Volume 73 Issue 6 • Crown Point High School • 1500 S. Main Street Crown Point, IN 46307 • inklings@cps.k12.in.us

February 27, 2009

• Friday InklIngsInklIngsHigh 31°Low 19°

Saturday: Few snow showers

Tomorrow’s forecast

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Your cell phone and youWhat does your cell phone (and its condition) say about you? Match some popular teachers’ and students’ cell phones to their owners.

so you want to spend

With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan last week, the allocated funds for bail-out spending having now increased more than $6.6 trillion since TARP, according to CNN. Much of the money has been spent in efforts to save failing corporations and lending companies, like AIG and the Big Three auto companies.

Add that to money allocated by the Federal Reserve to make loans, and a CNN running tally of economically related bills shows that $10.8 trillion has been made available to lawmakers to try and help save the economy.

Yet while much of that money has gone to the largest corporations, the American

Recovery and Reinvestment plan is centered around the average American and job creation.

“The stimulus plan’s main purpose is to create at least 3 million jobs over the next few years,” AP Microeconomics teacher Dan Hartman said.

The plan’s price tag when it finally reached President Obama’s desk for signing was $825 billion. Obama and Congressional Democrats (who have a majority in both the House and Senate) have been seeking the passage of this plan even before Obama took office.

“The bill actually passed very quickly, about 25 days after President Obama took office,” Hartman said. “The main sticking point [particularly with Republicans] was how much money to spend in the plan.”

For the average American, the $825 billion will be concentrated in six major ways. It allots for a doubling of alternative energy production in the next three years, modernizing and improving the energy efficiency of three-fourths of the federal buildings in the U.S. and two million American homes, computerizing medical records within the next five years, modernizing schools, expanding the broadband internet grid within the U.S., and investing in science and technology.

“The problem is the middle class is shrinking. The plan will create new jobs for the middle class, while at the same time strengthen and rebuild the

nation’s infrastructure,” Hartman said. “It also addresses major issues that need to be fixed, like energy independence.”

Whether or not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan can rejuvenate the economy remains to be seen. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development showed last month that Indiana’s jobless rate had the highest jump in the nation. The Times reported that Northwest Indiana has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, second only to Los Angeles.

The economic downturn has hit the area hard, with stores like Circuit City and Value City closing their doors forever.

By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief

page 8

10 (trillion)With the economy still in a downward spiral, Congress approved the latest bail-out plan, bringing the total shelled out by the federal government to $10.8 trillion. But what does that mean for us?

Show me the money

Comedy tonight

From improv troupes to stand-up comics, CPHS is full of comedians who strive beyond being the class clown.

page 6

$How much is

1 trillion?in dollars, every house-•hold in America could buy a $9500 car

ten times the number •of stars in our galaxy

$1 trillion in stacked •quarters would stretch from Earth to the surface of the moon and back again...more than 8 times

Photo by GeorGia otte

Students, families face tough economic times in the region

The economic woes that have plagued the country have made an impact here in Crown Point as well. A report made by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this month showed that North-west Indiana had the second highest year-to-year increase in unemployment, behind only Los Angeles.

For many students, the reces-sion has affected both themselves and their families.

“My dad had a business for a few years fixing and program-ming two-way radios and doing some work on sirens and lights for police cars and the fire depart-ment,” freshman Donella Casillas

said. “But now money is tight and he will have to close the business by the end of March. He can still do the work, but now he’ll have to do it from home.”

Downsizing or moving to a less expensive workplace is a com-mon theme for small businesses. Other businesses that rely on the more disposable income of their customers are suffering as well.

“My dad has his own dry-wall company, but people haven’t been building much lately in the area,” freshman Brooke Reising said. “Business has been dying off since last summer, and though he’s been lowering prices it’s still getting harder.”

The rapid rate of small busi-ness closings and job loss is what inspired most of the portions of

the American Recovery and Re-investment Plan just passed in Congress. The Plan budgets for at least six major investment proj-ects for the country, particularly modernizing government build-ings to promote energy efficiency, doubling alternative energy pro-duction within the next few years, and epxanding the internet and technology grid in the U.S. The Plan will hopefully create 3 mil-lion new jobs.

But for those who have al-ready been hit by the recession, it may not be enough to set things back to normal.

“The stimulus package prob-ably won’t stop my dad from having to close his business in March,” Casillas said.

While the recession has hurt

entire families, working students have seen the affects of the crisis as well.

“I worked at Urban Behav-ior, a clothing store in the mall,” senior Ali Martin said. “But after the entire chain went out of busi-ness we had to close our doors on Aug. 31 of last year.”

Martin, like so many others, found herself out of a job. She said it took her about another month to find work at another store.

“I applied all over town and at the mall, but it took a while before anyone got back to me,” Martin said. “Now I’m back in a clothing store [Max Rave].”

Martin said that working in a retail environment has given her a unique perspective on how the economy has affected people.

“It’s amazing how angry some people will get over prices,” Martin said. “We recently had a clearance sale, and I was ringing up this woman’s items. When she found out that one shirt was $4.99 instead of $2.99, she refused to buy it. Still, [Max Rave] is pretty resonably priced compared to stores like Hollister, so our busi-ness hasn’t dropped as much as others.”

Some students and their fam-ilies have found creative ways to deal with the recession and still make money.

“My dad has been DJ-ing since I was a kid,” Casillas said. “Now sometimes I’ll come with him and we do it together. It’s a lot of fun, and we do make a little extra money at it.”

By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief

When the first economic bail-out package entitled the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was passed last October to the tune of $700 billion, headlines around the world screamed of the heretofore untold funds. That alone was more than the inflation-adjusted cost of the entire 16-year Vietnam War, according to Bianco Research.

That was also about $6.6 trillion ago.

Education:$41 billion to local school •districts$14 billion for a School •

Modernization programUp to $2500 tax credit for •college education for stu-dents enrolled in 2009-10

Where the latest stimulus package is headed

Infrastructure:$6 billion to enlarge the grid •for broadband and wireless technology across the U.S.$1.1 billion for intercity rail •construction to increase and improve passenger train use

Energy efficiency:$300 million in consumer re-•bates to buy energy efficient appliances $6.2 billion for low-income •families to reduce energy costs by weatherizing their homes

News February 27, 20092

3. 2-3.4Six week assessment tests

3. 10-12I-STEP retesting

3. 11Half day for students

3.6-8, 12-14Spring Musical

3.23-27Spring Break

save the date

in the knowSpeech team earns recognition

String students earn gold

Band and Orchestra place at ISSMA

Media Center Extends hours

For those noticing a lack of traction on the roads of Crown Point, it may be due to the recent salt shortage. The price of road salt has increased from $34 per ton to $102 per ton in just one season. This causes the city to be able to afford only a portion of what it usually uses in road safety procedures, lowering the usual use of 6,000 tons to 2,200 tons.

“Probably the biggest cause of the salt shortage is the severe weather from last year,” Department of Public Works Director Jay Olson said. “It caused people to run out of salt, so this year the counties ordered 2-3 times more than usual. The smaller municipals [like Crown Point] were left out, and because others ordered more than usual, that left us with a shortage.”

According to Olson, another large cause of the shortage is transportation. The salt is usually transported by ship, and due to the exceedingly low temperatures, the rivers used as shipment routes have been frozen. The effects are felt beyond the city limits.

“I can’t express enough how major [the salt shortage] is. It’s not only a nationwide problem, it’s global. Now we import all of our salt from countries like India and China and the quality isn’t as good,” Olson said.

According to FoxNews.com, some communities are making plans to stretch supplies by mixing salt with materials such as sand, brine, or even beet juice.

“We have changed our strategies, restricting the salt routes to hospital routes, streets near schools, curves, hills, and intersections. On other parts we just plow and don’t use salt, except in the case of an ice storm. To conserve, we cut salt in half with sand slag, mixing them fifty-fifty, and using liquid road defroster,” Olson said.

What does this problem mean for those on the snow or ice coated road? Statistics may tell the tale. According to

the Crown Point Police Department, the accident numbers for last winter season were 61 accidents in November, 87 in December, and 69 in January. This winter, however, includes 75 accidents in November, 95 in December, and 91 in January. Junior Justine Brumfield had an accident this winter due to icy road conditions.

“I got into an accident when I was driving down Randolph Street. The roads were really icy and I slid and ended up backwards in a ditch,” Brumfield said.

Brumfield feels that less traction can have a bad factor in car accidents.

“Sometimes with no salt on the road there’s more of a chance of spinning out on the ice,” Brumfield said.

Resource Officer Chuck Noonan believes that the causes of most of the accidents lie not in the icy roads, but the person behind the steering wheel.

“Basically, it’s not a fact of having less traction, it’s how someone is attempting to drive. You can’t just hit the gas like usual; you have to know to use extra caution, and you can’t just slam on the brakes. You need to know to slow down in advance to stop,” Noonan said.

And with these conditions, one can only wonder if the salt shortage factors in to the recent

school delays and cancellations.“[The salt shortage] is a part of the decision making

process, which is intricate and multi-faceted. Basically, there are two main decisions we look at--whether the buildings are operational, such as if the air conditioning and heating are functional, and the second is if buses can safely travel the roads. That’s where the road salt shortage makes an impact, ” Superintendent Dr. Teresa Eineman said.

Yet as spring approaches, drivers can breathe easy.“We have enough salt stored to make it for the remainder

of the winter. Now that the weather is starting to get better, I think the worst is behind us,” Olson said.

Tale as old as time...

By Anna Ortiz /graphics editor

Junior Ryan Farrell earned a first place rib-bon for the Crown Point High School speech team in the discussion category during recent competition at McCutcheon High School. In addition, sophomores Bekah Maddack and Taylor Cantrell received second place ribbons in the original performance category; Madd-ack also won a seventh place ribbon in the poetry category.

The team placed tenth in the total sweep-stakes points. Also competing were sopho-more Amelia Claus and freshman Lily San-chez. The team is coached by Jacob Adams.

Crown Point High School Chamber Orches-tra earned a perfect score in group I during the recent Indiana State School Music Association competition. The judges’ comments about the Jan. 31 performances at Munster High School included “Excellent preparation...A fine per-formance...very professionally done.” The orchestra is directed by James Deal.

The Media Center started offering extend-ed after school hours for students on Feb. 23. Students will have access to the facility and resources every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until 5 p.m.

Two students earned perfect scores dur-ing state musical (ISSMA)competition. They are band sophomore Kelsey Emery, who earned a gold for her flute solo and orches-tra senior Al Jabarin, who took gold for his cello solo.

Also earning gold for solos at the band competition are juniors Matt Barenie, Richard Wayne, Chelsea Masolak; sophomore Caitlin Harrison; and freshman Kyle Rodd. Addi-tional students who received silver awards as soloists are senior Kaitlin Topp and junior Kelsey Bonhivert. Two ensembles, a clarinet trio and a flute quartet, also went to state. Ju-niors Ryan Farrell, Elizabeth Szymanski; and sophomore Katrina Hoernig received a silver award for the clarinet trio, and senior Kaitlin Topp, juniors Kelsey Bohnivert and Mary Ja-cobs, and sophomore Kelsey Emery received a gold for the flute quartet.

Additional orchestra students receiv-ing gold at state were juniors Lindzy Volk, Corinne Kocher, and Xia Meng Howey; soph-omores Emily Featherstone, Daniela Gazibara and Justin Ritter; and freshman Lauren Mc-Carroll. Students receiving silver are juniors Jonathon Venegas, Carrie Ohlenkamp, and freshman Todd Aulwurm.

Increase in road salt prices affects winter driving

Did you know...the price of road salt has increased from $34/ton to $102/ton in just

one season?

Seniors Lindsay Hasse and Stephen Hubbell rehearse the opening scene of the show, where the Prince (Hubbell) is transformed into the Beast by the wicked Enchantress (Hasse)’s magical spell.

Photo By Jeremy rex

Disney’s acclaimed classic, Beauty and the Beast, prepares to hit the stage in March bringing to life this year’s spring musical. The show portrays the remarkable love story of a beautiful girl finding love in the most unlikely place, a Beast’s enchanted castle.

“It’s a great show; not only is it familiar, but it’s appealing to all ages,” senior Stephen Hubbell said. Hubbell, who had never before been a part of the musical, shares the role of the Beast along with senior Kyle Land. “It’s so much fun and we’re putting on a great show. I wish I would have tried out earlier,” he said.

Junior Emma Baker, who plays the role of Mrs. Potts along with senior Chrissy Kvachkoff, shares Hubbell’s excitement.

“There’s so much more detail in the

musical where it goes so much more in depth compared to the movie. It’s real when it’s on stage; the audience can feel the emotion unlike the cartoon movie version,” Baker said.

The show’s potential derives from the people there working together to make it happen. “Everyone’s so talented, from the chorus to the leads and the crew and pit, to the directors and everyone working behind the show to put it together; it’s all based on great people,” Baker said.

Also included in enhancing the show are numerous special effects. As opposed to the average three different colored lights used to light the stage in the past, Beauty & the Beast will be using nine, in addition to the use of fog and sound effects. There are also three transformations in the musical that include the changing of the prince into the Beast.

According to director Kit Degenhart,

though, the show has come to be twice as hard putting it together compared to shows previous.

“Not only are there all of the special effects especially with the transformations, but we want to respect the original while not creating a complete copy,” Degenhart said.

The musical version also adds new music and chorus numbers to both liven up the show and create dramatic scenes.

“There are many new songs [in the musical version] that weren’t in the movie invoking a variety of emotions that add a deeper meaning to the show,” Hubbell said.

With these emotions, the talent, the music, and the set, there still resides the classic story that makes Beauty and the Beast a great show.

“It’s a great storyline that a lot of people can connect with,” Baker said, “as long as they give it a chance.”

Theater department prepares for Beauty and the Beast

By Cori Novelli /executive editor

CorrectionA caption in the January issue of Inklings

should have read that Showtime tapes its seg-ments, rather than films, and new segments air on Fridays only, not on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Juniors Katie Klein and Sam Sanders are just two of the thousands of children who have received care from the Shriners Hospital for Children. Now, the situation has come full circle, and it is Klein and Sanders who are giving to the Shriners Hospital.

Klein and Sanders are collecting new toys, books, and stuffed animals for children who are staying at the Shriners Hospital for Children, and are also accepting monetary donations.

The Shriners Hospital was first formed in 1922 and has helped to care for thousands of kids with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate for no charge. The Shriners Hospital provides care for children up to the age of 18, and has helped thousands of families throughout the country receive the medical care that their children so desperately need.

“I was born without a femur bone and had two surgeries at the Shriners Hospital on my leg when I was three and five. I still go there for checkups, and when I saw the children who were there I wanted to give back,” Klein said.

Sanders was also a patient at the Shriners Hospital for Children when he was younger, and was treated there for scoliosis.

“I went to the Shriners Hospital for my scoliosis. There they corrected my curved spine by placing metal braces throughout it. I stayed in the hospital for a week recovering. The people at the hospital were very nice and helpful during my recovery, and when I got out of the hospital I really felt that I needed to give something back,” Sanders said.

Both Sanders and Klein feel that Shriners is one of the best hospitals, particularly for younger children.

“Everything there was top notch,” Sanders said. “If I had to go to any other hospital, I don’t think it could’ve been better than Shriners.”

Klein agrees.“They had playgrounds in the

buildings. It was very colorful and not scary at all,” Klein said.

Klein and Sanders are urging people to help out the hospital which cared for them when they were children. They are accepting a variety of gifts and donations that will then be sent and offered to children who are in the hospital. Gifts are preferred to be new, because of sanitary issues, but any donation would be greatly appreciated.

“Students can bring in new games, toys, stuffed animals, or anything that

might be fun for the children that are there [in the hospital], but we will also accept monetary donations. People can bring the gifts to the spring musical of Beauty and the Beast or give them to either Sam or me,” Klein said.

For more information and for those who want to help out with the collection or donate something themselves, students can contact Klein or Sanders or go to the Shriners official website at www.shrinershq.org.

News 3February 27, 2009

Giving backBy Brittany Curtis and Kelly Rostin/ feature editor and staff reporter

City of Crown Point plans St. Patrick’s Day parade

By Deanna Sheafer / managing editor

Juniors Sam Sanders, Katie Klein collect for Shriners Hospital

Students heard a first-hand account of working in the White House from former Deputy Press Assistant who spoke at the high school last week.

Seat, who worked for former President George Bush for three and a half years, ad-dressed the social studies students and an-swered questions from the audience. The 2001 Lake Central graduate and Scherer-ville native said that he enjoys sharing his experiences with students.

“It’s interesting to see what students [here] are interested in, as the interests in D.C. aren’t always the same as those out-side of D.C.,” Seat said. “Students definite-ly ask questions that are more fun.”

Seat’s visit was arranged by social stud-ies department chairperson Jim Ingelhart.

“Seat related fascinating information regarding what it’s actually like in the White House. This makes history interest-ing to students so that they really want to learn about it,” Ingelhart said.

Decathlon earnsteam, individualstate honors

Crown Point’s Academic De-cathlon team placed third at the state competition Feb. 14. Coached by English teacher John Lambersie, the Academic Decathlon program tests students in 10 different subject and skill areas, like literature, math, economics, professional interviews, and a prepared speech. In addition to their third place win based on the team’s total score, they won a team title in the interview category and a second place team title in math.

Several members won individ-ual medals as well. Senior Megan Binder placed third overall in the Honors category (students whose GPA is 3.75 or above) and received a gold medal in essay, a silver medal in economics, and bronze medals in art, interview, and literature.

Senior Matt Cruz placed third overall in the Varsity division (stu-dents whose GPA is 2.99 and below) and received a gold medal in math, silver medals in music and interview, and a bronze medal in economics.

Senior Alison Martin won a sil-ver medal in literature and a gold medal in speech in the Scholastic di-vision (students whose GPA is 3.0 to 3.74). In addition, Martin was asked to be one of only six students at the competition to showcase her speech (about how to speak intelligently) on stage.

Other medaling team mem-bers include seniors Tom Ladendorf (Honors category winner of a silver medal in speech and bronze medal in music), Nile Sobek (Scholastic category winner of bronze medals in social studies and science), and Alex Van Gorp (Scholastic category winner of gold medal in math and bronze medal in science).

The rest of the team includes Honors student and senior Mandy Rattazzi, Varsity student and senior Nicole Amodeo, and Varsity student and sophomore Adam Page. The team also has two alternates: junior Sam Sanders and senior Rebekah Maxwell.

By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief

Every year, from Fourth of July to Christmas, the citizens of Crown Point join to celebrate the holidays with lights, pa-rades, and every type of decoration imag-inable. This year, St. Patrick’s Day is no different.

On Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 6:45 p.m., the City of Crown Point will be host-ing its first St. Patrick’s Day parade. The event, if all goes well, is planned to become an annual event for the City of Crown Point.

“I think that the St. Patrick’s Day pa-rade is a great idea,” senior Chelsea Gyure said. “St. Pat’s Day kind of gets forgotten as far as holidays go, and this is a good way to start celebrating it.”

The parade will begin at Solon Robin-son Elementary School and make its way to Main Street, around the Courthouse

Square, and down Court Street towards Wheeler Middle School.

The evening event will include emer-gency vehicles, Lake County Pipes and Drums, and Mayor David D. F. Uran. The parade, in all, will include 32 entries which will represent each of the 32 counties in Ire-land.

Along with the parade, the down-town area will be decorated with green LED lights to celebrate the holiday and to complement the festivities of the parade. There will be window displays and many other decorations to fit the St. Patrick’s Day theme.

According to the City of Crown Point’s website, the St. Patrick’s Day parade will take place despite any inclement weather there may be, whether it be rain, sleet, or snow. Multiple municipal parking lots will be available for parking around the down-town area.

By Matt Smith / co-entertainment editor

Pete Seat shares White House experiences with history classes

Ex-White House deputy press assistant Pete Seat talks to history classes in the auditorium. Seat showed a slideshow presentation that included photos he had taken both with celebrities (above, Seat shows a photo taken of himself and Stephen Colbert) and famous land-marks he visited around the world as a member of the Bush administration.

Photo by Jeremy rex

Juniors Katie Klein and Sam Sanders hang up posters to promote their collection drive for Shriners Hospital. Both students have been helped by the Shriners.

Photo by GeorGia otte

February 27, 2009OpiniOn4

Students learn best with teacher interaction

Inklings

Inklings is a student publication distrib-uted to students, faculty and staff of Crown Point High School. It is published monthly by the newspaper and advanced journalism students. Opinions expressed in Inklings do not reflect those of the CPHS faculty, staff, or the administration.

Inklings welcomes and encourages signed letters to the editor. Let-ters may be edited for space or clarity. Letters must be signed and turned in to room C124 one week prior to pub-lications and must not contain personal attacks. Letters may also be sent via e-mail at inklings@cps.k12.in.us. Not all letters may be printed. Such decisions are the sole discretion of the Inklings editors and staff.

Advertising is subject to the applicable rate, copies of which are available from Inklings advertising department or by contacting 663-4885 ext. 11213.

Inklings is a mem-ber of the Indiana High School Press Association, the Columbia Scholas-tic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll.

Inklings can be con-tacted at 1500 S. Main, Crown Point, IN, 46307; 219-663-4885 ext. 11213; fax 219-662-5663; or in-klings@cps.k12.in.us.

EditorsMegan Binder

editor-in-chiefCori Novelli

executive editorDeanna Sheafer

managing editorLauren Cain

copy editorMichele Bates

news editorBrittany Curtis

feature editorBecca DugganMatt Smith

co-entertainment editorsTrey Aultman

sports editorHunter McKee

sports assistantAnna Ortiz

graphics editorBecca Iddings

advertising editorJoe NejmanGeorgia OtteAlex ParrishJeremy Rex

photographers

StaffColin LikasVinnie NeedhamKelly RostinMilan SavichNikki SekuloskiJeff Tompkins

AdviserJulie Elston

By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief

Ever since Socrates taught an eager and inquiring Plato all that he had learned and conjectured, the connection between teacher and student has been vital to the success of both. It would be difficult to find an accomplished adult who would not admit to having been greatly influenced by a teacher, and many teachers will tell you they learn as much from their students as they teach to them.

But as Bob Dylan said, the times they are a changin’. Increasing technology in the classroom has become the latest revolution in education. Still, while embracing the new millennium and all that it can offer is necessary, the role of computers in students’ lives must be carefully considered. There are benefits and drawbacks, and both must be acknowledged and weighed before the sweeping change is enacted.

At CPHS, a move toward more computers in the classroom is already evident. Online courses being offered next year will allow motivated students to take eight courses instead of seven or free up their school day schedules by taking another class online. It can also help those students who would benefit from learning at their own pace with credit-recovery courses.

All this is fine enough (though the most AP-oriented students may take more than they can realistically handle so they do not “fall behind” other highly motivated peers, but that’s an issue for another time). What’s truly disconcerting is the move towards completely computer-based classrooms. Talk has been raised here and elsewhere around the country of turning some school-time classes into entirely computer-based work with a teacher acting largely as moderator and helping students only when they do not understand the lesson the computer is teaching them. For these classes, students would essentially walk into a computer lab, sit down, and spend the 47 minute period learning quietly at their own pace from the screen. The bell would ring, they get up, and move on to their next class.

There are variations on this system, but the issues raised are the same. What has happened to human interaction? Can we expect to raise mature, functioning students if the ancient relationship between teacher and student has been reduced to a mere cursory Q&A session when the computer fails to teach in a way the student understands? Is our educational system so broken that we must replace teachers with computers in schools as thoughtlessly as robots replaced workers in factories a hundred years ago?

The traditional educational system will have to confront technology, to be sure. Yet the move toward modernizing every aspect of society and bringing computers front and center in the classroom should be treated with care and consideration.

A student is not a product to be molded by machines as efficiently as possible. The best and most valuable teachers remember that, and we would be wise to do so as well.

Obama proves presidential merit in his first 38 days

View:As online classes become mainstream and entirely computer-based classes go from science fiction to 7th hour, we must preserve the relationship between teacher and student for all our sakes’

editorial

heard in the halls

Smart Snacks

“I think on-line classes would take away from hands-on learning and lack the

personal contact.”

seniorJacob Ealy

“[Under 21 dance clubs] are a lot of fun. You get to do whatever you want and

just hang out with friends and dance. It’s pretty much like one big party.”

sophomore Taylor Barron

“I try to eat healthy snacks, such as carrots and grapes so you can have a healthy im-

mune system and live longer.”

senior Hannah Delaughter

cartoon by anna ortiz

Under 21 Clubs

On-line classes

When most of us start a new job, it takes a while to get our bearings. It may be more than a month before we really start to do well and accomplish the job we were hired for in the first place.

With that in mind, President Barack Obama’s accomplishments over the

past 38 days are even more impressive in comparison. Obama has made his first for-eign trip (albeit to Canada), set a deadline for the closing of Guantanimo Bay prison in Cuba, helped create a detailed plan to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq by 2010 and put his support behind and watched the passage of an economic stimulus plan that will hopefully see the creation of 3 million much-needed jobs.

Even the naysayers, who last Novem-ber doubted that the junior senator had what it takes to be president, cannot now doubt his competency. While it is still early, that Obama leapt quickly and seem-ingly easily into the post of Commander-in-Chief is comforting to Americans who have not seen a self-assured leader in the Oval Office in nearly a decade.

For those of us who did vote for him last November, it is pleasantly surprising to see a politician who has (thus far, at least) kept many of his promises. While critics complain that the plan to pull troops out of Iraq by 2010 is behind the schedule Obama claimed during his candi-dacy, in reality the timetable is only about three months behind the sixteen months he promised earlier. And in an already six-year war, a few months in either direction is still impressive.

In just over a month, the 44th Presi-dent of the United States has already made sweeping changes. While the next four years will truly decide if Obama is a great president, if the first 38 days are any indi-cation America may finally have the kind of leader she needs.

OpiniOn 5February 27, 2009

IStudents are promised a chance at a new car by

earning tickets for various

achievements to put in a raffle

at the end of the year, but

opinions differ as to whether this is good

motivation or an unrealistic

incentive.

Reality shows can inspire

On the first day of school, students were informed that they had a chance to win a car for doing well in different facets related to school. The excitement of this prize forced us to overlook its true benefits, which are slim to none.

High school is the time when students learn their most important lessons in life, one of which should be the importance of self motivation. It’s a crucial life skill, and to lead students to believe that they have to have a big prize waiting for them to succeed is simply deceiving them. Motivation needs to come from oneself.

Optimism is a trait that many students lack, which contributes to the weakness of this prize. They only see the car as the big picture, which seems unattainable. Not everyone sees the smaller steps to getting the car, which just leads some students to give up. The pessimism may come from the fact that students are not involved in the ticket process. Students aren’t told when they are in the process of earning a ticket, so they aren’t as inclined to keep up the good work.

In a different aspect, the earning of tickets isn’t fairly balanced which is a misleading way to motivate students. While one student may stay up studying for three hours a night to earn his or her straight A’s as well as a ticket, another student may make a chance free throw at halftime of a basketball game and get a ticket worth the same value. If a prize intended for the drive of students to succeed is going to be used, it should at least be a fair one. In the end, only one person is going to be a winner. Whether that is someone who has earned all 6 tickets or someone who made that one free throw is a game of chance. Those who need this car as motivation to succeed should realize that winning it is akin to playing the lottery: no matter how many tickets you have, it’s highly unlikely to gain the grand prize.

By Cori Novelli / executive editor By Lauren Cain / copy editor

Car contest is unrealisticA ticket to ride motivates

ssue:

What Drives You?

By Nikki Sekuloski / reporter

cartoon by anna ortiz

soph

omor

e

“Teacher courses, so you can ask questions and have someone to help you.”

Allanna TilleryIsaac Dutton

fres

hman

“I’d rather have a teacher because you can learn more and see things more broadly.”

Chris Gruenhagen

juni

or

“Online courses would be easier to do, and you don’t need to worry about homework.”

Matt Kukurugya

seni

or

“Online classes, because I can go at my own pace.”

QWould you rather take an on-line course or a traditional

teacher led class?

speak up

For students in high school, the concept of “self motivation” doesn’t always apply, but having a tool that urges students to suceed, especially one as extravagent as a brand new car, is vital towards pushing students to reach their full potential. Our student body needs to push itself in order to grow as a school and as the hub of our community, and though while that concept may seem unrealistic, any motivational tools like the car is ideal.

Motivating students to win the car reaches out to a huge variety of teens as the task of acquir-ing tickets can be done in many different aspects throughout school. Students can be eligible by their academics, sports, clubs and perfect attendance; because of this large span of activities, the car is a great motivational tool for a vast number of students.

In addition to that wide variety, the tickets are also obtainable by reasonable standards. Because the probability of winning the car is low, students could become pessimistic in trying to push them-selves to win. The tickets, though, used in the mas-sive raffle to win the car, are broken down to where students can to stay focused on striving for a goal within reach.

Basically, telling students to work hard because it “will help your future” can be difficult as the idea could be perceived as too fuzzy or far off for a lot of students to grasp and put into consideration. The car, though, provides students with a tangible goal to be motivated towards acheiving.

As of now, grades are supposed to be what pushes students to do well, but a car could be more realistic based on the fact that in the real world, good work is, in turn, rewarded with money. In general, any extra motivators that a high school can create for students is wonderful, especially if it is something like the car that students are going to actually want.

Extreme drama, ridiculous

challenges, and outrageous prizes would be an

almost perfect way to describe today’s reality TV. The often heard “I can’t believe he didn’t give me a

rose,” or the absurd “You want me to do what while riding that miniature bike?!” are just some of the many quotes heard on shows like The Bachelor and Fear Factor.

Some people may begin to say “what’s the point of this show?” However, a lot of these shows were not only created for entertainment, but also to give people a chance to make their dreams a reality. American Idol gives people the chance to showcase their voices to others, like So You Think You Can Dance does something similar for dancers.

In the same way, they are able to learn how to improve themselves by participating in these shows. They are told what they are doing wrong and how to correct it. It helps teach the performers how to step out of their comfort zones and do what they love. It helps them face rejection and learn how to rise above it. Quite a few of the contestants that do not win the top spot still end up making it into the industry.

Shows similar to So You Think You Can Dance help to influence others to pursue their dreams. In fact, season two winner Benji Schwimmer’s success on the show influenced his sister Lacey to try out for the show as well. Although she did not win the show, the show helped her become a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. Likewise, American Idol season seven winner David Cook look at Chris Daughtry’s auditions for inspiration.

These shows get people involved in who they want to see on TV, in concerts, and in magazines. By having the people vote for their favorite person, we are able to have a say on some aspects of “show business.”

In the end, the next reality competition aired may not be just a show. It may produce the next star or influence people to try out and make it big.

This is the comedian’s prayer, according to history teacher and sponsor of The Stray Dogs, CPHS’s improv group, Don Bernacky.

Bernacky studied at Second City, a school for comedy in Chicago. This school is where many of today’s famous comedians had their beginnings. Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, Mike Myers and Steve Carrell were all graduates of Second City who went on to be stars in the en-tertainment business.

“Second City is really the epicenter of American comedy,” Bernacky said. “It’s where the best of the best go to study, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

However, comedy was a part of Ber-nacky’s life long before he decided to go to Second City.

“I had been doing stand-up on and off for about ten years in Chicago,” he said. “Then I decided I wanted to go to Second City, not because I wanted to learn how to be funny, but because I wanted to learn more about the creative process involved with comedy,” Ber-

nacky saidEvery day, Bernacky uses the comedic and

improvisational skills which he learned at Sec-ond City. He uses them, not as a professional comedian, but as a teacher.

“The process requires you to study and analyze characters, plot, theme, and setting in a matter of seconds,” Bernacky said. “Let’s say a student comes and asks me a question about something that he doesn’t understand. As a history teacher, I can use the skills that I learned to interpret that question faster and find an answer or to set a scene which will bring that particular person or event to life.”

“I use my comedy to teach in a fun, light-hearted manner,” Bernacky said. “Many times, because of my comedy, students don’t even realize how hard they’re working or how much they’re learning.”

Bernacky is not keeping his love of com-edy to himself, however. He leads the Stray Dogs Improv Group, made up of 15 Crown Point students who learn the same skills that Bernacky learned through Second City and applies them to improvisation. Junior Antho-ny Rettig is one of these students.

“I don’t really plan on pursuing comedy past college, but the direction I’ve received from Mr. Bernacky and the things I’ve learned about comedy have really affected my every-day life,” Rettig said. “Whether in a work, school, or social setting, comedy can serve as a great tool to break the ice or to have a little fun.”

According to Rettig, the group has had two successful shows already and is planning a show for the end of the year, which he ex-pects to be even better.

“Simply stated, we’re the best there is,” Rettig said.

While many in the improv group are do-ing comedy as a simple pastime, some other students are serious about breaking into the world of entertainment. Senior Reece Mer-ritt, who recently participated and won “Most Original” in the first annual Crown Point High School Talent Show, has big plans for his com-edy.

“I would absolutely love doing this as a career,” Merritt said. “It’s my passion and I just enjoy doing it. I will definitely pursue comedy for the rest of my life.”

Whether they are casual improvisers or aspiring professionals, comedians are every-where. However different they are, their ulti-mate goal is the same: to make people happy and to make people laugh.

“The most important thing you have to remember,” Bernacky said, “is that in comedy, everybody fails. There comes a point in every comedian’s career when he has to make a deci-sion: Do I have the guts to go back up there, to put myself on the spot, and to try all over again?”

Bernacky, who has had years of experience in the comedy world, has learned this lesson. Regardless, after all this time, he is still doing what he loves.

February 27, 20096

AskLaughExploreWonderInspireLive

by the numbers

IIonlife

Laughing it upCPHS comedians range from stand-up to improv

By Matt Smith / staff reporter

2Number of shows in which the Stray Dogs, the Crown Point High School Improv group, has performed.

23 Second City alumni have

appeared on Saturday Night Live.

According to The Second City website

3 number of locations

which now have Second City schools:

Chicago, Toronto, and Los Angeles

number of mem-bers of CPHS’s improv group, the Stray Dogs.

15

year that Saturday Night

Live aired its first episode.

1975

1959year that Second City Chicago, an impro-visation and comedy school, was formed

Seniors Ethan Breitweiser, Trevor St. Aubin, Alex Van Gorp and juniors Cally Kline and Anthony Rettig, members of CPHS’s im-prov troupe The Stray Dogs, put on a performance during the talent show. The Stray Dogs are one example of the high school’s many comedians.

Junior Harry Davis decorates math teacher Rachel Hammond’s classroom door in red to join the city in promoting women’s heart disease awareness.

Photo by Alex PArrish

“Help us to lift the audience’s spirits, lift the burdens that life has put on them. Help us to ascend to greater heights through the joy of laughter. And please, don’t let us screw up.”

Decorating

Greet

ing

Custodian Loraine Love encourages students to get to class on time by telling them “don’t be late or you’ve got a date” in detention. Love also celebrates Fridays by greeting students with “TGIF” during passing periods.

February 27, 2009 Feature 7

By Michele Bates / news editor

Photo IllustratIon by GePrGIa otte

Break fast When you’re on the go, breakfast often gets skipped. Here are some quick ideas for a delicious and healthy breakfast.

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You wake up late and only have a limited amount of time to get ready for school. Rushing to make it to class on time, you forget to eat breakfast once again. Though it is the most important meal of the day, some adults and teen-agers continue to skip breakfast on a regular basis. To fix that problem, here are some quick and yummy breakfast ideas for people on the go.

1Kraft is now offering a bagel with cream cheese al-

ready filled in the bread. The “bread stick” bagels come in a variety of flavors with different cream cheese fillings that include the original (with regular, chive, or strawberry cream cheese), a cinnamon and brown sugar bagel (with cinnamon cream cheese), and a whole grain bagel (regular cream cheese). The bagels can be warmed up in either the microwave toaster, or simply eaten cold.

Kraft Bagel-fuls

2The Pilsbury Toaster Scrambles are similar to the Toast-

er Struddel, yet they include hearty fillings such as cheese, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

Pillsbury Toaster Scrambles

3This new Jimmy Dean’s product resembles a corn dog;

however, it includes a pancake wrapped around sausage. They come in two different flavors: regular or blueberry pancake.

Jimmy Dean’s Pancake & Sausage on a Stick

4This smoothie comes in flavors like peach, straw-

berry, mixed berry and pomegranate, and peach. The drink contains no added fat (hence the 0%) and is only 60 calories. Dannon Light & Fit yogurts are also avail-able.

Dannon Light & Fit 0% Plus Smoothie

5 Kellogg’s Eggo Nutri Grain Waffles

Kellogg’s is now offering Nutri Grain (whole grain) waffles with with strawberry or blueberry filling, each made with real fruit. Not looking for a fruity inside? The waffles also come with no fillings, as well.

6 Jimmy Dean’s Omelets

Omelets usually take awhile to make; however, Jimmy Dean’s omelets can be ready to eat in under two minutes. Each omelet can be prepared by using the microwave that come in flavors such as ham and cheese .

8 Aunt Jemima Griddlecake

Aunt Jemima Griddlecakes resemble a McDonald’s McGriddle, but these griddle cakes are much a healthier option. Choose from one of two sandwiches: two pan-cakes with eiter ham, egg, and cheese or sausage, egg, and cheese.

9 Quaker Oatmeal to Go

Oatmeal fans can enjoy oatmeal without even using a stove. The Quaker Oatmeal to Go is a granola bar-like food that comes in flavors such as Raspberry Streusel, Oat-meal Raisin, Banana Bread and Brown Sugar Cinnamon. Each bar is equivalent to the amount of a regular bowl of oatmeal, but it can be eated cold or warmed up in the mi-crowave.

10 South Beach Diet Breakfast Wraps

South Beach Breakfast Wraps are low in calories and quick and easy to make. Ranging in a variety of different wraps, these meals include The Southwestern Style wrap, the All American, Denver Style, and the Vegetable Med-ley. Despite the quick two-minute preparation time in the microwave, these wraps are packed with many different foods; for example, the Southwestern includes scrambeled egg whites, chorizo seasoned chicken sausage, chipolte to-mato sauce, and green and red peppers.

7 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars

Made with real fruit and whole oats, these cereal bars are a tasty complete breakfast that’s healthy to boot. Flavors are varied and include apple cinnamon, blueberry, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, and vanilla yo-gurt.

February 27, 2009Feature8

Necessity or Status Symbol?

CELL

Match theperson to his

1 2 3

Fleming, Bates, & Barber Insurance, Inc.

Mark A. Bates, CIC, AAI216 E. Joliet St. Crown Point

www.fbbinsurance.com219.663.2483 - 800.783.2483

Go Bulldogs!

By Deanna Sheafer / managing editor

Two pounds. That’s how much the first cellular phone weighed. According to MSNBC, “the brick” cell phone was cre-ated in 1984 and was priced at a hefty $3, 995. It only offered a half-hour of talk time between charging sessions, yet customers were lining up to buy one for themselves. Why? No one else had one. When people saw the new gadget, naturally, they would become jealous and want to outdo one an-other.

In those days, cell phones were used to make calls. But realistically, how many teenagers today own a phone purely to call someone? WIth all the fun applications available, phones are no longer used just to talk, they are used as ways to quickly chat with friends, play games, and listen to mu-sic: the ultimate boredom buster. Suddenly, a plain phone isn’t good enough anymore. The invention of this technology bore a new status symbol, something to upgrade and brag about.

Just like fancy cars, designer clothes, and expensive jewelry, cell phones have created a competition between friends over who has the newest, best, or smallest phone while holding the most features. No longer

does a cell phone only make calls, like be-fore. Now these devices need to take high-quality pictures, be able to hold music and games, and even access the web.

“I use my cell phone to play games like Brick Breaker and Sudoku to challenge my-self on my Blackberry,” junior Jon Venegas said.

Styles of cell phones have improved as much as the options and ap-plications on them. The simple flip-style phone is going out of style fast, with the invention of slide-out phones and full keyboards, like on the LG Env2, for the avid texters. Junior Amanda Savell has a Sprint phone with a full slide-out key-board and likes that fea-ture on her phone.

“The full keyboard makes it easier for me to write in full sen-tences, because I don’t like it when people use texting slang,” Savell said.

Touch screen phones seem to be the current hottest gadget for technology-hun-gry teenagers. Ever since Apple’s brain-child the iPhone came about, touch screen

phones popped up in every cellular store from the Samsung Behold to the Black-berry Storm. Some are even nicknamed “iPhonies,” playing off the fact that all the phones have the same features but are “phony” iPhones.

Google is even jump-ing on the cell phone crazed bandwagon. Part-nered with T-Mobile, the G1 is the first smartphone to run with Google’s new open-source operating system called Android. It is host to a combination of the most popular features today: a full slide-out key-board, touch screen, inter-net and music capabilities, and a 3.2 megapixel cam-era.

Even with the popu-larity of iPods, music-hold-ing phones are more desir-

able than ever. “Come with Music” is a new program Nokia is piloting that boasts unlimited access to millions of tracks for download. Of course, there is a subscrip-tion fee, just like Verizon Wireless’s VCAST program, which is available in different packages. Unlimited access costs $14.99

per month.VCAST is one of the most prominent

mobile services which offers an array of op-tions, including television capabilities. It offers subscribers the ability to watch pro-gramming from major networks like NBC, ESPN, Comedy Central, and MTV. With the use of live, streaming videos or music on cell phones, entertainment is available 24/7 at the touch of your fingertips. Those capabilities make these phones even more enticing.

Status isn’t the only thing derived from one’s cell phone. What teenager is satisfied with the plain old black or grey casing for their phone with all the accessories that ex-ist today? Skins and cases in patterns and neon colors are available in stores and on the web. They not only protect your phone, but add personality and flair.

Similarly, downloadable ring tones dis-play one’s identity. Whether it’s an obscure song or number one on the charts, services like VCAST can find it.

With the massive amounts of applica-tions and programs on trendy cell phones today, it’s a wonder what the phones of the near future could hold. If the constant up-grading and competing over cell phones continues, the phones of the future are sure to bring all kinds of new capabilities.

PHONE

Cell phones for teenagers:

ANSWERS: 1.c 2.a 3.b

Kyle Land

Dr.Ban

Mr.Elston

c.a. b.

17 millionteenagers today own a cellular phone, which is a 40% increase since 2004. Only 17% of teens use their phones for talking exclusively.

Present this coupon with your student ID.Limit one coupon per customer.

Offer expires 03/31/09

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt 9February 27, 2009

Dating Through the DecadesFrom drive-in movies to online dating, the passing of time has

changed the way people view romance.

By Becca Duggan / arts & entertainment editor

From pins to flowers, sock hops to dance clubs, recited poetry to mixed CDs, the art of romance has developed significantly over the years. Dating for students in modern times is different than it was for their parents when they were young. The transition from generation to generation can be seen in varied ways, such as the different dating traditions or diverse romantic locations.

Some students feel that the perfect date consists of two aspects- dinner and a movie.

“A classic date is where you go out to eat and then see a romantic movie,” junior Thomas Vanderplough said. “If you ever run out of ideas for a date, that’s the one you can always go back to.”

English teacher Denise Buck remembered that the clas-sic date happened differently in her high school years.

“The boy had to come into the house to pick up the girl,” Buck said. “They would go bowling, watch movies, or attend school dances.”

As for the places to take a possible date, each genera-tion has its own opinion of the opportune spot.

“I think a good date place is a mini-golf course because you get to be outside and get to know the person while

you play,” junior Cody Brite said. “I think it’s better than a movie theater because you actually get to talk.”

For French teacher Linda Atwood, there were a variety of prime locations at which to spend dates when she went to high school.

“We would go to drive-in movies, school dances, and pizza places,” Atwood said. “I lived in a small town; ev-eryone knew everyone else so we all just hung out at the local hot spots.”

When it comes to romantic presents, Vanderplough feels that the fancier gifts often get more enthusiastic reac-tions.

“Girls remember the guys who get them diamond necklaces or concert tickets. If the gift isn’t memorable, then chances are the relationship isn’t either,” Vander-plough said.

According to an interview that Discovery Health Online had with Elizabeth Lindsey, a specialist in inter-personal communication, dating has become more casual and less ritualized. However, dating still has its constants- when going on a date, wear appropriate clothing, do not talk about yourself excessively, and do not talk about past romantic relationships.

“You have to be a good listener on a date,” Brite said.

“The guy has to be a gentleman too.”Some people feel that chivalry has long since died out.

However, Atwood feels that no matter what the year may be, politeness depends on upbringing and the individual.

“I think that men will behave as they’re taught. Not all my school friends had boy friends that opened doors, talk-ed to their parents and insisted on paying for meals: Some of them liked chivalry and some didn’t,” said Atwood.

Buck feels that the expectation of the relationship will influence how the boy and girl interact.

“Young men may have been more chivalrous if they knew that the girl’s father would expect them to be,” Buck said.

Atwood also remembered her feelings about public displays of affection when she had dated a boy.

“I never allowed my boyfriend to kiss me in public, and even holding hands in front of my parents would be embarrassing,” Atwood said.

With the passing of decades, social customs alter, but the goal of dating remains the same- to find a potential re-lationship partner.

“Sometimes it takes a long time to find the right per-son,” Vanderplough said. “Sometimes you have to go out with a lot of losers to find a winner.”

Gasoline...............................$0.50Penny Arcade......................$0.10Telescope..............................$0.10Drive-In................................$1.50Movie....................................$1.00Milkshake.............................$0.35Flower...................................$0.50Popcorn................................$0.15 Total $4.50

Movie............................................. $0.10Gasoline..........................................$0.18Popcorn...........................................$0.02Dance Hall Tickets.... ....................$0.25Good Humor Ice Cream Bar ...... $0.07Coca Cola .......................................$0.05Flowers............................................$0.07Jazz Band Tickets ..........................$0.35 Total $1.06

Gasoline........................$2.00Movie............................$14.40Popcorn.........................$4.50Flowers..........................$10.99Dinner............................$25.00Ice Cream......................$5.00Bowling.........................$15.00Dance Club...................$30.00 Total $106.89

Comparing costs of finding that special someone

1920

1960

2000

10 February 27, 2009Arts & EntErtAinmEnt

And the winner is...

Under-21 dance clubs offer unique weekend funAfter a long week of classes and tests,

when Friday night finally rolls around it’s usually hard-earned. But as you and your friends sit around wondering what to do, it is often too easy to fall back on the old stand-bys: movie, dinner, or hanging around at someone’s house.

All that is well and good, but how about something a little different? There are several under 21 dance clubs in the area that offer a long night of dancing and fun for a reasonable price.

The nearest club is Voltage Dance Club at 1500 E 83rd in Merrillville. Less than 20 minutes from the high school, the club is open every Friday night from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. for anyone between the ages of 16 and 20. Occasionally they are open on Saturday or Sunday nights as well, but their other weekend days change from week to week. Often they do themes, like their “Cupid Af-fair: Red and White Night” they held for Valentine’s Day.

Like most of the clubs in the area, Voltage enforces a “dress to impress” policy, requesting dancers to avoid sweat-

pants, hats, and athletic jerseys. They have several in-house DJs who mix an assort-ment of hip-hop and techno music. It gets loud, but Voltage makes for a safe (there is a security staff there every night they are open) way to let loose and spend a night out with friends while still being relatively close to home.

If Friday night has you at the basket-ball game, there’s PURE dance club in Portage off U.S. Highway 6. PURE is open every Saturday night from 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Like Voltage, PURE also has theme nights, though they are more often and

varied, like a Mardi Gras Bash night. They also have weekly contests and giveaways. PURE features a concession area with soft and energy drinks and a lounge area for those who want to take a break from danc-ing.

For the more adventurous and those willing to take a longer journey, there is Zero Gravity in Naperville, IL, open every Saturday and some Sunday nights until 4 a.m. It is really an all-night experience for just $10-20, depending on the night and if there are any celebrities there.

Yes, Zero Gravity tends to play host to

musical celebrities. By far the most elabo-rate of the under-21 clubs in the area, Zero Gravity has featured several big-name mu-sical acts on their indoor stage, like Chris-tina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Pink, and most recently Cascada.

When there aren’t big name stars play-ing for the upwards of a 2000-person crowd who frequent the club every weekend, two separate live DJs in two different rooms mix music for dancers. There is both a hip-hop room and a techno room in the sprawl-ing club in addition to an outdoors area to get some air, as the club gets very hot and loud. Zero Gravity features a bar with non-alcoholic drinks and plenty of seating for those who want to take a break or mingle with their friends and new acquaintances.

Like PURE and Voltage, Zero Grav-ity also has theme nights. For example, tomorrow, Feb. 28, they are throwing a Glow Blacklight Party. During most of the evening there will be black lights, inspiring dancers to wear white or neon clothing to show up under the black lights. Other Zero Gravity theme nights have included cos-tume nights or a beach party.

By Megan Binder / editor-in-chief

Both the Grammy and Academy Awards are time-honored traditions in the entertainment business. Yet low television ratings in the past few years have inspired the organizers of both shows to make them bigger and more exciting than ever before.

This year the Grammy Awards were full of surprises.

Controversy struck between Rihanna and Chris Brown. Both Rihanna and Brown pulled out of their performanc-es last minute, forcing Justin Timberlake and Al Green to fill their spot.

The Academy Awards were exciting as well. Host Hugh Jackman sang and danced, pulling celebrities like Anne Hathaway up on stage with him.

Best Pop Performance, Female:

Nominations: Adele, “Chasing Pavements”; Sara Bareilles, “Love Song”; Duffy, “Mercy”; Leona Lewis, “Bleeding Love”; Katy Perry, “I Kissed A Girl”; Pink, “So What”

Winner: Duffy, “Mercy”

My Thoughts: Duffy’s song “Mercy” became an in-stant hit last summer, but we haven’t heard much since. Hopefully her Grammy win will inspire her record company to release a new single.

Best New Artist:

Nominations: Adele, Lady Antebellum, Jonas Brothers, Duffy, Jazmine Sullivan

Winner: Adele

My Thoughts: I was surprised. I thought ei-ther Lady Antebellum or the Jonas Brothers were going to take the award. Lady An-tebellum’s self-titled debut reached gold status (selling over 500,000 copies), and the Jonas Brothers have also had massive success in the past few years. Both their self-titled album and A Little Bit Longer have reached platinum status. Though they did not win this award, I definitely see them getting nominated again next year.

By Michele Bates / news editor

By Michele Bates / news editor

Ever since its opening in Novem-ber 2001, the Kodak Theatre has held a variety of well-known events. The theater is most famous for housing the annual Academy Awards. However, it is also the previous venue for the American Idol finale. While in Holly-wood two years ago, I knew I had to visit the famous Kodak Theatre.

As I made my way into the Kodak Theatre, I was in awe of how beautiful the theatre actually was. Pictures of Julia Roberts and Halle Barry hung on the walls as they accepted their Acad-emy Award. The Grand Staircase en-trance even had photographs of the “Best Picture” winners from 1928 all the way up to the current winners.

Our tour guide led us into the George Eastman Room. When I walked into the room, my attention immediately drifted to the small gold statue in the room. Lights beamed on a glass case that held an actual Oscar statue. The Oscar was as detailed as I thought it would be. After watching the Academy Awards for many years, I could finally understand why actors get so emotional recieving this award. The statue not only is beautiful, but it is such a wonderful achievement in an actor’s career. The Oscar displayed was one of the eight Academy Awards awarded to the Eastmen Kodak Com-pany throughout the years.

After visiting the George East-man Room, our group finally got to visit the theater. The Kodak Theatre seats approximately 3,400 people, but it looks smaller than it does on tele-vision. We sat into the seats of the theatre as our tour guide described what it was like during the annual Academy Awards. She told us about the actors she had met throughout her career at the Kodak Theatre. Our tour guide said that when Ellen DeGeneres hosted in 2007, she kept the audience entertained even during commerical breaks. DeGeneres brought her DJ from her talk show for everyone to dance to during breaks.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Kodak Theatre, I strongly reccom-mend it. Not only did I enjoy it, but it was overall a great experience for me.

Grammys, Oscars recognize the best in entertainment

Kodak Theatre as beautiful in real life as it is on television

By Michele Bates / news editor

Just dance Voltage Dance Club 1500 E. 83rd St., Merrillville •Open Friday nights from 8 p.m. to •1 a.m.PURE Dance Club

Off U.S. Highway 6 in •Portage Open Saturday nights from •8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Zero GravityOff U.S. Highway 6 in Portage•Open Saturday nights from 8 p.m. •to 1 a.m.

Best Pop Performance, Male:

Nominations: Kid Rock, “All Summer Long”; John Mayer, “Say”; Paul McCartney, “That Was Me”; Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours”; Ne-Yo, “Closer”; James Taylor, “Wichita Lineman”

Winner: John Mayer, “Say”

My Thoughts: John Mayer is a tough artist to beat. Though there are many great songs in this category, Mayer has already

won 5 Grammy awards. With all his success, it came to no surprise that he won this award.

Album of the Year:

Nominations: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand; Coldplay, Viva La Vida; Ne-Yo, Year Of The Gentle-

man; Lil Wayne, The Carter III; Radiohead, In Rainbows

Winner: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand

My Thoughts: This list of nominations had some very well known artists. However, seeing Alison

Krauss & Robert Plant take home the award was disappointing. Many of these artists have had chart-topping success in the past year. For ex-ample, Lil Wayne’s record The Carter III sold over

1,000,000 copies in its first week. Even though Lil Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys, it was surprising to see Lil Wayne not take this award home with him.

Grammys

The Oscar goes to...In case you missed last Sunday’s 81st annual Academy Awards, here’s a quick recap on the winners of all the major awards.

Best ActorSean Penn, for Milk

Best ActressKate Winslet, for The Reader

Best DirectorDanny Boyle, for Slumdog Millionaire

Best PictureSlumdog Millionaire

Best Original ScreenplayDustin Lance Black, for Milk

Best Adapted ScreenplaySimon Beaufoy, for Slumdog Millionaire

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt 11February 27, 2009

InformatIon compIled by InklIngs edItors, photos and logos used wIth permIssIon

a few of our

favorite things

Five Buck cluB movies

One of the best ways to beat mid-winter blues is to go see a new movie in theaters. Shelling out $8 is less relaxing, however. Instead, apply online at kera-sotes.com for a Five Buck Club card. The program is free and allows card hold-ers to see select movies in their second and third weeks at the theaters for just $5. The movies are still quite recent (this week’s Five Buck Club movies in Merrill-ville are Taken, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Academy Award-winning Milk) and generally are worth the five bucks.

Threadless.com

This t-shirt company with a Crown Point connection (the company’s founder is a CPHS alumni) utilizes the online networking for-mat to bring together independent designers

and the means to create unique t-shirts, hoodies and even onesies for ba-bies. People that join the online community can submit and rate possible

designs that range from the fun and funny (a cowboy chased by an actual Indian, riding an elephant) to more serious, artsy designs. They have something for everyone at threadless.com and at a reasonable price, too. While they do most of their retail from their original online catalogue, they also have one store in northern Chicago, near Lincoln Park.

From TV commercials to NFL games, the world is branching out from the accus-tomed two-dimensional experience. In an effort to acquire more viewers as well as more money, technology is evolving into an entirely three-dimensional event.

On Superbowl Sunday, many people tuned in to watch the biggest NFL game of the year. However, at halftime there was a different kind of history being made. For the first time in front of an audience this size, a 3-D commercial was being aired.

“The commercial was really cool. My mom got a bunch of the glasses from Strack’s and I watched it with my friends. Everything seemed so real,” freshman Em-ily Balicki said.

Three-dimensional shapes are formed by a complex mix of colors, textures, and virtual lighting, according to Graphing Im-aging teacher Karen Topp.

“The first 3D technol-ogy for PCs

appeared in 1987, but it was primitive by today’s standards and was used almost ex-clusively for games,” Topp said.

Using the multifaceted technology, 3D glasses are used to see the shapes in their three-dimensional form. The day after the Superbowl, those same glasses could be worn to watch NBC’s Chuck, a comedy fea-turing Zachary Levi as a computer geek turned government secret agent.

“I wished I could’ve seen the show, but I didn’t have any of the 3D glasses,” sopho-more Tyler Tants said.

The onslaught of 3D movies has been more apparent on the silver screen. Last year, the Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert was aired nationwide at select theaters in 3D, starting a trend to follow. Journey to the Center of the Earth pre-miered last July, My Bloody Valentine was

released on January 16, Coraline premiered on February 6 and upcoming movies in-clude Monsters vs. Aliens,

“In five to seven years, all movies will be made in 3-D,” Dreamworks Chief Exec-utive Jeffrey Katzenberg said at the launch of a 3-D festival in Singapore.

Not only is the third dimension being reached through television and movies, but sports as well. In November, the NFL taped a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders, and premiered the game in 3D on December 4. They showed the game in theaters with repre-sentatives from consumer electronics view-ing, as well as on television displays as a sales pitch to show what could be possible in people’s homes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As quickly as high-definition be-came the new thing to have, 3D television sets could catch on just as fast, according to a CBS report. However, some people wouldn’t be that interested in being able to

see a game in 3D. “If you want to feel like you’re in the

game, go out and actually play it,” junior Justin Kaplan said.

While 3D movies seem to be the trend, three-dimensional concerts are also becom-ing more prominent on the silver screen. On January 23 of last year, rock band U2 premiered one of their concerts in a three-dimensional movie, U2 3D. Hannah Mon-tana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour premiered in theaters on February 1 of last year. It showed songs performed in different cities during her tour, as well as behind-the-scenes clips such as Miley’s get-ting ready process and comptetions done in different towns for tickets to her concert. It also featured the esteemed Jonas Broth-ers which set the ball rolling on their con-cert movie. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience is premiering on February 27, with the same concept as the Hannah Mon-

tana concert: to tape one of their concerts on tour in 3D to be watched in the-

aters nationwide for those who couldn’t get tickets to the

quickly sold out shows.“I’m a huge fan of

3D movies because they allow you to be absorbed in the mov-ie that much more,“ junior Casey May said. “Watching Han-nah Montana in 3D was astounding. You felt like you were actu-ally there at the concert, really close up, and be-

cause of that, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the Jonas Broth-ers in 3D as well.”

Although this dimension seems rela-tively new, 3D has actually been around for a while. The first movie made in 3D was Power of Love in 1922. It was the first occasion in which producers manipulated scenes and colors to make the show more real to viewers wearing the now famous red and blue lens glasses. However, the third-dimension has come a long way since its original usage, according to Topp.

“The way people want to use 3D has begun to spread from games to such activi-ties as Web and product design, corporate presentations, and even personal enter-tainment,” Topp said. “3D technology has come a long way, increasing in performance while decreasing in cost.”

By Lauren Cain / copy editor

On TV or in theaters, 3D entertainment comes to life, dazzles its audience

Ben and Jerry’s Ben and Jerry’s ice cream has been

satisfying consumers all over the coun-try since the two friends opened their first ice cream shop in 1977. Now, in ad-

dition to their classic flavors like Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Half-Baked (chocolate and vanil-la ice cream mixed with brownie and chocolate chip cookie dough pieces), the company has created politically-themed flavors, like

Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream and even one after our new president’s campaign motto: Yes, Pecan.

Where’s 3D?

Adding another dimensionAdding another dimensionAdding another dimension

Monsters vs. Aliens

Com

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cials

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reen

TV sh

ows

The first wide-ly-advertised commercial in 3D aired dur-ing the 2009 S u p e r b o w l . The animated film (a spoof on the tradi-

tional doomsday monster/alien attack scenario) will also be in 3D when it comes out March 27, but it was the historical nature of the 30-second ad that made headlines. DreamWorks parent Pepsi Co. handed out free 3D glasses before the game.

Chuck

See more 3DCoralineFriday night showtimes in 3D at Merillville Showplace 12: 7:00, 9:20

Monsters vs. AliensOpens in theaters March 27

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert ExperienceFriday night showtimes in 3D at Merillville Showplace 12: 8:15, 10:20

NBC’s c o m b i n e d action-com-edy series Chuck de-buted last year, was l a u n c h e d into a different dimension with the glasses handed out before Superbowl. Viewers could use them to see the epi-sode playing the next day on NBC.

D i r e c t e d by Henry Selick (of The Night-mare Before Chr i s tmas fame), Cor-aline pre-miered on

Feb. 6. As Coraline is made by manipulating real dolls for individual frames, it gives the viewer a more realistic view of the taping process, which is done in 3D.

Coraline

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt12 February 27, 2009

David Cook makes the grade in Valparaiso concert

Classic vs. Modern Disney

By Becca Duggan and Brittany Curtis / entertainment and feature editors

Though the famous character Mickey Mouse is still the mascot for the Walt Disney Company today, much has changed for the company since the mouse’s animated de-but in 1928.

According to The Walt Disney Company’s official website, the animation company was formed on Oct. 16, 1923. The first full-length animated film that Walt Disney produced was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which has grossed a cumulative amount of 178 million dollars, mak-ing it the seventh highest grossest Disney animated film of all time, according to Digital Media FX. Since then, Dis-ney has created many movies that have won Oscars and grossed millions of dollars.

Some students have contributed to The Walt Disney Company’s success.

“When I was younger, I watched Aladdin every day,” junior Needa Malik said.

The definition of a Disney ‘classic’ is interpreted dif-ferent ways among students. Freshman Ronda McFarland feels that the classic Disney movies displayed positive morals.

“The message of a Disney classic is always good,” Mc-Farland said.

Malik said that not only was a good message a require-ment for a Disney movie to be considered a ‘classic,’ but

the film also needed to meet other criteria. “The movie needs to have great songs, music, and

characters. The characters need to be memorable and the kind of people you can look up to,” Malik said.

Even though the highest grossing Disney animated film is The Lion King, students have different favorite Dis-ney movies.

“My favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast because of the love story,” freshman Samantha Wrecsics said.

Despite the older Disney movies being so popular, some favor the more modern Disney productions.

“I like the newer Disney films as opposed to the much older ones because the quality of the animation has im-proved so much,” Malik said.

Some teachers also have their own favorites when it comes to Disney movies.

“I would have to say that one of my favorite Disney classics is Beauty and the Beast because it has to do with ev-erything French,” French teacher Amy Logan said. “My favorite modern Disney movie is Monsters, Inc. because it’s so far-fetched from the normal fairy tale. Whoever created the story has a great sense of creativity.”

However, Logan also feels like today’s Disney films are too computerized and prefers the style of the classics.

“I grew up with the classics. I think a lot of the newer films are computer-oriented and robotic.” Logan said.

New Disney movies have gained popularity like the Pixar movies Cars and Finding Nemo, the highest grossing

Pixar movie of all time.“I like the fact that the Pixar movies look a lot more re-

alistic than the animated movies,” junior Katie Klein said.Another new Disney movie is Enchanted, which com-

bines animation with live-action film. Enchanted somewhat takes a jab at the classic Disney idea that a princess con-stantly needs to find her prince, and must sing songs the whole time, while still portraying the classic good Disney message.

Disney is also expanding its range in movies with the release of Aliens vs. Monsters, which will be a Pixar movie that is in 3-D. The commercial aired during the Superbowl, which was also in 3-D.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the movie in 3-D, because I remember that the commercial was such a big deal during the Superbowl. I was watching it with a bunch of people, and we all made sure that we had the 3-D glass-es so we could watch it,” junior Alex Horst said.

However, some students are not fans of the new direc-tion that Disney is taking with their movies.

“I miss the old types of Disney movies, like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. I liked that there was always a re-ally strong message that they were sending, and they were always filled with songs.

“Now, a lot of their movies are just lacking in what made Disney movies magical in the first place. I think that the new movies are entertaining and definitely have some-thing to offer, but I don’t think that anything can compare with the Disney classics,” Klein said.

1,275 screaming fans all for one idol. That is all it took to create a great atmo-sphere which ultimately lead to a great concert. American Idol winner David Cook traveled to Valparaiso University on Feb. 21 as part of his “Declaration Tour 2009.”

The concert was a creative sample of the type of music that David sings. He sang songs from his self-titled album that showed not only the rocky side of his voice, but also the softer side. The fans were also able to enjoy music from Ryan Star who opened the show. Both singers really seemed to shine and they both seemed to really enjoy performing.

To add to the musical talent, Cook him-self helped to create the friendly mood. He tried to connect with the audience either by answering the questions on their posters (like “Do you like pizza?”) or waving to a fan during one of his songs. He rewarded the audience by saying that out of all the places he has toured so far, “the fans at the

Valparaiso concert had the best signs by far.” He also threw his guitar picks out to the audience once in a while.

Having his family, like his parents and grandparents, and friends there made it a very personal concert for him as well, as he mentioned to his fans. Every so often, he would wave to friends or wink at his grandma. This personal feeling that the whole concert seemed to be centered on made the whole show that much more en-joyable.

To go along with his connection with the fans, he also introduced his band and made jokes about them. This helped the audience feel connected to the band, too. He really seemed to what the crowd to be pumped and feel comfortable screaming as loud as they could, which he encouraged.

In the end, I would definitely give Da-vid Cook an A+, not just for his musical performance, but also for giving the concert just an enjoyable mood altogether. David definetely shone at this concert, but it was not just because of all the colored lights.

By Nikki Sekuloski / staff reporter

In a battle between Wall-E and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, different people have different opinions on which movie would win. With the Disney film corporation’s new era of high-quality animation at its peak, some people feel that Disney has forgotten what made their old movies timeless.

vs.

Photo by Nikki SekuloSki

David Cook performs with his band at Valparaiso University on Feb. 21. Val-paraiso was one of his stops for his “Declaration 2009” college tour.

SportS 13February 27, 2009

For over 30 years, the Crown Point wrestling pro-gram has been without a state champion. The drought ended this past weekend at Conseco Fieldhouse in India-napolis, IN, when the Bulldogs claimed three individual state champions.

In the 112 pound weight class, junior Anthony Hawk-ins (42-0) kept his undefeated record throughout the state tournament to claim Crown Point’s first state champion-ship since 1975.

The next state champion came out of the 125 pound weight class. Freshman Jason Tsirtsis (40-2) defeated an undefeated wrestler in his route to the state title.

“It feels amazing going in as a freshman and win-ning,” Tsirtsis said.

The final Bulldog state title came from senior Marcus Shrewsbury (42-0) in the 189 pound weight class.

“I have been working hard for individual state ever since I started wrestling, but team state is equally impor-tant,” Shrewsbury said.

The three state titles were accompanied by a seventh

place finish from freshman, 103 pound wrestler, Cameron Halsted (33-10), a fourth place finish from sophomore, 135 pound wrestler, Eric Roach (40-2), and a third place finish by senior wrestler, Mark Myers (41-1). Myers lost to the eventual state champion in the 160 pound weight class.

“I could have done a little better, but for the circum-stances and how good the kid was, I did well,” Myers said.

Also wrestling in the state meet was senior Jimmy Bakalik (24-15) in the 215 pound weight class.

Prior to the state meet, the Bulldogs claimed their third straight Duneland Athletic Conference title, and seventh consecutive sectional title. Also, the ‘Dogs sent a representative from all 14 weight classes to the semi-state round at Merrillville High School where five of the seven Bulldogs advancing to state claimed first place.

“In the 30 years that I’ve been coaching, this is the best team. We had a good team in 1987, but this team is better,” head coach Scott Vlink said.

While finishing up the individual part of the season, the team also advanced through the post-season to the team state championships at Center Grove High School

in Greenwood, IN. There, the Bulldogs, ranked number two in the state, will wrestle against seventh ranked Ron-calli Feb. 28 at 9 a.m.

“I am looking forward to the atmosphere,” Tsirtsis said, “It should be a lot of fun and less stressful than in-dividual.”

If the Bulldogs (18-1) are victorious over Roncalli (18-6), they will face off against the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association’s (IHSWCA) number one ranked team, Mishawaka in the semifinal, also on Feb. 28. The Bulldogs are behind Mishawaka by only 19 votes in the poll.

“If we can get past Mishawaka, we have a good chance,” Tsirtsis said.

The team has high expectations heading into the team state meet.

“I am looking for three wins and a state champion-ship,” Myers said.

Along with the high expectations, the team knows that the state tournament is a tough competition.

“The eight best teams in the state will be there,” Vlink said, “All I expect is to wrestle as well as we can and let the chips fall where they may.”

Junior Anthony Hawkins wrestles an opponent in the 112 pound semi-state at Merrillville High School. Hawkins became Crown Point’s first of three state champs.

By Trey Aultman / sports editor

Photo By trey AultmAn

Wrestling advances to state meetBulldogs bring home first three state championships since 1975 and compete for the team state title this weekend

SportS14 February 27, 2009

Dance team takes second at Nationals

The varsity dance team returned from the Universal Dance Associa-tion’s National Dance Team Champi-onship in Orlando, FL carrying a sec-ond place finish in the pom division and a fourth place finish in the high kick division.

The girls have placed second in pom and fourth in high kick for two consecutive seasons.

There are many tasks that the team must accomplish before quali-fying for nationals.

“Each summer we go to the UDA camp, and have to receive a placement of a home routine or re-ceive a superior trophy. We received both this year,” senior Hayley Plum-mer said.

Also, the girls compete at Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs, IN.

“Every year we travel to Floyd Central High School to perform in their UDA competition where we placed second in pom and first in kick,” sophomore Jessica Spangen-berg said.

Coach Rachel Bickle feels that the team’s success can be attributed to their strong bond.

“They have to work to achieve that bond, but by nationals they come together and get the job done. Its their unison and kicking in one line that really stands out,” Bickle said “All 13 girls are needed to make Crown Point Varsity Dance Team what it is. With-out a single one of them, we wouldn’t be the team we are.”

With earning second in the nation in pom, the girls’ routine will be aired on ESPN2 at noon on March 1st.

“Only the top three teams from each competition are shown,” senior Natasha Boyd said. “Coming out na-

tional runner-up two years in a row is an amazing accomplishment for the team.”

After returning home the girls headed on to the Lake Central In-vitational, where they earned first place in pom and kick. Also, the JV team won first in pom and in jazz.

With those placements they ad-vanced to regionals last weekend where the varsity team won first in both divisions. Also, the JV squad won first in pom, and second in jazz.

Following the high placements in the regional round, the team will travel to state on March 14th.

“To come home with two first place trophies from Lake Central’s competition and regionals was awe-some. We impressed a lot of people, and proved to ourselves that we de-served what we accomplished at na-tionals this year,” Boyd said.

By Vinnie Needham / reporter

The Crown Point Dance team poses with their trophies in Orlando, FL, after their performances in the UDA National Dance Team Championships. The girls finished second in pom and fourth in the nation in high kick.

Photo Courtesy of Lynn harnois

The Lady Bulldogs basketball season came to an end with a loss in the opening round of sectionals to Michigan City by a score of 32-44.

“Whenever you end your season it is always tough,” Head Coach Scott Reid said.

In the sectional game, senior Daniela Tarailo and freshman Courtney Kvachkoff led the team in scoring and both put up 12 points. Tarailo also had a game high four steals and led the team in rebounding with six boards.

Prior to the post-season the Lady Bulldogs started off 9-0. However, the success was short lived when the girls won only three of their next 12 games against Merrilliville and LaPorte.

On the December 30 match-up against DAC foe Merrilliville the Lady ‘Dogs were able to beat the Pirates by a score of 58-46. At the halfway point the Lady ‘Dogs had a comfortable 12 point lead. At an early point of the fourth quarter, the Lady Pirates inched back to a four point deficit, however after the run, the Lady Pirates went on a scoring drought, eventually leading to the Lady Bulldogs win and end the three game losing skid.

After the Merrilliville win, the girls went on an-other losing streak, this time against four conference teams until they faced off against LaPorte.

The girls had no problem against the Slicers, when they blew past them 79-32.

“It’s part of the double-robin conference games, coaches changed their gameplan against us, and we probably took some people by surprise,” Reid said.

Tarailo led the team in points per game, assist totals, steal totals, and pass deflctions, 17.6, 44, 62, 53, respectively.

The Lady Bulldogs finshed fifth in the conference with a .500 record of 7-7.

“We had six more conference wins than we had last year and six more total wins than last year, so it was definately an improvement,” Reid said.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by five seniors Megan Maloney, Flori Garcia-Vicente, Daniela Tarailo, Sydnee Reeves, and Claire Grubnich.

“I will miss the senior’s dedication, they came ready to work, they were a great bunch of girls, I’ve known most of them since the seventh grade so I will definitely miss them,” Reid said.

Girls Basketball ends season in sectional openerBy Hunter McKee / asst. sports editor

SportS 15February 27, 2009

take 5 with TREY

Basketball looks to repeat sectional championship

The boys basketball team had set the bar high last season by winning the sec-tional championship. They are looking to match that and more this season.

The boys have made their way to a 12-7 record overall this season. Also, the team is at 7-7 in Duneland Athletic Con-ference play.

“We have been pleased with the prog-ress of this season,” third year coach Clint Swan said. “Our only hope for success this season was to see constant improve-ment.”

The teams of the last two seasons are used as inspiration by some of the current players, who look to make a deep run this postseason.

“We want to do the same thing as last year’s class did,” senior guard Mike Lip-ton said.

The team has been led all season by its seniors including Lipton, and senior

Brady Schuster, who leads the team in scoring, but sophomore Michael Albrecht has stepped in and contributed as of late this season.

“It’s definitely a lot of fun to jump in the mix and get to play with the seniors. It’s been a really good experience for me,” Albrecht said.

One of the recent Bulldog victories came over the Lowell Red Devils by a score of 65-46. In the game, Albrecht led the team with 15 points, Lipton added 13, and Schuster scored 11.

Another big win for the Bulldogs came over DAC opponent Portage by a score of 66-55. In the game, Crown Point was led by senior Nathaniel Akers who had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“We try to keep from hanging our success on wins and losses,” Swan said.

The Bulldogs have drawn the LaPorte Slicers in the first round of sectional play. The game will be played at Michigan City High School 6 p.m. March 3.

Achievements- Junior Stephanie Edwards earned a spot in the tenth annual Indiana High School Bowling finals by placing first at the South Bend Semi-State.

-Senior Lance LaMere has committed to play football for the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. LaMere, who holds Crown Point’s record for most tackles in a season, joins a cougar team that was undefeated in the regular season and advanced as far as the NAIA Football Championship Series semifinal.

-Senior Holly Sheffer is the athletic department’s athlete of the week for the week of Feb. 16-21 for her performance in gymnastics. Sheffer posted a career high score of 9.1 on her floor exercise.

Steroids come to center stage... again

Once again the drug issue is center stage in the sports world.

This time it contains a much bigger name in Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod, as he is known, tested

positive for performance enhanc-ing drugs in an optional test during the 2004 season. One day after the information, that was supposed to be confidential, was released, Rodri-guez openly admitted to the using

of the steroids claiming that he was under an enormous amount of pressure.

Who wouldn’t feel the pressure of a $252 million price tag? With that much money and so many people counting on him, he folded under the pressure. Even though it was done under the use of steroids, A-Rod put up huge numbers in the four years that he says he was on steroids. He hit 156 home runs in the time span, second only to embattled superstar Barry Bonds. Also, in 2003, Rodriguez was named American League MVP.

Steroids have done a terrible thing to the game of baseball. The game is under constant scrutiny because a few people cannot control themselves. It has made anyone who ever hit a home run in the major leagues a suspect of steroid use. The number one problem is the league front office. They are constantly giv-ing incentives for home runs. It’s no wonder people are juicing to hit the ball farther. They already tried to move the fences in and when that wasn’t enough, the players needed some-thing else.

I respect the fact the Rodriguez came right out and said that he had done some-thing wrong. Admitting it was the most re-sponsible thing to do. Even though the league could not punish A-Rod for the test because the drug was not illegal then, he realized that he had many fans and teammates that deserve that respect. Even more admirable, when he realized it was wrong, he stopped. Rodriguez has called himself naïve for taking the performance enhancing drugs, but he has not tested positive since suspensions for such drugs were implemented.

This conflict has also brought back into light the punishment for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Currently, a first positive test is a 50 game suspension. Sev-eral people have come out and said that this is not punishment enough. While some say a life-time ban would be sufficient, I would agree with Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen that a one season ban would be an acceptable punishment.

The next step for Alex Rodriguez is to finish up his career. He has been in the MLB since 1994, when he was 18, and was a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. Now his status for the Hall is uncertain. This is just another example of how one bad decision can mess up something great.

By Colin Likas /reporter

By Trey Aultman / sports editor

Senior Nathaniel Akers looks to pass out of the post against E.C. Central.

Photo by trey AultmAn

Boys, girls swimming make state meetTrying to repeat as the sectional

champions, the girls swim team came up short, and took second to Munster at sectionals by a score of 365-328.5.

“We swam great at sectionals, but they [Munster] just swam a little bit better, overall it was a great meet,” head coach Bryon Angerman said.

At the midway point, Munster had a slim three point lead over the Bulldogs, however, they were unable to gain ground on the Seahorses, leading to the 36.5 loss.

“They [Munster] are tough,” Anger-man said. “The group of girls that they have is going to be top ten at the state meet.”

The Lady Bulldogs had seven swimmers qualify for the state meet including seniors Ashley Lionberger, Sam LaMantia and Molly Raspop-ovich, junior Ashley Gose, sophomore Rebekah Smith and freshman Ha-ley Balko and Hannah Raspopovich.

“I’m looking forward to watching the 200 Medley Relay at state, it should be our best shot at making top eight,” Angerman said. “With all of our rac-es, our goal is to place in the top 16,”

The 200 Medley Relay, consisting of sisters Molly and Hannah Raspop-ovich, Balko, and Gose, placed second to Munster with a time of 1:49.09 in the sectional and finished 12 in the state.

Smith, along with Lionberg-er, LaMantia and Hannah Raspop-ovich, qualified to swim the girls 200 freestyle relay in Indianapo-lis where the group finished 25.

“It’s an amazing feeling to go to state two years in a row,” Smith said. “I went to state as a freshman, so the feeling isn’t

new to me, but it still feels awesome.”Crown Point placed second in

the 200 freestyle relay, only to Mun-ster who also qualified for state.

“The Munster team is really tough, but I think we did our best and did a good job swimming against them,” Smith said.

Molly Raspopovich placed third in the 100 backstroke, however she was able to make the state cut with a time of 58.84.

At the state meet Hannah Raspop-ovich placed 12th in the 50 Freestyle.

The boys swim team also started their postseason by taking third place in sectionals which were held at home on Feb. 20. The boys are sending five individual swimmers to the state meet in Indianapolis this weekend.

State qualifiers include seniors Matt Kukurugya and Brendan Morin, sopho-mores Blake Yeager and Marcus Try-

bula, and freshman Mike Kukurugya.Yeager, who is part of the 200

Freestyle and 200 Medley relay teams which both broke team records (1:26.31 and 1:37.37 respectivley), also in-dividualy broke the 200 Freestyle team record with a time of 1:43.95.

“I have been working hard and looking forward to sectionals all year,” Yeager said. “I was was swimming re-ally well [at sectionals]. I’m a little ner-vous, but still very excited for State.

Matt Kukurugya also broke a team record earning a time of 1:56.60 for the 200 Individual Medley.

Sophomore diver Tyler Croell reached regionals finish-ing with a sectional score of 383.30.

The boys head down to IU-PUI in Indianapolis to com-pete at the state meet tomorrow.

Com

ing

Up

2.27.09-Varsity/JV Boys Basketball vs. Chesterton (senior night)...6 p.m.

-Varsity Boys Swimming State...TBA

3.4.09-Varsity/JV Girls Track Indoor meet vs. Clark, Gavit, and Lake Central @ Lake Central...6 p.m.

3.10.09-Varsity/JV Boys Track Indoor meet vs. Lake Central and Por-tage @ Portage... 5 p.m.

3.12.09-Varsity/JV Girls Track Indoor meet @ Chesterton...6 p.m.

2.28.09-Varsity Boys Swimming State Finals...TBA

-Varsity Boys Wrestling State Center Grove vs. Roncalli... 10 a.m.

-Girls Varsity Gymnastics DAC meet at home... 12 p.m.

For more information on CPHS sporting events, visit www.HighSchoolSports.net.

3.6.09-Varsity Boys Basketball sectional at Michigan City...TBA

3.7.09-Varsity Girls Gymnastics sectional @ Chesterton... TBA

-Varsity Boys Basketball sectional championship @ Michigan City... 7 p.m.3.3.09

-Varsity Boys Basketball sectional @ Michigan City vs. LaPorte... 5 p.m.

3.13.09-Varsity Boys Basketball regional ... TBA

-Varsity Boys/Girls Track and Field @ Purdue... 9 a.m.

-Varsity Girls Gymnastics re-gional... TBA

Sophomore Jordan McRae swims the 100 yard butterfly at the sectional meet.

Photo byJoe neJmAn

By Milan Savich / reporter

Personalities16 February 27, 2009

Certified driving SChool865 MadiSon Street Crown Point, in 219-662-7733

(one bloCk weSt of broadway on the Corner of SuMMit and MadiSon)

•30 hours classroom plus 6 hours of driving(home pick-up for driving)

•The state of Indiana requires all Driver’s Education classroom and driving must be

completed in a maximum of 120 days!

•Student must be 15 years of age and show copy of birth certificate

•Fully licensed by the State of Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and

Department of Education.

•All instructors are teachers certified in driver’s education.

CLASS OPTIONS:

Evening Classes: 3 Days a week for 5 weeks Monday & Wednesday 6 - 8 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to noon (New classes start every Monday)

2 Days a week for 7 1/2 weeks Tuesday & Thursday 6-8 p.m. Starting October 2 Ending November 20 October 30 December 18 November 25 January 29 January 6 Febuary 24 (No class November 27, December 23, December 25, December 30, and January 1)

Sunday Classes: 12 Sundays for 12 weeks Sunday 1 - 3:30 p.m. Starting October 19 Ending January 18 November 30 March 1 January 25 April 19 March 8 June 14 (No class December 21, December 28, April 12, May 10, and May 24)

Saturday & Sunday: Weekend only 1 - 3:30 p.m. Starting May 2 Ending June 14 (No classes May 10 and May 24)

*Possible time and date changes. Call for confirmation.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

Steppin’ out:

What is your fondest high school memory?Playing drums with my band for a talent show in theater class.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would go to Ireland becase I’m Irish. I have never been there but I have always wanted to.

Who are three people you would love to spend the day with?Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Jessica Alba and Megan Fox.

Name a major issue you believe teens deal with everyday?Drugs are a big problem because they’re so easy to get and so many people do them.

What is one thing that is un-known to most people?The only thing you should fear is fear itself.

What was your greatest accom-plishment?Recording music with my band. I was happy that we could all get together and work towards something bigger then any of us have ever done

Danny Fabrici

Photo By Joe NeJmaN

sophomore

By Jeff Tompkins / staff writer

Look out dancers, there’s a new team in town.

Meet The Lady Steppers, a new after-school extracurricular step group year that specializes in “stepping,” an urban dance phenomenon similar to such moves displayed in the movie “Step Up” and its sequel “Step Up 2: The Streets.”

Formed earlier this school year, the Steppers came out of a relatively unknown position to almost instant gratification at the CPHS talent show on January 23. The performance later won the “Most Crowd Pleasing” award.

Junior Keisha Smith, who initially thought of the idea to create the Steppers, decided to form the team after not making the high school’s dance team.

“There were a lot of moves that I just hadn’t done before when I tried out for the dance team, so me and a couple friends decided to do our own thing,” Smith said.

Having a team that is less than one year old, Smith is awestruck by the reception that her team has already received in their first year.

“We practiced and made everything perfect and that’s why we won. But we didn’t think we’d be this good so fast,” she said.

History teacher Don Bernacky, one of the five judges at the talent show, points out that the Steppers were beyond what anyone expected.

“Not only were their families screaming for them, but the entire auditorium. It was just a no-brainer to pick them for the Most Crowd Pleasing,”

“Those girls just blew us away,” Bernacky said.

Custodian Lorraine Love, who is the self-admitted “unofficial mother” of the group, says she’s surprised and excited about the progress and early success of the girls.

“I’m so proud of them. They’ve worked hard all year, and it shows. They’ve worked hard and that’s what everyone got to see at the talent show,” Love said.

After their successful talent show performance, the Steppers also performed at a staff meeting for teachers and school administrators. Many in the room didn’t even know a step team existed at the high school.

“They did their routine for us and were really impressive. It’s kind of a surprise I’ve never heard of them before, because usually you hear about things like that,” Physics teacher Jerome Flewelling said.

Smith says she plans to continue practicing with the team into the next school year, hopefully gaining members. She also plans to try out for the dance team again, even though she’s still a “stepper.”

“If we keep practicing and working together we can only get better. There’s still next year’s talent show,” Smith said.

Sophomores Aireal Strickland, Ariel Robinson, and freshmen Natalia Esper, Arereal Strickland, Alexa Aguirre, Lysandra Orrantia, Siobanh Bryant, some members of the Lady Steppers, perform at the talent show. The Steppers won the “Most Crowd Pleasing” award.

Photo By alex Parrish

Lady Steppers extracurricular group wins talent show with their urban-style dance routine