october 2, 2009
DESCRIPTION
Volume 67, Issue 2TRANSCRIPT
CARLETTEStheTHE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WEST LAFAYETTE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
OCTOBER 2ND, 2009VOLUME 67, ISSUE 2
NEWS 1
OPINIONS 3
FEATURES 5
A&E 8
SPORTS 10
STUDENT LIFE 12
Check Out What’s Inside:
Arguably, winning King and Queen of Homecoming is the greatest honor one can receive in their high school ca-reer. Every year a small group of Seniors are nominated by their peers to Home-coming court. This year’s nominees for Queen were Brittany Letcher, Kenzie Staton, Kiley Field, Hannah Reisman, Ju-die Keen, and Sean McCabe, Mark Tim-merman, Joey Frank, Michael Schmierer, Will DeBoer, for King. King and Queen of fall 2009, Judie Keen and Will DeBoer, are exemplary students. Judie Keen plays on the varsity volleyball team and Will Deboar is a co-host on RDTV. When I asked Will, always the joker, how it felt to rule West Side he answered
In last Friday’s homecoming parade, the slight drizzle may have dampened clothes, hair, marching band signs, cheer-leaders, court members, and
various club participants, but it had no effect on the marchers’ enthusiasm. As the timpani rolled at the head of the line,
It seems as though West Side has gone through every decade in celebrating Spirit Week. From Daisy Dukes and cowboy boots, to the attempted metallic (duct tape and tin foil medley) futuristic look, even to pulling out the Chicago Bulls apparel and rockin’ the neon athletic gear. This year’s theme, Hip-Hop Home-coming, however, took a much more applicable and modern approach. A notable difference in the week leading up to football homecoming 2010 was the defi nite increase in student participation. With each school day named according to various aspects of the hip-hop lifestyle, both the locker bays and students were more involved than in previous years. Junior Zach Tudor found the theme very appropriate. “I truly felt normal coming to school in my apparel and am considering dressing like that every day.” Sarcastic or not, he was among several candidates caught consistently turning heads in the classrooms and hallways. Senior Macy McFall also joined in on dressing up, calling it “funky” and “fun.” “Some of that stuff is actually becoming in style, like the high top sneakers with bright, fun colors.” --reminiscent of the ‘80s dress up days, which she also enjoyed. As the week progressed, there was a slow decline in the number of RocaWear and Baby Phat-inspired outfi ts; but, ultimately, the temporary tattoos didn’t fade away before the pep rally, which was one everyone will remember
BY NICOLE [email protected]
participants eagerly followed the traditional four or fi ve-block route through University Farms, beginning at FOP and ending at
the complex. Members of the Youth Council andECO believed the rain might discour-age spectators; however, a total of about thirty parents and small children
were drawn out of their houses bychucked candy and the fl aunting ofcolorful, hand-painted signs, fl ags, costumes, a motorized scooter, and even a pug on a leash. When asked how the paradeturned out compared to the pre-vious year’s, band director Mr. Conaway replied, “The parade was fi ne. The weather could havebeen better. It may have scared a few people off, but the parade was
well-organized and very good.” Others agreed that the controllable elements of the parade were successful, if not slightly soggy.
“I feel quite e m p o w -ered. I will be just and fair in my reign.” One of the ques-tions I was most curious about “How long does it take toget ready for an event like Homecoming?”, was answered simply. Judie said “Not long, I had volleyball practice before the parade.” and Will “ I always look good, I just had to spice it up a bit.” And when asked about their favorite part of being on Homecoming court they agreed on the convertible ride, free food, while Ju-die enjoyed the fl owers and sash.
BY WANYOUNG [email protected]
BY ANGEL [email protected]
photo by Shriya Manian
photo by Wanyoung Kim
Read how homophones may have changed the history of the world on
page 5.
Featured athlete Kaisa Goodman gears up for practice. Read more on
page 11.
FOX’s new show Glee is a hit! Read the review on page 8.
several years and increase classes by forty-fi ve percent: approximately ten students,” said Dr. Hummels. Also, according to Dr. Hummels, WLCSC needs at least four million additional dollars a year in order to keep class sizes small. “Unless the state signifi cantly changescourse, local revenue is a necessity to keep doors open,” said Dr. Hummels.
This is where a tax referendum would possibly comein effect. According to Dr. DeBoer, a school district can vote to supplement general fund appropriations, fundedvia local property tax increases. The referendum would have to be voted on by the community of West Lafayettein order to be put in effect, which could possibly be seen negatively because only thirty percent of West Lafayette residents have children in the West Lafayette school district. However, Dr. DeBoer believes that thereferendum’s overall cost to citizens would have less of an impact than expected. According to Dr. DeBoer, tax payers would still be paying signifi cantly less after a referendum than they were in 2007 before property tax laws were changed. Dr. Killion also believes that people will be willing to vote for the referendum in order to keep West Lafayette schools performing well because home values in a good school district are higher than those that aren’t. A new source of revenue is sorely needed to keep the number of teachers or class sizes constant.
NEWS OCTOBER 2ND, 2009PAGE 2
As students brace themselves for the inevitably second wave of tests and “opportunities” of the school year, many take relief in the recent upspring of many student-driven tutoring options. Since the beginning of the school year, three readily accessible organizations have begun ways to reach out to the student body in an effort to bring ease and satisfaction to schoolwork.
National Honor Society NHS has a long history of providing individual peer-tutoring upon request. Every year, a body of newly elected members brings to the organization various strengths in academics. Offering help and advice in all subject courses at West Lafayette, NHS
The West Lafayette Community School Corporation hosted a public forum on September 16th to present the results of a fi nancial referendum impact study that was conducted by Dr. Larry DeBoer and Dr. David Hummels of Purdue University. The study was conducted after a petition was presented to Dr. Rocky Killion, s u p e r i n t e n d e n t of West Lafayette schools, containing over 400 signatures that urged Dr. Killion to study the effects a tax referendum could have on the school district. A tax referendum would provide additional revenue to the school district (that the state is not currently giving) by raising resident taxes in West Lafayette. WLCSC’s fi nancial situation has not been a positive one for this 2009-2010 school year. Four and a half teacher positions, nine classifi ed positions, one administrative position, and several assistant coaching positions were cut at the high school. Administrative salaries were frozen, supplies and materials budgets were cut by fi fty percent and insurance costs went up thirty-three percent. On a more positive note, the efforts of the West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation through their Save Our Schools fundraiser were successful in saving
strives to meet the demands of every single student. New to this school year, NHS is offering fi fth hour tutoring to Junior High students during “Noon Hour.” Madeline Porterfi eld, President of NHS, says of this peer-advisory opportunity, “Your classmates are perhaps less intimidating than your teachers. Also, a student tutor can bring a unique perspective to solving a problem.” For more information, look for the Tutoring Request box outside of the Guidance Offi ce.
Mu Alpha Theta West Lafayette is known for its high achievement in math and science. As a group of dedicated math whizzes, Mu Alpha Theta is committed to advising anyone who is interested in receiving help in math-related subjects. The help sessions are held daily during sixth hour the
high school library, and the club welcomes all student requests. Joon Jang, a member of Mu Alpha Theta, believes that this opportunity is especially conducive to learning and has multiple benefi ts: “The people who get help are learning from people they know. It is a very friendly experience. While the students gain understanding of their subject, the tutors also get a chance to refresh their skills.” For more information, visit the library during the high school lunch hour, or see Mrs. Gates for information postings.
Purdue Student Tutoring Exemplary students from Purdue University also offer their service to West Lafayette students as an opportunity to give back to society. These Beering Scholars voluntarily visit study halls every day to tutor in math, science and language. For more information, visit Mr. Thomas for a schedule of available tutors.
Tutoring Options Abound for West Lafayette Students
several teaching positions throughout the district and a Title I Grant provided $109,000 to the school corporation. However, both of these situations are considered one-time sources of revenue. Also, problems with funding at the state level are having an adverse effect on the corporation. According to Dr. DeBoer, state funding will fall 3-6 million dollars short of what the corporation
needs in the next few years. West Lafayette, being a school high on the complexity index, does not receive as much funding as disadvantaged school corporations; also, according to the state, West Lafayette should be a below-average spending (per pupil) school corporation. In reality, WLCSC spends more per student than the state suggests and should be
reducing spending by $150/ pupil per year for the next several years in order to retain teaching jobs. Dr. Hummels proposed several different solutions to help WLCSC save money. Some solutions included having older teachers retire and replace them with younger, cheaper teachers; deferring maintenance money to the school’s capital funds budget; and freezing spending for a long period of time. “In a best case scenario, [WLCSC] would have to cut twenty more teachers even while enrollment rises by eighteen percent over the next
BY YI [email protected]
School Corporation Considers Tax ReferendumBY MOLLIE [email protected]
TAX REFERENDUM FOR WEST SIDE?: Dr. DeBoer speaks at the public forum. Photo by Mollie Westbrook.
“In a best case scenario, [WLCSC] would have
to cut twenty more teachers...”
Staff of The Scarlette
News EditorMollie Westbrook
Opinions EditorAnne McDougall
Features EditorAndrew Burchill
A&E / Student Life EditorZarina Madan
Sports EditorYi Yang
ReportersAngel GruzeNicole WeckerlinMarie ZhangMollie WestbrookVictor GutweinZarina MadanMarissa KoorsAnne McDougallYi YangAndrew SokolchikAlyeesha PuriShravani MerugureddyWanyoung KimAndrew BurchillZach BurchillWill DeBoerAnjona GhoshLindsay Grimley
Artists / PhotographersGayatri NarayananAnna ChenShriya ManianMi YunConnie YangHana Park
Page DesignersConnie YangZarina MadanAnjona GhoshAndrew BurchillMollie WestbrookAlyeesha PuriNicole WeckerlinAnne McDougallAnna Chen
Mission: The Scarlette strives to create a publication that is informative, entertain-ing, accurate, and professional. The mission of the Scarlette is to accurately, truthfully, and professionally report on events and issues that are of interest to the student body, entertain readers, and serve as a valuable archive of the happenings of the school.
The Scarlette Editorial Policy Scarlette provides a limited forum for reader expression. Letters to the editor must be received seven days prior to publication date in the box pro-vided in the offi ce. Letters should be 250 words or less. Longer submissions may be considered as a guest column. All are subject to editing for content and length. Personal attacks and unfair attacks on businesses or unsigned letters will not be published. The editorial represents the views of majority of the staff. Views printed do not necessarily refl ect the opinions of the faculty, staff, or administration of the WLCSC.
Editors-in-ChiefShalu MittalMargaret Duvall
OPINIONSOCTOBER 2ND, 2009 PAGE 3
It all started last year. It was noted; it even arose some concern, but then it seemed to fade, and no one paid it much more mind. After all, it was only a temporary effect of the season, was it not? But while the leaves withered, shriveled, and crumbled apart, the roots remained. The inaiduous plant survived—hidden, but ready to burst forth once again in all its toxic glory. The warning signs multiplied, but we ignored them—how rash we were, how blind, how foolish! The appalling thing grew, little by little, and by the time we noticed, it was too late. Gentle readers, we must face the horrifying truth: America is being taken over by the crazy. During the campaign, Obama was a terrorist secret Muslim who, like most Islamic fundamentalists, palled around with radical black pastors and ‘60s leftists. Last spring the teabaggers forced themselves onto the national stage. It’s hard to say what was easier to ridicule—the name, or the assertion that a marginally higher tax on the wealthy
constitutes a Marxist outrage worthy of Hitler (what do you mean, Hitler wasn’t a Communist?). This summer the “birthers” emerged, led by an obviously trustworthy lawyer/dentist/real estate agent. Why the Kenyan conspirators chose that specifi c infant to take over the U.S. 48 years ago, and why they didn’t just have him born there, who knows. The cunning ways of the nefarious Kenyans are alien to us. Last in chronology, but fi rst in decibel level, we have those who believe that universal health care is a plot to kill old people. But, you interject, it’s unfair to judge Republicans as a whole based on random obscure conspiracy theorists. It’s not as if, for example, a
The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 have left a mark on the hearts of all Americans. It was one of the biggest events that have happened in our lifetime, and students at our school still remember the events vividly. However, this year, on September 11th, the tragedy was not even mentioned by the school. This neglect by the school was inappropriate. We believe that something should have been said during the announcements, and a moment of silence in remembrance should have been taken, as it has been every year, in
Staff Editorial: Silence on
September 11th
Fear of a Black President:
honor of the people who lost their lives in the attacks. Other nearby schools held assemblies in memoriam. Although we do not think that we should dedicate the entire day to mourning the tragedy, we also do not think that it was right that the day continued as usual, with no mention whatsoever. We, The Scarlette, also failed to mention this life-changing event in our last issue, which was released on the very day and we would like to acknowledge and apologize for this mistake. We hope to prevent such oversights in the future. As time continues to pass, the initial shock of this devastating catastrophe begins to wear away and it becomes easier to overlook. It is essential that we do not forget.
former vice-presidential candidate and numerous members of Congress would rave about “death panels” and such nonsense. So is America being engulfed by a tide of insanity? Given the screaming mobs apparently showing up to every town hall meeting, it’s tempting to say yes. But the same people travel from meeting to meeting and use placement and volume to make themselves appear more numerous than they really are. Unfortunately, their infl uence is disproportionate to their numbers. TV news gives them extensive coverage, either out of bias or just because they’re exciting. They also benefi t from
the school of “non-biased” journalism which presents all points of view as equal. “Well, the death panel peopleare extreme, but there are extremists on both sides. There are some liberals who say the death panel ideas are ridiculous! How will both sides compromise?” The Republican Party, as an institution, has to distance itself from its more extreme members, both those at protests and those in Congress. Democrats, on the other hand, have to grow a spine, use their control of power, and abandon the fantasy of “bipartisanship” with irrational demagogues. Only then can we stop a few unhinged lunatics from hijacking our political system.
BY ANNE [email protected]
OBAMA: EXECUTIONER OF THE ELDERLY? The arbiter of your grandmother’s fate might not even be an American citi zen. Graphic by Gayatri Narayanan
Seriously SpeakingMihai Avram
An Analysis of the New Conspiracy Thoerists
OPINIONS OCTOBER 2ND, 2009PAGE 4
Point-Counterpoint: Hour Long Lunches
Almost everyone can agree that mornings are long and that everyone constantly turns their attention to the clocks in their fi fth period classroom unable to wait for the bell to ring. Granted, lunch is a time during the school day where students are relieved of their educational duties and can relax, get updated on the latest gossip and fi ll their stomachs, but is our lunch hour a bit too long? In the wise words of Mr. Mullis,
West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School has one of the longest lunch periods of any school in Indiana. From 12:35 to 1:35, we students can do almost anything and go almost anywhere we want. We can choose to study in the library, visit friends in the locker bay, drive into town for lunch, catch up on homework, play basketball in the gym, participate in a card game, or attend a club meeting. “A bored person can only be a boring person,” my father is so fond of saying. Any-
An Hour Lunch Is Too LongBY MARIE [email protected]
We Love Lengthy LunchesBY ANDREW [email protected]
one who cannot fi nd a good use for this hour is obviously lacking in the creativity department. I can’t see how more time among friends can be considered detrimental. With so many options, it is harder to sit idly than fi nd an activity to do. Students might argue that this lengthy lunch-hour could be put to better use at home. “The quicker lunch is,” they say, “the quicker we can get home!” These dissenters would have you believe that free-time at school is of lesser value than, or of equal value to, time spent at
home. We already spend sixteen and a half hours each day at home! “School free-time” presents a unique opportunity, inherent to its defi nition. It gains much of its use-fulness just by being sandwiched between active class periods. High school students can help each other study before that test eighth pe-riod or collaborate on group proj-ects. And when else can we attend school-oriented clubs or interact in an environment so thoroughly in-undated by our peers? Humoring these dissidents, let us assume our lunch period were thir-ty minutes shorter. Let’s look at the
facts: we spend approximately eighthours at school every weekday andsixteen hours at home. How wouldthe lives of students improve if lunchwere only a half hour long? Well, forone, we would have 3% more time to spend watching television fromour couches at home (correspond-ing to a 50% decrease in free-time atschool). I’m sure a handful of anti-social children would fi nd this 3%increase of time spent at home to bemore fruitful, but the vast majority of West Side students would rather kick-back, relax, and take a much-needed break from the academics.
“How much is too much, how much is not enough?” It comes to the question of how long of a lunch we really need. Our school’s lunch period of about fi fty minutes, compared to most other schools, is about double the time that is needed. On average, it shouldn’t take a student too long to eat, maybe ten or fi fteen minutes, unless perhaps he or she prepared a buffet of some sort. With that being said, there are still about thirty-fi ve or forty minutes of lunch left. Some people
might argue that they need the time for club meetings, but most clubs allow members to eat during the meetings, and meetings usually last, at most, twenty minutes. In that case, on our current system, there would still be thirty minutes of lunch left. You could also look at it another way. Instead of wasting time running around the hallways like a headless chicken or sitting around twiddling your thumbs, we could subtract the excess time from the lunch hour and add some extra minutes to each class for some superfl uous learning (not
that all learning is superfl uous or anything), or just throw it all out and have an earlier dismissal. Sound appetizing? Sure, there are times when a fi fty minute lunch period seems too short, and other times it maybe just long enough to stuff in some extra cramming for the math quiz 7th hour. But when considering the times when people surrounding you are yelling and running around senselessly, or other times when the conversation just isn’t going anywhere and there are still thirty minutes left, such a long lunch really doesn’t seem necessary.
Photo Illustrati on by Shriya Manian.
FEATURESOCTOBER 2ND, 2009 PAGE 5
When you hear the sentence, “The gorillakilled the guerilla,” what comes to mind? A large ape pulverizing a Viet-cong on the Empire State building? Or was it the Viet-cong mowing down the ape with the AK-47 in the kitchen? This is one example of the effect homophones can have on everyday speech, resulting in a range of confusing and potentially disastrous conversation. Disastrous? Yes, indeed, as there have been manyexamples where these similar-sounding words have caused dreadful situations. An early historian was once noting Cleopatra’s religious habits: “Cleopatra was interested in different sects, ledby various men and women in Ancient Rome.” A miscopying of this sentence gave Cleopatra ascandalous reputation, in total disagreement with the scholarly intellectual that she actually was. Remember in U.S. History, when you learned about the end of World War II? After Harry Truman was sworn in as President, he held adefense meeting, where the topic obviously turnedto the question of the atomic bomb. Not paying any attention and noticing his lips were chapped, he yelled at one of his aids to bring him some chapstick. “Drop the balm here!” he demanded, as his two fi ngers pounded the desk where his Pacifi c Ocean map lay. History makes it pretty clear as to where his digits pointed. There have been numerous other incidents, such as when a suspected murder was accidentally convicted of cockfi ghting (the judge heard “fowlplay” and the criminal had enough sense not to correct him) and when extremist Muslims bombeda “not-for-profi t” group because it assumed it was lobbying Congress against the prophet Muhammad. Therefore, when there is the possibility that youwould fall pray to any homophonic confusion, don’t just prey about it, fi nd a synonym instead.
Welcome to ‘Burchill Banter’ where Zachary and Andrew Burchill, talk about anything they consider interesting, noteworthy, or exciting. They also like to hear their own voices.
Z: Ok, I think we should talk about ties. A lot of people think ties are not in fashion, but if Mr. Junco wears them…
A: I don’t painstakingly record everything he wears and keep a diary of it under my bed, but if I did, I might say that he seems to be in an open-collar phase now, actually.
Z: Duly noted, but if I had been recording everything he wears, entering it into a computer to analyze it, and then predicting what he wears so I can wear complimentary colors, I might say he’s due for another tie phase anytime now. That said, I want to mention tie knots. First of all, I didn’t know this until recently, but there are actually different varieties of knots. The two most common are the four-in-hand knot and the Full Windsor.
A: Mr. Junco uses both styles—if the knot is small, it’s probably a four-in-hand, if it’s big,
it’s probably a Windsor.Z: But there are more than just those two. You
know the Merovingian (the French guy with the werewolves) from the second Matrix movie? If you watch closely, he’s wearing a really awesome tie called the Ediety (or Merovingian) tie knot. It’s pretty complicated, but it’s worth it. Google it, there are some good tutorials out there.
A: Whoever gets Mr. Junco to wear it gets 10 extra points. Anyway…you know what a cool word is? Frigorifi c. It’s a real word.
Z: Really? That’s friggin’ amazing! Or should I say, “frigorifi cally” amazing?
A: No, you shouldn’t because unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the word “frig,” it just means “cold.”
Z: Bummer. How about this—A: Wait, did you just say “bummer”? I don’t think
that’s something you normally say.Z: It isn’t, but since this is a scripted conversation, I just thought it would work better. Anyway, did you know that a regular hyphen (-) is different an “en dash” (–) and this bigger thing (—) is called an “em dash”?A: So?Z: So the awesomness [pause for excited hand gesture]
is that when you’re hyphenating a two word phrase, you don’t use the regular hyphen, you use the en dash. Like “Civil War–era.” “Civil War” is two words, so you when you hyphenate them with “era,” you use “–” instead of “-.” Crazy, right?
A: Quite so. But we’ve reached out 400 word limit, so we must wrap up the fi rst column. Next column: different poetic styles of obscure Sumerian authors!
Z: Or not.
Homophonesthat Changedthe WorldBY VICTOR [email protected]
BY ANDREW [email protected]
BY ZACH [email protected]
BurchillBanter
GORILLA OR GUERILLA?: You decide. picture by Gayatri Narayanan
FEATURES OCTOBER 2ND, 2009PAGE 6 FEATURESOCTOBER 2ND, 2009 PAGE 7
And lastly, a note from the widely belovedlocal librarian, Mrs. Bentlage: “Just read! It doesn’t matter if it’s a comic book, amagazine, a graphic novel, an e-book, fi ction,non-fi ction—anything. Just take the time toread for pleasure. Spend as little or as much time as you can to read for enjoyment.”
Truly Multi-Media
The Audio Book Collection
Videos MagazinesOldest Books
Largest Book
Top Ten Check-Outs
Get to Know Your Library
The West Side library houses thousands of books, as I’m sure is very obvious to the casual observer. What you may not know is that the library is really a treasure trove of undiscovered wonders. Throughout the years, the West Side library has traveled from its current home to the current offi ce space, to the new band room (formerly the mini-gym) and back to the comfortable corner of the school in which it resides at the moment. Though it has moved many times, the purpose of the library, to inform and assist
with style, fl air, and comfort, has always stayed consistent. This hallowed room on the second fl oor is home to fi ction and non-fi ction, yes, but also audio books, strange reference books, entertaining magazines, and wonderful videos. Taking just a bit of time to get to know your school library may lead you to discover fantastic information and even help you understand the world a little better on the way.
This is probably the least well-known section of the library, but potentially oneof the most useful. Perhaps you tire of classreading and long to simply stare at the ceiling and let the words come to you. The audio book is perfect for you, and our libraryhas catered to the needs of its students. Almost every book assigned to an Englishclass throughout high school is available inthe library, from Animal Farm to Moby-Dick to Romeo and Juliet to Gulliver’s Travels. Andthey’re free! That’s the beauty of a library.
Some library videos may seem a little dull, but who knows, you may casually pick up a gem. For example, we all remember watching Roots in 8th grade U.S. History, but we never saw the whole story! If you feel the loss keenly, the library has the full series, episodes 1-6, running over six hours long. Or if you’re a Charlton Heston fan, feel free to check out El Cid, a three hour fi lm from 1961 in which he plays a Spanish warrior. Our library has a plethora of musicals as well, offering a range of time periods, with such titles as Grease, Oklahoma, Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat, and The King and I. Host your own musical themed party. Just make sure you have a VHS player. Or if you’re feeling nostalgic for younger, simpler times, turn to the titles of Bambi, Flipper, and The Pink Panther. And of course, just in time for Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, even better on DVD.
You’ve probably seen the boxes of magazines in the library, but have you ever taken the time to examine them? I know I hadn’t until I started writing this, but I was very excited by what I found. Of course the library carries the classics: Sports Illustrated, Time, US News, and Seventeen, but did you know it also subscribes to RC Driver? There are three years worth of this magazine, dedicated to the avid model truck and car enthusiast. More school oriented is the Purple Aardvark, the former name of the Devil’s Advocate. There are copies of this creative outlet dating back to 1990, the time of our ancestors. Try breaking one out and fi nding out how kids back in the day expressed themselves.
The Scarlet and Gray published by the Senior Class of West Lafayette High School 1914
Liberty’s Victorious Confl ict: a photographic history of the World War copyright 1918
The People’s War Book: History Cyclopaedia and Chronology of the Great World War copyright 1920
A more serious note pertaining to these last two books: as one peruses the reference section, scrounging up interesting material, one may fi nd the series Progress of Nations, a group of reference books examining the formation of the United States from the political and social ideals of Greece, Rome, and Egypt, through colonization and the break from England, all the way up untill 1938, when the last book was published. The fi nal words of the last volume of the eleven volume set inadvertently predict the second world war. The naval arms race had begun in many powerful countries, and the authors believed that those in power “were determined to ignore the fact that great armaments engender international fear and suspicion, that they may actually constitute one of the fundamental causes of war.” The moral of the story is, listen to your history books, as they might actually be telling you something more profound then you realize. And of course, as social studies teachers are forever stressing, learn from the past.
National Geographic Atlas of the World 18 ½ by 12 ½
Just be thankful that’s not an assigned textbook with no class copy.
1. Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)2. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)3. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)6. Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)7. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)8. The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)10. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)
This list may surprise you or it may be in total agreement with your conjectures. Perhaps you yourself have checked out one of these books at some point. If you’re trying to make friends, maybe pick up one of these books. Chances are many other students have read the book in question so you’ll have some common ground to start on. Personally, I fi nd it hard to believe that Twilight is more checked out than Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but the facts speak for themselves. In any case, the c o m p i l a t i o n certainly shows the need for a high schooler to escape reality and climb into something fantastic for a few hours.
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY MARGARET [email protected]
A&E OCTOBER 2ND, 2009PAGE 8
What makes Glee, one of FOX’s new fall shows, so popular? Perhaps with the recent infl ux in se-rious shows such as Mad Men and Lost, viewers got sick of pondering the meaning of life (or try-ing to fi gure out what mind-bending plot twist J.J. Abrams has up his sleeve next). Glee contains the same sort of magic that skyrocketed the High School Musical franchise to stardom. There lies something inherently fun in the mixing of a high school setting and song-and-dance. The show stars Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, a young, likeable Spanish teacher and former show choir golden boy with a passion for restoring the glee club to its past glory. He is mar-ried to the materialistic Stepford-wannabe Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), who demands he quit teaching
for a higher-paying job so they can afford to start a family and fund her elaborate craft projects. Will’s troubles are not limited to his home life, however, as there are some diffi cult characters at William McKinley High School. Sue Sylves-ter (Jane Lynch), the butch, competitive cheer-leading coach, tries to bring glee club to an end, whilst Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), the cute mysophobic guidance counselor, secretly pines for him. The club itself is yet another source of frus-tration, having been labeled as a group of los-ers. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is a talented but haughty overachiever who knows she is destined for greatness. She shares the spotlight with Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), an insecure football player with an outstanding voice, who periodi-cally quits due to an excess of peer pressure.
worrying how to spell a word. In fact, Sa-meer Mishra might have been one of thelast of a dying breed of warriors knownonly as the Spelling Bee Champions. But internet language is not the onlything arose from our love of surfi ng the web. Thousands of viral videos, amateur celebrities, and catchphrases have all ap-peared thanks to websites like Google,Youtube, and Facebook. People like BoBurnham, Andy Samberg, and that angryblack guy from the Unforgivable series,have all made their way into our daily lives. The internet has warped our mindsto the point where most of us all knowthe lyrics to “I’m On a Boat” yet most ofus don’t know what Afghanistan’s capi-tal is. But that is not important. What is im-portant is that when that faithful nightthat you have to cram for your Physicsexam comes around, you know that, in-stead, you can spend hours upon hoursturning your brain to ooze on the inter-net. So if you like this article, send a poke, request me as a friend (which will most likely be ignored, sorry), post a video,or write a simple “LOL” on unfortunate person’s wall and join the millions of fel-low time-wasters near you. Until then,TTYL,GAL, and L8R G8R.
BY SHALU [email protected]
Internet fads are taking over our daily lives. Do you want to study for the fi rst period math test that will decide your nine weeks grade when you have the dim glow of your friends’ Facebook profi les page right in front of you? Internet fads like poking, adding a mil-lion friends on Facebook, taking ridicu-lous quizzes, Twittering, Googling, and YouTubing are just some of the many ways to spend your Wednesday evening. In fact, there are so many activities out there for the common internet user, that time wasting has become quite a stress-ful, and demanding experience. One of the biggest fads that have ap-peared in recent years has been internet language. If only Noah Webster could see how language has evolved in the recent decades, how much we have perfected our grammar and our speaking abilities. We, the people, have recognized that full sentences, punctuation marks, indirect object pronouns (whatever those are), and political correctness are unneces-sary relics of the age of the postal service. Our fast lives and busy schedules have no need for extra pressure that comes with
Glee Brings A Much Needed Optimism to TelevisionAs typecast as some of the characters may seem, the actors bring heart to them, as well as come-dy. Teenage ambition and sexual tension are set to a soundtrack of cast renditions of songs rang-ing from classic to contemporary, from Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” to Kanye West’s “Gold Dig-ger.” Many of the actors have Broadway or the-ater backgrounds, and each episode poses several opportunities to showcase the vocal and choreo-graphic talent of its cast, even those of the minor characters. The appeal of Glee is not that it’s well-written, or even well-acted, but that it’s just pure fun, as root-ing for the underdog usually is. It learns from the mistakes made by other teen shows and doesn’t try to take itself seriously. Sometimes heartfelt, sometimes ironic, and sometimes just cheesy, Glee is bound to make viewers’ hearts sing.
OMG!Internet Fads Are So Boss!
BY ANDREW [email protected]
A&EOCTOBER 2ND, 2009 PAGE 9
Pick Your Games, Not Your NoseBY LINDSAY [email protected]
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo DS)Rated: Everyone by ESRB
The third game in the Mario & Luigi series stays fairly true to its predecessors: an absurd storyline and cap-tivating characters accompanied by a playful sense of humor and addicting gameplay.What starts as an ef-fort to rid the Mushroom Kingdom of “the Blorbs” ends up with heroes Mario and Luigi inside their inveterate nemesis’s (Bowser) innards, with whom they must now cooperate in order to defeat a villain that talks in gram-matically incorrect English. In an interesting mix, “Bowser’s Inside Story” is essen-tially the 1980s Mario games fused with RPG (Role-Play-ing Game) elements. However, this isn’t your parents’ side-scrolling, point-earning game. It takes familiar ele-ments (stomping Goombas, hitting “?” boxes, etc.) and puts them into an RPG environment. The battle system is the usual “you attack, enemy attacks, you attack, etc.” except it incorporates elements of timing, much like in the 1980s games. The Nintendo DS was made for games like “Bowser’s Inside Story.” It is one of the better games to fully uti-lize all of the Nintendo DS’s capabilities. Parts of the game require you to tilt the system entirely and use the built-in microphone. The game also demands the player to switch between Mario, Luigi and Bowser through-out the game. The DS’s two screens make this a more convenient switch, with the top screen showing Bowser and his current position and vice versa with Mario and Luigi. Innovative new ways to play games has always been a specialty of Nintendo, and “Bowser’s Inside Story” does not disappoint. 9/10
Batman: Arkham Asylum(Xbox 360/Playstation 3)Rated: Teen by ESRB
The Joker has taken over Gotham’s infamous Arkham Asylum. So now Batman has to go in there and kick butt and chew bubblegum. And bats don’t chew gum. “Arkham Asylum” is not your average superhero game. It doesn’t deserve the negative connotation associated with the usually mediocre genre. “Arkham Asylum” is an action game with elements to please both fans and non-fans. Gameplay in “Arkham Asylum” requires more than just running around and beating people up; it requires some strategic thinking. Reminiscent of the Metal Gear Solid series, the player will fi nd him or herself fi guring out ways to silently and stealthily take out opponents, as opposed to running aimlessly into battle. One of the most striking features of “Arkham Asylum”
is the atmosphere. The attention to detail is so as-tounding, it’s lit-erally quite scary. Lights fl icker. The patients’ beds, upon closer obser-vation, are molded to their shape. Detective Mode is a new feature that provides in-depth details of people and objects in Batman’s sur-roundings. It also
produces a sort of x-ray effect with which enemies in other rooms can be seen. To a fan, this is the best Batman game ever. To a non-
fan, this is the best action game ever. 10/10
Guitar Hero 5(Playstation 2/Playstation 3/Xbox 360/Wii)Rated: Teen by ESRB
The Guitar Hero series has been around since 2005 and, despite groundbreaking changes, has managed to remain relevant four years later. For those living under a rock, Guitar Hero is a rhythm-based game in which players use a guitar controller to hit notes scroll-ing down the screen. Each Guitar Hero game consists of numerous popular songs of all genres and has even begun to offer downloadable songs as well. Recently, Guitar Hero has also added drums, vocals, and bass as options similar to Rock Band. What more can they pos-sibly offer through a fi fth game? Well, “Guitar Hero 5” has managed to add some decent features. Before the title screen even loads you can begin playing. The game automatically starts a random song, and play-ers can join in if they so choose. Or players can just go to
Featured Website:Fictionpress.com
Since the World Wide Web was invented, it has continued to grow through the years. Many websites have formed and become famous through hard work, one of these is fi ctionpress.com. It currently hosts over 1 million original works of poetry and stories. Since its beginning, Fictionpress has grown to over one million writers and readers. It is the sister site of fanfi ction.com but all of the works on fi ctionpress.com are original works and are unique. It is a website where anyone can post their own stories and these stories can be read and reviewed by others. Anyone can go on to Fictionpress.com for some quality reads without having to go to the hassle of going to the library. It is the perfect way to relieve boredom.
BY SHRAVANI [email protected]
the title screen and choose Quickplay, in which all the songs are already available to play, saving hours worth of unlocking songs. Veteran players of GH are familiar with the annoyance of picking a diffi culty that turns outto be too easy or too diffi cult and having to quit, scroll back a few menus, and start the song all over again. In addition, GH5 has added “chal-lenge bonuses” in career mode. These challeng-es involve feats such as strum-ming upward for a certain num-ber of notes and hitting several notes without messing up. Every new GH game comes with new songs and unlockable characters. GH5 brings a variety of songs that appeal more to the general public than to just met-alheads. Artists range from Arctic Monkeys to Stevie Wonder to Blink-182; GH5 has something for every-body. GH5 makes for a good gaming experience whether for veterans or for newcomers. Admittedly, the game is pretty repetitive and gets tiring after awhile. But youknow what other game was repetitive? Pac-man. Think
about it. 8/10
SPORTS OCTOBER 2ND, 2009PAGE 10
The West Lafayette girls’ golf ended the season with a successful peak. Junior Haley Sands says, “Season started out pretty well.” The team of nine golfers and West Side Social Studies teacher John Levy as coach led a total win-loss record of 6-5. The Hoosier Conference, held on September 12, was a success for the team. With a score of 373, the girls placed second, losing only to Twin Lakes. “Conference was really good since most of us hit out best,” remarks Haley Sands, who along with juniors Lindsey Shriner and Liz Majewski made the All-Conference Team, an honor to the top 8th lowest scores. “The team really peaked at the conference,” says Coach
Levy, whose major goal of lowering scores was accomplished this season. Following Conference, City-County Tourney was held on September 16th. The team at fi rst tied with Central Catholic with a score of 377. However, the tie-breaker fi fth player score gave West Side the victory over the tie. The team then advanced to Sectionals on September 19th, fi nishing 5th with a score of 373. The team did not advance to Regionals; however, junior Lindsay Shriner, with a score of individual score of 95, continued on to Regionals on Saturday, September 26th. She placed mid fi eld with a score of 97. Overall, Coach Levy was proud of this season and says, “The lower scores this season refl ect the girls’ hard work.”
ACES FOR GIRLS’BY ZARINA [email protected]
TEE TIME: Haley Sands lines up a shot during an intense golf practi ce. Photo by Hana Park.
Friday, September 25. Fourth quarter. West Lafayette and Rensselaer are tied, 7-7. Third and goal for the Red Devils, ball spotted on the Bombers’ 19-yard line. West Side lines up: senior quarterback Daniel Wodicka in the shotgun behind senior center Bryan Searfoss, and no one else. The rest of the offensive line is M.I.A. “The play is designed to make the space between the center and the guards very wide,” Red Devil Coach Marshall Overley explains. Putting a guard and a tackle at each sideline with the wide receivers, West Side was able to spread the Renssalaer defense like butter. Searfoss elaborates: “I was wondering how they would adjust to the formation because they probably didn’t practice for it.” “We wanted to catch them off guard,” Wodicka adds. And catch them off guard they did. Wodicka found sophomore receiver Jonah Green, who made a leaping catch in the corner of the end zone, for the touchdown. “I wasn’t really thinking [when I made that catch], but I knew I had to catch it, so I went up and caught it,” Green comments. West Side added another touchdown on a 21 yard strike from Wodicka to Andrew Pekny,
and Wodicka sealed the deal with a last-minute interception of Bomber quarterback Nick Green’s throw, ensuring that the Scarlet and Gray came away with a Homecoming victory, 21-7. The Red Devils improved to 4-0 in the Hoosier Conference and 6-0 overall. Early in the game, the Bombers quickly drew blood in the fi rst quarter as Justin Bohannon’s two yard touchdown run capped a nine minute, 82 yard drive, and it appeared the West Side defense would have their hands full all night long.
Red Devils Prevail on Trickery, Move Closer to Hoosier Conference TitleBY WILL [email protected]
However, the Red Devils buckled down and denied Renssalaer any more points. “Renssalaer had a good game plan; they knew what they could and could not do against us,” Coach Overley comments. “Most teams will have something special planned for us. But our players and coaches didn’t panic; we did what we needed to do, and midway through Renssalaer’s second drive we fi gured them out.”Because of the big win, the Red Devils have put themselves in
position to repeat their Hoosier Conference championship title, but the team remains focusedon the task at hand. “We aren’t conference champs yet,” Overley says. “We are going to see the bestefforts of each team in each game, and we have tobe prepared.” Tonight is Senior Night as West Lafayette plays Twin Lakes at Gordon Straley Field. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Next week the team travels to Seeger, and the week after to Sheridan.
LET’S GO DEVILS: West Side prepares to take down the Bombers’ defense.Photo by Will DeBoer
GOLF
SPORTSOCTOBER 2ND, 2009 PAGE 11
Swift and elusive, Tola Adeola sashays down the fi eld. Arms at side, he propels the ball with the sole force of his cranium, in an upward arc that lands it well past the dazed goalkeeper. Before the crowd’s cheers have subsided, Tola is back on the home side for the kick-off.
Consider this feat, and it is easy to understand why fellow teammate Gus Arndt respectfully calls Tola a “gazelle” (insuperable speed) and a “whale” (the distinctive header style). Simply put, descriptions pertaining to human characteristics often fail to cut it. But swiftness aside, Tola is set apart from the average soccer player by his fl exibility in covering positions. In one game, you may often see him defend the home turf so aggressively that the goalie’s job is cut out for him—and employ his infamous header for several assists or goals. “Tola works harder than most,” asserts varsity boys’ soccer coach Brian Clouse. “He possesses great work ethic and technical skills.” The team’s most recent loss was a 1-0 match three weeks ago when Harrison narrowly scored a penalty kick, but the players look ahead resiliently to upcoming sectionals as favorable as the 10-0 shutout against Tipton, and the 12-0 over Delphi in previous weeks. “Tola was amazing on defense,” raved Esteban Garcia the day after the Tipton game. Others are equally praising of Tola’s unfailing dexterity and stability which they can count on week after week against formidable rivals. Sophomore Marcus Siegmund alludes to this, calling Tola “a god-fearing man.” Overall, this unbeatable combination of qualities defi nes Tola as one of the driving forces behind opponent-thumping games that contribute to the team’s 9-4-1 record. “Tola’s a skilled, versatile player,” sums up forward Matt Peck. And no one denies that their breath is robbed when after practice, Tola clears the eight-foot crossbar of the goal as effortlessly as an opponent’s cleat during a match.
The Great Whale Gazelle: Tola Adeola Awes with Superhuman Athleticism
If you know anything about competitivecross-country, then you will defi nitely haveheard the name Kaisa Goodman. A key memberof our Girls’ Cross-Country team, Kaisa is well known for her excellence in the sport. Her endurance, determination, and “need for speed” make her a spectacular runner, but what drives her as a person? Who is Kaisa off the course, and how has she gotten to where she is today? Kaisa’s passion for running began when shewas in the third grade. “I had always loved hiking when I was younger,” Kaisa recalls, “and I loved the mile when our school ran it in the third grade. I started competing when someone told me about an open track meet at the Purdue Track Club. After that, I got a goodpair of running shoes and started competing inopen events.” Kaisa adds that she didn’t really startformally training until the fi fth grade, but emphasizes that her love for running began long before that. In fact, Kaisa still runs for pleasure whenever she can. Other activities she enjoys in her spare time include reading books,hiking, ice-skating, and eating ice cream. As the winner of a multitude of awards, most recently 1st place in the Culver Close Race last Saturday, Kaisa is a strong individual talent. However, it is her strength as a team player
that makes her extraordinary. Her teammates have referred to her as “astrong presence” on the team and “a good person as well as a good athlete.” As for Kaisa, many of her goals are team-oriented. “Our varsity has really stepped it up from last year, after losing our number one and two runners,” she said of the team. “Our goal is to make it to state, and I think we can make it happen.”
BY WANYOUNG [email protected]
Kaisa Goodman: Good Enough for the Gold
BY MARISSA [email protected]
“I got a good pair of running shoes and started competeting
in open events.”
THE WHALE BREACHES: Tola Adeola heads the ball downfi eld. Photo by Connie Yang
RUN, KAISA, RUN!: Kaisa sprints through the parking lot.Photo by Anna Chen
“Tola was amazing on defense.”
STUDENT LIFE OCTOBER 2ND, 2009PAGE 12
Seriously Speaking: “What is the best way to escape from prison?”
“Pay the dementors and use a patronus charm.”
-Paul Yoon, Freshman
“Hire Michael Vick’s lawyers.”
-Rett Berry, Sophomore
“Good behavior and pray you get early parole.”
-Ahmed Abdelsalam, Senior
“‘Through fi ve-hundred yards of excrement-smelling foulness I can’t
even imagine.’”
-Mr. Shaeffer
Football, wrestling and weightlifting. What do these three things all have in common? Tes-tosterone-fi lled? Yes. Uber-manly? True that. Bobby Schweikher? Double true. Therefore, by some geomet-rical concept, like the tran-sitive or distributive prop-erty I learned as a freshman, we could infer that Bobby is both testosterone fi lled and uber-manly. Now, I could end the story right there, but that would discredit the magni-tude of the previous state-ment. He is captain of both the football and wrestling teams, he has had the high-est bench weight and he holds the fastest mile time of the entire football team. Daniel Wodicka, the little-known quarterback that Bobby protects, sums it up with, “He is the epitome of a man’s man”. A few questions that popped into my mind when I spoke with Bobby were, “What does he do with this talent?” and “Does he really work that much?” Well, Wodicka answered my question. “[He is] the hardest worker I’ve ever seen in my
Bobby Schweikher: MORE THAN JUST MUSCLE MILKBY VICTOR [email protected]
life. His dedication to high school football is very strong. He is one of the most improved players I’ve ever seen.” Captain, starting linebacker and tight-end Andy Huber says, “Without him, we
wouldn’t be as serious. He gets everybody fo-cused.” Kevin Jones, another football team-mate, sums it up with, “Bobby Schweikher is too serious.” With all this determination, what does Bobby say about football? The best thing is, of course, winning and this year “We’re taking it to state.”Many people may start to compare this stud with another: Chuck Norris. What do they have in com-mon? Huber says, “The red hair…kind of. I mean, that reddish-brown kinda thing. And the fact that he could probably take on a whole army by himself.” Bobby told
me about Chuck’s “awesomeness,” which could also be used to describe him. With all that brawn, is there any room for the brain? Of course, as Bobby has taken hon-
ors classes and is currently enrolled in calculus at Purdue. Is there any estrogen at all in him? Huber said, “I actually doubt that very much.” Bobby himself responded, “None at all. I fi nd ro-mantic comedies…sickening.”
MAN UP: Bobby Schweikher surveys the multi tude of weaklings around him. Photo by Alyeesha Puri
“With salsa, like they did in Myth Busters.”
-Francis Funk, Junior
StatsColor: RedMovie: Raging BullSound: The sound that “two 45-pound plates make when you slam them togetheron the bar”Restaurant: He doesn’t like to eat out.Actor: Robert DeNiroFood: Chicken and noodlesAnimal: Snow Leopard. He saw it on PlanetEarth and it hunts in the mountains of Pakistan: “They’re just awesome”Subject: EconomicsHobby (besides anything muscle-re-lated): Watching movies. “Really manly”movies.Bench: 345 poundsSquat: 455 pounds (2.5 times his body weight)Mile time: 5:42Political Party: GOP!!!Days per week: 7Days per week he works out: “I lift eight days a week”Maximum hours working out per week:25+Football position: Right tackle