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8/3/2019 XAVIER - newsletter - March%202006
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/xavier-newsletter-march202006 1/8
By A lex Supr i seSinceit was announced to the
public March 9, the anonymous
$900,000 donation to "Forward
in Faith" for a new practice gymhas conjured up much excite-
ment among the Xavier commu-
nity.
"It's an awesome gift and
will have a significant impact
on the school," said Mr. Matt
Reynebeau.According to Mr. Jim
Biesterveld, the gym is to be
114 feet long by 102 feet wide;
comparable to the more rectan-
gular Torchy Clark
Gymnasium, which is 126 feet
long by 90 feet wide.
The new gym will contain
two full sized basketball/volley-
ball courts with space between
for team benches and/or cheer-ing fans. An overlapping third
court facing the opposite direc-
tion will be put to use during
Xavier home games. In addi-
tion, bleachers located on the
east wall of the gym will be
pulled out for games that take
place on the third court.
Tradition is highly valued in
the eyes of Xavier students and
alumni, who have a special
place in their hearts for the
existing gym. "I'm glad they're
keeping Torchy Clark as the
gym for varsity games," said
senior basketball player Kate
Kessenich.
With extra space available,cheerleading and the dance and
drill team no longer will be con-
fined to the commons for prac-
tice and wrestling won't have to
go to St. Joe's.
"It will be much more con-
venient for us," said sophomore
dance and drill team member
Dayne Boyer. "We won't have
to put the tables up and then
back down [in the commons]."
Like the rest of the schools in
its conference, Xavier will be
able to host multiple volley
and basketball games simu
neously when it contains
gyms. That means fresh
games won't have to beginearly, giving officials and ents with full-time jobs ea
access.
"I'm not going to be abl
reap the benefits,"
Kessenich. "But I'm sure
ing it will help with prac
times. It gets inconvenien
have practice early in the m
ing or late at night."
The new gym, fully equip
with a divider curtain, will
By Madison HeidAfter getting cut from the
freshman basketball team,Amanda Brenneman made
school history.
Brenneman, who discovered
powerlifting four years ago,recently won a state champi-
onship in the sport.
"I worked for four years and
then I finally got the title. All of
my hard work really paid off,"
she said.
Recently, Brenneman compet-
ed in the WHSPA State
Championship in Holmen, and
lifted her way to a gold medal.
She recorded a 300 squat, a 300
dead lift, and a 135 bench press.
Her efforts earned the respectof many people, including her
fellow Xavier powerlifters.
"It's really great that she won.
She is the first state champion
we've ever had, so I'm proudof her," said junior Nick
Reider.
Brenneman's athletic
achievements haven't
always come as easily as
lifting the bar. She actu-
ally began powerlifting
because of a plea from a
friend.
"In my
freshman
year I
wanted
to try out
for basket-
ball. I didn't make it. (Senior)
Marissa McNelly talked me into joining powerlifting so she
wouldn't be the only girl on the
team. That's basically how I gotinto powerlifting," said
Brenneman.Brenneman has many differ-
ent ways that she prepares and
psyches herself up before a
competition.
"I've been doing
powerlifting for four
years-five days a
week, with cardio for
two of those days,"
said Brenneman.
Her workout
schedule
is extremely
intense, but she also
has some unique
before-competition rituals that
help maintain momentum."I have to have my
McDonald's breakfast every
morning before a competitionbacon, egg and cheese biscui
Also, I always need to have asong stuck in my head before
go to lift," said Brenneman.
Her competition was tight,
featured many other female
competitors. During the hec
competition, several things w
going on at the same time.
"I competed with 21 other
girls in my 142 weight class.
The competition was very clo
the entire time," said
Brenneman.
Brenneman has also earned
the respect of teachers and st
at Xavier.
"I think it's great for the gi
of the powerlifting program
The ProspectorMarch 20
Brenneman makes history with WHSPA titl
Area homeless rate reaches 6 percenBy Ashley BeckAlthough the Fox Valley's
average gross adjusted income
remains nearly $3,000 above the
state average, its growing home-
lessness rate proves poverty is
inescapable.
Following a .5 percent increase
since 2002, the Fox Cities' pover-
ty rate recently rose to nearly six
percent of its total population.
According to Debra
Cronmiller, executive director of
the Appleton Emergency Shelter,
a half-percent change can impactsociety in a large way.
"For the people now living in
poverty, that's a big difference,"
she said.
Cronmiller attributes the pres-
ence of local homelessness to job
loss, health problems or mental
health issues.
"Low income people who have
a setback are at risk (for home-
lessness)," she said.
In response to the growing
need for temporary housing, sev-eral local agencies have stepped
up their programs.
Both the Appleton Emergency
Shelter and Catholic Relief
Services for the Green Bay
Diocese provide aid to the indi-
gent.
The Emergency Shelter offers
safe and temporary housing for
"at risk" individuals. Although
the shelter only houses people on
a short-term basis, its services
provide the means to help them
escape homelessness permanent-
ly.
Cronmiller said, "We've devel-
oped a whole cadre of support
services that help individuals
leave homelessness."
Charles Hanner, a resident of
the shelter for five weeks, experi-enced its array of these services
firsthand.
He said, "I got laid off, and I
had no other resources. I went
straight to the shelter."
"They have a lot of resources,"
he said. "When you get ready to
leave, they want to make sure
you don't get back in that situa-
tion."
The Catholic Church's faith-
based programs also continu
a primary driving force in c
batting homelessness.
According to Father Able
St. Joseph Parish, the Cath
Church has been "the stron
voice in dealing with pove
Rooted in Scripture, the Ch
consistently stresses humancall to serve the poor.
"If we've been blessed,"
said, "we are called to share
those who are less fortunate.
St. Joseph established a h
ing program of its own in 19
"We turned our old con
into a place for people who w
trying to get their lives b
together."
Plans for new practice gym excite student
Page2
STATE
Mock Trial takes silver
DAY IN THE LIFE OF
Solo and Ensemble sings
great tune
Page 4
Page 3
ACADEMIC APPEAL
Non-Catholic students
enjoy Xavier education
SIGNING BONUS
More athletes agree to
play in college
Page 8
SPRING SPIRIT
Spring sports lack spec-
tators
See New Gym, Pag
See Poverty, Pag
See State Champ, Pag
Page 3
8/3/2019 XAVIER - newsletter - March%202006
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N e w sPage 2 Marc h 20
Poverty: Community and faith-based programs reach out to homeless
Split decision grants mock trial team second placeBy Thomas PranicaThey slept, then they awoke
and no one slept for 48 hours.
This was the state competition forXavier's Mock Trial Team.
"State is like running a
marathon except you're blind-
folded and it's in England," said
senior captain Tim Faust.
Xavier finished second in the
state this year, the farthest any
Xavier Mock Trial team has
gone. The team presented its
case in the final round before the
Justices of the State Supreme
Court at the Capital in Madison,
but lost a close match to seven-
year state title holder
Rhinelander.
Xavier competed with teams
from 14 other regions at the two-
day competition. At a banquet
after the first full day of trials, the
Wisconsin State Bar Association
announced the two finalists,
Xavier and Rhinelander. Only
these two teams progressed on to
the final round, held the next day.
"I was excited, but I was a littledisappointed that my side of the
case wasn't
p e r f o r m -
ing," said
s e n i o r
L o g a n
Thein.
Until this
year, the
final round
had always
e l u d e d
X a v i e r ,
who has
qualified for
the state competition for the past
five years.
"It was a very different atmos-
phere," said sophomore Marc
Lonergan.
The seven State Supreme Court
Justices, under the leadership of
Chief Justice Shirley
Abrahamson, presided over the
trial. Varsity attorneys Faust,seniors Heath May and Andy
Gloss provided a solid case in the
final round, but Rhinelander
pulled out the victory, 4-3.
"This has been the best year.
There was strong team unity and
great senior leadership," said
moderator Mrs. Monica Jones.
"This made it an even harder loss
to swallow."
"The Rhinelander rivalry issimilar to the Xavier, Fox Valley
L u t h e r a n
r i v a l r y
except we
are Fox
V a l l e y
L u t h e r a n ,
they lost the
Apple Bowl
again," said
varsity time
keeper senior
J o h n
Korevec.
Rhinelander
has controlled the state competi-
tion for the last 19 years, having
been state champions 13 of those
years. As of this year,
Rhinelander has defended the
state title for the last seven con-
secutive years. "Ever since w
been going to state there
always been a very compet
rivalry," said Lonergan.Xavier has been narrowing
gap between Rhinelander
placing in order seventh, f
third and second.
In addition to Mrs. Jones, a
ney Mr. Kevin Lonergan,
Ellen Breithaupt, Mr.
Brellenthin and Mr. B
Borchardt help out with the te
The Xavier program, w
has provided two teams to c
pete in regionals for nume
years, could be one of
school's most successful
grams. For the past five years
program has earned a chanc
compete at the state level and
the past three years, the prog
has sponsored the top one
two teams in the region.
Seniors Heath May, Andy Gloss and Tim Faust at the state mock trial meet.
Photo by Thomas Pranica
By Heidi Br i t tnacher Forensics, a club that promotes
creativity and confidence on
many different levels, neverleaves its participants speechless.
Participants say they appreci-
ate the opportunity both to per-
form and to learn from forensics.
"There are a lot of different
opportunities and different ways
to express yourself, and a lot of
different areas that get you better
at public speaking," said senior
Katie Ebben.
Sophomore Nicole Jahns said
she thinks it is fun to participate
in meets, and she likes the com-
petition.
"I also like hanging out with
my friends," she said.
The variety of categories
gives students the option of act-ing, debating, speaking, or even a
mixing theseof categories.
They compete either in small
groups or individually, in four to
12 minute acts.
There are 19 categories, from
group interpretation to radio
announcing. Group interpreta-
tion includes acting and speak-
ing, performed by reading a
script to give the audience a
chance to imagine what is hap-
pening.
During radio announcing, on
the other hand, a person is given
a newspaper and 30 minutes to
prepare a five minute broadcast
that covers all the highlights of the news and requires a commer-
cial.
In a forensics meet, each per-
son participates in anywhere
from one to three categories.
Ebben is usually in group inter-
pretation, where her group choos-
es a story and makes up move-
ments to go with their story.
"I am with a bunch of other
people and it's a lot more fun
practicing, and because you get
to work together as a team," she
said.
Jahns enjoys play acting. "It's
more interesting to watch and
participate in," she said.
Play acting involves perform-ing a scene from a play, without
using costumes or props.
During a meet, there are four
rounds, and everyone participates
in the first three. During these
rounds, the participants are cri-
tiqued on a scale of one to five,
with one being the desired score.
The judges total the scores, and
send the participants with the
lowest scores into a fourth round.
This round, called the power
round, is the culmination of every
category.
Here students present the p
they performed throughout
first three rounds.
After scoring the performa judges declare the person
the lowest score the overall w
ner of that specific category.
Flexible practice times
students the ability to choose
much time they want to put
it.
"It can be [time consumin
you want it to be, because t
are some things that need m
preparation, like the group c
gories," said Ebben.
Creativity meets competition in high school forensics meet
From page 1Like the Emergency Shelter,
St. Joseph emphasizes the impor-
tance of escaping poverty.
"If a family had fallen apart,
they came here to get back
together," said Father Abler.
"They worked with family coun-
selors and were allowed to stay
for up to 18 months."Unfortunately, inhabitants'
stays at the convent were cut
short. In 2002, St. Joe's sold the
facility.
"The person who bought it out
allowed (the program) to go on.
(The building) was eventuallysold to the county, who wanted to
use it for office buildings," Fr.
Abler said. "People were asked to
leave."
Likewise, the Emergency
Shelter, which receives the bulk
of its funding from the govern-
ment, experienced a burden.
"We're not able to raise enough
community money to fund our
program," said Cronmiller.
"Some of that is the burden of government cuts. The communitymoney can't make up for that."
However, the federal govern-
ment does not overlook such
deficits.
According to Congressman
Mark Green, who represents
northeastern Wisconsin,
Congress recognizes the pressing
need to provide to local relief
agencies.
"Community based organiza-
tions are more effective. . .than
traditional bureaucratic pro-
grams," he said.
Congress, which creates the
budget for local agencies, does
not directly implement it. The
local government has a crucialrole in distributing the money itreceives from the federal govern-
ment.
Congressman Green said, "We
try to provide money to local
authorities who are closer to the
problems."
Local officials, such as
Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna,
decide how to divide the money
among local agencies.
"We get money from the feder-
al government in the form of
Community Development Block
Grants," said Mayor Hanna.
"Organizations can apply for
money and we decide how to
split it up," he said. "We usually
have requests for double what weget."
Despite funding issues and
recent cuts, the government's
willingness to battle homeless-
ness is far from over.
"Our commitment remains as
strong as ever," said
Congressman Green.
In spite of its recent escalation,
the problem of homelessnes
the Fox Cities sometimes
unnoticed.
According to Congress
Green, the general populace
misses poverty as an irrele
and out-of-scope issue.
"We think of homelessnes
very big cities, (but) there are
homelessness challenges (hesaid Congressman Green. "I tit's a far greater problem
people realize."
Despite the struggles, Fa
Abler said he feels optimistic
"We keep saying we have t
more, but if we stop to t
about what we've done, it's p
amazing," he said.
8/3/2019 XAVIER - newsletter - March%202006
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F e a t u r e sMarch 2006 Page
By Chr is HansenA LAN party is a very
common occurrence in thenerd realm.
A party consists of a
bunch of guys who have
nothing better to do except
play video games with other
guys; no jobs, no girl-
friends, no books to read.
They just play video games.
LAN stands for Local
Area Network, meaning a
network of video game sys-
tems duking it out for a said
prize. This is essential to these
nerds because, without video
games their view of reality may
actually be normal.
This gives them no inner hopeof ever dating anyone of any sub-
stance. But a LAN party is when
a group of guys with either an
Xbox or a moveable computer
connect their units and playgames of shoot 'em up with up to
16 players.
The LAN party is so fun
because it's a competition
between a bunch of friends that
has no injuries (sometimes) and a
guaranteed winner, a very black
and white activity.
The bonding that goes on at a
LAN party is very odd; it's kind
of like a brotherhood of guys who
can't stand to lose. Some of the
LAN parties that I have been to
ended in physical violence andthat promptly ended at that.
But most LAN parties are just a
bunch of dudes with a lot of soda,
pizza, testosterone and video
games.
One of the most famous LAN
parties known at Xavier was held
at the school. A Madden (EA
sports Madden NFL '04) tourna-
ment took place on a weekend
and had a huge turnout. The final
two people facing each other
played on a screen set up in the
commons.
A bracket system was set up
randomly and then
opponents played o
system of TV's througthe commons.
This was only con
ered a LAN party bec
it was a tournam
involving video game
the nerds would have
their way the game w
have been HALO II.
Madden is a foo
game so only two pe
can face each other
time.
Lengths of quarters were
for each level of playing and
opponents played a full g
against each other using reg
tion football teams from the NThe winner also received a
prize somewhere in the neigh
hood of $120.
A LAN party can be a g
social opportunity or a b
depending on how you con
yourself. A video game is
that, a game and that's ho
should be viewed but some
ple get a little too involved
and go over the edge.
So always remember to h
fun and if any hairy situat
come up, just leave.
Column
LAN fans enjoy techno party
LAN party participants gather at Chimera HobbyShop.
By Ashley BeckAfter four seasons as team-
mates on Xavier's varsity soccer
team, seniors Bryna Peplinski
and Amanda Kramer will contin-
ue to play side by side at Winona
State University of Minnesota.
Winona State, whose NCAA
Division II women's soccer team
ranks 11th in the nation, recruit-
ed both Peplinski and Kramer.
Peplinski, who plays midfield,
was named
to the first
team andX a v i e r ' s
g o a l i e ,K r a m e r ,
received an
honorable
mention on
the Post-
C r e s c e n t
A l l - A r e a
Squad in
2005.
K r a m e r
said she felt
comfortable with the Winona
State program.
"They kept calling me over the
summer and sending me stuff,"
s a i dKramer. "I
played with
them a
week dur-
ing my jun-
ior year and
I really
liked it."
Accordingto Xavier's Athletic Director Mrs.
Kathy Bates, Winona State has a
tie to Xavier.
"(Winona) knows how good
we are. They seem to look here
first for upcoming athletes,"she
said.
Winona State's connection withXavier began in 2002 when it
recruited Alumnae Katie Kramer.
Graduate Kayla Walters of 2004
also plays on Winona's soccer
team.
Despite the success of other
Xavier athletes, soccer players
dominate Xavier's recruitment.
"It seems to be the sport of late
that most of our athletes get
recruited for," Mrs. Bates said.
Winona State signs
Peplinski, Kramer
By Cai t l in O'LearyAlthough Xavier is quick to
welcome students of any religion,
it has no intentions of altering the
emphasis on a Catholic educa-
tion.
Xavier Principal Mr. Matt
Reynebeau said, "People coming
to Xavier know before enrolling
that this is a Catholic school.
Upon entering they become a part
of our community."
Despite Xavier's stress on the
significance of the Catholic faith,
many people of different reli-gions still feel attending Xavier is
right for them. According to
sophomore Zach Van Gompel,
the quality of education and
respect provided by Xavier make
attending worthwhile.
"My parents are the main rea-
son why I attend Xavier," he said.
"They wanted me to come here,
because they felt I would get abetter education. I agree with
their decision."
Being a non-Catholic student
at Xavier requires making some
extra sacrifices. An additional
$1,800 in tuition must be paid
yearly to cover the cost Catholic
parishes normally fund.
Despite the additional cost to
the $4,700 already required of
Catholic students, Xavier has no
specific procedure to bring in
non-Catholic students, according
to Mr. Reynebeau. "We really
have no marketing plan for non-
Catholic students. Generally, we
receive students of diverse reli-
gions based on word of mouth,"
he said. "This is where Xavier'sgreat reputation of students’
behavior as well as academic and
athletic excellence comes into
play."Xavier's high reputation pow-
erfully draws even Lutheran stu-
dents who normally would have
considered Fox Valley Lutheran.
Senior Liz Tusler said, "I chose
Xavier over FVL, because I felt
the education was better."
Despite obvious rivalry between
schools, according to Tusler, stu-
dents at Xavier act kindly toward
Lutheran students. "Everyone is
nice about it," she said. "I do get
teased a bit though, like when
they say the Hail Mary, but it is
totally a joke."
Along with extra tuition, non-
Catholic Xavier students also are
required to attend all prayer serv-
ices as well as participate in
appropriate religion classes.
Sophomore Jose Rivera, who
identifies himself as a Jewish
Christian, values the spiritual
background Xavier provides.
"Although I am not Catholic, myreligion is very similar. I still feel
it's beneficial for me," he said. "I
still feel comfortable in religion
classes, because we use the sameBible."
Some students of diverse reli-
gions do not feel they should be
forced to attend prayer services
or religion classes. "Religion
really was not a factor for my
enrollment at Xavier," said Van
Gompel. "I do not really see why
students like me can't simply
arrive later on prayer service days
or take another elective instead of
a religion class."
According to Mr. Reynebeau,
the Xavier administration
believes every student should
have both equal benefits and
requirements. "People of the
Xavier community attend prayer
services and complete religion
classes," he said. "The religious
classes are more of an academic
chance for students of different
religions to learn about our faith,
rather than a spiritual journey."
According to religion teacherMr. Mike Mauthe, an alteration in
the way non-Catholic students
are taught is not necessary. "I
don't change the curriculum, but Itry to present the information in a
way that is fairly generalized, so
it may apply to many different
students," he said. "I also try to
make an effort to create an envi-
ronment where non-Catholic stu-
dents still feel comfortable."
Xavier emphasizes
Catholicism as the rock of the
school and taking that lightly is
not the answer to future bu
issues, according to
Reynebeau. "We don't wan
water down the fact that we
Catholic. It is a big part of
school and very important,
said. "Another school in our
experimented with that i
They sold their school as mo
a Christian school, rather th
Catholic school. In the en
didn't work at all for them a
numbers suffered."
While religion teachers
Xavier enforce the spiritual idof Catholicism, their prim
goal is to teach the facts and
demics of the course. "Reli
classes at Xavier are set up slar to any other acade
course," said Mr. Mauthe. "N
Catholic students learn about
faith the same way Catholic
dents learn about world religi
There are so many para
between most religions as w
Theology generally can
applied to more than one grou
people."
Strength of XHS academics draws non-Catholics
Bryna Peplinski
Amanda Kramer
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F e a t u r e sPage 4 March 20
By Ben Wel ls7:32 - I wake up and get in the
shower. I am extremely glad thatsinging is not on my agenda
today.
8:01 - I arrive at Xavier and am
surprised by the amount of cars in
the parking lot.
8:03 - I find Dave Kirkpatrick
in the gym. He informs me that
he's drinking his traditional tea
and that his voice is still feeling
the effects of the FVL game
Thursday.8:05 - Dave lets me know that
his first event is a duet with
Robyn Galloway. We meet up
with her and head to the practice
rooms so they can warm-up.
8:15 - They finish practicing
and we head over to Mr. Mauthe's
room where they are supposed to
perform. We check in with the
site manager and they get pre-
pared to sing.
8:17-8:21 - While we're wait-
ing for the room to be ready, they
talk music. I don't study music so
I'm completely lost during this
conversation.
8:28 - We all go in and listen to
Brittany Tomasi sing her Italian
song. She does well.
8:34 - Dave and Robyn begin
to sing their duet, “O Death
Where is Thy Sting.”
8:37 - They finish their song
and head to the back table to gettheir review from the judge.
Emily Rippl then kicks us out of
the room because she is too nerv-
ous to perform in front of us.8:42 - Dave and I head back to
the gym to get his musicfor the rest of the day.
8:48 - We meet up
with his parents and talk
about when and where
the rest of his events are.
8:54-9:00 - We go
down to the office for
Dave to practice, and
then listen to Robyn
practice her next song.
9:01 - We go in and
listen to Chuck Vogt and
Dana Koth sing “Lost is My
Quiet Forever.” They do a
great job, and the judge describes
them as "fun to listen to."
9:11 - We listen to a random
Waupaca kid sing “The Sally
Gardens.” We're just passing the
time until Robyn does her solo.
He sings a little too quietly but
not bad.
9:17 - Robyn is waiting for the
judge to be ready. She jokes how
she can't stand up straight, and
mentions how silent the room is.
9:18 - Robyn begins to sing her
French solo “Luce Cre.”
9:19 - Halfway through thesong, I look over to see Brittany
reading the song as Robyn is
singing it.9:20 - Robyn finishes a great
performance. The judge says "I
don't have anything to help you
with."
9:25 - Dave and I walk down to
the commons and go through the
a la carte area to buy a bottle of
water. It is actually really con-
fusing as to where you pay and to
whom you give your money, but
we get it worked out.
9:26 - Dave goes to the rest-
room for the first time today, but
says there is more to come.
9:28 - We head down to the
commons to check out the results
.9:30 - We stay and Dave prac-tices in the commons. It's a little
noisy, but it still does the job.
9:33 - We make sure the two
music books are at the site. One
is for the judge to look at and the
other is for the pianist.9:40 - Dave goes to
the bathroom again
and describes himself
as "nervous." On the
way back, we see
Robyn down the hall
and Dave goes over to
her and she wishes
him good luck on his
solo.
9:48 - Dave decides
he's going to make up
the interesting aspect off
the cuff instead of prepar-
ing one ahead of time.
9:49 - Dave uses the bathroom
one more time before his per-
formance. He claims the cause
was his two teas and three waters
this morning.
9:53 - Dave performs his solo
“O Del Mio Dolce Andor,” and
uses the word "runs" when he
tells the judges about the interest-
ing aspect in his piece, instead of
the "melizmas" his pianists sug-
gested.
9:56 - Dave finishes, the ju
says it was very good.10:00 - We stay in M
Jamison's room and listen to
Dungar sing his German
"Nacht and Traume."10:03 - Ben finishes his s
The judge seems to like it.10:06 - Dave reads over
musical theater piece to m
sure he has all of the w
down.
10:08 - Dave uses the b
room again.
10:09 - Dave, Jason Van
Hoven, Tim Gavronski and J
Binzak practice their group
inside the doors by the boys b
room. It echoes throughou
small room and sounds fanta
10:15 - I leave to go tailga
for the boys' basketball g
against Little Chute at Oshk
North. Dave still has to per
“Prayer of the Children” with
quartet, his musical theater p
his duet with Jason and
Hawkswing performance.
3:36 - I give Dave a call to
out his results. He informs
that he qualified for state with
of his nine songs.
Non-singing reporter spends day at solo and ensemble
Jason Van Dyn Hoven, Dave Kirkpatrick, RobynGalloway and Brittany Tomasi perform a song.
“I'm going to Ireland.” “Cruzin' Darboy Ave. andlooking for some hun-nies.”
“Emily [Maxwell] and I aregoing on the art trip toEurope.”
“I’m staying in LittleChute...!”
“I would be going to NorthCarolina….but baseball ismessin' up my schedule.”
Some fun, some humdrum for spring break planMr. Dan Riordan Rac hel Her m usJon Mor t onAlex GigotA lyssa Mumford
Editor:
Stacey Wilson
Copy Editor:
Caitlin Weber
Advisor:
Mrs. Laura Biskupic
Outside Contributers:
ACe Clouthier, Chris Hansen,Caitlin Weber
Artwork courtesy of:
Scott Fleming
Staff Writers:
Ashley Beck, Steven Boldt,Heidi Brittnacher, AdamDeCock,Jennifer Droese, MariaGuzman,Madison Heid, Caitlin O’Leary,Thomas Pranica, Lindsey
Reinhalter,Lenka Rohalova, Alex SuprisKelly Szadziewicz, Ben WellsStacey Wilson,Katie Worzalla
Prospect or St a f f
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F e a t u r e sPep band enjoys extended basketball season
By Cait l in Weber With the boys and girls basket-
ball teams both advancing to sec-tionals, the pep band has had a
busier year than usual.
According to Band Director
Mr. Kevin Peters, the pep band
played at nine girls' games and 10
boys' games this year. Normally,
they only have to play at six girls'
games and six boys' games.
"This year was much busier
than normal," said Mr. Peters.
"We have been fortunate to have
several successful sports teams
which adds games for us to play."
Senior pep band member
Heath May has been in pep band
for three years, and he said this
year was clearly the most chaotic.Sophomore, junior and senior
band students are required to be
in pep band and need a note from
their parents that is approved by
Mr. Peters if they must miss a
game. Participating athletes are
excused.
"This year, pep band was
directly linked to each band stu-
dent's grade in the class, so every
game was a bigger commitment
than in previous years," said May.
"Also for me, since I was the only
person who played my instru-
ment (electric bass), it wasimportant for me this year."
Mr. Peters said he likes to learn
new music each year, but the
favorites of Xavier never leave.
After all, no one wants to
miss out on hearing "Hey
Baby!"
"The thing that
is most difficult
for students isto play for a
game they have
to be here
early and
stay until at
least half-
time. Formany stu-
dents these
n i g h t s
become long
as they don't
have much
time to do homework before
games and that only leaves the
hours after a game to get work
done," said Mr. Peters. "I have
been told by many that they have
to stay up late to get their work
done. I try to have no more than
two band commitments in a
week, but sometimes the way theschedule works, it is unavoid-
able."
One major scheduling hurdle
this year was the state solo and
ensemble festival, which Xavier
hosted. It took place the
first Saturday
of March-
with games on
T u e s d a y ,
Thursday andSaturday of that week.
Mr. Peters said, "I was try-
ing to manage a festival of
over 1000 students, while
at the same time waiting
to see if a basketball teamwon or not so I could order a bus,
and let my students know if we
were going to play."
May competed in eight solo &
ensemble events that day and
said that he was "music'd out" by
5 p.m. that Saturday.
Sophomore Joy Willenbrink
also participated in solo and
ensemble, but said it was nice to
be able to go to the game after a
stressful day.
Although pep band is a big
time commitment, it pays off.
During the basketball games,many have said that it adds
excitement and energy to the
games.
"You can never beat live music
at an athletic event. Not only is
the music great, but by adding 60
students at the baseline the gym
is going to look more crowded
and intimidating to opposing
teams," said Mr. Peters. "I take
pride in having the best pep bandin the valley!"
Senior varsity basketball play-
er Lee Weiland said he loves hav-
ing the pep band at games.
"When the pep band is there, we
get off to a better start. We havemore adrenaline going and more
excitement toward the game. It
gives a lot of energy to the play-
ers and fans."
Weiland said the Xavier pep
band is much better than having
recorded music playing. "The
pep band is so loud and gets play-
ers pumped up for the game. It
(recorded music) doesn't com-
pare to Xavier pep band," he said.
By Kel ly Szadziew iczSince its introduction to the
public in the late 1700s, soda has
been the drink of choice for many
people. However, every time
someone pops the tab of a car-
bonated beverage, the individual
puts his or her body at risk.
"I think a lot of people are con-
suming a lot of soda and it's very
unhealthy because people are
drinking less water," senior Dee
Danford said.
One result of this Americandependence on sweet drinks has
been a constantly rising obesity
rate. Although soda isn't the only
culprit to blame for the expansionof the median waistband size, it is
a great contributor. Recent
Harvard research shows that for
each additional serving of soft
drink, the risk of human obesity
increases 1.6 times.
As an attempt to prevent rapid
weight gain but still enjoy the
sugary drink, many people are
turning to diet beverages.
However, sodas that replace
sugar with artificial sweeteners
such as NutraSweet and Equal
put consumers at a considerablyhigher risk of health problems
than the regular genre of sodas.
Artificial sweeteners contain a
substance known as aspartame.
According to scientific research,
aspartame can cause over 92
health crises, such as brain
tumors, diabetes, emotional dis-
orders, and epilepsy. In some
cases, diet soda also contains a
larger amount of caffeine than
regular soda. Diet Coke has 42
milligrams of caffeine, whileCoke Classic contains just 35
milligrams.
"Diet soda has no calories and
would not necessarily help youlose weight unless you exercised
and ate fewer food calories in
addition to drinking diet sodas,"
said Badger Elementary's school
nurse Peggy Carew. "Diet soda in
and of itself will not help you
lose weight."
If diet soda cannot be coaxed
from its consumers' hands, it
must be kept chilled. When the
aspartame found in artificial
sweeteners is kept in very warm
areas, it changes to methanol,
which is a type of alcohol thatcan cause cancer.
Substances commonly found in
sodas such as phosphorus and
acid also can interfere with bone
and tooth development. Animal
studies show that phosphorus
depletes bones of calcium.
Another ingredient in soda, phos-
phoric acid, can "begin to dis-
solve tooth enamel in only 20
minutes," according to an Ohio
Dental Association press release.
Additionally, drinking soda
before exercise is not a good
idea.
"Soda contains carbonation
which can damage the liver.
Caffeinated beverages also suc-
cessfully dehydrate the body," anAffinity NurseDirect nurse said.
Sophomore Alex Baranowski
noted the health risks of soda and
successfully abstained from it.
"I gave up soda for a year
because it's really unhealthy and
bad for your teeth," she said.
In addition to "teaching her
that she can reach the goals she
sets for herself," the year-long
vacation from soda has lessened
her craving for it.
"I generally have one a week,"
Baranowski said. "Now I drink more water."
Soda is not completely bad,
however, and caffeinated bever-ages can be used for medicinal
purposes such as the relieving of
headaches. Caffeine, originating
from kola nuts, is one of the main
ingredients of Excedrin
Migraine, a headache medicine.
"Caffeine is a stimulant and it
causes vessel dilation and causes
the blood to go through the ves-
sels more readily. In effect, it
helps relieve the headache," Mrs.
Carew said.
Senior Scott Fleming drinks a soda.
More students pop sodas, fizzle healthy diet attempts
Peruvians
enjoy stayBy Lenka RohalovaSnow captivated a visi
group of Peruvian exchange
dents and their teachers.
"I have never met any pe
who didn't see snow before,"
junior Marta Uzulniece, who
observing the group of stud
coming from Peru.
Ten students and two teaccame to the U.S. to try ano
kind of weather, to see ano
country and improve t
English.
"I was here two years be
and I was excited to come a
and see how things h
changed," said one of the te
ers, Sr. Giancarlo Castelo.
All of the students, inclu
teachers, stayed with host f
lies from Xavier.
"I enjoyed having a for
exchange student," said ju
Rachel Pollen, who hoClaudia Lucia Palacios Angu
Most of the Peruvians l
their host families. "My fa
showed me a lot of things a
really appreciate that,"
Palacios Angulo.
"The people I stayed with w
very nice," said one of the te
ers, Sra. Beatriz Cantreras,
enjoyed staying in the U.S.
According to the Peruvians
US and Peru are totally diffe
countries. The most interes
experience for most of
Peruvians involved snow."I saw the Peruvians the o
day standing beside the winand looking outside while it
snowing," said Uzulniece. "T
reminded me of small kids;
were so excited that some of t
even jumped. Then they w
outside, but they looked a l
scared when snow touched
skin. It was probably too cold
them."
Besides skiing, which
really enjoyed, they have do
lot of other things with their
families. Some of them even
ited Chicago.
Marc h 2006 Page
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By Adam DeCockWhether it's on the football
field, the basketball court or the
baseball diamond, Xavier's Kevin
Rohrer and Little Chute's KurtSchommer have been rivals and
friends.
Ever since sixth grade, Rohrer
and Schommer have been going
up against each other. Though
they play for rival schools, the
two stars of their teams remain
friendly off the court.
"Yes, [we're rivals], but we're
very good friends. We've played
together and against each other
since the sixth grade," said
Rohrer.
According to Schommer, the
two athletes have built a relation-
ship based on mutual respect over
the years.
"We're rivals on the court, but
off the court, no. He's a great ath-
lete," he said.
Even though they wear differ-
ent uniforms, Rohrer says the
competition is not all about them.
"I think it's more of a rivalry
between schools and not Kurt and
I," he said.
The Xavier - Little Chute rival-
ry has been far from boring the
past couple of years. "Every year,
the schools are at the top of the
conference. It's really exciting,"said Schommer.
Prior to the Hawks' 51-45 vic-
tory over Little Chute in the bas-
ketball regional final on March 4,
Little Chute won the past three
games, each by three points.
Rohrer said he enjoyed gettingover the hurdle, and beating
Little Chute. "It felt good. They
[two conference losses] were two
tough losses, which they unfortu-
nately came out on top. It felt
good to win the regional champi-
onship, and move onto section-
als."
Schommer felt the sting of
defeat as his team couldn't
"sweep" Xavier, and beat them
three times in the season. "It felt
good to beat them twice. It's hard
to beat a team three times. They
shot the ball well, we didn't.
They came with enthusiasm.
They played Ripon really well,"
he said.
The rivalry between
Schommer and Rohrer has
moved beyond the boundaries of
the basketball court. Rohrer and
Schommer are both starting quar-
terbacks of their varsity football
team. Rohrer thinks that they are
competitive in all sports. "I'm
competitive in both sports,
because both of us don't like to
lose, whoever we're playing. We
want to give it our best and win,"
he said. Schommer thinks bas-ketball is the bigger of the two.
"Basketball is my favorite sport.
I think it's Kevin's too," he said.
Xavier head basketball coach
Tom Neises said he really
enjoyed coaching Rohrer the past
two seasons.
"Kevin was an outstanding guy
to coach. He was a great team
leader, and role model, on and off
the court. He was a talented play-
er that came through for us in the
clutch a lot this season. I can't
think of a day he missed practice.
He was fun to coach," he said.
Twice this season, once in the
regular season finale against
Waupaca, and again in the sec-
tional semifinal against Ripon,Rohrer hit big shots.
Against Waupaca, Xavier bat-
tled back from a 12-point deficit.
The Hawks, who had the ball
with 1:00 left on the clock
and the score tied, opted
to try to run out the clock,and get a last-second shot
to win the game.
Rohrer drove the lane
and made a heavily con-
tested lay up with only 6.5
seconds remaining, to
give the Hawks a two
point lead. Xavier went
on to win the game 49-45,
and share the conference
title with Little Chute.
Rohrer also came
through in the clutch for
the Hawks against Ripon
in the sectional semifinal in
the Brown County Arena
when he sank a game-tying three-
pointer in the final seconds of the
game.
Little Chute Head Coach
Mickey Martin also has enjoyed
the success of his team, led by
Schommer.
"It's been great coaching Kurt
the past two seasons. He has
worked hard on his game trying
to get better everyday. He stays
after practice working on his shot
and needs to be kicked out of the
gym so the rest of us can go
home."This year has been a tough year
to prepare for, especially wit
way the Xavier - Little C
rivalry has added to the com
tion of trying to win confere
"As a coach I try to prepare
this game [Xavier - Little Chas I do any other. Certainly
year it's been a little diffe
because both teams were bat
for the conference crown and
added to the mix," said C
Martin.
Coach Neises came to
game with the same approac
don't handle a Xavier - L
Chute game any different.
course the first two were to cl
the conference. Every gam
important. If you lose a g
like that, the other ones
matter," he said.
Each coach said he enj
watching the rivalry unfold
had different opinions a
players "stepping up" for
occasion. "Kevin was consi
in his level of play," said C
Neises.
Coach Martin, on the o
hand, felt both players ste
up their level of play when
faced each other.
"I don't think there's any q
tion about it. The fact that t
two have been playing ag
each other for many years i
sorts of venues just adds to itsaid.
S p o r t sMarch 20Page 6
Rivals earn mutual respect through six years, three sport
Xavier’s Kevin Rohrer battles LittleChute’s Kurt Schommer for the ball.
Photo by Mark Schaefer
By Steven BoldtImagine rushing down a moun-
tain at 40 mph, and then doing it
over and over again all day long.
One of the few ways to get this
rush is snowboarding, a very
popular sport that is taking the
world by storm. "I really love
snowboarding. It's one of the few
ways to get a feeling of weight-
lessness while still here on
earth," said sophomore Mike
Cupp.
Snowboarding, once consid-
ered a sport that only appealed to
"punks", was not allowed at
many ski resorts across the coun-
try. "Snowboarding in the 80's
was like Rock n' Roll in the 50's,
no one was really sure where it
was going but it had a strong fol-
lowing," said snowboarding leg-
end Stacey Peralta in the snow-
boarding documentary "First
Descent."
The three different major kinds
of snowboarding include Alpine,
Freestyle and Boardercross.
Alpine snowboarding, the most
common type of snowboarding,
involves carving, or making
large turns, and using the
whole face of the moun-
tain. "Freestyle is really
fun because there's
always different
terrain to go over,
and you are
always trying
new tricks and
cool stuff like
that. I also
really like watch-
ing Boardercross
because it's very
intense," said
s o p h o m o r e
Justin Panich.
Boardercross, the newest type of
snowboarding, is when groups of
riders go down a very narrow run
that is filled with obstacles like
jumps, berms, and drops.
Whoever gets to the bottom first
wins.
Snowboarding popular-
ity has grown in large
amounts in recent
years because of its
addition into a
major competi-
tion, the
O l y m p i c s .
Sn o wb o a r d i n g
was added to the
Olympics in 1998 and
has now become one of
the most popular events
to watch. The two types
of snowboarding in the
Olympics are the snow-
boarding Halfpipe and
Boardercross. "I really
f o l l o w e d
Snowboarding in the Olympics a
lot this year. It was really cool to
see the U.S. do so well," said
sophomore Nate Zipple.
Another major competition is
the X-Games, short for the
Extreme Games. This competi-
tion includes Halfpipe and
Boardercross and Slopestyle.
"Slopestyle is my favorite event
because you have to have a lot of
skills, from jumps, to rails, to
boxes. It's really fun to watch,"
said sophomore Jon Meiers.
Slopestyle is a competition where
riders go over many jumps and
jibs, rails and boxes, and perform
tricks. The rider with the most
technical and difficult run wins.
Athletes find their snowboard-
ing equipment at specialty shops,
such as Mountain Bay in
Appleton. "We can size you and
help you pick out your equip-
ment. We also have a full size
rental shop where you can test
out equipment before you buy,"said Sales Manager Adam
Schmidt.
Once decked out in gear, par-
ticipants need to get to a
"Unfortunately we don't h
many places near Appleton t
snowboarding, but one of
favorites is Indianhead in the
They have a stellar terrain
and other runs," said junior
Noll. "In the UP there a
plethora of places to ride.
really nice because there's alw
a new hill to go to," said Mei
Snowboarding may seem
it is only a winter sport; howe
that is not the whole truth.
true that here in Wisconsin
Michigan it is only a wi
sport, but if you are willin
travel a little bit you can sn
board all year at Whi
Mountain in British Colum
"A year or two ago I was ab
go up to Whistler during the s
mer for a snowboard camp
was really cool because I snowboarding during the s
mer on a glacier," said fresh
Nick Acosta.
Snowboarders enjoy rush of new craze in extreme sports
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By Stacey Wi lsonThere is a certain longing in
senior athletes’ eyes, a view of lost days when the crowds were
large, the noise level high and the
game intense.
Their eyes flash back to sum-
mer days spent sweating in gyms,
winter nights spent shooting
around and 6 a.m. practices. But,
after their last game, few athletes
would regret one moment of a
grueling practice. Ask any one of
the boys' basketball team mem-
bers who, after a thrilling come-
back, suffered a 60-56 overtimeloss to Ripon in the second game
of the WIAA Division 2
Sectional tournament semi-finals
on March 9.
"Making it to sectionals was
awesome," said senior starter
Kevin Rohrer. "All of us wanted
a shot at Seymour because
they're the perennial powerhouse
in Division II. They've made it to
state seven years in a row, so I
think we all would have liked a
chance to play them and see what
we could do."
Although the team made a ter-
rific comeback and brought the
game to overtime, it wasn't quite
enough. The players say they'resaddened by their loss, but
remain excited about their sea-
son.
“We had a real good year so I
think there is more than one
moment," head coach Tom
Neises said. "How well weplayed against the Milwaukee
schools this year was really good
because we played so poorly
against them last year. The con-
ference championship, winning
that at Waupaca, that's something
we really wanted bad and we had
to overcome a lot to do that.
And, of course, being able to play
in the Brown County Arena prob-
ably caps it off. We had a really
fun year. I really enjoyed the year
and I was sad it came to an end a
little bit too soon, but we had a
lot of great memories. I think the
memories the players and I will
take with us for a long time."
For most of the players, the trip
to sectionals started years ago
when they first picked up a bas-
ketball.
"I love basketball so I've never
regretted any decisions I've made
as to working hard or practices oranything like that because to me
it's always been fun," said
Rohrer. "A lot of us have played
basketball together since sixth
grade or before that so it's kind of
a collective hard working
because we've all been togetherso long and, this being our senior
year, made everyone work that
much harder to make it memo-
rable."
The team, which included
eight seniors, even gained some
players who had stopped playing
basketball, but felt the need to
come back to the game.
Stas Miaskowski was one of
the "senior rookies."
"Well, I knew the guys needed
a couple of big guys to back up
Scottie so they convinced me and
they accepted me back on the
team," he said. "It turned out to
be really fun and I'm not going to
regret it ever."
The seniors understand the
importance of the final season
better than anybody does. They
say they are just starting to com-
prehend that making all the sacri-
fices was worth it for the game.Senior starter Scott Fleming
said, "Two hours or sometimes
more every night, put school on
the back burner, but it's been
worth it because you can only
play basketball once."
Despite being plagued withinjuries senior starter A.C.
Clouthier knew that he had to
play this year.
"I looked at it as, I'm not going
to need my body parts for this
kind of use in the future. I'm not
going to need them in the athlet-
ic work, so as long as I have them
I am going to use them to per-
form and help a team. It's now or
never," said Clouthier.
The underclassmen felt this
love and knowledge the eight
seniors had for the game and they
respected them for it.
Sophomore Sam Schaefer said,
"The best part was learning from
the senior class. They taught me
so much about the game. I was
very blessed to be taken under
their wing. Tim really guided me
through. If I didn't know a play
something like that he rea
guided me through. I am vthankful for them. I learned
much from them and I'm goin
miss them a lot."
The underclassmen say t
are sad to see the seniors go,
they know they have learned a
from them and are ready to shtheir newfound knowledge.
Junior Matt Scheske said, "
shouldn't be overlooked n
year because I think that we h
a lot of guys returning and
just have to work hard next ye
It's a long summer and we hav
lot of young talent and we'll h
to work hard to develop that
ent."
Meanwhile, for the eight a
letes who've played their
high school basketball ga
memories remain.
Rohrer said, "I'm going to m
the games the most. Playing
Xavier and just playing in gen
al it is just very fun to me and
miss that the most."
S p o r t sPageMarch 2006
Love for the game courts most senior athletes
From Page 1
allow for three practices to be
held during one time slot. Andsince freshman and junior varsi-
ty games will take place at the
same time, an entire practice for
another team potentially can be
held before the games begin.
"Currently we rent gym space
for practice," said Mrs. Bates.
"We will no longer have to do
that."
The extra room also will
prove useful for physical educa-
tion classes along with school
functions such as the annual
Xavier Food Fair and
Grandparents' Day.
Construction already has
begun on the new gym as thecrew is currently in the processof cleaning out the ground and
creating a foundation. Mr.
Biesterveld said he estimates
that the gym will be ready for
use before next school year.
"We can't thank the donors
enough for their generosity,"
said Mr. Reynebeau.
"I'm really looking forward to
having another gym," said Mrs.
Bates. "It will put us in the 21st
century.”
New gym State ChampFrom Page 1
because it shows it's for girtoo. Seeing Amanda win ma
spark interest for other girls t
join the team. Amanda is so
what of a pioneer in girls pow
lifting at Xavier," said Xavie
athletic director Matt Prill.
McNelly said she is very
proud of Amanda, as she is th
one who got her started in polifting in the first place.
"I think she deserves it
because she has worked
extremely hard. I also think
amazing that she won with ju
her opening lifts," said McNe
Even though the amount sh
lifted for the win seems like to many people, Brenneman
thinks she could have done b
ter.
"I was having an off-lifting
day because I sat in the sauna
before I went out to lift. I w
lifting a lot lighter than I real
could have," she said.
Brenneman's achievements
powerlifting have shed a new
light on women lifting weigh
She is setting an example for
other female powerlifters, an
the first state winner at Xavie
By ACe Clouthier
The 2005-2006 girls' basket-ball players overcame several
obstacles this season as they
fought their way to a WIAADivision II Regional
Championship.
The first struggle came as a
result of an injury to junior
Rachel Hermus. Hermus, a team
leader, suffered a season-ending
knee injury early on as the
Hawks limped to a fourth place
finish in the Valley 9 conference
with an 8-6 record.
"Our record was deceiving,
because we had a lot of close
games and games where we had
lapses," said senior captainKristen Wilson.
However, their 11-9 overall
record was good enough to earn
the team a No. 3 seed in the
WIAA tournament.
At this point, the Hawks
began to rise, soaring at the right
time of the year. They won their
last seven out of nine games and
finished with an overall record
of 15-10, gaining ownership of
the regional championship and
sectional runner-up trophies.
Wilson said making section-
als was a big step for the pro-gram, while senior captain Kate
Kessenich enjoyed the tourna-
ment because it gave them one
last chance to show they could
compete with any team.
" I t
gave us
a n
opportu-
nity tos h o w
how far
we have
c o m e
and I'm
r e a l l y
proud of how much
our team
grew from the beginning of the
season," Kessenich said.
Coach Dan Riordan described
the team in one word: dedicated.
They faced the odds and pre-
vailed, he said, especially the
seniors..
"They helped to raise the bar
in terms of the expectations of
our program," he said.
Junior Maggie Burkart said
she was really pleased with the
growth of the team and program
and gave much of the credit forthat to the seniors.
"The seniors displayed good
leadership and a constant stride
to keep everyone going," she
said. One thing Burkart looks
forward to next season, besides
just getting out to play, is that
she is going to be a senior. She
said it will be her grade's turn to
step up in the leadership role.Mr. Riordan said he's looking
forward to next year as well.
"We have a talented group of
underclassmen that have the
potential to build upon the suc-
cess we experienced this sea-
son," he said.Still, as this season ended,
players agreed there were things
they will miss.
Even though Kessenich said
she will never miss having to
run sprints again, she does agree
with Wilson about the friend-
ships they will miss, and only
has one bit of advice to give.
"Be supportive of your team-
mates and enjoy the experience
because it will be gone in a
moment," she said.
Rally earns girls regional crown
Kristen Wilson playsdefense.
8/3/2019 XAVIER - newsletter - March%202006
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/xavier-newsletter-march202006 8/8
OpinionPage 8 Marc h 20
March Madness takes over Xavier community
Root for spring teams
March Madness is no longer
just a term describing college
basketball. It also applies to high
school students, especially
Xavier students.
Between the winter sports
playoffs starting and ending, solo
and ensemble, finals nearing and
the school year winding down
there is more than enough mad-
ness to keep students occupied.
With all the fantastic opportu-
nities offered to Xavier students,
it is hard to overlook the drive for
excellence.
It is no longer enough that we
play in sports, it is also required
that teams spend hours practicing
in and out of season. Xavier
teams are expected to win and
win often.
It is no longer enough to partic-
ipate in pep and marching band,
we must also compete in solo and
ensemble, log hours in and out of
school and qualify for the state
competition.
And it is no longer enough to
take challenging classes. We
must fill our schedule with inde-
pendent studies and AP courses,
and pass the AP so we can have a
head start for college.
Although these opportunities
are only made to aid students,
after awhile the pressure begins
to build up.
When is it okay to say enough
is enough? I have too much to do
and I need a break.
When sporting events, school,
social events and extra curricular
activities build up, young adults
should take the time to reintro-
duce themselves to their families.
We at The Prospector urge
everyone to take some time to
themselves. Students need to
understand the intent of the
opportunities in which they par-
ticipate.
If students are not sleeping, eat
ing right or exercising, how can
they stay healthy and succeed?
We implore students to take care
of themselves.
Students need to make sure that
they are sleeping enough. Take
the extra five minutes in the
morning to eat breakfast. They
should make sure they not only
exercise their minds, but k
their bodies in shape as well.
Find a balance between al
activities.
If students desire good A
scores, college acceptance a
successful job, they prob
need to maintain the hectic
school lifestyle.
Here at this college prep sc
students just have to get use
the idea of being busy and s
ing on task.
We might as well tough it
and enjoy the March Madnes
Editorial
By Ben Wel lsWhen the football and basket-
ball teams have hung up their
cleats and sneakers, a new group
of teams begins to play.
These athletes go unnoticed
and unrecognized by most of
their peers. The spring season
seems to be an “off-season" for
Xavier fans.
At any basketball game there
might be 225-300 students, and
football games draw approxi-
mately 175-225 students. Most
teams seem to thrive off fans and
some even perform at a higher
level with a good crowd.Football and basketball games,
the “fan" sports, draw hundreds
of fans per game. But, a track
meet may only get 25 students at
a home meet in nice weather, and
that's stretching it. Moreover a
tennis match brings in a loweramount of students than a track
meet and golf has an even lower
attendance than tennis. There are
more opportunities to attend
games and meets in the spring but
fewer people attending.
We probably have more people
show up to bowling club every
week than we will have at any
girls’ soccer game this season.
Baseball is the biggest draw of
the spring with 50-60 spectators
and that is not much.
Xavier has one of the top
crowds in the conference but for
some odd reason our crowd does-
n't really want to support spring
sports. Some of this lack of fan
interest can be attributed to the
scheduling. In the same way the
smaller fall sports, like cross
country, volleyball, and soccer,
overlap each other, spring sports
do as well. Soccer practices when
baseball plays and tennis prac-tices when track has a meet,
which takes a lot of possible fans
away.
What needs to happen is a
reform in scheduling. With a fix
in the scheduling of events, we
can support our classmates. Iwould love to support the base-
ball team or the tennis team. We
need to start making announce-
ments, just as we did for other
sports. We need to get people out
there and show our spring sports
that we do respect their athletic
achievements.
By Mar ia GuzmanI wasn't expecting to have a
weekend full of partying and
fun, and I couldn't even say thatI wanted the weekend to come to
pass at all.
Intense sums up the whole
mock trial state weekend pretty
well. Practicing, performing, or
anticipating filled almost every
moment. I told Mrs. Jones that
all she had to do was say the
word if she didn't want us to
advance, and I could make that
happen. Well, Sunday was
stressful and a carefree Monday
on State Street never came.
On Sunday, pacing relieved
my nerves the best. I only per-
formed once that day (thankful-
ly), and I can't say that I remem-
ber much about it. Right before
hand, sitting in the chair next to
my fellow witnesses, my main
worry was actually that I could-
n't stop yawning. After that,
everything was a blur. I can't
recall many details, except the
times when I grew more and
more angry and frustrated every
time we lost an objection, which
seemed far too often.
That's partly why I was so
shocked when our names wereannounced along with
Rhinelander's as the top two
teams. We all jumped up,
hugged each other, and immedi-
ately made phone calls to par-
ents in those few moments of
happiness. I remember sitting at
the banquet before the names
were called with all of these
mixed feelings. I was telling
myself that we wouldn't make it,
partially because I wanted to,
plus I didn't want to get my
hopes up. Also in the back of my head was the thought that we
had it. But I also just wanted to
go to a balcony party that night,
so third wouldn't be too bad. It
had already been a fun experi-
ence at the banquet getting to eat
with the man that helps to write
the cases for mock trial.
But then it hit me. Tomorrow
I would have to compete against
Rhinelander in front of the
Supreme Court Justices. The
coaches also informed us that
the Justices tend to be crabby
and aren't the most forgiving.
Knowing all of that, having peo-
ple tell you "Just don't mess up,"
plus being sleep deprived, didnot equal anything beneficial.
From that time on, whenever
someone mentioned the word
"Supreme Court Justice" my
stomach flipped.
That feeling continued into
Monday morning. We had toleave in about an hour and my
new direct was barely written,
let alone memorized. No one
else seemed to be too worried.
Thankfully Emily Lonergan
helped me out and continued to
question me as we sat in the
hotel weight room and then
made our way to the state capital
across the street.
I had visited the capital
before, but today it looked com-
pletely new. As I walked
through the revolving doofelt like I shrank in size bec
of the enormity of the build
The sound of a booming orc
tra filled every inch of
ornately decorated build
echoing the anxiety I was f
ing.
But then, I started to get ex
ed. I was even just a little h
when I heard a girl f
Rhinelander was crying from
pressure. After about
months of practicing hard (
most of the time, between ga
of pool and ping-pong), ev
thing came down to this day
had a very cohesive team,
we were ready. The room it
the trial, and the Justices w
not quite as intimidating
expected. We came in
underdogs that everyone
pulling for, we all performed
best ever, and yet we still r
ized it would be close.
After the Justices came b
from recess, I realized I rewanted to win. We got this
so why end now? When
xavier" was announced as
ner-up I didn't know what to
The worst part was going
shaking the Justices hands having them give congra
tions. I would have apprec
an apology more.
Although we didn't have an
excessive amount of fun, or
take first, performing in fron
the Supreme Court Justices
and of itself was a pretty dec
accomplishment for the team
Oh well, nationals were in
Oklahoma City, and how mu
fun could that have really be
anyway?
Writer finds state experience intens
We at The Prospector value our class-
mates’opinions, and welcome letters to the
editor. We do, however, reserve the right to
modify letters for space. Please keep them
under 200 words. All letters to the editor
must be signed when submitted. With
administrative approval, though, letters
may be published anonymously.
“The sound of a booming
orchestra filled every inch of the
ornately decorated building,
echoing the anxiety I was feel-
ing.”
ThinkingCap
ThinkingCap