On Saturday, Janu-ary 12, DECA partici-pated at the annual

District 1 Career Development Conference, which was a competition at Hobart High School. The team came in third place overall. In the past, the competition has taken place at Munster High School, but this year the competition was moved to Hobart. DECA is an extra-curricular club that focuses on areas of business and marketing. DECA is an international organization that includes participants in all fi fty states, the United States Territories, and Canada. In DECA, each person competing takes a test on their category (usually one hundred questions, but due to a technical error, the tests were only fi fty questions worth two points each this year) and perform a role play worth another one hundred points. For the role play, the judg-es give the participant or team of participants a busi-ness situation that relates to their category, and the par-ticipants must come up with a way to solve the problem

or increase their business in a given amount of time. “I have never been given a role play like the one that I received this time so I wasn’t able to do as well as I have done in the past,” said senior Ross Myers, DECA VicePresident. The points from the test and the role play are added together, and the top eight teams place and advance tothe state competition. All the participants from each school’s scores are added together to determine the overall score. Eighteen of the twenty-three participants who com-peted placed and advanced to the state competition. “I’m proud of everyone who competed. Third place was a great achievement for us, but next year, I aim to take second place,” said DECA sponsor Scott MacFar-land, business. Due to other schools, such as Munster High School, that bring a high number of students, placing can be-come very diffi cult or almost impossible for smallerschools to compete.

The annual sophomore dance for all stu-dents was held at Avalon Manor last Friday, January 18. The doors opened at 6 p.m. and the dance began at 7 p.m. and ended at 10

p.m. Turnabout was sponsored by Sophomore Class Council. Luann Pramuk, social studies, and Rita Gray, physical education, are the sponsors for Sophomore Class Council. The Sophomore Class Council chose Hunter Hayes’ song, “Wanted” as the theme for Turnabout. They also chose the theme colors lavender, white,and silver. The Dj was The Music Boys and Image Perfect Photography was the photographer. “I believe this year’s Turnabout was the best one yet. I had a really good time at the dance and a good weekend with my group. I am so happy I got to spend Turnabout with my boyfriend Steven Sharp,” said junior Emily Duhon. This year the sophomore class nominated sophomore girls, Kourt-ney Washick, Emmy Martoccio, A lexis Atkinson, Sarah Dodson, and Brianne Robertson and sophomore boys, Robert Hernandez, Lawrence Mosley, Nathan Szabo, Aaron Brown, and Alexander Kepchar for Turn-about court. The prince and princess for Turnabout 2013 are Alexis Atkinson and Aaron Brown. “I am happy that I won turnabout prince this year, but I think my brother Austin Brown was a lot happier than I was,” said sophomore Aaron Brown. Af ter Turnabout students of ten go out to eat or to a fr iend’s house and plan an outing with their group the next day. Most students go dow town and roam the streets of Chicago. Many also go to Millennium Park and take pictures at the bean. “My group and I took a tr ip downtown and took pictures at the bean. The city is really pretty at night and I enjoyed seeing the city skyline and seeing people ice skating at Millennium Park,” said senior Brooke Pospychala.

PPressressersonersonthe issuethe issueofofantheranther

Friday, January 25, 2013 Friday, January 25, 2013

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Issue 6 Volume 56 Issue 6 Volume 56

PPantherantherressressPP“Expressing our right to free speech since 1956.”“Expressing our right to free speech since 1956.”

Friday: Cloudy High- 29°F Low- 16°F Saturday: Few Snow Showers High- 26°F Low- 21°F Sunday: Snow Shower High- 39°F Low- 29°F

Weather Forecast

as of Wed. January 23as of Wed. January 23

• How students are preparing for How students are preparing for ISSMA ISSMA page 2page 2

• New student teacherNew student teachers page 2s page 2• What we think about the ID lanyard What we think about the ID lanyard

rule rule page 3page 3• Favorite high school memories Favorite high school memories page page

4-54-5• Our Jaks Warehouse review Our Jaks Warehouse review page 6page 6• Favorite Twitter accounts Favorite Twitter accounts page 7page 7• The NHL lockout and season The NHL lockout and season page 8page 8

M att SeilunsNEWS EDITORNEWS EDITOR

Y adiCastellanosNEWS EDITORNEWS EDITOR

Name:Name: Allison NolanAllison Nolan, senior, seniorWhat is her favorite class in high school? “I really enjoy AP English because of the discus-sions we have in there.”

What is her favorite high school memory? “My favorite memory would be when Mrs. Vaclavik dem-onstrated the Mayflower.”

What does she enjoy doing? “I enjoy discussing different things in English.”

What is the most adventurous What is the most adventurous thing she has done? thing she has done? “I was on the “I was on the English Academic Superbowl Team English Academic Superbowl Team and we won regionals and almost and we won regionals and almost went state.” went state.”

DECA participates at District 1 Career Development Conference

Students come together at the 2013 Turnabout dance

Turnabout Court: Sophomores Alexis Atkinson, Sarah Dod-son, Kourtney Washick, Emmy Martoccio, Brianne Rob-ertson, Robert Hernandez, Lawrence Mosley, Nathan Szabo, Alexander Kepchar.

Photos taken byPhotos taken byMiryea CisnerosMiryea Cisneros

Griffi th Public Schools Griffi th Public Schools 2222nd nd Annual Spaghetti DinnerAnnual Spaghetti Dinner

Friday, February 1, 2013Friday, February 1, 2013

4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Griffi th Middle/High School Griffi th Middle/High School Cafeteria Cafeteria

Dinner Includes: Spaghetti or Dinner Includes: Spaghetti or slice of pizza, salad, bread, des-slice of pizza, salad, bread, des-

sert & drink.sert & drink.

Adults: $5.00 Seniors: $4.00 Adults: $5.00 Seniors: $4.00 Child: $3.00Child: $3.00

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FCCLA will be taking their an-nual f ield trip to the Calumet Area

Humane Society in February. They will volunteer by doing laundry, cleaning up, walking the dogs, and they may be able to play with the animals. The club will volun-teer for about two to three hours. “The kids always seem to enjoy it,” said Lynn Roades, FCCLA sponsor. “We enjoy getting to play with the puppies and kitties at the end of the day.” The Calumet Area Humane Society is a no-kill shelter and provides medical treat-ment for unwanted and abandoned ani-mals. Their mission statement is to “lead the community in the humane treatment of animals.” This shelter makes every effort “to ensure the animals we adopt into the community are healthy and behaviorally safe.” Members of the club enjoy volunteer-ing because it makes them feel good about

themselves and they like to help others. Giving back is a great way to help the com-munity, while putting extra time to good use and working for a great cause. Some like to volunteer because it makes them feel better knowing that they can give back and help others out with any-thing while working for a great cause. “Volunteering is such a great thing to do

and after doing it I just have a great feel-ing that I helped in something that really matters, and it makes me want to volunteer more,” said freshman Victoria Holtzer. The Calumet Area Humane Society is open from 11 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. on Mon-days, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from 11 A.M. to 6:30 P.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

NewsNews22

Student teachers learn from the science department

FCCLA volunteers for the Humane Society

Joe Banek prepares the physics class for a lab. “I’ve always enjoyed learning about the physical sciences and sharing that information with oth-ers. It’s a great opportunity to work with both the staff and students here at Griffi th High School, and hopefully while learning the in’s and out’s of be-coming a professional educator, I can spread that joy and interest to others,” said Banek.

Though we en-counter teach-ers everyday, we rarely think

about the long process involved in be-coming a teacher. This semester, two student teachers came to GHS to be-gin one of their f inal stages of becom-ing a professional educator, and a new teacher began her career with her f irst teaching job. Joe Banek currently attends Purdue Calumet and will be spending the next sixteen weeks as a student teacher in science teacher Jane Villaroman’s classroom for her chemistry and phys-ics classes. He hopes to become either a chemistry or physics teacher. “It’s nice to have another capable person coming into the physics teach-ing f ield because they’re hard to come by,” said Villaroman. Chris Manley is attending his f inal semester at Indiana State University and will be a student teacher for sci-ence teacher Laura North’s high school

and middle school classes for the next eight weeks. “It’s nice to get new ideas from dif-ferent teachers and it’s nice to work alongside someone,” said North. Manley hopes to become an earth space science teacher, but is also con-centrating on biology, chemistry and physics. “I’m looking forward to helping stu-dents learn through my mistakes be-fore they commit them themselves. I just want to get them to enjoy coming to class because to enjoy being there is half of the battle,” said Manley. Also new to the science department is Brittany Kodie, who now teaches Lynette Radoe’s former Biology I and physical science classes. Kodie attend-ed both Grand Valley State and Purdue North Central. “I am still getting used to the daily habits and learning the names of my 180 students. So far, most of my stu-dents have been pretty receptive of me,” said Kodie.

Sophomore Sarah Dodson practices her song, “Into the Mist,” for the ISSMA compe-tition during class. “I am looking forward to hopefully making it to state again this year,” said Dodson.

Band and choir students will have the opportunity to

perform a solo or ensemble in front of a judge in the Indiana State School Music Association, or ISSMA, on January 26th (band)or February 2nd (choir). ISSMA for band will be held at Crown Point High School and choir will be at Munster High School. The participants are judged on their appearance and how well they performed their piece. Sophomore Jesse Gates won gold last year with his percussion solo and is hop-ing to do just as well this year. Gates is working on his two percussion solos for this year’s ISSMA. He is doing one solo on the snare drum and the other on the ma-rimba, an instrument made from wooden bars that are struck with mallets. He was given the music to start practicing in late November. A freshman choir student, Kassie Cortez

will be singing a spiritual piece as a solo called “Were You There.” “I wanted to do ISSMA so I could have a better experience at singing a solo in front of a group of people,” said Cortez. “I am a little nervous since I have never done anything like this before, but I think I have a good enough singing skill to do well,” Cortez said. When Gates was picking out a solo this year he was surprised at how easy all of the pieces looked. To him, ISSMA is a great way to improve his ability to read and play the music. “Last year I really wanted to improve myself and I could not play my solo at all. This year I could tell that I improved a lot,” said Gates. Everyone that is participating in ISS-MA has had around two month to prepare themselves and perfect their music piece. “I think my piece is coming along very well and I practice a lot,” Cortez said.

eliya Loudenber REPORTER REPORTERT

J illian BeaupainVOICES EDITORVOICES EDITOR

A iley ClarkEDITOR-IN-CHIEFEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

NEWSFLASH

The annua

l Griffi th

High Schoo

l Blood

Drive will

be held on

Thursday,

January

31st. Any

student wh

o

wishes to d

onate to th

e

blood driv

e must fi rs

t

sign up in

the nurse

’s

offi ce.

The ASVAB test will

be offered to students

on Thursday, February

7th at 8:00 a.m. in the

LGI. There is no cost,

applicants must sign

up in the Guidance Of-

fi ce by Monday, Feb-

ruary 4th.

Attention seniors: Don’t forget your senior per-sonal forms for the yearbook are due today. Please see Mrs. Collard in H126. Remember space is limited and the personals will be taken on a fi rst come, fi rst served basis.

Miryea CisnerosMiryea Cisneros

Matthew SeilunsMatthew Seiluns

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Seven classes, seven different teachers with seven different per-sonalities, seven completely unre-lated assignments simultaneously, honestly, it is just hard being a teen-ager in 2013. Stressed teens need a relief; we call that relief Twitter, Facebook, One Direction or Insta-gram. Taylor Swift and Justin B. write songs because they under-stand our stress, but when does a relief turn into an obsession? The point being that there is a trend being noticed among us and that is our obsession with EVERY-THING. It is safe to say that we may have gone above and beyond the level of “just a fan of Harry Styles from One Direction.” Maybe those one or two tweets in class have turned into six or seven more often than noticed. Twitter reported that between the years 2009 and 2011, there was a significant growth in accounts on Twitter. In 2011, Twit-ter reported that there were grossly

11.5 million Twitter accounts in the world. America alone accounts for 60% of that world-wide average. However, the average age of people in the United States that own Twit-ter accounts are between 14 and 25. That means high school teenagers between ages 14-18 hold approxi-mately 25%-35% of the national average. That’s a lot of Twitter ac-counts. There is an average among our age group of 120,000 tweets per day. That means that the average teenager is spending 3-4 hours per day tweeting. Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram aren’t the only reliefs that are grow-ing in numbers among our age group. Each of the four members from One Direction has at least 1.2 million followers on Instagram/Twitter. Taylor Swift recent album Red has sold 1,208,000 in its first week of sale in the U.S. In our age group, we bought 40% of the albums that first week. Taylor Swift’s aver-

age fan base age is 16. On the other side of the spec-trum, more of us are becoming less focused in school. The numbers of high school teens reading at or be-low the standard in Indiana are rising each and every year, but the number of pictures posted on Insta-gram is at a constant rise. We need to step back and take a breath. Be realistic! Odds are, most will never meet the members of One Direction, or befriend Harry Styles; Justin Beiber’s personal life and our personal life will never inter-twine. They’re just normal people with normal problems. We put too much focus in music artists, social networking sites, and other people’s lives. Our future is not necessarily looking as bright as we thought it would look. The world is becoming very competitive and education has to become a priority. Do not put so much effort and time in things that are not relevant to our lives. Don’t

VoicesVoices 33

We love long weekends just as much as every other student and staff member; extra time that allows one to get extra sleep, work extra hours, catch up on homework, or hang out with friends is always a good thing. However, we feel that students have lost per-spective of what these days truly mean. Instead of seeing the importance of these days in our country’s history, we tend to view the day as just another day off, a long weekend perhaps. We fail to appreciate the liberties given to us from our predecessors by not acknowledging the sig-nificance of these dates. Unfortunately, most peo-ple do not even know the meaning behind our days off of school. According to a survey taken in 2011, only 20% of people actu-ally knew the true impor-tance of Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those who paid the ulti-mate sacrifice while de-fending our country. We aren’t saying that we are completely innocent in this matter. In fact, we had to verify the dates of all of these holidays just to make sure that they were actually observed by GHS. The truth of the matter is that we all need to set aside time, prefer-rably on these days off, to pay tribute to those who have changed our coun-try’s history, and made it what it is today. We all need to make it a priority to educate ourselves.

Panther Press StaffPanther Press is the offi cial student run

publication of Griffi th High School. 600 North Wiggs Street 924-4281, ext. 3347. Panther Press is a limited open forum. All content de-cisions are made by the staff and its advisor.

Griffith Public Schools Civil Rights Assurance of Equal Opportunity And Nondiscrimination Statement. Griffith Public Schools is committed to equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, handicapping conditions, or national origin including limited English proficiency, in any employment opportu-nity. No person is excluded from participation in, denied benefits of, or otherwise subjected to unlawful discrimi-nation on such basis under any educational program or student activity. If you have experienced discrimination in such educational programs or activities, written inquiries about procedures that are available and for consideration of complaints alleging such discrimination should be di-rected to Dr. Peter Morikis, Superintendent, P.O. Box 749, 201 N. Griffith Blvd., Griffith, IN 46319, 219-924-4250.

Advisor -Kristina Collard Editors-in-Chief- Ailey Clark & Julia Saberniak

News Editor - Yadi CastellanosNews Editor - Matthew Seiluns

Voices Editor - Jillian Beaupain & Tiffany NovakFeature Editor - Julia Saberniak

Entertainment Editor - Lauren Bytnar & Ailey ClarkSports Editor - Ross Smith

Ads Manager - Tyler PalincaReporters - Chameika Dorsey, Riley Hendron, Teliya Loudenber, Terra Martin, Lauren Maynard, & Kevin

WilsonPhotographers -Katie Bridges, Miryea Cisneros,

Janelle Owczarzak, Brooke Pospychala & Stacy Weber

Editorial: Don’t sweat the small stuff Julia & Ailey’srandom rants

In the midst of all that has been hap-pening with gun control and schools taking steps to ensure the safety of our students, our school has decided to re-quire the students to wear school issued I.D. cards around their necks so they are always visible. Many people are opposed to wearing the I.D.’s and are

saying they won’t wear them, no mat-ter what the consequence. I personally see no point in not wearing them and agree with the school. They are trying to protect us and I can realize and respect that. Students are saying they will look stupid and that is why they are so anti-I.D. The fact of the matter is ev-eryone will be wearing them and we’ll all look “stu-pid” together. Many people are also protesting the fact that wearing a school issued lanyard is required. This is also understandable. The school is trying to prevent people who don’t belong in the building from taking a random plastic card and their own lanyard and pos-ing as a student. Overall the I.D.’s and lanyards are for our safety and I am 100% pro-I.D.

Among the many changes made this se-mester to the school, the policy that impacts students directly, the most, is the require-

ment of students and teachers to wear their I.D. badges around their neck, on uniform lanyards. In theory, this idea is perfect. But, there are many reasons why it is irrational and will cause many issues in the future. A big issue students have with the lanyards is remembering to wear them every day. Seeing as this is the fi rst year that this policy in place, upperclassmen and sophomores have been used to having the student I.D.’s, but not needing them for anything other than Panther Passes. The size of the lanyards also make them easier to lose, which will impact students im-mensely if the repercussions of not wearing them are insubordination referrals. The lanyards are also a major distraction to students, since the snaps on the back make them easier to pull off. Many students have been rip-ping off their friend’s lanyards, causing disruptions in class and even injuries. Also, seniors have always had almost a tradition of blowing off the photo on the student I.D.’s, because the picture that will be in the year-book is their senior picture. Seniors this year were not expecting people to actually look at this picture, so obviously they won’t be looking their best, or what they think is their best.

Beneficial to school safety or pointless policy?Beneficial to school safety or pointless policy?

PRO CON

Mandatory student and staff identification As of Monday, January 14, students and staff at Griff ith High School and Middle School are now re-quired to wear identif ication at all times. Though the rule was implemented over a week prior, those caught without their ID did not truly face consequences until Tuesday, January 22, as the f irst week was considered a “trial period”. Now, re-percussions of forgetting or refusing to wear iden-tif ication on the school issued lanyards includes a warning for the f irst two offenses, a detention for

the third and fourth offenses, one day of in school suspension for the f if th offense, one day of out of school suspension for the sixth offense, three days of OSS for the seventh offense, f ive days of OSS for the eighth offense, and violations after that may re-sult in expulsion. The measure applies to everyone that enters GHS or GMS. Also, staff at all of the elementary schools must follow the policy, but elementary students do not have to wear identif ication.

K evin Wilson REPORTER REPORTER T erra Martin

REPORTER REPORTER

””““I feel a little safer because no

I feel a little safer because no one can get into the school

one can get into the school without an I.D.without an I.D.-Kristi Grumbles

Kristi Grumbles, , 1010””““I think they’re a bad idea

I think they’re a bad idea because they’re always because they’re always swinging around and they’re

swinging around and they’re distracting. distracting. --Tommy Plesek

Tommy Plesek, , 1010 ””““Personally they seem bet-

Personally they seem bet-ter than uniforms, but I wish

ter than uniforms, but I wish they would have given us

they would have given us the option to take a better

the option to take a better picture.picture.--Ross MeyersRoss Meyers, , 1212

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””““...when I got asked to Turnabout. ...when I got asked to Turnabout. One morning, I went to my locker One morning, I went to my locker and when I opened my locker there and when I opened my locker there was a note and candy from Camryn was a note and candy from Camryn Linders asking me to Turnabout. Linders asking me to Turnabout. When I turned around to tell her When I turned around to tell her yes, all of her friends were smiling yes, all of her friends were smiling and staring at me.and staring at me.

--Tommy BiancardiTommy Biancardi, 9, 9

FeatureFeature44 55

””““...when I qualified for Internationals ...when I qualified for Internationals for Deca Sophomore year in Orlan-for Deca Sophomore year in Orlan-do, Florida. I competed in automo-do, Florida. I competed in automo-tive services, and I placed as a top tive services, and I placed as a top finalist in one of my role plays.finalist in one of my role plays.--Ross MyersRoss Myers, 12, 12

””““...Prom my junior year. I went with ...Prom my junior year. I went with friends and my boyfriend. It was friends and my boyfriend. It was exciting because I had never gone exciting because I had never gone before and the DJ was really great. before and the DJ was really great. I loved getting dressed up and go-I loved getting dressed up and go-ing out to eat. The people I was with ing out to eat. The people I was with made it a special night for me.made it a special night for me.--Karis WhiteKaris White, 12, 12

””““...when I superglued a dollar to the ...when I superglued a dollar to the floor in the “Willy Wonka” hallway. floor in the “Willy Wonka” hallway. It was hilarious to see everyone’s It was hilarious to see everyone’s reaction when they tried to pick reaction when they tried to pick it up. it up. --Jackie ChavezJackie Chavez, 11, 11

””““...when I won the award for “Best ...when I won the award for “Best Mental Attitude” in volleyball. I Mental Attitude” in volleyball. I was nervous, but getting the award was nervous, but getting the award was exciting.was exciting.--Bethany BrucerBethany Brucer, 9, 9

””““...when Christy and I were run-...when Christy and I were run-ning down the hallway, and we both ning down the hallway, and we both tripped and fell, and she peed her tripped and fell, and she peed her pants. pants. --Lexi SingerLexi Singer, 11, 11

””““...when Cassi was driving by our ...when Cassi was driving by our football practice and screaming, and football practice and screaming, and she crashed into a car in front of us.she crashed into a car in front of us.--Tyler LipskiTyler Lipski, 11, 11

””““...when I was Susie in the play, ...when I was Susie in the play, Over-Over-bitebite. It was fun to act like a snobby . It was fun to act like a snobby child when I’m really not. Plus I got child when I’m really not. Plus I got slapped by Chelsea Scofield in slapped by Chelsea Scofield in the play. the play. --Katie JamesKatie James, 10, 10 ””““...in Chemistry II when JT Long spilt ...in Chemistry II when JT Long spilt a beaker full of a mixture of multiple a beaker full of a mixture of multiple acids all over us. It was horrible. It acids all over us. It was horrible. It actually burnt a hole through JT’s actually burnt a hole through JT’s pants.pants.--Zach GrinZach Grin, 12, 12

””““...in Belize when Mrs. Wencloff was ...in Belize when Mrs. Wencloff was driving us in a golf cart, and she driving us in a golf cart, and she tried to park it and hit a parked golf tried to park it and hit a parked golf cart..twice. cart..twice. --Destiny BarajasDestiny Barajas, 12, 12””““...when I went to go get my letter-...when I went to go get my letter-man’s jacket from Varsity Sports. man’s jacket from Varsity Sports. They gave me Highland colors, and They gave me Highland colors, and I thought ‘Hey, I look good in these I thought ‘Hey, I look good in these colors.’colors.’--Zeke Del ValZeke Del Val, 11, 11

””““......Little Shop of HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors. It was one . It was one of the most fun things to work on of the most fun things to work on in theater because everyone came in theater because everyone came together, got along, and it wasn’t together, got along, and it wasn’t stressful at all. It made me feel im-stressful at all. It made me feel im-portant because I contributed a lot. portant because I contributed a lot. It was the perfect group of friends. It was the perfect group of friends. No matter what anyone was going No matter what anyone was going through, everyone was there for through, everyone was there for

each other. Druing the musical I had each other. Druing the musical I had the best memories with Mr. Gast. the best memories with Mr. Gast.

--Kiki DunnKiki Dunn, 10, 10

My My Favorite Favorite

High High

School School Memory Memory

is...is...

””““...at the pep rally this year because ...at the pep rally this year because it was my first time attending one, it was my first time attending one, and I liked how everyone was in-and I liked how everyone was in-volved. Plus, I won the pie eating volved. Plus, I won the pie eating contest!contest!--Gabbie EndresGabbie Endres, 9, 9

””““...winning my first varsity wrestling ...winning my first varsity wrestling match in Lafayette. I was excited match in Lafayette. I was excited because I knew it would be an easy because I knew it would be an easy win so I went out there and pinned win so I went out there and pinned him. him. -- Ben Stassin Ben Stassin, 9, 9

””““...at the football game against ...at the football game against Andrean. It was an away game, and I Andrean. It was an away game, and I got a 65 yard run. It felt awesome.got a 65 yard run. It felt awesome.--Evan MastersEvan Masters, 10, 10

””““...my first homecoming dance fresh-...my first homecoming dance fresh-man year. It was better than the man year. It was better than the middle school dances and getting to middle school dances and getting to be there with all of my friends was a be there with all of my friends was a great experience. great experience. --Maurice BranchMaurice Branch, 10, 10

High school is a time for students to experience new things, enjoy time with their friends, and

ultimately grow as people. Marking the ending of our days as children and the beginning of adult-hood, high school is one of the most transitional

times in a person’s life. As new students enter high school, old students move on with their

lives. Regardless of whether it’s the Friday night football games, school sponsored dances, extra-curricular activites, sports events or school pro-ductions, every student leaves high school with countless memories that stick with them for the

rest of their lives.

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EntertainmentEntertainment66

Jak’s Warehouse opens to public

Grif f ith Girls imitate Pitch Perfect’s “Cups”

Munster hosts

On D e c em -ber 7,

2012 Jak’s Warehouse final-ly opened to the public. Jak’s Warehouse is a family-friendly, fun-center where the public can enjoy a wide variety of games and attractions. Jak’s is locat-ed on 221 US HWY 41, SUITE F, Schererville, IN. Their hours are: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri-

day and Saturday, and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. At Jak’s Warehouse they use a point-system which is when the amount of money spent is con-verted to points. For instance, The Pay as You Play Plan con-sists of: $10 card= 22 points, $25 card= 60 points, $50 card = 125 points, $75 card= 200 points, and $100 card = 275 points. Jak’s Warehouse has a vari-

ety of activities to participate in. Laser Tag (16 points), Sky Trail (16 points), Go-Karts (12 points), bumper cars, and ur-ban golf are among the attrac-tions. Additionally, Jaks includes the Forklift Restaurant, which offers pizza, sandwiches, hot dogs, salads and more. “My favorite part was Laser Tag and Laser Maze because I got to f lip and jump around,”

said freshman Lauren Vieyra. Jak’s is also appropriate for all ages because they have games and attractions for both younger children and teenag-ers. Jak’s Warehouse offers a fun way to spend time with family and friends. “It was a pleasant time and I got to spend it with family, which was made it even better,” said freshman Kersten Collins.

Jak’s Warehouse PricingPAY AS YOU PLAY: $0.50 = 1 POINT$10 JAK’S Card = 20 Points + 2 Free Points$25 JAK’S Card = 50 Points + 10 Free Points$50 JAK’S Card = 100 Points + 25 Free Points$75 JAK’S Card = 150 Points + 50 Free Points$10 Forklift Cafe Card = $10 Cafe Credit$100 JAK’S Card = 200 Points + 75 Free Points

S ince Novemeber 11 , 2012, Munster ’s C en-ter for V isua l a nd Per for ming A r t s , loc ated at 1040 R idge Road, ha s been host ing a n “It ’s

On ly Rock a nd Rol l , But I L i ke It ” photo museum for a l l age s to enjoy. The photos a re pre sented by Sout h Shore A r t s . There i s no cost to v is it t h is ex hibit , which end s on Febr ua r y 3 , 2013 . “It ’s On ly Rock a nd Rol l , But I L i ke It ,” 40 yea rs of photog-raphy c a n be seen Monday t hroug h Fr iday f rom 10 a .m. to 5 p.m., Sat urday f rom 10 a .m. to 4 p.m. a nd Sunday f rom Noon to 4 p.m. “It ’s On ly Rock a nd Rol l , But I L i ke It ,” a l l s ta r ted w it h a n in-spired photojour na l is t na med Ja net Macosk a. Macosk a ha s been work ing t hroug h nea rly four dec ade s of music . Some of Macosk a’s work i s even d isplayed in t he Rock a nd Rol l Ha l l of Fa me a nd her ot her work i s d isplayed in t he “It ’s On ly Rock a nd Rol l , But I L i ke It ” ex hibit . Macosk a ha s made her ma rk in t he music indust r y, a nd her ex-hibit inc ludes some interest ing h istor y. Macosk a sta r ted t h is mu-seum bec ause she felt t hat ever yone shou ld have t he pr iv i lege of v iew ing 40 g reat yea rs of music , whet her people were able to l ive t hroug h it or not . W hen look ing for somet hing to do, check out t he “It ’s On ly Rock a nd Rol l , But I L i ke It ” ex hibit to lea r n about music a nd where it s ta r ted.

Pitch P e r f e c t hit the-

aters on October 5th, 2012 and was released on DVD on Decem-ber 18th, 2012. In the movie, Beca (actress Anna Kendrick), auditions for an all female ac-capella group, The Barden Bel-

la’s. For her audition, she sings “You’re Going to Miss Me When I’m Gone” or “Cups”, for she uses a plastic cup as an instru-mental guide as she sings. A few Griffith students have imitated the cup song, just like how Beca sang it in Pitch Per-fect. Senior Sarah Galambos,

junior Lisette Roldan, and sophomore Meghan Geary, each uploaded a video of them sing-ing the cup song, choreography and all, to Facebook. Each of the girls received much praise in the form of “likes” and “com-ments” about their videos that they uploaded.

“It was so unexpected to see all of the nice reviews that ev-eryone left on my video. It is re-ally nice to know a lot of people enjoyed my singing. It’s not ev-ery day that I upload a video of me singing to Facebook, so the one time that I did I’m glad peo-ple liked it,” said Roldan.

“At first, I was really “At first, I was really nervous when I first nervous when I first posted the video, but posted the video, but then I got a lot of good then I got a lot of good feedback about it so feedback about it so I felt accomplished,” I felt accomplished,” said senior said senior Sarah Sarah GalambosGalambos..

“It really surprised “It really surprised me when everyone me when everyone liked my video. It liked my video. It felt good to read all felt good to read all of the good things of the good things that people were that people were saying about my saying about my video,” said junior video,” said junior Lisette RoldanLisette Roldan..

L auren BytnarENTERTAINMENT EDITORENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

R iley Hendron REPORTER REPORTER

L auren Maynard REPORTER REPORTER

JAK’S RIDE Includes:JAK’S RIDE Includes:Includes Admission for 2 Adult SpectatorsIncludes Admission for 2 Adult SpectatorsMONDAY THRU FRIDAY $17.95MONDAY THRU FRIDAY $17.95SATURDAY AND SUNDAY $22.95SATURDAY AND SUNDAY $22.95

JAK’S RIDE PLUS Includes:JAK’S RIDE PLUS Includes:Includes Admission for 2 Adult SpectatorsIncludes Admission for 2 Adult SpectatorsMONDAY THRU FRIDAY $24.95MONDAY THRU FRIDAY $24.95SATURDAY AND SUNDAY $29.95SATURDAY AND SUNDAY $29.95

Winter HoursWinter Hours3pm-10pm Monday - Thursday3pm-10pm Monday - Thursday3pm-11pm Fridays3pm-11pm Fridays11am-11pm Saturdays11am-11pm Saturdays11am-8pm Sundays11am-8pm Sundays

“It’s OnlyOnlyRockRockandandRoll”Roll”photo museum

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R. Dragomer

EntertainmentEntertainment 77

This is Panther Press’s games corner, where we hand pick the best games, rid-dles, and jokes for your entertainment. The first person to have the correct an-swer to the riddle, and to solve the game and suduko, will be named next issue’s Panther Press’s Person of the Issue. Bring in your correct solutions to Mrs. Collard’s room, H126, upon finishing.

Riddle of the Issue:

accounts worth follwingaccounts worth follwing

Les Miserables :

I’m where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow’s in the

middle. What am I?

PPPP

antherantheruzzlesuzzles

Now known as the biggest social networking site on the internet, Twitter is slowly

gaining popularity with everyone. Instead of just be-ing a place for aspiring rappers to talk about their music and girls to stalk Justin Bieber, it’s now a place to talk to friends, pursue interests, and learn new things. There are all kinds of accounts, from the fake accounts of your favorite characters from The Offi ce, to Shakespeare, to awkward texts and what to do in different situations. Students can fi nd things in com-mon with virtually anyone, and tweet to your heart’s desire. There are funny accounts, serious accounts, educational accounts, sports accounts, and virtually anything. “I like Twitter so I can see all the drama that’s hap-pening, and I can see what’s new in the world, and so I can follow sports people,” said sophomore Alexander Kepchar. Some popular accounts to follow are @IndianaProb-

lem, which tweets relatable issues for people living in Indiana, @Lord_Voldemort7, who posts cynical and funny things that Lord Voldemort might be feeling day to day, @justinbieber, the real twitter account of Justin Bieber and the most followed account in the world, @ghscompliments, a secret account that gives shoutouts to students at Griffi th High School and always says very sweet, uplifting things, @VeryGrumpyCat, a par-ody account of the famous Tarder Sauce, the Grumpy Cat. @JstGirlyThings tweets relatable and cute girly posts, and the @NHLBlackhawks is the offi cial twit-ter for the Chicago Blackhawks. @NotZuckerberg is a parody account of Facebook’s creator, Mark Zucker-berg, @onedirection is the offi cial account of the boy band OneDirection, and @snooki, the funny and loud account of Jersey Shore’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. “I like following my favorite bands and funny ac-counts on Twitter, rather than people from school be-cause I’m not interested in their drama,” said sopho-more Sandra Martinez.

The c r a z e o v e r s h o p -

ping applications has hit an all-time high with teenagers. The two most popular apps are Wanelo and Pinterest. These apps make shopping more convenient then ever. Both Wanelo and Pinterest can be downloaded on smart phones and iPods, making buying products as easy as clicking a button. Although these sites are most common-ly used for shopping, they also have a creative perspective. “On Pinterest they have really cool ideas and cute

clothes,” said freshman Ma-rissa Mendoza. These apps feature unique ideas for hair and nails, but the creativity does not stop there. On both Wanelo and Pinterest there are also sev-eral one-of-a-kind products that cannot be bought in store. “I’ve never really seen the one-of-a-kind products be-fore, but it sounds cool,” said junior Ashley Arndt. The items featured on these apps include: shirts, pillows, and much more. These apps are also available through a website, which allows Wanelo and Pinterest to constantly

cure the shopping blues, even from a couch. This shopping app even cap-tures the attention of high school boy, due to the large section of these apps that are committed to video games and game accessories. Also, these apps have an ar-tistic appeal, featuring origi-nal paintings and drawing books. While Wanelo includes the price and where the item originated from with the pic-ture, Pinterest has links that lead to the items site of ori-gin. Overall, Wanelo and Pin-terest include several tools for easy shopping and brows-ing, with little difficulty.

and

J ulia SaberniakEDITOR-IN-CHIIEFEDITOR-IN-CHIIEF

from Broadway to big screen Victor Hu g o ’s famous

novel and musical, Les Miserables, has once again captured the hearts of audiences across the country. The musical has now been trans-formed into an award winning fi lm starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. Just as the open-ing night of Les Miserables at the Palais des Sports in Paris in 1980, the opening night of the fi lm in the movie theatres was extraordinary. Victor Hugo, born in February of 1802, fi rst began writing the epic and historical novel in 1845, and the fi rst two volumes were pub-

lished in April of 1862 in Paris and Brussels, led by a massive advertising campaign. In 1863, Charles Victor Hugo, Hugo’s son, and Paul Meurice created their fi rst adaptation of the novel for theatre. Over a hundred years after Victor Hugo’s death in 1885, Les Mis the musical opened at the Palais des Sports in Paris, directed by Robert Hossein. Five years later the musical was distinguished at the Olivier awards when Patti Lu Pone won the award for “Best Actress” for her role as Fantine. In October 1985, Les Mis opened at the Barbican Arts Centre, the fi rst adaptation in the English language, marking the beginning of the musi-

cal’s fame across the world. In 1986, the musical debuted at the Broadway Theatre in New York City from which the musical went on to win eight Tony Awards in 1987. Les Miserables is set in nineteenth-century, Paris, France. This tale en-compasses the injustice, heroism, and love that follows Jean Valijean, an escaped convict on a mission to put his criminal past behind him. Howev-er, his attempts to become a true member of society are threatened by his own conscience and his criminal history. He constantly struggles to stay free for his adopted daughter, whose mother, Fantine, has been driven to prostitution by poverty. This major motion picture, adapted from the Broadway musical presents a com-pelling and compassionate view of the victims of French society in the time period and features passion and destruction in nineteenth-century France. The captivating tale is now the world’s longest-running musical and has been seen by over 60 mil-lion people in 42 countries. With Les Miserables’ debut as a major motion picture, it is clear that Victor Hugo’s famous story will continue to live on and capture the hearts of new gen-erations for years to come.

What’s on

iffany NovakVOICES EDITORVOICES EDITORT

REPORTER REPORTER T erra Martin

boots mittens snow cold scarf

snowball frost

skating icy

winter skis

snowman jacket sled windy

For the NHL the past decade has been a turbu-lent one to say the least. There was a full-season lock-

out held back in 2004, due to a labor dispute with the players association and the owners of the NHL. This was the first American profes-sional sport to have a full season lockout, and it was the first time the Stanley Cup wasn’t awarded since 1919. This year, the 2012-13 NHL lockout was a la-bor dispute that began on September 15, 2012, and it ended on January 6, 2013, lasting 113 days. The owners of all the NHL franchises, lead by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman,

were forced to declare a lockout of the players of the National Hockey League Players’ Asso-ciation (NHLPA) after a new agreement was not reached before the deadline of the NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA), near-ly a month before the season was originally scheduled to begin on October 11, 2012. The main issues causing this recent lockout were the desires to reduce the players’ guaran-teed 57% share of the hockey-related revenues (HRR), introducing term limits on contracts, eliminating salary arbitrations, and to change free agency rules. The union also unsuccess-fully challenged the league’s ability to lock out players of three Canadian NHL teams: the Ed-monton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and the Mon-treal Canadians. This dispute was the third

lockout in the 19 years since Bettman became the commissioner since 1993. During the lock-out, many NHL players went to other leagues in North American and Europe. The player’s started training camp on Janu-ary 13th and games began on January 19th. The season will be 48 games per franchise as opposed to the originally scheduled 82 game season. There will also be a postseason. “I think that it’s good for hockey to reach the agreement, considering the fan base isn’t as high compared to the NFL, MLB, and NBA. I also hope that the Blackhawks can make a playoff run this year since the players had time to get stronger and play for other teams to get ready,” said Mike Worosz, physical edu-cation.

Right before winter break the Griffith Wres-tling team went

through a change of their head coach. Chris-topher Mares the previous assistant coach who has been with the team for about 20 years, was picked to be the interim head coach for the wrestling team. He happily accepted the offer when he was asked to temporarily take the po-sition. Since the change he has taken over the full responsibilities as head coach and still has the same goals and expectations for his team. The change of head coaches occurred before the Griffith Super Duel, a tournament held in the field house where teams from around the region come to compete. Although the team has a new temporary head coach not much has changed for the team due to the fact that Mares worked with the team for many years

and the boys are used to him as their coach. “I don’t think there is any difference. He’s in charge and we all have to respect that as a team and respect him as well. He’s an overall great guy and an even better coach,” said sophomore Nathyn Sierra. Mares expectations and goals are still the same as they have always been. He wants to im-prove his wrestlers on both the junior varsity and varsity team and wants his wrestlers to ad-vance as much as possible this season. Accord-ing to Bill Crowely, athletic director, Mares is the temporary head coach, but it is still unsure whether he will remain the official head coach for the rest of the season or the season follow-ing. “I’m very happy to be the head coach. I’m

proud of how my young men have adjusted to this situation and their performance so far this season,” said Mares.

Fall Sports Schedule

SportsSports88

Athletic Scoreboard

CourtneyValentas, 10

3-8Scores as of January 22

R oss SmithSPORTS EDITORSPORTS EDITOR

Girls’Girls’SwimmingSwimming

Boys’ Boys’ basketballbasketball

wrestlingwrestling

Girls’Girls’basketballbasketball

Boys’ swimmingBoys’ swimming

EmmaBlackard, 12

11-7

LawrenceMosley, 10

6-6

BenStassin, 9

7-7

Boys’ Swimming1-26 NCC Meet @ Munster2-4 Hat Trick @ Crown Point2-12 IHSAA Sectional @ Crown Point

Wrestling1-26 IHSAA Sectional @ Calumet2-2 IHSAA Indiv. Reg. @ Calumet

Boys’ Basketball1-25 @ Andrean2-1 Munster2-2 Hammond2-7 Calumet2-9 Rensselear2-12 Bishop Noll2-15 @ Kankakee Valley2-19 Lake Station

Alex Rosales, 12

4-6-1

Girls’ Basketball1-25 @ Lowell1-29 Hammond1-31 @ Calumet2-5 IHSAA Sectional TBA

Griffith has had its share of a few great Divi-sion I athletes,

some moving on to playing, some not. The most recent Division I athlete who has went on to play football for at least a full year was 2007 Griffith graduate, Ben Geffert. He at-tended Indiana State University as an offen-sive lineman for the Sycamores, but after a year he suffered a back injury and decided to focus on academics. Other great Griffith ath-letes that had Division I scholarship offers, include David Alexander in 2008 and Drew Rogowski in 2005 for football. This year, the senior class has many ath-letes with scholarship opportunities to at-tend universities. Senior Brett Brinkley has a scholarship to

attend Valpo University, to play Division I AA football. The school is looking at him for his great athletic ability to catch at the wide receiver position and possibly a returner for the Crusaders. “If they take me I think it would be cool knowing I’ll be playing Division I, but the only problem is the University is so close by,” said Brinkley. Another student who will be possibly play-ing college basketball for the South Suburban Junior College Bulldogs in South Holland, Il-linois is Alyssa Gebo. She has talked to Coach Scott, the head coach for the team, about at-tending there and being a part of the team. Coach Scott has been attending her games and scouting her to see her athletic ability. She will be either playing as a point guard or a power forward for them.

“I’m going to give them the verbal commit-ment, and they will help pay for my books and tuition. I’m really excited to play for them, but the best is that the college is close to home,” said Gebo. Another outstanding student athlete that plans on playing Division I football in the fall of 2013 is senior Austin Brown. Brown has been recruited by and received scholarships to universities, such as Holy Cross University (I AA), Valpo University (I AA), Wabash Uni-versity (Div. III), and the University of Cor-nell (I AA). These schools will be looking at him as either a Quarterback or a Safety. “They’re all good educational institutions, which is the most important thing for me. I also went to Massachusetts in June to visit Holy Cross and I really liked the university, but it’s also very far away,” said Brown.

National Hockey League returns from another lock outNational Hockey League returns from another lock out

T yler PalincaADS MANAGERADS MANAGER

Coach Mares shakes hands with some of his wrestlers. “Mares is a great coach. I like his style of coaching and how he handles the team,” said sophomore Nathan Szabo.

Coach Mares mentors wrestling team for 20 yearsCoach Mares mentors wrestling team for 20 years

T yler PalincaADS MANAGERADS MANAGER

Girls’ Swimming1-31 IHSAA Sectional @ Crown Point

K evin Wilson REPORTER REPORTER

Young athletes offered scholarships for college sports Young athletes offered scholarships for college sports S t ud e nt s p l a n t he i r f u t u r e at h le t i c c a r e e r s a t u n i v e r s i t i e s S t ude nt s p l a n t he i r f u t u r e at h le t i c c a r e e r s a t u n i v e r s i t ie s

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