Inside Team’s best finish in a decadeDecathlon team advances to city championships

Students to compete at city science fair

By Jonathan Eustaquio

The academic decathlon team advanced to the city champi-onships for the first time in a

decade.The team consisted of Milena Col-

lazo, Iriz Ilumin, Giovanni Landa, Josue Lopez, William Moctezuma, Eduardo Rivera, Brandon Steppan, Andriy Suden, and Dominikia War-chol.

Since September the students and their coaches worked several times a week after school to prepare for tests in English, math, science, history, economics, music, and art, centering on a theme of Russia. Decathlon is divided into three levels — scholastic, honors, and varsity. Three members of the team participated in each level. All grade levels participated.

“I have some graduating seniors so I am going to look for students who have good work habits, are organized, and have time for the meetings,” coach Davoud Chitsaztehrani said.

For the first competition on Janu-ary 26, the team left Steinmetz at 6 a.m. and didn’t get back until 9:30 p.m. The students took multiple choice tests in all subjects, followed by a Super Quiz Relay, where students

See our story on page 2 about regional science fair winners Kienna Bariso, Alicia Urquizo, Marisol Bernardino, Tyler Lutz, Adrianna Latuszek, Andriy Suden, Molly Filipowicz, Brenda Escalante, and Cintia Garcia.

Annual show spotlights talented performers

News and opinionPages 2 -5

were asked multiple choice questions out loud in front of a large audience.

The night climaxed with an awards ceremony where all participants were given a medal. Edu-ardo achieved a 1st place in math, Josue took 1st in science, and Iriz won a 3rd place in music. Even greater, Steinmetz placed 12th of 36 teams and moved on to the next round.

“I didn’t expect it,” Mr. Chitsaztehrani said. “But the work they put in with the teachers and each other was excellent.”

The team scrambled for three days to prepare for Round Two. Mr. Chitsaztehrani helped the

students prepare resumes. Teacher Jon Hood and his wife Nikki prepped the students for interview assessments with questions they had been asked in real interviews throughout their professional lives. Teachers Charlie Cave, Dar-rin Sorokti, and Jenny Zeszutko worked with the students on their speeches, both prepared and impromptu. Special thanks would also go out to teacher Beverly Grant for all her help coaching the math section. A lot of work went into those three days.

“At the city competition the energy was electric,” Mr. Hood said. “ The team was very

excited with everyone ready to do their best. The process was grueling. When the students came down they were all beaming. They were so proud of how they did. I, too, was proud of them. It was one of the highest points of my teaching career.”

The team placed 15th place in the city.“This was a big accomplishment for our

team and our school,” Mr. Hood said. “ More importantly it was an amazing experience for the students who committed themselves to the team. The friendships they made and the ex-periences they had will last them a lifetime.”•

Sports, Pages 15-16

Arts & EntertainmentPages 12 -14

By Judy Czahor

Unusual new acts of soccer

tricks, piano solos, and karate moves — added to the typical singing, danc-ing, and rapping — made this year’s talent show unique.

Sponsored by teacher Robin Russo, the event was held on the snowy evening of February 7.

Even though there were some negative comments from the crowd, poets Becca Ro-manenko and Tiffany Kolodziej still strode

on and even paid tribute to a friend. Michael Newson and his fellow swim

team members-turned-rockers ended the show.•

More photos on Page 14

Coach Davoud Chitsaztehrani, Andriy Suden, William Moctezuma, Eduardo Rivera, Iriz Ilumin, Giovanni Landa, Coaches Jon and Nikki Hood, Milena Collazo, Brandon Steppan; Josue Lopez (below); Dominikia Warchol (not pictured)

Josue Lopez holds the team trophy.He won 1st place in science.

The team scored high enough in regionals to advance to the city competition where the Streaks took 15th

Edgar Tintin, Isabella Rios, and Luis Ortegaperforming “Someone Like You”

Valentine’s Day,sex and relationships

Pages 6-11

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Steinmetz StarVolume 78, Number 4, February 2013

CorrectionJayline Matias’

page 1 art work

In the January 2013 Star we misspelled Jayline’s name when we printed her sympathy card

for the families of the Sandy Hook shooting masacre.

The Star regrets the error. •

Grades as a predictor of success in life

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By Mirium Amin

There are many students who wear scarves or (hijab) on their heads because it’s a part of their religion.

Their religion is Islam. You’ve probably seen these girls around the halls wearing a hijab.

Some have been rude. People have asked me, “Why do you wear that thing, are you bald? Can I see your hair?”

Other people, “liberated” women, suggest that a hijab not only covers the head, but also covers the mind, intellect.

They say that our dress code is outdated and oppressive, and it stops us from being productive human beings. They speak out of ignorance when they say that our hijab does not belong in these modern times

I believe that due to the constant de-crease in moral values in the world today, circumstances make the hijab even more necessary.

I wear my hijab with pride. Just be-cause I believe in a different god does not mean I don’t have a religion or I should be judged for that. Don’t judge me if you don’t know me.•

Wearing the hijab with pride

It’s 9 a.m. and not time for lunchBy Michael Amaya

Having 2nd period lunch may not be the worst thing in the world, but it’s pretty close. It’s lunch so

I talk with friends and get work done, but 9 a.m. is too early for pizza and spicy chicken sandwiches.

If we had open campus and went out we would be served breakfast. If restau-rants are still serving breakfast, why am I stuck eating a chicken sandwich?

“I don’t want to eat anything in the

morning that isn’t breakfast, but if I don’t eat a spicy, I’ll be hungry throughout the day,” said junior Anthony Lagunas, who has the burden of second period lunch.

Only students have to endure a morn-ing lunch. Teachers and administration may have a break second period, but they’ll have a later period to take lunch.

It wouldn’t make sense for me to go before school for breakfast when I have lunch an hour later.

“It’s too early to eat lunch,” said ju-nior Michelle Garcia “we should be served

breakfast food like pancakes or waffles”.I’m hopeful a day will come when 2nd

period lunch is eliminated and 8th period lunch is brought back to its former glory. Switching my lunch period isn’t a solution (other people will still have 2nd period lunch).

The solution is serving breakfast, the type of food appropriate for 9 o’clock in the morning. Breakfast is the most impor-tant meal of the day, so why can’t we be served breakfast? •

Dear students,I recently read a study produced

by the University of Chicago find-ing that grades are a better predictor of suc-cess than test scores. The findings are very interesting because they make somewhat of a departure from the past.

I believe that Success = Effort x Abil-ity. Just because one is super smart doesn’t guarantee automatic success in school or life. If you want to be successful, you have to put in the work.

A great indicator of success is grades. One’s level of grit, perseverance, time man-agement, determination, and responsibility can be measured by GPA. What is yours? I remember vividly an Economics class I took in high school. My teacher offered everyone extra credit assignments. I gave up my lunch periods to complete every extra credit assignment I could. Those as-signments boosted my average so high that I was excused from the final exam! I can’t

tell you exactly why I worked so hard in that particular class but I remember it being super interesting and enjoyable.

The challenge for each and everyone one of you is to earn the best grades possible, knowing that the work you put in to earn those grades are some of the same ingredients needed for success in life.

In high school I spent most of my time living for the moment instead of thinking about the future I wanted to have. It’s a challenge for any young adult to imagine what kind of success they want out of life but I leave you with this. Certainly, all of you want to be successful. Although you may not yet be able to define what that success looks like, know that the research tells us that good grades are an incredibly strong indicator of future success.

I urge everyone to put as much ef-fort into your grades as possible. Build on your commitment level to school and to your classes. Your grades are a reflection of your work ethic and desire, and ultimately a measure of the kind of success you will have in life. It all starts right now!

Gambatte Kudasai,Mr. Ngo •

8 students to compete in city science fair at Museum of Science & Industry

Principal Stephen Ngo

Mirium Amin

2 Steinmetz Star February 2013

2Steinmetz

StarSteinmetz College Prep High School

3030 N. Mobile, Chicago IL 60641

773-534-3030, Star office (x) 25241

Email: steinmetzstarnews@gmail.com

School website: www.steinmetzac.com

(“Steinmetz Newspaper” link)

Principal: Mr. Stephen Ngo Assistant principals: Mr. Jaime Jaramillo Ms. Cheryl Williams Ms. Ruquiyah Rahman-Aquil Star adviser: Ms. Sharon Schmidt

Co-editors in chief: Jennie Czahor and Judy Czahor

Editing Team: Michael Amaya, Moriah Belt, Amanda Gidney, Anthony Guerrero, Katarzyna Jalowiec, Celimar Lopez, Rebecca Romanenko

Journalism class reporters, Room 3331st period: Michael Amaya, Moriah Belt, Breonn Bland, Makennzee Curran, Jen-nifer Garcia, Lechele Glispie, Arneshia Harris, Serlecia Jones, Anthony Lagunas, Elizabeth Martinez, Alejandra Pacheco, Emanuel Pazmino, Phillip Quezada, Abra-ham Roa, Heiddy Rodas, Anyssa Rodri-guez, Alan Salazar, Andrea Silva, London Vasquez, Aracely Ventura, Kyle Williams 5th period: Steven Abanto, Denzel Brown, Taylah Brown, Lexus Castro, La’Keva Duncan, Jonathan Eustaquio, Brittany Garcia, Iriz Garcia, Amanda Gidney, Vic-toria Gonzalez, Esther Grimaldo, Antho-ny Guerrero, Jocelyn Laguer, Lathea Lee, Matthew Maggit, Dominic Masciopinto, Nakita Mccaa, Ivelise Mercado, Norjoria Pratt, Ricky Rico, Brandon Robinson, Govani Rosales, Daniela Vargas, Esther Velazquez 8th period: Selene Acosta, Brenda Blanco, Norma Carrillo, Katie Christ, David Cruz, Judith Czahor, Luis Diaz, Jackueline Flores, Estefani Garcia, Julian Hemingway, Katarzyna Jalowiec, Celimar Lopez, Luis Lopez, Erik Martinez, Jose Martinez, Lisette Mendez, Cathy Meraz, Leticia Mombela, Lissette Monterroso, Ja-mie Muro, Nathalie Ortiz, Jesus Ramirez, Julian Rice, Sergio Rodriguez, Rebecca Romanenko, Johann Sanchez, Anthony Shanks, Vanessa Solis, Kandace Warren

Newspaper club reporters: Mirium Amin, Mariceli Cadena, Jennie Czahor, Jisel Garcia, Kala Geralds, Alejan-dro Hernandez, Trae Johnson, Ameerae Lunjas, Tridaya McGee, Justin Martinez, Michael Newson, Maria Sanchez, Koya Scott, Andres Suarez, Justyna Szczech, Quijna Walton, Brenda Villegas, Jalan Veal, Saul Zamora

The Newspaper Club meets on Thursdays after school in Room 333.

The Steinmetz Star welcomes letters to the editor, corrections, comments, and bylined articles from all members of the Steinmetz community.

Printing: Mr. Hugh Hefner’s October 2012 donation pays for printing the Steinmetz Star at Newsweb Corporation, Chicago. •

Principal’s Message

Star Editorials

By Judy Czahor

Some of our best science students competed at Northeastern Univer-sity in the regional science fair. Eight

received outstanding awards and will go on to the city competition in March, held at the Museum of Science and Industry.

“The students represented Steinmetz well,” teacher Dorta Ochwat said. “Every-one matured a lot through the science fair. They spent time on their projects instead of video games. Their work on the science fair will help raise their ACT scores.”

In addition to conducting superior level research and experimentation, the students needed to be able to communicate their

purposes and findings to judges.“Being able to present something is the

final product of anything,” teacher Paul Bagdonas said.

The science fair, like the decathlon, ex-tends student learning outside the regular curriculum.

“The science fair can be really fun if you are into science,” Ms. Ochwat said. “Because of the students fascination, they were able to achieve greatly while using English and math skills, as well as using knowledge of statistics and computers. A big thank you to Ms. Daughenbaugh for teaching the students Microsoft Excel to use for graphs.” •

Sophomore Tyler Lutz experi-mented with water temperature on lithium. “I already knew lithium reacted with the temperature, but I didn’t know the activity rate,” he said. “I wanted to find out.”

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“My girlfriend bought me tickets for a concert that was sold out for my favor-ite band, Miss May I.” Marcos Gabriel, junior

“My boyfriend Charlie made me a Build-a-Bear. It was a special edition Valentine’s Day Hello Kitty dressed in a white dress.”

Daisy Najera, junior

“My mother threw me a surprise party.”

Adriane Tate, junior

“My friend got me a Shih Tzu puppy, named Nila.”

Christina Davenport, junior

“I went to junior prom at Muchin College Prep (a charter school in Chicago) with my best friend who’s a guy instead of my boyfriend because my boyfriend was too old. After prom my boyfriend Angel picked me up dressed in his Marine uniform and brought me some flowers. It was so cute I almost wanted to cry. Then he took me to a boathouse at Humboldt Park. We had our own miniature prom. It was so sweet.”

Amaris Alicea, senior

“A friend got me Lakers tickets be-cause I love Kobe Bryant.”

Angel Dejesus, staff

Facebook friend

January 22 , 2012A Steinmetz Star fan posted the above graphic

on Facebook and we love the idea. Our response to the person who posted it: If you create a Steinmetz-oriented Meme, we’ll publish it.

Sincerely, Steinmetz Star Editors

Good changes are happening

January 30 , 2012Is there a difference this year from last? Yes. Mr.

Ngo’s name says it all! He put his foot down the right way, and got his school working great. The rules are similar to last year, but more students are complying with them,

The school isn’t exactly perfect, however he’s work-ing on it. We students should speak out on what this school needs more of or even less of. Mr. Ngo works hard, and he is very understanding toward students.

He’s helpful in any situation, and he can really make a change. For example, when I had a problem with the security I went straight to Mr. Ngo. He understood my situation, and he did something about it.

Steinmetz College Prep is changing for the best. Thank you, Mr. Ngo and staff, for making a differ-ence in our school. We as a whole will change when Mr. Ngo’s plan is in action.

Sincerely,Ashley Cotton

Game review inspires comment from reader

January 22 , 2012Shout out to Anthony Guerrero

who reviewed Black Ops 2 (“Great-ly anticipated sequel delivers awe-some thrills”, Nov.-Dec. 2012 Star. I got the Pistols Diamond!

Modern Warfare 3 is my favor-ite game in the world, because the multiplayer is so awesome down to the guns and to the maps, which are DLC. The maps are Downturn (which no ones plays like that), Hardhat, Dome (which everyone likes), Mission, Fallen, Arkaden, Seatown, Bakarra, Re-sistance, Bootleg, Carbon, Lock-down, Village, Outpost, (no one likes this map that much either), Interchange, and last, but not least. Underground.

There are lots of weapons, but I am not about to list them all. I’ll tell you my favorite weapons: MP7 (Submachine Gun SG), ACR 6.8 (Assault Rifle AR) and of course 96% of people who snipe in the game use MSR (Sniper Rifle SR).

I love this game so much and people on YouTube post Parodies to songs to fit MW3. I find that awesome. Here’s some examples: I Don’t Like Chief Keef Parody, The Motto Drake Parody, Faded Tyga Parody. I could go on forever about MW3 about the maps the guns the KDR (Kill Death Ratio), Accolades — everything!

Your friend, Marquez Hondras

Swim teamFebruary 7 , 2012On behalf of Coach Sullivan and myself, I want to

thank the Star for devoting most of the back page of the last issue to the Swimming Streaks! Many students do not even realize that we have a pool in the school.

The mistakes with some of the names are my fault. “Carlos Salgado” is Carlos Sanchez, it is Jaxon Alvarez, Craig (CJ) Piwowarczyk, and Christian Huertas.

In a great finish to the boys’ season both our varsity and the soph-frosh teams defeated Roosevelt on Febru-ary 5. In the Soph-Frosh championships on February 2, we placed 13th in the City; in the varsity meet on February 3, we placed 17th.

I want to give a special shout-out to the seniors on both girls and boys teams. Their leadership and sup-port to the team was great!! We will miss them, but wish them the best of luck.

Sincerely, Coach David H. Henry

“One of my friends made me a button with my favorite artist on it. I appreciated it because she took the time and effort to make this button and she drew it by hand.”

Daniel Gray, senior

“In the fifth grade a girl named Jenny gave me money for lunch.”

Omar Coctecon, junior

“My boyfriend rubbed my feet and after we got home from a con-cert.”

Ana Cacique, sophomore

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February 2013 Steinmetz Star 3

Star Opinion 3

Sign up for ASM

After School Matters art programsThere is still room in jewelry design which

started Feb. 5. See Ms. Laura in Room 106.Coming in March: Flamenco dancing!

Fill out an application atwww.afterschoolmatters.org

Letters

Iriz Ilumin: A bright future

Bricksquad for next level

Siblings make school better

LTAB poetry fest begins next week

Losing someonespecial

By Breonn Bland

Everyone is asking, “What is

BrickSquad?” We’re a bunch of kids who have a lot in common. BrickSquad was inspired by rapper Gucci Mane who makes us want to rap and achieve any goal that we want.

Donald Steel, Frank Bland, Brian Cheeks and Dam-ariya Shelby started Bricksquad their sophomore year and added more people — Darius Jackson, Jovan Shelby, John Shelby, Matthew Maggit, Ronnie Sanders and Breonn Bland. We are the class of 2013.

Our squad is not a gang. We all attend school to make it to the next level.

“Being BrickSquad is an honor,” senior Matthew Maggit said. “I’m just happy I have friends who are

focused and on track.” People around the school ask how everyday life

is in the summer for the squad. My squad wakes up to link up and write music, play ball, and party ev-erywhere we go. This summer BrickSquad will take off with our music. This reporter, Breonn Bland, has a song that will be for the Squad on Prom night. •

By Anthony guerrero

Many people come to the United States to live a better life, and many others come to get a good education. Senior

Iriz Ilumin is one of the many people who came here for both a better life, and a good education. Ever since she came from the Philippines she has excelled in all her studies. She is a straight A student, in AP classes, and scored the highest of anyone on the Decathlon Team.

Iriz was born in Pangasinan, Philippines on August 5, 1995. Her parents moved to the U.S. to give her the opportunity to study and go to college. Iriz came to Chicago and began Steinmetz her freshman year. During the time she lived in the Philippines she was taught how to speak English by her school and family.

Ever since she got here she has been studying hard to go to her dream school, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). In December she received a letter of acceptance that she will be attending UIC this fall. She will be studying biological science. So she can prepare herself before she enters in the medical field.

In her four years here Iriz has gotten straight A’s. When she has free time she studies her notes until her eyes get tired. Her favorite pastime is to bake. She bakes cookies; brownies, and cakes.

Before she came to Chicago Iriz used to play sports. Her favorite sport was volleyball. When she came to Chicago Iriz thought she couldn’t play.

“I don’t have enough time to play anymore,” Iriz said.”I prefer to sleep and I’m short.”

Many teachers appreciate Iriz for her work in her studies and her personality.

“She does all her work and is hardworking stu-dent,” said teacher James Solomon. “She presents a humble and a friendly personality.”

Iriz is one of the sweetest person you’ll ever met, and she is a really great friend.•

By Aramis pates

Since the year 2007 Steinmetz

has been known for its outstanding talent in the spoken word. Teachers James Sloan and John Hood have been recruiting the best poets we have to offer and training them to participate in the biggest poetry slam in the universe.

Yes, universe. If there was a poetry slam on Jupiter, Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) would still be bigger.

Founded by Young Chicago Author Kevin Coval in 2000, LTAB has been the “must see” Youth Poetry Slam and Open Mic for the last 13 years. LTAB isn’t just one day though, LTAB is a all-month festival with multiple activi-ties that are also open to the public — Rap battles, Haiku slams, Duo Slams, various workshops and so much more. This festival takes place downtown at Columbia College beginning Febru-ary 18.

Check out our school’s team in the high school slam on Thursday, Febru-ary 21 and Saturday, February 23 as we take on some of the best schools in the state.

The high school slam is the mar-quee event of LTAB. Teams of 4-8 peo-ple showcase original poetry in a series of preliminary bouts and are judged on a scale from 1-10 by members of the general public. But the competition is secondary, as the phrase understood by all involved notes: “It’s not about the points, it’s about the poetry.”

If you would like to attend LTAB to see your fellow students compete Mr. Sloan can help.

“I’d love to take a busload of kids and just spend the day at the festival,” he said.

See him as soon as possible. If you can’t reach Mr. Sloan, you may also see the other poetry team coaches, teach-ers Jon Hood and Ivelisse Cotto, for more information. •

By Leticia Mombela

Losing someone is hard to deal with especially with that person being your inspiration and your motivation in life, and the person never once left your side.

Once they are gone you feel like a big part of you is missing. Sometimes you can even lose faith in something you believe in; you begin to question everything that once had a meaning. Losing someone important can really hurt mentally, physically and mostly emotionally.

On December 18, 2009, I lost a very important person in my life, my grandma. She was not only my grandma, but she was like my mom. It was hard to consider that a full time grandma and parent left me at such a young age.She always put her family before she did herself.

In November she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When she was hospitalized I thought she would be fine because I had never seen her sick or hurt. When the day came closer I panicked that I would lose the number one person in my life. When it happened I was the last one with her before she shut her eyes.

I regret not telling her more. Until this day I still haven’t accepted it. But I know she’s there when I need her. On bad days and on good, just like she always stood by me when she was alive, she’s still here. She kept her promise to never leave my side.

My freshman year through my junior year I had a hard time adjusting that she was gone. Since she was the only person I made proud I gave up on myself. But in my senior year I found my strength and straightened up my act. She wouldn’t have wanted anything better.

Counselor Kim Diaz has made an awesome group called the grief group. It’s a great way that students can let their feelings out so they won’t make the same mistakes I made. All students should talk with their counselor if they are dealing with loss and want more help.•

Once they are gone, you feel like a

big part of you is missing.

By Heiddy Rodas

Going to school with my sister, senior Thalia Rodas, is the best. From her I get

help with anything school related, and I get to see her in the halls. Not only do I see her at home, but I literally spend the whole day with her.

Some people think we’re twins. We’ve told almost the whole world that we are, but we’re not. We’re half sisters, but the details can confuse people. Students and teachers think we’re twins and we just say yes because people want to ask questions about who’s older, how we’re the same age, and such and such.

I have to admit I may sometimes hate to come to school with her because when we get home she sometimes has homework and most of the time I

don’t. “How come Thalia always has

homework, but you never have home-work?” My mom asks all the time.

“Let me find out you’re not pass-ing your classes,” my mom says. “I’m going to go to the school and ask your counselor for your grades, attendance, everything about you.”

On the other hand there are peo-ple who do not like having siblings in their school. Like senior Leshele Glipsie. She said it’s hard for her to have her brother in the same school

sometimes. Some of the drawbacks, she said, are “trying

to keep him focused, making you late for school, trying to keep him away from bad crowds, keeping girls away, getting him to be on top with school work, and worrying about him making me look bad.” •

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Star News4

Freshman Emony Tate works on a poem after school. Poetry club members will participate in the Louder Than a Bomb (LTAB) poetry slam next week. For many years, James Sloan and Jon Hood have been coaching LTAB-winning slam teams, including one featured in the 2010 award-winning documentary “Louder Than a Bomb.”

Distractions increase already high risk of driving while teenage

Sign up for Shakespeare, a terrific honors courseLTAB poetry fest begins next week

History questions

Hall sweeps hurt

Students who get to take Shakespeare reap many benefits besides the warm and fuzzies,

the t-shirts and the field trips. Students are able to hold discussions

on topics that related not only to Shake-speare’s crowds four hundred years ago, but also to today’s audiences.

Students experience language in a whole new way with a confidence that they never thought they would possess.

Students regularly are up on their feet trying new activities that we are seldom able to provide them in regu-lar English classes — or any classes for that matter.

Students are not limited to writ-ten tests or essays, but are able to ex-press what they have learned through performance; and for many of our shy students, the class has really brought them out of their shells. •

By Vikki gonzalez

Shakespeare. A name we have all heard before. There is currently only one Shakespeare class. Steinmetz is privi-

leged to have such an awesome class. One might assume that the class is dif-

ficult and boring, but I can tell you first had that that is far from the truth. Teacher Robin Russo, goes above and beyond when teaching her Shakespeare class, which consists of all upperclassmen.

“I love that the students in this class, many of whom are not the best students academi-cally, are finding success in this honors level class,” Ms. Russo said. “They learn to work with people outside their social circle, engage in conversations that relate to their lives, ex-plore the craft of acting and performing, read at a totally different level than they usually do, and have a great time doing it.”

There are only 24 students in the class, which allows us to all be like a family.

“We all cute and family-like in class,” said senior Kassandra Mercado. “We have a bond

that no one can take away from us.”Our class goes on several field trips all year

long. Going to the Chicago Shakespeare The-ater is something we all look forward to. The

class is allowed to get dressed up and most times have lunch at Navy Pier, which is a big plus. Victoria Castillo agrees:

“The field trips are seriously the best!” •

By Michael Amaya

Random and unexpected things happen everyday that could have lasting effects. Sometimes

little things become big things, like car accidents.

Little things — like bumping into the back of a car, a scratch here and there, and busted windows — are the less serious offenses that can be fixed by simple repairs, car insurance, or even a new car.

Other things have lasting effects, such as injuries and fatalities. Al-though common in all age ranges, these accidents are most prominent in teen drivers. For example, in 2010 the leading cause of death between 13-19 year-olds was motor vehicle crashes, and that’s just fatality statistics not in-cluding injuries. The exact number of people that died from motor vehicle incidents in 2010 was 3,115, which sadly is only 10% fewer than 2009.

Although legally the only high school students who should be driv-ing are seniors and juniors, that won’t stop younger people. These teens will drive without proper training, a li-cense, or insurance, a disastrous ad-dition to the already problematic teen driving population. If you’re driving without a license, chances are the car isn’t yours, so that puts someone else at fault, leading to consequences for many people.

As phones become more accessible to the Internet and social networks distractions increase for teen drivers. According to statistics from www.keepthedrive.com, an advocacy or-ganization for teen driver safety, driver distraction contributes to 16% of all fatal crashes for people under the age of 20. Statistics show that texting and driving can increase the risk of getting into a car crash by 23 times.

Speed related crashes can occur in all age groups, but are again most common among 16-19 year olds. Many teens will exceed speed limits for the thrill of it, this is not only dan-gerous for the driver but a passenger.

“The fear of crashing or getting in

trouble can be exhilarating, but not in a good way,” said junior Phillip Quezada, who as a passenger of an unsafe driver had to speak up.

On the other side of the spectrum are the teen drivers who drive because of errands and responsibility instead of pleasure and leisure.

“I drove because it was my respon-sibility as the oldest to drop-off my brothers at school,” junior Anthony Lagunas said. “I had to be safe. It wasn’t my car and all I had was a permit.”

Fear has stopped me from driving, not fear in my ability as a driver, but instead fear of others’ ability to drive. Car crashes are the leading cause of death in my age group.

The most effective way to slow down this rate is to educate young drivers of the precautions they must take to ensure their safety and others. For more information and to even share your story go to www.keepthe-drive.com.•

By Daniela Vargas

After every period you have students running through the halls and cutting in between the crowds, especially if you have security guards

counting down the seconds to hall sweep. Hall sweeps are hurting many students because they’re getting punished for being five seconds late to class.

Four minutes isn’t enough time to go from class to class. Some students have a class in the mods and then have their next class in the third floor on the opposite side of the building. It’s almost impossible for students.

What irritates students is that even if the bell rang the second you were standing outside your class you’re considered late. Some teachers lock their door the second the bell rings, causing students to get their IDs taken away and get a detention.

“I think it’s really unfair how students who are ‘cool’ with the security guards don’t get hall swept and the ones who end up getting detentions are good students who were late to their class just once,” said sophomore Nancy Vargas.

The whole point of hall sweep is to stop students from being late to class, but the whole hall sweep process takes up half the period. First you get your ID taken away, then you get sent to 118, and then you have to wait approximately 20 minutes to get your pass to go to class because there are usually many other kids in 118. Some students don’t care about the consequences, they’re already used to get-ting in trouble.

Hall sweeps hurt students who have to go to work right after school and they can’t serve the detention. The worst part is that if you miss your detention you get In-School Suspension.

“You shouldn’t have to stay 30 minutes after school just for being 30 seconds late to class,” said senior Victor Navarro.

Some students take the time to go to their lockers or the washroom right before lunch but now you can’t even do that because students are even getting hall swept for being late to lunch.

To try to avoid hall sweep you literally have to carry all your books with you because you don’t even have time to stop by your locker.You can’t even go to the bathroom if you have an emergency because you’ll get caught in a hall sweep.

Hall sweeps should be stopped because everyone has an off-day where they’re running late. If hall sweeps are to be continued then students should be able to get more time to get to their classes.

It’s important to get to class on time, but it’s dif-ficult for many students to do so, especially if you only have four minutes to get to class. Punishing students for being late isn’t really going to make any changes. •

sOURCE: WWW.KEEpTHEDRIVE.COM

By Jalan Veal

Teacher Debra Kern wants you to consider

what life would be like today if the following people had never been born:Benjamin BakerSojourner TruthMadame C.J. WalkerLangston HughesOprah Winfrey Jean Baptiste Point Du SableJames Weldon JohnsonRichard AllenRosa ParksMartin Luther King, Jr.•

February 2013 Steinmetz Star 5

Star News 5

Single on Valentine’s Day

What is your ideal date?

Valentine’s horoscopesBy Brenda Villegas

Valentine’s Day horoscopes, para-phrased from http://www.psychic-guild.com.

Though Cancers have a tight schedule, they always find the time and space to have love in their lives. You will find a love soon, just

live your life through who you are and everything will be a natural progression.

Aries, for you love and comprise go hand and hand, but if you cannot bend a little time for your partner, you might want to re-think your intentions.

And if you find the perfect solution, every-thing will be fine.

Taurus, Make sure to leave some room in your schedule because someone just might want to make special plans with you. You

never know what can happen in this crazy world. Just make sure not to give up, and something good should possibly happen.

Gemini, Don’t give up on love. The highest sug-gestion for you is to talk your problems out, and to find a solution to them. Ask friends to help support you,

and stay strong of yourself. Love will find you soon.

Leo, with the help of the love god Venus influencing in your personal affairs, she can either help lead you to the partner of your dreams or make you realize they’re right in front of your face!

Also, though you may be passionate, something more substantial may consume you.

Virgo, You might have some family problems, and you might even end up with a person you’re incompat-ible with, but you know you should not give up so easily.

You will glow and outshine all the negative things. Love is out there, and you will find it soon, and you will know they are the one.

Libra, even with love you have to be cautious. Make precise decisions instead of moving straight forward with

it. Here are a few things more helpful then just observing, Just listen to what your heart is telling you and it will not leave you astray.

Scorpio, intense decision might hit you. You might have problems here and there, but you will soon find solutions to it all. You will find someone close to

you who will help you, someone who was a love interest, but you just didn’t notice it. Who knows, they might be that special one you were looking for.

Sagittarius, if a romantic partner is what you truly desire, this is the time of the year where you can find someone who truly strikes your fancy! If you are al-

ready in a relationship with a partner who makes your heart sing, this can be a period when you are able to make adjustments to increase the health and satisfaction of the relationship.

This month looks to some people like you are not ready to accept love. It won’t be forced upon you, and some people might even try to convince you,

but doing so will possibly increase the ro-mance you want in your life, But it might just be unavoidable for you to experience romance in some form or fashion. If you want to, give love a try, who knows what might happen.

Aquarius, some turn of events might happen that will give you the sudden energy to have more love. And though you might

have problems with love at the moment, that doesn’t give you a reason to give up. Continue with the natures of love, and what you consider normal, you will find true love soon.

Pisces, this year, your connections with friends will increase, and the depths of your friendships will reveal to you more than you normally know. Though it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is good to mix caution when dealing with professional and personal interests, it can also allow you to get to know someone for who they really are. •

“My ideal date is the two of us hang-ing out, watching movies, and playing video games.”

Esmerelda Villa, freshman

“My ideal date would be with Gabrielle Union. I would take her out to Sympho-ny’s restaurant for dinner. After dinner I will love to take her on a boat cruise here in downtown Chicago.”

Matthew Joiner, senior

“The best date for me is when my hus-band and I watch a basketball game and order pizza. That is the best date because we both love sports. We met at a softball game. ”

Tara Dunne, teacher

“The best date would be to buy my wife flowers, take her out to Gibson’s Steak-house, and maybe to a musical, something like Les Misérables.”

Jesse Holden, Jr., school police officer

By Amanda gidney

If you’ve checked your calendar this morning, you probably noticed that today is Valentine’s Day and maybe for

the past week or so people have been ask-ing you what are you doing and who you’re hangin with.

Your answer to their burning questions might be “I’m not doing anything,” “I don’t have a date,” or maybe even “I hate Valen-tine’s Day, so I’m going home to sulk in my own gloom.” Hopefully, your response wasn’t the last one because being alone on Valen-tine’s Day isn’t the end of the world.

For some odd reason (if it isn’t already annoying that people insist on sucking each other’s faces before the bell rings every day), couples decide to flaunt their so-called love for one another with oversized teddy bears and cheap chocolates; it can get downright sickening.

Then, in two to three weeks, these will be the same people who are having Facebook and Twitter wars about how much they can’t stand one another. Today is not that big of a deal. Look on the bright side of the fence, at least on the 15th all the candy is 50% off.

“It is just another day,” senior Anyssa Rodriguez said. “But my birthday is the 15th so it gets kind of annoying that I re-ceive Valentine’s Day gifts. They are two completely different days.”

“My anniversary would have been on Valentine’s Day, so it’s a constant reminder of a past relationship,” said junior Vicky Rivera. ‘It can get annoying to see couples together on that day.”

“Since I don’t have a girlfriend, I will take my mom out for Valentine’s Day,” senior Matthew Maggit said.

“You still have time to find to someone, so just because it Valentine’s Day, don’t give up hope,” sophomore Julian Salgado said. “You have your friends who love you.”

Marquez Hondras added the following:“Love you once, love you still. Always

have, always will.” •Celebrity crushes

By Esther Velazquez & Jocelyn Lauger

If you don’t have a date for Valen-tine’s Day, at least you can enjoy your favorite singers and actors.

Many students and staff have intense celebrity crushes.

“Shakira, because she’s fine.”Angel DeJesus, sophomore

“William Levy, because he’s hot and Cuban. I fell in love with him during Dancing with the Stars.”

Laura Jimenez, staff

“Ray Lewis from the Ravens. His team was not performing very well until he announced his retirement. They love him so much that they won the Superbowl!”

Gina Szulkowski, teacher

“Havanna Ginger, because she contradicts her name and she’s pretty.”

Alejandro Carrasco, senior

“Demi Lovato, because she’s my age. I love her and I have dreams about her.”

Edwin Ramirez, senior

“Ariana Grande. She is real kind, sweet, and gorgeous. It’s impossible not to like her.”

Jose Gonzalez, senior

“Zayn Malik from One Direction, be-cause he is so hot! His eyes are so dreamy and his voice melts our hearts!”

Jocelyn Lauger and Esther Velazquez

“Scarlett Johansson, everything about her is perfect! What is there not to like about her. Oh and Anne Hathaway, too. Oh, Lord!”

Luis Lopez, senior

“Jermaine Lamar Cole aka J.Cole! He’s inspirational and has big dreams that he is slowly but surely accomplishing.”

Ilseh Torres, senior •

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6 Steinmetz Star February 2013

Star Valentine’s Day6

By Arneshia Harris

Senior Lativia Brown shared her relation-ship story with the Star.

How did you and Jurmon Minnefield meet?

We met here, freshman year, in 2009. We started off as frenemies. Eventually I started crushing on him. We ended up together on Feb 7, 2010.

What are some of the challenges you face as a couple?

Forgetting about the haters that try to break us down and tear us apart.

How do you keep the love alive?Taking our time with each other not rush-

Long-term relationships are possibleBy Celimar Lopez

I’ve been with Adrian for a little over two years and they have been the most amazing years spent in my life.

I moved from Florida sophomore year and I wasn’t looking forward to starting a new school until I met him.

It didn’t take long to realize how per-fect we are for each other. I mean, as soon as we found out we are literally a day apart in age and we have so much in common, we knew it was a match made in heaven.

During our two years, we have not had an argument, fight, or broken up. Every couple has their disagreements and we have plenty, but that is something a relationship needs to grow stronger. We do have our differences in points of views, but we trust each other, respect our relationship, communicate whenever there is something on our minds, support each other’s dreams, ideas, and hobbies, and most importantly, always stand by each other.

Some may think this is just young love, but honestly, I think it’s more than that. I have been through a lot in my life to know what real love is, and this love could last a lifetime.

If you’re in a relationship, cherish that person while it lasts. Continued on “Web Extra” page 17, available on www.steinmetzac.com

By Manny pazmino

Lisette Mendez is an awesome person. She’s smart, she’s gorgeous and I’m lucky to have her. She’s a little shy, but that’s part of what makes her cute.

We’ve managed to stay together for so long. Most couples don’t, or if they do there’s lots of lies involved. I’m not saying our relationship is perfect, because trust me it’s not! Everybody has ups and downs, but you have to understand the other person, understand their flaws, and be there for them when they need someone.

I understand her perspective for many things, so does she. In a relationship one has to put in 50 %, even though the girls say they put more work. I love Lisette. She has been there for me since day one.

But we do have our downs. Sometimes we lack trust or we don’t appreciate the things we do for each other. We may argue a hundred times. I actually think we do argue a hundred times, but at the end of the day all I want is to be with her. All I want is to fix things with her.

We have to learn to overpass things. Who knows what can happen? I wouldn’t want to leave this world knowing my last words to my baby were “I hate you,” or something unloving. The arguments make me closer to her at the end. I learn to appreciate her more.•

Young Love by Chris BrownTell me what’s the definition of love

Seems like everybody thinks they done figured it out but Every time they fall up in it they fall out, in and out it again

Tell me how they gonna know about usTellin’ me and you that we ain’t even been around long enough

We can prove ’em wrong, show ’em how it’s doneI know we can do it because

If it’s wild and out, we got thatAnd forgiving, we got that

If it’s talkin’ bout how we feelin’, we got thatAnd just hanging out, keeping it real then we got that

Me and you know what the deal is but Since we ain’t 21, they be tryna say it ain’t love

Cause we can’t hit the clubs, they be tryna say we’re too youngI ain’t sayin’ that we’re tryna be grown

I’m just sayin’ that we’re old enough to knowWe got that young love, young love

We lucky cause we got that young love

By Aracely Ventura

Entering high school freshman year, I had no idea I was going to meet the one for me. Biol-

ogy class is where our story began. Erik Martinez was just a classmate of mine who secretly had a little crush on me. He would spend all period for days just saying hi to me, no other words would come out of him except “hi.”

ing each other into anything, keeping each other happy and, also by spicing things up every now and then.

Have you and Jurmon planned a future together?

Yes, we plan on going to college, getting our education, and after we graduate we want to live life a little, then start a family.

What advice can you give other couples?

I would tell them to never listen to what others say or to worry about the social networks.

Actions speak louder than words. If it’s love, don’t give up. Keep going and work the prob-

lems out. Anything worth having is worth

fighting for. •

Adrian, I just wanted to say that you have been the most important thing that has ever happened to me. You have always been the person who made me smile when I have my bad days. You have always made me feel important and loved, a love from a person that no one but I can explain.

I hope everyday that we will always be togeth-er, to always be with my high school sweetheart. I want to go through the rest of my life with you — college, traveling the world, and everything.

When we have our down times it’s always settled with food and “I love you.” Our relation-ship isn’t perfect but it is the best one I have ever had because it’s actually real and it will last forever and beyond! Love, Celimar

Then on September 17, 2009, he fi-nally had the courage to ask me out. Like most of us would do, I wanted to think about it. Later that afternoon, I told him yes. It was a great day for both of us. I was instantly falling for him every second I spent with him. He was becoming a dream come true.

Now, three years and four months later, we’re both in our senior year, ready and waiting for the future. We’re really happy together, making it through thick and thin throughout our high school life. Erik became more than just my boyfriend, he became my best friend as well. •

A dream come true

Overcoming 100 argumentsBy Lisette Mendez

When you see couples together for a long time, there’s always curiosity. How do they do it? The whole

point of a relationship is to love the person you’re with for better and for worse.

I have been in a relationship for almost two years with Emanuel Pazmino. We are not perfect, we’re human so we do have our arguments. Besides the arguments we’ve learned to accept each other, and fall in love with each other.

We have obstacles and we get through them by telling each other how we feel, let-ting each other know why we’re bothered, and finding a solution to the problem we’re having.

The best part about being with your boy-friend is feeling secure because of how they make you feel. You feel as if you’re special to them, and you mean so much to them. Also, you get butterflies in your stomach when he does something cute like buys you roses, writes you letters explaining the way he feels about you, and when he’s all sweet to you and makes you smile for hours.

This is my first time being in love with a person and I’m so glad Emanuel proved himself to me, and proved that throughout our ups and downs he stuck by my side.

There are not many guys out there who are faithful, committed, and truthful. I’m so relieved to say my boyfriend is one of the very few who are all those things. Knowing that you’re actually loved by someone is the best feeling.

Jesus Alenis who has been with his girl-friend for three years, has the following advice:

“The only way to keep a relationship is for the two people to put 50-50 in the re-lationship. When you get into arguments and you’re wrong, suck up your pride, and show you care.” •

By gabriela pineda

Jonathan and I met in the 4th grade. We were as close as two people can get. I could tell him anything. When we went into 6th grade,

we were in different classes. We didn’t talk at all, never even said hi. Then in 7th grade we were in the same class, but I ended up being his bully. I always beat him up and treated him badly.

As sophomores every-thing changed; we became really close again. The day that I finally got the guts to tell him I liked him was one of my happiest days because I found out that he liked me too. A few days later he asked me out in a really cute way. That day I became the happiest girl. We made seven months on February 3. •

4th grade friends, now...

By Jonathan Eustaquio

During sophomore year we got close again, really close.

We always talked to each other. No matter what I was doing I al-ways wanted to talk to Gabby. Time passed and she told me she liked me. That just got me in the happiest mood ever, knowing the girl I like, likes me too. Later dur-ing the summer I asked her out in the stupidest way because I was ner-vous, but she said yes. That day I became the happiest guy ever, and

I know that she will always make me happy! •

February 2013 Steinmetz Star 7

Star Valentine’s Day 7

Students following national patterns

Steinmetz Star relationship and sexual activity / opinion results from 350-student random sample , all grade level, anonymous survey

By Alan salazar

The Star relationship and sex sur-vey asked students straightforward questions. We did this not to be

nosy, but to report new information. The news to many may be how closely we are compared to national averages.

Among U.S. high school students sur-veyed in 2011, 47.4% have had sexual intercourse; 33.7% have had sexual in-tercourse during the previous 3 months, and, of these, 39.8% did not use a con-dom the last time they had sex; 76.7% did not use other birth control methods the last time they had sex; 15.3% have had sex with four or more people during their life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

More than half of Steinmetz students are sexually active, according to the sur-vey results. Forty-six percent of students surveyed reported having had sexual intercourse. In addition, 38 percent of

What do you consider a

serious relationship?

• partners dating for a considerable amount of time: 65 %• partners who say they’re in love: 30 %• sexually active partners: 4 %

How many serious rela-

tionships have you been

in during high school?

• one: 42 %• zero: 36 %• two: 15 %• three or four: 5 %• five or more: 2 %

Have you ever had

sexual intercourse?

• no: 54 %• yes: 46 %

If having sexual in-

tercourse: How often

do you use a condom

when you have sex?

• every time: 50 %• almost every time: 16 %• half the time: 12 %• rarely: 8 %• never: 14 %

If having sex: Have you

(or your partner) ever

gotten pregnant?

• no: 76 %• yes: 24 %

If you have not had

sexual intercourse,

have you engaged in

another kind of sexual

activity?

• no: 62 %• yes: 38 %

If you abstain from

sexual activity: Why?

• haven’t found the right person: 29 %• not ready: 21 %• don’t want possible physical consequences (infection, disease, pregnancy): 19 %• don’t want emotional risk: 11 %• religious reasons: 8 %

What is the number of

partners with whom

you’ve had sexual activity?• zero: 43 %• one: 29 %• two - three: 16 %• four - five: 7 %• six or more: 5 %

Why is this information in a high school newspaper?

By Anyssa Rodriguez

We know that for many stu-dents, relationships and sexual activity are the top-

ics that concern them the most. At the Star, our goal is to provide new information regarding relevant issues in academics, extra curricular activities, arts and entertainment, sports, school life, and life outside of Steinmetz.

Although it’s part of human nature, sex is usually a taboo topic. But why all the awkwardness and embarrassment behind sex talk? The Steinmetz Star has covered school-sponsored sexu-ally transmitted infections (STI) test-ing and teen parenthood groups, so it only makes sense that we’d want to report facts of student sexual activity and opinions.

We think it’s okay to be vocal about the realities of what students do and think about sex. As high school stu-dents, hormones start kicking in. That’s completely natural. It’s healthy to be vocal about sexual activity because it should promote safe sexual activity.

Many students have told us they were surprised by our results. They thought more people in the school were sexually active. Our reporting may enlighten those who are choos-ing to abstain. Obviously, they are not alone and it’s okay for them to be vocal, too.

We’re not out to judge sexually ac-tive students or put a bad name on the school as a place where sexually irresponsible teens attend; our goals are to inform and advocate responsible behavior. As our other article points out, Steinmetz is pretty typical regard-ing sex. Is that news? We think so.

The Star staff was inspired to do a sex survey because of the one we saw in the Ventura, California high school newspaper, The Cougar Press.

We welcome reader feedback on our stories. Email us at steinmetz-starnews@gmail.com or talk to any of our editors (see page 2). •

the students who said they hadn’t had intercourse reported engaging in other kinds of sexual activity. When students reported the number of partners with whom they have had sexual activity, 43 percent reported zero.

The Star surveys showed a much high-er percent of sexually active upperclass-men than freshmen and sophomores. For example, the surveys showed that more than 60 percent of seniors have had sexual intercourse. This, too, follows national patterns.

“The likelihood of sex increases with each school grade level, from 32 percent in ninth grade to 62 percent in 12th grade,” according to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health (OAH).

“Although only 13% of teens have had sex by age 15, most initiate sex in their later teen years. By their 19th birthday, seven in 10 female and male teens have had intercourse” (National Survey of Family Growth, Vital and Health Sta-tistics, 2011).

Who the students here at Steinmetz are having sex with is none of our busi-ness, but according to our survey results, most students are having sex with some-one they have established a relationship with. This, too, follows national trends

“Among sexually experienced teens,

70% of females and 56% of males report that their first sexual experience was with a steady partner, while 16% of females and 28% of males report first having sex with someone they had just met or who was just a friend” (National Survey).

The majority of the sexually active stu-dents at Steinmetz have had one partner only. This is also somewhat typical.

“Not all sexually active adolescents take part in high-risk sexual behaviors,” reports the OAH. “Thirty-nine percent of females and 33 percent of males who have ever had sex have only had one partner.“

Our survey results show that most students think that their peers do not understand the risks for having unpro-tected sex.

Other survey results show that while more than half of our students are sexu-ally active in some way, 71 percent believe that high school students are too young to have sex responsibly. In addition, most students aren’t talking about sexual activ-ity with their parents nor do they think their parents know about their sex lives.

Regarding sexual orientation, Stein-metz students report higher percentages of Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender (LBGT) identification than national aver-ages. A 2012 national Gallup report finds that among those with a high school edu-cation or less, 3.5% identify as LGBT. •

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8 Steinmetz Star February 2013

Star Feature: Sex and Relationships8

About our survey On January 25, the Star surveyed more than 350 freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors on their opinions and actions regarding relationships and sex. We are reporting the results as generalizations of all students based on this representative, random sample. Dozens of Star staff members were involved in writ-ing the survey questions and administering the survey. All journalism students worked to tabulate the results. We followed guidelines suggested in “Information from Polls,” Journalism Today, 5th Edition, NTC, 1998. A random sample can reliably represent those surveyed and the entire population (to a 95% confidence level) if the following criteria are met: It’s a large enough sample, it represents the population’s overall charac-teristics, and everyone in the population has an equal possibility of being included in the sample. In Dr. Phillip Meyers’ Precision Journalism the sample size needed to generalize from a population of 2,000 is 322. We went beyond this. Steinmetz has nearly 1,800 students. We obtained 350 surveys, accu-rately representing the percentages of students at each grade level. On the day we surveyed students Steinmetz had 409 freshmen (23% of the population), 572 sophomores (33%), 415 juniors (23%), and 375 seniors (21%). Following these proportions, we tabulated the results of surveys from 80 freshmen, 116 sophomores, 80 juniors, and 74 seniors. All Steinmetz students had an equal possibility of being surveyed. We appreciate the students who answered our ques-tions. •

If sexually active, what is the

relationship between you

and the person with whom

you last had sexual relations?

• boyfriend or girlfriend: 56 %• friends with benefits: 23 %• pervious relationship: 14 %• one time thing: 7 %

Are your parents aware of

your sexual activity

• no: 68 %• yes: 32 %

What is your sexual

orientation?

• straight: 84 %• lesbian or gay: 7 %• bisexual: 4 %• transgender/other: 2 %• unsure: 3 %

Do you discuss

sexual activity with

your parents?

• no: 57 %• yes: 43 %

Opinion statements:

People should not have

sexual activity unless

they’re married.

• disagree: 64 %• agree: 36 %

People should not

engage in sexual activity

unless they are in a

committed relationship.

• agree: 76 %• disagree: 24 %

Most high school

students are too young

to have sex responsibly.

• agree: 71 %• disagree: 29 %

Most high school

students do not

understand the risks of

unprotected sex.

• agree: 86 %• disagree: 14 %

Sexually active teens need information

Staff editorial Don’t rush into sex, stay abstinent

Abuse, assault, rape are crimes, not sex: Speak out now!Students should live

up to their own values

By Kasia Jalowiec

There are only a few students today that talk about saving themselves for marriage or for

that special someone they know they’ll be with forever, for better or for worse.

Kids don’t seem to consider the emotional effects of sexual activity as seriously as the physi-cal effects.

It is horrible to have it on your mind that you gave up your virginity to someone who never re-ally cared about you. Three out of four girls wish they had waited longer before starting a sexual life, according to www.youngwomenhealth.org

But it takes a lot to stay absti-nent because we are sexual human beings with natural behaviors. Es-pecially in today’s society where we

are surrounded with sexual messages in movies, songs, TV, and advertise-ments. However, there are those who manage to stay away from sex and follow certain morals because of their religious or personal beliefs.

Staying abstinent till marriage or in a long term relationship means never having to feel regret and guilt.

A good relationship must have good communication between two part-ners. In other words, being honest with your boyfriend or girlfriend and not avoiding uncomfortable topics.

Be in control of your life, develop self respect, and experience healthy long term relationships. Think with your head not your body!

There are a lot of different meth-

ods to stay protected when having sex. But these methods will not pro-tect your feelings, feelings that lead to more danger then you think.

“Sexually active kids are more likely to be depressed and attempt a suicide,” according to www.ortho-doxytoday.org. “When compared to teens who are not sex ually active,

teenage boys and girls who are sexually active are sig-nificantly less likely to be happy and more likely to feel depressed.”

Staying abstinent means 100 percent effectiveness of not getting pregnant and

not getting STI/STDs. Staying ab-stinent means no hurt feelings in-volved. Staying abstinent might help teenager’s emotional well-being.

It is never too late to choose not to have sex. Even for those teens who already started having sex.

Life is risky, some are small risks while others are higher. What risks will you take? •

By Jisel garcia

Every year an average of 200,000 people are sexually assaulted. (US Department of Justice) Most of those assaulted are female. It happens to many girls. In the U.S., 7% of girls

in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused. (Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls, 2009)

The highest risk years are 12-34. Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenses and Offenders)

Most teens who have been sexually abused know their abusers — 34% of attackers are family members, 59% are acquaintances, 4% of the perpetrators are strangers to the victim. (U.S. Depart-ment of Justice)

Some people who have been raped, assaulted, or sexually abused are afraid and it becomes part of their lives. They become depressed. Some commit suicide, cut themselves or sadly may grow up to do it to other people. It’s a terrible crime. Both men and women can do it to their own family or friends. For many victims, the assaults lead to drug and alcohol abuse.

In order to overcome the assaults, victims need to get help and report the crime. It’s never too late to speak up. If you are a victim, get help now. All students can speak with their counselors.•

Steinmetz Star relationship and sexual activity / opinion results from350-student random sample, all grade level, anonymous survey

By Katie Christ

Most people become sexually active by their late teens. But many high school students don’t understand the consequences of sex. Some just don’t listen in class

and their parents haven’t talked to them about how important it is to be safe.

“My whole life my parents never talked to me about sex, and I had no idea how important it was to use a condom until everyone around me started getting pregnant,” a student said.

Having unprotected sex can change your life drastically. “A woman who is sexually active and not using contracep-

tion has an 85% chance of becoming pregnant within a year,” James Trussell, a Princeton researcher, writes in Contraception (2011).

Rates of HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted infec-tions and diseases (STI, STD) are also high for teens.

“Young people aged 13–24 made up about 17% of all peo-ple diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the United States in 2008,” according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). “Although

15–24-year-olds represent only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half (9.1 million) of the 18.9 million new cases of STIs each year.”

Condoms are highly effective (although not 100%) in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections.

“Abstinence from vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse is the only 100% effective way to prevent HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy,” according to the CDC. “The correct and consis-tent use of male latex condoms can reduce the risk of STD transmission, including HIV infection. However, no protective method is 100% effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD or pregnancy.”

When people decide to have sex, they also decide how to handle the risks.

“I’ve been using condoms ever since I first started being sexually active, and I don’t regret it whatsoever,” a student said.

Students who need help obtaining birth control and STD protection should see one of the school nurses in every day in Room 119, or their counselor. •

Life is risky. Some are small risks while others are bigger. What risks will you take?

A sexually active woman who is not using contraception has an 85% chance

of becoming pregnant within a year.

February 2013 Steinmetz Star 9

Star Feature: Sex and Relationships 9

Valentine’s Day shout-outs To Edward, I want to tell you how

thankful I am for having some-one like you in my life. You changed my thoughts towards everything. You’re such a good-hearted person and make my day, everyday.

You’re funny, honest, caring, and loyal — everything any-one would want in a boyfriend. We’ve been through so much together and we’ve overcome every obstacle that came our way.

You’re not only my boyfriend but my best friend. I could never imagine myself with anyone else, ever. I love you, Happy Valentines Day.

Five years and counting. 07/23/10, F&A. Hailey Rae

For CarolinaI made this piece as a surprise for my girl friend, Carolina

Avila. I made it with oil pastels. The look on Carolina’s face when I show her will be priceless.

Phillip Quezada

To my boyfriend Jose Reyes Booger, thank you so much for always being there

for me. You’re the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. I’m so lucky to have a person like you in my life.

You are the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life and grow old with. My favorite place to be is inside your hugs, where it’s warm and loving. I love you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!Love,

Emma Velazquez

To Saul RivasHappy Valentine’s Day, Pooh Bear. Even

though we are getting tired of each other and arguing a lot doesn’t mean our love is fading away; we just have to work on it.

You have made me the person I am today. You`re probably not even reading this; I know how much you hate reading, but I don’t care. I want you to know how much you truly mean to me and how much I love you.

Even though you’re a pain and drive me in-sane, I still care about you. We’ve been through so much; almost three years with you and many more to go.

Te amo, I love you and hope you enjoy this day.

To Jessica Happy six months anni-

versary, Baby girl. This is the first time I have someone who is so special to me on this day. You’ve become my best friend.

I appreciate all you’ve done and I can only wish we can con-tinue to grow from each other. Happy Valentine’s Day, Squeaky.

Love, Brittny

To Teresa This girl. Teresa Marie Danko. Has my

entire heart. Not a piece. The whole thing. With our cute little letters and poems

to each other. I can be completely myself around her. We have never been so happy in our lives.

I love her with all my heart. I’m so honored to call her mine. She’s the most amazing girl ever. I would be lost in emo-tion if I never met her.

Sincerely, Tiffany

To Tiffany Tiffany AnnMarie Kolodziej is my girl-

friend and my everything. I love her to my last breath, and long, long after that. If I could reach up and hold a star for every time she’s made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.

I love you more than I should. And I feel at ease when I shouldn’t. I fell in love when

I was running, and all I want is to forever call you my darling.

She is my one and only.Happy Valentine’s Day to my sweetheart.

Love, Your adoring girlfriend Teresa Danko

To my school family

I want to give a special shout-out to my school family. I hope ya’ll have a good Val-entine’s Day!

Shout-out to Lala, Tay, Asia, Nene, Jovon, Jojo, Jarvez, Riah, Kat, Lil John, Kamari,

Dear Isaac Encarnacion,You are my best friend. Hands

down, without a doubt, no questions asked. I have a lot of people whom I consider to be friends. Some of them are good friends, some of them are even great friends, but none of them are you. My best friend.

I have no idea what I would without you, and I sincerely hope I never have to find out. The thought of losing you positively breaks my heart, regardless of all the arguments we have. You are my rock, my strength, my inspiration, my hope. When I’m lost, or scared, or broken; or when I’m feeling hopeless and unworthy, you are the one who is always there to pick me up. You don’t question or judge me; you simply help and support me.

I could have never asked for a better person to call my best friend. I don’t know how I can be so lucky as to have you, because God knows I don’t deserve you. You make me laugh when there’s no light in the world, you dry my tears when I’m afraid, and you’ve always been there for me every single step of the way. No matter what.

And I wish I can be there for you as you are for me. I feel like I’m not able to be there for you as

you are for me, and you deserve someone who can be your rock and your strength; your inspira-tion and hope. I will forever be thankful for you.

I know I’ve said it over and over and time and time again, but I’m so glad that you’ve come into my life. You’re the one per-son who’s been through hell and back with me. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what I would do without you. I’m just so glad

I have you. You’re the one person who never gave up on me.

You held it all in. I’m annoying and grumpy, I have a short temper, and you’ve managed to deal with all of it. You were here before anyone else, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything. I love you. No one under-stands why. Even I don’t understand sometimes, but I know that this is real. I know what’s real. I know that no one is going to change that and you know so too.

Thanks for always being there, always putting up with my mood swings and staying, even when there were so many reasons to leave. Thanks for being with me. Thanks for staying, even when things got hard. I love you. 111511 Pancha

Mark, Brandi, Kamri, Nina, Tj, Nakita, Nique, Khadijah, and everyone else I forgot, sorry!Happy Valentine’s Day, Dejanae (Nae)

To BrendaOn this date it all started and was

one of the happiest days I ever had. You made me look at the world in a different way. You made me happy like no one else had. You were there when I needed you the most. We have been through a lot together. We had so many good times together like when you threw a branch on me and I couldn’t get up. I want you to know that you’re very special to me, no one will take your place. I love you, monkey. S n B to the fullest Saul

To Dominic Happy Valentine’s

Day to the most amazing boyfriend. I love you.

Rebecca

More shout outs on Page 14

10 Steinmetz Star February 2013

Star Valentine’s Day10

Favorite romantic movies and songs “Hold on Till May” by Pierce the Veil

Karina Barrigan, sophomore

“She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5Maria Concepcion, junior

“A Thousand Years” by Christina PerriCamila Ledesma, junior

“Paris, Tokyo” by Lupe Fiasco Aaron Shanks, senior

“Vanilla Twilight” by Owl CityMarquez Hondras, junior

“Me and You” by Cassie Patrica Joiner

“Love Song” by RihannaAmaria Joiner, senior

“I Think I Love Her” by GucciJohn Shelby, sophomore

‘A Thousand Years” by Christina PerriEsther Velazquez, senior

“Love Without Tragedy” by RihannaGiovanna Hernandez, junior

“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aero Smith

Andres Reyna, sophomore

“Ordinary People” by John LegendKaila Ruiz, junior

Favorite romantic movie and song interviews by sergio Rodriguez, Amanda gidney,

Makennzee Curran, Lexus Castro, Jackueline Flores, Luis Lopez,

Elizabeth Martinez, Vanessa solis, Jesus Ramirez, serlecia Jones, Andrea silva

“’Breaking Dawn.’ I love how Edward and Bella finally got married.”

Elizabeth Queen, senior

“My favorite romantic book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.”

Colleen Walsh, teacher

“Titanic.” Eveline Garcia, senior

“Love and Basketball.” Kaila Ruiz, junior

“‘Charlie St. Cloud,’ because it’s the only movie that ever made me cry.”

Yamile Ocampo, junior

“Dear John’, because it’s cute.” Felisha Cordero, sophomore

“Till this day my favorite movies will have to be ‘Titanic’ and ‘Dear John.’”

Ashley Aquino, junior

“My favorite is ‘The Notebook’. It’s such a cute love story and puts me in a good mood.” Samantha Jo Meegan, junior

“I thoroughly enjoyed the Leonardo Di-caprio version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and the movie ‘Say Anything.’ My wedding song, ‘In Your Eyes’ by Peter Gabriel came from that movie. My first dance song at my wedding was ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ which is also one of my favorites.” Renalto Roldan, staff

Surviving heartbreak To gift or not to giftBy Ester grimaldo

Why choose Valentine’s Day to express your love to others rather than on any other day?

Some other people think this day serves no purpose. Either they had their hearts broken on that day, have no one to spend it with, or just don’t want to waste money on something ridiculous.

But it’s hard to treat this day like any other day when you see gifts passing from one person to another and people being affectionate with each other (even some-times in your personal space).

“It’s a depressing day when you have no one to spend it with and you see couples everywhere being romantic with each other,” senior Daniel Gray said.

Some people buy (or make) candy, chocolates, stuffed animals, roses, bal-loons, rose, etc. They take out someone on a romantic date, do something romantic, or do something extravagant. But why do all of these things to show a person how

much they mean to you? And why on this specific day?

“I just treat it like it’s any other day,” senior Samantha Alverez said. “I don’t think it has to come to that day to give something to your lover.”

Would someone really go Tasmanian Devil crazy if their loved one didn’t give them anything on this day? (Some people, especially girls, have done this.) There should really be no difference from re-ceiving gifts on this day than on any other day. Some people are just glad to spend time with their loved one on this day, not even caring about gifts.

Daniel said he wouldn’t mind receiving something on Valentine’s Day.

“Who doesn’t like getting free stuff?” he said.

Daniel suggested that $50 and about three days looking for gifts would be the amount of money and time he’d spend on a Valentine’s Day gift. Samantha said an “edible fruit arrangement” would make a great gift.•

By Jennie Czahor

It’s an unsettling thought, if you are in a rela-tionship, that someone could be unfaithful to you whilst you are giving them your heart and

soul, no questions asked. It’s even more unset-tling to have trust issues weighing you down if you know your significant other has had issues with infidelity in past relationships.

“Who’s to say that they won’t do it again?” you may be asking yourself. Your friends and family may even warn you, “once a cheater, al-ways a cheater,” and give a lengthy anecdote about dating disasters past, and tell you to learn from their mistakes, so you don’t wind up with a broken heart.

First off, you can only learn for yourself, and heart breaks will happen to everyone, unless you’re betrothed or whatever. But you also can’t always go with what your intuition tells you. You may need another source. You may want to listen to what your friends, family, or whoever has to say, it may save you a few tears. Yet, love is blind.

You may be surprised to know that some people cheat to get away from the one they are with because they are being brought down, but are too afraid to say goodbye to the person who is stifling their social life. One student, who asked to be anonymous, was in such a situation before going out with their current significant other.

“A lot of people know my story,” the student said. “I did it because I was given a ‘free pass.’ My [significant other] and I had been fighting a lot, and [they] were afraid that I was going to break up with [them]. So [they] wanted to let me get it out of my system. I did everything that I wanted that I wasn’t allowed to do for a whole year in the time period of just three days! I had the best time of my life, I felt so free. No shackles, nothing kept me down, and I never for one second thought of [them]. And I realized that I was just wasting my time with [them]. It might sound terrible, but sometimes cheating can ‘save your soul.’”

While some can justify their cheating, other people are just selfish, and can’t just keep their tongues to themselves.•

By Brandon Robinson

Most high school relationships end. This is a situation that most teens who have been involved in romantic relation-

ships go through. The Star interviewed senior Keana Taylor

and teacher Ivelisse Cotto about their heart breaks.

Have you ever got your heart broken?Keana: Yes, I’ve had my heart broken before.

I’ve been through more than one heartbreak. I gave my all into a person that didn’t even appreciate the things I did for him and also disrespected me.

Ms. Cotto: Yes, I have. We just had different views on life.

Do you still keep in touch with the person?Keana: No, because I feel like my feelings

will come back and that’s something I don’t need.

Ms. Cotto: Sometimes, but it’s more like acquaintances.

Any advice you would give to young lov-ers?

Keana: Never run a mile for someone who’s not even worth the walk.

Ms. Cotto: Don’t confuse love with feelings because feelings fade. Love is something that takes time and it’s easy to get high off emotions.

Have you broken anybody’s heart?Keana: I left him knowing that he was in

love with me.Ms. Cotto: Yes, I have because there was no

communication and he started assuming a lot so I had end things because it wasn’t healthy for the relationship.•

Why they cheat

Boys be like/Girls be likeBy Taylah Brown

Boys be like... Bay, that’s just my friend!You my forever girl.

I love you!We gonna be together forever.I’m faithful.I never cheated on you.You my only one.I just wanna chill.I’m not talking to nobody else.You the one.

Girls be like... I’m over him.That’s just my best friend.

I’m in love.That’s my hubby.2.14.2013 — I love my boo.I’ma ride or die.I’m not jealous.I’m wifey.

Special thank to Stephanie Giron and Melondy Pierce for helping come up with these.•

“I was inspired by the song ‘The End of Heartache’ by Killswitch Engage.”

Michael Newson, senior

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February 2013 Steinmetz Star 11

Star Valentine’s Day 11

Celebrity look alikes

Producing music in home recording studio

Art teachers/ care takers

By Dominic Masciopinto

Everyone has dreams of making it in the world. People are always trying to do things to make history or at least make

an impact. Some of these movements people start may be monumental, but for kids like us in high school, they’re not so big.

Everyone also sees the artist on MTV, BET, and on the Internet with their music. It takes hard work to make quality music. People spend $50 to hundreds of dollars at professional studios for their songs to be mixed and mastered. Kids our age can’t afford prices like that, especially during this recession.

Anyone who has been to my studio has really appreciated the work and the care I put into their music. I treat the songs they come to me with as if they were songs of my own, how I would want them to sound.

All the music production started back in my sophomore year. I started to study a little bit into music composition and music production. It seemed easy enough so I used whatever money I had to buy a microphone. Once I had the microphone, I downloaded a free program just to start off. After about a year of using that program, I knew there had to be better.

I started looking around on the Inter-

net with my friends until I found an answer. I ac-tually went to a professional producer who gave me a crack of FL Studios 10. I’ve been us-ing this program ever since.

Some people prefer other programs but I like the one i have. with FL Studios, I can record vocals, mix and master, and compose beats as well. People who come through to record in my mini studio say they love the quality that they get. I brought one of my cousins over to help introduce me to some professional producers.

“I’m amazed with how good the quality is for only recording in a closet,” Carlos said.

If there is anyone interested in using your talents to make some music, you can ask me to set up a time to record. Any and every-one can come to record. If you would like to know what it’s like, ask seniors Aramis Pates, Earvie Howard, Jesse Chavez, and graduates Ajay Woodly and Emily Irizzary. Their songs can be found on various sites, and on phones all across schools.•

By Jalan Veal

By Ricky Rico

The TV show “Fullmetal Al-chemist: Brotherhood” is a remake of the anime “Full-

metal Alchemist” which aired in 2003. They are both based off of the manga “Fullmetal Alchemist,” but Brotherhood is a retelling from the direct point of view of the manga.

In the world of Fullmetal Alche-mist, people called alchemists, who perform a science called alchemy, exist. Alchemy is the science of de-

By Erik Martinez

Students really care about our art teach-ers, even considering them friends. You can either talk to or learn from

Rosanna Mark, Jennifer Bates, Melissa Ger-leve, Gina Szulkowski and Alex Sutphen.

The art classes are calm places once you understand what the teachers probably go through to teach a class. I am grateful to know we have motivated teachers to do a not-so-easy job. As a teacher myself (Sun-day school), I think their form of teaching is great. They learn about the students’ interests and feelings through art and their spoken words.

“I like the art classes because they let your creativity run loose,” senior Eric Albino said. “The teachers are fun, too. They’re not so strict, unlike a lot of teachers. They allow you to somewhat express yourself or at least what you can.”

The art rooms also let the new transfer students have a nice reason to come to school.

“The art class is amazing,” junior Esteban Jara said. “It’s my first year here at this school. The experience is just thrilling because of the teachers’ creative projects.They’re silly and

challenging. I mean there was a time I had to make a colorful box!”

“Ms. Bates’ class makes me feel great,” sophomore Alex Carrera said. “I think it’s better than any other subject I’ve learned from because I’m a visual learner. I get to know artists and about paint. I also do art projects from handmade material to recycla-ble, used things. The teachers are great. Ms. Bates tries to get to each and every student so we can know what to do.” •

More gore than in original

Prequel coming soonBy Anthony Lagunas

Gears of War: Judgment, the next game in the Gears of War franchise, the first prequel,

will be be released on March 19 for the Xbox 360.

“Ah, a new ‘Gears of War!’ I can’t wait to play it with friends,” junior Abigael Medina said. “I’m so pumped.”

“Gears of War: Judgment” is the first game to appear without Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as the lead roles. The Campaign takes you back to the immediate aftermath of Emergence Day and revolves around the trial of Kilo Squad, including Lt. Damon Baird and Pvt. Augustus Cole, as they are accused of treason after a battle against the Locust in Halvo Bay.

Fans who pre-order “Gears of War Judg-ment” at participating retailers will receive an exclusive in-game multiplayer at launch, the six shot Classic Hammerburst. It is highly feared, an effective weapon, and is exclusively unlocked when you pre-order the game. Also the exclusive pre-order multiplayer charac-ter skins will include Young Marcus, Young Dom, Anya and Alex Brand.

It was announced at E3 2012 that Gears of War: Judgment will feature a new game mode called OverRun. As the COG, you’ll be protecting two sealed Emergence Holes

and a Hammer of Dawn beacon. If you suc-cessfully defend the Hammer of Dawn, the round will end, blowing the Locust to bits. If the Locust reach the Emergence Holes and uncover them however, the COG are ripped to shreds by a flood of Kryll.

Epic has also revealed a new Multiplayer Mode called Free-for-all. It’s the second new multiplayer mode to be announced for “Gears of War: Judgment” following Over-Run, and the free-for-all mode is a first for the Gears of War series and will see players taking on an every-man-for-himself role. Epic also said that Free-For-All mode will for the first time it will pit COG soldier against COG soldier in what they are billing as a “test of wits and will.”

There will be a March 19 midnight launch with tournaments, special prizes and much more. Pre-order your copy now to show that you’re a true Gears fan! •

constructing and reconstructing something into something else. The science of Alchemy is bound by one simple law, which is in order to gain something, something of equal value must be given in exchange. This is “the law of equivalent exchange.”

The story of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” is set in the early 1900’s and it follows two brothers, Edward Elric and

Alphonse Elric, on their journey to regain the bodies and limbs that they lost during a failed alchemical experiment. This was caused when they tried to bring their mother back to life.The brothers search for an object called a Philosopher Stone which amplifies alchemists’ abilities.

Continued on Page 15

Jennifer Bates with her 8th period students

Dominic Masciopinto

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12 Steinmetz Star February 2013

Star Arts & Entertainment12

Darius inspires IB juniors

Truth in ‘Ill Mind of Hopsin 5’Ask Mandee

Library receives grant

The library has been granted a full-year subscription to use the Brain Pop educa-

tional game from the Department of Libraries. Brain Pop donated 25 full-year subscriptions to libraries and librarians who competed in their training and quiz program. These grants are valued at over $2,100 for the school and provide unlim-ited access to Brain Pop databases. We were among those chosen to receive this grant due to Nassrin Jalili’s participation in train-ing and quiz completion.

Brain Pop is a fun, animated, cur-ricular content program that engages students and supports education. Brain Pop may be used for individuals, team, and whole class instruction, and it cov-ers a wide range of subjects, such as

English, science, health, history. It is available for students whose native language is Spanish as well.

Brain Pop includes GameUp, a free and fun game component. Brain Pop content is mapped to the Common Core as well.

“I hope everyone tries it and as I am sure you’ll enjoy using it,” Ms.

Jalili said. “I think it is a lot of fun.”

You can ac-cess Brain Pop by

going to www.brainpop.com, User-name: Steinmetz, Password: Brain-pop. Everyone is welcome to use it.

Ms. Jalili and teacher Tara Scolire continue sponsor the book club. Join them in the library every other Tuesday for books, discussion, and candy. The next meeting is February 19; they’re reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. •

The next meeting of the book club is Tuesday, Feb. 19. Get your copy of Speak.

By Andres suarez & Alex Torres

Darius Goes West is an inspirational movie about teenage rapper

Darius Weems who has Duch-enne Muscular Dystrophy and desperately wants his wheel-chair to be “pimped out” on MTV’s Pimp My Ride.

This young man who has never left his hometown of Athens, Georgia, and is in-capable of walking, is given a chance of a lifetime by his amazing friends, family, and his community who help raise enough money for Darius to go west to California to get his wheelchair on MTV.

Muscular Dystrophy had hit the Weems family once before; it took away Darius’s older brother, his hero, at the age of 19. Despite all the pain Darius has gone through, he still manages to put one of the biggest smiles on his face.

This is an inspiring movie. The IB juniors watched “Darius Goes West” and were able to connect with him.

“I felt great inspiration and joy when watching the movie. It filled me with great happiness.” — Francisco Holguin

“The movie is pretty awesome. It shows a kid with a illness that will kill him and he’s like, ‘Bro, that’s not gonna stop me from having a awesome life.’ This guy can teach us a lesson that even if life puts you down you’re still capable of achieving something huge. I mean the guy can’t walk and he traveled most of the country. He’s a total boss!” — Colin Quaglia

“It made me realize that people even with disabili-ties are just like any other person, like you and me, and are not any different.” –— Brenda Sedano

“It really informed me on the disorder and how it affects people, yet they’re still like you and me want-ing to do regular fun stuff.” — Kamil Stasik

“I thought that the story was truly incredible. He is honestly an inspira-tion to not only other kids with muscular dystrophy but to every individual out there who has a dream. I loved how he wanted to be treated like one of the guys; he didn’t want any

special treatment. I think that that shows that you shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself and honestly if we threw all of our problems into a pile and were able to see some other peoples’, we would want to pull ours back out. He definitely inspired me to live every moment like it’s your last because you never know when it’s going to end.” — Taylor Silvestri

“It shows we should never back down.” — Eliseo Perez

There are nine types of muscular dystrophy. The disease weakens the muscle tissue throughout the body and eventually the muscles in the heart will get so weak the heart will give out.

Most people with Duchenne Muscular Dystro-phy won’t make it to the age of 25, Darius is now 23 and lives day to day with a tremendous smile, simply thankful he’s able to see another day. So go and eat some “goslabi” and watch “Darius Goes West!” •

By “Mandee”

I’d like to take a moment to remember one of my inspirations, Pauline Phil-

lips, the creator and writer of “Dear Abby”, an amazing advice column. Pauline Phil-lips, July 4, 1918 - January 16, 2013.

I refuse to give romantic advice on Valentine’s Day. The Star has enough love-re-lated topics this issue. I’ll just share a few pearls of wisdom on other areas of school life.

Multi-task: If in the halls, walk and talk. Stop blocking

everyone else so you can have an unimportant conversation.

Don’t abuse small acts of kindness. if you borrow something give it back, I do hold grudges over my pens and will bring it up every time you ask for something. And don’t chew it either (that’s just gross).

Don’t lie to yourself. You can’t say you’re a vegetarian then follow up with, “but I still eat chicken and or fish.” That just makes you a picky eater. I will see you eat a spicy at lunch and nod in disap-proval. •

By Iriz garcia

It might be difficult to re-fuse to do stuff that you see everyone else doing, and

stuff that is all over the world. But is never too late to open your eyes and realize what is fake and when everybody is just following a system.

Some famous artists of ours are brainwashing us to think that if we don’t do this or dress like that we are lames.

When I heard “Ill Mind of Hopsin 5” by Hopsin it made me realize everything he says is so true. Some of the lyrics (clean version) follow:

“...I’m embarrassedAnd I’m ashamed I played a part in this devilish gameMaking your common sense perishBut I ain’t taking the full blameCause most of you chumps run-ning around here ain’t never had strict parentsAll of your brain cells rotting from weedYou feeling like if you ain’t got it, life’s not as completeYou hooking up with everybody you see...But still you out in these streets thinking you hot as can beWithout the knowledge to lead so you just follow the sheepMaking sure your lame swag is

all polished and cleanWhile your favorite rappers like “Yeah, he got it from me”You been brainwashed by a fake life that you’re used to livingWhen I say the word “fun”, what do you envision?Probably drinking and smok-ing out with your crewAnd chilling with clueless women you trying to hook up with, bumping New EditionIs that all you think life really isWell if so, then you’re slow...Do you even have any goalsAside from hooking up with girls and packing a bowlWell let me guess- NoYou’re only in school because your parents make you goWhen all you do is play beer pong and hang out with your brosYo, society’s got you living for a whack causeYou’re an adult with no skills at allYou don’t read any books or play ballYou don’t draw, you literally do nothing at all...You don’t have cause you idolize rappers that doAnd all they say is “I got money and it’s stacked to the roof ”And now you think that it’s gon’ magically just happen to youHow? You’re lazy, you don’t commit to laborYou pick something up, try it out, and put it down two minutes laterThen you complain about your

life cause it ain’t getting cateredNow whoever tries to call you on your stuff is a haterYou wanna succeed, you have to tryOr one day you’ll get older and regret it all cause you can’t pro-videYour friends are lowlifes, don’t act surprisedLook, just cut the bad fruit off of the tree, make the sacrifice...Girls, stop acting like you want a guy with traits like RomeoGirl that’s a lieYou always talk about how every man’s fakeAnd you can’t take it and you want something realJust save itTwice a week you put on your makeup and braceletsAnd head to the club Pulling a lowlife man who claim he cash makingTil you let him in and find out he work at the gas stationOne of them guys got you preg-nant and you can’t raise itBut you caused it, your actions made a fat statementYou want Romeo, then act patientAnd stop fronting like he in the club posted in the back waitingIt’s the club, where guys put on a new personAfter they get loaded with a few coronasThey always shouting and wild out with habits that very few condone ofThen they look for beautiful

brainless girls like you to hook up withThen when they leave you, you cry and cryTalking about, “Oh my god I can’t find a guyI’ve spent so many years and I’ve tried and triedWhy am I even on Earth? I should die”...Sometimes the secret to find is to stop searchingTry a new formula, cause your last one’s not workingThe term “real nigga”’s publicly usedAre you one with nothing to lose and something to prove to homies up in your crewIs it because you’re selling drugs to get lootAnd brag about how you done been shot and stabbedLike it’s fun to be youBut your life’s a struggle, right, and you just hustling throughNah, you hamster boy, you just stuck in a loop...Look at you, a real guy, thinking your life’s coolGirls used to turn me down for guys who were like youUntil you grab their heart and shove a spearhead right throughThen they regret it because it wasn’t the right moveYour real man talk seems bogusA real man don’t brag about being real as long as he knows itAnd his future doesn’t seem hopelessA real man stays out of jail, handles stuff, and he keeps fo-cused...”•

Not as scary as advertisedBy Moriah Belt

Mama, the new thriller,

surprisingly wasn’t as scary as everyone thought, but ended in a twist you would have never imagined. The characters are unusual and creepy, the plot suspenseful. If you want the complete summary, look for our review in the “Web Extra” pages of the February Star on the Steinmetz website. •

February 2013 Steinmetz Star 13

Star Arts & Entertainment 13

Valentine’s Day shout-outs To Marisha Reynolds You are super amazing and I love you to

death. You’re one of my best friends and my favorite buddy.

Sincerely, Becca Romanenko

To MalcolmShout out to my love, MalcolmI love you, Bae! “Everybody wants to be

a star but it takes someone special to be the moon.”

From, Asia Davis

Happy Valentines Day to my wifey Brenda Escalante. Love you and I hope everyone is having a good day.

Maria V.

There’s nothing better in life than having love in your life. I appreciate all my friends and family. Happy Valentine’s Day every-one! Feliz dia del amor y la amistad!

Noemi Vazquez

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my friends. Love you all. Stephanie E.

To BricksquadShout out to my Bricksquad family! Happy Valentine’s Day To 2013. This our year.

Breonn Bland

To Esmeralda Carreno I love you. You’re the greatest thing that

happened to me. I’m glad we are together. I’m happy to call you my girlfriend.

Nathan Nieves

Happy Valentine’s Day to my special one. I’m happy you’re in my life. Also, Hap-py Valentine’s Day to everyone who is there for me. Thank you for being in my life.

Maria S.

Happy Valentines Day to my cousin Tracy F. I love you. Don’t give up.

Maria S.

Happy Valentine’s Day for the sexy Pol-ish Justyna.

Li Nguyen

To my cuddle muffinTo my cuddle muffin, you have the cut-

est face, it’s so cute. You’re amazing, you’re the best!

From your Boo Bear

To Iriz IlluminI want to wish a Happy Valentine’s Day to

the most wonderful girl ever — Iriz Ilumin. From Anthony Guerrero

Happy Valentine’s Day, Don John Stagen, my sweet, cute ducky ducky num nums. I will spoil you with love.

Your wifey, Li Nguyen

Happy Valentine’s Day to my best friends Giovanni Ariza, Sandra Morales, Li Nguyen, Erick Parra, Isabella Rios, Jisel Garcia, Edmund Dones, and most of all, Kamari Joiner, who I love with all my heart. Thank you all for being so caring and kind to me all the time.

Luis Ortega

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the couples! Yay! Brenda E

To Jose Giron,Dear Babe, Life has been an amazing ride

with you! I still remember the first time you came up to me and I find it incredible on how far we have come with each other. We’ve built so much laughter together, had so much love for one another, and unforgettable memories that will never be replaced!

Through the strong and the weak, we al-ways managed to grow stronger because we have each other. I just wanted you to know that I’ll always be here for you just the way you’ve always been here for me. I love you, Jose.

Your babe, Vanessa Colin

To Corey I love you, Boo Bear. Happy Valen-

tine’s Day! Kat

Bittersweet, how I like my chocolate and how I feel about my Valentine baby growing up. Happy Birthday Iviera,

I love you, Mom

Trying out for America’s Got Talent

It was obvious on Feb. 7 that Steinmetz’ got talent

By Cathy Meraz

Aramis Pates, Earvie Howard, Sharia Swanigan, and Tavonna Howard auditioned for America’s

Got Talent at McCormick Place on Janu-ary 27. The audition was unlike what they expected.

“It’s not so true what you see on TV,” Aramis said. “The lines appear to be long, but they take you in groups. The wait-ing room was a great. You meet and see people of all kinds. You see them practice their acts, and of course, there’s a bunch of weird people.”

Aramis and Earvie performed “Blood-line Anthem.” They spent three days, five

hours a day, recording the song just for this event. The audition lasted 2 min-utes and 27 seconds. Others only got 90 seconds or were cut off before that, Aramis said.

He thought they got additional time because the judges were feeling them. After their performance the judges asked questions such as if they are able to pro-duce their own original beats.

“Earvie was raw,” Aramis said. “We go off each others energy. If Earvie goes hard, I’m a go harder and vise versa.”

They’ll find out by the end of Febru-ary if their audition will lead them to the next level in Las Vegas.•

14 Steinmetz Star February 2013

Star Arts & Entertainment14

photos by Judy Czahor and Quijna Walton. More talent show photos in the

February star “Web Extra” pages: www.steinmetzac.com

Don’t give up on your dreams

Breanna Fiore grows as leader in tough season

Division 2 college signs Dominic MasciopintoBy Coach Tim McNulty

Great news: Domi-nic Masciopinto signed a National

Letter of Intent to play football at Division 2 Quincy University. Dominic is the first Sil-ver Streak to sign at the Division 2 level.

Dominic signed his let-ter of intent on February 6, National Football Signing Day, in the library surrounded by his teammates. We are all proud of him. Go Streaks!•

The act of creating humans through alchemy is called “hu-man transmutation,” which is taboo or forbidden in alchemy. Being a tabu and all, there are consequences that derive from it. Edward lost his left leg, while Alphonse lost his whole body. When Alphonse lost his body, Edward sacrificed his right arm to bring his brother’s soul back and put it into an armored suit.

The Brotherhood version of Fullmetal Alchemist has a far better story and characters that were not introduced in the original anime. The old characters are even more awesome too. Unlike in the original anime, you don’t get a confusing ending, you get a perfect ending to a perfect series.

“I just like the storyline,” senior Norjoria Pratt said. “I like the character Edward.”

Brenda Villegas, freshman, likes “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” because “it’s really interesting, everything about it! Like how they included the seven deadly sins, the anima-tion, just everything about it.”

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” does have a little more gore than the original, but it’s okay because we’re all high school students and the maturity of the show works great in giving the viewers a better feel to the serious part of the anime. It’s rated TV-14.

Overall, if you choose to watch “Fullmetal Alchemist,” I recommend watching the Brotherhood version. You can watch both versions online on Netflix or on the Funimation website.•

Continued from Page 12

By Kasia Jalowiec

Senior Aramis Pates proves that giving up on your dreams is not an option.

By senior year, Aramis came to be a valued defensive end and right tackle on the Streaks, the best football team the school has seen for years. But it wasn’t always like that for Aramis.

Taking his first steps into high school, he wanted to join the team. His dreams got crushed when he found out that he couldn’t play in the games because he didn’t participate in the summer camp to learn all the basics of football.

During the season he never got a real po-sition. He got his equipment late; instead of having green pants like all the other team members, he received white pants.

He participated in all practices, but he did not get to play on the field during games.There was a time when the coach told him he couldn’t play because he didn’t have enough practice.

“It was definitely a terrible feeling,” Aramis said.

The saddest memory from his freshman year was that none of his teammates remem-bered him during practice; they didn’t even know he was on the team.

He told the Star he felt angry his teammates didn’t know he was there.

When sophomore year arrived Aramis gave up. He didn’t play and was not on the team.

“I felt like there was no reason to play,” he said. But he returned to the team junior year because his friend Earvie Howard motivated him to try again.

As his senior year came Aramis said, “OK, it’s time to step it up.” He realized it was his graduation year and he did not want to cross

the stage without giving it one last shot. He knew it would be a challenge but he was de-termined to try.

“I did nothing but eat, breath and live football,” he said. This is how determined he was to be on the field. He wanted to play even if it was going to be the first and last time.

Aramis told the Star that every chance he had he’d practice. He watched all the football

games, and played only Madden, no other video games. Whenever he could he would run and work out on his own, and he finally played for the team.

“He worked hard for his spot,” Coach Mc-Nulty said. “He stepped into his position and he did a nice job. It was his best year by far.”

Aramis wants to continue to play football in college.

“I can not, not play football,” he said. •

Great storyline and characters in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Freshmen Streaks basketball continued their winning streak, beating Urban Prep 53-34 on Feb. 8 and dominating

Northside Prep 29-14 in the game on Feb. 9. “In both games we a great defensive pres-

ence,” Coach Paul Bagdonas said. “It’s all about team work in practice and during game time.”

The team is 11-2; the last loss was in November. The final conference game is on Saturday, Feb. 16. The Streaks are the only undefeated team in conference.

“We do look strong,” Coach Bagdonas said, “but I don’t assume anything until we win our remaining games.” •

By serlecia Jones

Only one win in the entire season, but senior Breanna Fiore stuck it out. After losing five starting

varsity players last year, the team had to rebuild this year. And it needed Breanna to lead.

“You have to show up to every practice and not give up in order to work and play better as a team,” she said. “Always think positive and believe in yourself.”

She played four seasons of basketball. Sophomore year was a highlight with the team undefeated.

Breanna said she appreciated all her coaches, especially Nicole Barnes and Jus-tin Everage “for pushing me and helping me with my skills. They were my motiva-tion on and off the court.”

Coach Barnes returned the praise.“For three years, Breanna has had the

benefit of being able to be a supporting player,” Coach Barnes said. “This year, however, she was one of three or four re-turning players and had to step it up both on and off the court. She has been a leader on the court, taking charge and being able to play any position at any time. “

“She has also been a leader off the court, encouraging her teammates and trying her best to stay positive even through a rough season,” Coach Barnes said. “She has been committed to the team from her first day as a freshmen and it will be strange not to have her around next year after she gradu-ates.” •

Freshmen undefeated in conference

Not only did Aramis Pates, #62, finally get to play some football, he got to play on 2012 Varsity Streaks, a team that won its first round game in the state playoffs.

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February 2013 Steinmetz Star 15

Star Sports 15

In spite of loss, Streaks play game to remember

Great experience at United Center By Lechele glispie

TThe Streaks took on Schurz on January 25 at the United Center. Even though they lost they were happy they had the

chance to experience playing on the floor of the Chicago Bulls. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for some students.

“Hey, you can’t win them all,” senior Mon-trell Block said. “Even though we didn’t win we got the experience, and we will never forget that.”

Players and Steinmetz fans got the oppor-tunity to meet basketball players, and watch them warm up before the Bulls played their game.

On game day, the players dressed up in their dress pants and ties, looking very pro-fessional. Not all the basketball players were seniors. They were able to select students from the freshman basketball team to go with them.

The students were able to go into the Chi-cago Bulls locker room. They got to greet the members of the team, and they even got autographs.

“This is not something every person gets to see,” freshman Paris Glispie said. “I had floor seats and I actually stood on the floor where Derrick Rose plays. This was better than amazing. I’ll do it all over again if I could.”

Star reporter Kyle Wiliams added the fol-lowing report:

By Matthew Maggit

After the Steinmetz Streaks played Schurz on January 25, the Chicago Bulls played the Golden State War-

riors.The game started at 7:00 sharp. I got

there at 6:50 and I arrived to a packed sta-dium. People were pushing to get in the door. I could feel the energy all over.

Once you get in the door, you have to go through a metal detector where all the security guards check you and your bag for metals and food and liquids.They threw away the bottle I had.

After the metal detectors, you give them your tickets to beep, then you’re in. Since I was on the third floor, I took the escala-

tor up. On every floor there are concession stands and mini bars everywhere. When you get in the stadium, people are everywhere. Beer men are also all over the floor.

After we got our food, we went to the seats. There was an opening, like a hallway. That was the opening to the court. After I found my seat immediately the game be-gan with the announcement of the starting lineups.You feel much more engaged and involved in the game when you’re there in person than seeing it on TV. Benny the Bull was hyping up the crowd and shoot out free stuff.

The Bulls beat the Warriors. Nate Robin-son and Kurt Heinrich had 20-point games. Joakim Noah had a 16 rebound game. It really wasn’t a close game, the Bulls had the game the whole time. •

By Anthony guerrero

Senior Jason Cathey is a varsity basketball player for the Steinmetz Streaks.

He is the third youngest of a fam-ily of six. He was born April 27, 1995 in Aurora, Illinois. After high school Jason wants join the U.S. Air Force. Before coming to Steinmetz, Jason went to several different high schools.

For freshman and also half of his sophomore year, Jason went to Waubonsie Valley High School, where he first started playing sports.

“When I was there I wanted to play a sport,” Jason said. “So I joined football.”

He played quarterback. Half-way through sophomore year Ja-son moved to Killeen,Texas where he would attended Ellenson High

“The Streaks took a tough loss but the opportunity and experience was just too overwhelming and exciting for them to be discouraged and depressed throughout the night. There were great performances

from Montrell Block, Craig Williams, Joseph Burns, Markiece Lind-sey, and a combined 20 points from backcourt guards Kyle Williams and Jahari Jones.” •

Jason Cathey: ‘Huge honor’ to play ball

Bulls crush Warriors at madhouse on Madison

School. He would only be there for half of sophomore year and junior year.

“During my time in Ellison I joined sev-eral sports,” Jason said. “I joined track and once again football.”

After moving to Chicago and entering his senior year at Steinmetz, Jason joined his favorite sport — basketball.

“Basketball is my favorite sport to play and I never played for a high school team before, so this was a huge honor,” he said.

Like many other athletes Jason has several different ways to prepare for a game.

“Before any game I need to get fired up,’” Jason said. “The music that helps me get

fired up is gospel music and really upbeat Hip-Hop music.”

One of his biggest inspirations for basket-ball is the superstar Derrick Rose.

“Derrick is the most hard working basket-ball player in the whole entire league,” Jason said. “His humbleness and good work ethic makes me want to be like him.”

The day he went to play at the United Center was the best experience he ever had.

“When you go to the United Center and play on the very same floor as Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose, it makes you change the way you play.” Jason said. “I played harder and better, and I had the best time.”•

Markiece Lindsey takes a shot against Schurz at the United Center.

Pedro Diaz points to Bulls player Joakim Noah, who had just signed his hat

Jason Cathey at the United Center

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16 Steinmetz Star February 2013

Star Sports16

The spring sports season begins soon. Get your physical and see your coach. Girls track (Coach Abel Pererya), soccer (Coach Nicole Barnes), softball (Coach Robin Russo);

Boys track (Coach Paul Bagdonas), water polo (Coach Gerald Cole), baseball (Coach Renalto Roldan), volleyball (Coach Darrin Sorotki).

Continued from page 17I admit, relationships at this age can

be hard to keep up with especially if you’re planning on getting serious with each other. But it always depends on how the relationship is and the way you treat each other. I think the basis of a relationship is trust, without trust, everything would just be a game and end up horrible.

Yes, it is high school where there is drama in every corner of the halls, but if you trust each other, everything will be alright. There will always be people spreading rumors but if you really care about each other, none of that matters.

In order to get respect from people, you need to show them that it’s only and always going to be you and your significant other. Don’t fool around, don’t play games, don’t do anything that you will regret one day. Rumors are spread by your bad actions, it will

Great long term relationships are possible

Seniors propose college day, other events

always come back to bite you. Trust me, I know how that is.

There’s no need to fight or argue, that’s a waste of your youth and you’ll get wrinkles! If all you do is argue, you might as well be single because. That’s too much stress to handle, which is part of the reason why our parents don’t want us to date so young because it’s too much stress to have for just another young, immature person.

I’m one to talk because I was young and immature, too, but I have grown up to un-derstand what my parents meant. Everyone will grow up one day and they’ll realize what their parents and/or family was talk-ing about.

In order to make a relationship work, there are important elements to follow.

There has to be trust, communication, re-spect, friendship, attraction, being able to make it through tough situations to come together, surprising each other once in awhile to keep that spark, support in each others’ hobbies, interests, and dreams, and just being there for each other; never letting each other down.

Everyone will go through a relationship at least once in their life and they will be able to experience everything that I men-tioned, maybe even more. But again, it al-ways depends on the people involved in the relationship. If a relationship has healthy elements, they will have an amazing rela-tionship that might even be able to last a very long time, cherishing each other until the days end. •

Brian Moscol and the other senior class officers are working on a proposal with the school administration for more uniform-free days for the seniors.

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Happy days for Hef

Shout out to my boyfriend

To Jose SalazarI want to send a Valentine shout out

to all my friends — Jocelyn Villa, Di-ana Preciado, Stephanie Presa, Janelly Martinez, Emmanuel Lagunas, Yajaira Aguirre, Miguel Ocampo — and happy birthday to Andrew Perez.

A special shout out to my boyfriend, Jose Salazar,- because he’s always been there for me and I’m happy he’s my Val-entine. I love him, 9.18.12!

Love, Arely

Former principal sends congratulations

Teacher says students are greatly improved

February 20, 2013Dear Sharon,I received a copy of the Feb 2013 Star.Congratulations to you and the staff. The paper looks and reads great!

Sincerely,Dr. Kiamos

February 15, 2013After subbing here for several years,

I’ve noticed Steinmetz’s students have changed for the better.

You’re now wishing me a good morn-ing, listening to my instructions, address-ing me as sir, and apologizing to me if you

get too loud or need to take your seats. The best part: more and more of you are completing your work.

Thanks for being the kind of students your teachers can admire.

Sincerely, Peter Nerad

February 2013 Steinmetz Star 17

Star Web Extra 17

By Brittany garcia

As senior class officer we are trying to make it the best year for our seniors. But it is stressful and a lot of hard

work. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by planning everything.

We are trying to get the seniors who are on track to graduate out of uniform more often. We would like to have a college day, possibly every other month, to show where we are all going after high school and express that we are doing something good for our future.

Maybe if we have a lot of seniors wearing college shirt that could change other minds about college. Some seniors have no clue what they want to do with their lives after high school, but if they see their friends all wearing college shirt they make the right choose for their future.

“The purpose of a college shirt is to have the seniors feel appreciated and for all the underclassmen to see that we are ready to take a new path into our future,” senior class president Brain Moscol said.

We would also like to get together a bul-letin board for the seniors to know what is going on and to stay on track for graduation regarding attendance and grades. June 19th

is coming up very fast there still enough time to get on it.

“The senior class officers care about the seniors,” vice president Giselle Jimenez said. “We want everything happening in the proper and correct manner.”

The administration, through assistant principal Cheryl Williams, has agreed to allow seniors one college day, an ice cream social, a senior breakfast and a barbeque.

The events may begin in March. Listen for announcements. •

Feb. 7 talent show brings out best

18 Steinmetz Star February 2013

18 Star Web Extra

By Mariceli Cadena

I f you’re looking for a new show to watch that is funny, “Total Blackout” is the an-swer.Many of you may not heard the show

before; it’s on Syfy Channel 122 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

Four couples enter Total Blackout to win $5,000 in the dark. In the dark the groups get scared at first when the bodyguard touch-es them to guide them.

In the first challenge the groups have to do things such as touch four objects, eat donuts with a weird filling in them like garlic or feathers, or guess the age of the person or object.

The four groups can’t tell if the object is a spider, tarantula, or just a rubber duck, but those are not all the objects. I recommend “Total Blackout.” You can see the full epi-sodes on http://www.syfy.com/totalblackout.

If you’re scared of the dark you’re going to laugh at the groups who go to “Total Blackout” and scream or jump when they heard or touch things.

The host is Jaleel White (Urkel from Fam-ily Matters). He guides the groups to the door and tries to calm them down. He gives each of the groups three chances to get the things right if they get it wrong the other person have to guess the object.•

By Moriah Belt

M ama, the new thriller, surpris-ingly wasn’t as scary as everyone thought, but ended in a twist you

would have never imagined. The characters are unusual and creepy, the plot suspenseful.

Some friends and I went to see “Mama,” the new thriller that surprisingly wasn’t as scary as everyone thought, but ended in a twist you would have never imagined.

“‘Mama’ wasn’t what I expected,” junior Zaina President said. “It really wasn’t scary, but then again, previews can always make something more than what it is.”

The plot and characters are unusual, creepy, and suspenseful. If you want a sum-mary, go to our “Web Extra” pages of the February paper on the Steinmetz website.

“The movie was scary in the beginning, but toward the ending you really under-stood the hardships Mama faced during the time she was living,” junior Ashley Cotton said.

A father flees with his two daughters af-ter killing his wife, and finds an abandoned cabin in the woods. A hideous ghost-like creature kills him when he’s about to harm his daughters. Surprisingly the creature was very caring toward them. Over the course of five years they grew to know her as Mama. Without human care, though, the girls end up barbaric, almost like cave people.

The girls’ uncle Lucas had been on a search for his two nieces and was deter-mined to find them. Even though he and his girlfriend Annabel are free spirits he was willing to give up the carefree life to start a responsible one with his family.

Once the girls were found they were taken to a hospital. A doctor questioned and analyzed the girls’ case for weeks. The old-est, Victoria, explained what unfortunate event brought them to Mama, and Mama’s story about how she lost her own baby.

Lucas and Annabel fought for custody of the girls. When the girls got home Lucas helped them to fit into the environment they used to know. The youngest, Lily, was mostly out of touch with human ways. She was very young when they left, and had

spent more time acting like an animal than a human.

They weren’t the only ones who came out of the woods — Mama came too. An-nabel became suspicious that someone was visiting the girls at night. After the girl’s uncle mysteriously got hurt, he’s hospital-ized for a while. So now Annabel has to take care of them by herself.

Mama didn’t mind them staying there, but she doesn’t want anyone to take her place. Mama became angry because of the doctor analysis and because Annabel began to care for the girl in a motherly sense. Soon the doctor finds out about the woman who they call Mama.

While Lucas is in the hospital his dead brother reaches out to him. The girls’ father explains that he had to go to the cabin in the woods to save the girls. During that time the doctor goes out to the woods to find Mama in the cabin, and tries to help.

The doctor ends up very dead, and An-nabel becomes nervous. She needs to talk to him about the girl’s past. When he never shows up, so she takes matters in her own hands, and takes all of the session tapes and observations.

An angry Mama came to reclaim her girls and tries to kill Annabel for taking them from her. Victoria convinces her to stop, so instead they are taken back to the cabin with Mama.

Mama had a baby that was taken from her. She took back her baby, and ran, get-ting to the end of the woods. There was no where to go but off the cliff with her baby. She hit the water, but the baby got caught in a branch and died. So she decided to do it right this time with Victoria and Lily, but Annabel wasn’t going to let that happen.

Victoria wanted to stay, and Lily wanted to be with Mama, the woman she knew for her short life. Victoria knew that was where Lily belonged so she let her go. Lily finally didn’t have to adapt to the new life. It never really fit her, so she was free to live in peace, to be who she always was without any pressure of trying to fit in. Victoria was ready to start her new normal life with Annabel and her Uncle Lucas, happily ever after. •

Reviews: Mama and Total Blackout

Write to the Star editors

Anyone in the Steinmetz community is welcome to send a letter to the Star

regarding any issue. Give your letter to any of our staff

members or email us: SteinmetzStarNews@gmail.com

Get help with your FAFSA

Seniors, if you haven’t completed your FAFSA, bring your parents’ information

to the upcoming FAFSA workshops:Monday, Feb. 25Friday, March 1

12 - 4 p.m.Room 330

Norjoria Pratt showing work at Chicago Temple

February 2013 Steinmetz Star 19

Star Web Extra 19

Senior Norjoria Pratt and 12 other African American artists reflect on children and their future — on both tragic losses and flourishing of children through families, education, work, play, and the arts. The exhibit runs until March 31.