe grocery store.

We live in Montana,and we owe it to ourselves totake advantage of ourenvironment. But to do soyou might actually have to goout of range of cell phonereception, and that is aproblem for most.

When you gocamping or hiking, you do nottake your computer or phonewith you to use constantly.You take a break from thehold that it has on you, andyou might just find itrefreshing.

Stop cutting cornersand stop making everythingin your life so easy. Youmight learn to appreciateeveryday life more.

American Electronic DependenceCan Americans go a weekend without them?

Agony Or Ecstacy?Originally printed April 17, 1964

West at 50

ARTS EDITORPat Bush

FEATURES EDITORKyra Nelson

NEWS EDITORJenna Hennings

OPINION EDITORNikky Mosure

COPY EDITORSTrent DuggerJessica EttlemanTawni PalinErin Kusek

WEB EDITORKelsey Munsell

ADVISERCaaren Cerise

PRINCIPALDave Cobb

STAFF WRITERSShadoe AdamsAshlynn AndersenChelsea AndersonMcKeale AndersonVickie ContrerazMarlene HolmChrista LyonsMadi MillerKaydee OldhamKatie ParishAngel ShandyJess SteeleSally Weinand

The Billings West High Kodiak is an open forum for studentexpression that aims to publish information suitable for WestHigh students of all ages.

Letters to the editor must be signed; the Editorial Board reservesthe right to edit letters for length, accuracy and repetition.

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102

KODIAK

Wally has a flairfor fun. He would like todrive around after schooltonight and meets hisfriends. He would like tolaugh and have a goodtime.

But Wally has twotests tomorrow and aheap of other homeworkbesides. Like many otherstudents who don’t havegenius I.Q.’s orphotographic memories,Wally will spend longhours studying.

Good studyingdoesn’t mean laughingand having a ball. Good,effective studying is workthat takes time.Homework leaves notime for daydreams.Doing homework meansconcentration andthought.

Some homeworkis interesting to somepeople; to others, it’s not.But that dull homeworkstill has to be done, thosehard problems still haveto be tackled.

Temptationthreatens on nice springdays – perfect forconvertibles, cokes atdrive-ins, and shoppingsprees.

Homework is putoff many times becausesome students feel thereis no great reward indoing it consistently tothe best of their ability.It’s not that important,they say.

It’s true noteveryone will get intoHonor Society or receivestraight A’s on his reportcard. But the satisfaction

of knowledge is often agreater reward that bothof these honors.

The learning ISimportant. Wally will be

trying to study hardertonight. Will you?

An odd impressionhas developed that allanimals including thehuman kind must exerciseto live. But researchdoesn’t quite stick to thisconclusion.

Most animalsdon’t exercise, they don’thave to. About the laziestanimal in existence is theturtle and he manages tohold out for two or threehundred years. Thelanguid swan can usuallycount upon a century.However, the livelymouse who seldom stops

exercising, gives up itstiny ghost in two or threeyears. The faithful dog,trying to keep up with theman’s pace, is lucky tolive twelve years.

The EXPERTSalso worked out a formulathat honey bees couldn’tfly worth a darn, butnevertheless, these littlecreatures keep flyingaround. We amateurs maynot know much, but weproceed by instinct. Byguess and by gosh, wesomehow keep on going(most of us) through our

everyday lives without toomany mishaps.

The bee learned tomake the honey. He didnot tarry. The turtle tarriedand beat the hare.Regardless of the fact thatthe turtle beat the hare orthat the EXPERTSformula failed, we as theleaders of tomorrow, mustnot loiter. We mustendeavor and put forthgreat effort whether it bephysical effort to exist.Anyway, who wants to bea turtle?

Who Wants To Be A Turtle?Originally printed March 6, 1964

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