The Catalyst

Volume 16, Issue 8,May,2012

1102 Wildcat Ave.Fruita, CO 81521

Fruita Monument High School Ready For

Summer?

News Pg. #3

Smile, you’re on cameraNew school cameras start a debate

Lifestyle Pg. #4

10 Books you should read before collegeSeniors, we know what you can do this summer

The Lucky One: Movie reviewGuys, you know you want to see it

Features Pg. #5

What does your ACT score mean?Stanford or McDonalds?

Seminary The pros and cons of this religous class

Commentary Pg. #11

5 Ways to make shallow people like youFollow these 5 simple steps to gain some new friends

Managing Editors: Alyssa Urban and Jennifer Robinson. Commentary Editor: Taylor Scofield. Features Editor: Alyssa Urban. Sports Edi-tor: Eden Laase. News Editor and Business Mannager: Keaton Brown. Lifestyle Editor: Jennifer Robinson. Photo Editor : Madison Wittman. Reporters: Matt Scofield, Kaitlin Lewis, Hannah Soderborg, Laren Cyphers, Tucker Blake, Cicely Kohler, Cody Daniels, Courtney Kreidler, Bram Heberle, Shannon Janssen, Tristan White, Erika Gardner.Staff Adviser: Trent Wuster Trent.Wuster@d51schools.org (970) 254-7280

The Catalyst is a publication of Fruita Monument High School, 1102 Wildcat Avenue, Fruita, Colorado. The Catalyst is published twice per quarter and is distributed free to Fruita Monument High School students and staff. Advertising rates and deadlines are available via e-mail at fruitacatalyst@gmail.com. Content of the student newspaper is an expression of 1st amendment freedom of speech and press rights and do not represent the position or policies of Mesa County School District #51 or of Fruita Monument High School’s adminis-tration or staff. As stated in School Board policy, school-spon-sored publications are a public forum for students as well as

an educational activity through which students can gain experience in reporting, writing, editing and more in the effort to promote responsible journalism. Content of school publications may reflect all areas of student interest, which may include topics about which there may be dissent or controversy. Comments, questions, suggestions, or letters to the editor are welcome. Unsigned editorials will not be printed. Letters may be edited for length and grammar. Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

The Staff:

2012 London Summer OlympicsTrack, Volleyball, Ping-Pong, Fish and Chips

Sports Pg. #10

Your Team of Choice for Sports Medicine

S P O R T S M E D I C I N E

When it comes to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment

of sports injuries, depend on the RMOA Sports Medicine

Team to help you stay in the game.

Richard J. Price, MD | Mark G. Luker, MD | Michael T. Reeder, DO | Michael J. Huang, MD

FMHS seniors wait for graduation to end and for their adult lives to begin.

Spring Sports Wrap-upSee how Fruita spring sports finished

Photos by Alyssa Urban

Hot Tomato vs. PablosWho do you love?

New Orleans Works Hard to Recover

Smile, you’re on CameraBy: Tucker Blake, Reporter

Recently, the security cameras at Fruita Monument High School got an upgrade. The old cameras have all been exchanged with high-tech, high definition cameras. “We replaced all of the cameras, and we even added another,” said Robin Kendall, the school liaison officer. “The old cameras were having problems. One shut down, and some of the other one’s were so poor we couldn’t even see the footage they took.” Non-operational secu-rity cameras seem to be a de-veloping problem at FMHS. “It is a good security step for the school,” said se-nior, Wyatt Allen. “The only

thing I am worried about is a lack of privacy at the school.” CJ Gonzales, another senior at Fruita, said some-thing along the same lines. “I don’t think it is worth it. I hear that they have audio, and I don’t re-ally think that everything we say should be heard.” Con-trary to Gon-zales’ opinion about the micro-phone, the cameras actually don’t have audio capabilities. “What happens is that most technological things in

the whole school district go through a replacement cycle. All of the other high schools

in the valley have these cameras, and so do

most of the middle schools.

Fruita Monument was actually the last high school to get these new cameras.” said an assistant principal, Todd

McClaskey. . While McClaskey is

involved with the new cam-eras, it is the School District’s Safety Officer, Tim Leon, who is completely in charge

of the new cameras, including ordering them. “The new cameras are a lot better,” said Kendall. “They have a higher defini-tion and we can change the angle on the cameras remote-ly.” Kendall continued to explain how the cameras are used. “The security cam-eras have a 24 hour recording period. We really only use them when we have a specific situation so we can look back to that area where the incident happened, and in that way we can help make things right.” The new cameras do put more responsibility on the school. “Because the cameras

are there, the school assumes the position of a security guard, and anything that hap-pens on school ground should be solved by the school,” said McClaskey. “Hopefully these cameras will help us to keep our good students safer.” While the student opinion about the cameras may not be the same as the staff, in all reality, the cam-eras do keep the students safe, and are an extremely useful tool to help solve petty crimes that are prone to happen at school.

Record TemperaturesBy: Tristan White, Reporter

The time of sum-mer has arrived early, many would say. The tempera-tures that the Grand Valley has been experiencing lately have broken records and given hints to a long and warm summer that we can hopefully all enjoy. The temperatures started in early March and they have continued so that spring has turned into an early summer. The tempera-tures have broken records for the month of March in the last ten years. The temperatures were a more than un-wel-come respite to the spring sports athletes. “The heat is almost as bad as practic-ing in the snow. Actually its worse” said Christian Lobato a lacrosse player “the heat makes it unbear-able wearing the protective gear is already hot but when it’s ninety degrees it’s even worse.” Most of the spring

sports athletes agreed “run-ning long distance is bad enough. You shouldn’t have to it in the heat. I love to run just not in hundred degree conditions.” joked Osborn. Of course in every group there is always the odd one out. “I enjoy the heat I think it makes for more favor-able conditions. Also the heat proves that global warming is happening. And who isn’t happy about that?” Said Me-gan Volkmann a sophomore golfer, in some people’s brain the heat always has its ben-efits. “The last time it was this hot I was just a wee lad in diapers” said Jake Gulden, sophomore. “The heat’s so bad it makes it hard to walk around sometimes. I wish I still had those diapers.” Joke or no the heat is on. The temperatures have been rising in the Grand Valley, but the real question is how people feel about the heat. Will they like the heat or hate it?

After Hurricane Katrina blasted through New Orleans in 2005, New Orleans became the murder capital of the country. In the worst years, the number of deaths has risen over 400 deaths. This crisis is attrib-uted to many things. Because of the destruction and havoc that was caused by the storm, many say that the youth of the area have been desensitized to aggression and anger. Most murders during the last few years have been mostly for two things: drugs and argu-ments. Dozens of cases began as an argument and then esca-lated until they turned into a

slaying. Even though gangs do exist, they are not the major reason for crime. In New Orleans, the poverty rate is nearly twenty five percent, which is ten percent above the national average. Many homes, businesses, and recreation centers have not reopened since the time of Hurricane Katrina. Dumped appliances, broken automo-biles, and rotting houses are all over the city. In many cases of vio-lent crimes, the crimes don’t get solved. It’s not because no one witnesses the crimes, it’s because no one is ready to come forward with informa-

tion. The local government of New Orleans is notorious for being corrupt and unfair when pertaining towards citizens rights. The new major de-scribed murder as the number one problem in New Orleans. He has worked with the local Crime stoppers chapter and officers so that they can meet residents and form a trust between them and police of-ficers. The local government hopes that they will be able to fix many of the issues that oc-cur in the area in the coming months.

By: Bram Heberle, Reporter

Everything’s Bigger in JapanBy: Laren Cyphers, Reporter

593 pounds was the weight of the new record holding fish sold at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan, the largest fish market in the world. The catcher of this blue fin tuna was the vic-tor of a staggering 736,000 dollars because of this one fish he caught off the Amori prefecture. This one fish was the single biggest tuna whose cap-ture and sale has ever been recorded. The record holder prior to this was sold for a dramatically lower price of 422,000 dollars in January of 2011.

Kiyoshi Kimura dished out the big bucks at the first auction of the New Year, according to the Tokyo Times. He runs the Sushi-Zanmai chain in Japan and is president of Kiyomura Co. After a devastating tsunami in March, he wanted to keep the record-setting tuna in Japan in order to “give Japan a boost and have Japanese people eat the most delicious tuna,” the Mainichi Daily News quoted him saying. The previous record-setter had been taken to Hong Kong after purchase. Kimura now has a costly piece of sushi containing

the tuna in his store worth 50 dollars. Still, despite its reputation, pieces of the prize fish are expected to sell for about five dollars, according to CNN. "It's superb. I can do nothing but smile. I am very happy," said customer Ko-suke Shimogawara, pointing out that if sold at its market price, the price should not be a measly five dollars, but 96 dollars for each piece of sushi. “President Kimura is so generous,” he added, accord-ing to ABC News.

3The Catalyst May 2012

News

The Catalyst 4A&E

May 2012

By Taylor Scofield, Commentary Editor

9 books you should read before college

This summer, many students will be busy between sports, working, and hanging out wtih friends. However, if you find yourself with some free time, take a second to look at this list of books. According to Mr. Palmer, AP Language teacher at Fruita, these books are essential reads for any student going to college.

1. Any Charles Dickens book Charles Dickens, an English writer, was consid-ered the greatest Victorian author. Perhaps his most famous works are David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. His works are charac-terized by vivid detail of Lon-don. All of his books are very tough reads with advanced

language. However, they pay off in their captivating imag-ery and genuine fantasy.

2. My Ántonia by Willa Cather This series of five books weaves a complex web following the life of a young girl named Ántonia “Tony” Shimerda. The book is narrated through the eyes of Jim Burden who develops a romance with Antonia in the first book. Do not start this series unless you’re ready for a lengthy storyline with some wonderful twists.

3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Pulitzer Prize winning novel is considered Steinbeck’s masterpiece. Set during the Great Depres-sion, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of share-croppers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship and changes in financial and agri-cultural industries. Written in typical Steinbeck fashion, this storyline is meant to capture the reader’s emotions.

4. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse This book, Hesse’s ninth novel, was originally written in German. It is the tale of Siddhartha and Gov-

inda, two companions who set out in search of Buddha and enlightenment. This book is not only for Buddhists. It has a high literary value and is commonly alluded to.

5. The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien Not so much a book as a collection of short stories, this piece illustrates O’Brien’s personal experiences in the Vietnam War. Even though the characters are based on a work of fiction, they show similarities to real soldiers that O’Brien knew during his time in the war. For anyone interested in going into the armed forces this is a must-read.

6. Desert Solitaire by Ed-ward Abbey Abbey’s fourth book and his first book length non-fiction work, Desert Solitaire was his biggest success and brought him critical acclaim and popularity as a nature writer. The book is centered on the author’s activities as a park ranger at Arches Nation-al Monument (now National Park). This is a great book for anyone who loves nature.

7. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok The book’s protago-nist is Asher Lev, a Jewish

boy in New York City. Asher is a loner with artistic inclina-tions. His art, however, causes conflicts with his family and other members of his com-munity. The book follows Asher’s maturity as both an artist and a Jew. Potok brings up the constant struggle be-tween tradition and individu-ality in this novel. This is a great read for any artist.

8. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut This satirical novel follows the experiences and journeys of a young soldier named Billy Pilgrim during World War Two. Ranked the 18th greatest English novel of the 20th century by Modern Library, it is generally rec-ognized as Vonnegut’s most influential and popular work. This is another great book for someone considering the armed forces or anyone who loves action.

9. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose This non-fiction piece follows the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the western United States. It chronicles their discover-ies, hardships and setbacks on their way to the Pacific Ocean. This is an essential non-fiction piece for any col-lege student.

Top 8 websites: Catalyst editionBy Hannah Soderborg, Reporter

Surfing the web can be highly addictive and some-times mind numbing. These are the top ten time wasting, websites you can spend hours upon hours on happily wast-ing your life away.

1. Stumbleupon This highly addictive website will have you up at all hours exploring the web. That’s why it’s our number one website. The way stumbleupon works is, you enter a variety of your interests. Then you hit the all- knowing “stumble” button and it brings up websites that pertain to your interests. Be amazed and entranced; you can be on this website forever.

I found most of the websites below because of stumble-upon, that’s obviously why it’s number one. Say goodbye to your social life; stumble-upon is better anyways.

2. TheBerryThe berry is a site geared toward woman but there are a few things on there that I’m sure some guys would enjoy. Basically, the Berry compiles awesome, funny, beautiful pictures and separates them into different groups. Groups like: Hot men of the Berry, Moring coffee, The berry break, and of course shirt-less Fridays. They update their website EVERYDAY.

So there is always something new to waste your time in class looking at.

3. TheChiveNow I know reading that last one, all the men got jealous, but no fear! TheChive is the exact same thing as TheBerry, it just has some testosterone injected in. The pictures range from cute, or hilarious to gut wrenchingly gross.

4. The OatmealThe Oatmeal is a website created by Matthew Inman. He has various cartoons and blogs that are pretty much the funniest thing around. He takes everyday ordinary thing

and makes them hilarious, like Sriracha hot sauce and what people do on airplanes. If you want to know what I’m talking about you simply must visit theoatmeal.com.

5. College HumorCollege humor first got fa-mous when their prank war started to catch attention. Now there are lots of other noteworthy videos and blogs to check out.

6. CrackedCracked.com is not your ordinary website. They have lists upon lists of some of the weirdest occurrences in hu-man history. This can capti-

vate you for hours.

7. Tosh.0Daniel Tosh is one of the funniest dudes on cable. His show is very popular with almost everyone. He also has a blog that posts funny vid-eos and awesome clips. It’s the best place to go to get his same kind of biting humor when you miss your Tosh fix.

8. Funny or DieFunny or die is super funny. They have countless videos that have gone viral because of their content. One of my favorites: having a completely wasted guy read Twas the Night Before Christmas.

A Fruita student poses while holding a few of the books on Mr. Palmers “must read before college” list.

Photo by Cicely Kohler

“The envi-ronment is already pretty screwed up.

The Catalyst 5Features

May 2012

Story and photo by Tristan White, Reporter

Imagine only taking a five minute shower every day. Imagine being a little bit colder in the winter because the thermostat is set a few degrees lower. Imagine leaving your car at home and carpooling with friends, or even riding a bike to school. If you picture these changes, they would seem slightly uncom-fortable for the average per-son but far from unbearable. Being slightly uncomfortable might be exactly what stu-dents and their families need, if they are willing to go green. “The environment is already pretty screwed up. We need to work together to fix it.” Steven Porter, a sopho-more, said. It’s always best to start at home, where everyone has their personal indulgence or habit that isn’t quite the best thing for Ol’ Mama Nature. Perhaps you leave the faucet running while you’re brushing your teeth. Maybe you drive a gigantic truck which gets a whooping four miles to the gallon. By some chance, your mother let you watch “The Exorcist” when you were four years old. You’re scarred for life and now have to leave every light on in the house when your home alone. Whatever the issue may be, the important thing is figuring what you can do to change that destructive habit. Often, people think that “going green” will cost a fortune. In reality, the better choices for the environment are often only slightly more than their alternatives or they save energy and end up pay-ing for themselves. According to earthaidkit.com, compact fluorescent light bulbs use around 25% of the electric-ity a conventional light bulb uses. Because you save the money that would have other-wise gone into paying for the electricity, the bulbs practi-cally pay for themselves. Solar panels work in the same

manner. Other ways to save both the planet and money on electricity include using pow-er strips that stop “vampire”

energy (energy drained from dormant appli-ances and electronics) from being used, hang-ing your clothes up to dry outside, setting the air conditioner a few degrees higher and un-

plugging phone chargers and appliances when they’re not in use. The Grand Valley is known for its scorching hot summers; about the only na-tive species here is Prickly Pear Cactus. Most shrubs, flowers, and trees found in neighborhoods are not from around here. These plants require lots of water that the semi-desert climate can’t provide. One way to save water is to landscape yards with native vegetation that can survive the hot summers with minimal water usage. Two other handy gad-gets that protect are limited resource are low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. Faucet aerators limit the heat used when warming water and both slow water flow when using a sink or shower. “We have a “green” shower head, it doesn’t let out as much water as a normal shower but you barely notice it,” commented Cory Odom, sophomore. Along with water shortages, pollution is a significant problem in the U.S. According to scientifi-camerican.com, in 2009, 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide were released from power plants. Although most would guess that cars released far less than that, automobiles accounted for over a fourth of the remaining 5.6 billion metric tons of CO2 released. Travis Hash and Kirk-land Mahoney, both sopho-mores, thought that we should switch to natural gas. “The infrastructure is already set up, we already have pipelines. It’s 40 percent cheaper and it burns way cleaner,” said

Hash. Mahoney added, “There’s a two hundred year supply. It’s abundant.” One way to help with this problem is to walk or bike to school. Instead of tak-ing your own car to school, try carpooling or taking pub-lic transportation such as bus-es. Another benefit of doing this is that you save money because you don’t have to buy gas, you lower your chance of obesity, and you improve your cardiovascular health. You can also live a “greener” life style by making better choices when purchasing

and consuming food. Lo-cal and organic produce is always a wise decision. It doesn’t travel nearly as far as most store bought food and it contains more nutrients than non-organic produce. Eating low on the food chain, like vegetables and grains, improve your health and require much less energy to transport. If you’re not a vegetarian, try and limit your meals that include meat. Meat is expensive to process and to ship. Plus, the environmental

cost of hor-mones, chemi-cals, and feed lots is just too great. Every time you purchase a new couch, appliance, or table, new resources must be taken to from the earth to cre-ate these things. People can help the planet by reusing and recycling these items

and re-sources. For

example, instead of buying a new couch, look

for one at Goodwill or on craigslist.com. When your’re finished using your old com-puters, TV’s, and phones, bring them to a certified recy-cling center where the metals can be sorted and then reused. Lastly, stay away from plastic. According to worldwatch.org, out of the 14 billion plastic water bottles purchased in 2010, 90% went into the trash. Plastic is very bad for the environment because it isn’t biodegradable. Because of their light weight, they can easily be blow into

Luke, come to the green side…together we will save the Earth

rivers, lakes, and the ocean.

Animals, especially in the oceans, mistake plastic for food, swallow it, and then perish because their stomachs can’t digest it. “We need to save the environment for future gen-erations, so people can enjoy it for years to come,” stated Emily Conkling, a sopho-more. Next time you’re purchasing a vehicle, buy a hybrid. Next time you’re at the grocery store, bring your own reusable bags. Next time you drink out of a plastic water bottle, put it into a re-cycling container. Remember, reduce and reuse come before recycle. Now…JOIN THE GREEN SIDE!

The Catalyst 6Summer

May 2012

By Jennifer Robinson, A&E Editor

Pick a summer adventure Whether you’re an uber-jock or a sun shunner, we’ve got you covered this summer. Follow our flowchart to find out what we have planned for you.

Your idea of“boating”

is...Soaking up sun

on a boat deck at Lake Powell.

Renting a Kayak or something.

Dining out in the

summer means...

Yourfavorite state

park is....Sitting on the

patio of a local coffee shop under

the misters.

Snack bars and BBQ’s, baby.

When you notice you’re

gaining weight in

the summer, you...

When you think of

“summer festival,” you think

of...

Free.

Send yourself to fitness bootcamp.

Do an at home work-out. Gym

memberships are too expensive.

None. You don’t do sun and bugs.

One that hasawesome hiking

trails.

Agree orDisagree?

A death race sounds kinda

fun.

Uh, no.

Fourth of July in Ouray, Colorado.

Local bands and the farmers mar-ket downtown.

You’re signing up right now!A summer

event you’re looking

forward to is...

Grilling in yourbackyard, unless you

can find somedirt-cheap fun stuff.

Nothing you have to buy tickets for in advance. Summer is about spontaneity.

Visit the budget section on the next

page.

Visit the budget section on the next

page.

Visit the fitness section on the next

page.

Visit the fitness section on the next

page.Visit the culture

section on the next page.

Visit the road trip section on the next

page.

Visit the road trip section on the next

page.

Your summer adventureThe Catalyst

7SummerMay 2012

By Jennifer Robinson, A&E Editor

Budget Fitness

Culture Road trip

So maybe you won’t be saving all your money this sum-mer, but you’re look-ing to save some cash whenever possible.Fortunately, the Grand Valley supplies a few opportunities to save money, and still be social. Cheep weekly events such as Glade Park movies under the stars and Thursday night summer concerts attract many locals.

You love the taste of sweat. You

live for the agony of a long run on a 98 degree day. The more your body

screams, the more you enjoy the work-out… This is why you’re signing up for a zombie infested 5k obstacle course race in Denver, on July 14th. If that isn’t your cup of tea, there’s always the Palisade

Maybe you won’t get to go out of country and experi-ence different culture like you hoped. But if you’re looking to stay in the valley and expe-rience your own small town culture, you’ve got plenty of opportu-nities. Starting on May 26th and extending through June 2nd, JUCO is a good way to experience a little taste of Grand Junc-tion. The event has been a baseball tradi-tion for over 50 years at Suplizio Field. Maybe you

Glade Park’s movies under the stars are held every Friday, starting on June 8th at the Glade Park fire department. Thursday con-certs are held at the Fruita Civic Center and feature bands such as Pineapple Crackers, Randy Fosburgh, Flat Top Reed and many more.

aren’t so interested in baseball, and would rather join family or friends downtown for Farmers Market on Thursday Nights start-ing on June 14th. Another big hit for the Grand Val-ley is Country Jam June 20th through June 24th. This year’s line-up includes Chris Young, Trace Adkins, Zac Brown Band and Blake Shelton. Then of course, the Rimrock rodeo will be hosted every Tuesday night at Rimrock Rodeo in Fruita.

Bike Festival, on June 9th, which ranges from courses of 44 miles to 20 miles of mountain biking. Also on June 9th, is the Highline Hustle. This event includes a 500 me-ter swim in Highline Lake, a 16 mile bike road race, and a 3 mile trail run. And there’s always the option of joining a gym.

You’re a col-lector of ex-periences, not objects. Living in Colorado sup-plies many op-

portunities to hop in the car and travel to somewhere new and exciting. You might be interested in week long vacations or just one night adventures, and we’ve got that. Olathe and Delta both require about an hour’s drive, but both have plenty of summer time activi-ties. On July 13th and 14th, Olathe is putting on a two day concert

of Christian bands in-cluding Sixteen Cities, The Afters and many more. Meanwhile, Delta hosts a drive in movie throughout the summer but further in-formation is still TBA. Maybe you’re looking to get away from the crowds though. Off-roading or camping in one of the many national parks might be of interest. With places such as Moab, Uncompahgre and Gunnison rela-tively close, it won’t be hard to find a soli-tude place to spend a weekend with friends.

$

Graphics courtesy of Microsoft Office

The Catalyst 8Features

May 2012

By Eden Laase, Sports Editor

What does your ACT score mean? Every year, juniors spend months preparing for one test: the ACT. Students do tons of prep and obsess over getting a good score. And with good reason. A good ACT score can open many doors when it comes to college. “I did a lot of online practice tests to prepare. It really helped me to work quickly and to understand the questions,” said Abby Smith. The ACT isn’t de-signed or graded like any oth-er test. High school students have been taking standardized tests for years, but the ACT is different. It is broken up into four sections: 75 English questions, 60 Math questions, 40 Reading questions and 40 Science questions. The ACT is graded on a 36 point scale, one being low, and 36 being high. A student’s composite score is based on what every-one else in the country scores. What might be a 36 one year could be a 35 the next. A good ACT score all depends on where you want to go to college. Here are some examples of where your score can take you.

Staying in-state?University of Colorado at Boulder: Normally, in order to get into CU, a score of at least 23 is needed, but in-state students are accepted auto-

matically if they get a 19 and maintain a 2.8 GPA.University of Northern Colorado: In order to get into UNC, and ACT score in the 19 to 25 range is required.

Colorado Mesa University: CMU has no set ACT score, but the average student scored between a 17 and a 23.Colorado State University: CSU generally requires a 24

for admission, but like CU, they will accept a 19 for in-state students.

Interested in going out of state? Ohio State University: In order to attend Ohio State, an ACT score in the 26 to 30 range is required.University Of Arizona: Ari-zona requires a 21 in order to gain admission.

What about an Ivy League?Harvard: Highly competitive schools like Harvard require a score in the 31 to 35 range in order to attend. ACT testing can be stressful, especially since it is so important. However, the great thing about the ACT is that it can be re-taken up to 12 times. So, if your score wasn’t what you hoped, don’t worry, re-taking is always an option. “It makes me feel bet-ter knowing that I can always re-take the ACT, but, hope-fully I will get a good score the first time,” said Sabreena Carruth.

If you go to Fruita Monument High School, chances are you know a mem-ber of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Some also refer to them as Mormons or LDS’s. Fruita Monument provides a Semi-nary class as there are a large amount of Mormons in the valley. “Seminary is an op-tional class that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints provides,” explained Junior and Mormon, Allison Sessum, “It allows both mem-bers and nonmembers to learn more about their church.” At Fruita, the class is offered 3rd through 7th period for high schoolers. For freshmen it is only offered 8th period. The events that take place in the Seminary build-ing located across Wildcat Way have long been myste-rious to those nonmembers that decline to attend. Be

Seminary: advantage or disadvantage?perplexed no longer all you Catholics, Lutherans and Sci-entologists. “We study one book of scripture every year and usually follow along chrono-logically and get a lesson daily, based on where we’re at in the book,” said Sessum, “It’s always a surprise and it’s a nice break away from school.”Apart from all the surprises, sprinkles and sparkles Semi-nary does have a hitch. “The only disadvantage is we don’t get to take as many elective classes,” Sessum said with a laugh. The advantages, how-ever, may be more than just a nice break. Rumors of being in Seminary helps your GPA have been discussed, whether it be at The Round Table or at the water cooler, for ages. “In the beginning, [Seminary] can either hurt or help your GPA,” says Sessum, “That’s why I

was top of the class for a little bit.” The theory is that with one less class (a total of seven classes) to divide by to find your average, the average should equal a larger number than if you had to divide by eight. For example, if each class is worth 32 points and you get an A in all eight non-weighted classes, then your average will be a 4.0. Howev-er, if you get A’s and you fac-tor in just seven classes then the average is about 4.57. Vinny Castellini, a

junior and non-Mormon, be-lieves this theory holds true. “It depends if the student has all A’s. Then it does raise their GPA because on average they have one less class.” “Since seminary is not reflected on the transcript, students who take it do have fewer classes to factor into their GPA so they earn a high-er GPA sooner,” explained school counselor Catherine Mudd. “It also affects the valedictorian status in that someone could conceivably have taken fewer classes

By Laren Cyphers, Reporter

and then have a higher GPA. School District 51 just looks at the final GPA of all seniors and takes the person with the highest and bestows them with the Valedictorian status.” Castellini and Sessum are, in fact, both correct, proves Mudd. Therefore, attending Seminary has an effect on GPA, especially in the first few semesters of a student’s high school career depending on their grade in the class and other classes.

Photo by Alyssa Urban

Photo by Alyssa Urban

May 2012

9The Catalyst

Features

Hot Tomato Cafe shows off it’s biking theme outside of the restaurant.

Story and photos by Alyssa Urban, Features Editor

Pablo’s Pizza vs. Hot TomatoPablo’s Pizza: Most Fruita locals were devastated when they realized that Pablo’s Pizza was closing at the beginning of 2012, but customers were overjoyed when the pizzeria reopened under new owner-ship at the end of April. “We were looking to buy a business and this seemed like a good opportuni-ty for us,” said new co-owner Terry Davis. While the original Pablo’s Pizza owned by Paul Knaysi on Main Street in Grand Junction has been open since 2000, citizens of Fruita enjoy the convenience of an-other pizza shop in their area. New owners Dawn and Terry Davis see a bright future as students and other customers love the exciting features of the menu. “I like Pablo’s Pizza because it doesn’t seem as greasy as Hot Tomato’s,” said junior Joey Franklin. Pablo’s also offers many specialty pizzas such as the Dracula’s Nemesis, The Santa Fe Way and many more. Terry Davis observes that the most popular pizza is generally Punk’s Pesto, but among students it is the one and only Mac N’ Cheese Pizza. “No pizza can beat the Mac N’ Cheese Pizza,” said

McIntyre. Artist Pablo Picasso did, in fact, have an impact on the creation of Pablo’s Pizzeria. The restaurant’s website describes that just as Picasso changed the world of art, Pablo’s Pizza hopes to change their customers’ world of pizza. Reflectedbythename, the inside of the pizza place has classy and abstract artwork hung upon the walls by the tables. Although it is very different from Hot Tomato’s environment, the décor works for the more formal type restaurant. Pablo’s Pizza is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. while Hot Tomato’s hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. “Pablo’s Pizza deliv-ers which makes it nicer on us customers,” said soph-omore Maggie Sackse. With the philosophy of the pizzeria being that eat-ing pizza should intertwine with exploring, learning and loving, the Pablo’s Pizza staff strives to always satisfy their-hungry customers.

Hot Tomato: Ever since it was opened in 2005, Hot Tomato has attracted all different groups of customers. The small pizzeria is owned and managed by Jen Zeuner and Anne Keller who both bring different styles to the table. As Zeuner is from New Jersey, she had more ex-perience in the pizza industry. Zeuner knew the traditional ways of the east coast which helped creating the restau-rant. Keller, originally from Seattle, recognized the atmo-sphere of the west coast area and was able to incorporate

that into Hot Tomato. “Our pizza is unique because we make everything from scratch,” said Keller, “I don’t think many places do that anymore so we make sure all our ingredients are fresh every day.” Not only does Hot To-mato offer their one of a kind pizza, but also have their fa-mous Stromboli which Keller says has to be one of the most popular items on the menu. “I don’t really like pizza that much, but the Stromboli at Hot Tomato is my favorite,” said sophomore, Cassidy Koos.

Zuener and Keller movedtoFruitainthefirstplace because of their love for the outdoors. As they are both part of the cycling industry, mountain biking is one of their greatest hob-biesandisreflectedintheinterior and exterior of the shop. A metal art piece of a bike is featured in front of the entrance and photographs of mountain bikes and trails taken by Keller decorate the walls on the inside. Customers seem to enjoy the interior design as it is more local friendly and gives a natural feeling of the real Fruita. “I may like Pablo’s pizza more, but the Hot Tomato environment is a lot better,” said junior, Landon McIntyre. One element that Hot Tomato has that Pablo’s does not is live entertain-ment in the summer and fall on the weekends. The music is available to all customers as families and high school students are able to watch and eat outside in the back portion of the pizzeria. “It’s nice having the music play while just sitting with your family or friends,” Koos said.

The Catalyst 10Sports

May 2012

A fan cheers for his home country, America, during the 2010 Olym-pics.

By Cody Daniels, Reporter

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will take place in London, England, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. With less than 100 days before the Summer Olym-pics, the United Kingdom announced that they are ready and ahead of schedule for the greatest show in sports. “It’s incredible to think that in just a few months, all of London will be focused on delivering the most exciting sporting and cultural event ever to come to the capital,” said the Mayor of London, Boris John-son. In three months, the famous flame will be lit on the night of July 27th.This ceremony marks the start of the Olympics. The Olympic torch relay will begin on May 18, 2012, which will last over 70 days and have 8,000 torchbearers pass the Olym-pic flame to one another. The Olympics start on July 27th and end on August 12th. It is extinguished at the end of the games, during the closing ceremony. London was selected as the host city on July 6, 2005 during the 117th Inter-national Olympic Committee Session in Singapore, defeat-ing Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris to win the bid. London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948. Already eight mil-lion of the 11 million tickets for the Olympics have been sold to people for the games

“Already eights million of the 11 mil-

lion tickets for the Olympics

have been sold.”

and many of them are from Britain. The main focus of the games will be a new 500 acre Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford in the east of Lon-don. The Games also make use of many venues which were already in place before the bid. Britain has construct-ed the Olympic Stadium, situated in the inner-east part

of the city, is the centerpiece of the Games and will host the Opening Ceremony and Closing Cer-emony as well as track and field events. Although some say it’s not going to be like

the Birds Nest in Beijing, “London has raised the bar when it comes to leaving a lasting legacy,” International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said. Of course, some of London’s sporting event arenas didn’t need any work at all. The tennis tourna-ment will be staged in the All England Club, home of the Wimbledon championships. 198-year-old Lord’s Cricket Ground is host to the world’s oldest sports museum and will host the Olympic archery events, while beach volley-ball is held in Horse Guards Parade, just a short walk from the Queen’s main residence of Buckingham Palace. As of May 1st, 165 countries have qualified at least one athlete. The Olym-pic Games features 26 sports like basketball, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, and wres-tling.

For the winners and top three in each event, a total of 4,700 medals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are produced by the Royal Mint. The medals designed by David Watkins, weigh 375–400 grams and are 7 millimeters thick. The sport and discipline are engraved on the rim of the medal. Following recent tra-dition, the front of the medal features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, stepping from Parthenon. The reverse side features the Games logo, the River Thames, and a series of lines symbolizing the energy of the athletes. The Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Rob-ertson has high hopes for British athletes, “Most of all I want to see British athletes do well in the medal tables. We have an aspirational tar-get of fourth with more med-als in more sports, so I want to see our athletes succeed and inspire a new generation of people to take up sport.” To make sure the games are secure, London is strengthening their security with 10,000 officers avail-able, supported by 13,500 members of the armed forces. Naval and air assets, including ships situated in the Thames, fighter jets and missiles, will be deployed as part of the security opera-tion. The figure of 13,500 armed forces personnel is more than Britain currently has deployed in Afghani-stan. So far there have been no riots or terrorist threats like there have been in past years.

As the school year winds down, and the spring sports come to an end, it is safe to say most teams had a pretty successful season! Boys Varsity Lacrosse finished their season with a record of 11 wins, and four losses. “We had a pretty good season,” said senior Trey Thy-gerson. “We really bonded as a team, and it was just a lot of fun.” Girls Varsity Lacrosse ended with a record of seven wins and six losses, and took 4th in SWL. Their leading scorer, sophomore Lindsey Burenhide, made Varsity and she was only a sophomore, “I’m really glad I joined the team. Playing lacrosse was a great and fun experience,” said Burenhide. Boys Varsity baseball ended their regular season with a record of ten wins and eight losses. However, their season isn’t over just yet; they have a playoff game on May 12, 2012 against Dakota Ridge. “I’m excited for the play-off game, hopefully we can put our heads together and come out with a ‘W’. But if not, it was still a good season,” said senior Drew

Bridges. Girls Varsity Soccer ended their season with a record of nine wins and three losses. “It was a really good season, we came together and played great as a team,” said Senior Katie Benton. Girls Tennis had a pretty good season, however only Senior Meredith Soy-chak is going to state from the team. “Meredith is a really good singles player, it would’ve been nice to send more but she’ll represent us well,” said sophomore Bronte Hayward. Our Co-ed track and field team had a good year as well. “Track this year went good for us, we had some top placers in most of our meets,” said Junior Vince Grasso. It’s sad that all the high school sporting events are over for the 2011-2012 school year. The next game will be football in the fall Good luck to all of you and the rest of the athletes at Fruita Monument.

Spring sports By Courtney Kreidler, Reporter

Courtesy of MTC Campus

10 Ways to make shallow people like you1. Carry gum in your pocket at all timesEven the strongest-willed person cannot resist the sugary cool sensations of a fresh piece of gum. Also, everyone in high school is overly concerned about how their breath smells. Beware, this could cause an over-reaction so do not

attempt when there are too many people around.2. Carry a tennis ball with youMaybe it’s some kind of obsession with athleti-cism. Maybe

it’s the awesome feeling of throwing and catching. Either way, people, much like dogs, seem to be fascinated with tennis balls. Walking down the hallways of Fruita with a tennis ball will un-doubtedly make you dozens of friends. People you have never talked to you before will be shouting your name saying, “Ball me blazer.”

3. Over flatterFrom now on you are only al-lowed to say, “Tell me more about you,”

or “Wow that makes my life sound so… boring. What else did you do this morning?” People will be unable to resist you because they love nothing more than talking about themselves. Unfortunately, this will cause excessive talking, and for you, excessive listening. A simple solution is to wear earplugs and when you see their mouth stop moving, insert one of the above phrases. 4. Don’t try too hard.People can sense it when you are suck-ing-up to them. This automati-cally makes you des-perate and therefore undesir-able. Try to find a happy-medium between friendly flattery overbearing obsequiousness. (Also, never use words like obsequious.)

So, if you really want someone to like you try all of these steps at the same time. First, throw the tennis ball you are carrying at this person and yell, “catch.” Then walk up to the person an offer them a piece of gum. After the conversation has been dragging on for a few minutes, say, “Tell me more about you.” Despite the response, always say, “Wow, that makes my life sound boring.”

AP tests: Abnormal pain or awesome props?

In the final month of school, AP students aren’t sure if they want the days to speed up or slow down, be-cause they face their great-est foe yet, the infamous AP test. To some, these tests are a positive experience; a chance to show colleges that they are ready for the real world and can take on challenges. To others, the test is just hours of stress and Some students, however, take an AP class but decide not to take the AP test. This can be a very smart decision in some cases, because if a student is already failing an AP class, taking the AP test would be a waste of $87. These tests take a year of a more-than-difficult classes to prepare for. Even then, many students say that they weren’t even re-motely ready for the exam. The typical exam consists of a round of 50 or so multiple choice questions, followed by four “free-response” problems. The test is nearly

equally weighted between the two rounds, so failing one of them doesn’t nec-essarily mean inevitable doom. Many students deem the AP tests a com-plete waste of time. An hour and a half is way too long for a test over one subject, and the entire process puts excessive amounts of stress on the students. The AP class, many say, is enough of a challenge itself. Also, why should a student pay $87 for something they don’t want to do? So, why spend $87 to take an hour long test that takes a year of studying? A score on the test is ranked on a one-to-five scale (five being the best), and if a student receives a score of a three or higher on the test, they will usu-ally receive college credit (depending on the score requirements of a specific college) which will save them thousands of dol-lars, compared to mere

$87 that the exam costs. The exam also develops confidence in the student to take on more tests and challenges and further-more ready the student for college. Also, after Fruita Monument received the Legacy Grant (which pays for some of the exam fee), a score of three or higher will not only earn college credit, but that student will receive $100 for each time they scored on or above a three. Plus, once done with the test, the student gets the rest of the day off of school.Weighing in the pros and cons, I think the overall benefit of the test comes out on top. Though it may be a large pain (and though that may be a large understatement), the test does prepare students for college and gives them college benefits. An hour and a half test compared to the year of studying re-ally isn’t that big of a deal. Also, $100 and a get-out-of-school-free card? Count me in!

Photo By Tristan White

By Keaton Brown, News Editor

Story and graphics by Taylor Scofield, commentary editor

May 2012

11The Catalyst

Commentary

Tell me more about Yourself!