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Hillcrest High SchoolEditor-in-Chief Jorden LohwasserAdviser Sherrie Bellmer

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magazine

table of contents

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table of contents

news occupy, end war entertainment blink, 80s, breaking bad

feature 2012, parenting community wellness, local bus.

editorial sexting, self respect

Layout and Design by Jorden Lohwasser

Poem by Muriel Berry

Journalism needs you! Come to room 127 for more information on contributing to your school publication

Much is simpler than Hillcrest Though it is the place where Hornets

nestThere could be more reasons to poke

out your chest

So do not practice procrastina-tion

Or jeopardize your educationAnd potentially prevent you from a

good occupationThe beginning is easy, so you will

lose interest mid-seasonBut there is really no reasonSo stick to the books like water in

cohesion

Earn good gradesHave a mansion with various

maidsAnd wear pin striped suits with ex-

pensive shoes and cool shades

Do you think the world will end in 2012?

Yes 10No 90

100 Hillcrest students were surveyed

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news

Do you know what Occupy Wall Street is?

110 Hillcrest High School students were surveyed on their knowledge.

YES 9

NO 101

Occupy Wall Street is a leader-less movement that started in Liberty Square on September 17, 2011. Occupy has been spread-ing like wild fire across the country. Thousands of people around the country are attending meetings, protesting, and taking very drastic measures for democracy. These protesters want economic equality. Throughout history people tend to start revolutions with protesting and taking extreme measures to get attention. The Americans that are supporting Occupy Wall Street share an opinion and are taking action. “We are the 99 percent” is the slogan for this movement, and by saying that they are saying that the Americans who are they wealthiest are the 1 percent and the difference in wealth between the average joe and the wealthiest people is unfair. Occupy Wall

Street has a list of demands that in-clude, but are not limited to the follow-ing demands: Raise Minimum wage to $18 an hour and limit the maximum wage limit to $90 an hour. End free trade. Change workdays to 6 hours, and allow a 6 week paid vacation. Create a universal single payer health care system. End war on drugs. Open border to illegal and legal immigrants. Allow college education to be free. Create environment and animal rights laws to be stricter. Enforce separation of church and state more. Create no debt limit. Lower retirement age to 55. All things considered, the Occupy fight is not over, or even close to be-ing over.

Layout and Design by Jorden LohwasserStory by Jorden Lohwasser

Story by Tayler Brandenburg

“After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” were the relieving words spoke from Obama to reporters on Friday October 21, 2011. “The coming months will be a season of homecomings. Our troops in Iraq will be defi-nitely be home for the holidays.” Obama claims to stick to plans said during his campaign for president to pull the remaining force of 40,000 troops by 2011 years end, at which point he can declare an end to America’s long and costly war in that Middle Eastern nation. This announcement was a milestone, and has been for 8 ½ years after the Bush administration led an invasion into Iraq after the 9/11 bombings on the World Trade Center. The new partnership with Iraq will be “strong and enduring” Obama announced. The outcome is unde-termined, questioned to be the end of all tension between what, we will not know. Time can only tell.

END WAR

Congatulations to the seniors of the month!

Taylor KleierKimberly Moore

entertainment

4 Story by Skyler Lee Layout and Design by Jorden Lohwasser

Every romantic comedy goes the same way: boy meets girl, funny stuff happens, they fall in love, blah blah blah, happily ever after. No matter how catchy, it is predictable and there is seemingly no variation. However, movies of the past had extreme creativity. Eighties movies such as “Sixteen Candles” and “Can’t Buy Me Love” had a unique spunk that movies of today seem to lack. Both show the highschool lives of teens in the eighties, which seem to be a much more accurate depic-tion, and the underdog falling in love with the popular kid. In “Sixteen Candles”, Molly Ringwald plays Samantha Baker, a girl that feels invisible; even her family forgot her own sixteenth birthday. Samantha has a crush on the most popular guy in school. The twist is that she never goes after him; he ends up falling for her, meanwhile ditching his prom queen girlfriend and tracking her down. “Can’t Buy Me Love” presented audiences with the young ‘Dr. Mc-Dreamy’ Patrick Dempsey when he was not so dreamy. Dempsey played the nerd who only wants to fit in with the popular kids. He manages to ‘rent’ the most popular girl in the school and makes her pretend to date him for a month, but in that month she falls in love with him. When the month ends and his popularity explodes, she exposes him and he ends up alone, leaving him to realize he loves her, too. In the famous ending scene, she climbs onto the back of his tractor and they ride off into the sunset.

Do you listen to Blink 182?Yes 50No 50

Named one of the most influential punk-rock bands of all time, Blink 182 comes to mind, when classic pop punk is thought of. Selling over 27 million albums worldwide, band members Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge, and Travis Barker keep the legend of this band living.

Blink 182, an odd name right? When asked about the story behind the name, the band members summarize it to be that they started out as “Blink” in Poway, California in 1992. They were later threatened by a lawsuit from a little known Irish band with the same name, so then “Blink” adopted the “182” which is the number of times the “f-word” was said in one of the bands favorite movies. Together this made them “Blink 182,” often called childishly diverse from other bands. Being childishly diverse is not the only thing that makes them special to many people all over the world. Blink 182 has donated to charities, visited troops, and done plenty of benefit shows before.

through its battles for self expression and personal battles. Battles such as the “Hiatus” taken by the Blink crew “was really stupid in the first place” mentioned by De-longe in an interview, This Hiatus, (to take a break for an undecided amount of time) was one of the few breaking down points Blink has had. Such as, when Travis Barker, the heavily tattooed drummer of Blink 182 almost died in a plane crash, shortly before midnight on Sept. 19, 2008. Barker was heading to California, when air traffic con-trollers observed sparks coming from the plane, as it streaked down the runway, while an eyewitness reported that the aircraft resembled a fireball. Only two survivors frantically removed their clothes and made it out of the plane in time, which happened to be Travis Barker and the former drummer,

Putting out album to album, Blink 182 never disappoints us, and is still going strong to this day. From their first album “Cheshire Cat”, to the most recent “Neighbor-hoods” released in 2011 they have influenced many races, age groups, and will for many more years to come. Blink 182 will always go down in history as “One of the most influential pop rock bands.”

selves, the few named to help influence the American punk rock sound are named to be Screeching Weasel, The Descendants, Nofx, Swingin’ Utters, and The Ramones. Originally started with drummer Scott Raynor, that soon changed after the Chesire Cat album was released in 1994, the band has been

Story by Tayler Brandenburg

5

feature

2012 All the hustle and bustle over the “world ending in 2012” has sparked much controversy as to, will it actually hap-pen? The 2012 apocalypse prophecy supposedly foretells the future, and the end of the world. Many different theories and vague generalizations of mass destruction or a transformation into a new age have sparked off of this topic of the Mayan Calendar ending. The Mayan calendar has been used for thousands of years to predict things coming in the future, sometimes right, some-times wrong, nobody knows for a fact what is going to happen on December 21, 2012. This is the day that the calendar stops, some said because they never finished it, or just to be plain and simple, the world is ending. It appears open to interpretation, as to whether De-cember 2012 will bring total destruction or a transformation of our world. Some even disclose information as to believing that there have been 3 or 4 previous races and ages of humanity, all these have been before destroyed by previous cataclysms.

PARENTING

Why are adults so expectant of teens? It would be great to have more insight on this is-sue. Adults want teens to be considerate of their feelings and demand respect, even though the favor is not reciprocat-ed. Since the beginning of time, children have been forced to resist the urge to blurt out a slur of profanities expressing their disinterest, during their parent’s nearly unbearable rants about honesty and all of the various “naughty” activities that should be avoided. But what about those childhood stories parents told, featuring the tooth fairy and Saint Nicho-las? Yet, they want their offspring to follow their examples, when it comes to honesty? No, and that is the whole point; parents do not want teens to mimic their past behaviors, they hold unrealistically high standards insisting that it will shape a kid into a better person than the parents were. While it is usually all in good nature, teens often believe that adults are too demanding. Asking adolescents to resist the urge to commit any of the acts on the long list of things the older generations have deemed unrighteous. It obviously is not an easy task, especially if it is something they have done in the past. Is it really so crazy to think that children should be able to learn from their own mistakes? In most cases, hypocrisy does not lead to admiration, only resentment. And from resentment comes outlandish behaviors.

Story by Muriel Berry

Story by Tayler Brandenburg

Sexism, or the discrimination of genders, is an issue. Females walk down the street everyday and are tormented by whistles, yells, and even barks. Society has evolved in such a negative way that men of all ages do not see how inappropriate their behavior is. On top of that, men and women make jokes about a woman’s place or a man’s place and other degrading subjects to both genders. Men and women have a severe issue of name-calling and harassment to one another. Shows on television and music in our media today reflect this demeaning behavior and make children and teens believe it is okay to disrespect people around them. Jersey Shore is a prime example of the lack of respect people have; this show features men in their twen-ties taking advantage of women, who put themselves out there in a provocative manner and party heavily. The men in the show refer to women they “pick-up” in cruel terms such as: grenade and landmine, based on their looks and body types. The disrespect on the show is also aimed at the cast itself; they are being called ‘guido’ and ‘guidette’ which is a sort of derogatory term for Italian-Americans.

Story by Skyler Lee Continued on page 7 Layout and Design by Jorden Lohwasser

community

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C O L L E C T I V E S O U L A N D W E L L N E S S

Organic is becoming a way of life to many people in Springfield and around the country. Small businesses like Mama Jeans and Spring Valley Health Foods are becoming more popular because of this. A new Spa in town is using this spike to its advantage; Collective Soul focuses its many services on organic products and making their clients healthier. This provides a healthier way to go about another extremely popular subject among women and teen girls, body modification. The Wellness Center offers a range of services such as: massage, facials, wax and organic spray tanning. And among these categories there are many different types, for a variety of prices. Collective Soul recognizes that many girls feel pressure from society; one of these pressures is to be tan, and they want to provide a healthier alternative to the tanning bed. Statistically, almost 30 million people tan at indoor tanning salons each year, with almost three million of those being teens and 70% of tanners are female. Because tanning “regulars” are exposed to about 12 times their yearly dose of UVA, which is ultraviolet radiation, they are more than twice as likely to contract skin cancer. Collective Soul is offering this alternative, all organic spray tanning. Tanning clients are airbrushed by a profes-sional to create a smooth, streak free, long lasting tan. Collective Soul Wellness Center used to be Structure Massage Therapy, but now has a new location in the Fremont Suites off of Fremont and Battlefield. For more information on their many services, visit the website www.collectivesoulonline.com or call at (417)-881-8640. Also, mention this story at the Wellness Center and receive a discount.

Would you rather get a burger from McDonalds or from a local burger joint like Whistlers? What about choosing a small business like Mudhouse for your coffee fix, instead of a corporation like Starbucks? The majority of Americans tend to choose convenience over quality; that’s why we have the mass amount of corporate businesses

financially drowning our local business. This idea is hard for me to fathom, granted local business could be the key to economic success, or at least put us on the road to repair. With corporations using cheap ingredients to make a buck and not putting America’s health into consideration, the quality and often local ingredients used by businesses in our own community could even significantly lower the country’s obesity rate. Statistically, 27 million people stuff their faces with McDonalds everyday, making the corporation a whopping 60 billion dollars on average daily. So imagine this: that money could be distributed throughout your community and benefit you by keeping the money on United States soil, which could boost our fragile economy. This may be just my opinion, but the future of this country rests in the hands of our generation; so why should we not fight to maintain its integrity and build economic independence? Regardless of my position on this matter, I understand the need for corporation and the drive to use the con-veniences they provide to us. However, I also believe that they should be supported in moderation, but I do not think people know how simple it is to support locally, or understand how beneficial it is. For example, change your grocery store; instead of making that trip to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, drive a little further down the road to the Price Cutter. Fun Fact: Price Cutter is a Missouri chain of grocery stores, and each store is locally owned. There are so many creative entrepreneurs in this town alone, who sprout up with new businesses all the time. Downtown Springfield is a great representation of this, with local coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, art galleries and clothing shops scattered throughout. But there are many others throughout our city alone. For more information, visit 417shopping.com for a directory of local businesses that fit your needs.

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THE PERKS OF SHOPPING LOCALLY

Stoy by Skyler Lee

Story by Skyler Lee Layout and Design by Jorden Lohwasser

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EDITORIAL

CARBON MONOXIDE: WINTER’S COLD KILLER Many see this time of year as fun and exciting becauses of the holidays, but there’s a cold killer on the loose, carbon monoxide poisoning. The silent killer, carbon monoxide, is a poisonous, odorless gas that causes symptoms similar to the common flu, hyperactivity, irritability, impaired judgement, and fatigue. It is virtually impossible to detect. Many homes do not have a carbon monoxide detector, which creates a danger to many unsuspecting

people. Gas stoves, cars, heaters, and more can start the carbon monoxide poisoning. Length of exposure is a very important key factor “There are more than 1500 hospital visits a year,” according to USA TODAY. November 29, 2011. Carbon monoxide is not just an unknown killer, it is also a close friend to suicide. Along with killing people, carbon monoxide can also murder pets. The cute little furry friend that many love are more sensitive to carbon monoxide and affected greater, just a little dose can be fatal. The best thing to do is kick-out this unwelcome visitor is to get a detector. “Carbon monoxide is a total killer of winter’s wonderland,” according to Christian Caesar (12).

Story by Ashley Stargel

Continued from page 5 Story by Skyler Lee Layout and Design by Jorden Lohwasser

As technological advances are made, teenagers become more vulnerable to the dangers of the world. Sexting has become an epidemic amongst teens today. According to a survey published in Cosmo Girl Magazine in 2008, “20% of all teenagers 13-17 have admitted to sending explicit photos of themselves through text, to another person.” Though many are not aware of the fact, sexting is against the law. Specifically, it is illegal for a teen under the age of 18 to take “inappropriate” pic-tures of themselves and send them to another person. If caught, it could result in them being charged for the distribution or the possession of child pornography, and being labeled as a sex offender, which is not something taken lightly. Kids who distribute explicit photos and are caught, have to deal with GPS tracking, online registry as a sex offender, residency restriction, fines, and some may even spend some hard time in prison because of these mere lapses in judgment. It is agreeable that – accord-ing to these shocking statistics – sexting is indeed a problem. Is it really a good idea to turn the youthful naïveté of teens into a felony? Putting them in the same category as child molesters, and rapists? Punishing kids with consequences that will follow them in to adulthood? No, utilizing child pornography laws and sexting cases are completely unethical, though it is an attempt to prevent teens from sending pictures of themselves that could float around through cyber space forever. Every aspect of this epidemic should be considered, and the men in charge should think up new, less severe punishments. After all, their intentions are to prevent kids from sexting, not to destroy the kid’s reputation for years to come… right?

S E X T I N G

Story by Muriel Berry

Stoy by Skyler Lee

This problem of disrespect does not exist strictly between the sexes; homosexuals suffer the same issues, only for dif-ferent reasons. As almost anyone can imagine, the homosexual community is disrespected heavily for their sexual orientation, which goes hand-in-hand with their personal decisions and way of life. The Federal Act, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, came into affect in 1993, but was repealed in early September of this year. This act stated that military personnel could not harass or discriminate against individuals who were “closeted homosexuals” about their sexual preference. This act also made it so that gays were not allowed in the military, simply because their sexual preference makes others uncomfortable. Racism is another form of disrespect, and also a huge issue in society. The Civil War was supposed to cure that issue, but there are still people running around flaunting their Confederate flags. However, racism is a worldwide issue and occurs in every race and color. The stereotypes and name calling between people of different colors have even seemed to escalate, despite the fact that we are all supposed to be considered equal. The inability of people to respect other people and their decisions, clouds the ability to truly respect themselves. It is a concept every single person needs to work on; and if this problem were corrected, it would truly heal our country, if not the world.

Open to youth ages 10-18 looking for help and support. Call our 24/7 helpline at 861-4244 and let us help you find your way.